A familiar fate
We all had a chuckle yesterday when we learned that Gordon Sondland has sold his once-proud Portland boutique hotel empire. Given the state of travel generally and the hideous street scene in downtown Portland in particular, it must have been quite the fire sale.
I wonder if he'll have to repay his $9 million emergency pandemic handout from the federal government. Ha! Ha! Only kidding. I'm sure that dough is long gone.
Who would have thought, four years ago, when Lordy Gordy was named Orange Caligula's ambassador to the European Union, a position that he paid handsomely for, that he would wind up in tatters? But that's what you get when you throw in with Donnie Boy. He rumbles on, one hooker after another, while your life changes for the worse.
But before we merrily cast Sondland onto the ever-growing pile of used Portland jokes, let's not forget what he was sent to Europe to do. He was sent there to trash NATO. And he gladly went and tried. As we descend into World War III, let's not forget how lucky we are that that effort was conducted by incompetents, and stopped before it got too far.
I suspect that the NATO motto is 'Right behind ya. USA'. It's like the dilemma facing the 'Justice Dept.' in regards to prosecuting Trump and Company. If our system of checks and balances wouldn't impeach him what makes you think they would prosecute him?
ReplyDeleteOh great, so some other non-local weasel can buy it on the cheap &/or he can take the 'bailout' hotel golden-parachute $$$ & run while declaring it a loss tax wise every way to sunday/the bank?
ReplyDelete'So much winning, you're gonna get tired of winning!' (truth, but not for the little guy in Poorland that works or strives for a living or has to live in this cesspit haha)
I'll play the contrarian on NATO?
The right winger critique that a lot of euro countries can have 'social democracies' because they don't pay for defense is actually *kind of* true IMO.
Maybe not France or Sweden in the late '60s-early 70s with universal conscription, nukes, HUGE air force in Sweden's case with a lot of guided & unguided missiles (like France's excellent Exocet).
Obviously, most of the manned piloted airforce toys are obsolete except the ugly A10s (which, accordingly, our guys hate because it isn't a a crazy expensive boondoggle & actually WORKS).
The left wring critique that NATO mostly funds and arms ex-fascists domestically after WWII to suppress political dissent & create false flag gladio / acts of terrorism & disruption is also true.
This all said, do we quasi-status quo (at the dovish extreme) do the competent Kennan thing & administer it more intelligently & is that maybe 'less bad' or better to do that as 'containment'?
Probably?
But what we get is brutal nasty little wars & sub-mafia dons like putin throwing a fit that still gets a ton of people killed & helps the sleaze-normal defense contracting industry continue to enrich itself (which both US & Russia have), absent any alternative to that?
Also, if you're in Africa & on the receiving end of the British, French, Belgians & Dutch, you might feel differently?...
ReplyDelete..Sort of like if you're in S. & Central America on the other side of the world w/us, tho we have more internal-empire to exploit, of course, but it's been quite the squeeze & the grip is likely to tighten (RIP Bolivia for our EV battery lithium & cobalt?), particularly as clean fresh water gets ever more scarce for food & drinking...everywhere?
That's already contentious & getting worse between India & china, internally in CA, AZ (which is likely to radiate outward & make the US tighten its grip on S. America) etc.
Russia has incalculably valuable minerals & fresh water...they're going to pursue that, as most all nations would with the incentive structure being what it is...
I think if Hillary Clinton had been President instead of Trump we wouldn't be here right now in this position of helplessness.
ReplyDelete