“Since the time of Reagan, the American economy has ridden waves of speculation -- in real estate, in information technology, in mortgages, and now in real estate once again -- each leading to a bust.” James K. Galbraith, The Nation
One thing is for certain: the West is treating the carnage, destruction and refugee crisis in Ukraine very differently than it did when the victims were Afghans, Syrians, Yeminis and Somalis. What accounts for this? Is it because Ukranians, by and large, resemble us and pray to the Christian God rather than Allah? Or does the West consider the lives of Ukranians more valuable and worthy of our concern and compassion? Afghanistan is a ruined country, and a forgotten one as millions of its people face the possibility of starvation. Most of the world yawns.
How does Tucker Carlson -- the poster boy for hysterical white grievance -- get away with spouting pro-Russian drivel on Fox News? Commerce, of course, advertising revenue based on his devoted audience. As long as Carlson attracts eyeballs to screens he will be allowed to continue spewing nonsense like a busted sewer pipe.
Reports in the corporate media indicate that Russian forces are targeting civilian targets in Ukraine, a charge that Russia denies as fake news. Apparently, any video footage coming from Ukraine that is critical of Russia or evidence of war crimes, has been doctored. Sounds to me like Putin plays the same PR game as his pet and protege, Donald J. Trump. Meanwhile, Biden is doing his best to thread the needle by keeping NATO on the sidelines while he authorizes billions in military assistance. If only it was as easy to fund health care and education for all Americans. Funny thing about war spending: it always receives swift approval and is exempt from all accountability for how the money is spent. No cost-benefit analysis or means testing, none of the hurdles faced by any initiative to assist the poor or needy. War is better for business.
Remember when the Soviet Union collapsed and there was talk of a “peace” dividend? No? Can’t blame you because it lasted about a minute and was quickly forgotten after 9/11 and Bush/Cheney’s global War On Terror. That blunder cost trillions of dollars, caused thousands of civilian casualties and a refugee crisis, and no one was held accountable. George W. Bush paints and slides into dementia, Dick Cheney clings to life, and people like David Patraeus are invited to prognosticate on cable news programs. What did America get for its “investment” of several trillion dollars? We practiced torture abroad and cruelty at home (we incarcerate more people than any nation in the world), our economy is obscenely tilted in favor of the wealthy, and our political system is a dysfunctional farce. The GOP is so far up Trump’s behind that it didn’t even bother to offer a platform in 2020; whatever Trump wanted was the platform. We demonize the poor and less fortunate. Naked racism is on the rise, greenlighted after five years of Trump. We praise the stupid and villify the intelligent. We’re afraid to look in the mirror and confront our nation’s history. Intolerance is on the march and it comes packing heavy heat, thanks to the perversion of the 2nd Amendment. How long before it turns really ugly? Listen to the rhetoric, the explicit calls for violence. Do you think it will simply dissipate, like fog? I don’t. Malevolent forces are loose in our land and closer than we think.
What happened to the criminal referral for Mark Meadows on charges of contempt of Congress and those highly anticipated public hearings about January 6, and the various probes into Donald Trump? Swept aside by Ukraine and rising gasoline prices. This Congress will run out of time and the work of the January 6th committee will probably never see the full light of day. DOJ will abstain from prosecuting Trump on the pretense of not wanting to divide the nation. Besides money, you know what destroys democracy? Cowardice. If you think these are the delusions of an overwrought old liberal keep in mind that Donald Trump received 74 millions votes in 2020 -- after being impeached, after bungling the federal government’s response to the Covid pandemic, after embarrassing the nation time and time again on the world stage, after all the scandals, after all the lies. 74 million of my fellow Americans saw all that and still voted for Trump. The question for the ages is how can so many people be so stupid and irrational?
That’s why I must conclude that we are well and truly fucked, as Hunter S. Thompson might say.
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