We in the U.S. are (well, according to polls, most of us) fast figuring out that the United States of America may not survive 3 1/2 more years of Trump et al (ie Project 2025 puppet masters). But, of course, as I say with republicans, there is ALWAYS more. The “survival” of America may be the “small potatoes” here. Let’s take a look at what Vladimir Putin’s been up to over the previous couple of weeks. From Denmark to Poland Russia has been sending swarms of drones into the air space of numerous NATO countries (the countries where Trump recently pulled back U.S. forces!? – What was up with that?) obviously testing the resolve of Trump to these provocations. They’ve even sent their aircraft into a couple places where there’s now talk of shooting them down if this continues – to which Russia officials have said the result would be war.
OK, do you have the same confidence I have should a war in Europe brake out and the U.S. would be relying on Trump and Hegseth to prosecute it? OMG! So, while those of us who think like me are lamenting Trump’s assault on the fundamental fabric of America’s nearly 250 year “experiment” Putin is threatening to send the “nukes” if anyone interferes with his provoking of NATO by violating the air space in the “Baltic’s” along with those in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Is Putin attempting to provoke them? – OR is he testing Trump? Personally, I believe the latter.
Of course, during his recent embarrassing ramblings at the U.N. this past week Trump seemed to make an “about face” regarding Russia’s ILLEGAL invasion of Ukraine suggesting Ukraine could push Russia out to their internationally recognized border (I even think he said “and then some” – whatever that means) AND he suggested NATO countries should “shoot down” Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. What we have here are the makings of WW III. I’ll repeat myself. Do you trust Trump and Hegseth to prosecute America’s part in WW III?
Here’s what’s been going through my feeble old mind. I’m picturing Trump, after Russia has nuked either Ukraine, Poland, or some other place in Europe OR maybe Chicago saying to Putin – “I’m giving you two weeks to come to the negotiating table.” If you’ve read this far you know Trump has given Putin SEVERAL such warnings sandwiched around giving him (Putin – a WAR CRIMINAL facing a warrant from the ICC) the “red carpet treatment” on AMERICAN soil a month or so back. Not surprising, EACH warning has been followed by an increase in Russia’s BOMBING campaign on Ukraine – much of it against CIVILIAN targets.
Once again, I have to say this is our (“we the people’s) own fault. We chose a 34 times convicted FELON (facing another something like 50 FELONY charges), an adjudicated sexual predator who defamed the same person multiple times, a serial FRAUDSTER, a man with a history of LYING and RACISM, and a person promising an administration focused on “retribution.” And, he’s got a LARGE “enemies list.” (Update: Trump’s order that James Comey be indicted has been completed)
He also promised to end the Ukraine Russia war and the war in GAZA on his first day in office. (Neither “ended” after 9 months) He promised to bring down the cost of groceries. (They’re still going up) He claims the U.S. is now the most admired (or a word to that affect) country in the world. (it’s not) He claims his approval rating is the highest it’s ever been (it’s not – it’s actually the lowest for any president at this point in his administration in modern history) Once again, he claims he’s responsible for the greatest economy in the history of our country (it’s not). And, he claims he’s brought peace to SEVEN wars. (He hasn’t – in fact he doesn’t even know where some of the countries he claims are on a globe) He’s also – OK, the list is too long. There’s a new (at least one) claim each day which is part of the “flooding the zone” strategy of his Project 2025 masters. This requires a commitment to LYING – which is what Trump truly is a master.
What is left (of America’s republic) when he’s finally out of office remains to be seen. But, from my perspective – I have a habit of making predictions – there’s going to be a large group of his sycophants who will need to be put in the “witness protection” program in order to get gainful employment once this is all over. However, it may not be once Trump is no longer in office. I mean, you have to give the right wingers who’ve been working for this day over the past 50+ years credit – they have created a formidable opposition to those of us who believe in America’s democratic republic. As time passes I certainly hope more and more Americans realize how “we the people” have willfully defiled our nation by putting Trump and Project 2025 in power.
A.M. (after MAGA) can you picture Trump’s press secretary getting a job anywhere besides Fox “news” or one of the other propaganda arms of the republican party? The reality is, as long as Fox or Newsmax or Steve Bannon or (f)Elon Musk and Xwitter or Zuckerberg and “Meta” etc. etc. are in business this country is in mortal danger. Most of those people keep their thoughts (well, not Fox in the defamation lawsuits by Dominion and Smartmatic) to themselves, but Bannon and Musk have been openly affiliated with neo-Nazi groups in Europe. It was Musk who “said the quiet part out loud” when he threw a couple “Sieg Hiels” at Trump’s inauguration celebration – sadly to the consternation of only a few. Their real goal is MORE money and POWER!
So, here’s the deal at this moment in time. Trump keeps warning Putin to be a “good boy” and stop with all the “killing” and agree to a cease fire in Ukraine within “the next two weeks.” And, Putin keeps up the KILLING and actually increases the number of missiles (as I said above) with each “warning.” “We the people” (should) recognize Trump as a pathetic “bully” – but, Putin is the real deal when it comes to bullies. Push back against him and plan to visit an upper story hotel room. Trump “speaks softly and has NO stick.” It really is embarrassing to listen to/watch him while he’s in “action.” I say to those in America who are on “red alert” due to Trump’s attempt at a fascist takeover of our government – keep an eye on how Putin is challenging him all across NATO. It should be obvious I don’t have confidence Trump will be up to the changing actions of Russia. It’s getting serious and it appears to me Trump is in over his head.
I’ve pointed out how appeasement works here on several occasions. In fact, I’ve referred to Trump as the modern day Neville Chamberlain before Russia’s recent provocations – the stakes are much higher in letting the (real) bully believe Trump has no guts in today’s world because of the nukes Russia is threatening (once again) to use. Apparently, some of the aircraft Russia has used to “buzz” NATO countries have been carrying missiles with nuclear warheads. If you’ve listened to any of Trump’s recent rambling “speeches” and you trust him to be capable of handling a war with Russia – well, we can agree to disagree! (Although we can hope) I don’t believe MOST Americans are even aware of Putin’s numerous provocations which I believe are intended to test Trump’s resolve – a resolve that barely registers on the resolve-o-meter. Stay tuned……
Final Thought: If you saw much of Trumps meandering diatribe the other day standing with RFK Jr. to his right and Dr. Oz to his left where he announced that “aceta … acetamin….how do you say it? acetaminophen … (“is that correct?”) “causes autism.” How do we know this? Well, apparently HHS is going to have some studies?? From what I’ve read, there have been MANY studies on the subject and it would take RFK Jr. to ignore them and come up with this scheme because, well, he promised, if I remember right, to have an answer to what causes autism by September, or something. I watched as much of this press conference as I could stomach – and, all I can say is if Joe Biden made ONE of the MANY gaffes Trump made in just this one “news conference” well democrats would have bailed on him and…. Oh wait, they did that for far less.
I’ll say it again. Biden was too old! Trump is too old! However, Biden was much more together than Trump – he knew how to manage the government. He had NATO more unified than at any time in recent memory. And, he wasn’t taking s**t off Putin. He had worked hard to bring down the inflation caused by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and he had accepted the GOP led immigration bill which would have increased the number of immigration judges and Border Patrol agents plus increased the ability to detect things like fentanyl coming across the border. Additionally, he was working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance (both going up under Trump 2.0) and, had he a democratic led Congress he was working to reduce the deficit by causing BILLIONAIRES to pay their fair share and letting the “Trump tax cuts” expire. Also, with Biden, there would be nothing other than targeted tariffs and we’d still be working to mitigate the Climate Crisis.
As it turns out, Biden certainly wouldn’t have made it through a second term – maybe not even the first year (I’ve got prostate cancer and I know a Gleeson 9 score is not good) but, then he could have turned things over to Kamala Harris – which would have shattered that so-called “glass ceiling.” AND, we wouldn’t be dealing with the fascists running Trump 2.0 out of the headquarters of Project 2025. Now, we’re dealing with the above challenges that could be leading us into WW III. I doubt Putin would embark on such a “mission” without Trump in office and unless he had the backing of China. If you remember, at China’s real “military parade” (I’m sure Trump is envious) Xi, Putin, Modi of India, and Kim Jung un of North Korea were all yucking it up like it was old home week. Apparently the result of Trump’s tariffs. If they take the side of Russia – should Putin decide to invade one of the Baltic neighbors – well, all I can say is I believe “we the people” will see worse possible consequences of Trump 2.0. Yikes!!!