Tea and Vitriol

First of all, The Donald never solved any wars that he has taken credit for, which doesn't stop him from repeating that lie. Perhaps he hopes that if he repeats it enough it will become fact. We know that he is a narcissistic megalomaniac and a blowhard, ready to speak his mind in season and out, refusing to be influenced by the facts. Which means that he is delusional as well. Secondly, while he can bully weaker countries (most larger states do, whether or not you care to admit that), he has run into brick walls with China , India , Brazil and now Venezuela , who are not cowed by The Donald's tariff antics and saber-rattling. India, in particular, has faced The Donald's wrath for NOT bowing down to his demand that they cease purchasing Russian oil . They have been offended by The Donald's statement that India is responsible for the war in Ukraine by buying Russian oil and therefore keeping Russia's economy able to continue its military campaign. Never mind the fa...

It is the stuff of which high farce is made. One week ago, The Donald met with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. The purpose was to discuss Putin's war against Ukraine. Apart from Putin reiterating his demands for ending the war for the umpteenth time in public, on American soil, it accomplished nothing more than providing a phot op. So, death and destruction in Ukraine will continue. While The Donald hailed this meeting as "successful," "10 out of 10," all it did was show the world who the more powerful leader was. It wasn't The Donald. Then, heady with failure, The Donald got on the phone with Ukraine's Zelenskyy and summoned him to Washington DC in two days, informing him to wear a suit this time. The Donald and his cronies made much of the fact that Zelenskyy didn't wear a suit at the February ambush and sent Zelenskyy packing for not being suitably grateful or humble enough for previous US aid. Zelenskyy was also able to bring se...

The much-anticipated meeting between The Donald of the United States and Russia's president Vladimir Putin finally occurred yesterday. In Alaska , of all places. Alaska originally belonged to the Russian Empire , which sold it to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. Two years ago, after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine , Putin demanded that the United States return Alaska to Russia, which even then-President, Sloppy Joe Biden, wasn't senile enough to consider. While the incredibly stupid Sarah Palin really COULDN'T see Russia from her house, Russia is only 52 miles across the Bering Strait from Alaska. That was the reason Alaska was chosen to be the site of this historic meeting between two of the three most powerful men in the world. Only China's Xi  wasn't there to make up a threesome and a circle jerk, which is just as well, because the whole thing turned out to be a lot of nothing. Bupkis. The other reason that Alaska was chosen to be the...

Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the USA. It is the unofficial start of summer, after which fashionistas can wear white shoes and white slacks until Labor Day without attracting the criticism from self-appointed arbiters of taste. It is a federal holiday, so all schools, government offices, courts and banks will be closed, and bully for all those employed in such fields. Most other businesses remain open, as are retail establishments, albeit with slightly shortened hours to "celebrate" the holiday. In my youth, when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, EVERYTHING was closed on Memorial Day to honor our fallen war dead, to give Americans the time to ponder its meaning and perhaps spare a thought or two about them. Yes, there will be parades tomorrow, attended by politicians seeking re-election, accompanied by their fan clubs wearing "Vote for so-and-so" t-shirts with which to indoctrinate the crowds of people watching and proving their "connection" to their constit...

Conflicts are never solved of their own accord.  They are usually settled by the stronger powers and their settlements are imposed on the smaller or weaker powers. That is the norm in history, and it will be no different regarding settling the war between Ukraine and Russia. US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to begin "negotiations" regarding a peace settlement for Russia's war against Ukraine. Neither the European Union nor Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were informed beforehand. Neither was the United Kingdom. So much for the much touted (by the UK, anyway) "Special Relationship" between the US and they. They were informed of the phone call after the fact and erupted with righteous indignation. They all expected to be part of the so-called "peace process" and have seats at the negotiating table. They were all bypassed and were not invited. The negotiations began this week in Saudi Arabia, which is...

World War I was billed as "the war to end all wars." Only it wasn't. There have been dozens of wars since then, producing mass destruction, death, genocide and ethnic cleansing to name just a few items on the bill of fare "civilization" offers to people who disagree with others. Justification for such acts are always publicized to absolve perpetrators of guilt or as a publicity stunt to make war mongers feel better about themselves. True, there is evil in the world, which most people choose to ignore if it doesn't affect them...at first. True, it can be nipped in the bud if the so-called "peace-loving" nations stand firm against it. But most of the time they don't. The industrialized Western nations are all willing to make deals with the devil in order to provide themselves with resources that they themselves do not possess, arguing that their various peoples NEED them, when actually it is the ruling elites who need them in order to preserve TH...