The Fog Of War
06/03/22 07:07
What is this I'm hearing about Bumbles Biden sharing intelligence with China in the hopes that China would convince Putin to not invade Ukraine? Where are the fucking republicans? This is treason pure and simple. It gets worse. How about Biden offering to evacuate the President of Ukraine (Zelensky) after the invasion of Ukraine was underway by the Russians? Here is Zelensky's response, and I quote: "I need ammo, I don't need a ride." What kind of coward do we have sitting in our White House? He's the same clown who abandoned the people of Afghanistan when he let that country fall to the Taliban.
Clearly, things are going from bad to worse in Ukraine for the Russians. Putin is now threatening any country that dares to interfere with what amounts to nuclear war. This is what desperate people do. Consequently, country's around the world have now closed their airspace to Russia airplanes and have moved closer to removing Russia from the banking system (SWIFT) that allows them to transact more easily in their currency, the rouble. It is, for all intents and purposes, an attempt by the global forces at large to effectively cancel Vladimir Putin. Vlad is clearly in need of an intervention.
The Ukrainians are fighting back and fighting back hard with weapons being flown in from country's around the world. The Russians have yet to take even one city in Ukraine thanks to the tenacity and fighting spirit of a citizenry and military who are standing strong in the breach to protect their country and their way of life. Meanwhile, that cowardly fuck, Joe Biden, is hiding away in his basement in Delaware. Millions of people gathered in and around in their city's capitols over the weekend in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Russia has become a pariah, not that they weren't before, but invading a sovereign country in the 21st century seems to be more than a bridge too far when it comes to defining what we consider to be a civilized society these days. Thanks to people like Elon Musk, who gave the citizens of Ukraine access to the technology that gives them back their internet access, the world is now seeing what the Russians are doing to civilians who want nothing more than to live their lives and they are having none of it. The indiscriminate violence and abject horror of war being waged by a rogue actor sitting in the Kremlin is being captured and catapulted around the world in a nanosecond for all to see.
Bumbles Biden will be giving his State of the Union speech tomorrow night in Washington. That may explain why he's hiding in his bunker in Delaware. Maybe their upping his anti-dementia meds in anticipation of his having to stay awake and alert long enough to get in and out of Washington for the two hours that it takes to make the speech. A few trial runs with this and that medication are probably necessary to make sure that he doesn't collapse of his own weight and incompetence during the time allotted to make the speech. Nobody said that talking about thirteen months in office where every failure is worse than the failure before is going to be easy. It's a heavy lift.
How much time do you think he'll spend talking about the thirteen marines that died because of his hastily engineered departure from Afghanistan? Maybe he'll talk about the family of Afghans he killed by sending in drones to retaliate against those Taliban fighters who killed our thirteen marines. How much time will he give to the disaster that he created by opening up our southern border to the illegal aliens of the world? Will we hear bumbles Biden apologize for the state of our economy that has increased the cost of living for every American from coast to coast? Would it be asking too much to have him restart our domestic energy production? Buying our energy from Russia only enriches and emboldens tyrants like Putin. Maybe that's been the plan all along.
I thought I heard something this morning about Biden's FEMA agency offering guidance to Americans in the event of a nuclear attack by Russia. It was something about being in enclosed spaces and, because of the dreaded Covid-19, it was important to stay six feet apart. WAT? Is this where we are in the age of Biden? Covid numbers have been seriously on the decline as of late and countries around the world have relaxed or removed any and all restrictions. Yet, these assholes in the Biden Administration continue with their hysterics and nonsense about the "dreaded" virus. It's a fucking clown show if I've ever seen one and I've seen a few. I don't know what's more laughable: the threat of a nuclear holocaust or the fear porn being peddled by Biden and his minions. Maybe both.
I'm playing this word game online called "Wordle." It's become pretty popular I hear and it was recently purchased by the New York Times. I'm playing it every day and it seems harmless enough in the sense that it doesn't drive me crazy but it does challenge me so I'm good with it thus far. Did I mention that the missus introduced the game to me? I resisted for the longest time because I was busy with another word game and didn't need one more word game to play. I'm in with both feet now for better or worse. Sometimes I find the words quickly and other times not so quickly. The missus? About the same is what I would say. Today's word was "rupee." An odd choice, but okay. I found it in four attempts.
I haven't checked my Twitter feed this morning so I'm not sure where we are with the whole invasion thing. Last I heard, the Russians were advancing on the city of Kiev with a 40-mile transport and were probably some forty miles out. Countries around the world are universal in their condemnation but the Russian army is persisting as armies are want to do. You would think that knowing or having the coordinates of this forty mile transport that some creative sort would find a way to bomb them to smithereens. The threat of a nuclear whatever by Russia is keeping them all at bay and that is not helping the situation. I'm not sure what the endgame looks like but it can't be pretty.
I heard rumors yesterday about some special teams group that the Russians were sending in to Kiev to assassinate the president of Ukraine and his associates. Do they really think that making a martyr of the man is a good thing? Putin is a ruthless thug so I wouldn't put it past him. That said, I think he also understands the dynamics of war and killing Zelensky, who has literally become a folk hero in this tragedy, would not sit well with the populace once the dust settles. Maybe none of that matters to Putin. Killing their president will perpetuate his legacy as a man who will go to any length to get what he wants. Not that the citizens of Ukraine are under any other illusion, mind you.
I watched Biden's State of the Union speech last night so you didn't have to. It was a disgrace. What the hell was going on with his pupils? Whatever drugs they're giving this old fool are no longer doing the trick. It was an hour of mumbling, fumbling, whispering, yelling, finger pointing, lying, gesticulating, and down right balderdash. You'd think he beat the Russians in Ukraine given all of his bombast in the first half hour of the speech. The ambassador to Ukraine who was in the audience, must have been aghast. She was there to hear something hopeful, something material, something that she could bring back to the good people of Ukraine. It was all about Joey and his "conquests."
As Joey was going on and on about how he was bringing Putin to his knees, the Russians were in the process of encircling two major cities in Ukraine. But, Joey was oblivious. He was there to read his speech from the teleprompter and he was going to get it done come hell or high water. His speech was so well rehearsed that he seemed to be rushing through it at points and it had me wondering if he was trying to get it done so he could retire early and have his customary bowl of oatmeal and cup of warm milk back in the White House before retiring for the night. That said, he was seen lingering in the hall after the speech taking selfies, signing autographs, and canoodling with members of his political party.
There was nothing in the speech about restarting our domestic energy production. He spoke about funding the police when we all know that the democrats are famously known for doing just the opposite. He made statements about certain segments of the population who would never pay a penny more in taxes when we all know that inflation under Biden is a tax burden if there ever was one. There were the usual faux pas that we've all come to expect from Biden and no one ever even mentions them anymore since they're so commonplace. To mention them would be to highlight what we all know: Joey Biden is a senile old fuck and he has no business being the President of the United States.
The missus kept asking me who the people were in the audience as the camera panned in and out when people were applauding or, as the case might be, not applauding. I knew some but not all of the people and it was notable that one person, in particular, Joe Manchin, a democrat, was sitting with members of the opposite party. I mean just wow! That would be something if he were to switch parties and join the republicans. With a 50-50 senate, that would be the death knell for the democrats in terms of pushing through any more legislation prior to the 2022 midterms. Joe has been voting with the republicans lately so he might as well jump ship while the jumping is good. C'mon, man!
It struck me that the speech was a rehash of prior stump speeches and speeches given when he was trying to get his legislation pushed through the Congress in 2021. All of which failed because members of his own party, namely Manchin and Sinema, took issue with the bills and doomed them to failure when they announced that they could not and would not be supporting the legislation. He even mentioned the Voting Rights bill that went down in flames in 2021 because it essentially took state legislatures out of the business of legislating. That bill was doomed to failure and it's not likely to be resuscitated anytime soon. So, why even mention it? The answer is simple. He has nothing else to point to so, when that happens, you make shit up and you rehash your wish list. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The speech aside, I'm feeling pretty good about the steps that various countries across the globe are putting in place to put a stranglehold on Putin's economy due to Putin's aggression towards the sovereign nation of Ukraine. They're actually going after yachts and villas of the oligarchs which is just outstanding. Company's like Apple and Visa and so many others are pulling out of Russia in solidarity with the freedom loving nations who find Russia's aggression towards Ukraine intolerable and are willing to do what they can. Biden did mention that the US was shutting down airspace to deny incoming flights from Russia but he came to this decision only after several other countries did the same thing. Again, the US should be leading and not, as they are under Biden, from behind.
It wasn't lost on me that there were maybe one or two people at the State of the Union speech who wore masks. You'd think that this Covid thing never happened by looking at the mulling of the people in the chamber at the State of the Union speech. Biden was pumping fists and giving hugs as though he had not a worry in the world about contracting the dreaded Covid-19. This was in contrast to video of Biden just the night before walking across the lawn at the White House after exiting the helicopter and he was alone and masked. I can only conclude that this covid thing was a sham from day one and the democrats attempted, and did so successfully, to weaponize it for political purposes. We all know that it's only ever been a threat to the elderly and the vulnerable amongst us. Bastards.
I'm waking up to a coating of snow on the ground and I'm wondering what that means for my bike ride today. Will I be able to ride or not? Will it warm up enough to melt the snow off the road so I can get out and do my thing? Just when I'm getting up a head of steam after riding two days in a row and when I'm looking forward to getting in three days in a row I'm thinking that that may not happen. I'll have to look at the forecast to see if the temperatures are going to warm up and maybe by how much. Springtime isn't far away so I should be thinking good things about the weather. If it doesn't work out then there is always tomorrow. Tell that to my peeps in Ukraine.
I don't know why but I'm at a bit at a loss of words this morning. There are no particular themes running thorough my head one way or another. I'm not feeling particularly annoyed at anything or anybody so I can't go there wherever that might be. I have no burrs in my saddle that I need to get rid of although I am watching this western on television entitled "1883" which is pretty good. I like a western now and then if for no other reason that to be reminded that it wasn't all that long when we got from point A to point B on a fucking horse. I'm a Sam Elliot fan but I think he's a little too old for this role. The women are predictably good looking and the cinematography is outstanding.
The missus was trying to drag me into watching this "Worst Roommates" thing on Netflix. It struck me as a suburban comedy genre of sorts and just the kind of show that I like to avoid. "That's okay, honey." "You can watch it yourself and fill me in later." She went on to tell me that it was nothing of the kind and, knowing as she does about my penchant for cold case shows, she thought I might like this one. She brought me up to speed on the first episode which she was half way through and it was enough for me to want to know, at a minimum, if and when it got resolved. They always get resolved, don't they? Isn't that the point of these shows? The cops got their man as they always do.
She asked me this morning about the show called "Dropout." It's an upcoming series on HULU about the woman (Elizabeth Holmes - Theranos) who ran the scam about blood testing kits. She was convicted of fraud this past summer and she is expected to be sentenced this coming September. It's good as good as it gets when you're looking for a good swindler flick. I've read the book so I know the story well. I'm convinced that Ms Holmes never started out to defraud investors and I do believe she had every intention to bring her newfangled product to market. When thing started going from bad to worse, little lies turned into big lies and, before she knew it, Ms Holmes had created a monster. There was no turning back. "Yes, little darlings." "I'll add this one to the queue."
The media was in a bit of kerfuffle last evening when I tuned in a little after 8pm. The Ruskies had shelled a nuclear plant in Ukraine and a fire had erupted which had the whole of the media on high alert to report out on what they thought, or even hoped would be, Chernobyl 2.0. On a scale of one to ten in the eyes of the media, a Chernobyl-like event beats a garden variety war each and every time. The coverage was breathless. It was hard to imagine why Russia would choose to do such a thing but, at the same time, it might have passed for something that a bad actor does when things aren't going particularly well for them. In other words, it's not something that I was willing to put past Putin.
Then there were reports that the Russians were shooting at people trying to put out the fire. That's a whole new level of craziness but, again, all is fair in love and war. You could tell that the media had brushed off their Chernobyl notebook and they started giving detailed accounts of what happens when things go from bad to worse when nuclear power plants start to break down. Other media outlets were reporting that various monitors had reported increased levels of radiation coming from the facility. Just when you thought that things couldn't get worse, the media started piling on to their own stories with wild-eyed chyrons and equally wild-eyed talking heads.
You had to wonder if all of this hyperbole wasn't being pushed by one side or the other for one reason or another. Was this Ukraine wanting to lure in the rest of the world on a devious lark of its own making? It was one thing for NATO members to not want their soldiers on the ground in Ukraine since Ukraine isn't a NATO member but what nation could resist the temptation to call for all hands on deck in the event of a potential nuclear disaster? Surely, a bad actor like Russia couldn't be allowed to get away with doing what they appeared to be doing. Someone had to step in and give someone a heavy handed spanking the likes of which might well deter them from doing such things in the future.
It was a ruse that was destined for failure. No sooner had the story been elevated to Defcon 5 than it started to fade with reports that the fire was in one of the administration buildings and not anywhere near one or more of the 5 reactors on the site. They even started to backpedal on the story about Russians firing their weapons at people trying to extinguish the fire. People were indeed on site and doing their level best to put out the fire. By all accounts, the news media should have cut their losses and let the story die a natural death before the top of the hour when the 9pm show started. Let's just say that they could have done a better job than they did when they transitioned to the 9 o'clock hour.
The fact that the Russians allowed the Ukrainians in to put out the fire suggested to me that the shelling was errant in nature and not at all intentional. In fact, the initial news reports were of a "bomb" going off at the nuclear power plant. Someone in the newsroom thought better of it and promptly changed the chyron from "bomb" to "shelling." Confirmation soon followed from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) that there was no radiation emanating from the site so those reports in the media were erroneous as well. Stock markets around the world reacted with violent drops in their indices at the prospects of a nuclear disaster and the resulting fallout which, reportedly, would make Chernobyl look like child's play. As I sit here this morning reporting after the fact, and I haven't looked, but I have to believe that markets are now back to where they were before the shit hit the fan.
Good old Lindsey Graham, the Senator from South Carolina, went on the Hannity show on FOX at nine last night and said something about someone going in and taking Putin out. You heard me right. He was suggesting that were someone to go in and eliminate Putin that that would be a good thing. I don't disagree with that but you have to wonder if that's something we want our political leaders going on television during prime time to talk about. It's incendiary and probably not something that other people in the highest levels of government here and around the world haven't thought about or maybe considered. If that would solve this Ukraine invasion problem then it might be the proverbial path of least resistance. Or, as they say, the fastest way to get from point A to point B.
The point is, there is no guarantee that the person replacing Putin would be any better. He or she might be even more bloodthirsty and perhaps even more desirous than Putin to expand their war beyond the borders of Ukraine. Surely, our 17 Intelligence Agencies have files on each of the people they see as replacements if and when Putin relinquishes power voluntarily or otherwise. Maybe Lindsey was just saying the quiet part out loud. I'm not sure what inures to Lindsey's political party one way or another when he makes comments like this but it's little hard to believe that he's just out there being a loose canon. One thing is for sure. It's a far cry from the milquetoast-like bullshit we're getting from Sleepy Joe. That mutha continues to bend over for his puppeteers in both Russia and China.
I do like what I'm hearing from the president of Ukraine. He's issued a request for the lovers of democracy across the globe to come to Ukraine and help them fight the war against the dastardly Russians. If NATO won't grow a pair then Ukraine is left to its own devices to find another way to win. When you think about all of the soldiers of fortune around the world who are just itching to get back into the fight, any fight, the prospects of being able to step into an ongoing conflict is a dream come true. It puts food on their table, notches on their belts, a fire in their belly, and it gives them a cause which promises to put their training to good use. Hell, if you can get a few Russian scalps in the process, all the better.
I drove by my oil dealer yesterday and noticed that the price of oil had gone up. They post the price on a sign outside their front gate and I usually take a bit of a peek when I'm driving by just to keep tabs on where the price of oil is going. Do you know that the price of oil went from $3.79 per gallon to $4.34 per gallon in the space of two days? That is unheard of if you want the unvarnished truth. I said to the missus, "maybe we should consider having them take us off automatic delivery for now." "There is no guarantee that the prices won't continue to go up," she replied. "If we buy it now we're getting it on the cheap." How about we jump start our domestic energy production again? Fuck these green energy asshats in the Biden Administration and the clown cars they came in on. Why should we be paying more for oil just because there's a war going on half way around the world?
Clearly, things are going from bad to worse in Ukraine for the Russians. Putin is now threatening any country that dares to interfere with what amounts to nuclear war. This is what desperate people do. Consequently, country's around the world have now closed their airspace to Russia airplanes and have moved closer to removing Russia from the banking system (SWIFT) that allows them to transact more easily in their currency, the rouble. It is, for all intents and purposes, an attempt by the global forces at large to effectively cancel Vladimir Putin. Vlad is clearly in need of an intervention.
The Ukrainians are fighting back and fighting back hard with weapons being flown in from country's around the world. The Russians have yet to take even one city in Ukraine thanks to the tenacity and fighting spirit of a citizenry and military who are standing strong in the breach to protect their country and their way of life. Meanwhile, that cowardly fuck, Joe Biden, is hiding away in his basement in Delaware. Millions of people gathered in and around in their city's capitols over the weekend in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Russia has become a pariah, not that they weren't before, but invading a sovereign country in the 21st century seems to be more than a bridge too far when it comes to defining what we consider to be a civilized society these days. Thanks to people like Elon Musk, who gave the citizens of Ukraine access to the technology that gives them back their internet access, the world is now seeing what the Russians are doing to civilians who want nothing more than to live their lives and they are having none of it. The indiscriminate violence and abject horror of war being waged by a rogue actor sitting in the Kremlin is being captured and catapulted around the world in a nanosecond for all to see.
Bumbles Biden will be giving his State of the Union speech tomorrow night in Washington. That may explain why he's hiding in his bunker in Delaware. Maybe their upping his anti-dementia meds in anticipation of his having to stay awake and alert long enough to get in and out of Washington for the two hours that it takes to make the speech. A few trial runs with this and that medication are probably necessary to make sure that he doesn't collapse of his own weight and incompetence during the time allotted to make the speech. Nobody said that talking about thirteen months in office where every failure is worse than the failure before is going to be easy. It's a heavy lift.
How much time do you think he'll spend talking about the thirteen marines that died because of his hastily engineered departure from Afghanistan? Maybe he'll talk about the family of Afghans he killed by sending in drones to retaliate against those Taliban fighters who killed our thirteen marines. How much time will he give to the disaster that he created by opening up our southern border to the illegal aliens of the world? Will we hear bumbles Biden apologize for the state of our economy that has increased the cost of living for every American from coast to coast? Would it be asking too much to have him restart our domestic energy production? Buying our energy from Russia only enriches and emboldens tyrants like Putin. Maybe that's been the plan all along.
I thought I heard something this morning about Biden's FEMA agency offering guidance to Americans in the event of a nuclear attack by Russia. It was something about being in enclosed spaces and, because of the dreaded Covid-19, it was important to stay six feet apart. WAT? Is this where we are in the age of Biden? Covid numbers have been seriously on the decline as of late and countries around the world have relaxed or removed any and all restrictions. Yet, these assholes in the Biden Administration continue with their hysterics and nonsense about the "dreaded" virus. It's a fucking clown show if I've ever seen one and I've seen a few. I don't know what's more laughable: the threat of a nuclear holocaust or the fear porn being peddled by Biden and his minions. Maybe both.
I'm playing this word game online called "Wordle." It's become pretty popular I hear and it was recently purchased by the New York Times. I'm playing it every day and it seems harmless enough in the sense that it doesn't drive me crazy but it does challenge me so I'm good with it thus far. Did I mention that the missus introduced the game to me? I resisted for the longest time because I was busy with another word game and didn't need one more word game to play. I'm in with both feet now for better or worse. Sometimes I find the words quickly and other times not so quickly. The missus? About the same is what I would say. Today's word was "rupee." An odd choice, but okay. I found it in four attempts.
I haven't checked my Twitter feed this morning so I'm not sure where we are with the whole invasion thing. Last I heard, the Russians were advancing on the city of Kiev with a 40-mile transport and were probably some forty miles out. Countries around the world are universal in their condemnation but the Russian army is persisting as armies are want to do. You would think that knowing or having the coordinates of this forty mile transport that some creative sort would find a way to bomb them to smithereens. The threat of a nuclear whatever by Russia is keeping them all at bay and that is not helping the situation. I'm not sure what the endgame looks like but it can't be pretty.
I heard rumors yesterday about some special teams group that the Russians were sending in to Kiev to assassinate the president of Ukraine and his associates. Do they really think that making a martyr of the man is a good thing? Putin is a ruthless thug so I wouldn't put it past him. That said, I think he also understands the dynamics of war and killing Zelensky, who has literally become a folk hero in this tragedy, would not sit well with the populace once the dust settles. Maybe none of that matters to Putin. Killing their president will perpetuate his legacy as a man who will go to any length to get what he wants. Not that the citizens of Ukraine are under any other illusion, mind you.
I watched Biden's State of the Union speech last night so you didn't have to. It was a disgrace. What the hell was going on with his pupils? Whatever drugs they're giving this old fool are no longer doing the trick. It was an hour of mumbling, fumbling, whispering, yelling, finger pointing, lying, gesticulating, and down right balderdash. You'd think he beat the Russians in Ukraine given all of his bombast in the first half hour of the speech. The ambassador to Ukraine who was in the audience, must have been aghast. She was there to hear something hopeful, something material, something that she could bring back to the good people of Ukraine. It was all about Joey and his "conquests."
As Joey was going on and on about how he was bringing Putin to his knees, the Russians were in the process of encircling two major cities in Ukraine. But, Joey was oblivious. He was there to read his speech from the teleprompter and he was going to get it done come hell or high water. His speech was so well rehearsed that he seemed to be rushing through it at points and it had me wondering if he was trying to get it done so he could retire early and have his customary bowl of oatmeal and cup of warm milk back in the White House before retiring for the night. That said, he was seen lingering in the hall after the speech taking selfies, signing autographs, and canoodling with members of his political party.
There was nothing in the speech about restarting our domestic energy production. He spoke about funding the police when we all know that the democrats are famously known for doing just the opposite. He made statements about certain segments of the population who would never pay a penny more in taxes when we all know that inflation under Biden is a tax burden if there ever was one. There were the usual faux pas that we've all come to expect from Biden and no one ever even mentions them anymore since they're so commonplace. To mention them would be to highlight what we all know: Joey Biden is a senile old fuck and he has no business being the President of the United States.
The missus kept asking me who the people were in the audience as the camera panned in and out when people were applauding or, as the case might be, not applauding. I knew some but not all of the people and it was notable that one person, in particular, Joe Manchin, a democrat, was sitting with members of the opposite party. I mean just wow! That would be something if he were to switch parties and join the republicans. With a 50-50 senate, that would be the death knell for the democrats in terms of pushing through any more legislation prior to the 2022 midterms. Joe has been voting with the republicans lately so he might as well jump ship while the jumping is good. C'mon, man!
It struck me that the speech was a rehash of prior stump speeches and speeches given when he was trying to get his legislation pushed through the Congress in 2021. All of which failed because members of his own party, namely Manchin and Sinema, took issue with the bills and doomed them to failure when they announced that they could not and would not be supporting the legislation. He even mentioned the Voting Rights bill that went down in flames in 2021 because it essentially took state legislatures out of the business of legislating. That bill was doomed to failure and it's not likely to be resuscitated anytime soon. So, why even mention it? The answer is simple. He has nothing else to point to so, when that happens, you make shit up and you rehash your wish list. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The speech aside, I'm feeling pretty good about the steps that various countries across the globe are putting in place to put a stranglehold on Putin's economy due to Putin's aggression towards the sovereign nation of Ukraine. They're actually going after yachts and villas of the oligarchs which is just outstanding. Company's like Apple and Visa and so many others are pulling out of Russia in solidarity with the freedom loving nations who find Russia's aggression towards Ukraine intolerable and are willing to do what they can. Biden did mention that the US was shutting down airspace to deny incoming flights from Russia but he came to this decision only after several other countries did the same thing. Again, the US should be leading and not, as they are under Biden, from behind.
It wasn't lost on me that there were maybe one or two people at the State of the Union speech who wore masks. You'd think that this Covid thing never happened by looking at the mulling of the people in the chamber at the State of the Union speech. Biden was pumping fists and giving hugs as though he had not a worry in the world about contracting the dreaded Covid-19. This was in contrast to video of Biden just the night before walking across the lawn at the White House after exiting the helicopter and he was alone and masked. I can only conclude that this covid thing was a sham from day one and the democrats attempted, and did so successfully, to weaponize it for political purposes. We all know that it's only ever been a threat to the elderly and the vulnerable amongst us. Bastards.
I'm waking up to a coating of snow on the ground and I'm wondering what that means for my bike ride today. Will I be able to ride or not? Will it warm up enough to melt the snow off the road so I can get out and do my thing? Just when I'm getting up a head of steam after riding two days in a row and when I'm looking forward to getting in three days in a row I'm thinking that that may not happen. I'll have to look at the forecast to see if the temperatures are going to warm up and maybe by how much. Springtime isn't far away so I should be thinking good things about the weather. If it doesn't work out then there is always tomorrow. Tell that to my peeps in Ukraine.
I don't know why but I'm at a bit at a loss of words this morning. There are no particular themes running thorough my head one way or another. I'm not feeling particularly annoyed at anything or anybody so I can't go there wherever that might be. I have no burrs in my saddle that I need to get rid of although I am watching this western on television entitled "1883" which is pretty good. I like a western now and then if for no other reason that to be reminded that it wasn't all that long when we got from point A to point B on a fucking horse. I'm a Sam Elliot fan but I think he's a little too old for this role. The women are predictably good looking and the cinematography is outstanding.
The missus was trying to drag me into watching this "Worst Roommates" thing on Netflix. It struck me as a suburban comedy genre of sorts and just the kind of show that I like to avoid. "That's okay, honey." "You can watch it yourself and fill me in later." She went on to tell me that it was nothing of the kind and, knowing as she does about my penchant for cold case shows, she thought I might like this one. She brought me up to speed on the first episode which she was half way through and it was enough for me to want to know, at a minimum, if and when it got resolved. They always get resolved, don't they? Isn't that the point of these shows? The cops got their man as they always do.
She asked me this morning about the show called "Dropout." It's an upcoming series on HULU about the woman (Elizabeth Holmes - Theranos) who ran the scam about blood testing kits. She was convicted of fraud this past summer and she is expected to be sentenced this coming September. It's good as good as it gets when you're looking for a good swindler flick. I've read the book so I know the story well. I'm convinced that Ms Holmes never started out to defraud investors and I do believe she had every intention to bring her newfangled product to market. When thing started going from bad to worse, little lies turned into big lies and, before she knew it, Ms Holmes had created a monster. There was no turning back. "Yes, little darlings." "I'll add this one to the queue."
The media was in a bit of kerfuffle last evening when I tuned in a little after 8pm. The Ruskies had shelled a nuclear plant in Ukraine and a fire had erupted which had the whole of the media on high alert to report out on what they thought, or even hoped would be, Chernobyl 2.0. On a scale of one to ten in the eyes of the media, a Chernobyl-like event beats a garden variety war each and every time. The coverage was breathless. It was hard to imagine why Russia would choose to do such a thing but, at the same time, it might have passed for something that a bad actor does when things aren't going particularly well for them. In other words, it's not something that I was willing to put past Putin.
Then there were reports that the Russians were shooting at people trying to put out the fire. That's a whole new level of craziness but, again, all is fair in love and war. You could tell that the media had brushed off their Chernobyl notebook and they started giving detailed accounts of what happens when things go from bad to worse when nuclear power plants start to break down. Other media outlets were reporting that various monitors had reported increased levels of radiation coming from the facility. Just when you thought that things couldn't get worse, the media started piling on to their own stories with wild-eyed chyrons and equally wild-eyed talking heads.
You had to wonder if all of this hyperbole wasn't being pushed by one side or the other for one reason or another. Was this Ukraine wanting to lure in the rest of the world on a devious lark of its own making? It was one thing for NATO members to not want their soldiers on the ground in Ukraine since Ukraine isn't a NATO member but what nation could resist the temptation to call for all hands on deck in the event of a potential nuclear disaster? Surely, a bad actor like Russia couldn't be allowed to get away with doing what they appeared to be doing. Someone had to step in and give someone a heavy handed spanking the likes of which might well deter them from doing such things in the future.
It was a ruse that was destined for failure. No sooner had the story been elevated to Defcon 5 than it started to fade with reports that the fire was in one of the administration buildings and not anywhere near one or more of the 5 reactors on the site. They even started to backpedal on the story about Russians firing their weapons at people trying to extinguish the fire. People were indeed on site and doing their level best to put out the fire. By all accounts, the news media should have cut their losses and let the story die a natural death before the top of the hour when the 9pm show started. Let's just say that they could have done a better job than they did when they transitioned to the 9 o'clock hour.
The fact that the Russians allowed the Ukrainians in to put out the fire suggested to me that the shelling was errant in nature and not at all intentional. In fact, the initial news reports were of a "bomb" going off at the nuclear power plant. Someone in the newsroom thought better of it and promptly changed the chyron from "bomb" to "shelling." Confirmation soon followed from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) that there was no radiation emanating from the site so those reports in the media were erroneous as well. Stock markets around the world reacted with violent drops in their indices at the prospects of a nuclear disaster and the resulting fallout which, reportedly, would make Chernobyl look like child's play. As I sit here this morning reporting after the fact, and I haven't looked, but I have to believe that markets are now back to where they were before the shit hit the fan.
Good old Lindsey Graham, the Senator from South Carolina, went on the Hannity show on FOX at nine last night and said something about someone going in and taking Putin out. You heard me right. He was suggesting that were someone to go in and eliminate Putin that that would be a good thing. I don't disagree with that but you have to wonder if that's something we want our political leaders going on television during prime time to talk about. It's incendiary and probably not something that other people in the highest levels of government here and around the world haven't thought about or maybe considered. If that would solve this Ukraine invasion problem then it might be the proverbial path of least resistance. Or, as they say, the fastest way to get from point A to point B.
The point is, there is no guarantee that the person replacing Putin would be any better. He or she might be even more bloodthirsty and perhaps even more desirous than Putin to expand their war beyond the borders of Ukraine. Surely, our 17 Intelligence Agencies have files on each of the people they see as replacements if and when Putin relinquishes power voluntarily or otherwise. Maybe Lindsey was just saying the quiet part out loud. I'm not sure what inures to Lindsey's political party one way or another when he makes comments like this but it's little hard to believe that he's just out there being a loose canon. One thing is for sure. It's a far cry from the milquetoast-like bullshit we're getting from Sleepy Joe. That mutha continues to bend over for his puppeteers in both Russia and China.
I do like what I'm hearing from the president of Ukraine. He's issued a request for the lovers of democracy across the globe to come to Ukraine and help them fight the war against the dastardly Russians. If NATO won't grow a pair then Ukraine is left to its own devices to find another way to win. When you think about all of the soldiers of fortune around the world who are just itching to get back into the fight, any fight, the prospects of being able to step into an ongoing conflict is a dream come true. It puts food on their table, notches on their belts, a fire in their belly, and it gives them a cause which promises to put their training to good use. Hell, if you can get a few Russian scalps in the process, all the better.
I drove by my oil dealer yesterday and noticed that the price of oil had gone up. They post the price on a sign outside their front gate and I usually take a bit of a peek when I'm driving by just to keep tabs on where the price of oil is going. Do you know that the price of oil went from $3.79 per gallon to $4.34 per gallon in the space of two days? That is unheard of if you want the unvarnished truth. I said to the missus, "maybe we should consider having them take us off automatic delivery for now." "There is no guarantee that the prices won't continue to go up," she replied. "If we buy it now we're getting it on the cheap." How about we jump start our domestic energy production again? Fuck these green energy asshats in the Biden Administration and the clown cars they came in on. Why should we be paying more for oil just because there's a war going on half way around the world?