Day 604
Tom has a good analogy for the failure of Republican majority to elect a new speaker of the House.
What’s happening in the House is […] like watching a group of obnoxious (and not very bright) hot-rodders playing chicken and smashing their cars into one another over and over1.
After listening all this week to Democrats, Republicans and Independents calling C-Span, I began thinking about this latest exercise in American democracy as the mechanized equivalent of Russia’s suicidal attempts to capture territory around Avdiivka.
Hmmm.
By the standard definition — an armed conflict between national governments that kills at least 1,000 people in a year — Russia's invasion has been the only interstate war in Europe in more than three-quarters of a century (other than the brief Soviet incursion into Hungary in 1956), and the first outside Africa or the Middle East in more than four decades. If Russia wins, it would be the only postwar instance of a recognized state being erased through conquest, and one of the few in which significant territory changed hands.
The “successful link” between Hamas and Russia refers to one supplemental request to Congress by the White House to authorize about $100 billion (opposed by MAGA extremists). Most of the money would go to U.S. arms manufacturers to replenish diminishing US arms stockpiles.
Indeed, Russia and Hamas both seek “to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” but the former is not at war with Ukraine, per se. Russia is waging a genocidal campaign against Ukraine. Hamas may “seek the complete destruction of Israel,” but, unlike Russia, lacks the brains and means to achieve their goal.
The amount of money Uncle Joe is asking to prevent our erasure is relatively small, considering the greater cost of failing to act.
You know, history has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going. And the cost and the threats to America and the world keep rising. — Uncle Joe
Notes about Joseph’s lecture included in yesterday’s post2.
If you have rules that only apply when they’re convenient, you don’t have rules.
The United Nations reached its League of Nations moment, er, in 2003.
The WTO is dead (Team USA’s strategy “to build a fairer, more durable global economic order” is a bad one.
The new liberal order based on the neoclassical economics model is a recipe for fascism.
Cruise missiles have replaced the international rule-based system.
Externalities (climate change, pandemics, technological change, wars of aggression) continue to alter endogenous preferences. This prevents us from attaining Pareto efficiency here and elsewhere (The last time I checked — and that’s almost every day — Ukraine’s economy was powered by chaos, unfettered laissez faire).
The House Mess Is What GOP Voters Wanted. This is chaos by choice, not by accident. (The Atlantic, October 19, 2023)
Adding my two cents(which admittedly no one gives a shit about) -- The point of debate for the more sophisticated republicans (or maga's, if one prefers that moniker) is not that they don't see the benefit and the righteousness of providing aid to the Ukraine, but is that they just would like an explanation of the end game by the Biden administration and Western Europe. A reasonable request from a check and balance government structure. But make no mistakes about it, history is not lacking for examples of the terrible consequences when free people do not stand up to "real" nazis, fascists, and dictators.. Waiting to respond completely is never a good strategy.
I don't see any substitution effect of spending money on aid to the Ukraine--our government is quite adept at printing trillions of dollars to support all the "needs" of here and there. Failings in our policies here are not due to lack of money, but instead leadership. However, if one did want to become a bit more circumspect and frugal in one's foreign aid, I would suggest stopping the $600 mm annual aid to Palestine and delivering some more bullets to the Ukraine and Israel. No doubt there are probably, a few more examples of utilizing resources better.
Finally, I do see the argument for the EU committing "more" aid to the Ukrainian defense effort, but on the other hand we are America. We need to put an end to our current victim, woke, apologetic mentality and embrace our leadership role in the world. And damn it, isn't it obvious to the sane amongst us that capitalism and democracy is the best thing going for all free people. If it is the right thing to defend freedom in the Ukraine then who gives a fuck about a contribution competition... we're America, god damn it... we can take care of our own-- also handle our responsibility as the leader of the free world. But to get back there, we'll need to find some true leaders or resurrect Reagan and Thatcher. ugh. God bless the Israelis and Ukrainians in their fight against terror and genocide.
With respect, it’s not just ‘MAGA extremists’ who oppose unlimited U.S. taxpayer support to Ukraine, but about 140 million ordinary Americans (if the polls are correct), and tbh it’s pretty offensive for you to insult and disrespect so many decent people.
I have no particular issue with supplying Ukraine with surplus weapons out of inventory storage, but I’m not convinced that $100 billion (or whatever the actual number is) couldn’t better be spent elsewhere, and closer to home.
I’m thinking health care, infrastructure, poverty alleviation measures, etc. within the United States.
The EU is sufficiently wealthy and populous to step in and assist Ukraine with financial support if it chose to do so, rather than once again freeloading on the generosity of Uncle Sam. After all, their interests are far more closely aligned with Ukraine than are ours.
Aside from that, thanks for your articles - always worth reading.