That anyone anywhere is so stupid as to take that laughable piece of shit seriously, with his faux-jovial giggling at the dead, his deranged fantasies of tariffs and gangrape, his labored lies on behalf of those whose plan for ‘security’ in the face of terrorism is to negogiate a cut of mineral deposits under the fuzzy cover of “peace through strength,” his munificent and forgiving massages of loyal MAGA sheep, is beyond me.
Just consider the many ways in which energetic preening can be given timeliness and vitality through the subtly invasive DOGE (US Department of Government Efficiency).
The South Dakota Snow Queen who shot her dog in a gravel pit, Kristi, has been picked to become the next US Secretary of Homeland Security? John as CIA director? Pete as US Secretary of Defense? Howard as US Treasury Secretary?
If there is no alternative, the gesture can’t even be made. Morality is not part of politics, however much we would like it to be, and it’s definitely no longer a consideration in Team USA’s plans to end the war.
At sunrise sections of Kyiv’s Pechersky District resemble a gigantic military community center/army exchange service with soldiers shlepping to and from military hospitals, command posts, grocery stores and coffee kiosks.
The talk is now all about Donald Trump and the waiting game. Will his new administration tilt Ukraine’s way or Russia’s? Can he impose a ceasefire? Will elections follow? For now, there are two dates on Kyiv politicos’ lips: January 20th 2025, the date of Mr Trump’s inauguration, the first moment for any possible ceasefire and lifting of military law, and May 25th, the earliest mooted date for an election. — The Economist (November 12, 2024)
But the early birds I walk past are not thinking about this. They go about their business as anti-air defense guns boom in the background, shooting down (we hope!) Russian cruise missiles, North Korean ballistic missiles and Iranian drones.
An hour later, we learn what the death squad next door wanted to kill us with.
Next come the photos of wreakage and death.
There will be no elections in Ukraine until the war ends. But as long as murderous events don’t fall to zero, there will be wordy essays about hypothetical scenarios and their potential consequences, such as the 1,500-word masterpiece, excerpted below, authored by two flaks who 1) never served in the military and 2) during the first eight years of the war, portrayed it as a grassroots insurrection that erupted in Donbas.
And, finally, this morning’s shoot-down tally.