This Carbon Based Life

By David Glenn Cox

Watching through the keyhole of history, it’s sometimes hard to understand why without being in Pete Hegseth’s telephone circle. One minute the King is threatening war and the next; he’s preaching peace. One day, he says Ukraine has no cards and the next, has declared unilaterally Ukraine should consider Crimea lost. In other words, declaring Russia, the victor. A bad peace is no peace at all. Like World War One, the peace that started a larger war a generation later.

Now Trump and Zelensky meet on the floor of Saint Peters in front of God and everybody. Suddenly, it’s Russia who must stop its attack on civilians. Sorry, but that’s a hard one to swallow. The psychopath who suddenly turns into a humanitarian. Anybody out there really thinks the King cares about civilians?

The King has had a couple of bad weeks. The stock market slide, the Elon slide and the 86 proof Pete Hegseth slide. I think the King doesn’t really care who wins the war as long as he gets a victory out of it. He can’t be on the wrong side when the war ends. A couple of weeks ago, a car bomb almost killed a Russian General. A couple of days ago, another car bomb did kill a general and this time with a bomb more than big enough to do the job.

We can’t really know what is going on inside the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. But exploding cars killing government principals tells us all we need to know. Somebody inside or outside of Russia is working on regime change. And nobody, but nobody, can tell when that nut will crack. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in six months, and maybe never. But never is the outlier.

The Russian economy is in ruins. The Ruble is nearly worthless. And a generation of Russian men have either left the country forever or died. The Russians fill their ranks with Africans, North Koreans and Chinese mercenaries. Anyone dumb enough to sign a contract. Russia is effectively out of tanks and armored vehicles. They have thousands of old tanks rusting in fields for a couple of decades. They can manage to rehab about fifty a month or what they normally lose in a week.

Too little, too late. I heard an American Air Force pilot describe it by saying advanced Russian fighter jets are like saying the toughest kid in the fourth grade. They have just a few of their latest fighter jets. Most of the Russian air force is made up of legacy aircraft left over from the Soviet Union. The Russian air force has been nearly declawed by a serious shortage of pilots. The average Russian pilot has half the flight hours of a NATO pilot.

On a side note; I thought this was very funny. We’ve all seen the James Bond pictures which always open with some mystery unfolding. A few months back, the Russian government limited travel by the British Embassy staff in Saint Petersburg. Cue the Bond music! The Brits are accused of using Saint Petersburg cemeteries as mailboxes to make secret drops and hold secret meetings. My names is Bond, James Bond. So sorry for your loss.

It strikes me our King is afraid he will be on the wrong side when the nut finally cracks. The King has access to secret intelligence and maybe he knows who is bombing the Generals. Maybe he’s seen the facts and figures on the Russian economy? And decides, I’m on the other side…now!

The King needs a win and soon. They can’t keep trying to make one up for him. A recently foisted largely bogus poll found seven in ten Republicans think the King is on the right path. Right, sure thing! Sure, they are!

I believe those seven in ten don’t work for the government and aren’t veterans. They aren’t senior citizens and don’t owe any students loans. They don’t have any special needs or Autistic children or kids in college. And most of all, they aren’t the least bit worried about their 401K or their life savings. They are certain their businesses will survive Trump kicking the shit out of the economy.

True Believers. Do you believe? Seven in ten Republicans think this is great! In reality, Republicans are starting to fall away from the King already. It has only been a 100 days, though it feels like years.

The other day the King made some obtuse remark about making nice with his tariffs. The markets soared! Hallelujah! We’re saved! It’s going to be alright after all! Then after lunch, the Treasury Secretary made an offhand remark about tough trade talks with China and the market slide began again. So fragile and frail, that one wrong word sends the markets into a total meltdown. Just wait until something really bad happens and then hide and watch!

I seriously hope Tesla goes out of business before the Depression or the Nuclear War starts. I’d really hate it if Elon had an excuse for going broke besides himself. Tesla profits are down 71% and Tesla would have lost money last quarter except for the interest earned on money in the bank and tax credits.  The Cybertunk is the largest flop in automotive history since the Edsel or the Pontiac Aztek. And it might just be the millstone which eventually brings the company down. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

The picture emerging is of an Administration tangled up in its own incompetence. Ideological idiots who thought they could remake the world to suit themselves. Never imagining or considering what could possibly happen if it goes wrong. Unable to find its feet and navigate a course. Tariffs! No tariffs! Some tariffs! Maybe tariffs for some, but not for others. I’m on this side, and now I’m not!

The Chinese have occupied an Island off the coast of Vietnam and declared it now Chinese. The Indian government has cut off water to Pakistan. Pakistan says, “either water or blood will flow in the river.” Two nuclear powers squaring off, but I’m sure it will be fine. Iran, Gaza, Yemen, China, Russia, Ukraine, Greenland, India, Pakistan, Panama, North Korea and Taiwan. The King needs a win.

“God created war so that Americans would learn geography.”
― Mark Twain