2022 Archives

These hinge points of history are never painless, but they always leave enlightenment and true change in their wake. These hinge points of history are never painless, but they always leave enlightenment and true change in their wake. I’m recovering (hopefully <s>) from back surgery (and special and grateful thanks to all of you who posted comments or sent me notes wishing me well), and wanted to share with you an OpEd that’s even more relevant today than it was back in March when it was first published. Now that Ukraine has recovered somewhat from the damage Trump did to them by denying them defensive weapons for almost a year as part of his extortion scheme, Russia is starting to suffer significant setbacks on the battlefield, most recently near Kherson. This article puts the entire Ukraine situation in the larger context of 80-year cycles that I referenced somewhat obliquely in Wednesday’s Daily Take. I believe you’ll find it very, very useful information to help make sense of today’s world events and the radical changes we’re all witnessing at this hinge-point of history.

We must not let right-wing Redcoat/Redhat terrorists — who have openly proclaimed their goal of Americans killing Americans in an ideological and racialized war — prevail at this critical time… Every 80 years, it seems, America confronts a crisis in which we must again choose whether to remain a democratic republic, or to turn into a corrupt strongman oligarchy run by the richest men in America, along the lines of today’s Hungary or Russia. We’re there again, now.

Let’s use this anniversary to honestly evaluate the actions that have so bloodied our soldiers, while transferring trillions of US taxpayer dollars to Bush- & Cheney-related military contractors. One year ago this week the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, ending the longest “war” in American history. For this anniversary the media has been covering Afghan government corruption, the Taliban’s reversion to violence and misogyny, and the famine that’s beginning to creep across that benighted nation. But the two most important aspects of the war from an American policy perspective are being completely ignored.

The Best of the Rest of the News — Did America have a true “Manchurian Candidate” in the White House for four years? A literal agent for one or more foreign governments and/or international organized crime figures? — Are death threats now a normal tool of politics for Republicans? — There’re YUGE pro-democracy protests happening in Brazil: will Bolsonaro survive the backlash against the authoritarian dictatorship he tried to set up? — Republican politicians who openly and enthusiastically reject democracy are winning primaries in the most important swing states, setting up a very dangerous 2024 if they can carry 2022 elections. — How “Christian” is it to expel a 5-year-old orphaned girl from school because the aunt who adopted her when her parents died is lesbian? — Geeky Science! What starts in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic... — Crazy Alert! Trump is calling the Qanon crowd to his side. — In Good News: The blowout jobs report & “Blowout Joe!”