Vladimir Putin Completely Understands The Conservative Mind

First of all, Putin is not a socialist or a communist. Putin is a mobster. He is surrounded by a coterie of billionaire mobsters. They have stolen Russia's riches for years. And spread some of that wealth to like minded people all around the world.

Mobsters understand two things: power and money.

Fortunately for Vladimir, those are the two things that conservative politicians everywhere--but especially in the U.S. and Great Britain--understand.

I would venture to say that those are the only things that conservative politicians understand.

They certainly don't want to govern. Governing is hard work. It takes compromise, and often requires progress to be slow and incremental. It also requires explaining difficult solutions to hard problems to a bunch of simpletons.

These ideas are antithetical to the conservative mind. 

Much easier to rile up the simpletons with the "dog whistle du jour."

Which conservative "news" organizations are more than happy to amplify.

Then, when the simpletons are all worked up about ridiculous things, the conservative are free to a) get their hands on the Treasury, and b) pass tax cuts for their richest backers.  

That is the sum total of their governing. Everything else they do is designed to keep the simpletons in a constant state of rage..

Putin is thoroughly evil--but not stupid. (This may be the only thing that differentiates him from Trump, by the way.)

Recognizing the greed of conservative western politicians, he and his crew have been buying them up for years.

Throw in a bunch of completely amoral bankers, tax lawyers, and accountants, and you can begin to understand how we got to where we are.

Remember, it takes at least two willing parties to launder dirty money. 

And there has been no shortage of willing partners with their hands out, falling all over themselves to get a little of Putin and Company's money.

 

Kompromat

 "Kompromat" is literally compromising material.

The Russian's (and the Mob, for that matter) are famous for collecting--and using--kompromat.

It may be of a sexual nature. 

It may be of a financial nature.

It may be of some other personal nature.

It is used to blackmail and extort.

At this point, it feels like almost the entire Republican Party is being blackmailed.

Why else would they have supported, and continue to support, a mobbed up tub of lard in debt to the Russians?

Why do they sometimes appear to be willing to say and do the right thing, only to suddenly change course 180 degrees?

Kompromat is the only logical answer.

The Russians and/or Trump must have serious "dirt" on all of them--especially the ones who openly grovel before Putin and his lapdog, Donnie.

My God! How Bad Could It Be?!

We already know that Donald J. Trump is a coward, a fool, a liar, a racist, a tax cheat, a rapist, an adulterer, and a traitor.

But apparently, Roger P.O.S. Stone has something even worse to hold over Don Don's fat head...and so Roger P.O.S. Stone's sentence had to be commuted, and he had to be pardoned, lest he spill the beans on something unimaginably bad that he knows about Trump.

So the question is, what could be worse than what we already know--or suspect--about that traitor?

Now that the Proud Boys, who were Stone's personal bodyguards on January 6th, 2021, have found their collective tits in the wringer, and Stone is the next rung up the DOJ's ladder to the Orange Stain, I think we may just find out.

Because I don't think Roger would do very well in prison, the smart money says he will spill his guts about everything he knows to save his worthless ass.

And so, the question remains, "My God! How bad could it be?!"

Is This Really A Good Idea?

Since we are being relentlessly urged by about a billion ads every day to BET ON SPORTS-it's fun-it's easy-everyone is doing it--perhaps we should take a deep breath and ask ourselves,

"Is this really a good idea?"

Because, and let's be brutally honest here, many (if not most) Americans are mathematically illiterate.

If you don't believe me, watch someone try to make change without an electronic aid of some kind. It's very entertaining. 

Things like probability theory, vigorish, odds formats, etc. are way beyond most people.

But even more important, in the long run, the house always ends up winning. That's why casinos have huge chandeliers, and dancing waters, free drinks, and Britney Spears appearing nightly in the Main Room. And you don't.

Regarding a casino's relationship with its customers, I'm reminded of a line from a W.C. Fields' movie. During a card game Fields is asked "Is this a game of chance?" He responds, "Not the way I play it, no." 

(By the way, it takes a real fucking idiot to bankrupt a casino. They are designed to make money, after all. Guess who bankrupted a couple of casinos? Yeah. Lil Donnie Trump. Probably too busy laundering some Russian's money to pay attention.)

Of course, now you don't even have to leave the comfort of your home to lose.  Forget the free drinks and dancing waters. Forget Britney Spears. Just pick up your cell phone and start placing bets!

You may win once. You may even win twice. But eventually you will lose. And lose. And lose again.*

I think they better add a couple of phone lines at Gamblers Anonymous.

To continually encourage people to get mixed up in this borders on madness.

And to use wealthy celebrities, who can afford to lose large sums, to encourage we commoners to get mixed up in this borders on the criminal.

But, what the hell? It's a free country and like they say, "a fool and his money will soon be parted". 

Even while seated in his Lazy Boy, with an energy drink in one hand, and a bowl of chips nearby.

*Sure, there are "professional" gamblers. They make a living at it. They study everything, every angle. It's their job, after all. But they lose, too, sometimes. And there are just a few of them in a nation of nearly 400 million people. You like those odds?

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

In a land chock full of people who glory in their Christianity and profess their love of Jesus and all he stood for--many while using use him and the Bible like a cudgel against the rest of us--isn't it curious that any attempt to help the poor and sick is immediately shouted down as SOCIALISM?

Paid family leave? SOCIALISM!

Universal health care? SOCIALISM!

Hot lunch programs? SOCIALISM!

Day care? SOCIALISM!

After school programs? SOCIALISM!

Free Community College? SOCIALISM!

Student debt relief? SOCIALISM!

Progressive taxation? SOCIALISM! 

Living Wage? SOCIALISM!

So, it seems that the reason we can't have nice things is that a large number of us have a fundamental belief that the poor can never be made to suffer enough.

I'm not sure which book of the Bible that's in, but it must be somewhere. Right?

More importantly, it is the chief operating principle of one of our two main political parties.

Random Thoughts On A Lovely Autumn Day

Why does Tucker Carlson always look constipated? Hasn't he heard about laxatives? Or is just that he's so constantly, totally, full of shit that nothing will help?

Republicans don't want to do away with racism. They want to do away with teaching about racism. And that will make it all better.

It's a shame that Don the Builder couldn't get any infrastructure bills passed in 4 very long years. Imagine all of the Mob concrete and Polish scab laborers he could've used. #SAD.

A note to all of the anti-masker/anti-vaxxers who like to confront people: sooner or later you're going to pick on the wrong person and you're going to get seriously hurt or maybe even killed. Hopefully someone will be on hand to film it.

In a just world, the next Republican to quote Martin Luther King Jr. would burst into flames.

Is it really such a tragedy that the vast majority of people now dying from CoVid are Red State Loons? Is it?

What kind of people keep re-electing Paul Gosar? What has he ever done for his district? What legislation has he proposed to help Arizona, let alone the country? He's an idiot, a racist, a liar, and, most importantly, a traitor. I can only assume that his supporters have all of those characteristics as well.

Why some professional athletes, who have without a doubt been injected with all sorts of goodies by team doctors, for pain, for healing, for performance, should now balk at a simple poke in the arm to keep them and those around them safe from a deadly disease, is one of the great mysteries of the modern world.

There is no cure for stupid. And when you mix it with ego, it can be deadly.

WTF?!

The other day there were a number of, oh, let's call them QAnon fuckheads, waiting in Dealey Plaza, Dallas for JFK, Jr. to show up.

That's right. That Dealey Plaza.

That's right. That JFK Jr.

And after that apparently un-dead Kennedy made his miraculous appearance, then he and Traitor Trump would ride together in glory and reclaim the White House from the baby blood drinking usurper Biden.

You really can't make this shit up. It's so far past satire and parody that it cannot be classified as anything but stark, raving, frothing at the mouth, madness.

SPOILER ALERT: Guess what? Junior didn't show--being dead dead dead and all.

But, not to worry QAnon faithful!  You probably just got the date wrong. Calendars are such tricky things! And numbers can be so confusing! Keep the faith!

After the "rising from the dead" or "faked his death" bit, I'm not really sure what the next craziest aspect of this whole scenario is. But somewhere high on the list is the idea that JFK Jr. would have anything at all to do with Donald J. Trump.

I am really sure that the most frightening aspect is that a not insubstantial number of retards* actually believe this shit.

*(Yeah, I know, we're not supposed to say "retards" anymore. But, let's be honest, sometimes it's the only word that works.)