No, No, No, We _Should_ Talk About Putin

I listened to any number of talking heads talking about why Putin did not invade Ukraine while Feckless Former Leader was in office. Oh, all sorts of people said all sorts of stuff, but one refrain sorta resonated with me: he didn't need to. 

The thinking behind that is Feckless Former Leader's not-so-subtle attempt to weaken NATO was at Putin's behest. IF, and this is not as big an if as it was a couple of weeks ago, Putin's plan is to restore some semblance of the Soviet Bloc renamed as Russian Confederation or even United States of Russia, then he needs to be able  to move on the smaller former Soviet states to make that happen. As long as NATO is the dominant unifying force in Europe, he cannot make that happen. Putin was getting exactly what he wanted from the US, and a second Feckless presidency would've sealed that deal. When Feckless lost to Biden, Putin lost his toehold in the Oval Office. He no longer had a way to influence American foreign policy through the highest office in our land. 

Crimea had been Putin's test early in 2014. At the time, the GOP resoundingly criticized the Obama administration's lack of response to the annexation of Crimea. They felt economic sanctions against Russia were an insufficient response to the action. President Obama even told The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg:

The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what we do.

In creating their platform for  the 2016 presidential elections, despite their criticism, the GOP did not include a plank for sending weaponry to Ukraine to fight Russian-backed separatists. During the campaign, Feckless even intimated he would recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia. So by the time the election occurs and the inauguration takes place, Putin already knew he had a new  BFF in the White House. Just about every interaction with Russia after that has Putin's fingerprints all over it.  

Cut to 2022, and Feckless Leader, now Feckless FORMER Leader, is still singing Putin's praises. In February, during an interview on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,  Feckless  gushed:

I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion...of Ukraine, Putin declares it as independent.

Someone please explain what is genius about Putin's actions? 

I find it odd that Feckless Former Leader is still the de facto head of the GOP even though he is openly encouraging Putin's aggression. Seems to be a rather large disconnect between supporting Ukraine's government, and by extension, its right to exist as an independent nation, and supporting a guy who openly supports the architect of this egregious war crime by calling him a genius. These are the same folks who claim the election was stolen and their constitutional freedoms are at stake. Why aren't they responding to the death of democracy as it unfolds and spreads to Ukraine as it already has to Crimea? 

Meanwhile, back at Red Square, Putin is misinforming his citizens about the war by blocking outside news from filtering into Russia except Tucker Carlson on Fox News. What message does that send you, dear reader? Maybe it's because Tucker Carlson and Fox, and by extension, Feckless Former Leader, are allied with Putin's positions? I don't know. You tell me. 

Ukraine is fighting back. Zelensky is talking to every parliament he can, including our Congress. He has become a global hero for standing up against a giant bully with little more than a slingshot. Good for him! He sets the bar higher for every head of state on the globe. He is calling out every leader who has been silent or not vocal enough. Whether he wins or loses this war, Vlodomyr Zelensky is a global hero. 

He's the hero Feckless Former Leader imagines himself to be. He is also the hero Putin portrays himself to the Russians. As international business pulls out of Russia, Putin is losing his grip on that hero image. As banks and businesses close, he's no longer leading Russians into a great economy, he is leading them back 70 years to Stalin's Soviet Union. The ruble has tanked. McDonald's is gone along with every other recognizable brand that once lined streets and malls. The carpet bombing of Ukraine doesn't just kill people; it's happens to be destroying the bread basket of eastern Europe. Ukraine is a major wheat exporter. If the people are hiding in bunkers and the land is burned to a crisp, what are the odds the fields will be planted and flour will be available for purchase? Not bloody likely.

The wholesale destruction of Ukraine will be felt across Europe. According to Wikipedia:

Ukraine is a developing country with a lower-middle income economy, ranking 74th in the Human Development Index. Ukraine is among the poorest countries in Europe. As of 2020 it suffers from low life expectancy and widespread corruption. However, due to its extensive fertile land, Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world.

Antonov 225 taking off

The red highlight is mine. This is excessively important because while their transportation industry is probably their most profitable asset, that they feed large portions of Europe is just about as important. Humans cannot live on ginormous Antonov Airplanes alone. They must have food, and Ukraine is good at providing that. And as the Russian economy tanks, they're gonna need all the food they can get. 

But no one is in the field night now. They may not be safe enough out in the open to prep and plant crops. 

Putin's long game would not be centered on Ukraine if they did not have something he wanted. Antonov is the biggest airplane in the world. Just look at all those wheels! Think of the thrust it must take to push into the atmosphere. If you've ever seen one take off...and I have seen several coming and going at MSP... they are more than big; you can feel the thrum of the engines throbbing even when you sit in the car. All that throb and thrust. Wow. Makes me think Putin needs manly Antonovs to offset his little dick. 

Okay, okay, I know. Or rather, I don't know how big his dick is, but if you've ever known someone with a really small one, chances are they're driving a Ferrari...or whatever biggest engine muscle car they can get. Putin had control of a whole country and an economy that was viable, but clearly it wasn't enough. He could've chosen his people over Swiss bank accounts he can no longer access, but he didn't. Like every other dictator/totalitarian putz, he's started a war because the thought that would make him the Big Man in Europe. Hell, it didn't work for Hitler, Mussolini, or Franco....why would it work for him in the age of instant and aggressive media? 

Yeah, the same questions can be asked about Feckless Former Leader. Narcissism and ego are turning out to be not merely speculative issues, but uncontested fatal flaws. Feckless aspired to be Putin or at leasts what his pea-sized brain saw as Putin's flash and grandeur. At the same time, Putin bought into Feckless's fantasy camp support system.

President Obama may have seriously underestimated the importance of the whole of Ukraine versus the Crimea annexation, and that error may very well have set this ball rolling. Putin chose not to invade Ukraine while Feckless was in office because he believed Trump was a shoo-in for a second term, especially with his special assistance. Never underestimate what We, the People, will do when someone attempts to corner us. They were counting on We, the People to be taken in by their flimflam performance No matter how loud he screeched about fake election results, Feckless believed the fantasy when, in fact, the only one tampering with the election was him. And he lost. Fair and square, Biden won hands down.

Without Feckless in office, Vlad the Dictator had to shuffle his playbook. That shuffle is what we are seeing now. The war against Ukraine is supposed to make him great. 

However...

Gone is the long game, the one that would've won the hearts and minds of the Russian people. Instead, Putin's scorched earth policy has earned him the derision of the global community. He is the one cornered and that's what makes him excessively dangerous. Like the snake that he is, Putin will strike out. That instant news cycle he didn't understand is what will ultimately bring him crashing down, but not before way too many people die.

Despite his best efforts to hide reality from the Russian consumer, they will find out. When the stockpiled Mickey D's and Starbucks' coffee pods run out with no replacements forthcoming, the people will figure out their grease and caffeine deprivation mode is caused directly by Vlad the Dictator. They're not stupid. When they quickly figure out that IKEA and Deutsche Bank have suspended activity,  Estee Lauder and Ferragamo are gone, and Ferrari is no more, they are not going to blame America or the UK or France or Italy...their sites will be leveled at Putin. 

You see, it's the economy, people. All those oligarch wannabes are now locked up in the New Russia and not only can they not get their luxury goods fix, they can't leave. They are all prisoners of one man's cupidity and unending stupidity. 

Putin has already lost. He's locked in his room, a toddler with a temper, destroying all his toys. In the end, he will be exposed. He will grasp at straws and find nothing in his hands. Meanwhile, the swath of destruction will be named in his memory.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Day

"Quand les riches se font la guerre, ce sont les pauvres qui meurent."

                                                                      Jean-Paul Sartre

When the rich go to war, it is the poor who die.