Crunch Time in the Ukraine

By now, the basics of the events in Ukraine are unknown to no one. However, the devil is always in the details. There is much debate between the timid liberals, the globalists and the new crop of America First proponents. I usually align myself with the latter--after all, what kind of dingbat American would say otherwise. The problem is that this time, the globalists are more right than wrong. Trouble is, they helped put Joey B. in the Oval Office and now they've got buyers remorse. I normally wouldn't care, except that he's guiding the ship of state, and his incompetence is making things really scary! 

More scary, the mainstream, corporate owned, media is trying so very hard to make lemonade with the lemons they've been handed. The result is dangerous propaganda as they cover for Joey B's incompetence. I'm afraid that when things get worse, Americans will be even more shocked and angry! The truth is that Ukraine is no closer to victory today than when the war started--despite the optimistic coverage. The irony is that the optimism would be merited if, the president was not splitting hairs and taking a Vietnam-style approach to the Ukraine War. To be sure, it's apples and oranges, but all the more reason why it doesn't fit. The Biden Administration is always a day late and a dollar short--too little, too late. He gives Ukraine just enough to keep the Russians at bay, maybe. His administration is reactive, not proactive--the opposite of how a war is supposed to be handled. This could make the Afghanistan debacle look trivial. The only thing saving things so far is Russian incompetence, but Putin has one thing going for him that Joey B does not--commitment!

Now many Americans wonder why we are involved in the first place. Unfortunately, many of my fellow Americans are a little ignorant. It's not all their fault--we don't teach useful things in school. The reason is very simple people. First, we are already at war. When Joey B decided to impose sanctions intended to cripple the Russian economy and armed the Ukrainians, he engaged in acts of war. Now, if the Ukrainians lose, we lose. Think that's trivial? It's not, but I'll explain in the next paragraph. Second, once Putin invaded our involvement was inevitable. Biden should've known that. Fox News should know it. Ukraine is not Africa. A war in Africa is as brutal as war anywhere, but it doesn't threaten to destabilize the planet. A war in Europe has led to world war twice. The fire should've been put out immediately. The first and really biggest mistake Joey B made, was taking everything but sanctions off the table from the beginning of the perceived Russian threat. The second, and nearly as bad mistake, was failing to take advantage of clear Russian weakness and incompetence--not to mention being deferential to Putin's bluster. JB has been in government for so long that he really should've known better, but he has always chosen the path of least resistance. 

So what do we as Americans stand to lose if Ukraine loses? An awful lot! We get certain perks, as a result of our status in the world and a loss of reputation threatens those perks. One of these perks is the dollar's global reserve currency status. It's one of the reasons our government can be so flagrant with its spending, yet not sink the ship. As a result of a deal that Nixon, yes Nixon, struck with the Saudis, oil is transacted, all over the world, in American dollars. We may be off the gold standard, but the dollar is essentially backed by oil (Just look up petrodollar.). China wants this, and it would lead to them growing immensely in power and our economy completely tanking! If Ukraine loses, then we take a big reputational hit. The Chinese will be emboldened to invade Taiwan. Taiwan is home to the most advanced computer chip manufacturing. If it falls, then China controls the world's computer chips. Our global status would disappear overnight and the dollar wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on. We would find ourselves isolated very quickly. Dystopian doesn't cover it. 

 In the present, Ukraine is unable to press its offensive and it really needs to before it gets colder. If this conflict goes into the winter, it is unreasonable to expect the Europeans to endure without fuel. The coalition comes apart and the Russians win. This is our deadline. It's not a secret. We need to get the Ukrainians everything they need to win--now! Joey B needs to stop limiting assistance and he needs to fire up the factories. Oops! He shot his load on the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act." Good luck to us all. At stake is America's reputation and the average American's prosperity is tied to it far more than many of them realize. Maintaining that reputation is putting America first in this situation. It's crunch time!