Putin: The Answer MAN.

    It's that time of the year folks: Czar Putin goes on the airwaves to talk at his people and answer their many questions to the best of his knowledge. This on national TV; it's a custom developed to reduce criticism of his dictatorship. What do the voters want to know? About the death of Lt. Gen. Igor Krillov? No. About the Ukrainian "Special Operation"? No.

      They want to know about the price of potatoes. That lowly tuber that the people eat. Hmmm. The price has doubled. Hmmmmm. What now, Vladdy? Seems the war economy has put lots of rubles into circulation(lots of widows benefits paid out). Too many rubles chasing shrinking numbers of tubers. What to do. Vladdy tells the caller that the Central Bank is not making good decisions(pass the buck/ruble).

     This is Russya's version of the "Clown Show".

What happened to the Ukrainian journalist taken prisoner by Russyan army troops and incarcerated, where and when she died while a prisoner. How did this happen? That question didn't make the cut.

Bring in the Clowns

        Did Elon approve of Trumpie's nominee for IRS Commisioner? Maybe yes, maybe no. But we do know that Trumpie made a delicious choice to run the Tax Agency. Mr. Billy Long is a formner US Congressman from the State of Missouri. He served there for a few terms. Now about his expertise and experience in all things tax.

       Let's seeeeeeeee. Ok, what else? Why not view ProPublica's in depth piece on Mr. Bill. Mr. Bill claims thtat he knows tax/taxes/IRS. He even touts his programs to help folks reduce their tax bill. He claims to be a CTBA, which he adds to his name. What is a CTBA? Hmmmm. It is something created  2 years ago by a company Excell Empire, a Florida firm. If one can afford the fee, $4995. recently, and the time-a 3 day seminar, you will be granted a certificate of: Certified Tax and Business Advisor.

   So, what can you do? One can tell folks-clients- that a taxpayer can deduct business expenses. And........

conduct business.......and file tax returns as required by law, and .................................

    Mr. Billy Long personifies the Trump Clown Show that he hopes the duped Republicans will go along with after January 20th when he assumes the "role" of POTUS. He 'll have another buffoon at the head of an agency of the government that is responsible for tax collection from individuals and private busiuness and those other citizens that Judge John Roberts calls corporations(Citizens United). Mr. Billy touts tax reductions of 40%. Ha s Mr. Billy ever taken a course on taxation? Does he pay his own taxes? Can he show us HIS tax forms?

    Trumpie knows how to get the opposition stirred up, that's for sure. With this nomination, he sends the message far and wide: don't worry about the IRS, it's history. No budget, no IRS.  Paper Tiger=Billy Long.

Ukrainian Journalist Dies in Russyan Custody

         Hi, we're with the "Special Operation" from down east. Your papers, please. Hmmmmm. Says here you're a journalist and you are Ukrainian. Get into our vehicle and don't talk or make any sudden moves. You are now a prisoner of the "Special Operation" ordered by the Kremlin to take back lands that belong to the Czar or the King or the Dictator or the Mad Man. Whoops, sorry, Commander in Chief, Esteemed Leader/Director/ Most Venerated Boss/ No. 1 Rus Person.

     So, journalist and respected reporter, Viktoria Roshchyna, age 27, was arrested by Russyan army troops. After being beaten while in captivity, she was released. She returned to Ukraine, but decided that the war in the eastern provinces of Ukraine needed reporters to chronicle the lives of those Ukrainians upset by the invaders from Russya. She did, and sent articles to her organization for publication. After another trip, she traveled north to Latvia and Poland and from there, went to Russya at great risk to her own safety. She was arrested again, and held by Russyan authorities. While being transfered to another prison in the country, she died under unknown circumstances. Her body has not been recovered or returned.

         At Putin's end of the year publicity stunt, the infamous Q & A period on national TV, nobody asked the question, "What happened to Viktoria Roshchyna?"

     And he didn't answer.

Welcome to a modern dictatorship, aka Russya.

Elon and Trumpie Show

      Hey, sports fans, I know you were glued to the Fubo stream of the TNF game between 2 ranked teams and the game did not disappoint: LA Chargers pieced together an interesting series of plays that spelled victory over their opponent the Denver Broncos. Late in the 4th quarter, LA scored to go up by 10 with over 2 minutes to play, and now clock and ball control became the strategy. After a turnover, Denver moved toward the goal line and on 4th down, kicked a field goal. Then hoped for an onside kick with its possibilities as the game entered its final minute. Onside kick skidded toward LA and was caught by a Charger after a high bounce. Game over.

       Meanwhile, Congress cast votes against a budget deal, a vote that Trumpie wanted, but Elon thought otherwise. Deputy President Billionaire Musk has entered politics the old fashioned way: he bought his way in. By donating over $270 millions to the Trump Campaign, he now owns the White House and all its rat-tailed occupants(as of Jan. 20,'25).

     Government shutdown? Ho-hum. Been there, done that. It really is a non-event. WHo in his right mind would believe these clowns? No one. Congress is a clown show and only gets worse as time goes on. With Thumper and Musker in charge, the Clown Show only gets more clownish as we go forward. Hold on to your seats, the ride is going to get bumpy.

Daily Kommersant Articles

    Russyan state media has highlighted some current issues. Ruslan Pukhov, writes regularly. This past week, he wrote of problems with Syria. Earlier, he wrote of the great success for Russyan policy in Syria. Not anymopre. He has decided that the present policy has failed.

    He has stated that the Kremlin gave Bashar asylum; and the world knows that Bashar is toxic now as the I.C.C. has declared him a WAR Criminal. Yes, war criminal. Additionally, Fyodor Lukyanov, who heads a foreign policy advisory board, wrote an article awhile ago praising the Kremlin's interventions in Syria and the Middle East. Last week, he wrote that the intervention policy is now obsolete. Hmmmm. How long before these two writers are sent to Siberia?

Putin's Syrian Problems

       The Russyan military is under orders" "Get the hardware and software out of Syria Pronto! The Kremlin is in a frantic rush to salvage what's left after Bashar flew to Moskva and left a shitshow on the ground down south. Oh, what to do.

Kremlin: Call the Wagner Group and dispatch a gang of thugs to clean things up.

FSS: Sorry, No more Wagner Group; unavailable.

Kremlin: Call in the Chechens, now.

FSS: Sorry, Chechens don't answer the phone anymore.

Kremlin: Call Igor, he knows what to do.

FSS: He's dead as of Tuesday-bomb in a scooter took him out in front of his home in Moskva. Anybody else?

Kremlin: Who's responsible for this chaos. Tell Bashar he will have to give up the drug money he made while we are fighting for Ukraine.

FSS: Bashar won't leave his dacha or answer the phone.

Kremlon: Call Trumpie.

Where is Svetlana Dali Now

       The Wandering Russyan, Svetlana Dali, has resurfaced, again. The poor thing has lost her bearings and her compass. She was the stowaway airline passenger who sneaked onto a New York to Paris flight recently until discovered as the plane was aboput to land at Charles DeGaulle airport. She was met by police and arrested on the spot. Next she was put on a return flight to the US to face the music. Then she created another disturbance and the flight had to return to Paris. After another intervention, she was flown home where she was greeted by F.B.I. agents and taken to jail.

       After a court hearing, she, an American citizen, was placed under house arrest, and shackled with an ankle monitor and ordered not to leave the premises of the apartment she shared with a friend. And then: gone. Ankle bracelet in pieces, no Svetlana. Hmmmm. Where could she be? Nobody knew, until.......

      She was identified at the US /Canadian border as she attempted to cross and evade detection. F.B.I. and Canadian police cuffed her and sent her back to New York to face another hearing in front of the judge who will now be wary of any release, knowing that this Russyan is a wacko. welcome to the US.

Dmitry Medvedev Speaks Out Against Ukraine

         Deputy Head of the Security Council in Russya, Demitry Medvedev, made a shocking statement after the Russyan Army General, Igor Kirillov, was the victim of an explosion caused by a bomb-laden motor scooter placed outside his window in Moskva.

       This explosion could have been a "Special Operation" ordered by the Kremlin's Ring Master: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the angry little man taking the entire country on a path of self destruction. Or maybe it was caused by Putin's harboring the Mass Murderer, Bashar el-Assad who recently fled his domestic rat hole in Syria. Or maybe it was placed by friends of Alexei Navalny, a dissident the Kremlin placed in a shit hole prison in Siberia where he rotted to death. Or maybe it was placed by the C.I.A., a favorite offering of the Kremlin as a scapegoat when things go badly. Hmmmm. What else?

       Perhaps it was placed by family and friends of some of the hundreds of Syrians who were murdered by Bashar el-Assad during his reign in Syria whose bodies were recently discovered by Syrian rebel forces that kicked Assad's family out(to Russya). Media accounts told the stories about how Russyan forces/army members helped Bashar bury the hundreds of thousands of murdered Syrians whose bodies were collected and trucked to the mass graves in areas blocked off by Russyan army troops to hide the events at the grave site(s).

     Ah, Russya, home and refuge to Madmen and Murderers, and Little Men, seeking height through military "Special Operations". 

Russyan General Assassinated in Moskva

   A commanding general was assassinated by a bomb placed in his residence in Moskva today(tomorrow). The Ukrainian military claimed rsponsibility. It was stated that this officer of the Russyan invading army ordered poison gas to be used against civilians and Ukrainian troops during the war in Ukraine. Well, now, it seems that Mad Vlad's troops are targeted no matter where they hide. This general probably thought he was safe in Moskva; but war has unlimited possibilities when it drags on  for years.

         Russyan forces in Syria are being evacuated as the IDF pursues arms caches in various locations that might fall into ISIS control. The invading military in Ukraine must reconsider strategic  positions of arms to supply the feront lines. Hmmm. What now, VOVA?

Trumpie and the 3 Ring Circus

       The circus analogy doesn't play like it used to play: most folks 20-45 have never been to a circus(such as Barnum & Bailey of old). But, the Mayor of Tahoma is of the opinion that it still has some time to run. Trumpie willl give it his best go around. It has already started as the holidays approach. He has nominated a cast of characters right out of the circus tent-or Big Top if you will. The 3 ring circus had just that: 3 center circles of performance in the view of those in the tent. Each had its own performers: trapeze artists; trained animals including elephants, tigers, and bears. And another featured clowns and all their crowd pleasing antics.

       These days, US politics closely resembles these 3 circles of entertainment. However, we are paying for less than the best. Hmmmm. And why do we do this. Let's look at the performers nominated to entertain for the next 4 years or so on the public dollar(taxes).  But first, a few comments about the "Ring Master" in the center circle: Trumpie.

1. John Bolton: "Trump has the impression that foreign leaders hold him in high regard, that he's got a good relationship with Xi jinPing, Vlad Putin, Kim Un. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I have been in those rooms with him when he's met with those leaders. I believe they think he is a laughing fool."

2. James Mattis: "He is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine."

3. Richard V. Spencer(former Sec. Nav): The President has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices."

4. H.R. McMaster(Nat. Security Advisor): Pres. Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain."

5. Mike Pence: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.... Pres. Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution."

6. Bill Barr, AG of US,  " He will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country's interest."

7.Mark Esper(Sec. of Defense): He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country."

8. John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff/Homeland Security: "The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me... He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life."

9. Rex Tillerson, (Sec. of State): "His understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited."

These are just some of the quotes from those who worked directly with Trumpie in the Oval Office.

Part II to follw

Health Insurance Fallout Continues

          The murder of United Health Executive, Brian Thompson on a NYC street in broad daylight continues to reverberate across the USA. Physicians, hospital staff, patients, and insurance companies themselves are reeling. And the politicians: getting ready for the upcoming transition that will reshape life in America.

       Evidently, they see their respective roles as caretakers of the nation, not just health care or health insurance. Of course, they have a separate health care system unavailable to us peasants. We are required to joust with the agents/coders/deniers, capitalists. Corporate medicine at its finest= bad medicine. Canada's system has issues, but it works for the 12+ millions of Canadians.

      Now a suspect is in custody after his arrest in Altoona, PA. Luigi Mangione, son of a very wealthy family, is going to fight extradition to New York. He is a highly educated graduate of U. of Pennsylvania in computer science. His whereabouts before the incident reveal that he was on the move, spending time in San Francisco and Hawaii. His mother had filed a missing persons report with the SFPD. It is known from friends and acquaintances that he's had recent health problems which restricted some activities. There's no known connection to United Health Corp. Insurance. Internet postings indicate certain sentiments about health insurance. Authorities found a "ghost gun" in a bag believed to be his.  

     So, here we have an other disgruntled young man who is accused of murder. It seems that his information about the world has come from the internet, the source of increasing amounts of fake news and conspiracies.  Governments are slow to respond to this problem, waiting and hoping it becomes a non-issue. Yeh, right.

Bye Bye Bashar-Hello Moskva

      When Bashar's houseman answered the front door, the staff security agent announced that the limo was leaving for the airport and there was little time to pack anything but the family jewels. So Doctor Bashar rounded up the missus and the kiddies and off they went to the getaway plaane. Next stop: Moskva. 

   Bashar's long time supporter and confidant, Valdimir Vladimirovich Putin rolled out the red carpet for the incoming guests. The family was seeking asylum and they were given same according to the Federation's policy of offering this status to the one or two saps who would be dumb enough to want to reside in the one of the worst places in the world.

     As predicted yesterday by the Mayor of Tahoma, the rats leaving the sinking ship/cesspool once called Syria have landed in the Siberian wastes or western Russyan plain west of the Ural Mountains. Known for the winter cold(see Napolean and winter), another guest from the Middle East will be hard pressed to acclimate anytime soon. First, a shopping tour for furs, hats, sable coats, and of course, quality vodka to suppress anxieties that go along with last minute evacuations. Ol' Bashar knew what was coming ass his "loyal" supporters disappeared immediately when told to defend the country. They dropped their uniforms and sought a hiding place unavailable to the dictator. They also ditched their weapons so as to look like civilians not soldiers. Don't feel sorry for these rats, they've had their days in the sun enforcing the dictatorship. Now, they will face the scourge of the "new" rulers, whoever that y be.

      Some intelligence gatherers believed that other players nearby might seek to take control. American air assets bombed targhets inside the boundaries of Syria to thwart those efforts at this writing. Given the recent history of the situation, anything is possible in the chaos.

  Stay tuned. Bashar: a pox on your house.

Pardon, Pardon, Any Pardon Will Do

        So, a pardon has become the latest Christmas stocking item with some currency. Pres. Old Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, not just for one criminal act, but a pass going back 11 years. Hmmm. Is that relly how far back Ol' Hunter was selling influence? It is sad when a grown man has to beg his Dad for a favor to get out of jail. Now the talk is that Jope is going to give pre-emptive pardons to his own inner circle of potential targets from trumpie, et. all. when they takeover in January. trumpie will probably pardon all the scum arrested after Janury 6th rioting in the Capitol. That move will certainly sink the GOP forever with the mark of Cain.

Sand in Glass Running Out for Assad

       The murderous tyrant kept afloat in Syria by Russya and Iran is on thin ice. Resurgent rebels are on the march and Putin's lackies and Iran's 'martyrs' are nowhere to be found this time around. The rapid deployment of the rebels caught all the opposition government troops asleep and not the least bit willing to stop the onslaught.

      What's Bashar to do now? In the past, he's used chemical poison gas against anybody nearby. He's employed Russyan air power to bomb anybody close to Damascus. He's assaulted any city or town where a rebel support team might be living. He scoffed at former US President Obama as he drew a 'red line' in the _____(fill in). Now, Ol' Bashar is ancient by Middle East standards. Those Syrians who could leave are long gone. Who is left? A few troops with nowhere to go, tethered by family and a paycheck. I'm sure Ol' Bashar is burning the midnight oil lamp trying to get a call through to the Kremlin. Nobody is answering. Maybe he should try someone in the Donets region in eastern Ukraine. Where is Yevgeny Prighozin? Dead, unavailable. Where is Dmitry Peskov? Asleep, unavailable. Where is Svetlana Dali? In jail in New Jersey waiting for someone to make bail.

      So, what to do, what to do. Not easy being a dictator/murderer, especially in his neighborhood where life is cheap and food is expensive. So, the rebels are rolling and will soon take Damascus as the rats flee the rat hole. Bashar will board a plane for Tehran, but won't be allowed to land as the IDF has the runway zeroed in and the Ayatollah wants to keep the runway clear just in case he needs it. So, Moskva; the plane will divert to Moskva. What will Vova do? He'll have to allow Bashar asylum or his coalition will recognize that the Federation is a 'Paper Tiger/ Bear/ Siberian rat'.  Perhaps Bashar can call Elon on his X page and beg for a handout, trip to Mars or another address in outer space. Bashar has no friends, like all rats, when the chips are down, rats generally die in the rathole. (see Saddam H. ).

Book Review: Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King.

       Every now and then, a nugget is discovered after being in retreat for decades. Such is this account of a true story, originally told almost 200 years ago. It is a story often told of a shipwreck and survivors and the aftermath. The story recounts the ordeals of captain and crew after being tossed ashore on the Atlantic Coast of North Africa, not far from the Canary Islands.

      The  Commerce was an American sailing vessel, rigged as a brig, twin masts, and a crew of 12. She was a trader, filling her hold with various product and rounding the Atlantic rim for her owners. Her captain, Mr. Riley, was an experienced sailor/navigator, and was in the opinion of peers, a good leader who took care of his ship and its sailors.  The ship was from New England, Massachusetts to be exact, and most of the crew came from the area near or on the Connecticut River. These sailors knew about river navigation and the tidal flows. Sailing north on the river from Long Island Sound was a challenge for any ship and the crew.  Sailing across the Atlantic had its own difficulties going east or west. The Gulf Stream helped going east, and the Equatorial current helped on the return.

       The year was 1815 and the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the young country of the United States had concluded with the Treaty of Ghent. (Too late for the Battle of New Orleans). So the American flag was now a more common sight in European ports and in the Mediterranean Sea, the Barbary pirates notwithstanding.  African ports and the African coast had been a topic for sailors for over 2 centuries as the slave trade was drawn to conclusion by the banning of such traffic by Great Britain and the US. It would take a Civil War to end slavery itself in the US. Navigation was still more art than science, but the chronometer was only a couple of years away from universal acceptance. Finding one's latitude was well known practice with a sextant, longitude, still a guessing game.

       At sea and sailing southward, the  Commerce set a course that would skirt the Canary Islands and carry her west to the Caribbean Sea. While an experienced navigator, Riley misjudged the strong currents off of the African coast which pushed his ship into shoal waters off southern Morocco. There the ship wrecked, placing the crew in an untenable, unlivable environment, and the beginning of their collective ordeal of survival against the harsh desert and its inhabitants.

Read it.

Journalist Calls Out Gavin Newsom

      Ah, California: Land of Golden Dreams. Now, the reef of Broken Dreams, hulls shattered by budget busts and rivers of red ink. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the local boy made good, has appeared all over the country in the run-up to the recent presidential election. Now that contest is over and the dems are licking their collective wounds as the Trump trifecta ascends, again, to the White House. 

       Dan Walters has been writing on government dealings and goings on for over 60 years. He and his staff keep the feet of the legislature to the fire, which it needs.  With a super majority in the Legislature, the Dems have run wild around Sacramento, passing this giveaway and that giveaway, plumping up the liberal agenda, reveling in their own largesse. But Mr. Walters knows how things work or don't work in California.  While the Dems preach about the "Big Tent" and the "All Inclusive Party",  Mr. Walters follows the money, which in California goes to "Big Farming", "Big Tech", "Big Utility", and "Big Government".

       In 2022, as Covid-19 pandemic effects retreated, Newsom declared that the state had a huge surplus of tax dollars in excess of $200 billion dollars. And it would continue  ad infinitum. This camer from his Dept. of Finance which counted recently received receipts from taxpayers, many of whom sold stock at high price evaluations. Then, bad news arrived. Newsom had his budgeteers write new spending i\above $300 billion in 2022-23. These funds would go to the darlings of the Blue Coasties: health and welfare and cash payments to poor families. Now, 2 years later, the budget states that projections were woefully wrong and projections will be well under the $200 billion projections to the tune of $165 billions over the next 4 years. Hmmmmmmm. What does this mean, really, to you and me? BELT Tightening. 

     The Legislature's own budget analyst, Gabe Petek, released the 2024-25 projections and show that spending will out pace income. The State's economy is sluggish and outside of government and healthcare, no new jobs have been added. Businesses like Wells Fargo, are walking away from California to New York and North Carolina(of all places).  Nobody likes paying more and more taxes for less and less. But California's Dems don't seem to be bothered by the exodus of taxpayers.

     Newsom's legacy will still be here in 2027 when he departs for his new $9 million dollar home in Marin County, Ca . Taxpayers will be stuck with the remains. Thanks for the reportage, Mr. Walters.