Reading "1984" In The Rain (Z-Publicans, One.)

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. ~George Orwell, 1984

I saw this earlier today.

Some dude with hair like a 1980's Playboy model talking with Republican losing-candidate Lauren Witzke about how "Women are currency to be bartered..."

I'm going to be honest here. I wasn't sure, so I had to go all the way back and go through the Right Wing Watch feed and find the original Tweet about this stupid shit because I wasn't sure whether the jerkoff in the sunglasses was a man or a woman.

I'm likewise going to be honest, in saying that under anything resembling normal circumstances, if you're a feminine-looking dude with long hair that looks like that, this dude's target audience is very likely to assume that you're gay and laugh at you no matter how much overcompensating misogynistic talk you spew.

I'm not saying that's right, I'm saying that's how it is. I used to be a conservative Christian. I know this stuff, I know it from personal experience. I've likewise known plenty of conservative and/or Evangelical Christians with 1980's Metal-band hair and shit, but for the most part those dudes don't talk about women this way and don't associate with those that do. Even 20 years ago we'd be like "Dude, it's the 21st Century, come on." 

I mean, I'm not a conservative Christian anymore, so I don't know how it is now but we used to think people like this guy were creepy as fuck and stay away from them.

Not out of any moral clarity, but because we had standards and we didn't want any of that shit to get on us. It's disgusting, and I've always thought it shouldn't be tolerated. A hell of a lot of these kind of people are just insecure little shits who want to use the rest of the world in general...and people they imagine to be "less than" themselves in particular...as punching bags to cover up their own insecure bullshit. Any claims of politics or religion from these fucking shitheads need to be viewed in that light.

And I hate to say it, but those are the people running "Conservatism" now.

Or maybe more accurately, they were until a few weeks ago.

Things have since gotten worse.

Vladimir Putin held a huge rally in Moscow today that was best described as "Billy Graham Meets North Korea." Apparently, most of the people there were government workers or public service workers bussed in and forced to participate. I gather that even sincere protests in favor of the war in Ukraine are being suppressed.

Apparently, Putin and his government believe that any conviction at all...even in support of them...is a threat. You know, at least Communism allowed for people who really believed that shit. This "Z" bullshit is...well, Republican-level cynicism on some cocktail of Meth and Steroids.

Hence scrapping my original plans and quoting Orwell.

This...and the performance of the Russian Army in Ukraine are exactly what happens when nobody knows anything or wants anybody else to know anything either.

How in the hell are you even supposed to properly train for an operation if you don't know what it is?

How do you believe in anything, when all is lies?

And it actually gets worse yet.

I watched this Russian MoD video probably a dozen times while I had the weasel out for his daily war dance.

It's shot from the cockpit of an Mi-24 Hind gunship, that seems to be firing cannon shells and rockets at basically nothing. A few seconds in there's a red warning circle on the Heads-Up Display, and after that, erratic maneuvering, more firing, the pilot talking to somebody on the radio...translated in the comments as he's hit and making a forced landing...and the video ends with the pilot landing the chopper, killing the engine and him and the gunner getting out...with one AK-74 between the two of them. "Tactical landing" my ass.

And this is an official video?

I've flown in helicopters, though never in a front seat. You can feel it and see it if and when something goes wrong. 

Yes, this is an official video...anybody who has a little experience or knows even a little (like me) can tell you exactly what happened here. Being aboard a helicopter with its engines running is a very loud experience. Pilots, other aircrew, and in many cases passengers as well are all required to wear ear protection and have to use an intercom or radios to even be able to communicate. You can feel sound and vibration and if something goes wrong, you know it.

The whole thing smacks of not just failure, but of vast contempt for whoever their target audience is. Given that the post is in English, I suspect it's aimed at a Western audience. So, the Russians think we're idiots. Like I said, it's Republican-level cynicism.

And these fuckers think they're going on to Berlin? As if the Bundeswehr wouldn't beat these motherfuckers like a rented mule?

I'm sorry, but if these fucking people are getting their collective ass kicked by the Ukrainians, they'd best hope that the Poles, much less the Germans (or us, especially us) don't join in and really turn it into the ass whuppin' of the century. And don't give me any shit about Russia going nuclear, either. If the Russian Army is doing this badly, what is there to make anyone think that Strategic Rocket Forces is not also a soup sandwich?? 

Yes, taking a chance on a nuclear war is best avoided, trust me. I know this.

But at the same time, if I were the Russians I'd be trying like hell to avoid NATO intervention and they seem intent on trying to cause it. And the reason for that, of course, is political...in terms of rallying their own people to support the war and trying to squash domestic opposition.

This is what happens when Authority for its own sake becomes more important than the multitude of events and factors that grant a person or the State that authority (Be it legal, moral, etc.) to start with.

You eventually end up with nothing but force and lies.

And that really does seem to be the future Conservatives want, and they want it under the shadow of the Hammer and Sickle and violent Russian ethno-Nationalism. Republicans would rather try and use the war in Ukraine to smear Biden and the Democrats than, you know, fight this conflict effectively.

Because ultimately, they want to lose. They want America and the West to lose. 

We might as well start calling them Z-publicans.

But again, violent Russian ethno-Nationalism means if you don't start out as a Russian, you ain't in the "Master Race."

So, How any Americans ever think they're going to benefit from that shit, I'll never understand.

Russia, right now, is living George Orwell's totalitarian future. The only thing that stands between them and inflicting their Forever War on the rest of the world right now, is the Ukrainian Army and the chance that by the time the Russians have to throw in the towel, the Russian Army will be too weak to fight anybody else and somebody will eliminate Putin.

I don't have high hopes of the latter happening, though the former seems plausible enough. This depends on the Russian people...and thus far, too many of them support this misbegotten imperial war.

America, the EU, NATO and the rest of the world needs to start planning accordingly and acting on those plans.

World War III is already here, it's just not evenly distributed yet. We'd best start supporting the Ukrainians to the full extent of our ability, because the truth is Putin is probably going to attack NATO anyway.

And you watch and see with this storm that's coming in, as thunder rumbles in the distance and a few raindrops fall on the deck. If the White Conservative Evangelicals don't just straight up join the other side, they'll dump as much of the burden of fighting the war off on Black and Brown and liberal folks...and women that don't agree with them...as they possibly can while sowing confusion and deception. 

And then they'll try to profit from the war.

Orwell Was Right.

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him. ~George Orwell, 1984.

Слава Україна!

Lightning crashes
A new mother cries
Her placenta falls to the floor
The angel opens her eyes
The confusion sets in
Before the doctor can even close the door

Lightning crashes
An old mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor
The angel closes her eyes
The confusion that was hers
Belongs now, to the baby down the hall

Oh, now feel it coming back again
Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from the center of the Earth again
I can feel it. ~Live, Lightning Crashes