29 Comments

Perfect. 100%. As I have said a bunch of times this week, I'm disturbed that we Americans have had nothing to say, literally nothing to say, about our federal government's policy of "prevention through deterrence" at our US/MX border, an overt policy of terrorism which has cost a minimum of 8,000 people their lives. Nor did we have anything to say to Obama/Hillary Clinton when they militarily supported the overthrow of democratically elected Manuel Zelaya in Honduras sending that country into a downward spiral of poverty and persecutions against women, indigenous, and lgbt Hondurans. Nor, equally appalling, we Americans (except Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar) could not muster the moral courage to condemn the overthrow of democratically elected Evo Morales in Bolivia and his replacement which the shockingly overt Christian Fascist with an open policy of war on Bolivia's indigenous, Jeanine Añez. I also have been disturbed by the radio silence of our main stream media in the matter of the Department of Homeland Security's recent bulletin declaring that US citizens are in its sights now, applying the term to US citizens who spread what it calls "malinformation" that calls into question the policies of the US government. What is "malinformation"? It is facts. Facts which contradict the official US narrative. Including "malinformation" about Covid. The CDC and the NIH do not agree on the use of ivermectin. Which of them is the terrorist organization? Anyway, thank you, Caitlin.

Expand full comment

As the Biden administration slithered into office, Antony Blinken, in a singular display of honesty, explained that sanctions would be the preferred tool of choice for shaping events abroad as opposed to the boots on the ground approach of the Bush years.

We've gotten a taste of this applied domestically by demonetized YouTube channels who stray from the party narrative and the freezing of bank accounts of those who contributed to those protesting vaccine mandates by the petty authoritarian running Canada. As a similar trucker's protest rolls towards Washington we'll see if the same very neoliberal weapon is unleashed again.

Things just aren't getting better. Every quote from some random member of congress sounds idiotic and out of touch. Every utterance drips with hypocrisy. If we all survive this current fix, something must be done about it.

Expand full comment

US does war with the use of sanctions. Canada gave us an example of the government getting into your back account if they don't like you dissenting. Biden already gave us the taking of peoples belongings by the police without any charges of wrongdoing allowed. Is this just more of "shock doctrine" and are we the people next in line?

Expand full comment

Now Turkey is going block Russian access to/from the Black Sea. That is stark raving lunacy and must be all about Turkey and the EU and Turkey and NATO.

Expand full comment

Very well said. This Russian invasion of Ukraine was the desired outcome of Biden Administration policy. They have already asked Congress for another 7+ billion bucks in war spending because of this, and the American media is saturated with colossally ignorant and willfully deceitful coverage of this war.

Meanwhile, we don't hear a peep about Covid anymore, which was what the American oligarchy used for two years to distract Americans from what they were doing to us. This Russo-Ukrainian War, which as you say was totally avoidable, also serves as a distraction for the American people.

If you would like to see why I think that, please see my newsletter on the subject:

https://ohiobarbarian.substack.com/p/the-great-distraction-shifts-from?utm_source=url

Expand full comment

Good stuff. But why attack Kyiv. Still disturbingly fucked up.

Expand full comment

Formally, and in writing - considering what the West's word is worth - preventing Ukraine from ever joining NATO is trivial to only the disingenuous, or totally ignorant.

Expand full comment

So Putin did not release a video where he basically denied Ukraine even exists, NATO expansion being secondary throughout?

Why do Ukrainians fight? It has to be because they are imperialists and not because a fascist state is bombing and invading them. How dare they fight back, and we need to prevent them from having the ability to defend themselves.

I challenge anyone to rebuke this. Key is to fight the overwhelming twitch to invoke “well America did this in…”

Caitlin, this is blatant Russian imperialism, Putin essentially invoked the blood and soil argument, that’s literally what the Nazis used to justify invading other countries.

The de-nazification justification is Russia’s “Iraq has WMDs”

The last Ukrainian elections, neo-Nazis got 2% of the vote. The president is a Jew from the East and Putin claiming that this is some sort of peacekeeping operation not aimed at civilians or Ukrainian soldiers is laughable.

Will you ever write a blog on having solidarity with the Ukrainians fighting for their lives? like the Jews in Warsaw, the rebels in the Hungarian Revolution and the Palestinians in Gaza now.

I like your writing and have been following it for a while, but I’m genuinely concerned that your stuff is descending into straight up “whataboutism” whenever Russia or another American rival commits a crime.

There exists a world where everything doesn’t revolve around America, and as hard as it is, they’re not always in the wrong.

Expand full comment