Obvious + Impossible
By Mitch Berg
Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:
This author suggests Ukraine should have adopted the Finland model: every citizen a citizen-soldier. Makes sense to me, and also aligns with the “well-regulated militia” concept of the Second Amendment.
Point of order: the Finnish (And the very similar Swiss and Israeli) models presume that service in the military is part of a citizens duty to the stage, like paying taxes and serving on juries.
For millions of Americans, you wouldn’t even need to issue weapons. We have them already. Just give us a couple of weeks’ training in small unit movement, ambush basics, sniping, asymmetrical warfare, guerilla tactics. Conquest by invasion would be impossible. The Wolverines would prevent it.
Of course, giving people military training assumes the government trusts its own citizens and vice versa. Can we say that with confidence in America today?
Joe Doakes
We can, of course, assume those such thing; in fact, the Government/Media-Industrial complex has spent the last 40 years demonizing the concept of “the militia“ to a fine sheen – One might assume, to protect itself from any organized opposition. At the moment, the social cost of supporting, much less belonging to, a “militia“, are just too high, whatever the finer points of constitutional ideals, for the average schmuck.
March 8th, 2022 at 4:07 pm
If only the US had access to a source of Ethical Oil, one that wasn’t produced by tyrants in Saudia Arabia or Russia or Venezuela. Maybe Canada.
Oh, wait.
March 8th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
Biden’s ban on Russian oil imports is so popular even 72% of Trump supporters say they’d be willing to pay more at the pump to do it.
/WSJ Poll: 79% of Americans Back Ban on Russian Oil Even if Energy Prices Rise/
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-08/card/wsj-poll-79-of-americans-back-ban-on-russian-oil-even-if-energy-prices-rise-niT9f6YRH5wRWe4pbhNv
March 8th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
If you recall, JD, that BS about about just how long it would take bring American oil production going was used during the Obama years too. Oh, sigh, no reason to even try.
March 8th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
^ The other 21% are on here shilling for Putin and Trump.
March 8th, 2022 at 4:18 pm
^ Typical liberal.
So, me encouraging domestic oil production is shilling for Putin?
March 8th, 2022 at 4:37 pm
Well, this will be something for Republicans to be incoherently for and against at the same time.
March 8th, 2022 at 4:39 pm
Texas Dems to Biden: Drill, baby, drill
Not even Joe Biden’s allies on Capitol Hill bought the nonsense excuses he slung today while announcing an embargo on Russian oil imports. Biden claimed that high gas prices resulted from oil-producers gouging consumers, and denied entirely that he had restricted production
March 9th, 2022 at 8:44 am
Everybody seems shocked at the incredible jump in oil prices. But just think of the following:
• Previously, oil prices have been extremely low by historical comparison
• The rise is the result of an anticipated shortage, not of an actual shortage.
• Nobody will exclude Russia from their energy market without having located an alternative source, first.
• OPEC will not forever be able to stick to its agreements with Russia. Countries like Saudi Arabia know which side their bread is buttered on.
And if that is not good enough for you, or consists of too many assumptions that can be disputed, just look at the chart: That kind of spike has never in the course of history been the start of a sustained price rise. It’s the epitome of a speculative peak. We just don’t know how high the peak will be, but there’s always a valley on the other side.