Tag: empire

My Dog Hates Squirrels

Well, hate may be a strong word. Let’s just say he has a passion for trying to catch them. And technically it’s chipmunks, not squirrels. Here’s the thing – the odds of him actually getting one are extraordinarily low… but not zero. There’s always a chance that one chipmunk might be a little hung over from a huge chipmunk party the night before and be a little slow in making his escape. It is possible the hound might get one given the perfect circumstances. But what then? I don’t think the hound really knows why he chases them and he certainly doesn’t know what he’d do with it if he caught it.

And that is my weird roundabout way of describing what the Trump presidency was. Trump was a First Gen Disrupter. He had great instincts for stirring the pot and calling out the swamp. But I don’t think he actually thought he’d win. And just like the hound… when he caught that chipmunk he had no idea what to actually do with it.

And the results were predictable. Horrible personnel and hiring. He failed to implement most of his campaign promises. And very quickly he descended into pointless fighting with the swamp, the media, his own staff, etc… He started his campaign with the right ideas and a vision to be a Disrupter, then devolved into three years of petty name calling and personal grievances at the slings and arrows launched his way. He wasn’t ready when he actually caught the squirrel.

But that’s the nature of First Gen Disrupters. The system will resist at all costs. The system wants equilibrium. It takes that first Disrupter to start making waves. To his credit, Trump did that in a way that probably nobody else could.

Next came Elon Musk and Twitter/X. He’s a true Disrupter who severely shook up the status quo. I don’t think people appreciate yet the magnitude of what he did for free speech. How he exposed the massive governmental and corporate attempts at censorship. He’s a Disrupter who was willing to risk his personal fortune to unmask the swamp.

You’re now starting to see more mini-Disrupters appear. Matt Gatez and his unseating of the Speaker of the House. Vivek Ramasawmy at last nights debate calling out the GOP Chairwomen, GOP party as a whole, and the corrupt media. Will it make a difference? Doubtful. But it was the first time seeing bold alternative thoughts being expressed on a national stage. We need more mini-Disrupters questioning the swamp.

But what we really need is a Next-Gen Disrupter. Someone who will overturn the tables and start attacking the swamp in earnest. But most importantly, we need someone with the political experience and smarts to do it right. Someone who can’t be cancelled. Someone who doesn’t give a fuck and is willing to go full honey badger despite the personal attacks that will come.

I don’t know who that is. I don’t see it in any of our current batch of politicians. There doesn’t appear to be anyone sitting in the wings who can be that Disrupter.

If we don’t find that person soon… I fear for our republic. The swamp is doing everything possible to get back to equilibrium. The military industrial complex is in full swing and does not want to be interrupted. We no longer have a middle class. The elite ruling class is doing everything possible to rig the game.

If we don’t disrupt soon, the empire will fall. The elites will ride out the crash just fine. It’s the middle that will suffer. No chance at buying a home. Wages won’t remotely keep up with inflation. Skyrocketing fuel and food prices. Unchecked crime. Zero cohesion as Americans – just islands of tribal allegiances, divided on race and ethnicity. Scarcity of goods. A failed empire made up of kings and peasants.

Disruption isn’t fun. It’s messy. But as the saying goes, you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

If anyone knows of a Benevolent Disrupter, now is the time to give ’em a call. We don’t have much time left.

Something Seems… Off

I’ve been thinking. I’ve had a lot of time to do that the last few days as I’m recovering from surgery. Not much to do but watch documentaries and endlessly scroll Twitter/X. And what I’m seeing is just, depressing. It makes me sad. It makes me question what in the hell is happening to the world at the moment?

I’ve been reading quite a bit, mostly about subjects I never explored before. In addition, I’ve been searching out talks and interviews from scholars who are more well read in history than I am (not hard to do). And then I stumbled upon an interview with an ex-CIA officer who went into great detail about our governments handling of the Middle East generally, and specifically Afghanistan and Libya/Benghazi. What shocked me the most was learning about the sheer size and complexity of Al-Qaeda. In a simplistic nutshell, Al-Qaeda is still the controlling entity for terror across all of the Islamic world.

Like many Americans, I had a picture of them being some group in Afghanistan who were formed by OBL, that we spent twenty years fighting, then something something ISIS, Taliban, and we then left and so I don’t pay attention any more. Uh, no. They are a massive corporate-like entity with hundreds of sub-terrorist cells underneath them. And they are embedded in virtually every country, including the US.

And here was the parting words from the CIA targeting officer – Al-Qaeda is back, bigger than ever, and Afghanistan is now the terror training hub for the world.

“Well, isn’t that special” to quote the church lady on SNL (for those of you old enough to remember).

Watching the unrest unfold across the world following the horrors of Oct 7, I wonder… was this simply the first step in a larger plan? Was the purpose all along to provoke Israel into doing exactly what they knew the response would be? Hezbollah, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Iran – all are now saber rattling or outright conducting operations against Israel and the US. Did Al-Qaeda send Hamas into Israel as a first strike in a much larger movement? Were they intentionally baiting Israel, and ultimately the US, into action that can be used as a rallying cry across the Muslim World?

Is this Al-Qaeda’s official re-establishment of the Caliphate? The new Islamic State? After all, OBL’s mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri once wrote that once the Caliphate is re-established, “Egypt would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the jihad against the West. Then history would make a new turn, God willing, in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world’s Jewish government”. Maybe the only thing he got wrong was which country would become the centerpiece of jihad.

The US is already in the process of tearing itself apart. The division in this country is like I’ve never seen before. With previous BLM and Antifa riots and protests, the idiocracy of the woke left, and now Hamas supporters marching and ripping down posters of Israeli hostages… it’s clear we’re no longer a united country.

One of the historians I recently listened to, Stephen Kotkin, made an interesting point. The country has been divided in the past. There was tremendous disagreement and unrest just prior to WWII for example. But when events dictated, and a strong leader inspired… the country came together. Could we do that today? Do we have a leader who could rally the country to come together for the common good?

At the moment, I’m in a pessimistic mood so my answer is – no. We have weak, uninspiring leaders who care only about personal power and that sweet lobbyist money. Years of unchecked migration have fundamentally changed the demographics in the country. Demographics that do not assimilate. Unlike previous generations, people are coming here do not want to be “Americans”. They simply want what America provides. The woke movement has further created a generation that is weak, spoiled, and entitled.

In short, I think we’re screwed. Every major empire lasted roughly about 250 years before they fell. I’m guessing it’s our time to start that slow decline. But who knows? A few 9/11 type attacks on the homeland and we might once again see a rise of nationalism that sparks a return to the values that made this country. But even with that, could we resist falling into another twenty year GWOT? Can we prevent WWIII?

Sigh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. Maybe it’s just the pain meds talking?

Regardless, it’s probably time to step away from Twitter/X for a while. I think I’ll go find a comedy or a baseball movie to watch. I don’t think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow… the dog hasn’t had a hike in a bit.

A slow walk in the woods with the hound sounds like a good day.