Come On. This Is SNL, Right?

"World domination. That same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they're Napoleon... or God." Ian Fleming

The original line was in the Fleming James Bond novel Dr. No. I think the version above is slightly better thanks to screenwriter Richard Maibaum. Either way, I thought of it when watching the headlines involving Vladimir Putin this week. So, let's start with foreign affairs.

I have certainly written about this subject, most recently, a week or so ago. But the evidence just keep piling up. The President of the United States is either a witting or unwitting operative of a foreign power, namely, Russia. Anthony Scaramucci, former holder of the world record for shortest term as Press Secretary, outlined it this week...

“One of the greatest foreign policy successes in post-Tsarist Russian history is the election of Donald Trump. You can stipulate he’s not an agent of Putin, but let me tell you something: he does every single thing that Putin wants,” Scaramucci said on The 1600 podcast while promoting his new book.

“If you look down the checklist, he’s executed it, and he would get an A+. And I think he’s been compromised by Putin. There’s no way another American president would have this behavior.

So we have satellites that the Russians have moved into place. They’re giving the coordinates to the Iranians, and they’re killing our soldiers. “No problem, they kill us, we kill them.” What American president would say that?

He’s trying to destroy the Western Alliance. That’s something Vladimir Putin wants. He’s threatening to attack a NATO nation that has a treaty with us over Greenland. That’s what Putin wants. He’s suggesting he’s going to withdraw 25,000 to 40,000 troops from Western Europe at a time when the bellicose rhetoric from Putin is on the rise. That is what Putin wants.

So if you go down the list, he pulled himself out of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. Putin wanted him to do that, and he pulled out of it. That was what Putin wanted."

And the evidence keeps piling up. In addition to the purchase of Russian diesel fuel, Trump has now cancelled all sanctions on them. These are sanctions passed and signed by the only Congress we have just a month ago. Russia is now free to do business with anyone and use that money to kill, not only Ukrainians, but Americans since they are providing aid to Iran.

Trump has now stopped interceptor missile sales through Europe to Ukraine. This, to the cheers of Kremlin,. From the Washington Post...

“'Checkmate,” Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev posted triumphantly.

In Moscow, members of the Russian elite said that Putin, a former KGB officer, once again managed to turn the U.S. president."

Yes, a U.S. president did that.

Once again, Iran's primary current suppliers of weapons, military technology, and dual-use components are Russia and China, alongside historical ties to North Korea.

Putin has proposed that at an upcoming East Asian economic gathering, he, President Xi of China and Trump get together to resolve the war on Ukraine. Notice anyone missing from these "Peace Talks?" Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the country being bombed nightly by Vlad.

This is like the Yalta Conference, including Hitler. But, Trump has said he is thinking about it. After all, he said this week, “I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

Yes, a US President said that.

But of course, as always, the problem is Zelenskyy, not our peace conference partners.

Now, of course, we are holding off on any further attacks on Iran despite the fact that they are now hitting more ships in the Strait of Hormuz than ever. I say holding off, that is until the midterm elections.

That is, if Elon Musk approves. From the Wall Street Journal...

Elon Musk ordered a “slowdown” to Starlink in Ukraine that set off a “panic” in the country and “confusion inside” the Trump administration.

The Wall Street Journal dropped a report on Tuesday diving into a disruption in Ukraine’s Starlink-internet service as they continue fighting a war with Russia.

According to U.S. officials and three people familiar with the situation, “Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration.”

Did Trump know he was going to do this? Opinions differ, but how sanguine do you think world leaders are when the world's richest man is making geopolitical decisions with people's lives, given his no doubt ketamine-induced irrational and doltish pronouncements of late.

Now, as all this is going on, and other issues I'll write about soon, the big issue for MAGA in my state at least, is Muslims and trans people. There's a guy I know on Facebook, I think from a neighborhood we once shared years ago, who posted this in the past week...

There really are people who think that blood-red Texas is facing a Jihadist takeover. It isn't the economy, our schools, data centers being invited in, water shortages or simple corruption. It's Muslims.

This guy is ostensibly worried about Islam taking over Texas cities. Apparently simply building a house of worship or running for office is enough to qualify as a "takeover" for people like this. I reminded him of our First Amendment and the religious liberty it guarantees, and he went on about being a true Christian and rejecting any other faith.

OK, I don't follow any other faith either, but that's not the point of the amendment. I wonder how he feels about his Jewish neighbors, who don't share his faith?

As for trans folks, they are .4% of the population of my state and none of them are athletes. But it's a top priority for a lot of folks.

And forget being Muslim or trans, being black doesn't seem to help. A black MAGA influencer who goes by the name of Thelma Louise tried to attend a Ken Paxton rally and was kicked out.

She was told it was on the order of his campaign manager, who apparently thought, "Hey, she's black. Must be a Democrat."

As someone once said, "Remember tokens ultimately get spent."

In addition, no matter what shape the economy is in now, blame Biden. Of course inflation one month before the 2024 election was 2.6%. Gas prices were $2.70 in Texas, and diesel was $3.05.

But, yeah, all this is Biden's fault.

So, sorry my Facebook friend, no, acquaintance- none of this is the fault of Muslims, trans people or Biden. Our national foot has a gunshot wound, and the gun was held by the White House.

They want you to look away from this like Melania dodging an oncoming kiss.

I am reminded of one of the best closing lines of any movie. It's The Professionals from 1966 and a favorite of mine...

J.W. Grant: You bastard.

Rico: Yes, Sir. In my case an accident of birth. But you, Sir, you're a self-made man.