The Shock & Awe Follies

Shortly, I must venture forth into the tundra (a/k/a my driveway) & see what I can do about the river of ice that made it impossible to park when I got back from the gym yesterday.

I tried!

But car tires have no traction on solid ice.

The river of ice is there because Icky is cheap & doesn’t want to pay for plowing, so consequently, the tracks we make as we run our vehicles through the snow melt & freeze and melt & freeze again.

Icky is not currently not in residence & is not answering any of my texts, & it is supposed to snow again today—anywhere from four to seven inches—so I’m not entirely sure what to do.

I have about 15 pounds of rock salt at my disposal, and there’s a hardware store in town where I will get more when I venture out.

I suppose if I don’t hear from Icky, I will make my own plow arrangements if necessary and simply deduct the cost from next month’s rent.

It is always fuckin’ something.

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Meanwhile, the sepulchral Snowglobe of Doom is back, so I am feeling angsty.

That’s reassuring in a way. It means my angst is most likely a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder rather than the state of the world.

I mean, the state of the world is massively fucked—but it was massively fucked yesterday, too, when I was in a bubbly, happy mood & the sun was shining.

Connect your own dots!

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Today’s new state of the world massive fuckage:

JD Vance doesn’t think European civilization is worth saving.

This came out during negotiations around funding the war in Ukraine.

Personally, I think the only reason to fund the war in Ukraine is to save European civilization: I never fell for the “plucky Ukraine” propaganda, & I well remember—back in the days when it had a definitive article!—that country’s collaboration with the Nazis in World War II.

Before that, Ukraine was the site of numerous pogroms during which my non-collateral ancestors were gangbanged & tortured to death.

A few escaped! Hence—me!!!

But I have no great affection for Ukraine or interest in its sovereignty.

I do have enormous love for the countries of western Europe, which would suffer if Putin’s wet dream came true, & the USSR was reassembled in some fashion.

So, I do support continued funding of the war effort in Ukraine. Which is good for the American economy! Cause Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing get somewhere to dump product at inflated prices!

I am around 75% convinced, though, that Trump’s next big shock & awe move—maybe timed for the 2026 midterm elections—will be pulling the U.S. out of NATO.

So, I am hoping western Europe is gearing up its own native defense systems. (I’m sure China would help if they asked nicely!)

This will almost certainly involve cutting back on wonderful social safety nets. But I don’t see how that can possibly be avoided.