Well, the reviews are in and it looks like this newest season of “The Rise and Fall of Democracy” is shaping up to be must-see TV! With all of the economic sanctions, political posturing and civilian casualties you could ask for, we finally see the Putin character we have suspected all along of being focused on re-building the former Soviet Union!
With a 20 year run, “The US Occupies Afghanistan” was our go-to show when nothing else was on and we just needed to remind ourselves that despite who was in the Oval Office or what teams were in the Superbowl, we somehow felt comforted that our troops were still over there – making the world a safer place. Of course, when it was fresh and new, we couldn’t help but to be glued to our televisions. Back then, it was Bush leading the way after 9/11 and we all watched with anticipation of how we would end the threat of terrorism, rid the world of extremist ideologies and spread democracy across a new and welcoming middle east! The characters we loved at the beginning – like all good binge-worthy shows now – eventually gave way to the new ones and the show seemed to change over time. Once the main character, Osama bin Laden was killed off, we thought that might have been the end of the run and we would be looking forward to a new season in North Korea or maybe somewhere in North Africa to see our old friend Moammar Khadafi again. I have to say I think it kind of jumped the shark after we said goodbye to bin Laden because without the arch-nemesis, it just didn’t seem to have the same urgency. Even when – early in the second season – we saw Saddam Hussein get caught, we always knew that Osama was the star of the show.
We can go all the way back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s to see the star power of Osama. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Osama was on better terms with the US, we saw a rare cooperation to protect democracy from the evil “Red Empire”! With help from us, we watched Osama and his band of merry men fight back against the Red Menace and make the world safe again for freedom-loving people! Or at least the threat of communism was once again pushed back into the frozen Siberian Tundra.
That was, until the relationship was strained and the show’s creators felt it would be better for ratings if Osama now had a grudge against the US and then introduced a new group to the show – the Taliban. With the Taliban coming into Afghanistan and getting rid of nearly every Western influence, like allowing women to go to school and have professions like being a doctor or professor, it was their relationship with Osama that led to a new alliance! Of course, the US moved on and found their way into new storylines and some of our favorite characters – Regan, Bush, Clinton, Bush the Younger all ignored what was happening until one of the most shocking plot twists of all time…a group of hijackers flying commercial jet planes into the World Trade Center in New York and other targets, including the Pentagon!
Now, it was Osama and the Taliban in the US’s cross-hairs and while we were undertaking the “War on Terror” season, why not add an episode to include Saddam Hussein’s capture and execution as well! This was the network’s bread and butter for many years until the ratings got so low, the network decided to pull the plug. After all, a new show called “Worldwide Pandemic” had made the leap to the top of the Nielsen Ratings and the producers knew they had to get creative to capture the public’s attention. With the wildly popular and polarizing character Donald Trump coming in for a short appearance after the 8 year run of Barack Obama, the Trump character was voted off the island and replaced with a previous supporting role-player – Joe Biden.
With Joe Biden, the possibilities were all there – finishing “Worldwide Pandemic”, bringing an end to “The US Occupies Afghanistan” and being the star of his own new series…”Russia – A New Beginning”, co-starring Vladimir Putin, who made appearances alongside Trump and occasionally was written into the storyline with Obama. But, ever since the “Big Breakup” of the Soviet Union during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the decades-long run of “The Cold War” had been over and no one really gave Russia much thought. After all, they were part of the democracy craze sweeping the world and Western influence and business dollars had been rapidly gaining ground in the “former” socialist country.
That all changed recently, though, a few weeks ago when the network made the surprise debut of “The Rise and Fall of Democracy” and it’s ratings couldn’t be higher! Everyone’s watching it and glued to their TV sets to see what happens next! Will Russia use chemical weapons? Will Putin choose a tactical nuclear weapon? Will a rocket accidentally land in Poland and force a NATO response? The world is on the edge of their seats waiting for the next plot twist and this is definitely binge-worthy watching. Grab your popcorn, snuggle up and get ready to watch history unfold!
Tag: russia
From Reagan to Trump: WTAF Happened??!!
The US/Russian relationship has long been strained and tedious to navigate. Historically, American Presidents have spoken out condemning Soviet/Russian aggression from occurrence to occurrence. Stern, even harsh words and actions have been stated/taken by US leaders ever since the rise of the Soviet Union. Well, at least until now anyway.
“Now all of us deplore this vast military spending. Yet, in the face of the Soviet attitude, we realize its necessity. Whatever the cost, America will keep itself secure. But in the process we must not, by our own hand, destroy or distort the American system. This we could do by useless overspending. I know one sure way to overspend. That is by overindulging sentimental attachments to outmoded military machines and concepts.”
Eisenhower
We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union–for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples. But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation.
JFK
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
Reagan
“Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper… We could use that on our southern border.”
Trump
That’s right. Embattled criminal defendant and disgraced former President Donald J. Trump has taken the unprecedented action of praising Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, even calling it “genius”. Furthermore, he has expressed interest in performing such internationally illegal activities himself should he successfully circumnavigate numerous suits and prosecutions to somehow get another sniff of power.
Even more disturbing is the trend of Trump sycophants following suit. Whether FOX “News” personalities or actual elected officials, there is praise coming from the right for Putin’s reprehensible actions.
How did we get here? How did the “hawkish” party of Reagan go from a stark demand that Gorbachev tear down the wall to a completely flummoxing rant praising, admiring, and encouraging Putin’s behavior?
Why did Jared try to establish a back channel for unsecure communications between Trump and Putin??
What kind of dystopian nightmare might we be living through had Trump’s insurrection/failed coup on January 6th succeeded??
We here at IDGAFCO are non-partisan, but very observant and quite concerned. Additionally, we find it a little odd that some on the right are trying to have it both ways. Well, which is it? Is Putin a genius, or is Biden weak? There are assertions that this invasion is “due to Biden’s weakness” when his predecessor in the position spent his entire solitary term sucking up to, encouraging, and man-crushing on Putin. It is well beyond laughable that things would somehow be harder on Russia had DJT somehow remained in office.
Let’s be perfectly honest here. If January 6th’s failed coup had succeeded, we’d likely have boots on the ground in Ukraine in support of Putin and his hostile aggression. Let there be no doubt about it.
Please do not allow yourself to be gas-lit by far-right media, failed former Presidents/current criminal and civil defendants, or their grifter families. Monitoring social media, a trend of rare silence from once hard-right proponents now questioning their own allegiances and desperately trying to reconcile the words of Reagan with the words/actions of Trump. It appears many are either embarrassed or disgusted enough to rethink their positions. Still more will likely dig in, motivated by whatever it is that motivates them.
We here at IDGAFCO believe it is appropriate to breathe a collective national sigh of relief that the coup failed as did the person motivating it. This is a good time to have an adult in office.
For those of you still in denial, the rest of us are enjoying your current silence as you are now unable to claim to be hawkish or to have appropriately condemned the actions of a madman dictator and his hostile regime. Anyone remaining in support of DJT at this point is basically complicit or incapable of better decision-making (Being generous on latter).
