On being a paranoid dictator.

Hey, folks, it is not easy. As a dictator you know they are out to get you, so it pays to be paranoid.

Up to a point.

Sure, they are out to get you, but just which they is it? Answering that question is Putin’s main problem both domestically and on his borders. He is surrounded by enemies and has demonstrated weakness.

So maybe it is time for us to stir the pot. After all he has been doing it, playing to our fears by rattling the nuclear saber. He has his fears too so maybe it is time to invite a few of his problems to talk with us, don’t make a public promise or anything, just meet, let the world know and let Putin worry. After all Ukraine has demonstrated that a small group can frustrate the great mighty Russian military machine.

Just some thoughts

Jack

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38 thoughts on “On being a paranoid dictator.”

  2. pogo, here’s your post again from 5:08 am today

     

    Dana Milbank on the conspiracy convoy. 

    …
    Convoy organizer Brian Brase, speakingfrom the same stage in Hagerstown as the “Q Patriot,” drew a cheer for announcing that Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.) would be meeting with them. Brase rallied those who would make the 200-mile round trip voyage of irrelevancy: “We’re taking two lanes up to let the world know that we’re here and we mean business.”
     

    Two lanes may sound like a lot — unless you know the Beltway has six in each direction at points. A few hundred vehicles clogging the interstate may sound like a lot — unless you know a quarter of a million vehicles a day pass any given point on the Beltway.

    The convoy drivers set off for their counterclockwise circling of the Beltway — and I set off for a clockwise circling of the Beltway to meet them.

    Those participating in the convoy numbered in the three digits. Those cheering on the convoy from overpasses numbered in the low two digits. I saw a handful of spectators at only four overpasses in all of Virginia (a fifth group turned out to be a crew from the Virginia Department of Transportation filming the convoy). On the Idylwood Road overpass near Tysons, seven convoy boosters hung Second Amendment flags, a Don’t Tread on Me flag, and a “Trump Won” banner.

  4. Putin knows he has to watch his back. Take away the internet so fewer people know how badly his war’s going. Jail those who disagree with invading a neighbor. Isolate your country from the western economic system and tank your economy. Have your apparatchik’s assets seized. Surround yourself with yes men. Declare bad news as fake news and criminalize it. Parts of this sounds familiar somehow. Maybe he has TFG as a chief advisor. 

  5. Thanks patd. Here’s the rest of it. 

    They waited — and waited. So did I. Where was the convoy? Then I realized: I was looking at it. The WTOP radio traffic report informed me that it was passing through my area at that moment. The traffic, heavy but moving smoothly, wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I felt cheated.

    Maybe some of those in the convoy feel that way, too. No doubt some of them started out with genuine concerns about government overreach on covid. But the convoy took a wrong turn, and wound up traveling in the cul-de-sac of Trumpy conspiracy theories and hucksterism. The Post reportsthat the organization handling donationsto the convoy, the American Foundation for Civil Liberties and Freedom, is run by a woman wanted for violating parole “after pleading guilty to felony fraud and exploitation charges in 2020.”

    Fraud and exploitation: the final destination of the trucker convoy? Not if JFK Jr. can help it.

    Sort of says it all. 

  6. now a word from our sponsor

    Are you a conservative who praised Putin, but now need to hate him? Ask your doctor about Tyranol. #DailyShow

  7. speaking of the tucker

    Tucker Carlson Somehow Blames U.S. For Russia’s War | HuffPost Latest News

    As he continues to search for a scapegoat in his bungled commentary on the situation between Russia and Ukraine, Fox News host Tucker Carlson is now blaming the U.S. for the war Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed on his neighbor.
    Kamala Harris encouraged Ukraine to become a member of NATO. Quote, ‘I appreciate and admire President Zelenskyy’s desire to join NATO,’” Carlson began, selectively quoting one sentence from the vice president’s lengthy remarks at a news conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 20.
    “Message: Up yours, Vladimir Putin, go ahead and invade Ukraine,” Carlson continued. “And, of course, Vladimir Putin did that just days later. So the invasion was no surprise to the Biden administration. They knew that would happen. That was the point of the exercise.
    “We watched all this happen, we missed it. How? Honestly because it was insane and therefore very hard to take seriously. Why in the world would the United States intentionally seek war with Russia? How could we possibly benefit from that war? We still don’t know the answer to that question.”
    As Russian aggression escalated in February, Biden warned repeatedly and publicly that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was likely imminent and said the U.S. would respond “swiftly and decisively” to any attack.
    It’s not clear how Carlson “missed it.” At the time of those warnings, he was still defending Putin and parroting Kremlin talking points.

    @WalshFreedom
    Take a minute to listen.
    @TuckerCarlson
    is actually accusing America of starting this war. Not Putin. Not Russia. But America. It’s our fault. He’s blaming America for launching this war. Tucker channels today’s GOP. And today’s GOP is the new “blame America” party.

  8. Discussion of potential long-term societal consequences with some historical context, 45 mins

  11. Harari casts doubt on the not uncommon assertion that Putin’s invasion was compelled by legitimate domestic Russian security concerns vis à vis NATO

  12. If Putin really wanted to denazify something, he could have tried invading FoxNews, starting with the 8 PM timeslot

    ok Slava Ukraine✌️

  13. Somehow invading a country that was a buffer between Russia and 4 NATO country and driving it to seek membership in and military aid from NATO strikes me as a badly bungled strategic plan. 

  14. Ukraine was the next country to fall as KGB agent putin tries to rebuild the old Soviet Union and with just about as much persuasion as the previous dictators did too.

  15. 65project. Look it up. Wapo
     
    First, kill the lawyers. Lawyers taking Willy the Shake’s words to heart. 

  16. I will never make a military strategist.  Right now, the temptation to drop something big that goes boom on the Winter Palace or St. Basils is almost overwhelming.  Then I remember both are world heritage sites and civilized humans don’t do that sort of thing.  

     

  19. So Jack, You ain’t the only one who agrees Putin needs to watch his back.  While it’s pretty rare that I agree with an AEI opinion, I did find this one by Leon Aron in today’s WaPo pretty interesting reading.

    No matter what the outcome, Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine spells bad news for his regime. Neither taking Kyiv and declaring victory nor beginning peace negotiations will save the Russian president from the serious, if not fatal, domestic repercussions of this war.

    As the war drags on, the danger to Putin’s reign will come chiefly from three quarters: the oligarchs, the military and those whom we call “ordinary Russians.” The oligarchs, who stand to lose the most from the West’s sanctions, have been publicly cautious, whatever their true sentiments may be. Cowed since the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003, some left Russia, while others appear reconciled to (in effect) managing their companies on behalf of the state rather than being their masters. Of the four who have registered concerns so far, three did so from London —Mikhail Fridman, Roman Abramovich and Oleg Tinkov. Only one, Oleg Deripaska, made a commentfrom Moscow. All point to the tragedy of the war and call for peace without blaming Putin. Only Tinkov explicitly said that he opposes the war.
     
    * * *
    Thousands of ordinary Russians have already been arrested for protesting the war. But the majority of citizens are almost certain to rally around Putin at first, as they did after Putin’s first attack on Ukraine in 2014. He is clearly hoping that this effect will last until the March 2024 presidential election, when, at 71, he will likely try to embark on a presidency for life. It is impossible to predict when the memories of the Soviet Union’s quagmire in Afghanistan —the zinc-lined coffins and the unmarked graves— will result in resentment, then anger, then mass protests.
     
    * * *
    The Russian national tradition is unforgiving of military setbacks. Virtually every major defeat has resulted in radical change. The Crimean War (1853-1856) precipitated Emperor Alexander II’s liberal revolution from above. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) brought about the First Russian Revolution. The catastrophe of World War I resulted in Emperor Nicholas II’s abdication and the Bolshevik Revolution. And the war in Afghanistan became a key factor in Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms.
     
    * * *
    Every day that Ukraine holds out erodes Putin’s regime. The consequences could be far-reaching.

    Although he hasn’t called Tfucker a racist, let’s hope so.

  20. Russia is surrounded by people who don’t like them. Some are part of the current Russian empire and some are part of the former Soviet system and  imperial Russia. They have always been a problem and the usual solution was brutal suppression, with Stalin being the master. Such tactics are much less effective if you are perceived as weak. 2 weeks ago Putin was a badass strongman. today given the blunders in Ukraine he is much less so. 
    Off the top of my head, he has troops committed to conflicts going on in Georgia, Chechnya, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and of course Ukraine. And I’ve probably missed some. Some of these are hotter than others but all loaded with simmering resentment. As a strong man Putin looks to be secure, so it is up to us to convince him that his invasion of Ukraine was a mistake. Ukraine’s resistance can do some of that but the prospect of brushfire wars all along his border can do even more. Add that his only trading partner is China who will buy anything he has to sell at a 50% discount. You may get Putin desperate enough to take the political hit at home and withdraw from Ukraine.
    I don’t see it happening if we just keep his problems in Ukraine.
    Jack

  21. I think it is interesting that Putin sent in some of his thugs he uses to control Chechnya and Ukraine basically mailed back their heads. 
    Jack

  22. In the “strange and weird” column, the other day I was talking with my neighbor about a house issue.  I asked her in particular about a company that worked on her house.  I did not have a phone or any other electronic device with me.  She did not have a phone or electronic device with her.  We were outside away from our cars and houses.  Roughly two hours later an ad for that very company showed up in my FB feed.  There had not been one for that company or even the niche work they do previously.  I do not believe in coincidences, especially after my career.  Now I am wondering if the idiots have a few bugs around my house.  Time to start a bug hunt.

  24. McDonalds out, that’s 62,000 jobs lost:

    “In the thirty-plus years that McDonald’s has operated in Russia, we’ve become an essential part of the 850 communities ..our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering …McDonald’s has decided to temporarily close all our restaurants in Russia..”

  25. Major firms still NOT boycotting:

    Bridgestone Tire — Citi — Coca-Cola — Herbalife — Hilton — Hyatt — Intercontinental Hotels — Marriot — Mars — Nestle — Papa Johns — Pepsi — Phillip Morris — Starbucks — Unilever — Yum Brands (owns Taco Bell)

  26. pogo, that aron guy mentioned putie after his 2024 reelection attempting “presidency for life.”   given the likelihood of an ides of march moment, he may have already achieved that by default. 

  27. In an address to the U.K. Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke emotionally about his country’s attempts to stop the Russian invasion and how everyday citizens have rebelled against the Russian forces.

     

    hey, vlad, they gave him a standing ovation in addition to the $100 million and military goodies. curious what they(via MI6) might have in store for you.

  28. the hill:

    Florida’s Senate on Tuesday passed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would restrict the ability of primary school teachers to speak to their students about gender identity or sexual orientation, sending the measure to the governor, who has indicated he supports it.

    The bill, officially titled the Parental Rights in Education bill, was passed Tuesday by a 22-17 vote following two days of combative debate. The legislation, which was passed by the state House of Representatives late last month, now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, where it is expected to be signed into law.

    Should that happen, educators of kindergarten through third grade in Florida would be barred from addressing gender identity or sexual orientation in the classroom beginning this summer, and teachers of all grade levels would be prohibited from engaging in instruction that is “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

    […]

    Another failed amendment would have replaced a requirement for educators to teach students the benefits of monogamous “heterosexual marriage” in sex education with simply “marriage.”

    “Well, that settles that,” state Sen. Gary Farmer (D), who sponsored the amendment, said as the amendment failed. “We’ve got an admission as to what this bill is all about. Taking this language out guts the bill, so we don’t have to engage in any fantasy about what the true intention in this bill is anymore.”

    Should it be signed by DeSantis, constitutional experts told Changing America that the legislation will almost certainly be challenged on First Amendment grounds as soon as the governor puts pen to paper.

  29. shades of 1964

    wiki:

    Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida, also known as the Purple Pamphlet, was an anti-homosexual Propaganda pamphlet published in January 1964 by the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee of the Florida legislature led by Senator Charley Johns. The booklet contained several pornographic images and a glossary of terminology used in the gay community. It was sold for 25 cents a copy, with a discount for bulk orders of 100 copies or more.

    The Johns Committee had for several years conducted a witch hunt for homosexuals in public schools, universities, and state government agencies, believing they were part of a Communist strategy to “subvert the American way of life by controlling academic institutions and by corrupting the nation’s moral fiber.” By publishing its findings, the Committee hoped to persuade the Legislature to enact comprehensive anti-homosexual legislation, and to “shock Floridians into accepting its program.”

    [The report] viewed homosexuals as the carriers of a degenerative disease that posed a greater menace to society than child molesters. … The committee expected readers to select a theory conforming to its own views, and the pamphlet portrayed gays as sex fiends who spent every free moment searching for anonymous partners, recruiting youth, or transmitting venereal diseases.

    Instead of becoming a best-seller as its authors hoped, the Purple Pamphlet provoked a backlash of criticism for its explicit photographs of gay men involved in sexual activities. A Dade County official threatened to bring legal action against the committee, and the state Attorney General “warned the FLIC to cease distribution of this ‘obscene and pornographic’ material.” A gay book club in Washington, D.C., sold reprints of the pamphlet for two dollars apiece.

    [continues]

  31. Nice, my McDonald’s boycott worked
     
    i’d recommend to Dems they don’t make a big deal out of restricting sex-ed from kids 8 and under.  Compelling educators to “out” their students go potentially abusive parents is condemnable, however, imo

  32. What if leaving the McDonalds in place would serve to show the russian people, yes the people, that we’re not against them, just against the war mongers.  Course a french fry would cost 8 million rubles.   I guess that’s why they never let me be a diplomat.

  35.  “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” nor critters in critterville either 

    Senate passes postal reform bill | TheHill

    Senators voted 79-19 on the legislation, which makes financial and operational reforms to the U.S. Postal Service. The bill passed the House earlier this year. 

    […]

    The Postal Service has operated at a net annual loss for more than a ​decade. Post office officials have previously warned that without reforms it could run out of cash for operations by 2024.

    The bill would get rid of an existing requirement that the Postal Service pre-fund retiree health benefits, which lawmakers had pinpointed as a significant financial burden for the agency. It would also establish transparency and delivery standards and require that mail be delivered six days a week.

  36. Hard to believe how well this boycott thing worked. Haven’t had Starbucks since last March 8, never buy Pepsi, McDonalds not for the last 3 weeks, never buy Shell gas, (I did have a Coke Zero yesterday, so there’s the proverbial exception that proves the rule), the list goes on. 

  37. So is the 10 year postal service plan consistent with or contrary to the 10 year plan DeJoy announced in January, and will it lead to his ouster or his retention?

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