America’s ‘rules based order’ is the new ‘Godless Communism’

Growing up in the 50’s, government, media, schools and religion bombarded us with warnings of Russia’s ‘Godless Communism’. It was used to fuel the Cold War and it worked. Paranoia ruled America as we practiced ‘duck and cover’ in school and awaited nuclear Armageddon.

When the godless Soviet system collapsed in 1991, the Cold War appeared over, with a welcomed ‘peace dividend’ from military spending headed to uplift the homeland.

That never happened. The Military-Industrial Complex couldn’t fathom going out of business. America began marching NATO up to Russia’s borders, telling us we needed to counter a regime still determined to overrun Western Europe.

But Russia was too weak a country to justify that three quarter of a trillion military budget. So America needed a new dragon to slay. Enter Communist China, poised to overtake the U.S economy by 2028, after 138 years of U.S. dominance.

America couldn't continence that dagger to our economic ego. Under Obama, the U.S. made the ‘pivot’ from Russia to China. A new catchword was needed. Godless Communism no longer resonated with an increasingly secular, even non-theist society.

Voila, America coined ‘rules based order’ to justify continued Cold War with Russia and add non-rules based China to the mix. So simple, so effective. America stands for rules based democracy, January 6th DC insurrection excepted, while authoritarian Russia and China are a continued threat to this new form of American exceptionalism.

Even NATO has signed on to New Cold War against China. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns “The rise of China presents an opportunity to strengthen the trans-Atlantic military alliance. China doesn’t share our values and threatens the rules-based order.”

Ask Joe Sixpack what ‘rules based order’ means and he’ll just roll his eyes and ask for another Bud Light. But as marketing for the U.S. and now NATO war party, it’s genius.

A century of sliders

 

White Castle hamburgers first began causing indigestion a hundred years ago. A century on folks like me keep coming back for more, tummy troubles be damned.

First sampled sliders 70 years ago when White Castle marked 30 years. That first slider hooked me and the last wolfed down was as good as Numero Uno.

It was the only fast food chain back then, tho only in a handful of Midwestern states. Even in year 100 there are just 377 little castles in 13 states. McDonalds has over 36,000 units in 117 countries. But bigger isn’t better, never will be with hamburgers.

Founded by cook Walt Anderson and real estate agent Billy Ingram, Sept. 13, 1921, on First & Main, Wichita, KS. Ingram bought out Anderson in ’33. 88 years on great granddaughter Lisa Ingram is still the Queen of the Castle. She owns all stores and pays cash for every one. A quarter of its 10,000 employees have a decade or more dedicated to sliding sliders down our gullets.

Time Mag named White Castle the most influential hamburger of all time. For good reason. Back in ’21 Americans were still skittish about downing burgers with thoughts of Sinclair Lewis’ yucky beef expose ‘The Jungle’ still dampening their burger appetite. Anderson and Ingram concocted splendid white enamel exteriors to complement spotless stainless steel interiors to entice folks to gobble up their 100% pure beef beauties.

And if you’re about to devour one, don’t forget to squish on White Castle’s wonderful Dusseldorf Mustard.

Just writing this is giving me ‘The Crave’.

Taliban won, U.S. lost; time to leave Afghanistan

America hates to lose. We quickly knocked the Taliban from Afghan power in 2001 following the 911 attacks. They didn’t do 911. The Saudis’ fingerprints are all over the attacks but we couldn’t knock off our best weapons customer and key ally in changing out the hated Iranian regime.

Instead, we directed our fury and firepower against the Taliban for not stopping the portion of the planning that occurred in Afghanistan. That would be like blaming the U.S. government for not stopping Timothy McVeigh’s attack that killed 168 at the Murrah Federal Building in 1995.

Near 20 years later the Taliban in poised to take back Afghanistan from their American invaders and the corrupt, servile government the U.S. supports. Trump’s greatest foreign war move was negotiating an agreement with the Taliban 13 months ago to leave that war torn, failed nation in 15 months.

That date is just 6 weeks off. Part of the deal was for the Taliban to stop killing U.S. troops defiling their country. They kept that bargain but not the lesser one of cooperating with the U.S. puppet government still pretending to govern Afghanistan.

Biden, echoing Trump on everything Obama, says Trump made a bad deal. He’s signaled he wants another 6 months to ‘think it over’. The U.S. war party, their hair on fire over Trump’s wise deal, is cooling off a bit.

Biden is wrong. If, as expected, he kicks the can of criminal war down the road for another 6 months, U.S. troops will be targeted again and some will die.

Biden ends every speech with the delusional plea for God to protect our troops. But it’s all on Biden. He can protect our troops by fulfilling Trump’s sane move 13 months ago and getting every last one out May 1.