I Think Putin is a Little More Threatening Than Secretary Kerry or the Foreign-Policy-Less Best President EVER

Saw this over at Funniest Memes:

It's looking that way.

Do you suppose this

is in the hands of dissatisfied Tatars who'd rather be left the heck alone than be either Ukrainian or Russian? Are we about to see a really big terrorism event involving a large aircraft? Or, did it simply vanish? This one is a pretty big mystery.

The Crimean vote seems to be fairly lopsided in favor of the Russkies.

I'm thinking that our valiant, forceful Secretary of State is working himself up to a pretty darn good pout about now.

You Know How to Whistle, Don't You? (Updated and Fixed!)

Posting on the iPhone in the car on the way home after a wonderful, jam-packed week in New Orleans, so there may be some interesting spellings. And, I'm pretty worn out, so expect random blatherings. Disclaimer complete. (Fixed!)

During a dinner conversation with some of our delightful hosts, a childhood memory escaped from its drawer in my head and made its presence known:

When I was in elementary school, my Daddy owned a 1/3 interest (together with other Korean War vets) in a pontoon party barge on Lake Maumelle just outside Little Rock. We spent many happy times aboard, tooling around the lake, occasionally getting a fishing line wet. The boat was christened the "FUBAR Maru." I was well into adulthood before I learned the acronym doesn't stand for "FOULED Up Beyond All Recognition."

Yeah, Moogie led a pretty sheltered childhood.

Today, with all of the hullabaloo going on in Ukraine, together with all the impotent, indecisive inaction going on in DC, as a scales-fallen-from-the-eyes adult, I can without doubt or hesitation, assert that the acronym most definitely fits hand-in-glove with the Obama administration.

And it's only getting worse.

IRS scapegoat chick, Lois Lerner, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in this morning's Congressional hearing concerning the IRS's targeting and unequal treatment of conservative groups seeking 501(C)(4) status.

Nothing suspicious there.

But . . . I'm just the tiniest bit hopeful that a breeze is building and heading toward the Obama FUBAR House of Cards.  So, let's all pucker up and blow!

Ukraine: Conspiracy Theory du Jour

I'm working on the iPad, and I'm not very adept at cutting and pasting, so there will probably be no links. And you'll have to trust me on the veracity of my facts. Just remember that I was a docent at the National D-Day Museum, so I'm pretty accurate on my WWII era trivia.

I've been thinking.

That can be dangerous sometimes, according to Pepper.

Anyway, I now postulate that the Young President's administration has potentially been doing an intentional run-up to this Ukraine mess, coupled with the tanked economy, in order to reach a more sinister end.

Hence, a significant reduction in the Defense budget was recently announced due to policy changes in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a need to pare the budget.  Also, we will shortly experience a drawdown in troop strength which will reduce our military readiness to levels not experienced since the isolationist period following WWI. Seriously.

So, if we find ourselves needing to amp up troop strength because Russia is rattling swords, how can we prepare to pitch in to help our "treaty" partner, Ukraine? (While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it is a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, which was designed  to give some comfort to the emerging nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, Kiev demanded enforcement of the accord.)

Facing similar need, after WWI, when our troop strength was cripplingly impaired, what did we do to prepare to save the world as the bad guys were gearing up to overtake as much of it as they could?

We instituted a draft, of course!

So, here comes The Draft!

But, you might say, what about those opposed to VIOLENT military service? We mustn't compel them to engage in conduct that they find distasteful! Of course not.  So, what if there will be an option for nominal "national service?" The Young President could then have his "civilian force," first alluded to in the campaign for his first term. And, then what?

I leave you to ponder that.

And, seriously. Think about it.

Obama Amps It Up a Notch For Ukraine

This just in from Ukraine: trucks bearing Russian plates disgorged masked and armed troops wearing uniforms with no insignia that have effectively taken over the Crimea. Other Russian troops are on the move.

Meanwhile, France has jumped on the "there will be costs" bandwagon via her Foreign Minister.

And the Young President shifted gears and has moved beyond the "stern talking-to" strategy. He warned Putin that further aggression would lead to deeper "isolation" for Russia on the International front.

Yes, the leader of the free world has threatened the Russian Bear with a shunning.

This is not looking promising.

Putin Flexes His Renowned Muscles

In 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin opined that, if Barack Obama were elected to the Presidency, Russia would invade Ukraine. She was universally derided and mocked.

Today, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Oh. Excuse me. Russia conducted some military "exercises." In Ukraine. (After the conclusion of the Olympics, of course.)

Obama took to the airwaves, promising that there would be "costs" for an outright invasion. Somebody else -- can't remember who -- suggested that The USA might boycott the G-8 Summit in Sochi in May.

Putin must be shaking in his boots.

Wonder who'll pick up the tab for those "costs?"

No, I didn't really think there would be any question, Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer and/or Soldier.

Damn.