{"id":100848,"date":"2022-03-17T19:17:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T23:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=100848"},"modified":"2022-03-17T19:17:36","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T23:17:36","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-march-16th-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=100848","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, March 16th, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday, March 16th, 2022…and the fact we’re writing this means, unlike Julius Caesar, we survived the Ides of March.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And since we’re on the subject of would-be dictators, before we begin, how many times can 46* repeat the same lie…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…without the MSM calling him on it?\u00a0 Answer: As many times as he wants.\u00a0 Perhaps more importantly, do Joe’s handlers not realize no one gives a hoot in Hell about the vaccine with the price of gas where it is, nor are jobs previously lost due to government-ordered lockdowns and restrictions to be considered “created” upon their return?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, NRO<\/em>‘s Kevin Williamson records in gory detail (said details accessible through the link in the title immediately below) the sufferings of Ukrainian civilians which have resulted in the sequestration of…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia, Alone<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…\u201cWe are all Ukrainians now,\u201d says the headline over a Wall Street Journal<\/a> <\/span><\/em><\/span>column. The sentiment is a humane one.<\/span> But it is a lie. We are not<\/em><\/span> all Ukrainians.<\/span> Most of us are far removed from anything like<\/em><\/span> that kind of danger or that kind of suffering. The worst we<\/em><\/span> have felt is higher gasoline prices and more expensive groceries.<\/span> These matter, of course, and they matter a great deal to the poor, for whom these additional financial burdens are very heavy. But that is not<\/em><\/span> the same.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is not easy<\/em><\/span> to be brave, and it is not easy<\/em><\/span> to suffer. But how much easier it must be to suffer oneself<\/em><\/span> than to watch one\u2019s children suffer<\/em><\/span>, to be cold and hungry, to die, blown to pieces in the womb before taking their first breath.<\/span> How many Ukrainian mothers and fathers would happily \u2014 joyfully<\/span><\/em> \u2014 give their own lives if it meant that their children could have a decent dinner and a safe, warm place to sleep<\/em><\/span> \u2014 i.e., if they could have what my dogs have<\/em><\/span>? Millions<\/em><\/span>, I imagine.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

No, we are not<\/em><\/span> all Ukrainians now. Not by a damned sight<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We are not<\/em><\/span> all Russians either. I do not flatter myself that the Russian people have been waiting for my advice, but I will offer it, anyway: You have to<\/em> act<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> You must<\/em><\/span>. This is your<\/em><\/span> country, your<\/span><\/em> army, your<\/em><\/span> government, your<\/em><\/span> tax dollars, your<\/em><\/span> flag, your<\/em><\/span> name.<\/span> Vladimir Putin is not<\/em><\/span> a superman, and he cannot<\/em><\/span> act alone. What is being done by your government is not<\/em><\/span> going to be forgiven.<\/span> You<\/span><\/em>, and your children<\/em>, and your grandchildren<\/em><\/span> will bear the shame of this. Things are never<\/em><\/span> going to go back to normal for you.<\/span> I don\u2019t know if you have noticed, but, to put it in popular terms, the civilized world has got together, and we have voted you off the island<\/em><\/span>. The ties between you and the civilized world that have been cut in recent weeks are not going to be restored quickly, and many<\/em><\/span> of them will never<\/em><\/span> be restored at all.<\/span> You are not part of the civilized world<\/em><\/span> anymore. We are not going to forget what you have been party to, what so many of you have stood by and accepted.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What makes it worse<\/em><\/span>, if that is possible, and certainly more asinine: You have already lost<\/em><\/span>, in that what your government had hoped to achieve will not be achieved. You can murder as many expectant mothers and children as you like, bomb them until you run out of munitions, burn down the hospitals and the libraries, execute all the mayors, and you will still<\/em><\/span> have lost.<\/span> And when you are gone, the civilized people of this world are going to help to rebuild Ukraine, and you will be \u2014 what? Praying for high gas prices?<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

And though it’s reasonable to assume a man getting his ass handed to him as badly as Vlad is would be grateful for a way out, Putin is as far from reasonable as Biden’s Green Agenda is from reality, as Jim Geraghty\u00a0<\/i>tells us<\/strong>…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Putin Doesn\u2019t Want an \u2018Off Ramp<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n

He Places His Bet against the West\u2019s Attention Span<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…Back in 2014, when Russian military forces moved into Crimea and annexed it, then-secretary of state John Kerry and other Obama administration officials kept talking up the option of a \u201cdiplomatic off-ramp<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>\u201d that would end Russia\u2019s military occupation. Those proposals never went anywhere; Kerry seemed to be in denial of the fact that Putin was on precisely the highway he wanted to be on, headed toward exactly the destination he wanted.<\/span> Putin wasn\u2019t looking<\/em><\/span> for an \u201coff-ramp.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Today, you hear the same refrain \u2014 that if the West just tried hard enough, it could find some \u201cdiplomatic off-ramp\u201d that would be acceptable to Putin:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Axios<\/a><\/em>: \u201cPresident Biden now faces a great unanswered question \u2014 how to give Vladimir Putin an off-ramp to avoid even greater calamity.\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0Irish Times<\/a><\/em><\/span>: \u201cWhile the prospect of a ceasefire in the short-term may seem remote, there will come a point where Putin needs an off-ramp.<\/span> The West can keep applying pressure on Putin while showing him that a negotiated peace is there for the taking.\u201d\u00a0NPR<\/a><\/em><\/span>: \u201cDiplomats are trying to find an off ramp to Putin\u2019s war in Ukraine.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

How<\/span><\/em> can Putin make it any clearer<\/em><\/span>? He doesn\u2019t want<\/em><\/span> an \u201coff ramp!\u201d<\/span> He doesn\u2019t want<\/span><\/em> to end his war, he wants to win<\/em><\/span> his war. He doesn\u2019t care<\/em><\/span> how gargantuan a price he or his country must pay in blood and treasure to achieve victory.<\/span> To a certain degree, Putin is dealing with the sunken-cost fallacy. He has already committed so much, nationally and personally, into this war that he cannot accept a relatively modest prize of Donetsk and Luhansk and a guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO.<\/span> Russia\u2019s big sacrifices in this war means Putin must bring home a big prize to justify the bloody endeavor.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The only way this war ends is with one side or the other devastated \u2014 or both in a bitter stalemate.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Putin will shift to the long game and bet that his willpower can outlast the West\u2019s. He never has to worry about reelection.<\/span> He likely believes the Russian people will accept any sacrifice he asks to restore Russia to greatness. He looks at the West and sees weakness, decadence, and fecklessness \u2014 a lot of tough talk but not much willingness to sacrifice.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, the world is outraged at Russia\u2019s brutality in Ukraine now. But the world was outraged by the Taliban returning to power, and it slowly and steadily moved on from that; Afghanistan is once again an afterthought on the world stage.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The world was outraged by the brutality of Syria\u2019s Bashir al-Assad and\u00a0his use of chemical weapons 50 times in the course of that country\u2019s civil war<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0. . . but the world slowly and steadily moved on from that. The world was briefly outraged by the CCP\u2019s ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs . . . and yet the world, moved on from that concern.<\/span> There\u2019s always something else<\/em><\/span> coming along to push that story out of the news cycle.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Heck, three years ago,\u00a0then-candidate Joe Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state<\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Now there\u2019s talk of a Biden state visit to Saudi Arabia,\u00a0and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is turning down Biden\u2019s phone calls<\/a><\/em><\/span>. Everybody talks tough<\/em><\/span>, right up until the day they realize they need your oil.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In Putin\u2019s mind, all<\/em><\/span> of the West\u2019s principles are conditional and negotiable.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In six months, will Europe still<\/span><\/em> be willing to do the hard work of weaning itself off Russian oil and gas exports?<\/span> Will all those international companies still want to stay away from the Russian market? Will London property owners and businesses start to miss all those big-spending oligarchs?\u00a0Will American farmers want that $1.28 billion in fertilizer again<\/a><\/span><\/em>?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Putin is betting that Americans, and the rest of the free world, don\u2019t have the stomach<\/em><\/span> for a protracted economic war and that the Ukrainians don\u2019t have the stomach for a protracted military war. The Russian dictator calculates that the moment that the West really starts to sweat over $100-per-barrel oil prices, Western leaders will call up Zelensky and tell him to give up half the country and move the capital of free Ukraine to Lviv or someplace else.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Putin might be wrong. But it\u2019s far from guaranteed<\/em><\/span> at this moment.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, also writing at NRO<\/em>, Andrew Stuttaford updates us on…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Pals in Beijing<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…Meanwhile, our cooperation with China over climate change (a relationship so vital that John Kerry wouldn\u2019t \u00a0want it to be disrupted by small matters\u00a0such as genocide<\/a><\/em><\/span>) seems to be going swimmingly.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomberg<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

China plans a massive increase in coal mining<\/span>, a move that will dramatically<\/span> reduce its reliance on imports and<\/span> deal a blow to its near-term climate actions.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation\u2019s top economic planner, told officials from major mining regions at a meeting late last week that it wants to boost domestic production capacity by about 300 million tons<\/span>, according to people familiar with the matter.<\/span> It also plans to build a 620 million-ton stockpile<\/span> of the fuel split between government, miners and users.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Such an increase in output would cut<\/span> the country\u2019s already scant dependence<\/span> on foreign imports after global prices hit record levels in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/span> The measures also highlight concerns that China\u2019s reliance on fossil fuels remains as entrenched as ever<\/span>, as it seeks to\u00a0enhance energy security<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to limit disruptions to economic growth, regardless of the impact on its climate goals\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And there we have it.<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Here’s the juice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That last sentence in the Bloomberg<\/em> quote bears repeating: Enhanced energy security so as limit disruptions to economic growth.\u00a0 What an incredibly novel concept<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 So while the ChiComs continue to drill and dig at a frenetic pace, the illegitimate occupant of the Offal Office doubles down on an\u00a0utterly impossible Green energy agenda<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a> which would leave America at the mercy of her most implacable foreign foes, as the Journal’s Alyssia Finley records<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turning from the Bad & the Ugly to the Good,\u00a0NRO<\/em>‘s Rich Lowry introduces our current favorite for 2024:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ron DeSantis and the New Republican Party<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

A glimpse at what Trumpism without Trump can look like<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“R<\/strong><\/span><\/span>on DeSantis<\/span>\u00a0had another moment that lit up the Right last week, this time pushing back against Disney\u2019s critique of the so-called \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d bill.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In his statement<\/a><\/em><\/span>, DeSantis was absolutely stalwart, saying that the chances are \u201czero\u201d that he\u2019s going to back away from his support for the law. And he didn\u2019t hesitate to go on offense against Disney.<\/span> He said it had made a fortune off being family-friendly so should understand that families don\u2019t want inappropriate material injected into the curriculum at schools, and smacked the company for making money in China without denouncing the brutal practices of the CCP.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

DeSantis had been\u00a0equally forthright<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/span>a few days earlier, contesting the dishonest \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d characterization by a reporter at a news conference.<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s why people don\u2019t trust people like you,\u201d the governor said, \u201cbecause you peddle fake narratives, and so we disabuse you of those narratives.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/em><\/span> is the voice of the new<\/em><\/span> Republican Party.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…<\/span>If this new approach draws on Trump, it should vitiate one of the arguments long made for Trump: \u201cAt least he fights.\u201d Now, the party is full<\/em><\/span> of people who want to fight in a broadly similar fashion \u2014 however, with important differences from Trump<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d controversy, DeSantis isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span> relitigating what happened in the last election; he is freshly litigating a defense against a cutting-edge progressive cause.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span> defending the indefensible; he\u2019s defending the eminently defensible, in fact the unfairly maligned.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span> dragging anyone through a fight occasioned by his personal failings or dubious practices; he\u2019s standing up for a well-considered conservative initiative.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And he isn\u2019t<\/em><\/span> winging it and jousting with reporters who know more about the contested topic than he does; no<\/em><\/span>, on this and pretty much everything else, he knows more than any of his antagonists<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So DeSantis opens up a vista offering an important element of Trumpism without the baggage or selfishness of Trump<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…<\/span>This gets at what could be one of the most persuasive arguments to Republican voters for Trump not running again \u2014 not that he needs to go away so the old<\/em><\/span> party can be restored, but that he\u2019s unnecessary<\/em><\/span> because a new<\/em><\/span> party has emerged.<\/strong><\/span><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Here’s a second shot of the juice:\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why would…or should…anyone want to settle for less?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next, inquiring Conservative minds should find their interest piqued by this quintet of specially-selected items:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1).\u00a0Teachers at a school district in Wisconsin are being instructed to hide their students\u2019 changing gender identities from parents<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a> on the grounds that \u201cparents are not entitled to know<\/em><\/span>,\u201d and that it is \u201cknowledge that must be earned<\/em><\/span>,\u201d according to\u00a0leaked training documents<\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(2). The officer who shot a knife-wielding 16-year-old in the act of stabbing another girl has been cleared of any wrongdoing.\u00a0 For those unfamiliar with the circumstances of the Ma’Khia Bryant incident, we’re including the body cam footage of the officer involved.\u00a0 The key clip is from the 1:25 to 2:36 mark:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n