Playground dynamics explain a lot.
    Especially in large schools there are always mean boys and mean boy wanna bes. Among the mean boys the alpha is the one who makes it so much worse.
    While no match in an education sense to regular, even non-bully marginal students, they are the most street tough and street smart among a street smart breed. And the most conniving, natural born leaders in the worst sense. They out bully the bullies, but instead of tossing their regular victims aside, the predators they are, they recognize a fellow, yet weaker, predator. They have a mutual interest in power over others, and together they are stronger.
    The gang starts. The worst of biker gangs would be a good example. Hitler and his immense gang another, on a larger, scale.
    Should be no surprise that politics, and religion, attracts such characters, especially when it comes to authoritarians. Doesn’t matter: fascism, communism, strongman, cult leader. No surprise the weak minded and weak willed fall in behind like obedient whipped puppies. Gleeful participants in the cruelty practiced by the bully. Sometime sacrifice is called for: Jonestown, Hitler’s faithful Brownshirts.
    These days, if there is worldwide bully’s bully, politically, I think we all know who that is…
    And it’s NOT Donald Trump. Trump is the weakest link among authoritarians. No, with more than just a sense of basic irony, it’s the guy with the same first name as the 1400’s “Prince of Wallachia:” Vlad the Impaler. And among bullies Vladimir Putin may be one of the smartest in all senses of the word. And that makes him the most dangerous in recent history, perhaps eventually more than Hitler as other authoritarians line up, yet loosely, behind him… and movements like white nationalism that’s expanding across the globe.
    Always been there, just part of perhaps the biggest Axis of Evil in recent history.
    Vlad Putin, of course, gets people murdered all over the world, like the wicked witch in Oz, sending his obedient flying monkeys out to poison, shoot, run off the road: murder those who don’t or won’t obey him. “Betray” him. Not be “loyal.”
    Does that sound familiar? In a foreboding sense it should. We have only just begun to follow the Axis down into the dangerous, darkest part, of the Oz-ian Haunted Forest, thanks to the new administration. They use disinformation, and accuse others of what they do, as the poppies to put people to sleep. Or in as “look over there instead” distraction intended to cause rage.
    Think he’ll stop at Ukraine?
    Ha,
    Ha, ha.
    Ha, ha, ha, ha.
    Ukraine: where apartment buildings, train stations full of people are targeted by a military that has become perhaps the largest gang since WWII. And being a former KGB agent Putin was well trained to distract, provide disinformation especially via his internet trolls. Think all he wants is Ukraine?
    Again…
    Ha,
    Ha, ha.
    He wants the USSR block nations back and more. I’m sure he dreams of dividing up the world among members of his bully gang, like Stalin and Hitler did. And like big mega rich business owners in Russia, if they are not obedient to the bully’s bully they will lose their riches, their countries, perhaps their lives like Navalny.
    Something the media simply isn’t covering is that while white nationalists, supremacists, and their movement, have been building momentum globally, leaders like Victor Orban have been stripping democratic elements out of the governments they run. Trump is no anomaly. He’s just one of the newest members of the gang.
    It’s no surprise that Trump constantly praises authoritarians like Kim. Much of the right is in love with Orban, and laughs about how Pinochet used to have his opponents thrown out of helicopters, admires Putin who has to approve parties to be able to participate in what now are no more than fake elections in Russia.
    Think 2016 and 2018 are our refugee, our revenge, our chance to stop this? Yes, but the window has been closing, in fact it’s been closing since at least 2000 where Jeb purged enough voters to get it that close, and the demand to stop counting the vote was agreed to by an increasingly packed Court. Probably even more so by at least 2018, if not sooner.
    Closing because the Republican Party has been neutering voter block that won’t vote their way. And recently have been neutering all voters where laws have been passed to allow individual Republicans to report thousands of voters who they claim shouldn’t have the right to vote. Automatically tossed off the rolls. No questions act. They probably don’t even know they lost the vote.
    Just one of many tactics, like too few and bad machines to politically inconvenient voting areas (like black), absurd ID laws like accepting gun IDs but not student ID’s. There are so many they use. Expect them to follow the head of the bully gang’s lead: in Russia where the newer Prince Vlad gets to decide which parties and therefore candidates, get to run against him.
    Ukraine is crucial. It can help decapitate the head of the gang. The others may survive, but will be far, far weaker, as will be their followers. Stopping Putin is as important as stopping Trump.

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    “Inspection” is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 50 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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