Writes Charles Hugh Smith:
In the decade ahead, if we want solutions / fixes /changes, we're going to have to make them happen in our own lives. We can start with the full range of meaning in the phrase get lean: replace the fat of wasted time, "entertainment," "news," consumerist indulgences and relying on the government and corporations to take care of us with the often difficult and tedious work of becoming less dependent on institutions and companies to secure what we value.
If we want a secure supply of food, grow some of our own. If we want to be healthy, then get healthy on our own. If we want a career, then hammer one out ourselves by owning our skills and taking responsibility for getting full value for them. If we want an education, then get it ourselves, not by borrowing a fortune but by figuring out how to learn what we want to learn on our own, at the lowest possible cost in time and money.
If we want a secure water supply, then we better buy a water tank. If we want reliable electricity, then we better arrange to save up and invest in our own system, however modest. If it charges phones, keeps the Internet connected, powers a few lights, and is sustainable, then that's a lot better than having nothing but a flashlight.
Get lean means getting rid of the garbage weighing us down: the garbage food, the garbage consumption of junk we don't need, the garbage social media and "entertainment," the garbage debt, the junk we don't even use that's in storage, the garbage unpaid shadow work imposed by our corporate masters and government agencies, and the garbage narratives that keep us focused on what the globalists might be doing instead of what we can do for ourselves in the real world.
Mr. Trump loves the "high ratings" of a celebrity and election victories for his legacy. A clean and magnanimous victory over Iran might have provided that. But a two-year quagmire will destroy his legacy, his party, our military and much of the younger generation. And Valerie Jarret will be making policy in 2028.
If the President wanted good "optics" in this imprudent and dangerous war, he would have declared an epic victory immediately after the death of the Ayatollah, pulled American assets home, and arranged the equivalent of a ticker-tape parade for them.
But it has been two full days since the decapitation, and young American bodies are being placed in coffins.
"U.S. missile and air-defense interceptor inventories have been severely drawn down by the relentless pace of recent [Iran] operations, revealing that between defending Israel, Ukraine, and itself, the American military is spread too thin. Replenishing these high-end systems can take over a year, analysts say, because production lines are optimized for peacetime and cannot be surged overnight.
"We know for sure that China is thrilled to see America weakened. They will view Iran as Joe Biden viewed Ukraine: as an opportunity to cripple a global rival (the Russian Federation.) Keep an eye out for headlines about Chinese efforts to prolong this conflict."
-- Tucker Carlson
Maybe, at most, a week long. He expected an immediate regime change and then surrender.
Remember the Sand People? Those primitive Houthis? The US spent $7 billion bombing the Houthis over about 6-7 weeks and failed to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack with missiles.
The problem with Iran is much worse. This week, the US and Israel may burn through the last offensive and defensive munitions, including interceptors. Will Iran surrender at that point, or escalate with their larger arsenal of missiles?
If you are not praying for Pete Hegseth, you should be.