Sand Castles

Nobody asked but ...

A severe case of the End justifying the Means:  Seize any laudable goal, then build a sand castle around it, ignoring that even the most minor chink in the foundation will evolve into a chasm.  Then beat all critics with the laudability of the still distant goal until everyone is investing all resources in the eternal rescue of the sand castle.  This metaphor is scalable.  It fits sand castles.  It fits full employment schemes, war, infrastructure, the state, empires.

Free Lunch

Nobody asked but ...

What's the difference between the free lunches offered by POTUS-Elect and by POTUS'es-also-ran?  They all would have been prohibitively expensive, were lies, and will never take place.  Consolation?  There WILL BE one or more massively expensive nutrition-free meals, any way we may have gone.

-- Kilgore Forelle

Words Poorly Used #73: Avoiding War

There were a post and a thread of discussion on Facebook today covering the POTUS-Elect's nomination for Secretary of State.  Someone ventured that we (the USA, I suppose) would "avoid war with Russia."  One, we never avoid war, it is the health of the state (per Randolph Bourne), and it is the wealth of the oligarchy.  And it is the joystick of the powerful.  Two, haven't every POTUS and SOS always avoided war with Russia, or did I miss an episode?  Give a little, take a little, but don't break up the game.