Author Archives: salsagator
The Plaza Is Calling: Death of the American Dream
Will climbing prices keep new cars unaffordable and is Washington telling the U.S. consumers to drop dead? In recent years new car prices have skyrocketed. What started out as a lack of semiconductors for vehicles during the pandemic is turning into a new normal. The industry is well past the semiconductor and supply chain issues, […]
Shoot First, Ask Questions Later:
Charging Into Policy Risk and Uncertainty The President has used a policy failure of the 1800s and applied it to today’s modern economy. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump spoke fondly of the “McKinley” tariffs which were in imposed in the 1890s. This was when the U.S.’s leading exports were corn, cotton and […]
The Great Schism returns
The structure and history of the U.S. and Russia complicates their relations. Russia is a hierarchical society that stresses power and conformity. The U.S. is a diverse society that legally protects individual rights and freedom. In the U.S. government power was divided horizontally between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Vertically, governmental power is shared […]
The Long-Short Game in Syria
The US, Israel and Turkey have accelerated bombing in Syria since the departure of Bashar Assad. Israel claims it has destroyed Syria’s navy and increased its military footprint in Southern Syria. Israel claims no pretense of soft power. Should the US do the same? To date, it has decided it should. It has struck at […]
Putin declares victory
In the geopolitical sense the war in Ukraine is over. In global strategic terms Vladimir Putin won; NATO, US, Europe and Ukraine lost. The take-away is Putin’s military aggression was a success. He’s been rewarded for military aggression in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine twice (2014, 2022). He has gained territory and his reputation for delivering results […]
Civil War: Garland’s gamble
It’s most powerful when there is no live sound or it goes completely silent. In the opening scene a suicide bomber runs into a crowd and detonates. It’s not surprising, as our main character is a war correspondent. What is jarring is that the suicide bomber is American and is running into a crowd of […]
Deep Fake: When Seeing is Not Believing
Deep fake images have already been created and distributed showing Donald Trump getting arrested. These images are not real and the event did not happen. These images are synthetic yet it appears Trump got arrested. This, mind you, was made to show how far the technology has gone. It was done intentionally by someone who […]
Former Allies Ditch America: Realpolitik
As former allies shift allegiances, flows of commerce dissolve and inflation continues, an overview of geopolitics can offer some perspective. A post-Cold War era of globalization and prosperity is being replaced by fragmentation and more fluid alliances. The US, Europe, China, Russia, India and the Middle East represent the commanding heights of the new multipolar […]
A Gaza peace proposal
A great tragedy initiated by Hamas is under way in the Gaza Strip. Every innocent life is precious and there is a genuine concern about the women and children caught up in prosecuting the Gaza-based Hamas militants. The good news is, Hamas has choices. If they committed to releasing the hostages, Israel would likely […]
Red Fever Pitch – a China reset
Fear sells. Fear is selling on both sides of the partisan divide and both sides of the Pacific. U.S. national security officials seeking enhanced weapons systems, media outlets seeking ratings and elected officials seeking popularity are all in on the hustle. While this is standard operating procedure in the nation’s capital, the U.S. may be […]
The Florida Squeeze 