Relax and leave your volume as is, there will be no F-bombs this week. Cussing is for emphasis and if you overuse it then it loses its effectiveness. No today will be expletive free, but my goodness we got a lesson in pragmatism from one Mr. Putin this week. Tucker Carlson interviewed Vladimir Putin, I’m attaching the link if you want to watch, and he is currently at 198 million views of a two-hour interview, in comparison for 123 million for the Super Bowl, and I don’t know if they stayed through the whole thing but I did. It was a masterclass in common sense. I haven’t listened to any other commentary as I wanted to bring my own thoughts before the interview was denounced, critiqued, ridiculed, propagandized, blocked, taken down, or heralded. I’ve seen a few headlines though, so I am not one hundred percent without influence, but I tried. Let’s start here.
“Ask any intelligent and thinking person in the United States what the dollar means for the US, you are killing it with your own hands. “ Vladimir Putin Feb 6, 2024 to Tucker Carlson
This is such common sense that I can’t believe that I heard it come from a politician. This is a word for word quote. Our politicians can’t put word to words together. This was my most amazing takeaway about the whole interview: I couldn’t believe that leaders could talk that way. He was direct, he was patient and he needed to be. I am not a Tucker Carlson fan per se, I have listened to him before and I think he is a good self-marketer and I’m aware of him, but he has never said enough intelligent things to make me want to listen to him religiously. He lives and works in the political pool at a depth where I do not care to go. No real issues with him, just not my cup of tea. He is either a bad interviewer, or he had a bad day. I don’t know what the agreement was with Putin, but Putin was answering the question about why Ukraine, why now for the first 30 minutes. It was a fascinating historical account of the region. It was a history lesson. Perhaps some will find flaws with the details on some things, but I have enough history of the region that it was an adequate retelling. I paused it and had to google some wars with which I was unfamiliar. It was not good television, twitter, or interesting unless you are into history. Check for me.
Whenever Tucker interrupted him, it was to ask a question that totally interrupted the flow. Putin even said something to the effect, I thought you wanted to have a serious conversation. To Putin a serious conversation is a 30 minute account, background, and history of the why that area is worth sending people to die for that region. Putin was a lawyer, and he was building a case for why they are doing what they are doing and the case was being made to the world. Whether you agree or disagree, the case was being built. One generation at a time, from the founding in 862 AD to present day Ukraine with an eastern Donbas region of persecuted Russians. Putin is tricky though because he told a whopper of a lie. He said if you will indulge me for 30 seconds or so to give you a history lesson, well this 30 seconds turned into 30 minutes.
I was intrigued and stunned that a world leader could speak that fluently about anything much less the history of his nation. I guess I am out of practice or haven’t had a chance to practice. He is spouting numbers off about US GDP, US debt levels, Indonesia population etc. He was off by a few digits on a couple things, but directionally correct on most everything. He has an excellent grasp of statistics and figures for a guy that is 71 and about to die according to the Western Media.
Tucker would try to butt his way in with a question and Putin would say I am getting to that and resume telling his story. It was entertaining. Tucker was internally screaming NOOOOO! But he was very respectful and listened intently the entire time. Well, he listened and waited to speak is more like it. Putin even tried a few jokes that Tucker either didn’t get or was slow to pick up on. I think Putin was playing a little Chess to see what he was made of, and I think he was not impressed. Tucker is not even on Putin’s level, when he does get a question in it seems elementary and almost beneath Putin to have to stop and pretend to answer.
Enough Tucker bashing because that isn’t my goal as he was fine, but frankly was just in the way. Putin often said I have already said that or had to progress back to his agenda. Putin made some insightful observations. Why is the US killing itself with its relationship with China? This is a history lesson for Americans. China is a country of little history of ever invading and trying to control the world or its neighbors. I think China is trying to feed and clothe 1.5 billion people and they have made remarkable progress. The late Charlie Munger marveled at China’s ability to transform itself so quickly. China became productive while America became less so. I think Putin was referring to the ability of China to be a good trading partner. They have lots of labor supply and can provide goods at low prices and the American consumer can benefit. He just described the last 40 years.
Putin also made an interesting point about after the fall of the USSR how Russia was not invited to join NATO or embraced at all by the West. This has always troubled me, but I am thinking in a far older context. Russian has been invaded by Europe not the other way around. Napoleon in 1812, the Germans in 1914, and then the Nazis. Why did the Americans treat the Soviets so poorly after World War II when we should have been celebrating them, jealousy? I realize why Patton wanted to go off and fight them next. Patton just loved to fight, and he knew they were capable. The Soviet Union was attacked by the Germans, they lost the most lives of anyone in World War II. They lost 3 times as many lives as the Germans and 30 times as many as the Americans. Without their occupying the Germans on the eastern front, the Allies might never have taken back continental Europe. Putin called it the Great Patriotic War. Putin quoted Dostoyevsky about the Russian soul, which is as bleak as their winter according to their great authors. It would be funny if it were not so sad. That might be the most Russian statement ever.
Why didn’t they get their due, why did they become the enemy so quickly after the war?
Putin did mention what could have been and perhaps should have been a clean start for Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, but now we almost treat the latter as if it is nothing more than an extension of the former. He is upset about Russia not being asked to join the Western World and he refers to this as pressure, pressure, pressure. I assume it is about having an enemy to arm against, and create an enemy. I also think that at some level the West wants the resources of Russia.
Putin explained the 5 different times that NATO has advanced east toward his border, all the while trying to negotiate and say that this was unacceptable. Ukraine was in violation of the Minsk agreements and Russia has tried to reach out to negotiate but to no avail. Russia is always open to negotiate, Russia has never refused to negotiate. Zelensky proclaimed that it wouldn’t negotiate. Their attempts at negotiation fell on deaf ears unless you were listening. The deaf ears were Europe and the US, which do whatever they want without any regard for consistency or legal basis. Ask the countries we have been bombing for the last 15 years or the two that we bombed last week, which Russia is taking to the UN as broaches of independent nations sovereignty, I’m referring to Syria and Iraq.
We have talked about this American propaganda before whether it was during the BRICS discussions about why they are attempting to de-dollarize or about Sergei Lavrov and his frustrating discussions with members of the US. The American Indian had a term for the US government calling them chiefed by the double tongues. I believe the Russians share this sentiment. Putin went further though when he calls US policy a policy of self-deceit. I found this interesting because it is. We have been saying that our way of life is unsustainable. Printing money and pretending that is productivity, exporting our jobs and manufacturing out of the country so we can buy cheap things at Wal-Mart and live lives of leisure. Because he is a student of history, Putin knows this is the dying wail of a soon to be fallen empire. If one doesn’t listen to our own leaders or they can’t profess it for themselves well perhaps we can listen to another leader that has been leading his country for a quarter of a century. We don’t have to agree with everything he says, but we can learn from him.
Putin said the basis of the security and stability of Russian empire is due to preserving the culture and religions of the people that inhabit Russia. Wow, we don’t do that here. Russia considers his country the motherland and one big family. It is the basis of their society. Putin told us how the weird NeoNazis started this war and how the US backed coup de tat in 2014 got this entire process started, not his invasion in 2022.
He also opined that the West is doing everything it can to keep this war going. Russia and the Ukraine had an agreement, but Boris Johnson from the UK came along and ruined a peace proposal in Istanbul. I have to do more reading on that topic. I don’t know that story. Don’t forget that Europe invades Russia as the rule and yet they play the fear card over a Russian invasion. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We have repeatedly heard statements that they intend to continue to support Kyiv as long as necessary. In other words, they are essentially going to continue to keep Ukraine in a state of war and to wage and continue this war until the last Ukrainian, without sparing any money for it,”
Tucker did have a chance to ask for questions at the end including why Putin didn’t contact the Biden US administration directly and not President Zelensky of Ukraine. That is pretty disrespectful of Ukraine in my opinion considering they are a sovereign nation and the ones doing the dying. He also asked about the jailed journalist in Russia and if there could be an option for freedom. Putin reiterated that he was in possession of classified material and wasn’t going anywhere for now but never say never. This all felt so forced by Tucker, maybe that was to kowtow to his journalism roots, I don’t know.
198 million people and counting have listened to this interview. That’s amazing. Remember 1.3 million people tuned into the NBA game two weeks ago. It seems that there are a lot of people that want to listen to what someone has to say when they are talking about the performance of the United States on the global stage and sports is pretty damned unimportant in comparison. Another lesson to be learned in the coming decade, but not yet I presume.
My takeaway was that Putin was a most thoughtful person. I sat in front of the screen and watched intently for two hours… I thought he was rational, calm, logical, historical, and competent. I would like to have those qualities in our president someday. In a world of sound bites he took 30 minutes to discuss the history of the Ukraine territory and why it was important for the Russian people of one language and one religion to be worth fighting for. Before the 2014 coup the border was open and trade and culture was exchanged across both sides of the border, benefiting both parties. Enter the US, and now they are at war. It seems that is about all America is good for these days. I’m about to venture online and read some opinions of the interview, and I doubt they will be pleasant in the western media. It was also very difficult finding the interview without going directly to Tucker’s site, I guess Google didn’t find 198 million views relevant enough for my search. Putin seems a man that wasn’t made for media, but someone that is a critical thinker. We could use more of that here at home even if we come to different conclusions.
Sincerely Yours,
C Thomas Printer
On this date in history… 148 years ago to be exact, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone.
Also born on this date…. Margaret Knight, inventor of the flat-bottomed paper bag.
Thank you for listening today and you can find all of our articles and more on our website cthomasprinter.com.