In Afghanistan, the Taliban, without us to fight, are now at war with some other local “element” while they are also busy shutting down anything resembling any kind of equality for women.

Here at home, the State of Texas, has just made it easier to carry a concealed firearm while they too infringe upon the equality of women by making it impossible for a woman to get a legal abortion after the 6th week of pregnancy and work to make it more difficult to vote.

In response, Lyft, has just donated a million dollars to Planned Parenthood. Lyft and Uber, are offering to pay for the defense of their drivers charged under the new “bounty” law in Texas, which offers $10,000 to anyone who turns in someone who assisted a woman in getting an abortion, including anybody who just drives her somewhere.

Must it be said again? After only six weeks, many women don’t even know they are pregnant. Get it? So Texas, with the backing of an ultra-right U.S. Supreme Court, has pretty much outlawed abortion, period.

In addition, the “high court,” straining under the intellectual vacuum created by three Trump appointees, has ignored settled (established) law regarding abortion rights in the U.S., and possibly also violated the 4th Amendment right to privacy as outlined in the Constitution of the United States, a document these great legal minds have sworn to uphold.

It all sounds very Nazi-like, doesn’t it? Like Texas has created a whole new class of “brown shirts” running around turning in their neighbors for attempting to do their jobs – which in this case might involve improving healthcare. How do the Uber or Lyft drivers know why the hell a woman want’s to go somewhere? Are they supposed to interrogate their passengers as to the reason for their needing a ride? Did anybody think this through?

Beyond that, why do the Texans and the Taliban hate women? Why does this hate for women and a love of guns seem to go hand in glove for so many of these people? Might it have something to do with control? With having power over the lives of others, and isn’t that a hatred of freedom? Or do they just have some deep-seated fear of women?

Is it coincidence that so many big oil and gas companies are headquartered in the Lone Star State? Do American big oil people have some problem with women? Is there a connection here worth pursuing, particularly with regard to protecting oil interests overseas and needing domestic issues for deflection of the topic here in the U.S.? Or maybe it’s as simple as the guys running these big oil companies thinking women should be kept barefoot, pregnant and muzzled in their kitchens, while the real work is performed out on the job site by the men-folk.

In 2020, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction contributed more than $233 billion to the Texas GDP. According to opensecrets.org, for the 2022 election cycle alone, oil and gas interests have already directed $6,795.765 at “federal candidates, parties and outside groups,” with most of the money going to Republicans.

WEEEEHAW! Don’t think Texas, isn’t telling D.C. what to do. It may be a matter of degree, but all those millions buy plenty of influence.

Robert Freeman, writes on the commondreams.org website, “The oil companies have eviscerated Biden’s Infrastructure plan, denuding it of anything that might boost renewable energy.  The weapons makers have just been granted a $753 billion budget by the Biden administration, despite now losing Afghanistan, in addition to Iraq.  It is supposedly to combat China, which has exactly one foreign military outpost in the world, to the U.S.’s 800.  But if the U.S. military cannot win wars against fourth-world countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, how is it going to win one against China, which has nukes and has just surpassed the U.S. as the largest economy in the world?  It’s psychotic.”

At least we’re no longer trying to mediate the civil war in Afghanistan, like a cop trying to get between two really angry parties in a domestic dispute, which frequently doesn’t work out all that well for the cop. That said, our troops had nothing to do with the political reasons for our being there, so thanks to all who served out of duty to the country and thank you to Joe Biden, for finally getting us out.

I should probably say something about the “backdoor draft” at this point, but I don’t want to be accused to attacking the military – which is one reason the backdoor draft worked so well for the Bush family dynasty. You can probably connect those dots for yourself, and if not – well, like the QAnon Shaman, who says he still likes Donald Trump, even though he failed to issue the Shaman a pardon, you’re probably too far gone for anyone to get to.

You probably can’t fathom the economic issues involved in starting a major land war that continues for years as opposed to avoiding said land war with diplomacy or replacing a mandatory military draft out of necessity to defend the nation with a patriotic call for heroes to defend the needs of big oil.

It couldn’t possibly have been that simple, could it? Eisenhower, warned us about the “military industrial complex,” and the words of Country Joe continue to ring true, “There’s plenty good money to be made, supplying the Army with the tools of its trade.”

Of course, nobody dares go there anymore, after everyone who put on a uniform suddenly became a hero and the distinction between supporting the troops as opposed to insane political directives was erased. Very complex, these military-complex people. Very good at shutting down those who wanted simple answers to simple questions. Questions most of us stopped asking at the risk of being called a traitor or Un-American.

When are we going to start going to war specifically to defend America, as opposed to defending “America’s interests” overseas? Going to war with Hitler’s Germany and Imperial Japan, was about defending America against fascism, not about some abstruse “interest overseas” that can mean damn near anything a politico wants it to mean.

The country is currently so utterly screwed up in its collective thinking that a good portion of the electorate actually believes there is something wrong with opposing Fascism. If ANTIFA actually existed, we should all be supporting it and not opposing it. This is madness, led by a madman who has taken us to the verge.

Let’s see how long we can avoid another unnecessary war. This last one should have ended after President Obama, got Osama bin Laden. Let’s see how long it will take for another Cheney or a Rumsfeld to show themselves, all lathered up and drooling for war with another Saddam, with a slow-witted president waiting in the wings, eager to follow their advice and a giant military-industrial complex eager to supply everything needed to pull it off.

It will probably happen again, you know. But until then, all the money the country saves can be plowed into public education and the Social Security Trust Fund, depleted over the years by a corrupt Congress. They might even direct a billion or two into women’s health and local law enforcement and food for hungry Americans. If Texas, will allow it.