The Czar is still so irate and humorless with the electorate that he is perfectly willing to yield the floor. Today’s essay has been contributed by long-time minion Island Dweller.

The Czar always expected Japan would need to expand beyond self-defense; Island Dweller makes the case that this could be inevitable. Because of the US.

Something came up last night during a chat with my esteemed associate. We were discussing the national debt and how it’s owned by foreign nations – one of which appears to be getting close to some financial difficulties of its own.

As we are all aware, the People’s Republic of China – which I will hereafter call Communist China, because that’s what it is – holds a significant percentage of our national debt. Some of course is also owned by countries in the European Union, which is undergoing its own socialist-inspired meltdown as I write this. Please recall some time ago Dear Leader and Hillary were treated to a lecture by of all people the Premier of Communist China about how a capitalist society is supposed to work. He was greatly concerned about the continued swing toward full-blown socialism the current administration represents, severely undermining that same system the Communist Chinese desperately need in the US for support. There have been rumors circulating Dear Leader plans to administratively write off the nation’s debt and at the stroke of a pen tell the world we now owe nothing to anyone, thus eliminating the record deficits he’s run up.

Sounds like a quick, painless solution to a vexing situation, but there’s one problem. Those who are left holding the markers will be outraged and will demand some sort of compensation beyond having DL’s thumb inserted in their eye. Communist China is greatly concerned about this possibility as their own economy is getting set to implode due to developing far too briskly. Needless to say economies in the EU are tottering and an action such as DL is reportedly contemplating is giving them the willies big time. This sort of thing is how wars begin.

Another subject that passed between myself and my associate up North was the situation vis-a-vis Japan. In any conflict involving the Strait of Hormuz the Japanese will be the big losers as most of their oil passes through that waterway heading east. Since the early 1950s the Japanese have had a small but highly competent military that sees to security in the area of the Home Islands and makes periodic good-will visits to foreign nations.

I have had the pleasure of visiting Japanese warships in a professional capacity and was always received with the utmost courtesy and given their respectful attention when meeting with them. They have so far been stout allies of the U.S., beginning with the Korean War.

With the U.S. Navy rapidly approaching a strength it has not displayed since prior to WWI, our ability to project power into far corners of the world and thus influence events to our advantage is rapidly being eroded. Our allies will have to take up the slack; however, it’s not likely the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will be likely to deploy and support a task group in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure its oil supplies reach Nihon. They just don’t have the resources. This means Japan, a one-time staunch ally of the U.S., will now, thanks to the defense policies of DL, be dancing to the Iranians’ tune. There goes another ally, and a force for stability in two potentially violent parts of the world – the Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea and the Northern Pacific and Sea of Japan.

It’s nice to have an educated electorate, isn’t it?

Scripsit Island Dweller

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.