Pelosi going ahead with her Taiwan visit despite the threat of all hell breaking loose.
US fleet moves into the South China Sea
Harish Patel is coming on my show today. He’s been the leading advocate for Chicago’s guaranteed income pilot program. The pilot is the nation's largest publicly funded guaranteed income initiative at $42 million, and Cook County is the first government to commit to a permanent program after the completion of the pilot.
I had intended to post more about the program here this morning. But I can’t help but remain singly focused on Nancy Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan tonight as part of her Cold War Asia Tour, an act which will likely provoke a military response on the part of China. In my mind, the looming threat of war with China dwarfs everything else happening today.
As Substack writer Caitlin Johnstone warns:
The best case scenario for Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the absolute best case, is that it ratchets up cold war tensions with China that threaten us all & benefit ordinary people in no way. The worst-case scenario is as bad as anything you can possibly imagine.
I totally agree. AP reports this morning that the US military is increasing its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region in support of Pelosi’s visit. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group, including nuclear-armed submarines, were in the Philippine Sea on Monday, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity but are now heading towards Taiwan.
Everyone knows by now that Pelosi’s trip is intended to undermine Pres. Biden’s scheduled talks with China’s President XI. The Biden White House has tried for weeks to convince her not to go and to persuade Beijing and the world that her visit says nothing about U.S. policy toward China or Taiwan.
But, according to AP, that effort misses the point because intra-party schisms in Washington are effectively meaningless to the rest of the world. The fact that U.S. policy toward Taiwan is deliberately ambiguous has only made it more difficult for the White House to draw a distinction between what Pelosi is doing and what Biden is saying.
What is the motive behind Pelosi’s dangerous provocation? It’s hard to say right now. It may just be an attempt to assert herself into the picture as leader of the party and kingmaker, showing strength in light of Democrats growing weary of Biden’s failed leadership.
Or it may be just her good old fashion imperial instincts kicking in regardless of the unintended (or intended) consequences her trip may unleash on the rest of the world.
Remember, Pelosi has never met a war she didn’t like or support.
Ah, but back to today’s show. Tune into Hitting Left at lumpenradio.com today 4-5 p.m. CDT when our guest will be Harish Patel talking about Guaranteed Basic Income.