I hope that Ukraine gets back on the front pages of American newspapers. This must occur if Americans (most of whom are too young to realize the importance of NATO) can cast an intelligent vote for foreign affairs. The continued existence of NATO and Ukrainian freedom are essential.
The European Union announced Friday it had made 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) available to support Ukraine, the first tranche of money generated from profits on frozen Russian assets.
In May, the EU’s 27 member states reached an agreement to use the interest earned on some 210 billion euros ($225 billion) in Russian central bank assets for military support for Ukraine and rebuilding efforts in the war torn country.
The money, most of which is held in Belgium, was frozen as part of sanctions packages in retaliation for Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Brussels estimates that the interest on those assets could provide around 3 billion euros each year. 🇪🇺
True, but Biden also betrayed Ukraine with his “too little too late” arms deliveries. If Biden had given Ukraine everything they asked for in 2022, and trained the pilots/ delivered the F-16s in 2023, this war would be over now. Instead there’s a stalemate, the troops are exhausted and the younger Ukrainian men are becoming draft dodgers. Biden’s fear of escalation and Putin has put Ukraine in the worst possible situation, other than where they’d be if we’d done nothing (which actually was Biden’s first idea : get Zelensky out of the country, etc). Biden is almost as guilty as Trump but for a different reason. Hopefully, Harris will have better advisors.
Betrayal, Ann P, accusing Biden of betraying Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is a couple of bridges from delivering everything that Ukraine needed when needed. When has that ever happened? The US has supplied much more to Ukraine than any other country -- not enough, nor soon enough, no argument from me and many others on that score.
Thanks to Rudy's corrupt pals, Lev and Igor, there is a recording in which T agrees to get rid of our anti-corruption then ambassador. It can be accessed on the NYT. There is a difference between gray zone policy and pure pillage.
'Decades after the 12 founding members forged the alliance, and amid renewed challenges in Europe and beyond, Biden said NATO stands more powerful than ever.'
"Here, these 12 leaders gathered to make a sacred pledge to defend each other against aggression, provide their collective security, and to answer threats as one because they knew to prevent future wars, to protect democracies, to lay the groundwork for a lasting prosperity they needed a new approach," 'Biden told NATO leaders gathered at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where the treaty forming the alliance was signed in 1949.'
"They needed to combine their strengths," 'he said of the allies as they emerged from the devastation of World War II.' "They needed an alliance. Here, they signed the Washington Treaty and created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — the single, greatest, most effective defensive alliance in the history of the world."
'That alliance, he said, has withstood the long decades of the Cold War and has grown as it welcomed like-minded partners into the fold.'
'And in the face of new challenges posed by Russia's war in Ukraine on NATO's eastern flank, that collective commitment has continued to strengthen.'
'The president noted the addition of Finland and Sweden, NATO's two newest allies, to the 32-member bloc.'
'He added that 23 NATO allies today spend at or above the minimum 2% of gross domestic product on defense spending, which is more than two times the number who met the benchmark as recently as 2021.'
"This remarkable progress [is] proof that our commitment is broad and deep, that we're ready, that we're willing and we're able to defend every inch of NATO territory across every domain — land, air, sea, cyber and space," 'Biden said.' (U.S. Department of Defense) See link below.
Why some conservatives who are older do not think that the Ukraine war is America's war is so surprising to me. Their connection to WW2 and the Cold War is still there, yet they do not see it.
That’s a wonderful speech, and certainly Biden is and has always been loyal to NATO, which is not the case for Trump. But Biden still said in either January or early February 2022 that if Russia only did “a small incursion into Ukraine” that the US would not intervene, and he offered Zelensky an escape route out of the country when it looked like a full out invasion was going to happen. Biden dragged out the supply of weapons at every turn. He denied them HIMARS for months, then he denied them ATACMS, and when the HIMARS were delivered, they had been altered to reduce how far their reach was to make sure they couldn’t be used to hit Russian soil. He delayed the F-16s for almost 2 years, and those planes still have not been delivered (although they are supposedly on the way). I will never forgive Biden for any of this. How many people have died, how many cities and towns destroyed, how much culture wiped out, just to make sure we didn’t piss off Putin and to avoid a nuclear war that wasn’t going to happen. From what I’ve read, it was always Biden himself who made these decisions, not his advisors. And he is still doing it. Just yesterday there was a report that the new Russian defense minister called Sec Def Austin to report Russian intel of some planned Ukrainian operation on Russian soil, after which Austin called Kyiv and told them “don’t do it”. No one knows what the Ukrainians were planning or if they even were planning something, but do they get to fully defend themselves? NO, we butt in and tell them to stand down. We apparently even complained when they blew up part of the Kerch Strait Bridge. Jesus! That whole damn bridge needs to be destroyed. We can’t keep tying their hands behind their backs. Last summer we conned them into a ground offensive with NO AIR COVER, something US forces would never have done. And then we chastised them when it failed, and chastised them again when they pivoted from the plan to something that would work if you don’t have planes (and whose fault was that?). You can praise Biden all you want, but speeches don’t win wars. Bullets and bombs do when they can be used in a strategic manner unfettered by political handcuffs. Have a nice day.
I know that! Good grief, I was going to vote for Biden and now I’ll be voting for Harris. But the fact that Trump would be worse for Ukraine doesn’t reduce the blame Biden must bear for not giving Ukraine everything they needed when they needed it. You can be 100% opposed to Trump and still be honest enough to acknowledge that Biden did a bad job of handling this war. If he had given Ukraine what they needed when they needed it and without handcuffs, the war would be over now and Ukraine would have won. As it is, they are going to be forced into a Korea-like ceasefire where Russia gets to keep all the land they’ve taken in the Donbass since 2022. The Biden administration has always been setting them up for a settlement, not a victory. It’s disgraceful.
Moscow billboards show Alaska as part of Putin's Empire; if re-elected, one should expect Trump to hand us over. Too many of our local politicians are Trump Toadies, usually treated like trash by the oil companies, who might put up a fight, having dealt with the Russians, since the end of the Cold War.
All true Ann: "Biden dragged out the supply of weapons at every turn, denied HIMARS, denied ATACMS, and when the HIMARS were delivered, they had been altered to reduce how far their reach . . . He delayed the F-16s for almost 2 years, However, when you write "Biden is and has always been loyal to NATO, which is not the case for Trump," ignores the fact that Trump singlehandedly revived NATO by scolding members who did not meet the 2% of GDP requitement. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg admitted as much. Now Trump is calling for 3%, and that's a good thing!
With all due respect, I disagree that Trump revived NATO at all, much less single-handedly. Yes, he’s scolded members to pay their 2%, but it was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that jolted them into action and produced the European member countries to pay more for their joint defense. Before he left office Trump wanted the US to leave NATO. It was his generals and other national security advisors who talked him out of it. Indeed, Trump’s desire to get the US to withdraw from NATO is why Congress has passed a law specifically designed to keep the President from having the unilateral authority to exact such a withdrawal. That this now requires Congressional approval won’t really matter if the GOP gains both the WH and control of Congress, so we’ll have to see how the election turns out.
Further to the revival of NATO, it was not Trump, but Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that spurred both Finland and Sweden to give up decades of neutrality and practically beg for NATO membership, which they both now have. And it is not just having war on their doorstep that is causing the European countries to spend more on their own defense, but their knowledge that a second Trump presidency will abandon them and refuse to honor NATO’s mutual defense commitments. Read Project 2025’s chapter on the Dept of Defense. It explicitly states that the US will remove almost all of our troops from Europe and only defend Europe from Russia in the event of a nuclear war. Otherwise, they’re on their own. Fwiw, P2025 in the DOD chapter says we’re going to remove our troops from South Korea and let them defend themselves from NK without us. Ditto Taiwan, who we will abandon as soon as we can move chip production to US soil (hello, China!).
Donald Trump being reelected is the worst possible thing that could happen to the NATO countries, Ukraine, and SE Asia. And don’t forget that his V.P. pick is on record with Steve Bannon’s podcast saying, “I really don’t care what happens to Ukraine.” The Trump/Vance ticket is Nationalist Conservative (NatCon) movement ticket whose fever dream is to bring back the isolationism that drove the Republican Party prior to both WW1 and WW2. If they’re elected WW3 will be right around the corner.
That's a lot of words to contradict what Stoltenberg said explicitly. Agree, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine spurred both Finland and Sweden to give up decades of neutrality and practically beg for NATO membership. However, Trump's threat to leave NATO , in case you didn't realize it, was a bluff that worked where years of coercing and pleading by several previous presidents did not. BTW, you did not say anything about Trump's insistence that NATO members raise their contribution to 3% of GDP. Good or bad idea? If they don't go along with it, you're right, WW3 will be right around the corner because weakness invites aggression. Thugs like Putin respect only the fist.
Jens Stoltenberg not only did NOT admit that Trump scolding NATO members about the 2% having an effect on them, he specifically DENIED it and REBUKED TRUMP saying that.
Not only did Stoltenberg deny it, Germany did too. Here are some select quotes from the article:
————————————-
“Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, has accused Donald Trump of undermining the basis of the transatlantic alliance as he announced that 18 Nato members were expected to beat the target of spending more than 2% of GDP on defence.
It was the second rebuke by the Nato chief to the Republican frontrunner in less than a week…
On Saturday, Trump caused outrage in Europe when he said he would “not protect” any Nato member that had failed to meet the 2% target – and added that he would even encourage Russia to continue attacking them.
A day later, Stoltenberg said Trump’s rhetoric “puts American and European soldiers at increased risk”, while on Wednesday, before a meeting of defence ministers, the normally diplomatic secretary general returned to the theme, arguing: “We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow.”…..
German officials added that Berlin would allocate more than 2% of GDP to defence during 2024, and the news agency DPA later said that would amount to €68.58bn (£58.6bn), or 2.01% of GDP. It will be the first time military spending has exceeded the threshold since the end of the cold war. A year ago the proportion was 1.57%.….
But Berlin’s attitude has dramatically changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, described by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, as a time-turning moment. If sustained it could lead to Germany overtaking Britain and France, traditionally Europe’s largest military spenders.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, said Berlin’s new approach on defence spending had nothing to do with Trump and was based on its own assessment.…
[Stoltenberg] did not list the countries who were expected to have hit or exceeded the 2% level, although the list is likely to be headed by Poland, which in 2023 spent 3.9% of its GDP on defence. Britain has spent above the threshold for many years, but France has been slightly under and it is not clear if it has increased its budgets.
Budgetary decisions are taken over a period of months, meaning the Nato chief’s spending declaration cannot be considered a direct response to Trump’s comments. Instead it reflects a response to increased Russian aggression and the need to support Ukraine with armaments in a war widely expected to last into 2025.…”
'President Biden’s push to pass tens of billions in new aid for Ukraine stalled in the Senate on Wednesday, but the setback could inject new urgency into bipartisan talks over border-security measures that Republicans have demanded as a condition for their support.'
'Democrats’ sweeping foreign-aid measure providing $110.5 billion for Ukraine, Israel and other global hot spots was blocked by Republicans in an initial procedural vote. Forty-nine senators backed the measure and 51 were against, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.'
'In remarks just ahead of the vote, Biden warned that failure by Congress to pass new aid for Ukraine could ultimately lead the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia if it won and continued to march westward. He said the administration is willing to work with Republicans to do' “significantly more” 'on border security to get a deal done while also chiding GOP lawmakers.'
“Republicans think they get everything they want, without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer,” 'Biden said. He accused them of' “playing chicken with our national security.”
'Republicans said they opposed the national-security package because it omits strict new changes related to asylum and other policies they see as essential to cutting down on illegal border crossings.'
“As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that doesn’t include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate,” 'said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who has been one of the most ardent supporters of Ukraine.'
'For Ukraine, the stakes are enormous. The campaign to regain land lost to Russia, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to continue, is heavily reliant on the provision of U.S. arms and equipment, as well as the financial aid from the U.S. and other Western allies that keeps Ukraine’s economy afloat.'
'Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed concern Wednesday that support for his country was tangled up in domestic U.S. disputes. Ukraine, meanwhile, has no choice but to continue fighting, regardless of the level of support, he said'.
“Ukraine will not be forced into making concessions. There is too much at stake,” Kuleba said. “If we have $100 to fight, we will fight with $100. If we have $1 in our pocket, we will still keep fighting.”
'Kyiv says deadlock in the U.S. over the provision of further military aid has made it far more difficult for it to resist recent Russian attacks. Soldiers fighting on the front lines in Donbas say they are rationing artillery shells in a way that makes it difficult to hobble Russian units bearing down on them.' (WSJ) See link below, which could not be gifted.
Oh, good grief. I not only know all that, I subscribed to the WSJ until about a month ago, so I also read that article and all the others that outlined the standoff with the GOP that played out from Dec 2023 through spring 2024. Copy/pasting entire articles that I’ve already read doesn’t help your position.
The only reason the GOP was able to mess this up in 2024 is that Biden, Blinken and Austin didn’t do what they should have done in 2022 and 2023. As I have already discussed, they delayed the HIMARS, then delivered altered HIMARS with reduced capacity. They delayed ATACMS. They refused to send F-16s for almost 2 years. They refused to let Ukraine hit the Russians on Russian soil, even though the Russians sat safely on the other side of the border firing away at Ukraine. Delay, delay, delay - that’s why the GOP as in a position winter 2024 to blackmail Biden on aid that should have been sent to Ukraine much, much earlier. The bad behavior of the GOP does not absolve the Biden administration of their own malfeasance. Biden never intended to have a full Ukrainian victory over Russia, he’s only ever been afraid of starting WW3, and wanting Ukraine to be in a position to get a good settlement like South Korea got. That is on Biden, not the GOP.
————-
FYI, I have been reading the ISW daily reports on this war since 2022, so I’m informing myself with more than just the MSM and using military experts analysis to form my opinions. (understandingwar.org)
'Oh, good grief', I remember you using that phrase in another of your responses to me, We are, perhaps, well enough acquainted.
I don't know why you referred to 'help your position'. We differ on the subject of Biden's actions with reference to Ukraine. I don't know whether you read my initial response indicating that most of us who support Ukraine have wanted more aid from the US to Ukraine in a timely manner.
All the sources that you have listed are ones that I use as well as others. If I repeat and provide more detail about what I find faulty with your judgement concerning Biden, we will continue to go round and round in unproductive circles. While we have not resolved our differences, we gave it a try.
"Copy/pasting entire articles that I’ve already read doesn’t help your position." That's a good one!! And you're right, "Biden administration never intended to have a full Ukrainian victory over Russia." At every turn he has capitulated to Putin when he could taken take a strong stance -- from lifting sanctions on NS2 to reversing course of two US destroyers on way to the Black Sea, along with the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, all actions signaling weakness.
Though I wouldn’t put it as harshly — I have to agree with the point!
We provided enough to defend, but not enough win.
We dithered and wrung our hands while RUS. entrenched with layer upon layer of defences, and then bemoaned the “forever war” as UKR’s summer advance was “slower than hoped”🤦🏻♂️
We still prohibit UKR from using Western weapons to attack RUS military positions in RUS from where logistics, supplies, and missile/tank attacks originate.
We’ve seen UKR effectiveness in using home-made drones to take out fuel depots/refiners, aircraft, tank installations, and how that hurts RUS capability, yet…?!🤷🏻♂️
Sorry about that. I’m only harsh because I’m so angry how this is turning out. We went on a transatlantic cruise the week after the invasion (March 2022), and I bought Snyder’s book “The Road to Unfreedom” in Miami before boarding the ship (plus “Conflict in Ukraine” by Eugene Rumer and Rajan Menon, purchased along with Snyder’s book) and read the two books during the crossing to figure out WTH was happening (this plus watching daily reports on BBC tv in my stateroom). Between the two books and the TV, I was blown away. We even had Ukrainian crew members on our ship who were crying while doing their jobs, it was awful.
To learn all this history, all these details, to see how obvious the solution was (I started reading the daily ISW reports after I got back from my trip) and then for THE SOLUTION NOT TO HAPPEN. Well, it’s been too much to take. I “took” Prof Snyder’s Yale Ukraine history class in the Fall 2022, continued with the ISW reports, and watched with increasing disappointment how US support veered off into….well, we all know what it veered off into. So the harshness comes from something worse than disappointment but not yet despair. Despair would happen if Trump wins the election.
My primary motivation for supporting and voting for Harris is my grandson Ian. I want him to be free to live a full life. I do not want him to have to go to Europe or the Pacific to war because we have failed to support Ukraine. I do not want him to live in a world where neighbors fear one another because no one knows who will report them to the authoritarian, corrupt government. I do not want him to live in a world where he cannot build a full life because corrupt officials and those "in favor" can take what they want from him on a whim. I want him to be a citizen and not a subject.
Steve B - Thanks for sharing those beautiful thoughts. I hope all our children and grandchildren can liver and grow up in a more peaceful world...which, ironically, is damn well worth fighting for now.
I’m inclined to find any analysis which says two states will turn the tide of this election misguided and dangerous. Fear keeps people away from the polls in some cases. We must pummel them with our ballots, and our firm belief that democracy will prevail.
both, sadly, may be true .. the first based on the assumption that people will vote. You are correct, IMO, Jim … all who care about a fair, sensible and rational world, and the US leadership in such a world must be persuaded to VOTE blue en masse, both for potus and in down ballot races
Funny, I found it right away but this option was not evident to me on my laptop from where I made the first post (b4 the transformer in our alley went BOOM). 😊
I was surprised by that statement. Michigan and Pennsylvania account for 34 electoral votes. I suspect other states will have to break in a certain way for those 34 to be decisive. On the other hand, Massachusetts, where I grew up and have lived most of my life, is nowhere close to a swing state, and we turn out anyway.
It assumes if she wins those two she also wins Wisconsin—a pretty fair assumption, but Wisconsin is always tight. And if she wins those three that would be the ballgame
Yes, given the electoral college map at the time Harris became the candidate. If she can shift other swing states to the Democrats, the path may become a bit wider. But even so, she will still need Pennsylvania and probably either Michigan or Wisconsin.
It's a heavy lift. If we continue to donate and volunteer, though, we can get Harris to the White House.
I just read at The Bulwark, maybe in a comment, that Wisconsin has a large Ukrainian American community. Is that true? It was suggested that the Harris campaign flood those states with quotes from Vance that he “doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine”. Pennsylvania is a must win state. Hillary lost Pennsylvania and lost the election. Democrats took Pennsylvania for granted, and you just can’t do that anymore.
Many Americans of Central and Eastern European descent are watching this. To the rest of the Americans who do not realize that this is a 1938 moment and are not interested in Russia or the region, they should remember that Russia is very interested in the region. As the saying goes: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." War is also interested in our children and grandchildren who may find themselves crossing the Atlantic to fight and die for the third time.
Thanks for your analysis. The Republican Party is a disgrace when it comes to Ukraine. And let’s get better reporting on Trump’s Russian ties and Russian support for the Republican Party. Can the media follow the oligarch money?
Thank you. Also some good reporting from the UK, including Catherine Belton’s “Putin’s People.” But here in the NY/NJ area, questions remain unanswered.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we (PEN UKRAINE) have received hundreds of messages of solidarity from around the world. Slovene poet Boris A. Novak wrote the poem Svoboda Je Glagol (Freedom is a Verb) and translated it into English. In his address, he said: "I would like to express my solidarity with PEN Ukraine and all the people of Ukraine in this difficult and dangerous time. I’ve been crying a lot in the last days watching the news from your country, and at the same time admiring the dignity and courage of Ukrainians. Such a human power cannot be defeated."
FREEDOM IS A VERB
Love is a verb.
Monika van Paemel
Freedom is not the frozen memory of the monument
Freedom is not a slogan of the political establishment
Freedom is not a mode of payment in the legal code
Freedom is not an empty meaning of the noun in the wordage
Of the Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language
Freedom is the loudest whisper, a wing, a windy message
Freedom is not a bunker, a shit made of armoured concrete
Freedom is not a flight, an illusion of the retreat
Freedom is neither an order nor a forbidden border
Freedom is less and more than laws of the lockdown
Freedom is nothing and freedom is a crown
Freedom is laughing and staring and daring
And changing now and here and everywhere
Freedom is a breath and the air
Stronger than destruction and despair
Freedom is not gold, cannot be bought or sold
Freedom is not guaranteed by its guardian, by the statehood
Freedom is much more expensive, freedom is attitude
Freedom is an unknown road, here, at our threshold
In addition to the Ukrainian-Americans, Donald and JD have motivated many other cohorts to show up and vote against them. Every red state is now in play. They have angered:
Women.
Men who have a woman in their life.
Cat lovers.
Dog lovers.
Childless men and women.
People who respect others.
People who prefer Europe to be free from oppression by Russia.
People who like windmills and solar panels.
Taylor and Beyonce fans.
People who choose love over hate.
People who respect our military heroes and veterans.
The rest of the world who fear the finality of a Trump presidency. And who have to live through the stress caused by the universal coverage of his speeches. It’s not just about the USA.
Ah, thanks for the link, Stephen. I see that post is in my email. He's had some really good essays lately. Looking forward to reading it as soon as I hit POST here.
JD Vance courted trump's favor for the VP nomination by showcasing his affection for Putin and antipathy toward Ukraine. Dragging his natalist, antiabortion, white "Christian" nationalist extremism onto the ticket along with alliance-busting isolationism, Vance does trump no favors. Vance's presence is already showing signs of hurting trump with non-MAGA constituencies, at least some of whose votes he must get to win. I hope Ukrainians can feel some hope from trump's blunder as well as the promising candidacy of Vice President Harris. The pro-democracy coalition, which Prof. Snyder has done so much to build, is energized, growing, and getting the job done.
Anne Applebaum's new book, Autocracy Inc., was published this week. Ask for it at your public library, as well as On Freedom.
Prof. Snyder’s air-defense fundraiser is still live on United24.
Democracy's survival everywhere and the world’s balance of power are equally at stake in both: 1) America's long-overdue pro-democracy political renewal and fight to prevail over Trump’s monstrous, anti-democracy, oligarchic-corporate, totalitarian coup, and 2) Ukraine's courageous pro-democracy struggle against Putin's murderous land and power grab.
I hope that Ukraine gets back on the front pages of American newspapers. This must occur if Americans (most of whom are too young to realize the importance of NATO) can cast an intelligent vote for foreign affairs. The continued existence of NATO and Ukrainian freedom are essential.
The European Union announced Friday it had made 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) available to support Ukraine, the first tranche of money generated from profits on frozen Russian assets.
In May, the EU’s 27 member states reached an agreement to use the interest earned on some 210 billion euros ($225 billion) in Russian central bank assets for military support for Ukraine and rebuilding efforts in the war torn country.
The money, most of which is held in Belgium, was frozen as part of sanctions packages in retaliation for Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Brussels estimates that the interest on those assets could provide around 3 billion euros each year. 🇪🇺
KLS's comment above consisted of quotes taken from AP article. For its complete report, see link below, which was updated 6:53 AM EDT, July 26, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/eu-russia-frozen-assets-ukraine-fund-b743697199adccd5187b4b59159b3a54
Way to go, Europe 👏🏻
The betrayal of Ukraine by Trump Inc is heavily documented in the first impeachment materials,well beyond the infamous phone call.
You meant Trump’s #PerfectCall 🤠
True, but Biden also betrayed Ukraine with his “too little too late” arms deliveries. If Biden had given Ukraine everything they asked for in 2022, and trained the pilots/ delivered the F-16s in 2023, this war would be over now. Instead there’s a stalemate, the troops are exhausted and the younger Ukrainian men are becoming draft dodgers. Biden’s fear of escalation and Putin has put Ukraine in the worst possible situation, other than where they’d be if we’d done nothing (which actually was Biden’s first idea : get Zelensky out of the country, etc). Biden is almost as guilty as Trump but for a different reason. Hopefully, Harris will have better advisors.
Betrayal, Ann P, accusing Biden of betraying Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is a couple of bridges from delivering everything that Ukraine needed when needed. When has that ever happened? The US has supplied much more to Ukraine than any other country -- not enough, nor soon enough, no argument from me and many others on that score.
Thanks to Rudy's corrupt pals, Lev and Igor, there is a recording in which T agrees to get rid of our anti-corruption then ambassador. It can be accessed on the NYT. There is a difference between gray zone policy and pure pillage.
'Decades after the 12 founding members forged the alliance, and amid renewed challenges in Europe and beyond, Biden said NATO stands more powerful than ever.'
"Here, these 12 leaders gathered to make a sacred pledge to defend each other against aggression, provide their collective security, and to answer threats as one because they knew to prevent future wars, to protect democracies, to lay the groundwork for a lasting prosperity they needed a new approach," 'Biden told NATO leaders gathered at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where the treaty forming the alliance was signed in 1949.'
"They needed to combine their strengths," 'he said of the allies as they emerged from the devastation of World War II.' "They needed an alliance. Here, they signed the Washington Treaty and created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — the single, greatest, most effective defensive alliance in the history of the world."
'That alliance, he said, has withstood the long decades of the Cold War and has grown as it welcomed like-minded partners into the fold.'
'And in the face of new challenges posed by Russia's war in Ukraine on NATO's eastern flank, that collective commitment has continued to strengthen.'
'The president noted the addition of Finland and Sweden, NATO's two newest allies, to the 32-member bloc.'
'He added that 23 NATO allies today spend at or above the minimum 2% of gross domestic product on defense spending, which is more than two times the number who met the benchmark as recently as 2021.'
"This remarkable progress [is] proof that our commitment is broad and deep, that we're ready, that we're willing and we're able to defend every inch of NATO territory across every domain — land, air, sea, cyber and space," 'Biden said.' (U.S. Department of Defense) See link below.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3833850/biden-
Why some conservatives who are older do not think that the Ukraine war is America's war is so surprising to me. Their connection to WW2 and the Cold War is still there, yet they do not see it.
That’s a wonderful speech, and certainly Biden is and has always been loyal to NATO, which is not the case for Trump. But Biden still said in either January or early February 2022 that if Russia only did “a small incursion into Ukraine” that the US would not intervene, and he offered Zelensky an escape route out of the country when it looked like a full out invasion was going to happen. Biden dragged out the supply of weapons at every turn. He denied them HIMARS for months, then he denied them ATACMS, and when the HIMARS were delivered, they had been altered to reduce how far their reach was to make sure they couldn’t be used to hit Russian soil. He delayed the F-16s for almost 2 years, and those planes still have not been delivered (although they are supposedly on the way). I will never forgive Biden for any of this. How many people have died, how many cities and towns destroyed, how much culture wiped out, just to make sure we didn’t piss off Putin and to avoid a nuclear war that wasn’t going to happen. From what I’ve read, it was always Biden himself who made these decisions, not his advisors. And he is still doing it. Just yesterday there was a report that the new Russian defense minister called Sec Def Austin to report Russian intel of some planned Ukrainian operation on Russian soil, after which Austin called Kyiv and told them “don’t do it”. No one knows what the Ukrainians were planning or if they even were planning something, but do they get to fully defend themselves? NO, we butt in and tell them to stand down. We apparently even complained when they blew up part of the Kerch Strait Bridge. Jesus! That whole damn bridge needs to be destroyed. We can’t keep tying their hands behind their backs. Last summer we conned them into a ground offensive with NO AIR COVER, something US forces would never have done. And then we chastised them when it failed, and chastised them again when they pivoted from the plan to something that would work if you don’t have planes (and whose fault was that?). You can praise Biden all you want, but speeches don’t win wars. Bullets and bombs do when they can be used in a strategic manner unfettered by political handcuffs. Have a nice day.
'Trump says he would encourage Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ to any NATO country that doesn’t pay enough'
By Kate Sullivan, CNN (See link below)
3 minute read
Updated 5:00 PM EST, Sun February 11, 2024
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/10/politics/trump-russia-nato/index.html
I know that! Good grief, I was going to vote for Biden and now I’ll be voting for Harris. But the fact that Trump would be worse for Ukraine doesn’t reduce the blame Biden must bear for not giving Ukraine everything they needed when they needed it. You can be 100% opposed to Trump and still be honest enough to acknowledge that Biden did a bad job of handling this war. If he had given Ukraine what they needed when they needed it and without handcuffs, the war would be over now and Ukraine would have won. As it is, they are going to be forced into a Korea-like ceasefire where Russia gets to keep all the land they’ve taken in the Donbass since 2022. The Biden administration has always been setting them up for a settlement, not a victory. It’s disgraceful.
Vainglory perfectly expressed, Ann P.
Well said, Ann.
Moscow billboards show Alaska as part of Putin's Empire; if re-elected, one should expect Trump to hand us over. Too many of our local politicians are Trump Toadies, usually treated like trash by the oil companies, who might put up a fight, having dealt with the Russians, since the end of the Cold War.
All true Ann: "Biden dragged out the supply of weapons at every turn, denied HIMARS, denied ATACMS, and when the HIMARS were delivered, they had been altered to reduce how far their reach . . . He delayed the F-16s for almost 2 years, However, when you write "Biden is and has always been loyal to NATO, which is not the case for Trump," ignores the fact that Trump singlehandedly revived NATO by scolding members who did not meet the 2% of GDP requitement. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg admitted as much. Now Trump is calling for 3%, and that's a good thing!
With all due respect, I disagree that Trump revived NATO at all, much less single-handedly. Yes, he’s scolded members to pay their 2%, but it was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that jolted them into action and produced the European member countries to pay more for their joint defense. Before he left office Trump wanted the US to leave NATO. It was his generals and other national security advisors who talked him out of it. Indeed, Trump’s desire to get the US to withdraw from NATO is why Congress has passed a law specifically designed to keep the President from having the unilateral authority to exact such a withdrawal. That this now requires Congressional approval won’t really matter if the GOP gains both the WH and control of Congress, so we’ll have to see how the election turns out.
Further to the revival of NATO, it was not Trump, but Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that spurred both Finland and Sweden to give up decades of neutrality and practically beg for NATO membership, which they both now have. And it is not just having war on their doorstep that is causing the European countries to spend more on their own defense, but their knowledge that a second Trump presidency will abandon them and refuse to honor NATO’s mutual defense commitments. Read Project 2025’s chapter on the Dept of Defense. It explicitly states that the US will remove almost all of our troops from Europe and only defend Europe from Russia in the event of a nuclear war. Otherwise, they’re on their own. Fwiw, P2025 in the DOD chapter says we’re going to remove our troops from South Korea and let them defend themselves from NK without us. Ditto Taiwan, who we will abandon as soon as we can move chip production to US soil (hello, China!).
Donald Trump being reelected is the worst possible thing that could happen to the NATO countries, Ukraine, and SE Asia. And don’t forget that his V.P. pick is on record with Steve Bannon’s podcast saying, “I really don’t care what happens to Ukraine.” The Trump/Vance ticket is Nationalist Conservative (NatCon) movement ticket whose fever dream is to bring back the isolationism that drove the Republican Party prior to both WW1 and WW2. If they’re elected WW3 will be right around the corner.
Unfortunately, the upcoming elections is between two parties - fascist Trump and extreme left.
And BTW, Trump disavows the 2025 project that Dems have done their darndest to link to. See: https://www.wsj.com/articles/whos-afraid-of-project-2025-7ef9ea1f?mod=MorningEditorialReport&mod=djemMER_h
That's a lot of words to contradict what Stoltenberg said explicitly. Agree, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine spurred both Finland and Sweden to give up decades of neutrality and practically beg for NATO membership. However, Trump's threat to leave NATO , in case you didn't realize it, was a bluff that worked where years of coercing and pleading by several previous presidents did not. BTW, you did not say anything about Trump's insistence that NATO members raise their contribution to 3% of GDP. Good or bad idea? If they don't go along with it, you're right, WW3 will be right around the corner because weakness invites aggression. Thugs like Putin respect only the fist.
Jens Stoltenberg not only did NOT admit that Trump scolding NATO members about the 2% having an effect on them, he specifically DENIED it and REBUKED TRUMP saying that.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/14/nato-chief-rebukes-donald-trump-and-announces-record-defence-spending
Not only did Stoltenberg deny it, Germany did too. Here are some select quotes from the article:
————————————-
“Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, has accused Donald Trump of undermining the basis of the transatlantic alliance as he announced that 18 Nato members were expected to beat the target of spending more than 2% of GDP on defence.
It was the second rebuke by the Nato chief to the Republican frontrunner in less than a week…
On Saturday, Trump caused outrage in Europe when he said he would “not protect” any Nato member that had failed to meet the 2% target – and added that he would even encourage Russia to continue attacking them.
A day later, Stoltenberg said Trump’s rhetoric “puts American and European soldiers at increased risk”, while on Wednesday, before a meeting of defence ministers, the normally diplomatic secretary general returned to the theme, arguing: “We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow.”…..
German officials added that Berlin would allocate more than 2% of GDP to defence during 2024, and the news agency DPA later said that would amount to €68.58bn (£58.6bn), or 2.01% of GDP. It will be the first time military spending has exceeded the threshold since the end of the cold war. A year ago the proportion was 1.57%.….
But Berlin’s attitude has dramatically changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, described by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, as a time-turning moment. If sustained it could lead to Germany overtaking Britain and France, traditionally Europe’s largest military spenders.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, said Berlin’s new approach on defence spending had nothing to do with Trump and was based on its own assessment.…
[Stoltenberg] did not list the countries who were expected to have hit or exceeded the 2% level, although the list is likely to be headed by Poland, which in 2023 spent 3.9% of its GDP on defence. Britain has spent above the threshold for many years, but France has been slightly under and it is not clear if it has increased its budgets.
Budgetary decisions are taken over a period of months, meaning the Nato chief’s spending declaration cannot be considered a direct response to Trump’s comments. Instead it reflects a response to increased Russian aggression and the need to support Ukraine with armaments in a war widely expected to last into 2025.…”
'Republicans Block Ukraine Aid Bill, Putting New Pressure on Border Talks'
'GOP demands immigration measures in exchange for supporting foreign-assistance package' (WSJ) excerpts
By
Siobhan Hughes, Matthew, Luxmoore, Catherine Lucey
Updated Dec. 6, 2023 6:13 pm ET
'President Biden’s push to pass tens of billions in new aid for Ukraine stalled in the Senate on Wednesday, but the setback could inject new urgency into bipartisan talks over border-security measures that Republicans have demanded as a condition for their support.'
'Democrats’ sweeping foreign-aid measure providing $110.5 billion for Ukraine, Israel and other global hot spots was blocked by Republicans in an initial procedural vote. Forty-nine senators backed the measure and 51 were against, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.'
'In remarks just ahead of the vote, Biden warned that failure by Congress to pass new aid for Ukraine could ultimately lead the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia if it won and continued to march westward. He said the administration is willing to work with Republicans to do' “significantly more” 'on border security to get a deal done while also chiding GOP lawmakers.'
“Republicans think they get everything they want, without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer,” 'Biden said. He accused them of' “playing chicken with our national security.”
'Republicans said they opposed the national-security package because it omits strict new changes related to asylum and other policies they see as essential to cutting down on illegal border crossings.'
“As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that doesn’t include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate,” 'said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who has been one of the most ardent supporters of Ukraine.'
'For Ukraine, the stakes are enormous. The campaign to regain land lost to Russia, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to continue, is heavily reliant on the provision of U.S. arms and equipment, as well as the financial aid from the U.S. and other Western allies that keeps Ukraine’s economy afloat.'
'Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed concern Wednesday that support for his country was tangled up in domestic U.S. disputes. Ukraine, meanwhile, has no choice but to continue fighting, regardless of the level of support, he said'.
“Ukraine will not be forced into making concessions. There is too much at stake,” Kuleba said. “If we have $100 to fight, we will fight with $100. If we have $1 in our pocket, we will still keep fighting.”
'Kyiv says deadlock in the U.S. over the provision of further military aid has made it far more difficult for it to resist recent Russian attacks. Soldiers fighting on the front lines in Donbas say they are rationing artillery shells in a way that makes it difficult to hobble Russian units bearing down on them.' (WSJ) See link below, which could not be gifted.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/border-fight-set-to-derail-ukraine-aid-vote-in-senate-a67e53c3
Oh, good grief. I not only know all that, I subscribed to the WSJ until about a month ago, so I also read that article and all the others that outlined the standoff with the GOP that played out from Dec 2023 through spring 2024. Copy/pasting entire articles that I’ve already read doesn’t help your position.
The only reason the GOP was able to mess this up in 2024 is that Biden, Blinken and Austin didn’t do what they should have done in 2022 and 2023. As I have already discussed, they delayed the HIMARS, then delivered altered HIMARS with reduced capacity. They delayed ATACMS. They refused to send F-16s for almost 2 years. They refused to let Ukraine hit the Russians on Russian soil, even though the Russians sat safely on the other side of the border firing away at Ukraine. Delay, delay, delay - that’s why the GOP as in a position winter 2024 to blackmail Biden on aid that should have been sent to Ukraine much, much earlier. The bad behavior of the GOP does not absolve the Biden administration of their own malfeasance. Biden never intended to have a full Ukrainian victory over Russia, he’s only ever been afraid of starting WW3, and wanting Ukraine to be in a position to get a good settlement like South Korea got. That is on Biden, not the GOP.
————-
FYI, I have been reading the ISW daily reports on this war since 2022, so I’m informing myself with more than just the MSM and using military experts analysis to form my opinions. (understandingwar.org)
'Oh, good grief', I remember you using that phrase in another of your responses to me, We are, perhaps, well enough acquainted.
I don't know why you referred to 'help your position'. We differ on the subject of Biden's actions with reference to Ukraine. I don't know whether you read my initial response indicating that most of us who support Ukraine have wanted more aid from the US to Ukraine in a timely manner.
All the sources that you have listed are ones that I use as well as others. If I repeat and provide more detail about what I find faulty with your judgement concerning Biden, we will continue to go round and round in unproductive circles. While we have not resolved our differences, we gave it a try.
Salud,
Fern
"Copy/pasting entire articles that I’ve already read doesn’t help your position." That's a good one!! And you're right, "Biden administration never intended to have a full Ukrainian victory over Russia." At every turn he has capitulated to Putin when he could taken take a strong stance -- from lifting sanctions on NS2 to reversing course of two US destroyers on way to the Black Sea, along with the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, all actions signaling weakness.
Though I wouldn’t put it as harshly — I have to agree with the point!
We provided enough to defend, but not enough win.
We dithered and wrung our hands while RUS. entrenched with layer upon layer of defences, and then bemoaned the “forever war” as UKR’s summer advance was “slower than hoped”🤦🏻♂️
We still prohibit UKR from using Western weapons to attack RUS military positions in RUS from where logistics, supplies, and missile/tank attacks originate.
We’ve seen UKR effectiveness in using home-made drones to take out fuel depots/refiners, aircraft, tank installations, and how that hurts RUS capability, yet…?!🤷🏻♂️
Sorry about that. I’m only harsh because I’m so angry how this is turning out. We went on a transatlantic cruise the week after the invasion (March 2022), and I bought Snyder’s book “The Road to Unfreedom” in Miami before boarding the ship (plus “Conflict in Ukraine” by Eugene Rumer and Rajan Menon, purchased along with Snyder’s book) and read the two books during the crossing to figure out WTH was happening (this plus watching daily reports on BBC tv in my stateroom). Between the two books and the TV, I was blown away. We even had Ukrainian crew members on our ship who were crying while doing their jobs, it was awful.
To learn all this history, all these details, to see how obvious the solution was (I started reading the daily ISW reports after I got back from my trip) and then for THE SOLUTION NOT TO HAPPEN. Well, it’s been too much to take. I “took” Prof Snyder’s Yale Ukraine history class in the Fall 2022, continued with the ISW reports, and watched with increasing disappointment how US support veered off into….well, we all know what it veered off into. So the harshness comes from something worse than disappointment but not yet despair. Despair would happen if Trump wins the election.
My primary motivation for supporting and voting for Harris is my grandson Ian. I want him to be free to live a full life. I do not want him to have to go to Europe or the Pacific to war because we have failed to support Ukraine. I do not want him to live in a world where neighbors fear one another because no one knows who will report them to the authoritarian, corrupt government. I do not want him to live in a world where he cannot build a full life because corrupt officials and those "in favor" can take what they want from him on a whim. I want him to be a citizen and not a subject.
Beautifully put. Thank you. I agree.
My first grandchild is due in October and the little girl will be named Elizabeth. I want Elizabeth to grow up in a democracy!!
Elizabeth is a beautiful name. It means “a gift of God”.
Still, she will have a thousand nick names that people will feel free to use whether she likes it or not
! I have at least a dozen! It is sometimes sweet like when my nephews call me Lizzi. But also hard to keep track of just who I am to whom!
Steve B - Thanks for sharing those beautiful thoughts. I hope all our children and grandchildren can liver and grow up in a more peaceful world...which, ironically, is damn well worth fighting for now.
👍👍🙏
your note is powerful, please share it widely. An op ed! A letter to the largest newspaper near you? Social media? I have shared it.
Taras Shevchenko
TESTAMENT
("Zapovit" / "Jak umru, to pokhovajte"
"Заповіт" / "Як умру, то поховайте")
Translated by Vera Rich
When I die, then make my grave
High on an ancient mound,
In my own beloved Ukraine,
In steppeland without bound :
Whence one may see wide-skirted wheatland,
Dnipro’s steep-cliffed shore,
There whence one may hear the blustering
River wildly roar.
Till from Ukraine to the blue sea
It bears in fierce endeavour
The blood of foemen — then I’ll leave
Wheatland and hills forever:
Leave all behind, soar up until
Before the throne of God
I’ll make my prayer.
For till that hour
I shall know naught of God.
Make my grave there — and arise,
Sundering your chains,
Bless your freedom with the blood
Of foemen’s evil veins!
Then in that great family,
A family new and free,
Do not forget, with good intent
Speak quietly of me.
Taras Shevchenko's poem "Testament"
"Zapovit" / "Jak umru, to pokhovajte"
("Заповіт" / "Як умру, то поховайте")
1845, Pereyaslav, (Переяслав)
One of my favorites of his poems.
I’m inclined to find any analysis which says two states will turn the tide of this election misguided and dangerous. Fear keeps people away from the polls in some cases. We must pummel them with our ballots, and our firm belief that democracy will prevail.
both, sadly, may be true .. the first based on the assumption that people will vote. You are correct, IMO, Jim … all who care about a fair, sensible and rational world, and the US leadership in such a world must be persuaded to VOTE blue en masse, both for potus and in down ballot races
Who’s Kit?
Kit Flynn. First comment.
Sorry, Jim, it was meant to be directed at you, but I could find no way to edit it, once it was unleashed.
John, see the three dots (ellipsis) to the far right of LIKE REPLY SHARE? Click it. "Edit" is one of the options. "Delete" is the other.
Thanks, Susanna. I did and I did 😊
Not always….sometimes i get a different set of choices on iPhone
Funny, I found it right away but this option was not evident to me on my laptop from where I made the first post (b4 the transformer in our alley went BOOM). 😊
The first poster on this thread, to which Jim is responding.
fixed, Jim
I was surprised by that statement. Michigan and Pennsylvania account for 34 electoral votes. I suspect other states will have to break in a certain way for those 34 to be decisive. On the other hand, Massachusetts, where I grew up and have lived most of my life, is nowhere close to a swing state, and we turn out anyway.
It assumes if she wins those two she also wins Wisconsin—a pretty fair assumption, but Wisconsin is always tight. And if she wins those three that would be the ballgame
Yes, given the electoral college map at the time Harris became the candidate. If she can shift other swing states to the Democrats, the path may become a bit wider. But even so, she will still need Pennsylvania and probably either Michigan or Wisconsin.
It's a heavy lift. If we continue to donate and volunteer, though, we can get Harris to the White House.
I just read at The Bulwark, maybe in a comment, that Wisconsin has a large Ukrainian American community. Is that true? It was suggested that the Harris campaign flood those states with quotes from Vance that he “doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine”. Pennsylvania is a must win state. Hillary lost Pennsylvania and lost the election. Democrats took Pennsylvania for granted, and you just can’t do that anymore.
Hillary Clinton lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. in the 2016 presidential election.
AI Overview
As of 2024, the states with the largest Ukrainian American populations are:
New York: 148,700
Pennsylvania: 122,291
California: 83,125
New Jersey: 73,809
Ohio: 48,908
Illinois: 47,623
Wisconsin 9,831 0.17% (World Population Review (2024)
Many Americans of Central and Eastern European descent are watching this. To the rest of the Americans who do not realize that this is a 1938 moment and are not interested in Russia or the region, they should remember that Russia is very interested in the region. As the saying goes: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." War is also interested in our children and grandchildren who may find themselves crossing the Atlantic to fight and die for the third time.
Thanks for your analysis. The Republican Party is a disgrace when it comes to Ukraine. And let’s get better reporting on Trump’s Russian ties and Russian support for the Republican Party. Can the media follow the oligarch money?
Certainly Heather Cox Richardson has done some excellent writing about the whole Russian interference and collusion with Trump & Co.
Thank you. Also some good reporting from the UK, including Catherine Belton’s “Putin’s People.” But here in the NY/NJ area, questions remain unanswered.
Face it. The trump party is a disgrace period. The only foreign policy they have is that of Putin’s wish list.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we (PEN UKRAINE) have received hundreds of messages of solidarity from around the world. Slovene poet Boris A. Novak wrote the poem Svoboda Je Glagol (Freedom is a Verb) and translated it into English. In his address, he said: "I would like to express my solidarity with PEN Ukraine and all the people of Ukraine in this difficult and dangerous time. I’ve been crying a lot in the last days watching the news from your country, and at the same time admiring the dignity and courage of Ukrainians. Such a human power cannot be defeated."
FREEDOM IS A VERB
Love is a verb.
Monika van Paemel
Freedom is not the frozen memory of the monument
Freedom is not a slogan of the political establishment
Freedom is not a mode of payment in the legal code
Freedom is not an empty meaning of the noun in the wordage
Of the Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language
Freedom is the loudest whisper, a wing, a windy message
Freedom is not a bunker, a shit made of armoured concrete
Freedom is not a flight, an illusion of the retreat
Freedom is neither an order nor a forbidden border
Freedom is less and more than laws of the lockdown
Freedom is nothing and freedom is a crown
Freedom is laughing and staring and daring
And changing now and here and everywhere
Freedom is a breath and the air
Stronger than destruction and despair
Freedom is not gold, cannot be bought or sold
Freedom is not guaranteed by its guardian, by the statehood
Freedom is much more expensive, freedom is attitude
Freedom is an unknown road, here, at our threshold
Freedom is a voice, deadly fragile and superb
Freedom is a verb, freedom is a verb
SVOBODA JE GLAGOL (https://pen.org.ua/en)
Curious about the "Republicans who maintain that Trump would have a good Ukraine policy, including people whose views on foreign policy I admire."
Yes, that sentence puzzled me, too, as I can't see anything good possible with Trump in power.
I know. Maybe what Dale Carnegie used to call giving the dog a good name, but I suspect it is something else.
I'd never heard of that Dale Carnegie quote, so I looked it up. You learn something new every day!
I, too, am baffled by this sentence.
In addition to the Ukrainian-Americans, Donald and JD have motivated many other cohorts to show up and vote against them. Every red state is now in play. They have angered:
Women.
Men who have a woman in their life.
Cat lovers.
Dog lovers.
Childless men and women.
People who respect others.
People who prefer Europe to be free from oppression by Russia.
People who like windmills and solar panels.
Taylor and Beyonce fans.
People who choose love over hate.
People who respect our military heroes and veterans.
Who have I missed?
The rest of the world who fear the finality of a Trump presidency. And who have to live through the stress caused by the universal coverage of his speeches. It’s not just about the USA.
Phillips OBrien has posted a reasoned comentary on Mike Pompeo's self-described "Peace Plan":
https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-91 which I would encourage anyone harboring illusions about Republican friendliness to the Ukrainian cause to read.
Ah, thanks for the link, Stephen. I see that post is in my email. He's had some really good essays lately. Looking forward to reading it as soon as I hit POST here.
Meanwhile, NATO leaders are trying to “Trump-proof” the military alliance. ✌🏻
I seem to have missed that bit of news. (The news load has been awfully heavy lately - has anyone else noticed this?!) A link to it would be welcome.
Yes, I’m on overload too 💃🏻
https://www.businessinsider.com/nato-plan-trump-proof-future-ukraine-aid-us-leadership-worries-2024-4
JD Vance courted trump's favor for the VP nomination by showcasing his affection for Putin and antipathy toward Ukraine. Dragging his natalist, antiabortion, white "Christian" nationalist extremism onto the ticket along with alliance-busting isolationism, Vance does trump no favors. Vance's presence is already showing signs of hurting trump with non-MAGA constituencies, at least some of whose votes he must get to win. I hope Ukrainians can feel some hope from trump's blunder as well as the promising candidacy of Vice President Harris. The pro-democracy coalition, which Prof. Snyder has done so much to build, is energized, growing, and getting the job done.
Anne Applebaum's new book, Autocracy Inc., was published this week. Ask for it at your public library, as well as On Freedom.
Prof. Snyder’s air-defense fundraiser is still live on United24.
Could Biden declare election day a national holiday by executive order?
Probably the Supreme Court could overrule it alas.
Only Congress has the authority to declare a federal holiday.
"In other words, the votes of Ukrainian-Americans might decide whether Ukraine continues to exist." WOW! And decide whether the US continues to exist.
Democracy's survival everywhere and the world’s balance of power are equally at stake in both: 1) America's long-overdue pro-democracy political renewal and fight to prevail over Trump’s monstrous, anti-democracy, oligarchic-corporate, totalitarian coup, and 2) Ukraine's courageous pro-democracy struggle against Putin's murderous land and power grab.