Nickle and Diming Putin

 This is pretty much how I feel after having watched the evening news reports on the war in Ukraine. I know, I've been harping on it for a while now and I still don't get it.

Get what? Why do the U.S. and NATO continue the threat of the WWIII narrative?  I, of course, don't know for sure, but here's my take.

Putin will not go into his nuclear arsenal to attack us.  He knows full well that if he does, he too will be attacked and we would all be obliterated.  This is not his game plan.  He cannot rebuild the old Soviet Union if he is dead.

He may unleash chemical weapons on the Ukranians if the war continues to go against him.  Should that happen I can't help but wonder if we will hide behind even more sanctions that seem to be hurting us more than him while at the same time turning his people against us.

Why can't we quit huffing and puffing and step up to the plate? Determine what the Ukranians need to give them an advantage and get it to them.  Get them the planes they need. Get them the ammunition they need and the arms. And quit blaming others for our lack of action.

How can our leadership sit by and watch this carnage and do little more than posture?  And lie. Yes. Lie. They seem to forget that we are watching this war unfold in real-time.  We're watching the shelling destroy homes.  We're seeing the bodies lying dead in the streets. We're watching millions of people trying to flee.

This is a war that didn't have to happen. I just wonder what more is in it for our leadership than what Hunter Biden and his Uncle have already brought home for family and friends. 

It disgraces the United States of America and us.  You.  Me. We deserve better and so does the world. 

November can't get here soon enough. And remember, both parties need to purge their leadership and start over again. This should be a bipartisan effort because neither side deserves the following they have so far duped.

Yes. I'm old and I'm tired.  Tired of war to be sure. And even more tired of politics as usual.

Think About It

 I've been thinking a lot lately.  Mostly about questions for which I have no answers.  It is very frustrating.

One subject that is at the forefront of the current dialog.  If we create a  no-fly zone over Ukraine we will start World War III. This seems to mean that Putin will unleash his arsenal of nuclear bombs on the western world.

Would he really do that?  Would it not mean instant retaliation?  And, if we lose wouldn't he? Therefore, why would he do it? Or is it weak rational the west for doing nothing?

Two. If we open up drilling again it would delay our march toward ending fossil fuels. Well, let's look at this.  First of all, clean energy just isn't ready for prime time and until it is - well,  government dictates are what's hurting the American people. Plus, just because there are a lot of oil leases out there, they may well have been explored and found to be non-productive.

Three. If we lived in a fossil-free world, would it really prevent bad actors from attacking whomever they please? I'm thinking not. First, all those battery-powered vehicles will need to be charged. What do you charge them with? Electricity.  How do you get electricity? Even if it's generated with green energy, sophisticated hackers are more than capable of shutting down the grids - not to mention old Mother Nature.

I don't know.  I've got an appointment so I'm putting my thoughts on hold for a while. Something else to think about while I'm gone, however. What can we do to stop this madness NOW? There are things but world leaders just don't want to take any chances. "Tsk. Tsk. We can't do that. It may anger Putin."

Tough. I'm already paying the price I'm told is coming.  I can't afford groceries or gas to get out and get them. 

Think about it.

We Dilly Dally While They Die

 This is how I feel by the end of the day.  Mostly because I watch too much news during the evening, yet I cannot bring myself to ignore the news coming out of Ukraine.

The politicians are still dithering about what we can and cannot do or should or should not. It seems to me figuring out Putin and what he might do is pretty simple.  Just look at his history.  This isn't something new that he has just sprung on the world.

I'm not going to rant about this today, however.  I have a new topic! Tuesday is the International Day of the Woman. My heartfelt salute goes to those of us who are mothers.  Especially young mothers with young children. You, ladies, are a most formidable force and I think there just may be hope for the world as I watch you.

Never, ever, underestimate a woman who fears for her child. We began seeing it in this country with all this nonsensical wokism and critical race theory and gender identity, etc., etc. being taught in the schools. Parents, and especially mothers have been at the forefront of the war against it.  Oh, it doesn't compare to the war in Ukraine?  The children are not being killed by bombs. Perhaps not, but their minds are being killed.

Let's move on from that too. Let's look at the images coming out of Poland and Ukraine of the women and children fleeing the horror. They are mothers.  They are resilient.  They've left their husbands behind with little more than they can carry - and their children.  They have no idea where they will go nor what they will do or whether they will ever see their husbands and loved ones again. Will they even have a home to which they can return? Many will not.  And they know it. Yet still, they go - not to save themselves, but to save their children.

These children, both here and abroad, are the future of the world.  We all know it. Here, the parents are beginning to catch on to a country fraught with subtle dangers.  In Ukraine, the danger is blatant. I do believe the mothers will prevail. I hope the children surviving these experiences will look a whole lot more like President Zelensky than either Putin, Biden, or Trump. Those who put self-interest and/or ego before their nations and their people.

Tuesday will come and go with few realizing it's another declared "Day". But since it is, to those of us who do know of it, let us celebrate these women - these mothers. Those who provide the stiffness to the backbones being formed by not only the bad being experienced, but the good that comes from a mother's nurturing.

An Elephant in the Room

There is an elephant in the room and it's not a Republican. It's a nation. Ukraine.

I would have thought, at one time, the United States would have been the last country in the world to not stand by the Ukrainian people. That hasn't been true for longer than I care to remember.

We seem to always be the last ones to arrive at the party if we show up at all. I won't bother going all the way back in history. Let's just go back to Chechnya when the Russians were making short order of them.

We did nothing. Or maybe more in recent memory, Syria, when Russia was dropping chemicals on civilians. We did nothing.  Or most recently in Afghanistan where hundreds if not thousands of Americans and our allies were deserted behind enemy lines. We did nothing. 

 So here we are watching the slaughter of Ukrainian civilians.  What are we doing? Little more than nothing.  Well, we are wringing our hands, fearing we might offend Putin and that might lead to an even bigger and bloodier war.  How much more bloody can it get?

Yes.  I am an angry, disgusted, old lady who has been listening to those cursed sound bites again. But there is truth to a great many of them.

About that elephant. It's said elephants never forget. I don't know if that's true or not, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it is. Our government is not the elephant, or if it is, it's the poorest excuse for one there could be. No. The ones who will never forget the U.S. wasn't there for them this time are the Ukrainians. Maybe, too, the reason why the lion of peace in Europe, NATO, hasn't been instilled with courage from the Wizard is that they have no faith we would be there for them, either, should the need arise.

They're good at hand ringing, we're good at hand wringing and we're all in the same room.  Right there with that elephant. 

Somehow I don't see our stellar Vice President going to Poland bolstering their confidence in the United States at all. I'd consider it an insult that the U.S. would send someone so feckless.

Elephants are a herd animal. They have family units that warm your heart, they're exploited by the stronger and more sinister among us - they're very much like we, the people. An awful lot of us are in that room with the Ukranians and we will not forget. At least I hope we won't. I know I won't.

The Ball and Chain of Fear

 Which of these figures best reflects the United States of America. The one on the right if you're considering the people.  The one on the left if you're considering our leadership.

I don't know how our leaders can look themselves in the mirror and feel the virtue they spout while millions are dying in Ukraine. I am so tired of hearing we can't do more for fear of starting WW III. What sort of world do we have now when political self-interest trumps doing what's right. I've been witness to too many wars since instant transmission of images has become the norm.  No tape delay.  Live-action, happening now.

Most recently was Afghanistan. Now it's Ukraine. If I hear a pundit telling a Ukrainian  that a no-fly zone can't be set up because it could lead to WWIII one more time I think I'll scream. First, it's not for a pundit to say.  Plus, I think "could" is the keyword here. Does Russia really want to deal with the aftermath of a nuclear war?  Or China? I should think no more so than we or the rest of the world.

Do we so lack confidence in our ability to prevail that we're willing to let Russia annihilate one more country on his March to the Atlantic? Why do we allow faulty policy justify continuing to buy oil from Russia as the war in Ukraine rages? Why do we insist on funding Russia's war effort?

What kind of people are these who supposedly run the free world? We know the kind who run Russia and China.  I never thought I'd equate ours with them.

I live, as do most of us, in a world of sound bites.  We hear that Ukraine is a corrupt nation. It was at one time to be sure.  Just look at Hunter Biden's dealings with them and the enrichment of the Biden family that followed. Is it still true? Perhaps to a degree.  I don't know. They do have a different president.  One who is standing with his people. To the people of Ukraine he is their rallying point and a reflection of their resolve. 

On that point, finger pointing would be like the pot calling the kettle black. There is way too much corruption in today's politics. No matter where. But it's the people who suffer through no fault of their own other than country of birth. Especially in the grasp of dictatorships where they have no say in government.

It isn't supposed to be like that here.  We do bear a great deal of responsibility for what happens because we put these people into their positions of power. 

The Ukrarian people don't have a lot of time to overcome without substantial help from the rest of the world. We do. We have elections coming up in a few short months.  We can't throw all the bums out in one fell swoop, but we sure as heck can start. Lest we find ourselves at the mercy of cruel dictators on our own soil, let's hope we do.