Friends, the Trump Administration's policies on the Russia-Ukraine War "evolve" so quickly that it's hard to keep up. A few days ago, Trump and Putin were set to have another historic (if fruitless?) summit in Hungary. Now, the summit is off and tighter sanctions on Russian oil companies have been unveiled. What gives??? Whether the sanctions signify much, or will seriously impact Russia's war economy, is unclear, but the mixed signals sent by Trump and Co. do not appear to be breaking the strategic logjam. I hope someone in the White House knows what they're doing, and that this back-and-forth doesn't mean that no one, in particular, is in charge.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6758pn6ylo
In other news, North Carolina has joined Texas and Missouri in authoring new Congressional maps for 2026 that are designed to increase the number of Republicans in the House. Hooray! So far, not a single blue state has followed suit, although that may be coming, especially in La La Land.
Finally, what the are the chances that Republicans could pull off upsets this fall in either New Jersey or Virginia? Probably not great, as both states voted for Kamala Harris by substantial margins. Nevertheless, the GOP looks like it can keep things close, which in itself would be a moral/strategic victory, of sorts.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: You made a good point in a previous post the Dems have over gerrymandered in most of the states where they could swing it. They may not have much left to corrupt. And the GOP, before we got this hombre President, didn't have the moxie to face up to it head on. Now we do and in doing so may well bring America an honest distribution of representation in the House.
ReplyDeleteA GOP majority there IS an honest representation of America and objective realization of that truth is very bad news for the far left. Rather than misusing a Dem party which is still revered by many who cannot believe how very much it has shamed itself , the far left may have to get along on its own. Its present apparent embrace of the openly Marxist "Democratic" Socialists of America may well herald such a shift.
They may turn hapless vulnerable states like NY and California into dysfunctional deserts but an America thus aroused by their injustices may be able to quarantine them until their own populations rise up in desperation and implore Federal deliverance.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Well, President Trump is holding off on the Tomahawks, so far. I think Russia would take VERY great offense if it gets hit by Tomahawks. I think that with painful restraint , they would take it out on Ukraine but that might bring us nose to nose with a very nuclear power. We should never have let our apparent hubris over Russia's retreat across Eastern Europe to persuade us that rugged , much ravaged Russia would endure unlimited humiliation. Its not in their national nature; these are people who followed proven hell hound Stalin into battle he cynically portrayed as "the defense of the Motherland".
ReplyDeleteI think the late Dr. Stephen Cohen, Russian expert of NYU and Princeton , when he predicted that Russia's view of any chance of Ukrainian membership in Nato was analogous to our ABSOLUTE intolerance of Russian IRBMs in Cuba in 1962, was on point and that his view is still on point. Russia does not want war with us any more than we wanted it then; they would probably not be pushed to it by sanctions (these people endured the siege of Leningrad after all) but nuclear capable Tomahawks?! By the way, how does Russia reply to seriously damaging economic sanctions ? What kind of nonlethal pressure can they bring to bear on us? If they do not have such power what might they resort to?
This is a bad business . Ukraine has already suffered destruction comparable to WWII ; their poignant wish to be free of the Russian monster which has so scourged them within living memory and far before that is more than justified. Russia has in this war reprised the brutality it demonstrated in the 20th century, albeit in what they, it must be admitted, understandably view as a fundamental threat to their own also very much wounded national security. On both sides, there are factors obtaining which bear reasonable comparison to the "all or nothing " risk we took in 1962.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Well, if "Dem" candidates prosper in this election I expect the Dems to assume that they are "back" , no matter the Dem biased settings in which their premature "triumphs" will have taken place. And as they always do when they think themselves in the ascendent, they will overreach ( eg. when they illegally opened our borders to millions of completely unexamined foreign invaders 2021- 2025)and when they thought to bend our laws as much as to end the public life of their insolent nemesis, Donald Trump). And as it did in 2024, their presumptions may prove their undoing. No, the U.S. will never consent to empower the "Democratic" Socialists who plausibly bid now to take over the once loyal Dem party.
ReplyDeleteThe midterms are a year away. So much can happen in that time. We cannot doubt that that year will follow the assertive and redeeming pattern set by our President since January ,2025. Yes, no doubt the far left will send its well regimented worker ants to the streets time and again but that could serve only to convince America that these people mean only an America regimented by their "unquestioned " justice in all issues. " If you don't like that we'll send our defecating, indecently exposing shock troops to your neighborhood!, We'll bring the war (Civil War II)to you!"
But unlike the '60s, this time America will get right down in the trenches with them and fight it out!This time America is fully aware of the proven threat of their insane hatred for our country . "Once burned, twice shy!"
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Charlie Kirk set us a winning example. Invite these emotionally captured fanatics to meet us and courteously exchange views! Their dreamy beliefs cannot survive a setting requiring principled, logical expression and consequent defense. They know only castigation and hate filled excoriation of any who dare to doubt them. In the past we have often wilted at their doctrinal onslaughts. But no more: we'll defeat them with the truth of America's on balance justice in this hard world.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about the Russia-Ukraine quagmire is that it is a gigantic mess that was fully avoidable, and constant escalation could make the situation worse (MUCH worse?) just as easily as better. I hope the Tomahawks are just a negotiating ploy, not a real policy move.
ReplyDeleteI agree: anything resembling victory this November will be interpreted by the Dems as vindication and a sure sign that the American people have abandoned Trump once and for all. Of course, it will be a sign of nothing of the kind. It will only prove that the Democrats' capacity for self-deception and arrogance is limitless. But you are wise to suggest that waxing self-confidence on the Left could cause it to make any number of mistakes, which could aid our cause in '26.