John,
For weeks now, I have been telling you that Vladimir Putin is deranged, evil, manipulative, and calculated … but not suicidal, so there are certain things he will not do. I still believe that, although I am not as confident about my assessment as I was a few days ago.
The truth is, power is a drug, and the type of power that Vladimir Putin has can easily cause someone to overdose.
It’s obvious that Putin is no longer thinking rationally – this war is crippling Russia, whether he can admit it to himself or not, and whether he wants to admit it to the rest of the world or not.
Picture this for a moment: In Moscow and the rest of Russia, most credit cards no longer work, most banks are restricting how much cash you can pull out, and the cash you do pull out is … well, pretty close to worthless, but not quite there yet.
Who remembers images from post-World War I Germany of children playing with what looked like a lot of money – stacks and stacks of German currency? The war turned their currency into Monopoly money, and that is the path Russia is on.
The international pressure is working. Now is the time to take it up a notch, and guess what? That is exactly what President Biden is doing.
Today the U.S. announced a ban on all imports of Russian oil, expanding our sanctions to target the last remaining functional sector of Putin’s economy, the energy sector. Yes, our European allies will feel the pinch at the gas pump, as will we, but the Russians? They are drowning, and Putin is the one driving the ship.
Shifting gears a bit to discuss the hotly-debated No-Fly Zone the Ukrainians are asking for, my two cents are this: I do not believe we should be the ones to enforce a No-Fly Zone, as that would force us to engage with Russia militarily and spark World War III; however, what if we could help the Ukrainians establish their own No-Fly Zone while keeping our troops at home?
I think we can do just that, and here's how: We have our Patriot missile defense systems, they’re aging, but reliable, tried, and true. We’re looking to replace those systems with next-generation technology by the end of next year, anyway, so why not allow NATO to come together and buy some of these systems from the U.S. stockpile and give them to Ukraine to use?
That way, the Ukrainians will have the capability to defend their nation from the aerial attacks that Putin keeps launching at them.
Considering how reckless Putin has been, even launching attacks on Ukrainian nuclear plants that could affect the safety and security of our EU and NATO allies, I think we have no other choice.
Remember folks, this war is unfortunately just getting started, and pretty soon, the corporate media anchors currently on the ground in Ukraine will be coming home … well, except for CNN's Clarissa Ward, that woman is about as heroic, tough, and noble as they come. But just because the media will be shifting topics does not mean the war will be over, and that is something we must all be mindful of.
Here at home, we have to remain vigilant. We have to stop sending our young people off to war, especially wars that can't be won.
Republicans are driven by war because they swear allegiance to their donors, many of whom come from the military-industrial complex. But we Democrats swear allegiance to the Constitution and to the American people. That’s the message we are running on heading into the midterms.
Let's take back the word “patriot” from the radical right; we Democrats are the most patriotic of all.
We defended our Capitol when it was under attack while the other side blamed the Capitol police officers. We defend democracy and freedom while Republicans try to take away your vote and tell you how to live your life.
That is something we must never let them get away with, and with your help, we will deliver that message to America’s heartland and win back the rural and working-class vote.
