A report card on the Biden administration

[Sandy Shanks]

The President has his hands full with Russia and its threat to invade Ukraine.

The Times reports, "At key moments since the Ukraine crisis flared into the headlines two months ago, President Biden and his aides have worked to expose President Vladimir V. Putin’s plans, declassifying intelligence about the Russian leader’s next steps and calling him out as an “aggressor.”

"The Biden administration has revealed information that could have been obtained only by penetrating, at least to some degree, Russia’s military and intelligence systems. The Pentagon declared publicly that the force that Mr. Putin was assembling on three sides of Ukraine would reach 175,000 or more before an invasion began, a piece of data one cannot discern from looking at a satellite photograph.

"A few weeks later, it said Moscow would try to stage a provocation — a “false flag attack” on its own forces or allies — to create a pretext to act. Then Washington encouraged the British to reveal a Russian plan to install a puppet government in Kyiv."

By disrupting Moscow’s actions by revealing them in advance, "each one of these revelations was part of a strategy to get ahead of the Russians in an area where Moscow has long excelled: information warfare."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. We won this election, and we won it by a landslide. This was not a close election,” President Trump, January Six, 2021.

Josh Hawley is the intelligence challenged Senator who led the charge in the Senate to erase bonafide electors and replace them with false electors voting for Trump. More than a dozen Republican senators voted against the electors certified by the states.

Now we come to another example of the Republican Senator's lunacy.

CNN reports, "As the Biden administration prepared to deploy additional US troops to Eastern Europe amid a Russian troop buildup, and members of Congress worked on drafting sanctions in case Russian President Vladimir Putin launches another invasion of Ukraine, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he thinks the United States should give into one of Putin's demands about Ukraine.

"In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hawley essentially argued that the United States should declare it will not support Ukraine's efforts to join NATO -- a key Russian objective, among others."

As is customary for Trump and his followers they want it both ways. They think that is smart.

"Hawley maintains that he supports Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and says the United States should deliver assistance to Ukraine," CNN.

But he wants Washington to put restrictions on Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.

"He insists that Washington should make clear Ukraine will never join NATO, as Putin demands," CNN again.

The reader is right. All that sounds quite stupid. There is an explanation.

CNN explains, Hawley belongs to "the Donald Trump-Tucker Carlson branch, which preaches a kind of isolationism, strongly advocating against US involvement abroad. Meanwhile, many traditional and moderate conservatives continue to support a robust defense of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression."

Basically, Hawley, Trump, and few other diehard Trump Republicans want our country to bow to Putin's demands. The reader is reminded that Putin helped Trump become President in the 2016 election.

More than a dozen Republican senators and 147 House Republicans voted against the electors certified by the states, and these same Republicans think the GOP will win control of Congress in November.

Go figure.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump and the Republican Party continue to be in the news. As is evident from this thread, Republicans continue to avoid Trump and the Republican Party.

Although a small minority, there are some in the Republican Party who are able to recognize reality when they see it.

One such Republican is former Vice-President Mike Pence.

The Times reports, "Speaking to a gathering of conservatives near Orlando, Fla., the former vice president offered his most forceful rebuke of Donald Trump, saying that Mr. Trump is “wrong” that Mr. Pence had the legal authority to change the results of the 2020 election and that the Republican Party must accept the outcome and look toward the future."

“The truth is there’s more at stake than our party or our political fortunes. If we lose faith in the Constitution, we won’t just lose elections — we’ll lose our country. “Whatever the future holds, I know we did our duty that day. I believe the time has come to focus on the future,” Mr. Pence said.

Then there is the Trump branch of the party. This huge majority of the Republican Party consists of silent education challenged farmers and shopkeepers in the rural counties of America, and they believe anything if it is pro-Trump. They are not much interested in reality.

For example they believe this utter nonsense. Why else would the RNC say it?

As countless videos show, on January Six, Trump urged his mob to march on the capitol and stop Congress from certifying the results of the Electoral College. As we all know, it was a violent clash, and the capitol was ransacked, 140 police officers were wounded, five died, and Trump's mob shouted "Hang Mike Pence," our vice-president at the time.

Moving to the present, CNN makes this astounding report. "In a resolution formally censuring GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the Republican National Committee on Friday described the events surrounding the January 6, 2021 insurrection in this way.

The RNC claimed that the two lawmakers were "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse!"

For obvious reasons, someone decided that had to be cleaned up. Trump's faithful will believe it, but no one else, meaning anyone with a rational mind.

A statement from Chair Ronna McDaniel strained the bounds of credulity when she tried to separate Trump's mob from the violence. "They chose to join Nancy Pelosi in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol," McDaniel said.

Who will believe that logic? Trump's devoted followers, of course. They don't know any better. Want proof? They will agree by not saying a word about the matter.

The RNC expects to win control of Congress in the November's mid-terms. Go figure.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

New York (CNN Business) Employers added a record 6.6 million jobs during Joe Biden's first 12 months in office, by far the strongest record of any president's first year in office.

"The unexpected strength of the January jobs report — along with some revisions in readings for November and December — pushed Biden over the 6 million mark. But he could have claimed that distinction even without them. The previous record holder was Jimmy Carter, who saw a gain of 3.9 million jobs in his first 12 months in office.

"By comparison, Donald Trump's first 12 months in office notched a gain of 2 million jobs.

"On a percentage basis, jobs are up 4.6% from where overall employment stood in January 2021 when Biden was sworn in as president. That's the second-best percentage gain ever, just behind the 4.8% gain during Carter's first year. Lyndon Johnson, with a 3.4% gain in his first 12 months in office after John F. Kennedy's assassination, is the only other president to crack the 3% mark."

Republican Presidents are not even in the running.

Politico reports, "The government’s latest employment report defied economic forecasts and gave President Joe Biden a sudden burst of good news: a flood of new jobs, surging wages and more workers participating in the labor force, even as Omicron surged.

"The report was so solid — 467,000 jobs were created in January and the totals were revised upward by more than 700,000 for the previous two months. The report caught most forecasters by surprise. The Dow Jones consensus was for a lackluster 150,000 jobs added."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump and the Republican Party continue to be in the news. As is evident from this thread, Republicans continue to avoid Trump and the Republican Party.

ABC News reports, "The RNC, which controls the party's rules and infrastructure, is under no obligation to support Trump again. In fact, the GOP's bylaws specifically require neutrality should more than one candidate seek the party's presidential nomination.

"But as Republican officials from across the country gathered in Utah this week for the RNC's winter meeting, party leaders devoted considerable energy to disciplining Trump’s rivals and embracing his grievances. As the earliest stages of the next presidential contest take shape, their actions made clear that choosing to serve Trump and his political interests remains a focus for the party."

Crying out loud, why, for chissakes?!?

It is well known that Republicans do not like to discuss their own party, but, just this once, can someone explain that anomaly.

Please!

 

[Sandy Shanks]

California’s GDP is larger than Russia’s.

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

It is self-evident that Putin wants to talk as opposed to starting World War Three, and now his generals are giving him a moment of pause.

The Times reports, "President Vladimir V. Putin met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on Monday, in an accelerating push for diplomacy amid mounting Western fears that Russia could attack neighboring Ukraine in the coming weeks.

"The leaders held a joint news conference after Mr. Putin and Mr. Macron met for five hours at the Kremlin Monday evening. Mr. Macron has emerged as Europe’s most active interlocutor with Mr. Putin in the current crisis over Ukraine, speaking to the Russian president on the phone five times since December in a bid to head off what Western officials say could be a looming Russian invasion.

"Mr. Putin said the two would speak again by phone after Mr. Macron’s scheduled visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Tuesday. Mr. Putin left the door open to further diplomacy."

CNN reports, "Intercepted communications obtained by the US have revealed that some Russian officials have worried that a large-scale invasion of Ukraine would be costlier and more difficult than Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin leaders realize. The officials were intelligence and military operatives.

"The officials have also grumbled about their plans being discovered and exposed publicly by western nations, two of the sources said, citing the intercepted communications."

We are being told that Putin has amassed upwards of 130,000 troops for the invasion of Ukraine. Perhaps because the news media is bent on creating excitement in its reporting they are not telling us about the opposing force Russia will meet in Ukraine, but the Russian generals and intelligence operatives know.

The current size of Ukraine's armed forces, which consists of 250,000 (215,000 military personnel), is the largest in Europe, and second in the region after the Russian Armed Forces. Armed Forces of Ukraine - Wikipedia

Combined with Ukraine's population of over 40 million, that is a formidable opponent, and the NATO allies have been feeding Ukraine's army with deadly weapons such as the Javelin missile, capable of taking out Russian tanks and APC's and all life inside same.

Little wonder why Russian generals are a bit nervous about Putin's intentions.

As is self-evident, Putin is nervous as well.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"In a resolution formally censuring GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the Republican National Committee on Friday described the events surrounding the January 6, 2021 insurrection in this way.

The RNC claimed that the two lawmakers were "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse!"

For obvious reasons, someone decided that had to be cleaned up. Trump's faithful will believe it, but no one else,

"But as Republican officials from across the country gathered in Utah this week for the RNC's winter meeting, party leaders devoted considerable energy to disciplining Trump’s rivals and embracing his grievances. As the earliest stages of the next presidential contest take shape, their actions made clear that choosing to serve Trump and his political interests remains a focus for the party."

Crying out loud, why, for chissakes?!?

I never got an answer to that question. Education deprived Trump Republicans do not talk about Trump or Republicans.

ABC News reports, "At every turn, Republican activists who met here over the past week preached the need for unity."

"When Republicans come together, we win," the Republican National Committee chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, said Friday at the party's general session.

ABC, continued, "But even before members could hop on planes to fly home, the party seemed to be defined more by its glaring divisions than any shared goals. The main point of tension: Donald Trump.

"The censure resolution was advanced in a way that maximized its chance of passage. But the measure's wording faced immediate criticism from within the party.

"One line described Cheney and Kinzinger as "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse" in their roles on the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol."

As countless videos show, on January Six, Trump urged his mob to march on the capitol and stop Congress from certifying the results of the Electoral College. As we all know, it was a violent clash, and the capitol was ransacked, 140 police officers were wounded, five died, and Trump's mob shouted "Hang Mike Pence," our vice-president at the time.

The point is this:

It does not matter what McDaniel said, that wording is still contained in the resolution approved by the Republican Party. "Cheney and Kinzinger as participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."

"Presidential records including “love letters” from Kim Jong-un had to be retrieved from Mar-a-Lago after Donald Trump improperly removed them from the White House, the Washington Post reported on Monday," Reuters.

The Republican Party expects to win control of Congress in the November mid-terms.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is self-evident that Putin wants to talk as opposed to starting World War Three, and now his generals are giving him a moment of pause.

The current size of Ukraine's armed forces, which consists of 250,000 (215,000 military personnel), is the largest in Europe, and second in the region after the Russian Armed Forces. Combined with Ukraine's population of over 40 million, that is a formidable opponent, and the NATO allies have been feeding Ukraine's army with deadly weapons such as the Javelin missile, capable of taking out Russian tanks and APC's and all life inside same.

"If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2," President Biden said Monday. "We will bring an end to it."

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which transmits Russian natural gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany and avoids Ukraine. Shutting down the pipeline would be a huge blow to the Russian economy, which is one dimensional, depending almost solely on exporting energy products.

Little wonder why Putin wants to talk. He was bluffing, and it didn't work, thanks mainly to our President. Biden called his bluff.

ABC News reports, "France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured him there would be no "escalation or deterioration" of the crisis around Ukraine, as French officials said there were signs Putin was moving towards de-escalation.

"Macron said he obtained the assurances during the five hours of talks he held with Putin in the Kremlin in Moscow on Monday night. Following the talks, French officials said Putin had committed to not launch any new "military initiatives" and promised the thousands of Russian troops massed in Belarus to the north of Ukraine would leave after exercises ended there this month."

According to CNN, Macron added that "the Russian president had promised to respect the Minsk agreements, a ceasefire protocol signed by Ukraine and Russia in 2015 after Russia annexed Crimea and fomented a rebellion in Ukraine's east. Despite the agreement, the two sides have not seen a stable peace."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It does not matter what McDaniel said, that wording is still contained in the resolution approved by the Republican Party. "Cheney and Kinzinger as participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."

The Times reports, "Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, pushed back hard on Tuesday against the Republican Party’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and its characterization of the Jan. 6 riot as “legitimate political discourse,” saying the riot was a “violent insurrection.”

The RNC rebuked Cheney and Kinzinger for participating in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, accusing them of “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

The Times continued, "Mr. McConnell repudiated that description, saying of the events of Jan. 6, 2021: “We saw it happen. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

Other Republicans chimed in.

“Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us,” Senator Mitt Romney said.

"We cannot deny the truth—to suggest it was 'legitimate political disclosure' is just wrong," Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

"From my front row seat I did not see a lot of legitimate political discourse," Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence.

Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted: "It's a sad day for my party — and the country — when you’re punished just for expressing your beliefs, standing on principle, and refusing to tell blatant lies."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R- La., questioned the censure, tweeting, "The RNC is censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger because they are trying to find out what happened on January 6th — HUH?"

As is their custom. Republicans will continue to be silent on the issues, although some prefer to shoot the messenger -- meaning me.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Mike Pence did not initially intend to admonish former President Donald Trump during a long-planned speech last week. But a pair of statements from Trump criticizing Pence's actions on January 6, 2021, were the final straw, said two people close to the former vice president. He had to say something.

"In the hours after his stunning rebuke of his onetime running mate, Pence fielded calls from donors, Republican lawmakers and top conservative leaders eager to privately applaud him. His speech to a gathering of conservative legal minds had caught their attention after he declared -- in no uncertain terms -- that "Trump is wrong" in his insistence that Pence could have unilaterally overturned the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump's repeated suggestions that his vice president could have rejected those ballots was "un-American," Pence said.

Trump's followers will stay silent about all this. The education deprived bunch remain loyal to Trump, but they are so uninformed they cannot explain why. Occasionally, they lob criticism of Trump's detractors, but invariably they fail to explain the reasons for the criticism. They make accusations without substance.

The same can be said of Trump loyalists from the now defunct Trump White House.

For example, "During a Tuesday appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast, former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro blasted Pence as "never a pure Trump guy" and "the prisoner of Marc Short," a longtime Pence confidant and the former vice president's chief of staff," CNN.

"Mike, you are dead politically," said Navarro, who has been a vocal champion of Trump's election lies.

Note Navarro doesn't explain why Pence is "dead." He doesn't even say Pence was wrong. Navarro can't tell his audience of uninformed Trump faithful that Pence had the power to reject electors because that would violate our Constitution.

So, all Trump loyalists can do is make accusations without explaining the reasons for the accusations.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "The Biden administration believes it has until the end of February to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement, otherwise the US will have to change tack and launch aggressive efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

The Iran nuclear agreement, or JCPOA, was an agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers that permanently barred Iran from making a nuclear weapon. Largely because the successful agreement was signed during the Obama administration, President Trump destroyed the agreement.

Iran, of course, followed suit, and she broadened her nuclear research. Experts think Iran is about a year away from making a nuclear weapon should she choose to go that route.

Since he came into office, President Biden was determined that would never happen. It has not been easy.

CNN agrees with this analysis, "The agreement, which was abandoned by the Trump administration in 2018, puts verifiable limits on Iran's nuclear program which were designed to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"Iran has increasingly broken away from its commitments under the agreement and many believe it would be able to quickly develop nuclear weapons and pose a serious threat to security and stability in the Middle East if there isn't a breakthrough in Vienna."

It is hoped that Biden's efforts can undo the tremendous harm caused by Trump.

There is hope.

"This session is the critical one," a senior administration official said, referring to high level talks that have resumed in Vienna. "We are genuinely in the very final stretch."

"Nothing with Iran is ever a straight line, but we are getting to a decisive moment," said a second administration official.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"Mike, you are dead politically," said Navarro, who has been a vocal champion of Trump's election lies.

In 2016, aided by Vladimir Putin to become our next President, Donald Trump is now doing all he can to destroy the Republican Party. Never one to accept blame, Trump blames the GOP for his devastating loss in the 2020 election.

In the hours after his stunning rebuke of his onetime running mate, Pence fielded calls from donors, Republican lawmakers and top conservative leaders eager to privately applaud him for saying Trump was wrong.

"Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, pushed back hard on Tuesday against the Republican Party’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and its characterization of the Jan. 6 riot as “legitimate political discourse,” saying the riot was a “violent insurrection.”

ABC News reports, "The Republican leader [Kevin McCarthy] appeared to try to have it both ways, saying finally that he agreed with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's statement that the attack on Jan. 6 was a "violent insurrection" -- but did not go as far a McConnell in rebuking the RNC's action.

"Yeah, I agree. Anyone who broke into this building, I mean, no one would disagree with that," McCarthy told reporters.

"That" meaning January Six was a “violent insurrection” caused by the Republican President.

Trump's education deprived followers know of none of this. That is a valid assumption inasmuch as they do not respond to the issues presented in this thread. If they respond at all, it is a crude attempt to change the subject. One poster wanted me to provided education data. Other posters deal with reports I made over thirteen months ago and evade all the issues since then.

On the issues, the silence from Trump followers is complete. One could easily conclude that supporting Trump and those he endorses requires ignorance.

Trump and his boatload of candidates think they deserve to control Congress after the November mid-terms.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"The Biden administration believes it has until the end of February to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement, otherwise the US will have to change tack and launch aggressive efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."

The Iran nuclear agreement, or JCPOA, was an agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers that permanently barred Iran from making a nuclear weapon. Largely because the successful agreement was signed during the Obama administration, President Trump destroyed the agreement.

ABC reports, "Germany's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran are entering a “final phase” and that, despite Israeli reservations, a return to a nuclear agreement would make the region safer.

"Her remarks come as negotiations between Iran and world powers reconvened this week in an effort to revive a 2015 nuclear accord that curbed Tehran's nuclear program. That deal crumbled after the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

"Israel and Iran are archenemies, and Israel has vocally objected to U.S.-led efforts to revive the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action."

No one is quite sure why Israel is opposed to an agreement that denies Iran the nuclear bomb.

Baerbock said that she was “convinced that a full restoration of the JCPOA would make the region more secure, including Israel, otherwise we would not be having these talks.”

 

[eddiew37]

And republicans worry about Hunter?

JARED AND IVANKA MADE UP TO $640 MILLION WHILE WORKING IN WASHINGTON, OR 457,142 STIMULUS CHECKS​

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/02/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-white-house-income

Meanwhile, sorry sacks of shit right wingers are obsessed with Hunter's $50k salary.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

California’s GDP is larger than Russia’s.

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

Americans hear nothing about this in today's media.

The current size of Ukraine's armed forces, which consists of 250,000 (215,000 military personnel), is the largest in Europe, and second in the region after the Russian Armed Forces. Armed Forces of Ukraine - Wikipedia

Combined with Ukraine's population of over 40 million, that is a formidable opponent, and the NATO allies have been feeding Ukraine's army with deadly weapons such as the Javelin missile, capable of taking out Russian tanks and APC's and all life inside same.

But Americans have heard plenty of this in the past two weeks.

The Biden administration believes there is a "distinct possibility" Russia could invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 20.

Yeah, the Olympics angle is new, but the reader gets the point.

And the Biden White House always adds this caveat. But U.S. officials do not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a final decision yet.

The people and government in Ukraine have a different view. They don't seem to be particularly concerned.

"Ukraine is less convinced of the risk and its president has appealed to the West not to spread "panic," the BBC.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Biden administration believes there is a "distinct possibility" Russia could invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 20.

Some speculate that the Biden administration wants to change the subject. Too much is being said about the depressing poll numbers, rampant inflation, pandemic weariness, and supply chain problems. Canadian truckers aren't helping.

If Putin backs away from invasion -- which many experts believe will happen -- then Biden wins the phony war.

ABC News reports, "The U.S. issued a stark new warning Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin during the Olympics."

"We can't pinpoint the day, at this point, and we can't pinpoint the hour, but what we can say is that there is a credible prospect that a Russian military action would take place even before the end of the Olympics," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

The Winter Olympics, which are ongoing in Beijing, are scheduled to end on Feb. 20.

"As we said before, we're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time," Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Yes, he has been saying that for a solid two weeks now, beginning about the time I made the prediction that Putin will not invade. He is bluffing to obtain security assurances.

Sullivan said the situation had grown so dire that Americans in Ukraine should leave "immediately" -- or at least "in the next 24 to 48 hours."

Maybe President Biden and Putin will seal the peace deal this weekend.

ABC continued, "Sullivan told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce that he expected President Joe Biden to "engage by telephone with President Putin." The last time the leaders spoke was Dec. 30.

"A White House official later said the two men would speak Saturday morning."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Pardon the pun, but President Biden's poll numbers are in the toilet.

Americans are blaming Biden for just about everything these days. They blame him for the pandemic, even though Republicans have fought the President tooth and nail on everything Biden has tried to do, including sacrificing their lives and the lives of their children.

They blame Biden for the inflation. The blame Biden because their supermarket has supply problems. Despite ending America's longest war -- the goal of three previous Presidents -- Americans somehow found fault with how Biden ended the Afghan War.

People in Kansas City are blaming Biden for the absence of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

Of course, we know that 40% of Americans would find fault with Biden even if he suddenly became a super hero and solved all our problems in the next day or two. They are called Trump Republicans. We hear Kansas City is a Republican town.

One Republican dares to speak out. For daring to speak the truth, the Republican National Committee censured her.

Chris Cillizza writes, "Liz Cheney is the "Guilty Remnant" of the Republican Party. The Wyoming lawmaker has, repeatedly, sought to remind Republicans of what they so badly want to forget: That attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent riot at the US Capitol are diametrically opposed to the principles the party had long espoused."

"Republicans used to advocate fidelity to the rule of law and the plain text of the Constitution," Cheney wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Thursday. "In 2020, Mr. Trump convinced many to abandon those principles. He falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him because of widespread fraud. While some degree of fraud occurs in every election, there was no evidence of fraud on a scale that could have changed this one."

The last is true. Trump lost sixty court cases, the Supreme Court, his own Attorney General, and all fifty states trying to prove differently.

Our President's poll numbers are down. Do Americans really think Republicans can do better?

The 2018 and 2020 elections were a referendum on how well Republicans handled the Presidency, House, and Senate. By 2021, the Republicans had lost the Presidency, House, and Senate.

The Republican President lost reelection by over seven million votes. Since then, he as claimed the election was stolen from him. Despite every bit of evidence to the contrary, to this day Trump preaches the stolen election. Trump Republicans pay him to say this. Trump then led an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in a coup attempt to overthrown the elected government. Among other issues, Trump is being investigated for his handling of classified documents.

With the sole exceptions of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, every Republican in Congress in varying degrees support Donald Trump.

But they rarely mention his name and discussing what Trump did is taboo within the Republican Party even though several Republicans are running on the platform that Trump is the legitimate President.

I repeat, do Americans think the Republicans can do better?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Sandy Shanks said:

California’s GDP is larger than Russia’s.

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

Several media sources are all saying the same thing, and they have been saying it for many weeks now.

Russia is going to invade Ukraine and it could happen at any time, or so says every major network.

Nothing has happened in three months, and nothing has changed except for an uptick in rhetoric from the Biden administration. The U.S. announced it is closing its embassy in Ukraine. We are now being told how Russia will attack and when. Sources are saying the attack is likely to come on Wednesday.

Honestly, if you believe that, there is a bridge I'd like to sell you, money up front, of course.

What the media does not tell you is this. The current size of Ukraine's armed forces, which consists of 250,000 (215,000 military personnel), is the largest in Europe, and second in the region after the Russian Armed Forces. Armed Forces of Ukraine - Wikipedia

As far as the media is concerned, telling you that will take all the fun out of this melodrama.

We have been told for weeks that Russia's attack force numbers 130,000 troops, and they have Ukraine surrounded on three sides. Ukraine's fourth side to the west consists of our NATO partners in Eastern Europe.

If the attacking force is outnumbered by the defending force, it would be disastrous for the aggressor. That is Military Strategy 101.

If a 78-year old Marine lieutenant (Ret.) knows that, surely the Russian leader knows that. If he doesn't or he is so fixed on returning Ukraine to the Russian fold, no doubt his general will inform him.

In other words, if Putin decides to invade, he will not only suffer a military defeat, but economic calamity caused by Western sanctions as well. Russia's economy is vulnerable. It relies almost entirely on exporting energy products. That will come to an abrupt end if Putin invades.

Putin knows all that. He is not stupid.

Therefore, he will not invade.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Times reports, "The megadrought in the American Southwest has become so severe that it’s now the driest two decades in the region in at least 1,200 years, scientists said Monday, and climate change is largely responsible.

"The drought, which began in 2000 and has reduced water supplies, devastated farmers and ranchers and helped fuel wildfires across the region, had previously been considered the worst in 500 years, according to the researchers.

"But exceptional conditions in the summer of 2021, when about two-thirds of the West was in extreme drought, “really pushed it over the top,” said A. Park Williams, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who led an analysis using tree ring data to gauge drought. As a result, 2000-21 is the driest 22-year period since 800 A.D., which is as far back as the data goes."

That means this is the worst megadrought in human history, since the data began in 800 A.D., and there is no mention of a drought in that year.

Mind you, while this is a tragedy for some, I am not complaining.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

There are serious doubts Russia will invade Ukraine. Wars are very costly, and Ukraine has a respectable, battle hardened military, and she will get military assistance from NATO. If she invades, the sanctions placed on Russia and Russian leaders by the NATO countries will likely be more costly than the war itself.

In other words, if Putin decides to invade, he will not only suffer a military defeat, but economic calamity caused by Western sanctions as well. Russia's economy is vulnerable. It relies almost entirely on exporting energy products. That will come to an abrupt end if Putin invades.

Putin knows all that. He is not stupid.

I have been a student of the history of war since high school. How many can say they read the 1800 page The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich while in high school? I can.

Enough about my resume. My point being, throughout modern history, if an aggressor wishes to attack, he doesn't wait around during three months of discussion, enabling his enemy and his enemy's allies to prepare to defend invasion.

The examples of this principle are countless; the Confederate States of America in 1861, Germany attacking France in 1914, Germany attacking Poland in 1939, Germany attacking the Soviet Union in 1940, Japan attacking the United States in 1941, North Korea attacking South Korea in 1950. North Vietnam attacking South Vietnam in the 60's, Iraq attacking Kuwait in 1990, and Al Qaeda attacking the United States on 9/11.

In each case, there was little or no warning. In each case there was not three months worth of discussion. The aggressor attacked without warning, and, while most suffered defeat later, the attacks were remarkably successful in each and every case.

Putin has been involved in various discussions with many leaders and his colleagues going on three months now. Ukraine, which has a larger army than the Russian strike force, and Ukraine's allies, the entire NATO alliance, have been preparing for the attack.

Which will never come. Putin is bluffing. He wants security assurances at no cost to Russia, meaning, there will be no invasion. As shown, the cost of invasion is prohibitive, and Putin knows it.

The Times reports, "President Vladimir V. Putin said Tuesday that Russia had decided “to partially pull back troops,” and the Russian Defense Ministry announced that some forces from military districts bordering Ukraine were being sent back to their garrisons, a sign that Moscow might be stepping away from the threat of an invasion.

"The announcement was the strongest signal yet that Russia might be trying to de-escalate the military standoff near the Ukrainian border, but it was far from clear that the threat of war has passed. Military analysts warned that it was too early to make firm conclusions about any troop drawdown without more information."

Yesterday, the White House predicted that Russia will begin her invasion on Wednesday. Today, President Biden said "If Russia does invade in the days and weeks ahead ..."

One last thing. Do I trust Putin? Hell, no, but I trust what I see and know.