We have seen President Zelensky’s oratory on several occasions, most recently when he addressed the U.S. Congress. He is a master at communicating the plight of his nation, which has been under nonstop assault since last February 24. Putin thought that he would quickly decapitate the leadership, send Zelensky fleeing or kill him, and take control of Ukraine in a matter of days or weeks.
That didn’t happen. Shocking the world, Ukraine pushed Russian forces away from Kyiv, then slowly but surely pushed them out of many of its cities and towns. Now Ukraine endures a daily flood of missiles and drones aimed at destroying its infrastructure—a war crime—intended to cut off power, heat, and water to the civilian population. The point of the Russian onslaught is to terrorize the population.
Please watch and read President Zelensky’s inspiring words to the Ukrainian people. His message: we are united and we are not afraid.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As a war criminal Putin should be prosecuted at The Hague, unless he is overthrown earlier. GES Gerald E. Read my blog at: elderblogger.wordpress.com and follow me at @GeraldKnows on Twitter
Yes. He definitely should.
If the so-called power hungry and ruthless House Freedom Caucus (the Take Your Freedom Away freaks) had there way, they’d give Ukraine to RasPutin the Terrible as a gift and let that monster kill as many Ukrainians as he was already planning to do before his invasion failed.
Lloyd,
It is fortunate that Putin did not invade when Trump was in office. He would give Putin whatever he wanted. Putin has a hold on Trump, and we may never know what it is. Probably financial.
If I were a history teacher today: I would scrap my plans and do a lesson on how people fell for America First before WWII and compare it to today’s opposition to aid to Ukraine. I’d show a clip of a Lindbergh speech and juxtapose it with parts of this speech. And then I’d get back to class as planned in a day or two. It is so sad to me that teachers do not have the either the freedom or confidence to do this today. And it makes me realize how lucky I was as a teacher. The kids would love it, learn something, those who opposed would either change or find philosophical reasons to underscore their beliefs, which would still get an A out of this liberal teacher. And those who just parroted what was said would get a solid C.
If I were a history teacher I would scrap my plans and do a lesson on how people fell for Vietnam, Grenada, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc. by believing everything the government and mainstream media told them and listening to lofty speeches like Colin Powell’s speech to the UN.
Please go away. Your entire historical reference points are what has happened in your lifetime and from your own point of view. Then apply what you think is an ideology to everything that is made to fit. But that “ideology” is really a random collection of self-reenforcing claptrap that threads together events into a nice coherent–to you and your minions, that is–narrative that explains “all.” Please go away. You sully the truth of everything you address.
You wouldn’t know truth if it bit you in the backside. You believe mainstream liberal media is a reliable source of information despite decades of proven lies.
Still supporting Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Are you gleeful when Russian missiles knock out power plants and cut off water supplies and heat to the people of Ukraine? Do you cheer Putin’s daily war crimes?
You sad, stupid, angry person. If you think truth is to be found in debates about which source of current media is a truthful source of all information, it explains why your bitterness will never change. It’s so easy to claim to know everything when one knows and understands nothing.
Dienne trusts media sources that portray Putin as the victim of the war he started. She never trusts media that supports Ukraine and acknowledges that the Russian invasion is a war of choice.
I trust media sources that provide evidence, not just stenography from unnamed government officials or the same people who lied us into Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc.
I mean, honestly, you people still believe the invasion was completely unprovoked just because Mad Vlad is some evil cartoon villain, which is about as childish as thinking Elensky is Superman.
Speaking of sad, at least I haven’t spent the last six years of my life obsessed with Trump and dancing like a marionette every time the media pulls the Trump strings.
Putin invaded Ukraine without provocation. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have died. Putin commits war crimes daily. You have a hard, hard heart.
“Without provocation” is such a childish worldview, one amply discredited by documented facts. You can certainly argue whether the provocation justified the response, but to deny the provocation altogether is like right-wingers who deny evolution, vaccines, the Holocaust, or whatever other facts don’t fit their worldview. It’s impossible to have a rational conversation with people who deny basic reality.
You could show the clip of Boebert and Gates sitting, smirking and refusing to applaud or stand after Zelensky’s call for unity speech.
Gatz, Gaetz, Boebert, Bonobo. Let’s call the whole thing off.
Happy New Year, RT!
Gates, Gatz, Gatsby, Gesundheit
The Great Gatesby
The Should-Be Insignificant Gadflies
The Grating Gatesby
Gatzby au Gratin? He is a bit cheesy. And then some.
How fascinating and how bracing is the far right rejection of Zelinsky, who, if he had been an opponent of communism, would have been welcomed by the same. The far right shows itself to be fascist by its support of Putin just as they did when they refused to support a democratic Spain.
I wrote this back in 2015.
The funny thing is that it was long before his breakup with Melinda so “Lies to his Honey” was prescient (if I do say so)
“The Great Gates, B.”
He lies with his lips
And lies with his money
He lies to the Libs
And even his Honey
He tells all these fibs
Which makes him a cad
But lying to kids
Is really quite sad
But it Gaetz worse than Gates, if you can believe it it.
But it Gaetz worse than Gates, if you can believe it it.d not Boebert that joint, my friend. Pass it over to me.
And these days, Elon makes Bill appear downright reasonabill
Greg and D77: if you were a history teacher like I was, almost everything you had in your lesson plan (general though my own might have been) related to some aspect of the push between tyranny and good governance. The theme of imperialism, its effect on modern political disputes between fascism and democracy, and the development of the contemporary world is by necessity the focus of your class. This is so true that you find yourself feeling like you have left out some of the important stuff like how Jane Austin spoke for romantic love instead of transactional love or how Mozart revolutionized music only to die at 37 before he could see Beethoven revolutionize it again. Then there is the spread of soccer. Today a person who never saw Pele kick a ball described him upon his death as the soul of what Brazil means.
There was the day we quit what we were doing do we could watch the video of thousands of people marching in the streets of Hong Kong singing “Do you hear the people sing” from Les Miserables, I told them we would touch briefly on that fateful revolution in 1831, and that no one ever knows how revolutionary activity becomes itself.
There is so much to tell when you are a history teacher. I used to feel like a skeeter in a nudist camp. It was hard to know where to start.
Reblogged this on dean ramser.
The U.S. government claims that it’s too expensive to end homelessness or provide Medicare for All, but it can spend more than $100 billion to fight a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine! Alas, Ukraine won’t win this war on the battlefield(s). Only de-escalation, diplomacy, and détente will end this war. Wage peace.
Who attacked? Did Ukraine amass troops on its border and invade a sovereign nation?
What is Europe and the rest of NATO spending? I agree that this will be a diplomatic peace. Does Z expect us to rebuild his country as well? We have enough problems over here.