Bacon's Rebellion

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Virginia Shows Solidarity with Ukraine

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by

James A. Bacon
in

79-year-old Ukrainian woman learns to shoot Russians

Denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Governor Glenn Youngkin has directed a series of actions to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people. “The invasion of Ukraine by Soviet dictator Vladimir Putin cannot stand, and the people of the Commonwealth are ready to rally in opposition to this senseless attack on a sovereign nation and western ideals,” he said in a press release issued this afternoon.

(I hope I’m not being churlish by pointing out that Putin is not dictator of the Soviet Union, which no longer exists, but of Russia.)

The actions include: (1) reviewing all state contracts to determine if Virginia tax dollars are spent on goods and services provided by Russian companies; (2) calling on the cities of Norfolk and Roanoke to end sister city partnerships with Russian cities; and (3) asking the Virginia Retirement System to divest itself of any holdings of Russian currency or securities.

As much as I support these actions, they are symbolic and will have no practical effect. Yes, it is important to send a message. But surely there is more that we, as freedom-loving Virginians, can do to help the Ukrainians.

 A million or more citizens have been displaced already by the fighting. Consider sending aid to the refugees. You might consider donating to some of the ones listed here.

The Ukrainians are putting up a better fight than anyone expected (although it appears to be only a matter of time before the Russkies grind them down.) I don’t know if the Ukrainian military will last long enough to benefit from logistical aid dispatched from the United States, but that might be another option. If anyone can suggest a mechanism for assisting in that way, please say so in the comments.

— JAB

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122 responses to “Virginia Shows Solidarity with Ukraine”

  1. Donald Smith Avatar
    Donald Smith

    Ukranian president Zelensky said it best himself—he needs ammo. The best thing the U.S. can do is start flooding western Ukraine with ammunition and weapons. Just as Nixon did with the airlift to Israel during the Yom Kippur war.

    If you look at a map of the Forward Lines of Troops (FLOT) in Ukraine, you’ll see that, as of this morning, the Russians had only taken a small percentage of Ukranian territory. Even if Kyiv falls, if the Ukranian military can stay in the field, they can wear down the Russians and turn it into another Afghanistan for them. The Ukrainians will fight—all they need is the tools to fight with.

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    It’s the same Trump. The difference is now some folks realize it and before were saying he just talked “bad”. Same guy all along. Jan 6 got some “skeptics” attention but even then some continue to buy the “stolen election” crap. Only until his remarks about Ukraine did even some of the hold-outs finally admit the man is not only not a leader but a clear and present danger to the country. And even, now, he still has supporters who would vote for him in a heartbeat.

    At some point those who now admit they are wrong, need to admit they were wrong all along, not just for this.

    And Youngkin is downright pitiful. He’s doing symbolic things for Ukraine and not a word about Trump.

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      Trump did not do much right. He is however the only president of the last 7, going back to 1981, who has not gotten us into a war. That goes onto the credit side of his ledger.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Trump basically disowned NATO. He would have handed Ukraine over in exchange for some things he wanted. Trump seems to like overthrowing govts.

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Sometimes we don’t get to choose not to go to war. This is a defining moment for the US , NATO and the world, not unlike Chamberlain and Hitler IMHO. There are bad guys in this world, and they have to be stood up to or we can just be cowards and let them take over like Hitler did. We’ve made mistakes like with Vietnam but in other encounters, we did the right thing and it was our duty to do so.

        This is a time for us to not be cowards.

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          Dance monkey dance. Chomp up that hysterical US government neo con anti Russian propaganda. Don’t be a coward, go for it cannon fodder. Be a man. Jerk your knee, but don’t ever use your brain.

          We have no, zero, nada strategic interest in Ukraine, but Putin does. It is right on his front door step, just like Cuba was on ours in 1962.

          We barely escaped nuclear war then, and now we’ve chosen to be on the wrong side of the issue. 60 years and we have forgotten how to tell right from wrong.

          You do know that Ukraine was on Hitler’s side in WW2 don’t you ? His followers in the Ukrainian Azov battalion today fly Nazi flags and wear SS insignia on their uniforms. Nah, you probably don’t know, use those Hitler analogies moron.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Have you noticed the sentiment worldwide, Mr. Monkey? So NATO has no value, either, right?

            Help me understand where you are politically, if you will. You’re obviously far right. Correct?

          2. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Idiot, yes, yes and no.

            NATO should have been disbanded when the USSR collapsed. We won the cold war and NATO’s mission was over. We would not be in this mess today if successive American presidents had not pushed NATO onto Russia’s doorstep in Eastern Europe in violation of Poppy Bush’s promises to Gorbachev that we would not militarize eastward into the former Warsaw Pact countries.

            NATO has less than no value, it has highly negative value today.

            I am rational. It is stupidity that ascribes political affiliation to anyone who opposes their idiotic war mongering jingoistic ranting.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            so you’re anti-NATO? Where in the political spectrum would you place yourself? What POTUS is closest to your views?

          4. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            NATO is an anachronistic Frankenstein monster, so “anti NATO” is putting it mildly. US nuclear weapons in Germany and Turkey with US missiles in Poland and Romania are but examples of the NATO insanity. NATO involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are others.

            Long ago I was pretty much in the middle, a New Deal Dem. I have not gone anywhere, but the political spectrum, like its adherents on the spectrum, autism that is, has moved hard right.

            The current crop that fancies itself “progressives” has precious little in common with the New Deal populist (aka deplorables today) values that governed successfully for 40 years. They brought the country out of depression, won the only war we have won in the last century, and transformed our nation with Brown vs BOE, the Civil Rights Act of ’64, the Voting Rights act of ’65 and the Fair Housing Act of ’68.

            FDR, but with each passing year Jimmy Carter looks better. You I expect have an affinity for demented Joe Biden.

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Thanks. So you’re NOT hard right?

            Do you not think the rest of Europe feels that Putin could come after them also if they are not in NATO?

            Did you support going after Suddam to get our of Kuwait?

            Do you support our protection of Taiwan and South Korea?

          6. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            “So you’re NOT hard right?” Duh, I guess you can’t read any better than you can think.

            There is no reason to let dislike of Putin keep you from understanding what is crucial to Russia.

            NATO is the cause of European anxiety, not the savior from it. Russia needs distance from hostile forces on its border, just as we do. It had that until NATO expanded into eastern Europe after the collapse of the USSR. Russia has shown NO interest in reassembling the USSR.

            I did not support Poppy Bush telling Saddam that we had no crucial interest in Kuwait. That gave Saddam the green light to invade. Our change in position after he invaded must have surprised him. He needed to go home and would not have without our encouragement. I also grieve for the 500,000 Iraqi children we starved and denied medical care to over the next decade.

            Again, your ignorance is frightening. We have NO defense treaty with Taiwan. There is no obligation like NATO’s Article 5 that obligates us to go to war to defend Taiwan. In fact, we supported replacing Taiwan with China in the UN 50 years ago.

            If you really want the US economy to go into the toilet just engage in hostilities with China over Taiwan and watch the flow of everything we use stop.

            Trump almost managed to end the Korean war and shepherd the reconciliation of North and South Korea. But, he employed @#$% neocon John Bolton as his Nat Security advisor and then let Bolton personally blow up Trump’s summit with Kim.

            One war with China in Korea was one too many. Helping the Koreas reconcile is the best protection we could provide to both of them.

          7. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I think ignorance here is yours. You basically do not understand history and deny the realities to suit your own beliefs.

          8. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            That is like being called ugly by a toad. Dance monkey dance.

          9. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            the truth hurts, Mr. Monkey.

            So you’d let Taiwan and South Korea get taken over by thugs and despots?

            great!

          10. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I’m so sorry to cause you pain.

            Taiwan will eventually be reacquired by China whether we like it or not. The economic cost to us of objecting too strenuously would be horrendous, in addition to being beyond our ability.

            There is also considerable doubt that many of the countries in the area would back us in a war with China. We can (and would) go home, but the locals are there forever and they know it.

            The best solution for the Koreas, and for the region and for the world is for them to reconcile. It is past time to end a 70 year old war.

            Dance monkey dance.

          11. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            still trying to categorize your politics…. 😉 help me out. 😉

      3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        You know that WE are not at war… right…??

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Hate to repeat myself, but no, he doesn’t.

          1. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Dance monkeys, dance to the propaganda. It is so much easier than thinking. Thinking would require using your heads for something other than hat racks.

  3. walter smith Avatar
    walter smith

    In an effort to do my patriotic duty, I hereby offer my free Stolichnaya vodka disposal service. Dm me if you need help.

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      That is very generous, thoughtful and patriotic of you:)

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    It’s at times such as this I’m glad that I never developed a taste for vodka, and that the spousal unit prefers NATO member Icelandic vodka, Rekka.

  5. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    It’s at times such as this I’m glad that I never developed a taste for vodka, and that the spousal unit prefers NATO member Icelandic vodka, Rekka.

  6. Joe Jeeva Abbate Avatar
    Joe Jeeva Abbate

    It’s time to denounce Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Fox News for their praise of Putin and their disregard of this lawless attack by Russia against the Ukraine. Do you and other supposed American conservatives have the intelligence and political will to do so?

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Happily. And I denounce Joe Biden for destroying our energy infrastructure and putting us in a position where we are buying oil from that monster at prices which Biden drove up to $100 a barrel. The Keystone XL pipelines capacity is surprisingly close to the number of barrels we are now importing from Russia. The Europeans are paying for this war with their oil and gas purchases. Merkel provided the bullets killing Ukranians.

      My brother in Kuwait, my son in Iraq, and now this — all unnecessary if we maintained our energy independence. The climate catastrophe is now a lie that kills.

    2. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Happily. And I denounce Joe Biden for destroying our energy infrastructure and putting us in a position where we are buying oil from that monster at prices which Biden drove up to $100 a barrel. The Keystone XL pipelines capacity is surprisingly close to the number of barrels we are now importing from Russia. The Europeans are paying for this war with their oil and gas purchases. Merkel provided the bullets killing Ukranians.

      My brother in Kuwait, my son in Iraq, and now this — all unnecessary if we maintained our energy independence. The climate catastrophe is now a lie that kills.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        I cannot imagine where we’d be if Trump were still POTUS and we’re comparing Biden to him?

        1. walter smith Avatar
          walter smith

          Um…not at war because Trump would not have enriched Putin and impoverished Americans by increasing the price of oil by $60 a barrel and gas by $1.40 a gallon? Just a guess…
          Putin really quakes when he hears about SlowJoe taking on CornPop. We are so lucky to have a President with Alzheimers in charge!

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            correct. Trump would have likely handed Ukraine to Putin on a silver platter and disowned NATO (like he did before).

          2. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            You live in an alternate universe. Just stating your proclamations – the Nicene Creed was based on the fundamental beliefs of Christian faith based on what the apostles saw and experienced.
            The Larrene Creed is everything in the world that is bad is because of Orange Man and his evil helper, SatanPutin.
            RUSSIA! was made up by Hillary and Elias and the Deep State. Did Trump ever get paid $500k for a speech to Russia? Did Orange Man sell our uranium capacity to Russia?
            Seriously, there is a reason your eyes are brown…

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            You say that I live in an alternate universe?

            😉

            Well, I know for sure, I’m not in yours but i suspect many others are not either.

            For most of us, this is not a partisan issue , we just know what POTUS supported NATO and who did not.

            Did you ever hear of a guy named chamberlain and his dealings with a dictator who had designs on Europe and subsequently led to the creation of NATO?

          4. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Yes Larry. Peace in our time. Did you ever hear of Hitler? Oh, NATO is the be all and end all, huh? So shouldn’t the NATOians pay their fair share? Or all on US? And shouldn’t the NATOians not do things to enrich RUSSIA! then? Asking for a friend… The InterAgency Process…where they cook up bogus claims to impeach Trump while ignoring open bribery to Hunter… You do you Larry

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Just to be clear, you’re pretty much aligned with the far right, Tucker Carlson, etc , correct?

            Do you think there are folks who are to your right politically? Who would they be?

          6. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Larry – Leftism is a destructive first-world luxury, harmful to the people you supposedly care about. Germany has de-commissioned 3 nuclear power plants and plans to de-commission the remaining 3 as soon as this year. Meanwhile, the Germans will avoid freezing…how? Oh, with oil from Russia. Meanwhile, the Resident, SlowJoe, kneecaps American oil and gas production. The US now has to import and we were an exporter under the evil OrangeMan. That has resulted in gas $1.40 higher a gallon. $2,000 a year for the average family. It also affects fertilizer, etc, and food prices, together with Modern Monetary Theory, has inflation going through the roof. But you care!
            Meanwhile, Putin, a despot, sees the unseriousness of the West and has a boatload of cash from the increased oil price and production and knows Germany needs him. The stupidity of Leftists caused this. If we are lucky, Ukraine puts up such a fight that even if Putin “wins,” he will have shown his army to be a paper tiger and bought himself a boatload of headaches trying to keep a people who hate him under subjection. Leftists are either stupid or evil. Luckily for you, I think you may be the former.

          7. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            yeah. You’re really avoiding my question. Are you hard-right and aligned with folks like Tucker Carlson?

            where do you put yourself on the political spectrum? Surely you can say. how about it?

          8. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            The closing of the Nukes was not because of “green”. It was because of fukushima and this
            really does illustrate your myopia on the issue. My understanding is that we are now producing as much or more oil than we have been. Not exactly shut down but then facts are no your strong suite. We have the oil but it’s being exported for higher dollars. It would be that way anytime there is a disruption in the world for oil. stupid or evil? ha ha… yessir… willful ignorance of facts and realities ? yep.

          9. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            It’s laughable. You have no idea what you are talking about. SlowJoe cancels US pipelines and approves the Russian one. Supply demand? If you cut supply Larry, what happens on the world stage? And what countries benefit from this? And in the face of this, why would Germany cut a clean source of energy? Stupid green virtue signaling… And why Greens oppose nuclear is beyond me. Nature abhors a vacuum. Biden’s weakness invited the mess. Real world.

          10. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            The reason Germany closed the nukes was because of the accident in Japan and that they are terrorist targets, and Germany did not want a Chernobyl.

            They are vulnerable to the lack of natural gas and wind/solar will need gas to be there if/when wind/solar are not enough.

            But we STILL produce as much oil as we ever have -that’s a fact.

            and we’re building pielines also:
            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/85d4ced5874c39ffc44113f99a8a76aa05cf9e8409e1054390ad0320f906aef5.jpg

            https://rbnenergy.com/midi/gas-projects

            many if not most greens support new Nukes that are safe that Germany and Japan will adopt.

            .

          11. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            https://nypost.com/2022/01/24/gas-prices-keep-rising-but-team-biden-seeks-to-stop-a-pipeline/
            I guess SlowJoe is anti-Semitic, too…

          12. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7ca097f47206f03b437a25eb14bc9bb1a7e6c1fec154dc1fbcb39909a2ae28fa.jpg Maybe cancelled one pipeline (keystone) and dozens others go forward? True! We produce as much as we always have. True? Yep. Germany and Japan shut nukes over fukushima. True? yep. Greens don’t oppose nukes? True! So Walter, why do you spread these lies to start with Dude? When a safe nuke is developed, Germany and Japan will build them. But here is some more truth:

          13. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Why did the price of oil and gas go up Larry?
            Did that enrich Putin?
            And please show where Greens don’t oppose nuclear energy.
            They always have and always will. The environmental Commie crowd will take over and the so-called clean energy ones will shut up, because it is all about increasing government power.
            Price just went up and had nothing to do with Biden policies. It just “happened.”
            Bad luck…just happened…nothing to do with the Commie Climate Change crowd…
            Average American family spending $2000 more a year for gas. Inflation. Putin richer. Putin emboldened. All bad luck…nothing to do with the addled idiot being controlled by I don’t know who….
            Just bad luck!

          14. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Walter – have you seen this:

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c6c4bc8b15c2ba869310b2efdccf5035631c9694119419dcaa2dd25d05ab55e.jpg

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/512895ccfb04e4d240cf7a39c525988ab4288251644100a13b657e19e0590569.jpg

            https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-08/u-s-raises-forecasts-for-record-crude-oil-production-in-2023#:~:text=U.S.%20oil%20production%20will%20grow,to%20Energy%20Information%20Administration%20data.

            How does this compare with what you have been saying about Biden-suppressed energy in the US?

            Who is telling the truth/ You or Bloomberg?

            Or perhaps I should ask, where do you get your “news”?

          15. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Let’s try Econ 101 again. If US production is up, why has the price gone up so much? Wouldn’t higher US production lower prices? So the free US oil producers are producing because of the high prices. But meanwhile, the ROTUS, Resident SlowJoe Brandon, has done everything he can to hurt production. He lost a case over some of the federal leases in Louisiana recently. He wanted to add $44 to the $7 per ton produced for climate change. Would that raise the price? Hurt production?
            You are a waste of time. Paid operative or blindly partisan.

          16. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            because Econ 101 is not as simple as you seem to think. I’m giving you real facts here that you apparently don’t believe or refuse to believe because it’s at odds with what you what to believe instead. Then you run away blathering about Biden. Walter, if you want to discuss the merits, you have to use facts and stop spreading lies and disinformation that you apparently get from the usual partisan sources. it’s the same story with pipelines. One, maybe two, have been stopped. In the meantime, dozens have been approved and gone forward. All of this while Biden (Brandon) is POTUS. Get your facts straight guy if you want serious discussion on the merits.

          17. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Why are prices up?
            Has Biden encouraged or discouraged production?
            If he encouraged production, would prices go down?
            If prices go down, does that help or hurt Putin?
            If Biden and his fellow Marxists had their way, we would have no oil and gas production. Fortunately for us and the world, not all oil and gas is on federal lands. You are a joke. Denying reality. Germany’s stupidity is Fukushima. No. Germany inspected all plants and declared them safe. Germany’s problem is Leftism and guilt and by virtue signaling they enrich a despot.
            Did you get the SCIENCE! memo on no masks yet? Nancy Pelosi quit drinking her Grey Goose long enough to read the memo so Congress won’t be masked for TOTUS (TelePromTer of the US) SOTU speech…cuz SCIENCE!

          18. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I Biden discouraged it, why did it go up?

            Here’s a hint – they don’t pay attention to what Biden says, they listen to the market. Econ 101.
            only the knuckle draggers believe that ANY POTUS can affect prices instead of markets. You gotta
            get out of this right-wing rut!

          19. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Hello?
            This is the real world calling….
            I have a message for you…from Germany…
            https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-step-up-plans-cut-dependence-russia-gas-2022-02-27/

            Meanwhile, Larry – let’s try facts
            Is Biden encouraging or discouraging US oil and gas production?
            Did you know Louisiana and a number of States recently won a case where Biden wanted to add $44 per ton to the existing $7 for natural gas from federal leases for climate change. Would this increase production or lessen it?
            Meanwhile, because of higher prices, the US producers can afford to produce in fields previously less productive.
            So US production holding is in spite of Biden policies.
            Why is the US importing 200,000 barrels from Russia daily?
            Why are gas prices up $1.40 a gallon?
            Does hurting US production capabilities raise or lower prices?
            Does importing from Russia put money in Putin’s pocket?

            And finally, Mr. SCIENCE!, have you gotten the mask memo yet?
            Nancy Pelosi quit drinking Grey Goose long enough to read the Impact memo and …shazamm!…the Congress mask mandate drops… And it has NOTHING to do with the TOTUS SOTU on Tuesday night, does it? (TOTUS = TelePromTer of the US)
            SCIENCE! (of optics)

          20. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            The facts; we are producing MORE output than before. All the rest of what you provide does not
            negate that fact. And no, we’re not going to spread this out to masks and everything else in your mind!

            You need to understand instead of sucking on right wing media.

            Tell me why we are producing more and the price is still going up? Here’s a big hint. It’s not Biden because the claim that he has reduced output is false.

            You can do masks in another thread but you’ve got the same problem on that also. same church, different pew!

          21. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Walter, have you heard of such a thing as “demand”? When demand increases, price goes up?

          22. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            And have you heard of a thing called supply?
            When you restrict supply, prices go up.
            Are we paying $1.40 more per gallon or not?
            Does that increase hurt the “working poor?”
            Would encouraging production help?
            Please quit wasting my time with your religious devotion to stupidity.

          23. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Thought I’d already mentioned “supply”…
            Just for fun…
            I’ll make Larry defend idiocy again…
            https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/the-wests-green-delusions-empowered?s=r
            And wait until SCIENCE! catches up with where I’ve been on the CCP Flu (which Dr. St. Fau(x)ci helped fund)
            The current war is the fault of idiot Leftists and their Green Religion…
            Sorry the truth hurts…

          24. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            supply AND demand. If you have the same supply and demand increases, price increases.

            If you have more demand, even if you have more supply, if the demand is much greater, you still will get higher prices.

            That, in fact, IS Econ 101!

            So the US could be producing MORE than they had before but prices would STILL go up because overall demand was much greater.

            It’s more than just simple black and white Walter. It’s two variables in play.

            We’re STILL producing MORE than we did prior but now supply in other parts of the world is being restricted – resulting in higher prices.

            get it?

          25. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Seriously…you’re paid to be a Dem shill, right?
            SlowJoe Brandon and CommieLa of Cacklevania first thing greatly restricted US productive capacity. First thing Larry. So we in the US now import from Putin, and we increased Europe’s reliance on Putin. Then Germany de-commissioned 3 nuke plants and was going to de-commission the remaining three. You know Germany did an about face on that now, don’t you? And while restricting US production, SlowJoe approved NordStream so Putin could supply Germany and he failed to approve an Israeli Cypriot pipeline…. Isn’t Israel supposed to be an ally?
            So SlowJoe and the rest of the Marxists you love so much have enriched Putin and shown how stupid and feckless you are, so he figured now was the time. He’s not stupid. He got to be a despot by being wily. And also by being ruthless and killing people. Isn’t it “interesting” that with all of his over-production of oil, gas and coal, he has heavily built nuclear… Hmmm. Why would that be? Oil and gas and coal is how he funds his evil empire.
            (And you didn’t read the article did you? You just reacted to supply. But it isn’t about our production levels being higher. It’s about world power and how we could most effectively hurt Putin by turning on the US capacity and dropping the Green stupidity, but I can’t make you renounce your God of SCIENCE! (as determined by Leftist power coalitions…you know …cuz SCIENCE! sez Lia Thomas is a Grrrrl and LIA can menstruate and have a baby and is the best Grrrrl swimmer of all time!) And the Covid hurt is coming, too. I’ve been right for 2 years because I have the ability to think for myself and not repeat what I hear or am told.

          26. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Walter, you’re gonna have to cut things down to one short concise paragraph if you want a response. I’m not going to play all over the map conflation with you anymore.

          27. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Are you familiar with Lefty665’s position on this? Do you consider him evil or stupid?

          28. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Expect Walter and I have more areas where we agree than disagree and that we could have a witting conversation. But nice try to start a fight between him and me. I upvoted his patriotic offer to dispose of Russian vodka. That was a selfless act deserving of accolades.

            You do know a lot about stupid, I will give you that. Dance monkey dance.

          29. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Well, I was truly trying to understand where you both are on the political spectrum relative to each other. Sorry if that upset you! Can you tell me which elected political figures espouse your beliefs? I think I might know Walters but yes, I plead ignorance as to your politics. Are you an isolationist?

          30. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Wow, pleading “ignorance” shows more insight on your part than seemed possible. Congratulations, that’s the first step towards rehabilitation. Keep up the good work.

          31. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            help me! help me! So how about it?

          32. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Ok, I’ll try but I’m not sure you will listen. Quit talking about things you know nothing about, like economics. Adjust your goals to a more realistic level such as practicing saying “Do you want fries with that?”

          33. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            very helpful. Thanks!

          34. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            Did you drop out of school just before they teach you how to use a comma?
            I figured as long as you’re being trite, you’d enjoy it on my part.

          35. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Actually did have a problem as a military brat, we moved around the country and since schools don’t have uniform curriculum, I did indeed have some “deficits” on grammar. Even grammar checkers can’t save me. And you?

          36. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            I try to remember to triple check after getting called out too many times to remember 🙁

          37. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            uh huh………….

          38. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            Ooooook.

          39. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            Nothing like broad, faceless statements to get your point across.

          40. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            You’re up-voting yourself? 😉

            Please, explain what you are talking about here.. Join the conversation and try to keep your comments to the issue, not people.

          41. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            Yup. My vote. At least there’s chain of custody 🙂

            And I’ll try to do better.

          42. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            can you explain your position?

          43. James A. Bacon Avatar
            James A. Bacon

            Funny thing about that. When Obama was president, Putin seized Crimea and carved off a piece of eastern Ukraine. When Biden was president, Putin invaded Ukraine. When Trump was president, Putin stayed in his cage. Say what you will about Trump’s narcissistic, egomaniacal, and objectionable persona, Putin didn’t mess with him. Those are facts.

            Now Larry wants to conjure a fabulist scenario in which Trump, if presented with the same challenge as Biden, would have handed over Ukraine on a platter. This flies in the face of reality. Under Trump, American forces in Syria annihilated a column of Russian mercenaries, and U.S. military personnel trained Ukrainian military personnel. Trump demanded that other NATO members increase their military spending (he tried to strengthen NATO rather than undermine it), lobbied incessantly against the Nordstream pipeline, and at home pursued a drill-baby-drill policy to boost U.S. fossil fuel production and drive down global energy prices. Trump never faced the Russian-invasion scenario because Putin didn’t dare invade Russia while Trump was president.

            All the while, Larry played the Putin stooge by backing every environmentalist project to shut down fossil fuel production in the U.S. Yes, Larry, you are a useful idiot. You may disapprove of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, but your anti-fossil fuel advocacy supported his strategic aims. You are morally complicit.

          44. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            wow! A long and detailed response from jAB AND so much for your “Virginia-only” claim which was bogus to start with!

            Yes, agree that Obama stood by while Crimea was “annexed”, and yes it did embolden Putin.

            When Trump was POTUS, he FAWNED over dictators like Putin and basically tried to dismantle NATO. I’d not call that a proud moment, either. No one in their right mind would listen to what Trump said about NATO and think he was “just” trying to get them to pony up more money. Trump basically disavowed the CONCEPT of NATO. Tell the truth here!

            Trump ENCOURAGED Putin by demonstrating he did not support NATO AND he was willing to deny Ukraine help if they would not serve his personal wants. That’s corrupt and dishonorable and led Putin to believe he COULD invade without consequences.

            JAB , if I’m a ‘useful idiot” – more name-calling and AD homs from YOU, then you are, and I return the favor here, an effing idiot. So much for your own integrity as owner of this blog. You encourage others to follow your lead on the name calling and Ad Homs.

            Finally, I’m not and have never been anti fossil-fuel despite you continuing to lie about it.

            I have, over and over, supported the use of GAS as we do transition to cleaner fuels. I support modern nukes. And I very much acknowledge that EVs will take decades to replace ICs.

            Why do you lie about this?

            You do owe me an apology for your behavior. Lying and name calling and Ad Homs are not things you should be proud of.

          45. James A. Bacon Avatar
            James A. Bacon

            True, Larry, you have supported the use of natural gas in an abstract sort of way, and I should have acknowledged that in my comment. But I stand by the rest of my words.

          46. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I have way more than abstractly supported gas, as well as nukes and have basically responded to the ignorant opposition to adding wind/solar to the mix.

            But why did you even bring this up in the context of this discussion?

            And why do you name-call and engage in ad homs in the first place?

            That really reflects on you as a person.

            You flee from substantive comments, deflect and name call on a regular basis.

            bad on you guy.

          47. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            One person’s ad hominem can be another’s behavioral observation. JAB seems to have observed you accurately, although I do feel he could have omitted the qualifier “useful” before “idiot”.

          48. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Nope. There is a difference. A behavioral observation is just another way to engage in Ad Homnems. Get yourself straight or get ignored. JAB of all people should not be engaging in Ad homs. The fact that he does encourages other idiots like you to do so. There is no honor in that and if you think there is, it confirms my attitudes about your behavior. stick to the issues or STFU.

          49. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            My decades of working with people with severe disabilities has validated the utility of behavioral observations as part of a theraputic technique.

            “Idiot” was a kind and objective observation of your cognition and behavior. Becoming “rehab ready” requires that you acknowledge the problem. Until you do that there is little chance you will get better. You might trying saying “thank you” to those who are trying to help you gain insight.

            Oh my, “STFU”. Testy aren’t we? Tsk, tsk, dance monkey dance.

          50. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            All you are proving is what a dufus you are.
            There are all kinds of folks in this world and if you show them decent respect, you can carry on a reasonable and productive conversation. You’re not that guy. You think way more of yourself than you should IMHO. Arrogant and ignorant. Too many like you but it’s the world we live in.

          51. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I try hard to know what I know, and more importantly to know what I don’t know. That creates the opportunity to have a reasonable conversation where everyone learns something, especially when they do not agree. Your mileage may vary, and does.

            Dance monkey dance.

          52. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            deplorable! 😉

      2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
        Dick Hall-Sizemore

        We have the ability to be energy independent. According to the U.S. Energy Information Admin., the U.S. exports more oil than it imports. Thus, if American companies would stop selling oil abroad, we would not have to buy Russian oil.

        As for the Keystone pipeline, even if Biden had not stopped it, it would have been many years before it was complete and transporting oil. And, there is no guarantee that oil production in Canada would have increased by the amount that the pipeline could have handled. Canadian oil companies may have just switched from trucks or other means of transport to the pipeline.

        Blaming the rise in the price of oil on Biden is nonsense. It is the operation of the basic law of supply and demand. As the pandemic lifted and people started driving more and the economy started moving, demand for oil went up and so did the price. Also, the refusal of the Saudis and other OPEC countries to increase production also has a lot to do with the price increase.

        Finally, I do blame the Europeans for becoming so dependent on the Russians for their energy. With Putin, they should have known what they were dealing with. The Germans are probably now regretting shutting down all their nuclear power plants.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          ANY disruption in the oil markets, ANYWHERE will result in a shortage worldwide AND the price of oil will go up in response.

          It don’t matter what caused the disruption.

          I know there is some technology we prohibit US companies from selling to other countries.

          I’m not aware of any stipulations on oil or that we cannot sell it overseas if there is a shortage worldwide. Not sure that would be a good response anytime the price goes up. I would imagine that some oil companies would just leave it in the ground if they felt price controls were hurting it’s value.

          I dunno. But probably not a good idea.

        2. Donald Smith Avatar
          Donald Smith

          “Blaming the rise in the price of oil on Biden is nonsense.”

          Perhaps. But blaming him, and the anti-fossil-fuel zealots that now dominate the executive branch, for making it hard to invest in new oil and gas exploration, is spot-on.

          Just as we were years away from getting Canadian oil through the Keystone pipeline, we are years (if decades) away from building a reliable energy grid based on renewable energy. Right now, though, our oil and gas industry is under assault from progressives and Democrats. Those same Democrats are the force behind the mountains of regulation and red tape that contribute to a situation where it’s quicker and cheaper to get oil from Russia than it is from the U.S.

          It’s hard not to conclude that the Democrats have concluded that average Americans, who own gas-powered vehicles and heat their houses with electricity or gas derived from fossil fuels, are expendable. They should simply shut up and pay.

          “the refusal of the Saudis and other OPEC countries to increase production also has a lot to do with the price increase.”

          America deserves a robust and flexible energy system, which can flex and react to supply and demand. Under Donald Trump, we had one.

      3. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        The price of oil is beyond any government control. You know that.

        Don’t worry, Steve, if need be the Ukraine will give back to Russia their gasoline one bottle at a time.

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          Sorta like Marion Berry getting crack off the streets of D.C. one gram at a time. The variation will work just as well in Ukraine.

        2. James A. Bacon Avatar
          James A. Bacon

          In the short term, the prices of petroleum and natural gas are driven by supply and demand. In the long run, supply and demand are shaped in significant part by government policy. Trump tried to open the spigot. Biden has worked to shut the spigot. If you want to argue that Biden’s policy is justified by the war on global warming, you can make an intellectually coherent case. If you want to pretend that Biden’s policy has had no effect, then you’re living in cloud cuckoo land.

    3. Donald Smith Avatar
      Donald Smith

      If that comment makes you feel like a man, well then you go, girl! You’re smart enough, you’re brave enough, and gosh darn it, people like you!

    4. oromae Avatar
      oromae

      No, but I will denounce you for what you are, a troll.
      You’re not worthy of elaboration.

    5. Timothy Watson Avatar
      Timothy Watson

      Trump signed into law sanctions on Nord 2 which the Biden administration waived after four months in office. In addition, Trump’s ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, did everything he could, including public statements to the United States and German press, to get the incompetent Germany government to stop the Nord 2 pipeline.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        What business was Nord2 to Trump? I was under the impression he did not feel the US had interests in Europe.

        1. Timothy Watson Avatar
          Timothy Watson

          No, Trump didn’t think it was solely the United States’ responsibility to defend countries that wouldn’t defend themselves. For example, Germany, which hasn’t had a single combat-ready military unit for years.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            yeah, but why did he think Nord2 was his responsibility when he seemed to care less about the rest of Europe including NATO? What does Germany’s military readiness have to do with Nord2? Explain please.

  7. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    I respectfully disagree and note right at the outset that I have no love for Putin.

    In 1962 we escaped WW3 by a hairsbreadth in the Cuban Missile Crisis with the Soviet Union’s military and missiles on our doorstep in Cuba. Today we have reversed the situation with NATO members in Eastern Europe on Russia’s doorstep, US missiles in Poland and Romania, and Ukraine threatening to become a nuclear NATO member on Russia’s border. We are on the wrong side of the issue today and seem to have learned nothing from our incredible good fortune escaping destruction 60 years ago.

    Putin has been very clear on what Russia’s imperatives are. They include no Ukraine membership in NATO, removal of US missiles from Eastern Europe, and NATO forces backed off of Russia’s borders. Biden could have simply defused the issue at any point short of war by renouncing NATO membership for Ukraine and announcing that we would remove missiles from Eastern Europe. He refused to do that, and our government has actively fueled anti Russian hysteria for months.

    A contributing factor that Putin specifically referenced in his speech announcing hostilities was that on Ukraine’s Zelensky’s return from the European Security Conference he announced that it was time to revisit the 1993 Belgrade memorandum that governed Ukraine’s denuclearization following the collapse of the USSR. Putin announced Ukraine would never be permitted to again acquire nuclear weapons. The US was ready to go to war to move hostile nuclear weapons off our border. Why should we feel that hostile nuclear weapons on Russia’s door step would be any more acceptable to them?

    Following the collapse of the USSR old man Bush and our European allies promised Gorbachev that NATO would not expand into former Warsaw pact countries. With the collapse of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact the rationale for NATO’s existence ended. We won the cold war. But, Clinton added a half dozen Eastern European countries to NATO and Duhbya repeated that process. Starting with Duhbya the US has also withdrawn from 4 nuclear weapons agreements with Russia. It is of little surprise that last spring Putin declared that the US is incapable of making and keeping agreements, and that he was through being taken advantage of.

    In 2014 neocon Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragged about spending $5 Billion to overthrow the elected government of the Ukraine. We have supported right wing Nazi Ukranian militias, named after a WW2 Nazi collaborator. We have prevented Ukraine from implementing the 2015 Minsk agreement made by Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia that would control Donsk and Luhansk local government and their participation in Ukraine’s central government.

    Nuland is back at the State Department and neocon Obama retreads Blinken, Sullivan, Klain, Rice et al are driving our foreign policy. Considering our abysmal history since 911 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and other places why are any neocons allowed to even show their faces in decent company?

    One last cautionary note, our army has spent the two decades since 911 fighting mostly with medieval tribesmen armed with AKs and IEDs and losing to them. The Russians, and increasingly the Chinese, have spent that time doing military R&D. In addition, our Navy has not fought a peer foe since 1945 and cannot seem to drive warships without running them into huge ships or running our subs into the seafloor.

    The result is that our military is at least a full generation behind Russia’s and more sitting ducks than a world class force. What could possibly go wrong with our hysterical crusade against Russia? How will we know when we have had enough fun? Is there a better way for us and the world?

    I am more anxious that we are on the verge of Armageddon then at any time since 1962.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      I smell borscht.

      1. Stephen Haner Avatar
        Stephen Haner

        Da.

      2. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        The worst mistake you can make is believing your own propaganda. That’s what the last couple of months in particular have been, a hysterical barrage of neocon anti Russian propaganda.

        I sure ain’t pro Russian. I am very anti being manipulated by my own government.

        Do your self esteem a favor and do not willingly play a jingoistic chump dancing like a trained monkey when the US government rings the propaganda bell. That’s hard I know because it means you would have needed to be paying attention for the last 30 or 40 years.

        OTOH, dance monkey dance, it will help pass the time until the big bombs begin to fall, here, Russia and everywhere.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Faster than Global Warming and ends all discussion.

        2. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          what do you think of the rest of the world’s attitude toward Putin and Russia ? US propaganda ?

          please explain where you are on the political spectrum. It sounds like you are far, far right. True?

  8. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    Am I hearing you are prepared to accept Ukrainian refugees into Virginia?

  9. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Send Mosby’s Rangers. Behind enemy lines was their specialty. Too bad he has been dead for 123 years.
    https://coffeeordie.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/BRCC-Mosbys-Rangers-Cover-scaled.jpg

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      Ummm… they still lost, you know…

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        No, he doesn’t.

  10. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Scott Dreyer at The Roanoke Star weights in on helping Ukraine here. He links to a Christian group, Novo, that will provide “food, accommodation, counseling, and prayer.”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Who is this group JAB? How do we know they are a legitimate charity?

  11. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    So this means you are not with CPAC then…??

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9c3a852d4d004acf524e03252cab91d70a68fd718db7cc3e73c05e31503eb06e.jpg

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Trump lies badly all of the time, which distinguishes him from the rest of the GOP. Sometimes the rest aren’t so bad at it.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Both of them know their base and that’s the real problem. We really do have a bunch of folks who love Trump no matter what – and the GOP party knows it and supports him no matter what. And it took this long for folks like Haner and Sherlock to “come out”!

    2. Matt Adams Avatar
      Matt Adams

      https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/liberal-activists-prank-had-some-cpac-waving-russian-trump-flags-n725496

  12. Donald Smith Avatar
    Donald Smith

    Here’s a way to assist the Ukrainians.

    https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2022/02/27/ukraine-forming-foreign-legion-while-russia-offers-talks-threatens-nukes-n451533

  13. William O'Keefe Avatar
    William O’Keefe

    We have dithered to long over Russia and the Ukraine. Putin is a thug and every president except for Trump knew that but convinced themselves that he could be dealt with. We now know that was a folly. After Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2015, the west entered into the Minsk Agreement with Russia to bring an end to conflict but as time passed it became clear that Minsk was a one sided agreement.
    The West did not do enough to ensure that Ukraine’s sovereignty was protected and as storm clouds gathered last fall, we still refused to provide increased arms. Some say that might have deterred Putin; others say it would have provoked. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now say that it was the right thing to do.
    Putin is following Hitler’s play book and if we don’t want to engage in appeasement on a grander scale, we should make that clear to him. In the Battle of the Bulge, General McAuliffe response to the Nazi demand for surrender was one word, “NUTS”. Our response to Putin going forward should be equally short and definitive.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Indeed. If we appease this thug, it will play out like it always does when we appease thugs. This is the world equivalent of a mafia thug threatening people and businesses and demanding “protection” money.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        moron(s).

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Hitler’s playbook.

          Are you a FOX NEWs guy?

        2. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Hitler’s playbook.

          Are you a FOX NEWs guy?

  14. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    What real leaders looks like….

    Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ba5fdaa7d4a8ba4539e5cc9978b2ecb488abf52de7a1954bd97101b57833923d.jpg

    Volodymyr Zelensky, when offered American assistance in evacuating Kyiv, he said, hell, no, he’s staying to fight:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/22b08a77f9797826004cff3c6b8ce16985fb06eb07a614e04d4a26957c6e3232.jpg

    Kira Rudik, member of Ukrainian parliament:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMdaKbdXEAcObKP?format=jpg&name=medium

    What an inspiration to all freedom-loving people! And what a contrast to America’s leaders. The Spirit of 1776 has all but drained away.

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      Is this what you are looking for…?? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d58c95593c5800bc0ad39540cf6e31e2b68497a997d062b1c2c9eb6dd9314266.jpg

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Zelenskyy and Poroshenko united in fight against Putin. Hmmm. Strange bedfellows.

  15. Stuart Smith Avatar
    Stuart Smith

    Ukraine appeals for foreign volunteers to join fight against Russia
    One can join the Ukrainian foreign legion.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/ukraine-appeals-for-foreign-volunteers-to-join-fight-against-russia

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      Be sure to tell LarrytheG. From the way he’s been running his mouth he’ll want to be the first to go. OTOH, maybe Larry is all hat and no cattle and it has all just been blather.

  16. Timothy Watson Avatar
    Timothy Watson

    Everyone is worried about Russian vodka, which Russia only exports $140 million of (to all countries) but not the $7 billion in oil that Russia exports to the United States alone.

  17. Jack Meoff Avatar
    Jack Meoff

    Save your money. This will be over in 2 weeks and the Ukrainians will be fine.

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