The roots of this war against Ukraine are well-known — no doubt here.

As the Soviet Union broke up in 1990, its various republics sought independence, including Ukraine.

It (Ukraine) became an independent nation in 1991 and was recognized worldwide, including by newly independent Russia.

Putin first invaded Crimea in the south of Ukraine in 2014. The world and the U.S. looked the other way.

Putin continued his plan by attacking the mineral-rich Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Other than sanctions, nothing happened. 

His final step was attacking Ukraine in 2022, but the Ukrainians defended themselves.

These are Ukranians being murdered. They may speak Ukrainian or Russian, but they are being killed nonetheless. And when the Russians occupy their cities, they carry out horrific acts of terror against the population. Rape, torture and summary executions are not generally considered acceptable behavior, even in wartime.

While there is considerable history and extensive cultural connections to Russia. Ukraine is no more “Old Russia” than Florida is “New Spain” — or that Texas is “Old Mexico.”

Putin’s actions are old-fashioned, expansionist land grabs made possible through violence, death and destruction.

Rocking away with a beer in one hand and an American flag in the other, some folks can feel good about “walking away” from this war.

As in WW II, I believe that there is some evil that should be stopped.

Climate impacts fuel property value crisis; priorities questioned

During a recent congressional hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., provided a stern warning regarding “the very dark economic storm clouds that are on the horizon that relate to climate change.”

Whitehouse explained that increased coastal flooding and wildfire risk are propelling our nation toward a home insurance and property value collapse that will impact the entire economy.  

Consider that, in 2016, Freddie Mac’s Economic and Housing Research group reported:

“Rising sea levels and spreading flood plains...appear likely to destroy billions of dollars in property and to displace millions of people. The economic losses and social disruption may happen gradually, but they are likely to be greater in total than those experienced in the housing crisis and Great Recession.”

Urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions and funding adaptation should be a top priority for every politician who is concerned about national security and economic stability.

Send Elon Musk back to South Africa

According to the latest public opinion polls, 78-year-old convicted fascist felon Donald Trump has the lowest approval ratings of any newly inaugurated president in American history — and it isn’t even close.

Forget what you heard on fake Fox “News” — Trump is sinking like The Titanic.

Americans, in fact, have had it with an unelected neo-Nazi South African billionaire hilariously named Elon Musk, pretending he’s the “King of America,” while the current criminal adjudicated rapist President Diaper Don is the malodorous Mr. Musk’s lying lapdog and partner in political corruption.

Lock them both up! They can share a prison cell together, so as to cut taxpayer costs.

Almost all of evil Elon’s crazy claims regarding his latest scam paid for by grifted Americans, otherwise known as D.O.G.E. or more accurately D.O.U.C.H.E. (Department of Useless Conservative Hillbilly Extremists) has been debunked — one-after-another — by the increasingly conservative mainstream media. Explain that.

Considering how many liberals and/or progressives have been fired by their cowardly corporate media employers since whiny crybaby conservative Trump publicly insisted they do so, the GOP (Greedy Old Perverts) is up a creek without a paddle attempting to blame Democrats for demented Donald and evil Elon being so incredibly incompetent and unaware of how federal government programs actually work.

President Trumptanic is a career criminal and compulsive pathological liar who lies just to lie, even when he doesn’t have to. Mr. Musk is a racist, pro-apartheid, Afrikaner who needs to be deported back to South Africa immediately! Except for one thing... “we the people” will be keeping evil Elon’s ill-gotten $400 billion.

That’s what he gets for littering the state of Florida with falling space junk from his stupid SpaceX scam.

We’ll never get to Mars with Musk, but traitor Trump will make it to Moscow, says Vladimir Putin.

Benedict Donald is the new Neville Chamberlain.

Arcata, Calif.

EDITOR’S NOTE: AI Overview noted that, “while Elon Musk was born and raised in South Africa, he is not considered an Afrikaner. His father, Errol Musk, was a South African electromechanical engineer, but Elon’s mother, Maye Haldeman, is of British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, and his father’s family had ties to the anti-apartheid movement.”

Musk called correct in belief we live in someone’s video game

Elon Musk is completely convinced that we are immersed in someone’s video game.

If you were to tell a psychiatrist that you believe that we are immersed inside the virtual world of a video game, I don’t have to tell you what diagnosis he would make.

And he would prescribe some happy pills.

But in actuality, it isn’t a stretch to believe we are immersed inside of someone’s video game.

We have reached the immersive age and we are starting to spend more and more of our day in the immersive worlds of video games...

So it might be healthful to stop getting so caught up in political wars and cultural wars that might well be just part of the game.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Pope added the following postscript to his letter to the editor:

Whether we are, or aren’t, in a video game, the law of karma is in effect.

So we will fare better by earning good karma by being KIND and by practicing kindness — and by trying to make others feel good about themselves.