Russia Invades Ukraine Dec. 14-15

Since the Russian created tensions in the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, the US and NATO have done little to rectify the Russian seizure of Ukrainian vessels and abduction of 24 Ukrainian sailors.  The sailors have since been moved to Moscow where they are being treated as prisoners of war.

The Trump administration, in response to complaints that Donald Trump does nothing in response to Putin’s aggression, often points out how tough Trump is because of actions that the federal government has taken in response to Putin’s hostilities, as if they are one and the same.  They are not the same.  This is a case-in-point.

Donald Trump’s statements regarding Russian aggression have been, “I’m not happy,” and “They need to figure it out.”   In other words, he doesn’t give a fuck and he’s not going to do anything.  But will the US?

The US diplomatic corps, in the persons of U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker and Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, have voiced their opinions that Russia’s aggression is in violation of international law.
NATO head, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, also demanded an immediate release of the sailors and a concern as to what the Russians have in mind as they amass troops along the eastern border of Ukraine.

This is a time when luke-warm pronouncements from Sec. State Mike Pompeo is not going to cut it.  Trump needs to speak out now and in no uncertain terms.  We need leadership now that would cause Putin concern and forcibly shape his actions.

According to Ukrainian news outlet Radiolemberg, The Russians are preparing to invade Eastern Ukraine in order to acquire a land bridge from Western Russia to Crimea and complete their control of the Azov Sea.  Radiolemberg even has a date for an invasion: December 14th or 15th. 

In a strange interplay of propaganda and fake news, the Russian’s are declaring that Ukraine plans on blowing up their own industrial complex in Mariupol, Ukraine on Dec. 14th and blaming it on Russia and Russian backed separatists in order to start a direct military confrontation with Russian troops.  Who would do something that crazy?  Who would kill their own people in order to start a war with someone else?

Putin would.

All evidence points to Putin’s orchestration of the 1999 apartment bombing in Russia which killed over 300 russian civilians.  These bombings were the catalyst for a fabricated second Chechen war from which Putin consolidated power and ascended to the presidency of Russia.

Alternately Radiolemberg offers the following day, Dec.15, as a likely date for Russian to invade Ukraine as this is the day of the convening of the unification council for the creation of anautocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church to separate itself from the Russian orthodoxy.

Do we think Russia will actually invade Ukraine in December?  I doubt it, but that’s not the whole point of this exercise, is it.  The continuing and ongoing effort of Russia is to undermine, confuse, confound, and divide…and it’s working.  Russia will continue to arm rebels in eastern Ukraine and eventually they will have their land bridge around the Azov Sea through their separatists, then they will act as overlords of that sea.  Once that is complete, if no one halts their incremental progress, they will continue to chip away at Ukraine until nothing is left.

The administration says, “No one is tougher on Russia than Trump.  No one.”  But if you search, you will not find a single instance in which Trump has directly spoken out against Russian aggression or Putin’s long term plans to recreate the Soviet Empire, despite whatever the US government may have done.

This is the time when we need a US President to stand up and say, “We see what you are doing Russia.  This is not acceptable to us.  Withdraw your forces from the Ukrainian border, cease your hostilities, and end your clear support and involvement in Ukrainian unrest.”  Putin needs to know this is the truth, but he has absolutely no reason to believe that at this time. 

Putin will keep pushing unless he has reason to believe it is not in his best interests to do so.

Battle Plans

The insertion of Matt Whitaker as acting Attorney General has thus far not furthered Trump’s desire to stifle the Mueller investigation.  Since this administration prefers to operate on its “gut” rather than on background checks, vetting, and common sense, Trump has once again shot himself in the foot.  It is clear that this knucklehead grifter Whitaker realizes his desire for wealth and power at all costs, has placed himself in an untenable position.  Any interest Whitaker may have had himself in sabotaging the Mueller investigation is superseded by a desire for self-preservation.

It is also clear that it was not the insertion of Whitaker that moved the Mueller investigation into enacting their penultimate legal strategy and set-up for the final, albeit slowly unwinding chess moves, for what is as of yet an unclear check-mate.  No.  It was simply the long awaited and doubtlessly useless response from Trump’s lawyers to Mueller’s questions regarding Trump’s involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 election that cemented Trump’s standing and allowed for all of the forthcoming motions, unsealings, indictments and partial daylight on where this whole damn thing is going.

I am still of the belief that I have held all along that the Mueller investigation will not be a direct indictment of Trump either literally or figuratively.  I am still of the belief that the end result will be an actual, real life constitutional crisis that Congress, and truthfully the electorate, will need to find the will to sort through one way or the other.  I believe we will have further proof that Trump and his administration are the self-serving turds we always knew they were and continue to be.

With that in mind, the House of Representatives would do well to concentrate on fact finding the ways in which this administration continues to operate the government in their own interests.  Follow the money.

It is against this backdrop that we need to keep our focus in the present and near future.  Battle plans are drawn up and being enacted.

The government is once again facing the prospect of a partial and possibly full shutdown. 

This is a uniquely unqualified, dumpster-fire of an administration/Congress to be responsible for stewardship of the nation’s finances.  Its a mishmash of competing idiot ideologies, incompetence, and willful ignorance.  There are seven bipartisan bills to fund the government available, all of which are being ignored.  With a partial shutdown on the horizon on Dec. 7, Trump could easily accept the existing $1.7 billion available for his idiot wall, but he is holding out for $5 billion.  It seems it is even possible Democrats would cave for the $5 billion if Congress and Trump would sign off on protecting the Mueller investigation…a non-starter.

It is possible that this will once again result in a continuing resolution to fund the government at existing levels.  In other words, another one of the “kicking the can down the road” approach that is all this fucking government is capable of.

Mike Pence is setting the groundwork for, ‘I didn’t know anything,” and we all know why.

Mark Meadows Secret Plan to Undermine a Democrat Controlled House.

Over in the House, GOP Rep. Mark Meadows has come up with a plan for how Republicans should operate as the minority.  It is being referred to as a secret plan with nefarious intent.  I think the nefarious intent is true but it’s really not a secret, because we all know what the plan is.  But to see it’s bullet points delineated, really makes me wonder why so called “conservatives” desire to govern, when they literally have no fucking desire to actually govern, but only to be in power.

There are no plans to further any policies conservative or otherwise.  Nothing about healthcare or wealth distribution inequity or money in politics or infrastructure, border security, budgeting, education, welfare reform…or any fucking topic that government should be concerned about.  No.

What there is in this plan, is guidelines for how the Republicans could most efficiently obstruct and negatively propagandize Democratic attempts at governance and oversight.

In the opening page, Meadows writes he is “confident that with the right team and member engagement, our conference will be able to tactically play the Democrats’ politicized activities to our advantage.” He adds, “I believe I can position the committee as an effective platform to win back the House.”

The singular concern for House Republicans is how to win back the majority for 2020.  That’s it.