“We understand that there’s concern about the safety, security and sovereignty of Ukraine, but the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty.”

Words spoken by House Speaker Mike Johnson in response to a reporter’s inquiry as to why he was holding up aid for Ukraine, certainly, a challenge to both his political and Christian “bona fides.” I would submit that even a 100,000 Central American asylum seekers, including women and children, at America’s southern border do not measure up to 150,000 Russian soldiers armed to the teeth at Ukraine’s eastern border, as was the case on the eve of Russia’s vicious invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

The extremist Steve Bannon is not happy with Johnson and offered his own tirade against the Speaker for negotiating with the White House, attacking his Christianity and suggesting it be replaced with Islam, thus forming for the Speaker a backbone made of titanium. This is the criminal Steve Bannon who was charged with siphoning “wall money” for his own purposes, faced prison time and was saved by a Trump pardon.

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I should refrain from further criticism of the Speaker, but Johnson has become unbearable in his fecklessness and hypocrisy.

President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared at the last Davos forum to a most cordial reception, including assurances that the European Union with its 27 members (or 26 without Hungary) would approve €50 billion in aid to Ukraine. The EU did. Separately, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Sweden have all stepped up.

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The Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported that metal fragments and rocket debris were recovered within a 1.5 km radius from the site of the shelling.

Thanks to Europe, lack of American leadership has become a little less of a problem for Ukraine, as America appears to have reverted to a time not so long ago when Donald Trump was president and American global leadership was not only missing, but the President of the United States, himself, was ridiculed by most of America’s allies. At a recent summit of Ukrainian diaspora global leaders in Bucharest the prevailing mood was very negative towards America.

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A full week has passed since the two-week break of the lower house of the US Congress, regarding the implementation of Speaker Johnson’s Easter promises. Apparently, inspired by the resurrection of the Son of God, the deeply religious Speaker promised during the break that he would consider the issue of aid to Ukraine, as he felt it was necessary from a moral point of view. And so his morality has become dormant once again.

After three days, the Speaker decided to meet with his puppeteer. And so, a meeting between Johnson and Trump took place with the topic of aid to Ukraine a minor issue. Trump apparently agreed to give aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan.

What does that mean and why is this an aberrational phenomenon? Because the person holding the Speaker hostage is Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose interviews are often peppered with obscenities and who had been stripped of her committee assignments by her own party. This is not unusual as far as integrity is concerned within the ranks of the Republican party. It’s almost as if the Republican party in America is following the script of the AfD in Germany, manifestly supporting Putin and the Kremlin.

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With Republicans serving as “useful idiots” or even clandestine agents for the enemy, Democrats and the White House have to get creative.

President Zelensky often talks of the consequences, points out that Ukraine will lose the war without American help. Perhaps that is not quite so. Ukraine has opened new networks, producing its own weapons, in which Europe helps. Only time will tell if they are sufficient. America, on the other hand, has begun a process of losing its world leadership. Even Israel does not listen to American instructions, or admonishments.

We live in quasi-medieval times, when power overwhelms what is right, and evil wins over good. Moscow is said to influence events and decisions in the US Congress, not unlike Germany. There are many “useful idiots” in Congress, among them the feckless Johnson (often referred to as Moscow Mike), a Ukrainian-American neophyte Congresswoman, Victoria Spartz, who does not support aid to Ukraine now that she is running for re-election, and Senator Lindsey Graham who prefers playing golf with the former president to doing what is right. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator J.D. Vance have been so outrageous that they ought to be investigated for Russian contacts much like some of the members of the AfD in Germany.

This is not the lament of a Ukrainian-American. This is a direct challenge to honest people. For more than two years Ukraine has shown extraordinary spiritual and physical strength. What happens next? Military and political setbacks due to a lack of ammunition should be considered temporary and neither fatal nor final. It is necessary to look at the entire perspective optimistically, but with the readiness to assist. And there are myriad methods of doing so.

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I believe that Americans will come to Ukraine’s assistance. A bit of a wakeup call came when Iran bombed Israel unsuccessfully. Senator Vance stressed that Israel is a closer ally than Ukraine. What a ridiculous observation! They are both strategic allies in different theatres. Israel is also much better prepared to fight Iran than Ukraine to fight Russia. Both are equally important. Strategically, Europe is as important as the Middle East. Globally Russia is certainly more dangerous than Iran.

With Republicans serving as “useful idiots” or even clandestine agents for the enemy, Democrats and the White House have to get creative. There is much flexibility with the Europeans, who are more perspicacious perhaps because of proximity to Russia. With some persuasion they will agree to loosen not only Russian sanctioned profits but capital as well. This must happen before the Washington Summit.

The White House needs to send a message that it is willing to offer Ukraine immediate NATO membership. Here President Biden has been so wrong for so long. Offering Ukraine NATO membership will enrage the bully, but at the same time deter him. The appropriate strategy is not appeasement but deterrence. Ukraine as a member of NATO is the best deterrence. Championing that membership will restore American credibility and leadership.

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Comments (10)

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Makuye
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1. KP is allowing its comment section to be used by both russian I & P Operations as well as its Useful Idiots.
2. While Lozynskyj is largely accurate, he does commit a logical fallacy or two of overgeneralization concerning the US, which citizens remain in the range of 3/4 in favor of Ukraine. Coment length limits prevents proper analysis.
3. Yes, the quite medieval but centuries-continued use of christianity and islam, remains a benighted historical rhetorical problem, persisting due to the organized manipulation of deluded minds. It is strange to any individual able, perhaps through intimacy with history, sufficient immersion in other cultures, and even logically aware of cognitive errors, that such misattribution as organized feudal religions exist at all.
Even the oldest remnant human attributive observational, health, and environmental explanatory cultural knowledge recognize that such forces as "gods" either exhibit mere human social, self-interest, and deceptive characteristics.
We attempt to formulate our personal and ingroup biases as "truth" while in fact ignoring the simple truths of human social behaviors. We gain social support through this method, creating imaginary narratives, placating or suppressing dissent.
Having to remain under KP word limits, it cannot be approached; and this tragically dissimulatory issue will here remain perhaps the most violently lethal method of falsehood in service of social dominance over millennia.

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Gregc
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Thw USA is one of the most corrupt so called democracies in the world ranking 27th least corrupt. An unelected person controls the US government and nothing can happen without his approval.. by the way this person is fully aligned with Putin and hates Ukraine. Basically a coup has taken place in the US today.

The GOP is now the Putin Party...

Now for those who complain about Ukraine corruption first remove the stick in your own eye!

GREGC STUPID PIECE OF SHIT
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@Gregc, spot on! Joe Briben is an unelected person and participated in a coup, no you fuck off little sissy.

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Uncle Sam
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Ukraine is one cesspool of corruption and is not a security interest for the US. If Europe wants to continue throw money down into the slimy shithole so, be it, great. Ukraine is a welfare state and will always be a welfare state. Ukraine should be and will be part of the Russian federation as it will be the only way to end the corruption.

Carl
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@Uncle Sam, we all know that you are a typical russian thug, a Genocidal Criminal

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Thomas Collins
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"Askold S. Lozynskyj is a New York attorney... "

Say no more.

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Publicus
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Johnson is pushing a pork/earmark free funding Bill for Ukraine. Dems are blocking. You show Trump on the picture at the headline. Obama denied lethal military aid to Ukraine. Trump pushed it through. Trump said "Crimea is and always will be Ukraine." Biden said the US response to the potential war depended on how big a bite Russia takes.

The U.S. Congress has some exceptions on both sides but the Republicans objections to the bill pushed by senate democrats was their was no oversight to make sure Ukraine actually received the aid. Right now a huge amount of allocated arms for Ukraine sit in Germany, Biden blocking their delivery.

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TPJ
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Marjorie Traitor Greene

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rhoneyman
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My take: When Johnson met with Zelinskyy face-to-face late last year, I would guess he had a shift in his perception of the war in Ukraine. But at that time, things were fairly stable on the ground, giving Johnson room to dither.

He had a conversation with Zelinskyy a couple of weeks ago. The evidence suggests that Johnson now understands that things on the ground have deteriorated badly, making the situation critical. It was that conversation that moved Johnson to act.

Taking two weeks to work through forming the legislation and ensuring that Biden and Schumer were on board is not a sign of Johnson's slackness. It's actually a sign that he went as fast as the institutions allow. I'm a liberal Democrat. Johnson getting this done is the first praiseworthy act I've seen coming from a Republican Speaker and I've been watching for decades.

I agree completely that Ukraine is no less important a strategic ally than Israel, albeit in, as you stated, different theaters.

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Hope and blessings  are eternalmy omnipresent  with God
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Sing in the voice of liberty
Jesus walking on the sea,
Freedom created for all you and me ...
Know the truth to set you free
The answer is what to be ,
Holding faith is a wise key
And a vision for you to see ...

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Hope and blessings  are eternalmy omnipresent  with God
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why not export the excessive or surpluses of agricultural products from Ukraine to Africa and Asia where they are connected through the Mediterranean sea areas and Suiss channel...They want the price of food to stay higher for western businesses to benefit ...
The western world prolongs the war to benefit from enriching oil and gas industry sectors and arms manufacturing corporations just like China , otherwise , they could strengthen Ukraine economically and militarily without direct involvement and reduce Russian oil revenues through a glut of oil supply ...
In the late 80s , the west told some Arabic speaking nations in the middle East or Near East like Saudi Arabia to increase supply of oil and lower oil prices and this has quickened and mobilized the disintegration of the Soviet Union after a decade of occupation of Afghanistan in 1980s and even in has had an impact in the early 1990s ...
The huge capitalistic illuminati and free masons do benefit from billions of dollars received from trading with oil, grain , Gold and raw material...
Plus protracted wars , allows arm manufacturing corporations to charge higher prices of ammunition and missiles ...
Rely on God and do your best everyone everywhere ...

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Hope
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The Republicans benefit from protracted events in Ukraine and Russia to get as much financial , economic and political benefits as they can ... It raises the price the Russian regime pays in return for delaying aid to Ukraine ...
It increases their bargaining power...
Hope righteousness, peace and joy and even enlightenment prevail ...

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