Donald J. Trump
FactCheck: Dictator, missing money and other Trump lies
Three times this week, Trump said that the U.S. had given Ukraine “$350 billion,” about double the actual amount of U.S. aid for the country.
Politics
Scorecard: The first 4 weeks of Trump II
There hasn’t been such an activist rookie* President since Franklin D. Roosevelt. I used the * because Donald J. Trump is a rookie in his second term, so he’s different from FDR in that way. But not in his ambitions. Not in his desire to expand the powers of
Politics
Woodward’s “War” book praises many Biden decisions
His book, “War,” says Bob Woodward, “presents the efforts and decisions to try to prevent war, and where war came, to avoid escalation.” Really, the book should be titled “Wars,” because while the central focus is Ukraine, the war provoked by Russian wannabe Czar Vladimir Putin, much of the book
Politics
Will the rising European Right bow to Putin?
Europe’s recent lurch to the right in balloting for the European Parliament concerns me as an American, because so much evil has come out of Europe’s Right. To be precise, Nazis and other fascists. And yet I know the lurch to the right comes as a response to
Uncategorized
Guest essay: The symbolism of 1 dead Ukrainian soldier
By Trudy Rubin TORKIV, Ukraine — At the entrance to the village cemetery, where they buried Vasyl Pushkar, stands a tall, gray stone marker. The stone is engraved with an Orthodox cross and the words “Holodomor, 1932-33,” a memorial to the four million or more Ukrainian peasants who were starved to
Russia
We must keep Ukraine off list of failed fights
It reminds me of Bastogne, the Alamo, Thermopylae, and Masada. Those were battles where defenders were crazily outnumbered, but refused to quit. Like Ukraine today. The 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles, were surrounded by Nazis in the Belgian town. When the Germans demanded U.S. surrender or face annihilation, Army
Russia
May 9 is a date to give Putin a black eye
May 9th is Victory Day in Russia, the national holiday that commemorates the Soviet victory over the Nazis. It is an important date on the calendar, because Russia lost more of its people to the Nazis than any other nation. An estimated 27 million Soviets died, most of them Russian.
Russia
NATO to Putin: Go F yourself
In addition to proving to be amazing warriors, Ukrainians are demonstrating a grim sense of humor. They just released this stamp, signifying the Ukrainian soldiers' response to a Russian warship’s demand they surrender. “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” By an accident of timing, on Friday it was learned
Journalism
Watching the unwatchable
War is bad. That thought is not original with me, of course. It is sometimes unavoidable, as is the current war being fought by Ukraine against an imperialist Russia led by a former KGB officer with fever dreams about Making Russia Great Again. By claiming Ukraine, which he believes to
Cartoon
A bonus for StuByko fans
Because if I put it on Facebook, I will be in jail again. And that is ”bonus,” not ”boner.”
Russia
Dear President Putin...
UPDATED Wednesday 8:30 p.m. Not so long ago, President Joe Biden referred to President Vladimir Putin as a “killer.” Biden was probably right, but his last physical confrontation was against the legendary Corn Pop, many years ago. The current Biden should channel the long-ago Biden to draft a
Russia
Tucker Carlson is at it again
I gotta stop doing this. Watching Tucker Carlson, I mean. I got 5 minutes into Tuesday night’s show before turning it off. That’s 3 minutes earlier than Monday. First, the positive. On occasion, Carlson’s essays function on actual government excess. I don’t know if he writes