Will Ukraine, like Georgia in 2008, try to goad U.S. into war with Russia?

 Will Ukraine, like Georgia in 2008, try to goad U.S. into war with Russia?  

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky wants to regain the Russian aligned breakaway provinces in the Donbass. He keeps up the pressure to get U.S. and EU support for his campaign. He lobbies endlessly to join NATO, a red line Russia has laid down as unacceptable to their national security interests. After the U.S. promised Russia they wouldn’t expand NATO further east upon the breakup of the Soviet Union, the U.S. and NATO proceeded to gobble up a dozen former Soviet republics, essentially creating a new Cold War against Russia.  

 

The U.S. also promoted a coup against the Russian leaning Ukraine president Victor Yanukovych in 2014.This prompted Russia to annex the Crimea to safeguard its Sevastopol naval base, and to support Russian separatists in the Donbass being mistreated by Kiev. That set off a now 7 year crisis in Ukraine-Russian relations which has the potential to bring the U.S. and Russia to the brink of war. Ukraine president Zelensky keeps exploiting anti-Russian congressional and administration officials to provide Ukraine with hundreds of millions in weaponry and possible NATO membership.    

Lately, Zelensky is warning of an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia. While this is highly unlikely, it fits Zelensky’s endless posturing to solicit endless support from Uncle Sam and the EU.  Zelensky would be wise to see what happened to fellow former Soviet satellite Georgia in 2008. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili started military action to reclaim its breakaway province of South Ossetia, like the Donbass, also aligned with Russia. Saakashvili, was enticed to invade by the same anti-Russian clique in the U.S. that is encouraging Zelensky. But when Russia responded with overwhelming force, help from the U.S and EU evaporated, leading to a short, crushing defeat of Georgia.  

 

Ukraine, like Georgia, is not a U.S. problem, having nothing to do with U.S. national security interests. Granted Ukraine is in a dangerous neighborhood. That makes it incumbent upon Ukraine to work toward rapprochement with Russia rather than goading them with U.S. military gear and possible NATO membership.  

 

During the August, 2008 war between Georgia and Russia, presidential candidate John McCain, preposterously bellowed “We (Americans) are all Georgians”. Fortunately, the Bush administration, in their final year getting hundreds of thousands killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, demurred, letting the Georgians cave to overwhelming Russian power. Here we are 13 years later and another weak, former Soviet satellite, may misinterpret American support once again to bet we’ll come to its aid if fighting starts.  

     

Let’s hope if war breaks out, the Biden administration will have the same response as the Bush Jr. did and stay out. Better yet, Biden should unequivocally tell Zelensky, “No NATO for Ukraine, and no more murderous weapons of war”. That will stop Zelensky in his tracks so the diplomats can take over the crisis.  

That is not a certainty…but at least we can hope.  

Will Supremes increase maternal deaths in U.S.?

While ruminating over their decision in the Dodds Case, the Mississippi anti-abortion law that may deal a death blow to nationwide abortion rights, the nine Supreme Court justices might want to consider another death blow.

That would be to resourceless women in the 20 or more anti-abortion states that will experience a rise in maternal mortality. A study of 162 countries by the British-German academic publishing company, Springer Nature Group, reveals a disquieting but logical correlation between maternal death and lack of safe, legal access to abortion. They found that maternal mortality increases in countries/areas with restrictive abortion laws that increase illegal, unsafe abortions. Such abortions account for virtually all abortion related maternal deaths. The study concluded that expanding safe, legal abortion will be a significant driver in reducing abortion related maternal deaths.

America’s maternal death rate is nothing to celebrate; 53 countries have a lower maternal death rate than the richest, most medically advanced country in the world. With tens of millions in poverty, without recourse to safe, legal abortions, that is not surprising.

We know that at least 3 of the 9 Supremes are fully cognizant with the results of this study and America’s woeful standing in keeping birthing women alive. They will no doubt vote to keep abortion safe and legal nationwide.

How the other 6 can sleep soundly, should they vote to increase America’s maternal death rate thru expansion of anti-abortion laws, remains a mystery.

An ominous thanks on Thanksgiving

Every Thanksgiving I give thanks for much that has given joy and meaning to me and my family. But one thanks gives me pause: that we're still able to enjoy this troubled but still amazing planet without having set off nuclear winter.

It's been weighing on my mind since the early 50’s when I learned about the WWII bombings that ushered in the specter of nuclear destruction. Tales of impending Armageddon with Soviet Russia, news of bomb shelters, practicing ‘duck and cover’ in the classroom, all reinforced a sense of inevitable nuclear apocalypse.

At 17, I took the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis seriously, wondering each day if it would be my last, or if I’d awake from that night's sleep. That shattered my early indoctrination that the issue of nuclear war was solely a problem of preventing a Russian initiated nuclear attack. Clearly, the two superpowers, hosting thousands of nuclear weapons, could easily slip into nuclear war thru mutual fear, ignorance, hubris; indeed even simple miscalculation. Clearly, there were no good guys if nuclear war broke out, and nothing would be gained by ‘winning’.

Fifty-nine years later not much has changed. There was no nuclear peace dividend from collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The past few years have seen the creation of new Cold Wars with Russia and China over Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively. Either of these hot spots has the potential to bring the U.S. and its adversaries into conflict that could escalate to nuclear confrontation.

After 70 years of worrying about experiencing nuclear war in my lifetime, I consider it a miracle no nuclear explosions detonated in anger or by accident have occurred since the last one on August 9, 1945, a day before my 5 month birthday. So along with all the wonderful things I’ll give thanks for this Thanksgiving, I’ll give thanks once again, thru another miracle, we’ve dodged that very imaginable nuclear bullet.

The Majors can right one of 2 wrongs dealt Minnie Minoso this Sunday

To Chicago White Sox fans Minnie Minoso is legendary, being one of baseball’s best during the 13 year period from ’51 thru ’63, mostly with the Pale Hose. A pioneer Black Latino player, whom Jose Conseco dubbed ‘Our Jackie Robinson’, he was overlooked during his initial eligibility to enter the Hall of Fame. But Minnie gets another bite at the Hall apple when the Golden Days Era Committee considers Minoso and 9 other greats from the 1950 thru 1969 era. Minnie must garner at least 12 of the 16 votes for a posthumous ticket to Cooperstown.

If he gets it, then just the following injustice, from his fabulous ’51 rookie year, will remain uncorrected.

When Minoso lost '51 Rookie Award to one shade of black

When 28 year old rookie White Sox outfielder Minnie Minoso stepped to the plate in old Comisky Park for his first at bat on May 1, 1951, fans were seeing more than the man breaking the color bar on the formerly all white White Sox. Minnie smacked a Vic Raschi fastball into the center field bullpen, ushering in the Go Go era on the South Side after 32 years in the American League wilderness, following ironically, the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Watching Minoso's debut ball disappear in the bullpen was 22 year old rookie Gil McDougald, playing second for the still all white Yanks.

Six months later McDougald edged out the Cuban Comet as AL Rookie of the Year with 13 first place votes to Minnie's 11. McDougald had a pretty good year, batting .306 with 41 extra base hits, 63 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a .396 on base percentage. And Minoso? He had a monster rookie year with a .326 average, 58 extra base hits, 76 RBI, 31 stolen bases and a .422 on base percentage. There's more: Minnie combined those power numbers with 16 more walks and 12 fewer strike outs. More again: McDougald was just a cog on a Yankee team with more stars than MGM, while Minnie was the catalyst for the Sox improbable revival.

There's no do-over for sports awards and if Minnie were still alive today he'd demur if questioned on one of the great thefts in all of sports. And McDougald? If alive today, and you asked him about the current debate over white privilege, he'd likely point to that 70 year old Rookie of the Year Award gathering dust on his mantle and reply simply, "That's white privilege".

New welcoming road signs to Illinois if Roe sacked by Supremes

WELCOME TO ILLINOIS WHERE ABORTION IS SAFE, LEGAL AVAILABLE AND ALWAYS WILL BE

Congressional hawks seek to give prez blank check to declare war on China

Two weeks from today marks 80 years since the Congress last issued a declaration of war as required by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution: The Congress shall have power to declare war. Invoked to launch or defend against wars 3 times in the 19th and twice in the 20th century, that Constitutional requirement has become as outdated as a dial telephone used to spread the news of the last one, December 8, 1941.

Once established as the world’s supreme superpower, American presidents, beginning with Harry Truman in 1950, decided to abandon the need to ask Congress to declare war. Incredibly, Congress went along with this enormous transfer of the war power to the president. When Truman decided to intervene in the Korean conflict, he simply called it a police action and began a military campaign that took several million Korean lives as well inflicting 128,000 U.S. casualties, of which 36,500 died. That’s some ‘police action’.

In the 71 years since, the U.S. has engaged in dozens of wars, some so secret most Americans are oblivious to their occurrence. But in all that time Congress has never explicitly granted the 13 presidents succeeding Truman the power to unilaterally wage war. Congress pays lip service to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11, occasionally even making efforts to take it back.

But a troubling new law proposed by a couple of Congressional hawks may explicitly authorize the president to wage war with China at any point in the future should China move to bring the island nation of Taiwan back under control of mainland China.

It’s called the Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act, introduced by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and Representative Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA). Besides pre-authorizing war upon China, the bill contains 10 other provisions that strengthen U.S. ties to Taiwan in direct conflict with 5 decades of honoring the ‘One China’ policy. Called ‘strategic ambiguity’, that policy largely ignored escalating tension with China over Taiwan.

Scott and Reschenthaler use extreme rhetoric to promote their blank check for the president to declare war on China. “It is no secret that General Secretary Xi is bent on world domination. The United States cannot sit back and let this happen” (Scott). “The Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act empowers and strengthens Taiwan by authorizing the president to use military force to defend Taiwan against a direct attack” (Reschenthaler).

Apparently, Scott and Reschenthaler are attempting to update Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 to read, The Congress shall have power to declare war…in advance.

New Republican House caucus?

First Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green. Then Paul Gosar. Now Lauren Boebert faces the possibility of losing her House committee assignments over reprehensible words and deeds.

Looks like the GOP has established a new House caucus to join the Freedom Caucus and others. Call it the Committeeless Caucus.