To Trump, a million casualties in Ukraine war he’s enabling is nothing more than a kids’ fistfight

 To Trump, a million casualties in Ukraine war he’s enabling is nothing more than a kids’ fistfight

 

The depravity of Trump’s view of catastrophic war was on full display in his White House meeting with fellow Ukraine war enabler, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump told reporters present that the million plus dead and wounded in the largely degraded Ukraine

 

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don’t want to be pulled. Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”

 

Trump was equally grotesque in pondering the war his predecessor provoked and he’s kept going with endless US weapons, in his phone call to Russia President Putin. “I said, Mr. President, maybe you’re going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot,’ because both sides are suffering before you pull them apart, before they’re able to be pulled apart.”

 

At the Merz meeting Trump further stated that “When I see the moment where it’s not going to stop … we’ll be very, very tough. And it could be on both countries, to be honest. It takes two to tango.” Trump was threatening sanctions on both Russia and Ukraine to stop their fistfight in the park. He might as well be threatening putting both on ‘Double Secret Probation.’

 

Actually, it takes three to tango since the war goes on because Trump continues enabling it with billions in weapons, logistics and Intel support. Pull that away and Ukraine’s Zelensky would have to negotiate the peace he ran away from in April, 2022 at America’s behest. Had he made peace then Zelensky would still control the 45,000 square miles annexed and not incurred  over a million senseless casualties.

 

And cruel, clueless, delusional Trump sits back pretending he’s still concerned about ending a catastrophic war he’s enabled for the past 137 days

Hegseth to impose second and posthumous homophobic Naval disparagement on Harvey Milk

 Hegseth to impose second and posthumous homophobic Naval disparagement on Harvey Milk

 

In life and death the US Navy relished punishing Harvey Milk for being gay

 

In 1954, Milk was drummed out of the Navy he had faithfully servcd for four years for that offense. In the 1970’s Milk went on to become a national symbol of LGBTQ+ political empowerment as one of the first prominent gay political leaders. . In 1977 he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. A year later he was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in a homophobic hate crime.

Sixty-seven years after firing Milk, the Navy made symbolic amends by naming a fleet replenishment oiler the USNS Harvey Milk.

 

But it took just 4 years for Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to demand Milk’s ship name be consigned to Davy Jones locker. According to Hegseth the Navy cannot have a gay rights leader’s name on a ship that must only bear names befitting the military’s “warrior culture”.

 

Hegseth is clueless that the real warrior here is Milk who was a warrior for inclusion and human decency, qualities totally MIA in the damaged psyche of Pete Hegseth.  

Will pivot to peace help Dems regain White House in ’28?

 Will pivot to peace help Dems regain White House in ’28?

 

The Democratic Party is in disarray following their calamitous defeat last year. Losing all swing states they won in ’20 bodes ill for future success against the MAGA mentality that contains a solid base exceeding 45% of the electorate for 3 straight elections. Trump may be gone in ’28 but may well be succeeded by another charismatic master of fear and loathing the MAGA base blindly follows.

 

Democrats appear clueless how to recover their mojo. Critics including some in the Party, are demanding they go on a nationwide apology tour for allowing a mentally disintegrating Joe Biden to run again, then waiting too long to push him out for relatively unpopular VP Kamala Harris.

An apology tour would only make Democrats look weak, giving Republicans a field day to ridicule their self flagellating opposition.

 

Democrats need a new start. A good way would be to jettison their long standing support of senseless US wars under Clinton, Obama and especially Biden. They should embrace peace by demanding an end to Israeli genocide in Gaza, then following up by pledging to end all weapons fueling the worst genocide this century.

 

Democrats must demand an end to the US proxy war against Russia destroying Ukraine, while making Russia stronger…the exact opposite of its intentions. Cutting off all weapons, Intel and logistics to Ukraine will force Ukraine to seek the best peace agreement possible considering their hopeless military position.

 

Democrats must seek a minimum 50% reduction in defense spending to $500 billion from the current gargantuan $1 trillion.

 

Democrats should push to end crippling economic sanctions against dozens of countries that accomplish nothing except degrade life for millions of poor souls in countries sanctioned.

 

Democrats must demand return to normal diplomatic relations with Russia so critically needed but abandoned nuclear agreements can be reinstated. This alone may prevent either intentional or accidental nuclear war.

 

Democrats should support of a sensible nuclear agreement with Iran which will end sanctions and restore normal diplomatic relations. If achieved this will avert a catastrophic regional war with Iran.

 

Democrats need to sever ties with the Israel Lobby which funnels tens of millions in US elections to distort a sane foreign policy with Israel as epitomized by enabling their genocide in Gaza.

 

Out of power, Democrats have no way of implementing these peaceful goals on their own. But adopting this peace platform will put enormous pressure on Republicans to confront Democrats’ abandonment of America’s deranged bipartisan military belligerence worldwide which threatens human existence.

 

Given their electoral malaise Democrats have nothing to lose pivoting to peace. It may actually boost their chances in ’28 due to their fervent support of US war policies likely a big factor in ’24 loss.

 

As evidence 6,285,000 2020 Biden voters did not vote for Harris in ’24. Only just over 300,000 defected to Trump. Vast majority voted 3rd party or stayed home. Polling showed a big factor was Biden’s promotion of war, especially his enabling the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza with over $20 billion in weapons, veto support in the UN and claiming the genocide was merely Israeli ‘self-defense.’ Harris refused to distance herself from Biden’s genocide enabling. The DNC cooperated by refusing to allow a Palestinian leader to speak at the Convention on behalf of the Palestinians' suffering in Gaza. Harris’s husband proclaimed "Let me just make this clear, the vice president has been and will be a strong supporter of Israel as a secure democratic and Jewish state, and she will always ensure that Israel can defend itself, period. Because that’s who Kamala Harris is." Bye bye anti genocide vote.

 

As a leader in the peace community, I was in that group who could not vote for a genocide enabler. I dialoged with hundreds of others who vowed never vote for any candidate supporting genocide. That is why few of the Biden defectors did not vote for genocide enabler Trump.

 

Democrats near lockstep support for US exceptionalism allowing endless war, cowardice in resisting Israel Lobby pressure, and gobbling up endless millions from weapons makers bodes ill for Democrats pivoting to peace.

 

But doing so will likely improve their chances to regain the White House. Much more importantly, it may lead to ending current wars, preventing impending wars and reducing the needless suffering of tens of millions. Most important of all it may prevent the first nukes fired in anger since August 6-9, 1945.

 

Will Democrats pivot to peace in their desperate attempt to reoccupy the White House? Tho not likely, we of peace must push strongly for Democrats to reclaim their moral compass on the most critical issue facing peoplekind.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 

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