WE NEED A NUCLEAR WAR

 That's right. We won the last nuclear war. The next nuclear war will be harder to win, but we will. The next nuclear war will much more destructive than the last one, likely leaving no place on earth untouched, but it will be good to cleanse the deadwood from among us. The main problem facing America today is that its people are becoming lazy and soft. and godless. We are firing teachers for saying silent prayers on football fields. We are supporting school sponsored clubs that worship satan. We need government sponsored 'safe places' because we are so timid that we shrink and cry if someone says something we don't agree with. We invented Hate Speech to stop Americans from saying what's on their mind and if they publish something on the internet or make a comment on social media that sounds bad to some minority group we send a swat team into their home. 

If you think forced vaccinations is wrong then you are dangerous to society and need to be banned from making any comments on social media. If you think teaching small children about transgenderism is wrong then you should also be banned from making comments on social media. If you think there are only two genders then you are a menace to society and should be placed on a watch list and you should definitely be banned from making any comments on any social media and possibly be jailed. And if you think same gender attraction could be a function of lower mental capacity once again you are guilty of Hate Speech and of course there is no punishment that would be considered too harsh. The problem is there is no real definition for Hate Speech, but that problem can easily be overcome by allowing whichever party is in the majority to decide depending on how they are feeling on any particular day. 

It's the same with the environment. If you don't believe that we are in imminent danger of dying from catastrophic global warming you are a danger to society, an idiot, and you should be shunned by society. Currently we are involved in a Third World War. There really isn't any other way of seeing it. A brutal dictator has decided to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the entire world is pretending to be powerless because the dictator has nuclear weapons and he has threatened to use them. I look around and say 'SO?' What if he does have nuclear weapons? The rest of the world does too. And the rest of the world is smart enough to leave them on the shelf. As the war goes on the world is watching the brave Ukrainian people stand up to what the world always assumed was a powerful army and they are becoming a little less timid. Several countries are sending Ukraine weapons systems that allow them to destroy tanks, but they need more. Destroying Russian tanks is a lot of fun, but they need long range artillery. Realizing that tanks are too vulnerable the Red Army is keeping them out of range as much as possible and they have increased their use of long range artillery and cruise missiles. And all the west is doing is supplying Ukraines fighting forces with enough weaponry to prolong the war, but not win it. It was great fun watching Vlad's boat sink in the Black Sea so now he will keep them out of range as well so they can launch long range cruise missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine needs long range missiles and heavy artillery. Yes, those are capable of offensive use, but again so what? 

Believe it or not Putin is a vicious bully who doesn't mind murdering innocent people if it suits him, but he probably is not dumb enough to destroy himself and his entire country. And if he is maybe we shouldn't stop him. Call his bluff and save Ukraine. Our so-called leadership has found something else to hide behind; Ukraine isn't part of NATO so we are off the hook. They tried to join but we wouldn't let them. Now they are being attacked by a madman because he is afraid of NATO. We probably should have let them sign up, but since we didn't does that really mean we shouldn't help them? Putin wants  them to sign up for his team so bad that he is willing to keep murdering civilians until they 'join'. Maybe we made a mistake by not letting them join. Now Sweden and Finland are talking about joining NATO. 

And maybe we should sign them up immediately. But what about Ukraine? There is no question what the right thing to do is, we should be sending them whatever weapons systems they need and we should be getting it there as soon as possible. I don't like bullies or cowards. The Ukrainians are not cowards not by a long shot. They are putting up a very good fight. They are setting a great example for the world to follow by fighting a brutal dictator instead of cowering and bowing down before him. Ukraine should have Patriot missile batteries on every corner and Iron Dome anti missile batteries mid block. 

Our dumb, stupid, inept, cowardly politicians say we can't help sweep the skies of enemy planes and rockets because that would be an act of war and put our pilots in danger. That is nonsense of course. Politicians are good at nonsense. Their favorite language is nonsense. Anyone who can make a coherent statement is a danger to most politicians. Witness Donald Trump who never held a political office except for President of the United States. He's not good at speaking nonsense. Americans are living an easy life. People who work hard are rewarded by their success and those who don't want to work are subsidized by the government. That means that politicians in an effort to get re-elected are throwing money at people who don't work so they'll vote for them. And working Americans seem to think that is just fine. l'd like to see Americans stand for something other than their personal greed. And this is a problem all Americans share: we love to buy things that are cheap and China is a never ending source of cheap stuff. 

Americans are gleefully, willingly, with a giant smile on their smug fat faces, building up China's military might. Americans don't care about China's human rights abuses. They don't care that the things they are buying are being built by forced labor, what really amounts to slave labor. The products Americans buy aren't made of expensive materials, they are put together by cheap labor. No one cares to ask so we don't know, but it is probably true that the standard of living Americans enjoy is only possible because of forced labor. The CEO of one of the most smug outdoor outfitters, Patagonia, recently published a report that they had personally inspected their factories in China and can assure the world that those facilities are completely safe and their products are made by well paid labor. They practically stated that any American would love to work under the conditions that the Chinese laborers enjoy. It was a nauseating piece of propaganda. 

I'm sure the CEO of Patagonia has been to China, but there is no way the Chinese Communist government let him inspect anything that had to do with the conditions laborers experience over there. So yeah, I'm sick of American arrogance and stupidity and laziness. I'm sick of Americans pretending to have a higher standard of living than other countries because they can afford to buy things made by children in China who are forced to work for practically nothing so their government can build up an enormous military organization which they can use to menace their neighbors. The American people used to be industrious and hard working and some of them still are, but as a whole they are lazy and stupid, preferring to waste time teaching school children how cool it is to be afflicted with same gender attraction then teaching them how to add and subtract. Soon we will regret the educational curriculum we chose. Math and science are important. Gender propaganda really isn't. The fact is that no matter how bad Americans want there to be more than two genders it just ain't ever gonna happen. 

We need a nuclear war to wake us up. America is drowning in debt and most of them don't realize it. The rest think that debt is ok. I'm no economist so I don't know why China is considered so rich when their economy is completely dependent on trade with the rest of the world. They haven't invented anything since the year 1232 when they fired rockets at people they didn't like in Mongolia. Now we have become so stupid that we are allowing them to steal technology so they can duplicate it and manufacture it in their labor camps at a very low cost. They even manufacture some parts we need in order to keep our military functioning. Is that really a smart thing to do? Right now Americans are fat dumb and lazy, but a nuclear war will wake them up. They are capable of changing back into being lean, mean and industrious. 

We do need a nuclear war to get out of our collective stupor and start making the world a safer place again. It won't be fun. It's gonna suck to use a useless vernacular of our day, but it will rid the world of a lot of dead weight and it will be several hundred years before anyone in the world will be stupid enough to start another one. Nuclear war is inevitable, why not let Putin start one now and get it over with? 

We need to free Ukraine now and stop worrying about that arrogant mole in Moscow, especially since we now know that Putin's army is basically just a mob run by inept bosses. Sadly we may learn the same thing about our own fighting forces. The Pentagon is providing safe spaces for our so-called fighting men and women as well. Alas, heavy sigh. Let's help Ukraine. If Vlad decides it's time to start a nuclear war it may end very quickly and if it turns out that our once powerful military is a joke like the Russian army we will have learned a valuable, if expensive lesson about fighting men and 'safe spaces.' 

Putin's Big Failure

 I'm happy to see Putin's Red army getting it's butt kicked, but I'm appalled at the cost. The Ukrainian people are the bravest people on earth right now and their president, Zellinskyy is the undisputed leader of the Free World. Our president, Uncle Joe Biden, is the undisputed embarrassment of the Free World. Poland deserves a huge amount of financial and other support for the tremendous example they are setting and the unselfish service they are rendering to the world. 

President Biden, along with the rest of the world hoped this operation would be over in a few days, a week at the most and look what's happening. I knew as soon as President Zellensky made his first broadcast to the world that they were going to put up a very good defense, and possibly even win the war. And they are doing a great job at keeping Putin's Red army at bay. They are destroying his armored vehicles and shooting down his helicopters and destroying the morale of the soldiers who have resorted to horrible crimes. On the first day of Vlad's invasion he warned the world to stay out of his way, warning that anyone who dared to intervene risked a nuclear attack. So the entire world took a big step back. He's got nukes! We are helpless! Oh the poor people of Ukraine! We'd love to help, but it's not possible! If we help we will be starting World War III! Cowards that the leaders of the Free World are they couldn't think straight. The very threat of using nuclear weapons was Putins announcement that World War III had begun. 

Then the unthinkable happened; A week went by then two and the Ukrainian people weren't giving up. President Zellensky called upon every citizen who was able to join the fight against the invading Red army and he opened the national armory to anyone willing and able to fire a weapon. He was passing out rifles to everyone! Doesn't he know how dangerous that is? And Vlad's Air Force was bombing cities all night. He was moving his artillery into range of the capital city. The news organizations were gleefully reporting that with a 35 mile long supply line carrying armored vehicles, food, fuel and other support it was only a matter of time before Kiev fell to the communist regime. Finally, Great Britain couldn't take it anymore. They had been victims themselves a few decades ago of a brutal and evil little man who bombed their cities all night, destroying buildings and residences and indiscriminately killing children.

With many people still alive who remembered those terrible days their government sent the Ukrainian defenders anti tank weapons. The finest anti tank weapons on the market and the Ukrainian army made quick and effective use of them. They dared to attack the mighty Red convoy and stopped it in its tracks. Then they flooded the fields on either side of the road with so much water that any vehicle that dared to try taking a different route became hopelessly stuck. With the supply line stuck Ukrainian soldiers started destroying armored vehicles by the dozen. And Uncle Joe peeked out from under his desk in the Oval Office and uttered those immortal words: Damn it! He was supposed to be standing at a lectern babbling about the tragedy of the Russian take over of Ukraine. Those damn Ukrainians! And that madman Zelensky, what's wrong with him? Doesn't he know Ukraine can't beat the Red army? Russia has nukes. NUKES! Ukraine has to surrender, we can't help them because if we do Putin will nuke the USA. We are helpless!

Then the damn Germans promised to send help, and Uncle Joe's dreams began to collapse around him. Then the light bulb went on in his mushy little head. Sanctions! Yes the USA could announce sanctions that will hurt Russia financially. That won't save Ukraine but it will make America look strong. Sanctions against a couple of Russian banks until Ukraine falls and Putin takes over. Then Uncle Joe could console the world and promise fierce prosecution of war criminals. That will take years and the world will forget and everything will be fine again. And hopefully when they hang Zelensky and the rest of his family there will be a strict media black out and it will take years for the world to find out the truth. 

That wasn't to be. Western Europe began keeping up with Great Britain. Cautiously to be sure since they had made a huge blunder a couple of years ago when they entered into a deal with an unstable madman who wanted to sell them oil and natural gas so he could build up his military machine in preparation for the take over of Ukraine and other rebellious Western European former members of the beloved USSR. President Trump advised against it, offering them a better deal than they could get from the Russian dictator while at the same time providing them a measure of security. He reminded them that Russia is an enemy to the world and a friend to no one. Russian dictators can't be trusted, but Trump is mean! so they went with the benign dictator of Russia. Not to be outdone in the Stupid Idiot column Uncle Joe declared on his first day in office that the world could be saved from so-called global warming, a phenomenon that isn't even occurring, at least not to the extent they are claiming, if the United States stopped producing its own oil and started buying it from Vlad so Vlad could build up his military machine. So America found itself in the position of funding Putin in his vicious unprovoked war on innocent civilians while at the same time imposing economic sanctions on Russia. And NATO countries were in the same predicament. Germany especially has become so dependent on Russian oil and natural gas that they have to continue to send him money so he can continue to murder innocent people and bomb their country into extinction. 

President Biden's problems were getting worse by the minute so he quickly stepped in and started taking the 'lead' by promising not only to impose sanctions, but to start sending military hardware to Ukraine. Specifically he sent Javelin missiles to destroy Russian tanks, and Stinger missiles to shoot down low flying and slow moving helicopters. And since the United States is a big country with a huge budget he quickly began to authorize billions of dollars in weapons which could be sent to help the people of Ukraine. And Ukraine made excellent use of them. They were killing tanks like crazy. And now reporters were asking Uncle  Joe if it weren't kind of silly to put economic sanctions on Russia, and send defensive weapons to Ukraine while we were buying billions of dollars of oil from Russia. President Biden didn't like the corner he put himself in so he claimed he couldn't stop purchasing Russian oil because the price of gas would go up and he couldn't supply the type of weapons the Ukrainian army needed because Putin had threatened to launch a nuclear strike against anyone who assisted Ukraine. And he appeared unstable enough to mean it. As weeks went by the United States increased weapons shipments as did the rest of Europe and Putins mighty Red army was looking pretty bad. They were poorly trained and undisciplined. 

In a couple of days their forty mile convoy was hopelessly stalled and their top generals were being killed. The soldiers of the Red army were abandoning their armored vehicles when they were attacked which only served to supply the Ukrainians with badly needed functioning armored vehicles. And it turned out that Putin was not quite as unstable as he at first appeared. He did not launch a nuclear strike against anyone. He did tell his officers that they needed to start terrorizing the local population of civilians so they would stop fighting so hard. And the Red army complied, shooting civilians wherever they found them. Thousands of civilians were murdered by the Russian invaders. Russian soldiers were raping women while their children watched then murdering entire families. 

This has got to stop. The world has to stop being afraid of a ruthless dictator and send Ukraine whatever they need to stop the Russian army. We live in a world so interconnected that we need all of it's parts to keep running smoothly. Ukraine isn't a NATO member, but they are doing NATO's job and paying a very heavy price for that. It's time for Uncle Joe to get out from under his desk, put on a helmet and send Ukraine the type of weapons systems they need to shoot down Russian bombers and take out Russian artillery.

Americans should never be cowards.

Americans have Become Soft

 George S. Patton, one of our most celebrated generals, and a man who helped stop the Nazi advance in Europe, a man so aggressive that his boss, General Eisenhower was constantly finding it necessary to hold him back in order to appease America's supposed allies, once said that, "Real Americans love to fight!!" and that real Americans wouldn't give a hoot in hell for any American who lost a fight and laughed. Good sportsmanship probably was not one of the generals virtues. His virtue was winning wars. He would have occupied Berlin ahead of the Russians if he would have been allowed to, but his boss thought the Russians deserved that prize after all they had endured during the German siege all over Russia. The Russian army, true to form, tortured innocent civilians, tortured, raped and murdered women and terrorized the entire population with the approval and permission of the top commanders. A population that was already defeated by the Americans long before the Reds ever arrived. Patton may have allowed some German POW's to be killed, but he never would have supported the wholesale murder, rape and torture of the civilian population. 

Americans never learn. If Patton had been allowed to take Berlin the world never would have  been plagued by the Berlin Wall and it is even likely that Germany never would have been split into East and West. There probably would have still been a Soviet Union since by then the world was tired of fighting and the Soviets were a very brutal army that had already occupied Eastern Europe  and they weren't about to allow the people in those countries to have their freedom. The truth is they had done the same thing to the citizens of all of the countries they occupied. Using public executions of public officials and the murder of civilians is how brutal dictators always grind, and maintain control of a country, and Uncle Joe Stalin was a very brutal dictator. Russians do not believe in mercy or justice. They believe that the only thing that matters is power, might makes right. If your neighbor is weaker than you then you have the right and possibly even the responsibility to beat him down and enslave him and take all of his property for yourself. To them there is no need for laws since the only law is survival of the fittest, trample the weak, burn the dead. 

We sit here many thousands of miles away all but oblivious to the suffering of the people in Ukraine thinking it has nothing to do with us, but it does. We no longer live in an era where communication is slow and it takes months for us to find out what is happening in the far reaches of the world. We have the blessing of the internet and we practically see events unfold live right before our eyes. Even in the fog of war we are able to catch glimpses of crimes as they occur or within a few days of their occurrence. During the battles of World War II we didn't have that luxury. People didn't have cell phones with cameras in them that allowed the entire world to witness in real time the horrors of civilians being bombarded and murdered, and the atrocity of Jews being sent to death camps.

Upon learning of the horrible evil that had occurred during Hitler's war against the world, the world leaders all promised, 'never again'. Never again would the world sit idly and watch a genocide be carried out by demonic dictators. And yet here we sit watching the people of Ukraine being murdered by a dictator who wants to take over their country. Nations are sending money and weapons that can destroy tanks and aircraft that fly at low altitudes and slow speeds, but they can't do anything to stop the incoming ballistic missiles. They need anti missile batteries capable of tracking and destroying incoming ballistic missiles traveling many times the speed of sound. The Russian dictator reminds the world that he has nuclear weapons at his disposal and the world dutifully stands back. Paralyzed by fear. And failing to recognize their shame. A few months ago a woman was raped on a public train in full view of other passengers and no one tried to help her. Americans are becoming fat and lazy and self absorbed. There is no honor in this. 

We have become soft as a nation. What happened to the American fighting spirit? How come we don't want to stop Putin in his tracks before he actually does send an army to our shores under cover of a ballistic missile bombardment? American politicians from both parties claim they don't want to be responsible for starting World War III not realizing that it has already begun. Germany, Great Britain, France, Poland, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, and other countries I haven't mentioned are sending weapons to Ukraine to be used to kill Russians. And they need to kill Russians, as many as they can as quick as they can. We need to give them the tools they need to shoot down high flying bombers, cruise missiles and Ballistic missiles, and to detect the location of artillery batteries less than fifteen miles away that are pounding them day and night. All of those things need to be destroyed. Killing tanks and helicopters is great, and it is fun to watch, but that is not enough. They are still being bombarded from fast moving aircraft and missiles that are out of range of shoulder fired Stinger and Javelin weapons. Even with the meager weapons they are being provided (Uncle Joe Biden sent them 400 shotguns, what are they supposed to do with obsolete worn out pump action shotguns?) President Zelensky's army is punching the hell out of Putins Red army. Thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, but that's not enough. Hundreds of tanks have been blown up, but they need to destroy all of them, and they've successfully shot down a couple dozen helicopters and maybe two or three Russian bombers and ballistic missiles but they need to be able to ensure that Russian pilots are afraid to be seen anywhere near Ukraine and they need to be able to destroy all incoming ballistic missiles and anti ship missiles are needed to keep the Red navy from getting too close. 

We are being held at bay by a madman and watching women and children be killed by the hundreds in their homes, in their cars, on their bicycles, and as they walk on the sidewalk. The Russian army tells the citizens that if they want to leave the city they can use certain streets as escape routes then they are shot down by terrorists masquerading as soldiers as they attempt to use those escape routes. I love the United States of America, it is the greatest nation the world has ever known and I hope she will find her courage and resolve soon to stop tyrants in their tracks. The president of Ukraine is begging for help, real help, weapons capable of sweeping the skies of high flying and fast moving aircraft. And they could use Harpoon anti ship missiles. They should have all the tools they need to kill Russian aggressors. 

I've written my political representatives and they responded that they couldn't agree more and they are doing everything they can to help the people in Ukraine, but they aren't. And I sit in my comfortable home in a safe city far from the fighting and gnash my teeth and wish Americans hadn't become such cowards. Someday the enemy will attack us, will we just give up? The enemy will have nukes, what will we do then?

We are already submitting to disarmament in many cities and states. Democrats don't believe we have a right to defend ourselves, and Republicans are pretty silent on the issue. Freedom of speech is being taken away at the same time. If you oppose same gender marriage, or transgender surgery or even abortion you better keep your opinions to yourself or you run the real risk of losing your job. And don't even think about stating an opinion against government mandates to be vaccinated against a virus that no one understands. And with the introduction of hate crimes legislation you could be in trouble with the law, paying fines or even being sentenced to jail time. And don't forget about the religion of global warming. Democrats are telling us that the war in Ukraine is nothing compared to the horrors of global warming. Hell in the next hundred years temperatures could, could, rise by as much as two degrees and that could, could, cause a catastrophic rise in sea levels. I can tell them that Russian aggression is killing people right now. Right before their eyes, and if we can't stop tyrants like Putin it won't matter what the weather is like in a hundred years.

With the demise of the right to self defense and the right to express your views your right against unreasonable search and seizure will soon be forfeit as well. We are giving up our freedoms without even realizing it. Not that long ago we had a saying in America that went something like, "I may not agree with what you are saying, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it," I like that kind of thinking. It is precisely thinking like that that bought us our precious freedom. 

Let's hope the American people wake up and votes pro America this year. 

Have Americans Become Cowards?

 I'm afraid to think this may be true of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave but where is America now while Ukraine is being invaded by the brutal dictator of Russia? Many Americans are asking why should we care? How is it our problem that a country is being wiped out by a more powerful enemy? One answer is because we entered an alliance with the United Nations in 1945. The goal of the UN is to provide countries all over the world a way to resolve disputes peacefully. So far the United Nations has failed to stop or end a single war. They have succeeded in getting food to poor countries in certain parts of the world. As a peace keeping body the UN is a colossal failure. Looking to the UN to stop or prevent a war is a futile effort. Today Volodymir Zelensky gave a presentation to the United Nations pleading for help, to at least expel Russia from the United Nations Security Council. 

His presentation included a heart wrenching video proving the brutality of the Russian army in Ukraine. Dozens of innocent citizens murdered in the streets, many of them with their hands tied and shot in the head. Acts of brutality and cruelty have been committed by Russian soldiers. Old men and women and children were murdered and either left dead on the streets or buried in mass graves. At the end of the presentation the UN ambassadors dutifully stood and applauded the Ukrainian president and congratulated him for his courage and the courage of all Ukrainians. Many of them took turns saying how horrible the war is, but few of them seemed to agree that Russia should be expelled from the Security Council. Most of them pledge their undying support for Ukraine, but that is all they will do. Appeasement is what Europe has always been comfortable with. Recently it was appeasement that allowed Adolf Hitler to take over all of Europe and murder millions of people Hitler didn't like, mostly Jews but there were others as well. And the Jews are not innocent in this nightmare being forced on the Ukrainians today. They are also refusing to assist Ukraine in their efforts to stop air attacks. The Iron Dome missile battery is an effective weapon and Ukraine could really use a couple of them, but nope. Sorry Ukrainians we stand with you and recognize that you are victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity and we applaud your bravery as you battle the Russian army. Good luck my friend we are with you all the way!

Any relief provided to Ukraine will have to come from individual nations. Most of Europe is dependent on Russia for the oil they need to operate their vehicles and heat their homes. Even the mighty USA is at the mercy of a maniacal dictator who is bent on taking over Eastern Europe and possibly more. The world economy is weakening as Russian terrorists continue their murderous attack on Ukraine. All the president of Ukraine is asking for is advanced weapons systems not American soldiers or pilots. He needs effective surface to air missiles and fighter aircraft. It is a mystery to me why President Biden isn't willing to help that happen. This is a perfect problem for the Central Intelligence Agency to sink its teeth into. Just park a bunch of advanced fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots know how to fly, leave the keys in them and wait for them to be 'stolen'. Mercenaries could fly them into an airbase in Ukraine and there are lots of mercenaries who would love to do it. Mercenaries could also deliver advanced surface to air missiles, many of them are from Russia and being warehoused in NATO countries. 

If we are so afraid of a murderous dictator who is threatening nuclear war, but very unlikely to actually do something that stupid, we don't deserve the freedom we enjoy. In 1994 we encouraged Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons to Russia and we would protect them if they ever needed it. Bill Clinton, assured the president of Ukraine that Boris Yeltsin was an honorable man and could be trusted. The president of Ukraine, knowing better, but also knowing that if he didn't comply with the 'request' Yeltsin was probably going to find a way to start a war with Ukraine. Yeltsin, as least as honorable as Clinton, also assured the president of Ukraine that the Russian government would also protect Ukraine if it were ever to be attacked. Russians and democrats should never be trusted. Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and we are saying, 'wait a minute, not so fast!' Then we shake in our shoes and say we can't help Ukraine because we don't want to start WW3. We are too stupid to realize that WW3 has already begun. If we allow Putin to take Ukraine in a couple of years he will set his sights on the rest of Europe. When I say we should be giving the people of Ukraine every type of weapon systems they need my friends ask me if I want to see a nuclear war? The short answer is no, but I can't stop Vlad from launching a nuke if he wants to and I won't be held hostage by a brutal murderous dictator. I would stop his army in its tracks. If he chose to launch a nuclear strike then we'd be in the middle of a new world war. Better to do it now while Russia's strongest ally is not ready to help him.

I would stop the murder of innocents anywhere in the world where it was possible. And the Ukrainians deserve our help. You bet I'm ready to fight a nuclear war if that is what we need. I'm not afraid to help people just because a madman threatens to resort to a nuclear strike if he can't get what he wants. If he puts his finger on the button I'd say go ahead Vlad, sign your own death certificate because we are going to win this war too, and you are going to be buried in an unmarked grave in an unpublicized location. History will remember you as the man who completely destroyed Russia. Go ahead, show us what you are made of. 

Yeah, I'm ready to help innocent women and children avoid the horrors of rape and murder, watching loved ones as they are tortured and humiliated in unimaginable ways. Lots of countries have nuclear weapons in their arsenals today and someday someone is going to deploy one. What I'm not ready to do is let Putin use the threat of a nuclear strike to keep me from helping the innocent people he is murdering today. 

Americans didn't used to be cowards. It's not easy to watch then cowering now. Is war ever justified? Sure it is. We need to use every tool we have to stop the horrendous actions being taken by the maniac running Russia. We promised to protect Ukraine when they gave up their nuclear arsenal to an enemy in 1994 I can't emphasize that enough. Today we wring our hands and claim to "Stand With Ukraine" and then send them a few bucks and inadequate weapons and continue to applaud their courage as we enjoy our peaceful lives of comfort far from the fighting. And the good people of Europe do the same. Maybe if we let that madman have his way with Ukraine he will be pacified and leave the rest of us alone. We did the same in the 1930's as Japan terrorized countries all over Asia, including China, and Hitler consolidated his control over Europe. Appeasement didn't work so I guess it will work now? We better wake up now because Putin is fully awake and he knows he only has two more years to intimidate his neighbors. If Donald Trump becomes our next president Putins reign of terror will have to wait awhile. Like most bullies Putin will back down when faced with certain failure. 

I hope Americans haven't become cowards, but what I'm watching now makes me fear that we are. I was in disbelief when our leaders trusted the Russian dictator twenty eight years ago, and I'm appalled at our cowardice in the face of the enemy today. I have always hated bullies and I don't have any respect for cowards. Americans should stand up to that evil little dictator today while there is a country over there with a leader who is willing to fight his own battles. Yeah, we might get nuked and that would really suck. And we would have to nuke back, but he who nukes last nukes best. 

Bankers are Thieves

I didn't realize how corrupt American banks are until I wrote a check for a large sum of money to a person who did some work for me and the check was stolen and cashed by a third party. Since I mailed it via the US Postal Service it took over a week for me to find out that the person who I wrote the check never received it. Of course I immediately notified my bank, in this case Citibank, and the Irvine Police Department. I completed all of the reports required by the bank as did the person who was supposed to receive the check. 

The bank claims that they are required by law to receive these reports by mail and they are prohibited by law from using email. I haven't been able to find this law, and I don't believe it exists, but the nightmare gets worse. The bank reps told me they would begin investigating immediately but I should expect at least 90 days and as many as 120 days, possibly more for them to complete their investigation. 

How it can possibly take four months to investigate such a simple transaction is a mystery. With the communications technology we have today it seems to me that a person would have to be pretty incompetent to not be able to find out in a couple of days exactly what happened. When I called the so-called customer service number and complained about the wait time I was asked if I had any idea how big a problem check fraud is in America today. I don't so I asked her if she knew. She said she didn't know either, but it was a lot. So maybe if that's true the bank should either find ways to make it more difficult for a person with no identification to cash or deposit a check, or hire more investigators to keep up with the high demand. 

When  the Customer Service section got tired of me calling twice a day they referred me to the Executive Services section. The people in that office gave me the same song and dance. A few times during this charade I asked to speak to a supervisor and I was transferred after a few minutes being on 'hold' while they 'find' an available supervisor I was connected to someone obviously either in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, or some other spot in the world where people are able to work for a buck a day, who told me the exact same thing. They are all great at apologizing and explaining that they have 90-120 days to complete the investigation, but they were unable to provide any information regarding what, if anything, was being done to resolve my issue.

One person finally told me there was a note in my file that said the check had been processed by Wells Fargo Bank, but they didn't know which branch or which city processed it. When asked if it was deposited via cell phone photo or ATM they had no idea. Is that even possible?  

After two months I was contacted by a man who said he was a senior analyst. He told me he was at the mercy of Wells Fargo. They were the people who cashed or deposited the check, and it was up to them to investigate what happened. He also said it would take 90-120 days for them to complete their investigation. 

I filed a complaint with an agency that supposedly regulate banks and I received an email from them stating these investigations can take a long time and I needed to be more patient. I also received an email from Citibank that said they had been made aware that I had filed a complaint and they were sorry I was unhappy with the exceedingly slow pace of their investigation but they were doing the best they can and they were waiting for Wells Fargo Bank to complete their investigation. 

They apologized for the inconvenience and assured me they were in regular communication with the investigators at Wells Fargo and they would let me know as soon as they learn anything more. 

The bank gave away a large sum of money to a person without viewing any identification and the bank says they are terribly sorry, but it isn't their responsibility. They're claiming it is Wells Fargo Bank that cashed or deposited the check into someone's account and until there has been an investigation they can't refund my money. Ok, I understand they need to verify my story and the story of the person who whom the check was mailed, but I think two months is more than enough time for such a simple transaction. Someone cashed or deposited a check at Wells Fargo. We have computers now so look it up and let us know who did it. Then give us our money back. Three to four months? That is simply outrageous. 

The money was stolen and Citibank is complicit in the theft. They need to make restitution for the loss then collect from Wells Fargo Bank for the mistake they made. 

I've always been told that Congress has oversight of American banks, but apparently banks are regulating themselves.