President Biden received praise for secretly traveling to Ukraine to offer his support. Meanwhile, people in beleaguered American cities like East Palestine, Ohio, site of a toxic train derailment, have not seen hide nor hair of him.
Ron DeSantis’ Weird Campaign Bid
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is considered the most formidable challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. But he’s extremely unpleasant. How does he scale beyond Florida in elections where personality really count?
Up in the Air
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As mysterious balloons and identified flying objects have us looking up in the sky, we are being distracted by a world of serious, pressing matters down here on the ground. There’s nothing new about spying or probably even this generation of surveillance balloons. Nor is there anything new about humanity’s unwillingness to roll up its collective sleeves and get to work on the real threats to our security.
The Desperate Ballad of Nikki Haley
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Former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Aside from her personal issues around her betrayal of Trump, is the racist and sexist GOP ready to nominate a woman of color?
China: America’s Nefarious Enemy
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Hawkish critics of China complain that the country spreads its influence around the world via its Belt and Road Initiative, which somehow makes it a threat or adversary or even an enemy of the United States. But China doesn’t invade or bomb other countries. It gifts them infrastructure and hopes to build good will. If only there was some way for the United States to do something similar and compete with them.
Biden to Nation: Help Is on the Way at Some Point
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President Biden rolled out the likely theme of his possible reelection campaign during his State of the Union address: “Finish the Job.” The slogan, which he repeated several times, argues that the infrastructure and other legislation he signed a year and a half ago, are only just beginning to impact the everyday lives of the American people, who should be patient because good things are on the way. But if good things are on the way anyway, does it really matter whether Democrats or Republicans are in charge by the time they arrive?
America Clutches Its Pearls, Balloon Edition
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No country in the world invades the sovereign airspace of other nations as brazenly or extremely as the United States with spy drones, assassination drones, spy satellites and outright invasions. So it’s beyond rich to see U.S. officials whine so much about China’s survelliance balloon.
Believe What I Do, Not What I Say
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Biden administration officials claim that Russia has dastardly plans to invade Eastern Europe unless it is stopped in Ukraine. If they really believed that, however, they wouldn’t be hesitant to send whatever weapons and troops were required to stop them. That overheated rhetoric is just a pose. Which is why the US has given Ukraine just enough weapons to keep fighting but never to win.
First They Came for Bigger Cubicles
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Unemployment fell to the 3.4%, the lowest on record since the early days of the Richard Nixon administration. Jobs have never been easier to find and workers are able to get raises. The American economy, however, relies on cheap compliant labor, so economists are worried.
Ukraine as the Fisherman’s Wife
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In the classic fairy tale, the wife of a fisherman keeps demanding more and more of an enchanted flounder. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky keeps coming back to Joe Biden for more weapons, bigger weapons, always more and more. At the same time, he claims that his country is winning.
