When history calls

 

When this man, whose name may be Wang Weilin, woke up in Beijing one summer morning, he did not plan to be part of one of the most famous images of the twentieth century.  But he saw a column of tanks headed for Tiananmen Square, stepped into the street and the rest is history.

When Volodymyr Zelensky went on the Ukrainian version of Dancing With the Stars in 2006, he was probably thinking only of raising his profile as a comedian.  But sometimes, if you dance like nobody's watching, the whole world will see you.  Pay attention, Rick Perry, this is how it's done.

"The War In Ukraine Isn't Working Out the Way Russia Intended," advises the Washington Post ("No Flies On Us").  Well, yes.  When the Russian army needs help from Belarus that looks like a definite snag.  Is Lukashenko as crazy as Putin?  Why are they both talking about nukes?  Joe Biden says we needn't worry about World War III.  Fiona Hill isn't so sure.

What we know is that the enormous Russian air force hasn't established control over Ukraine; that the major cities have been shelled but remain defiant; that Russian supply lines are as fragile as the ruble and Russian banks have been severed from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication system (SWIFT to you).  Russians aren't fleeing or getting bombed, but their money is only useful for playing Monopoly.  As for their sons in uniform, Ukrainian women are blocking their progress and handing them sunflower seeds "so they will grow after you're dead."  I'm reminded of American girls at Vietnam War protests putting daisies in the barrels of National Guard rifles.

And as Russia is isolated from FIFA, UEFA and FEE-FI-FO-FA; as Putin loses his job as Honorary President of the Worldwide Judo Federation; as Ukraine's UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya cordially invites him to "do what the guy in Berlin did in a bunker in 1945"; there is one place that still has a warm spot for Mad Vlad -- the Republican Party.  This tweet from the pride of Louisiana Clay Higgins has been causing hilarity all day:  "You millennial leftists who never lived one day under nuclear threat can now reflect upon your woke sky.  You made quite a non-binary fuss to save the world from intercontinental ballistic tweets."  Bath salts?  Mad Libs?  I don't know, but "Woke Sky" is the name of my balalaika/steel drum Pink Floyd tribute band.

Trump, of course, continues to call Putin "smart" and the American government, deprived of his jenius by the stolen election, "stupid."  Speaking of stupidity, Lauren Boebert has also demanded that Canada and the US be liberated from tyranny (i.e. vaccines) just like Ukraine.  What Ukrainian refugee trying to get her family into Poland tonight could fail to resonate with that?  Matt Gaetz at CPAC fulminated against Americans having to "foot the bill" for Ukraine, details unclear, but obviously the sex-crime investigation is getting closer and any SQUIRREL!! in a storm.  Putin and the GOP are muy simpatico on most issues, including LGBTQ people, censorship and the desirability of fossil fuels.  

This, however, is wrong:  Valery Gergiev is being literally cancelled over his refusal to denounce his long-time patron Putin.  He has been publicly dumped by his management (how much money have they made from him?), threatened with firing by several major orchestras and booed at La Scala.  Silence will not do, he must say the words.  Can you say "show trial"?  How about "blacklist"?  People, we should be better.  And I'm not even a Gergiev fan.  

Finally, some unrelated things I thought were...interesting.

CNN, now under new management, has cancelled a documentary about Alex Jones.

Four trucks from the right-wing "People's Convoy" crashed in Oklahoma on their way to disrupt tomorrow's State of the Union address.

The California version -- all five rigs -- made it to Las Vegas before giving up.

Mehmet Oz complained that Anthony Fauci has not responded to his debate challenge. It was pointed out to him that Fauci is not running in the Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary.  

Mitt Romney called Paul Gosar and Margie Greene "morons."  And this is someone who transported a dog on the roof of his car.

Trump, who wanted the US to leave NATO because the other members weren't paying enough, now wants credit for saving it.  "Let History so note!" he actually said.  It has.

Andrew Walls, described as a leader of the Proud Boys (aren't they all?), was arrested in Akron for yelling "Fucking n-----s" and slugging a woman in the face.  With pride.

Ron Johnson blames Adam Schiff, Alexander Vindman and Nancy Pelosi for the invasion of Ukraine.  Insert joke here.

FedEx and UPS have suspended deliveries to Russia.  I'd like to know what Amazon is doing.