Would you accept a challenge to sit down at the chess table with this man?

I wouldn’t. But this man has:

And it should be quite a match. On one side, you have a callous, cold-blooded, vengeful, tyrannical, ruthless, vicious, vindictive, autocratic narcissist for whom losing — at anything — is never an option.

While across the table, you have a callous, cold-blooded, vengeful, tyrannical, ruthless, vicious, vindictive, autocratic narcissist for whom losing — at anything — is never an option.

Do you know which is which? It’s nearly impossible to tell them apart, when each believes he’s King of the World. The only discernible difference is that one, as far as the world knows, has never actually had anyone murdered.

I know that in a real-life game of chess, it’s the Queen who dominates, and not the King. But in such a testosterone-laden real-life situation as this one, I thought it best, just this once, to go for political correctness.

*. *. *

The problem is, we’re not talking about a game between friends, or even a professional match offering the winner bragging rights and a possible mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. What we are talking about is the future of 37 million people and the sovereignty of their nation.

That would be Ukraine, of course.

And its future — the fate of its people — rests in the hands of two men who care nothing about anything but their own glory.

So they’ve begun their little tap dance, or dog-and-pony show, or whatever you want to call this farce that masquerades as a diplomatic exchange.

One — the one who doesn’t seem to have killed anyone yet — has posted on his very own social media website:

“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.” [Steve Gutterman, RFE/RL, January 24, 2025.]

That’s tough talk . . . which, of course, requires a response. So the second tyrant, speaking through his press secretary, says they don’t see “any particularly new elements here.” And then he has his personal favorite TV host broadcast to the people this comforting message:

“What, is it possible to talk to Russia that way? What, are we losing the war? Is the enemy at our gates?” [Id.]

Again, except for the fact that they speak two different languages, they are as indistinguishable as two kids on the playground yelling at each other: “Did so!” “Did not!” “Did so!” “Did not!” . . . until their mothers call them in for dinner.

Only who’s going to call these two in from their playground before they lose control?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/25/25