It almost seems designed to distract us from something even more threatening . . . this deluge of ongoing or imminent catastrophes called Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, Colombia, Gaza, Syria, Mexico, Cuba, Minneapolis, Portland, and wherever else you might stick a pin in the world map.

Perhaps to distract from the Epstein files? Maybe.

But the one continuing cataclysm we cannot allow ourselves to overlook is the war in Ukraine, about to enter its fifth year of unrelenting death and devastation.

And we are in danger of doing just that. What has happened — since Donald Trump’s unforeseen invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president — to the flurry of negotiations that had been taking place among Ukraine’s allies? While Europe’s “Coalition of the Willing” continues to scrape together aid, Washington and Moscow are silent . . . except, of course, for the constant barrage of Russian missiles and drones on Ukraine’s cities and villages.

Neither should we overlook the gift that has been handed to Vladimir Putin by Trump’s recent attempts at empire-building — besides the opportunity to delay peace talks, that is. I’m talking about the carte blanche he, and his fellow autocrats in China, North Korea and elsewhere, have been given to move forward with their own expansionist plans. Certainly, if Donald Trump can get away with grabbing Venezuela, why shouldn’t China take Taiwan, or Russia set its sights on Moldova, Poland, or the Baltics? What’s sauce for the goose . . . right?

So this is a shout-out — another one — to Congress, beseeching them to get off their collective fat ass and keep the fight for Ukraine moving in the right direction. For the sake of the rest of Europe, and indeed the rest of the world, we must not let Ukraine burn to the ground while we’re occupied with keeping Trump’s other brush fires under control.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/11/26