At last, we have some idea of what our favorite itinerant Canadian-Russian family has in store for the near future. It’s difficult to pin down dates, as it’s never clear how long ago the most recently posted video was actually made; but as of Friday’s post, Arend Feenstra reported that the whole clan was packed up and headed north from Florida to Georgia.

They were on their way to visit friends there for a couple of days, stopping by a dairy farm en route.

Then they would be on to North Carolina . . . where Anneesa and the youngest six children would once again be deposited at a campground while Arend and the three eldest — Ben, Cora and Wes — would continue (presumably in Ben’s van) back to Ontario.

As I understand it, the plan calls for Arend, Cora and Wes to work for another month in Canada, then for Arend to fly down to pick up the others in North Carolina, head back to Ontario in the camper for another couple of weeks of work, finally flying back en masse to their farm in Russia. Except for Ben, of course, who was the only one old enough and smart enough not to have left Canada for Russia in the first place.

I know, I know . . . it doesn’t make any sense to me either. Why don’t they all just drive back to Canada from North Carolina in the two vehicles now, instead of making an additional exhausting — and expensive — round trip? Particularly since the whole purpose of working for the past three months has been to earn enough money to pay for the whole “vacation” in the first place.

That’s right. As Arend explains in this video, the ten round-trip airline fares between Russia and Canada cost a total of $25,000, which needs to be repaid. In addition, he has been trying to earn enough money to sustain them on the farm until — he hopes — it becomes a profit-making enterprise this year.

You see, it turned out that, once they arrived in Nizhny Novgorod a couple of years ago, got their residency and finances straightened out, and began building their farm from scratch, they discovered that their savings wouldn’t last forever, and that earning money in Russia is not as simple as it was in Canada. Arend frankly admits that his connections in his home country, and the availability of work — not to mention his ability to speak the language — make things much simpler than in his adopted country.

But he says they’re excited to return to Nizhny Novgorod and resume their lives as strangers in a strange land. I guess Canada is still too “woke” for them . . . or perhaps they simply have too much invested in their new farm to change their minds.

Or — and this, to me, is the most mind-boggling possibility of all — maybe they really do like living in Russia.

I hadn’t really considered that before.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/29/26

We hear and read daily of the number of deaths and other casualties being sustained by the people of Ukraine as a result of Vladimir Putin’s continuing war of attrition. But perhaps the most devastating statistic is one that receives less attention, but should be constantly in the headlines: that is, the number of Ukrainian children who have been snatched from their homes and families, to be “re-homed” in Russian facilities where they are required to speak the Russian language, subjected to Russian propaganda, given Russian military training, and potentially being turned into Russian citizens.

While the most frequently cited estimates place the number of such children at around 20,000, those are only the documented cases. In reality, there may be as many as 400,000 children enrolled in Russian paramilitary youth programs or placed with Russian families or institutions, according to Katya Pavlevych, a policy adviser for the Razom for Ukraine NGO and the American Coalition for Ukraine. Pavlevych describes the situation as “the largest case of missing children since World War II.” [Alex Faufoglu, RFE/RL, March 26, 2026.]

And there may be as many as 1.6 million at-risk Ukrainian children still living in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. [Id.]

Some 2,000 children have been located and returned, primarily through covert operations coordinated by Ukrainian authorities and civil society groups. [Id.] But that is a drop in the bucket.

Inna Liniova, director of the Human Rights Center of the Ukraine Bar Association, says that multiple organizations — including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights — are addressing the legal issues. But the prosecution of the perpetrators of these war crimes is a major sticking point, for which a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine was launched in 2025, designed to fill the existing gap in the process of holding the guilty parties accountable. [Id.]

These are all vitally important steps, of course. But we must continue to shine the spotlight on this urgent issue in order to bring them all back before irreparable psychological damage is done to the children — which is one more reason pressure must be kept on the U.S. and European nations to continue providing maximum support to Ukraine’s defense.

These children need to go home!

*. *. *

And of course we must simultaneously continue the multinational effort to bring the political prisoners back from their illegal incarceration in Russia and elsewhere. Here again is the list of those known, which sadly is only a fraction of the total:

Prisoners of War:

The 20,000+ Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Dennis Coyle (American)

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
— Oleg Antipov
— Artyom Azatyan
— Georgy Azatyan
— Aleksandr Bylin
— Roman Solomko
— Artur Terchanyan
— Dmitry Tyazhelykh
— Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Anastasia Dyudyaeva
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been, and will not be, forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/29/26

More and more frequently of late, I find myself wondering why I am still here, when my life seems to have so little purpose now: there are no children dependent upon me, my years of meaningful work and joyous travels are in my rear-view mirror, and so many of my friends are gone. Even this blog, which I do enjoy writing, has only a few loyal readers.

It’s an age thing, and there is no cure.

But then something will happen to remind me that there is a reason for everything, although it may not be given us to understand it.

Today is the third “No Kings Day” in America. Millions of proud citizens are gathering peaceably to oppose the autocratic regime of Donald Trump, and to demand that our democracy be preserved and our Constitution obeyed. Sadly, I am physically unable to join them, though I am with them in spirit.

This morning, as I was thinking about how, in my younger days, I would have been right out there with those protesters, I stumbled upon a beloved old verse by the celebrated American poet Robert Frost, and that little light bulb in my head switched on.

As I read, for perhaps the hundredth time, those immortal last lines, I remembered that I do indeed have a reason for lingering on this “mortal coil,” as another poet (Shakespeare) called it: to keep writing, sending my verbal support out there for even a handful of readers, joining the marchers and fighting for our freedom in the only way left to me: with my words. And not only for my fellow Americans, but for oppressed people throughout the world.

The lines that spoke so clearly to me this morning are these:

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

– Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

So I’m still here, keeping my promise to continue the fight for whatever time may be left to me, and hoping that a few more people will join me.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/28/26

VFor some time now, I have expressed my dismay concerning the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been kidnapped and “re-homed” by Russian authorities since the start of Putin’s war in February of 2022 — a despicable war crime of the greatest magnitude and the utmost urgency, which Ukraine and its allies have been trying without success to rectify.

And now, a new report by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab concludes “with high confidence” that Russian state-owned energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have been directly involved in the transportation and political indoctrination of at least 2,158 children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine since 2022.

The report identifies six camps in Russia and Russian-occupied territories to which children have been taken, including facilities owned by Gazprom subsidiaries, stating:

“Gazprom and Rosneft are critical components of President [Vladimir] Putin’s industrial-scale campaign of child deportation, transportation [and] indoctrination.” [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, March 25, 2026.]

The children, from the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, have been relocated to camps where they are indoctrinated into pro-Russian propaganda, patriotic education, and, in some cases, military activities.

While both Gazprom and Rosneft are the subjects of extensive sanctions by the US, UK and EU, the report identifies 44 subsidiaries and trade unions tied to the parent companies, some 80 percent of which are not currently under sanctions. Researcher Ruth Gibson said:

“This matters, because American foreign policy is . . . putting dollars directly into the pockets of two Russian companies implicated in the forcible transfer and reeducation of Ukrainian children.” [Id.]

And this month, a U.S. exception was granted allowing certain Russian oil shipments to proceed — in the hopes of alleviating some of the havoc created by Donald Trump’s invasion of Iran — potentially providing further benefit to the two energy giants.

But while Trump continues to play Russian Roulette with the world’s economy, the U.S. Congress, at least, has finally done something right in an effort to help the youngest, most innocent victims of Vladimir Putin’s war.

On March 25th, the same day the Yale report was released, a hearing was held by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission — a House of Representatives panel focused on global human rights — in which bipartisan support and a demand for accountability was issued.

And the following day, the U.S. Department of State announced that, in conjunction with Congress, it is “providing $25 million in new assistance to support the identification, return, and rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and youth who have been forcibly transferred or otherwise held away from their families and communities.” [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, March 26, 2026.]

Comments from Congress included the following:

> From Chris Smith (R.-New Jersey): “There’s no space between us [Republicans and Democrats].”

> From Lloyd Doggett (D.-Texas): [The forced transfer of children] is not a side effect of war — it’s a crime.”

> And from Suzanne Bonamici (D.-Oregon): The fact that thousands of children remain unaccounted for is “gut-wrenching.” [Id.]

Personally, I would like to have seen a higher dollar figure offered; but the fact that bipartisan action has been taken is a huge step in the right direction . . . and proof that Congress can act, as a unified entity, when they really want to. And for that, honor is due.

*. *. *

There is much more to the story of Ukraine’s missing children, and that will be the subject of my regular Sunday post on Putin’s hostages tomorrow. See you then.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/28/26

It is obvious to everyone that Donald Trump is a great admirer of “strong men” (a.k.a. autocrats) — and the more tyrannical, the better. And his favorite is clearly Vladimir Putin, as evidenced by the warm reception Vlad received on the red carpet in Alaska last year, and the continued leverage being granted in his pursuance of the war in Ukraine.

Trump has even mimicked Putin’s naming the war in Ukraine a “special military operation” by calling his own invasion of Iran a “military operation.”

Well, I guess we all have our idols — even malignant narcissists like Trump. So, if he really wants to let Putin know how much he admires him, I have a suggestion.

As reported both by Russia’s independent news outlet The Bell and by The Financial Times, Putin — whose economy has suffered greatly from four years of his non-war — has turned to his oligarchs for financial help, broaching the subject in a closed-door meeting with the country’s leading businessmen.

Thus far, at least two are said to have responded favorably: Russian Senator Suleiman Kerimov, worth an estimated $25 billion or more, has offered the equivalent of $1.23 billion; and metals tycoon Oleg Deripaska, with a personal fortune of more than $7 billion, also agreed to “contribute” an unspecified amount to the cause. Both men, not surprisingly, are already under sanctions by the U.S. and Ukraine.

And, as noted by The Financial Times, the request coming personally from Putin rendered it “all but inconceivable” that any of the others would refuse to help. [Ewan Palmer, The Daily Beast, March 27, 2026.]

It should be noted, however, that the Kremlin has denied that Putin actually asked for assistance, claiming instead that one of the participants in the meeting — whose name was not provided — had volunteered to donate a “very large sum of money” to the state. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the anonymous individual felt it was their duty to contribute; since he and his fellow billionaires had made their fortunes from businesses initially obtained from the government following the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, it was the least they could do to express their appreciation. According to Peskov:

“This was absolutely his initiative, and not President Putin’s. Although, of course, the head of state welcomed such an initiative.” [Reuters, March 27, 2026.]

Well, of course he did. And we all know how altruistic those oligarchs can be, don’t we?

Peskov also added that the “contributions” were not for the furtherance of the war in Ukraine. And if you believe that — or any of the rest of his bullsh*t — then I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

*. *. *

Anyway, the whole purpose of this story is to point out to Trump that he is missing a great opportunity. He has certainly done enough favors for his uber-rich friends (whose names we need not reiterate here), such as: “encouraging” Congressional passage of legislation in favor of their business holdings; overlooking blatant violations of antitrust, financial, and environmental laws and regulations; erasing criminal convictions with a presidential pardon; redacting and burying relevant portions of the Epstein files; etc., etc., etc.

Those guys owe him . . . BIG TIME!

So, instead of dealing in penny-ante stuff like increased tariffs, taxes, and job eliminations, he should try gathering all of those patriotic American gazillionaires into one room — preferably the one with a view of that future ballroom he’s so orgasmically excited about — and raking in some really big bucks by making them an offer they can’t refuse.

And this time — just for once — not putting the money into his own pockets.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/28/26

What do you do when you’re in a position requiring you to speak in public — a lot — but you have a very limited vocabulary and a third-grade-level command of your native language (in this case, English)? Well, that’s easy. You do what you probably did all through school: you copy the smart kids.

In this case, the smarter kid happens to be Vladimir Putin, and the cheater is . . . well, you know:

Donald Trump has made a big deal out of trying to decide what to name his month-long incursion (which he has called an “excursion”) into Iran. Sometimes it’s a “war”; but when he’s having one of his more lucid moments, and he realizes that a real war would have required Congressional approval, then it’s not a war — it’s a “military operation,” necessitated by an imaginary imminent threat and thus not requiring anyone’s permission.

What he actually said, at the annual fund-raising dinner of the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday, was this:

“I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word ‘war’ because you’re supposed to get approval. So, I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is. It’s a military decimation.”

– Donald J. Trump

*. *. *

Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that he just admitted to having started an illegal war, let’s look at the term he chose to use instead of calling a war a war.

Who remembers February 24, 2022, when Vladimir Putin’s military invaded Ukraine? You know — the “excursion” that continues to this day?

Yeah, that’s the one.

Well, do you also remember what Putin called it then, what he still calls it today, and what everyone in Russia is required to call it? Not a “war,” but a “Special Military Operation.” That is its official name, and woe betide anyone who dares to suggest otherwise.

So either Trump got the idea from his trusted friend Vladimir, or they actually think alike. Either way, it’s a scary experience, hearing POTUS mimicking POTUSSR.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/27/26

I’m so excited, I just had to share this with the world.

I celebrated another birthday last week, and yesterday I had my regular semi-annual medical checkup. The lab results aren’t back yet, but everything looked good from the exam . . . and especially the cognitive test that is apparently required by Medicare because they want to be sure we senior citizens haven’t all gone as ga-ga as those government officials in Washington.

Well, I am thrilled beyond words . . . in fact, I’d be jumping for joy, if I could still jump. You see — although I do have arthritis, a bad back, and occasional wooziness on standing — I am officially at least as smart as Donald Trump.

Because I aced the same “IQ” test he did.

Yes, folks, it’s true. I could be President of the United States, if I had the money to buy an election. Yesterday I was able to remember three words for five whole minutes; in fact, I still remember them today: “baby,” “village,” and “kitchen.” Wow! Am I not incredible?

And, though I’m no artist, I drew a beautiful circular clock, with all of the numbers going . . . well . . . clockwise. And I knew where the big hand and the little hand pointed to show ten minutes past eleven. Whoopee!!

Plus — and this will amaze you — I know the difference between a camel and a tiger. Can you believe it??!!!!

Okay, okay — thank you very much, but please hold the applause. This is not a campaign rally. You see, I’ve thought about it overnight, and I’ve decided I’m simply too smart to run for any political office, much less the presidency.

I mean, what person in their right mind would want to take charge of a war that isn’t a war, a government that has ceased to function, an entire world of allies that hate us, a bunch of declared enemies that want to bury us, and a gold-plated house with a broken right wing?

Seriously, I’m asking . . . WHO??

Well, not I. Because I am, according to my doctor, the smartest, most stable octogenarian she’s ever met, and probably who has ever lived . . . smarter than Socrates, Albert Einstein, and Adlai Stevenson rolled into one. I got the highest score she’s ever seen on that brain-busting IQ test — higher than Kamala Harris or Barack Obama, for sure. And that qualifies me, if not to be president, then at least to write this blog every day (which is more than what’s-his-name can do by himself).

My little blog doesn’t pay anything, but it’s a great gig: no worries, no stress, no enemies, no skeletons in my closet, and no Secret Service detail or reporters following me everywhere. And at my age, what would I do with a gazillion dollars anyway . . . take over Cuba? Honestly, who needs that “shithole country”? (Sorry, Cuba; just quoting you-know-who.)

Again, not I. Because, you see, I’m also smart enough to know when it’s time to call it quits. And that’s why I’m retired.

Unlike that other stable genius:

Yeah, you.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/27/26

After a couple of weeks off-camera, Arend Feenstra has finally popped back into view.

While Anneesa and the six youngest kids have been living in the family’s RV at a campground somewhere in Florida, Arend has been back in Ontario with the three oldest offspring — Ben, Cora and Wes — while working hard to earn some money for the family.

But with Anneesa’s birthday coming up, Arend planned a surprise for her. Piling into Ben’s van, the four of them took off for the long trek to Florida, even using Ben’s credit or debit card for gas along the way so that Anneesa wouldn’t see any charges to their joint account. Good thinking!

Cora got to do some of the early driving while still in Canada, but had to hand the wheel over to Dad and Ben before reaching the border, as she is not licensed in the U.S. And for the rest of the 27-hour trip, the two men took turns driving straight through, finally reaching the campground and locating their RV without the rest of the family being any the wiser.

And when they knocked on the door . . .

Later, everyone settled down around the fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, took a dip in the pool, and explored the area before the weary travelers headed indoors for some much-needed sleep.

As of today, the only update has been a video of Arend’s visit, with some of the children, to a Florida dairy farm — again, keeping their activities within their comfort zone. As I’ve said before, I do wish they would take advantage of this opportunity to open the kids up to new experiences. From my own years of travel, the best times — the ones I still recall most vividly — were the ones in which I was able to see, hear, taste, smell, and participate in lifestyles that were completely different from my own. It didn’t change my way of life when I returned home; but it did broaden my perspective, it was educational, and it left me with some wonderful memories.

However, as I’ve also said many times, to each his own. I can’t say the Feenstras aren’t adventurous; after all, they did move permanently to Russia. And they think nothing of traveling around the U.S. with six young children, in a 30-year-old RV, on a limited budget. So, good for them!

At the start of this latest road trip, Arend said they would only be able to stay in Florida for a few days, as he, Ben, Cora and Wes all needed to get back to work in Canada. There was still no mention of when Anneesa and the six littlest kids would return to Ontario . . . or when they would all be heading back to Russia.

It is now nearly April, and even in Nizhny Novgorod the snow will soon start to disappear, ushering in a new planting season. Judging from the videos posted by their tenants, the Pulleys, it’s been a rough winter, and there’s likely to be a lot of work ahead.

But with conditions in Russia being as they are — drone attacks reaching from Ukraine all the way to Moscow, internet communications being disrupted and shut down completely, and a new military mobilization being talked about — I worry about their returning at all.

I wouldn’t try to second-guess anyone else. But in the Feenstras’ place, I know I’d be giving serious consideration to saying “do svidaniya” to Mother Russia, and settling back down in the safety, comfort and security of their native Canada.

Of course, that’s easy for me to say.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/26/26

I am not in the habit of quoting myself, primarily because . . . well, because I’m just not that quotable. Instead, I defer to Shakespeare, or Eleanor Roosevelt, or one of the ancient Greek philosophers, who were obviously so much more astute, insightful, and eloquent than I could ever hope to be.

But sometimes — the law of averages being on my side — I do get it right. And such was the case on February 21st, when I posted an article titled “Iran Is Not Venezuela,” in which I warned Donald Trump that he shouldn’t let his January “success” in Caracas muddy his thinking (any more than it already was) about invading Iran. In part, what I said was:

“Of course, I’m talking about Donald Trump, who — fresh off of his Venezuelan “success” — now has his sights, and a sizable number of U.S. military forces, aimed at Iran. The issue there is bigger than the Latin American drug trade; it involves ongoing talks concerning nuclear containment, which have dragged on with little or no progress for longer than he anticipated.

“At the first meeting of his ironically-named “Board of Peace” in Washington this week, Trump gave the Iranian regime another ten days to knuckle under to his demands, saying:

“‘We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen.’ [Bernd Debusmann, Jr., BBC, February 20, 2026.]

“Trump did not explain what he meant by “bad things.” But I doubt that what then actually happened on Thursday was what he had in mind. That was the day that Iran and Russia began joint military drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, with the purported goal of ‘upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences.’ [Ryan Mancini, The Hill, February 19, 2026.]

“Apparently, Trump does not understand the difference in consequences between stepping on an anthill and poking a hornets’ nest. Furthermore, in his own ignorance concerning the history, the culture and the mindset of the Middle East nation — and his failure to anticipate Russia’s willingness to step into the fray — he placed responsibility for the negotiations in the hands of two equally unqualified individuals: realtor Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s own wunderkind son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

“Yes, the same pair who have thus far failed to bring Ukraine a millimeter closer to peace have simultaneously been tasked with convincing Iran’s leaders to bow down before the Temple of Trump.

“Well, good luck with that, boys. The countdown has begun.

“10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .”

But — and I’m really rather glad about this — Donald Trump obviously does not read my blog or my FB page. (Why would he, when he doesn’t even read his own daily intel reports?) Because just a week later, he went ahead — without consulting Congress, any of our NATO allies, or anyone else with a brain — and invaded Iran anyway.

And we all know where that has led: “bad things” have indeed been happening since then, just as Trump promised . . . but nowhere close to the way he anticipated they would.

As usual.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/26/26

Madeleine Albright was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937. Following the communist coup of 1948, her father — diplomat Josef Korbel — emigrated with his family to the United States, where Madeleine became a citizen in 1957. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1959, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1975, writing her thesis on the Prague Spring.

After working as an aide to Senator Edmund Muskie for two years, she served as a staff member on the National Security Council under Zbigniew Brzezinski. Later, as a member of the faculty of Georgetown University, she helped assemble then-President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. She was subsequently appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and in 1997 became Clinton’s Secretary of State.

Albright had lived under both communist tyranny and constitutional democracy. Her views were solidified, not only by formal education and years of public service, but by her lived experience:

“Democracies, as we know, are prone to every error from incompetence and corruption to misguided fetishes and gridlock. Therefore, it is astonishing, in a sense, that we would be willing to submit the direction of our societies to the collective wisdom of an imperfect and frequently disengaged public. How could we be so naive? To that fair question, we must reply: how could anyone be so gullible as permanently to entrust power — an inherently corrupting force — to a single leader or party? When a dictator abuses his authority, there is no legal way to stop him. When a free society falters, we still have the ability — through open debate and the selection of new leaders — to remedy those shortcomings. We still have time to pick a better egg. That is democracy’s comparative advantage, and it should be recognized and preserved.”

-Madeleine K. Albright, “Fascism: A Warning”

Such was the measure of our statesmen (and women) of yesteryear. We are losing them, one by one, to the natural cycle of life and death. And our world is so much the poorer for each loss.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/25/26