Putin on the Blitz!

                (Italicized words set to the rhythm of the song, “Puttin' on the Ritz,” made famous by Fred Astaire)

               Tanks and various other military vehicles, many towing heavy weapons, are once again pouring over the Russian border into eastern Ukraine. Sightings of the  “green men,” Russian soldiers in plain green uniforms with no insignia are becoming more common as well. These are the same type of forces that carried out the invasion of Crimea this past spring and they are obviously preparing for renewed military action.

                If you’ve no clue and you don’t know who to blame, why don’t you look where Russians maim…Putin on the Blitz! Different types who wear the same coat, pants with no stripes, they’ll cut your throat with perfect slits…Putin on the Blitz!

                Of course, Russian government officials dismiss the reports as “alarmist”. They vehemently deny that there are- or ever were- Russian armed forces inside of Ukraine.

                Dressed up like million dollar troopers, Putin trying hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)

They think we’ll run from where Ivans walk with guns or rocket launchers in their mitts…Putin on the Blitz!

                And now the Russians are provocatively resuming their Cold-War era practice of sending long-range bombers to patrol the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific. These flights extend to the borders of U.S. territorial waters and are in keeping with the more aggressive air “defense” posture Russia has implemented since annexing the Crimean region of Ukraine this past March.

                You’ll declare it’s quite a dare when you hear them lobbing bombs and lies into your midst…Putin on the Blitz!

How Many Putins Does It Take?

                Putins, Putins everywhere? According to a report by the Russian-language newspaper “Trust” (but verify?) a female Russian lawmaker has introduced to the State Duma a bill that proposes to extend the greatness of Russia via it’s female citizens having access to the sperm of Vladimir Putin.

                “The essence of my proposition is simple”, said the Chairwoman of  the Parlaimentary Commission on Women’s Affairs (!), Children and Family, Yelena Borisovna Mizoulina. “Each female citizen of Russia will be able to receive by mail the genetic material of the President, get pregnant from him and have a baby. These mothers will be receiving special allowances from the government.”

                Sounds like they already would have!

                Vladimir might be busy for awhile.

                Ms. Mizoulina went on to describe what would happen after President Putin’s babies were born, presuming that they will be male. “And after the birth of the child, he will have to be given to be raised into the special institutions that resemble Souvorov Schools with the aim that he will be loyal to the Motherland and personally to the President of the Russian Federation.” A Souvorov School is akin to a military boarding school. (How long after the births she didn’t say).

                 She continued, “children born from the Russian President in the future will form the military and political elite of the State.” Nothing chilling there! (And, assuming they don’t abort the girl babies, what happens when these throngs of Putin kids are of age to be married? Confusing? “Ivan, meet my father…”).

                The “Putin Youth” will literally be… Putin’s.

                A pregnant idea, to be sure, but there aren’t enough countries in the world for all these future Putins to annex!

                And we thought the U.S. congress had some crazy ideas.

                (They wouldn’t dream of putting forward a bill like this! They wouldn’t, would they? Ms. Pelosi?!? Why is President Obama smiling??!).

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*Mz. Mizoulina’s quotes and some other info were gleaned from an on-line piece from the New York Observer (Nov. 6^th, 2014). They believe they were the first to translate this ‘proposal’ into English. (It is not likely this proposal will pass).

*Any/all ‘emphases’ mine

          

Freedom? Cri-me-a River

                Russian President (for life?) Vladimir Putin has annexed Crimea, threatened and bullied Ukraine and is promising to build a bigger military presence in and around former Soviet “States”. He has done all this by insuring there was no internal debate about any of these moves. No downsides discussed, no pros and cons debated. It’s good to be king. This is what happens when you smash political opposition and suppress independent media. (Sounds like another current, powerful world leader’s wish list). The Federation Council voted 90-0 a couple of months ago to authorize deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine. Ninety to zero! Of course, this was after Russian troops were actually deployed to Ukraine. (The Supreme Soviet usually had one or two fake dissenting votes just so it might appear to the most naïve that there was debate or dissent going on in that august body). Public protests without government approval have been banned. Dissenting voices have been silenced, charges of defamation or treason thrown at them. Arrests and beatings have occurred. My God, it’s like they questioned Global Warming/Climate Change or something!

                These government crackdowns are taking place all over the world. Protesters for liberty are being harassed and threatened. Hong Kong is the latest of a long string of these. Whether it’s China, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Cuba, etc., people want freedom and independence. Where has the United States been? Sadly, our government has been more concerned with oppressing and stifling liberty and its supporters in this country than defending them in others. The IRS scandal, “tea-baggers” being mocked and vilified, the president actually calling out a particular major news outlet he abhors, center-right speakers continually being banned from speaking at (supposedly) open-minded, liberal, diversity-loving, tolerant educational institutes of higher learning. This is unprecedented and unbearably tragic.

                Putin just wants to accrue all power and money to himself. Sadly, he is almost certain to be “re-elected” in 2018, in part due to “constitutional” changes he engineered. Some in Russia like that he is making Russia strong again. Like most people- and governments- around the world, the only thing he respects is strength. Putin has portrayed himself as “a leader with no alternative.” Even those who hate him admit that there is no one else.

                That is sad and speaks of a defeated people. A people who certainly aren’t capable of bringing back democracy on their own.

                Yet, there is a potential alternative.

                If the people of the United States, themselves faced with a Presidential election in 2016, select as President a person who truly believes in liberty- as the Founders did-  and is committed to projecting that belief with strength and will- as President Reagan did- then there may be hope yet for all of us.

               

               

Russia: The Return of the Evil Empire

                The Russian foreign minister issued a blistering attack on the West and NATO on  Saturday, accusing them of being unable to change their Cold War “genetic code” and also stating that the United States must abandon its claims to “eternal uniqueness”.

                Who is the party delivering this verbal attack? Who is invading their neighbors? Who can’t shake their “Cold War” mentality? That would be Russia.

                Sergey Lapdog’s (Lavrov’s?) assault (perpetrated at the U.N. in New York City) was the more ridiculous given that the U.S. has already abandoned its claim to “eternal uniqueness” under “Dear Leader” Barrack Obama. Remember Obama’s comment to  Vlad the Impaler a few years ago when he thought he was “off mike”? “I’ll have more, uh, flexibility, after the elections…”. He really wanted to be Putin’s Pal. Yet now Putin trots out Sergey to foam at the mouth in front of the United Nations.

                The United States’ claim to uniqueness was based on the concept of Natural Law. And it was unique…and led to utterly unique results. Putin has to share his belief in Natural Lawlessness with North Korea, Iran and many others. No uniqueness there.

                And it appears Russia’s leadership certainly hasn’t abandoned its claims to “eternal Evil Empire” status.

Recent Headlines

                                      

*”Putin: ‘I could take Kiev in two weeks’”

*”A 2^nd U.S. hostage slain; new pressure on U.S. to act: Obama remains cautious about retaliating against Islamic State”

*”U.S. tries to take out a top Somali extremist: fate of al-Shabaab leader unknown”

*”Obama: ‘we don’t have a strategy for dealing with ISIS yet’” 

*”China ramps up aggression over internationally recognized borders, waters; challenges U.S.”

*”Illegal alien children pour across border, Obama vacationing at Martha’s Vineyard”

*”Foreign policy crises intrude on Obama vacations”

*”Obama struggles to find his role after Brown death”

*”Putin peace plan: status quo (we keep our recent gains, you withdraw)”

                And then, incredibly, this:                                                              

 

*”Obama to visit Estonia to reassure Baltic allies”  !!

I’m sure they  will feel warm, fuzzy and supremely  confident that they are completely protected by his bold and decisive assurances.

 

Russia Opens New Front In War On Honesty

                “There is no doubt that this is not a homegrown, indigenous uprising in eastern Ukraine. The separatists are backed, trained, armed, financed by Russia” President Obama correctly stated recently. Russia has initiated multiple incursions into eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, though the Russian government denies this.

                Even as Russian President Vladimir Putin  spoke of the need to “end the bloodshed as soon as possible” in a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko last week, Russian combat units were rolling into the Ukrainian  city  of Donetsk. Even the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations  said Russia has “outright lied” about its involvement- or supposed lack thereof- in the conflict.

                These statements are all well and good, but that is all they are. And, apparently, all we are willing to do. Putin obfuscates and bides his time, probes and tests and prods, lies and postures all the while gradually achieving his goal of a new Russian hegemon. And he smirks and mocks the U.S. and the West as he does so.

                And Obama goes golfing.

                (ISIS proclaims a new caliphate in the Middle East and beheads members of our media and others.

                And Obama goes golfing.

                China shadows our aircraft and attempts to push our military out of international waters she unlawfully claims as her own.

                Obama goes golfing. You get the point. Back to Russia).

                Putin has annexed the Crimea and has been fomenting violence in the Ukraine. He now talks of “statehood” for eastern Ukraine. This after recently claiming that this was not being considered, was an internet hoax, a Western fabrication, a ploy by the U.S. to get more involved, etc., etc.

                Do these little provocations, annexations, probes and lies remind you of anything? “We only want the German peoples to live under German rule. The Sudetenland is all we want. Really. Well, maybe part of Austria. And…”

                Russia has admitted that 10 of its paratroopers were captured in Ukraine, but said they “wandered into the country by mistake”! Nothing like crack paratroopers, with gps units and other navigational gear, accidentally wandering into a neighboring country you happen to be trying to annex.

                This past Thursday, two Russian columns of tanks and armored fighting vehicles entered the seaside Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk.

                Oh, and this was after rockets from the east landed in and around this area. My guess is these Russian rockets “accidentally wandered into the country by mistake”.

                There are at least 1,500-2,000 Russian troops fighting on Ukrainian soil now. The head of Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatist group explained the Russian soldier’s presence in the middle of what he says is a “civil war between Ukrainians” by saying they were “simply using their vacation days to join the fight”. Forget about fishing, relaxing on the beach, reading, resting, sightseeing- or golf.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of any better use of my limited vacation time than going to fight in a neighboring “civil war”.

                Maybe President Obama will summon the courage to go to the Ukraine and meet with President Poroshenko and offer him support. Hope they have a decent golf course.