In the oldest Westerns, the good guys wore white hats while the bad guys were clad in black. That made it easy to know for whom to cheer. Luckily, we don’t need hat colors to tell us who are the good guys vs. bad guys in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is a ruthless killer who will do anything necessary to retain power. He invaded Ukraine to expand Russia’s geographic footprint. He won’t stop there. Putin jailed his major opponent, Alexei Navalny. Then he shipped him to Siberia and, on February 16, 2024, prison officials announced his death. Navalny’s body still has not been returned to his family. He was 47.
Col. Gen. Valery Boyarinev
On Feb. 19, an independent Russian news site reported that Putin had promoted the Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Valery Boyarinev, to the special rank of Colonel General. The announcement was posted on the Kremlin’s official internet portal just three days after the death of Alexei Navalny.
The Russian election is March 15-17. The fix is in for Putin.
Former Sen. Bob Corker chaired the Senate Foreign Relations committee. I heard him speak when he said, roughly, don’t worry about Russia. “Its gross domestic product is less than Italy’s.” That is true.
But Bob, Italy is not pointing nuclear weapons at us, running around the world killing dissidents and invading its neighbors.
On Feb. 17, at the Munich Security Conference, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark will donate all its artillery to Ukraine. All give some; some give all. Thanks, Denmark!
The U.S. Senate on Feb. 13, 2024, approved $95.3 billion in assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The vote was both bipartisan and convincing – 70-29. The House needs to pull itself together and pass this bill.
Hat tip to Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, Feb. 17, 2024, who provided quotes and context for this essay.
Breaking …
- Gloria Johnson is now running for both the U.S. Senate and the Tennessee House (her present position). If she should win both seats come November, she would resign from one, leading to an appointment and another election. We can’t confirm the rumor that Johnson will also announce her candidacy for Prom Queen of Johnson Bible College.
- Meanwhile, Rep. Dave Wright and Sen. Richard Briggs have introduced legislation to prevent someone from being on a ballot for more than one office. Both deny it’s about Gloria Johnson. Maybe it’s about Marsha Blackburn. What if Trump picks Marsha for VP? Then she drops out of the Senate race?
- So much to ask the sheriff, so little time. For instance, how’s the investigation into the alleged “swatting” at Tim Burchett’s house going?
- Jimmy Matlock is not running against Burchett in the August Primary, by the way. The Loudon County resident sure acts like a candidate, attending meetings of the PBPA in Powell and buying an ad with his name and picture in Knoxville’s daily newspaper for multiple years. What is Jimmy running for? And if not now, when?
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today Inc.