This snippet of video depicts the beginning of that revolution. While there is a question of Paul Revere’s ride, there is no doubt that this was the start of something massive in scope.
We have a tradition of standing up to kings and dictators. Let us hope that this still remains so. Because America was not meant to be one vindictive little man’s, and his fascist enablers, plaything to tear asunder as they will.
As it is also Easter let me leave you with a lovely song by some very special people.
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Putin has pulled a 180 and now claims to be willing to hold bilateral peace talks with Ukraine and Ukraine's current administration.
Zelenskyy has called his bluff, and upped the ante, proposing (demanding?) that they begin with a cease-fire in place along current troop lines.
I think we can safely assume that Putin will not find that agreeable. But it does put the onus back on Russia to make a dramatic move towards peace.
Recent poll for Reuters found that only 53% of Republicans said Trump should not run for President a third time.
Give him another couple of years and he'll have them ready to nominate him all over again. He's workin' on it already.
Once the economy falls off the cliff he has been sweeping it toward I am thinking that 53% will actually be higher.
The destruction of a country tends to be noticed even by the most slavish supporters.
My guess is the Republican percentage will be lower, probably much lower, but there'll be fewer people willing to identify themselves as Republicans. He'll still have his hard core cultists, but a lot of folks will have peeled away from the movement (and many will want to deny they's ever part of it).
By the way…
Secretary of Defense Marco Rubio has cancelled his trip to London to take part in tomorrow's previously scheduled peace talks among the European powers, with the participation of Ukraine. Ukraine will still be there, but the United States will not. (Steve Witkoff, Trump's "Special Envoy" to Russia, will not be attending either.)
Ah, yes, like rats leaving a sinking ship, no one will one to admit it was really their fault we are in this mess.
I can't imagine that Rubio, or any American "official", would have been of help in that meeting.
It is time for Europe to take the lead. As we have no real leaders here.
"Ah, yes, like rats leaving a sinking ship."
I have quit talking Trump with my friends and neighbors. They'll need some time and empty space in which to settle on their revisionist stories 'bout how it is that they weren't ever Trumpkins in the first place. From now to 2028 is certainly not gonna be too much time for that transformation to settle in.
Meantime…
"It is time for Europe to take the lead."
I'm pretty sure that Putin's last minute offer of direct negotiations with Ukraine was an attempt to keep Trump from washing his hands of the Ukraine problem. Doesn't seem to have worked though (not yet). Putin has consistently thought of Trump as his own 'trump card' in that war, and he must have been dismayed no end to have Trump tossing in his hand just as the battlefield situation has tilted fairly decisively in Putin's favor. (If only temporarily.)
But, Trump's got too many irons in the fire just now; and all of 'em comin' to a heat near'bouts the same time. Good way to burn up his metal. (If you'll pardon the mixed metaphors.)
And he's now burdened by the need to maintain at least a semblence of order in his own government. This chaos thing ain't working out for him like it used to. He ain't in a position now to benefit from chaos on all fronts at once.
Getting shed of the Ukraine problem problem probably looks to him like an unburdening of some sort. Likely that'll come back to look different real soon--lotta presidents have been beaten up by foreign affairs. Trump's got no immunity to that, and no particular talent for dealin' with it. Throwin' it down and walkin' away ain't gonna be a workable solution.
The Russians are trying hard to keep Trump interested in selling out Ukraine. To-wit:
"Russia says it’s still open to an agreement to end its war in
Ukraine after launching a deadly bombardment of Kyiv that
earned rare criticism from President Donald Trump.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a TV interview that he
agreed with Trump’s recent assertion that a deal can be
reached if the parties of the conflict are willing.
"‛The president of the United States believes, and I think
rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,’ Lavrov
said in a portion of an interview with CBS’ ‛Face the Nation’
released Thursday. ‛The statement by the president mentions
a deal and we are ready to reach a deal.’"
Politico
Another Russian General bites the dust just outside Moscow. This time Russia is saying it was an IED in the car.
Maybe someone is sending a message to not just Putin, but Trump? They say timing is everything.
Trump and Zelenskyy sat on the sidelines and talked for about 15 minutes during the Pope's funeral ceremonies yesterday (not during the official funeral, obviously). Trump described the talks as "very productive". Zelenskyy described them as "very symbolic", and "potentially historic". BBC
However, Trump has recently written that Putin was "tapping me along". ("Stringing me along" in more common colloquial English.) And that he's entertaining doubts that Putin actually wants peace. TheHill
(It's also worth noting that Trump has recently begun to beat the drum about how the Russia/Ukraine war is "Obama's War" or "Biden's War", but most certainly not Trump's burden. That may indicate that he's preparing to wash his hands of the whole deal--(whether with or without simultaneously cutting off military aid to Ukraine is a matter of some serious importance, as yet unclear). Gotta keep in mind though that Trump is horribly mercurial and inconsistent. He could be Putin's best buddy again by nightfall.)
Kristi Noem was found to be carting 'round $3,000 in cash in her purse after lunch the other day. (Anybody here recognize bribe money when they see it?)
Her excuse was that she was entertaining out of town guests. Most people would use a credit card. In any case, is there anyone left to investigate her?
"Tapping me along"
Interesting phrase. It can have a slightly different meaning than "Stringing me along." One has more to do with gaining access to someone and the other has more to do with stretching out a time period.
A large power outage has hit Spain and Portugal. And what are shoppers rushing to stock up on?
Yup, toilet paper.
It seems Trump has denied Arkansas relief funds after the tornado outbreak in March. FEMA, another agency he has gutted in his efforts to save money for his billionaire friend's tax cuts. They got what they voted for.
Re: Ukraine: Putin's now asking more than Trump can conceivably deliver:
"Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s long-serving foreign minister, told
Brazilian newspaper O Globo that ‛international recognition’
of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, as well as
Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, regions which
the Kremlin partially occupied after its 2022 full-scale
invasion, would be an ‛imperative’ in any negotiations with
Ukraine."
Politico.EU
Doesn't look like Putin's much interested in making any concessions to keep up Trump's interest in dealing away Ukraine's territories. Further, Putin announced a three day cease-fire coming in May to allow Russia's celebration of victory over the Germans in WWII. Ukraine, predictably, countered with a call for a full cease-fire now, followed by negotiations with an eye towards an eventual peace treaty. How Putin could have missed that as Ukraine's predictable response beats the Hell outta me. But, it gives Zelenskyy a chance to offer Trump the peace deal that Trump wants, with Russia being the hold up to the deal.
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The national election results from Canada are in. The Liberals (vehemently opposed to Trump) won a national plurality, apparently just short of an outright majority. They have two smaller liberal parties from whom to pick a governing majority coalition.
The Conservatives (strongly opposed to Trump) are in the minority once again.
It is nice to see that at least our neighbor to the north is still sane. But it does make me even sadder that the US is rapidly throwing away everything that has been built over the last 250 years.
"WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State
Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that now is the time for
concrete proposals from Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in
Ukraine and warned that the U.S. will step back as a mediator
if there is no progress."
Yeah, well, don't let the doorknob hit you on your way out.
Actually, I'm ok with the doorknob hitting him on the way out.
I made the mistake of making sure I was home last night for my show I always watch at 7pm, "Will Trent". Much to my extreme dismay it was delayed an hour so they could broadcast an interview with Trump about his first 100 days. I listened to some of it. Oy, what a delusional moron. I finished reading a book, which was a far more productive use of my time.
I was curious to see what he did with the oval office. The man has no taste.
I'm not certain we can tell, at this early juncture, who got the better of the negotiations on mineral rights between Ukraine and the Trump administration. (The one thing I am certain of is that I'll be willing to renegotiate as soon as Trump's out of the way.)
I do know that Ukraine has been eager to get a deal signed on account of they think it'll discourage Putin to think the Evil 'Merkins have got their claws into the mineral riches Putin was himself hoping to acquire and will now be that much harder to dislodge.
I'm reasonably confident that the agreement will soon enough be picked apart by spin doctors from both sides of America's Great Trumpian Divide. I should be able to formulate a hopefully intelligent opinion on that "who got the better of…" question before too long.
I tend to agree with that renegotiate thing as well. Hopefully we are able to do that.
Meanwhile, the last of the ships carrying
pre-tariff goods have arrived in port. Any ships, they will be far less, that arrive hereafter would be shipped under the new tariff regime.
Estimates range from between 4 - 6 weeks or 5-7 weeks before shelves start to get bare. I suppose it depends how quickly people snap up merchandise.
I think I will stock up on a few things, but as it stands Christmas looks like a bust.
Yet a recent CNN poll still puts Trump over Harris by 45% - 43% as being better able to handle the economy. Stupidity is still on full display in America.
UPS has announced they are laying off 20,000 people. They anticipate less delivery work from Amazon as well as a restructuring to a more efficient business model. I suspect it is more the former.
Hmmm..the employment number came in stronger than expected for April.
Either the economic train wreck hadn't started really rolling in April or the numbers are funky. I will give the Dept of Labor the benefit of the doubt for now. But it is hard to trust anything that comes out of the Trump administration.
On a brighter note I read that China is open to negotiations.
But then, swinging back to the dark side, the rolling back of civil rights under the Trump regime continues on. We will be lucky if we can vote next year.
"Some analysts are saying it has tied Trump to the future of
Ukraine."
Don't think so. Since when has Trump considered himself bound by any agreement he's made?
"…countries 'that have acted adversely to Ukraine'…"
That's Trump trying to box China out of any reconstruction work. Of course, he won't be around to enforce that clause. And if the Ukrainians still resent Chinese support for Putin during the war, they won't need a clause in this agreement to help them remember that resentment.
The more I get a look at the actual provisions of the agreement the more I think it's much ado about nothing, circular language that takes up space on the page, but not much in there that might be applicable to the real world. Gets Trump friendly headlines on Trump friendly media--not much else. And, it gets Zelenskyy off the hook with Trump; all he's gotta do is pretend the agreement means something--he doesn't have to say what it means. (Probably better if he just lets Trump write the Trump friendly headlines anyway.)
________________________________
"On a brighter note I read that China is open to negotiations."
I don't believe that was ever in question. But Trump is insisting that they must first approach him, hat in hand, asking for relief, so that his dedicated Trumpkins can witness that spectacle.
For some reason Xi seems unwilling to do that.
It seems parts of the world are still looking to America for guidance. In this case Canada and Australia. Both have learned what not to do when electing leaders, although that term shouldn't be used for Trump. They have avoided electing the right of center and went more to the left. Hopefully both of their governments will hover around the middle.
Hard to believe Trump is trying to box China out of any foreign territory. His policies seem designed to destroy the US as a leader of anything.
Yes, and you are right about Trump not being bound by anything if it is inconvenient to him.
Both China and the US are making negotiating noises. Another thing Trump is good at is forgetting what he has said in the past and running with something else entirely if it is convenient.
His base won't care, he will always be perfect to them.
"His base won't care, he will always be perfect to them."
As long as he wins elections…. His star will fade if he starts losing elections.
On another subject: I note that Russia (Putin himself) has gone back to making threatening noises about using nukes in Ukraine. That probably means they're feeling threatened in the Kremlin.
It looks like the GOP strategy for winning in the mid-terms is to call out Trump's base to protect him from possibly being impeached for a third time by a Democratic majority in the House and Senate if they are flipped.
Trump has told Republicans that he will help anywhere they think he can do so.
I wonder how that will work if we are in the midst of a recession?
Apparently Putin didn't like that minerals deal.
They run a risk of Trump's base remembering that he's been impeached twice already and nothing came of it. The base may decide not to care if that happens again.
And then again, Trump's loss of "the base" is not their only risk.
'The base' isn't enough to gather in a congressional majority. They need to get the independent vote. Last election the independent vote didn't much care about the risk to the Republic that Trump and his Trumpkan Party represented. That didn't frighten them. But, he's screwing up the economy. They do care 'bout that.
You may have noted that Trump has submitted a proposed budget that cuts spending drastically. He will not campaign for it. He'll "support" certain aspects of the Trumpkan/Republican budgets drawn up in congress, but he doesn't want his own budget passed, and he doesn't want to get tied too closely to their budget. But he wants their budget passed. He wants them to take the hit on their popularity--not let that hit bleed over onto him.
But, of course, that limits the good he can do them in the mid-terms.
Trump has ordered the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security to reopen Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay. Politico
(Alcatraz is a long time tourist attraction owned and operated by the National Parks Service.)
The Kremlin is now taking the line that a vis-à-vis between Putin and Trump is "necessary". Reuters
Opening Alcataz just in time for a new orange occupant.
Putin was probably ticked by the optics of Trump and Zelenskyy at the Pope's funeral.
It seems there are actually some Republicans in the House who are balking, yes I kid you not, on the bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. One even went so far as to call it sophomoric. They vote to let Trump have his way on tariffs, but hesitate on renaming the Gulf?
I mean it's okay to tank the US economy but not rename a body of water? I feel like I've stepped into the twilight zone.
Not that I agree with renaming the Gulf, and no matter what the outcome I will still call it the Gulf of Mexico.
I'm only moderately surprised that Johnson has allowed that to come up for a vote in the full House.
________________________________
I read that some folks from Trump's cabinet are going to Switzerland to meet with some Chinese delegates to discuss trade and tariffs. We may reasonably conclude from the lack of bluster and gloating on the part of the Trump administration that the Trump administration was the supplicant gone seeking this meeting.
Interesting developments in Trump's relations with Russia.
Veep Vance said today that Russia is "asking for too much" to engage in peace talks.
Seems the Trump administration has given up on getting a 30-day cease fire out of Russia (they consider that unequivocally rejected by the Russians) and now Trump wants them to meet directly with the Ukrainians (while Putin wants to meet with Trump instead, but so far Trump doesn't seem interested in that). Politico
Would seem to be a bit of an impasse.
We have a new Pope, an American Pope. He sounds like the antithesis of Trump, actually caring about the poor.
He's apparently published some opinion pieces as a Cardinal, highly and directly critical of the policies of Trump, and specifically including JD Vance in the criticism. Reuters
Reuters ↑↑
If I were Zelenskyy I would make sure I had good security. But I am sure the Ukrainians have thought of that.
Yes, we'll see if Putin shows up. It sounds like Russia is still planning on attacks instead of a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, it looks like the Grifter in Chief is ready to accept a $400 million plane from Quarter to use as Air Force One. Imagine if Biden had done that?
Also, it sounds like Trump's sons have been making hay, er multiple business deals in the Middle East. Business deals that it is rather likely Trump is benefiting from financially. Now, imagine if Hunter Biden had done that?
I re-read Zelenskyy's statement. He promised to show up ready for a meeting. He didn't promise to negotiate any topics beyond pressing his demand for a cease-fire as a condition precedent for taking up any other topics. In short, he upped the ante again. Now Putin's gotta come up with actual demands to put before Zelenskyy, on the record this time.
In short, Zelenskyy upped the ante again.
And, there's the pending question of those "massive sanctions", as French President Macron called them, waiting in the wings should Putin not show up or not deal in good faith when he gets to the table. Trump was wrong; Zelenskyy does have some cards to play here. Putin's gotta keep those sanctions in mind.
There's a constitutional prohibition against a President taking valuable 'gifts' from foreign powers. Trump thinks he's found a way around it. I don't think he has. His Trumpkan/Republican Party won't allow an impeachment, even for open bribery such as this. But I don't think they'll let him keep the airplane after he leaves office, if he leaves office. In the meantime…
Let the bidding begin.
There is now some kind of trade "truce" between the US and China. The 147% tariffs are off, down to 30%. Exports to China are at 10%.
The stock market likes it. I guess we'll have to wait and see if Americans will pay 30% more for Chinese goods and still support Trump.
It's being viewed in Europe as "Trump caved". Politico.EU
Trump is apparently trying to figure out some way to photo-bomb any potential Zelenskyy/Putin meeting in Türkiye on Thursday. Politico
There is word that there are those in MAGA world that don't like the idea of the gift from Quatar.
Ahh it can be tough to be king.
I have always thought Zelelskyy was smarter than both Putin and Trump.
*sigh* I wish he was my president.
Ukraine/Russia meeting in Türkiye on Thursday:
1. Trump ain't going as things stand now; he's detailed Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to appear on his behalf. (Kellogg said that Trump would make an appearance if and after Putin shows up. Notably, Trump hasn't said that himself, so, who knows?)
2. But, Putin's looking more and more like a no-show.
3. Zelenskyy says he's not meeting with flunkies. If Putin doesn't show in person then Zelenskyy will not meet in person with Putin's flunkies.
"…there are those in MAGA world that don't like the idea of
the gift from Quatar."
Some things even Trumpkins can see.
________________________________
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is also scheduled to go see Putin and Zelenskyy tomorrow (not dependent on Putin showing up first).
An E.U. investigation has concluded that Russia is considerably more stressed, financially, than Putin has been admitting. They say time is not on Russia's side--rather Russia is courting financial collapse. Reuters
So they say…
There have been rumors about Russia poor financial state for some time now. No collapse yet.
Probably think Trump will bail them out.
Putin's finally said, he's not going to any peace talks. Sending a delegation instead. Trump backed out of the trip soon after.
Zelenskyy's still headed for Türkiye, but it's not clear whether he's sending anybody to meet with Putin's delegation. He's already said that he's not going if Putin ain't gonna show. Could be just the Russians meeting with Marco Rubio in Istanbul. (I'd bet though that Zelenskyy sends a representative to attend the talks between Rubio and the Russians--to be polite to Rubio, if for no other reason.)
Zelenskyy has declared Putin's "negotiating team" to be worthless decoration on a policy to evade a cease-fire.
Interestingly, Trump is trying to pretend that there's a continuing chance Putin will meet with him, sans Zelenskyy, and negotiate for a cease-fire. It would seem Trump is trying to pretend an influence with Putin that Trump simply does not have. It was Trump's call for a cease-fire that got Putin to demand face-to-face talks with Ukraine and without Trump. (Which Putin didn't attend anyway, after Zelenskyy called his bluff.)
I wasn't holding out much hope for those talks.
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