Commentarii et Sententiae II

_I. Putin is not giving up on taking a large chunk of the Ukraine unless it becomes too painful for him to keep trying.  He knows the West is not jumping into a full-scale war with Russia.  Not because Russia is a military powerhouse, but because the Ukraine isn’t worth it.  Europe, China and India all need Russian oil and gas, and Putin knows it.  Eventually the Russia-Ukraine war will end.  Putin will get most of what he wanted and Zelensky will be replaced by someone more acceptable to those who wish to determine the future of Russia’s neighbors.

_II. On a recent trip to the nation’s capital, I spent the better part of a day in the Smithsonian National History Museum.  Conservatives have been complaining that the Smithsonian has gone too far in promoting revisionist history and “woke” ideology.  For that reason, I seriously considered not going.  But, at the last minute I decided to go and I’m glad I did.  Indeed, a lot of America’s dirty laundry was on display.  Some of it was prominently displayed and “hyped”.  Likewise, many of our finer moments did not get the attention they deserved in my opinion.  But overall, I didn’t think it was that bad.  Perhaps because I am a history buff, I was well aware of the good, the bad and the ugly of America.  But for the benefit of the young and easily influenced, I’d prefer to see a bit more flag waving and celebration of our successes.  Let’s just not swing too far in that direction and ignore the bad stuff.

_III. It would appear that New York City is well on the way to electing a real Socialist mayor.  Zohran Mamdami checks all the boxes.  Young, dynamic, personable, has a great smile and is unencumbered by white privilege. He’s also playing to an audience of people who are struggling to survive, much less get ahead; especially in a high cost-of-living location like New York City.  And he has broad appeal with young voters who have been sold “soft” socialism in one form or another since grade school. Mamdami and the New York mayoral race is just the tip of the socialist iceberg.  Millions of people in this country have given up on capitalism and think it’s time to reset and re-distribute wealth and resources in ways which they consider to be more equitable. “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money.” – Margaret Thatcher