Lisa Benson for February 22, 2022

Ukraine would not be on the brink of invasion were it not for Paul Manafort and Donald Trump

Manafort is the key player in the whole Donnie-Russia connection. Manafort reneged on his plea agreement with the Mueller investigation, so we never found out the whole story of what he, Kilimnick and other were up to in the 2016 campaign. But we do know Kilimnick was affiliated with Russian intelligence agencies.

We know Pence was Manafort’s pick for VP. We know Manafort passed detailed polling information to Kilimnick, who presumably passed it on to Russian intelligence. We know Manafort owed Oleg Deripaska about 18 million dollars, and we know Deripaska is one of the oligarchs/mobsters close to Putin.

Donnie, of course, deferred to Putin (he owes him millions if not billions) and basically gave him a pass on seizing Crimea, and hinted that he wouldn’t be all that upset if Putin took all of Ukraine. And we know Donnie was extorting the Ukrainians for his own election purposes.

RT is obviously a Russian propaganda outlet, but Newsmax, OAN, FOX and Tucker Carlson are also media outlets Putin can count on to relay his message.

Putin senses weakness, and you don’t get any weaker than Dementia Joe.

Doesn’t Lisa know her GOP pals think a Russian invasion is just fine??

It’s all Joe and Hunters fault.

I’m shocked, doesn’t Lisa listen to Tucker Carlson and the gang who are all rooting for Putin?

There was a time where the Republicans were all about the Red Scare, now they are all supporters of the Red Square.

Lisa, I hope this invasion does not interfere with your idolization of Putin.

Like all TRump Disciples.

Yeah right and,to quote the song, God didn’t make little green apples either.

Lisa, its impressive that you took such a clear stand against the RWNJ orthodxy. I suspect its costing you likes and comments. At least on GoComics. For all I know its going just great on TruthSocial.

In the details- I utterly believe you think people still have a rotary phone on their nightstand.

Lisa, do not listen to the vultures, who are coming and pouring out their hates here. You do a great job. Keep them coming!

Remember, for eight years the Obama-Biden administration fought the development of U.S. oil and gas reserves at every turn. It fought the development of the American pipeline system and American energy-exportation facilities. And now, under Joe Biden, the U.S. government has failed to do all it can to kill the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will directly bankroll Russia. Finally, it has frittered away credibility, time, and money with a symbolic release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a laughable attempt to reduce the price at the pump by a few (temporary) cents at a moment when there was a geopolitical and energy crisis afoot.

Unfortunately for the United States and our European allies, the time to fix this problem was ten years ago. “Fixing” Europe’s dependence on a rogue regime’s energy resources isn’t like flipping the light switch off. It will take years of effort and billions of dollars in investment (on top of years of higher-than-necessary energy prices in the meantime) — if, that is, the problem gets fixed at all. There’s a lot of blame to go around in green- and soft-power obsessed Berlin and Washington for all this.-National Review

Responding to President Biden’s speech announcing the first tranche of U.S. sanctions responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Senator Ben Sasse said, “Today’s sanctions are too little too late.”“First, these sanctions should have happened before Putin further invaded Ukraine — not after. Second, economic sanctions now need to more aggressively target Putin’s oligarchs to make sure they feel real pain. Third, we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that today’s incremental sanctions will deter Putin from trying to install a puppet government in Kyiv,” said Sasse.- National Review

January 21: “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after talks with Russia’s foreign minister on Friday that Moscow would face a “swift, severe and a united response” if it invades Ukraine.February 12, from the White House readout of a call between President Biden and Putin: “President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia.”February 19, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at the Munich Security Conference: “We have prepared, together, economic measures that will be swift, severe, and united.”Got that? Swift and severe! Swift and severe!And then today, the White House unveiled the “first tranche” of sanctions, targeting two major Russian state-owned financial institutions, imposing additional restrictions on Russian sovereign debt, and sanctioning five Kremlin-connected elites. Obviously, the Biden administration can take additional steps and indicated it will do so in the coming days.But after months of promising “swift and severe costs,” the administration isn’t yet taking any actions against Russia’s largest banks. Today’s move targets the Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs Vnesheconombank and Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company. But today’s decision leaves most of the largest Russian banks untouched, at least for now.So far, there’s no talk of sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports to the United States, nor barring imports of Russian platinum, iron, steel, fertilizers, etc.Nor is the U.S. barring Russian access to SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.No talk of banning Aeroflot airlines from U.S. airports. We haven’t even done the usual move of expelling the Russian embassy staffers that we know are spies.The promised “swift and severe sanctions” look an awful lot like “gradual and moderate sanctions.”- National Review

Kamala Harris flubs on world stage, undercuts intel by claiming sanctions would deter Putin“We believe that Putin has made his decision. Period,” Harris said.A reporter then asked if the sanctions will offer deterrence if Putin has already made up his mind.

“Absolut- — we strongly believe — and remember also that the sanctions are a product not only of our perspective as the United States but a shared perspective among our Allies,” Harris said, according to the White House transcript. “And the Allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one, especially because — remember, also — we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment.”

“We believe that Putin has made his decision. Period,” she later clearly told reporters.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the security conference asked for the United States and allied nations to impose sanctions on Russisa before an invasion occurs.

“You’re telling me that it’s 100% that the war will start in a couple of days. Then what [are you] waiting for?” Zelensky said.-Just the News

Mika Brzezinski: Biden Ukraine Strategy ‘Inadequate,’ ‘Isn’t Strong Enough’[I] just want to ask you, would you describe the Biden strategy so far as passive deterrence, with the centerpiece of economic sanctions really as the focal point? And has that run its course at this point? Is it inadequate to not respond to what McFaul and Cheney call an invasion?” Brzezinski asked Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass.

“There’s a lot of pretty wise minds in the foreign policy field who are concerned that our response isn’t strong enough, and right now that the sanctions that are moving forward really don’t punish the people who are carrying out the wrongdoing right now,” she later added. “Here’s the bottom line … Russia is inside Ukraine. Their troops are inside Ukraine. I mean, we can parse words, but isn’t the fact that the troops being inside this separatist region, making the possibility for that full-scale invasion that seems inevitable to be even more brutal?”- Breitbart – They are quoting Mika, not casting an opinion, so spare me the OH BREITBART whine.

“Russia has become very very rich during the Biden Administration, with oil prices doubling and soon to be tripling and quadrupling. The weak sanctions are insignificant relative to taking over a country and a massive piece of strategically located land,” Trump said in a statement.“Now it has begun, oil prices are going higher and higher, and Putin is not only getting what he always wanted, but getting, because of the oil and gas surge, richer and richer,” Trump continued about the high prices Americans are paying at the pump.According to AAA, the national average price per gallon on Tuesday was $3.531, up nearly a whole dollar from last year. Trump blamed the high gas prices not just on Biden’s mismanagement of foreign policy, but on Biden’s war on American energy independence.“The U.S. was energy independent under the Trump Administration, an independence that we had never obtained before, and oil prices would have remained low,” Trump said. “Now, what a mess our Country is in!”Democrats blocked Republicans from implementing sanctions last week over fears implementation would reduce the U.S.’s leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yet, sanctions are just one measure among many that can be utilized against Russia. Historically, Russia has been successful at evading sanctions imposed by the West.Polling shows just 36 percent approve of how Biden has handled Russian aggression.- Breitbart – they didn’t make up the polls, along with your whine, please include what is fake about this post.

ANALYSIS: Is Putin’s End Game To Make Biden Look Stupid? – A five year old can make Joek look stupid

Russian President Vladimir Putin has played a months-long game of cat-and-mouse with President Joe Biden, and so far, Putin appears to be coming out on top.“Putin has a chance to blame the hysterical West and announce he got what he wanted without taking on new sanctions. And maybe it unnerved him that the Americans released the intelligence on him. Or he didn’t care. But it’s impossible to say right now that the crisis has ended,” the official added.

Putin may have done just that with his move to officially recognize two separatist groups in eastern Ukraine as independent states. Putin then ordered “peacekeeper” troops in the separatist-controlled territories Monday evening.

Former CIA Director John McLaughlin says the move was orchestrated to challenge whether the U.S. and NATO truly have a united definition of what constitutes an “invasion” of Ukraine.-Daily Caller

At this very moment, Russian troops have moved past the border and are giving and receiving fire.

Of course “there is no invasion”. Not.

Dotbup – Was this while Crooked Hill was spying on the White House?

Dotbud wins stupidity contest!