"The status quo sucks." Trump's enemies would rather prolong the Ukraine war than let Trump get credit for ending it.

 Someday, the Ukraine war will end, and the outcome is predictable. Russia will retain Crimea and much of the Donbas. Ukraine will not join NATO but will get security guarantees from the United States and many Western European countries. Russia will promise not to invade its Western neighbors again.

The war can end now on these terms, or the war can stretch on for several years. In the end, however, after the killing has stopped, Russia will hold Crimea and much of the Donbas.

President Trump moved the peace process forward by forcing Ukrainian President Zelensky to face reality. The U.S. is not going to prop up the Ukraine military forever. 

Trump also pressured the Europeans to take more responsibility for their defense and actively participate in peace negotiations. Indeed, the Europeans recently put forward their own peace proposal.

In the U.S., the slimy D.C. swamp dwellers are doing all they can to prevent Trump from getting a peace deal. As I wrote yesterday, President Zelensky met with Senator Chris Murphy only a few minutes before going to the Oval Office to sign a mineral rights agreement with President Trump.

I do not know what was said between Zelensky and Senator Murphy, but the upshot of that meeting was that Zelensky went to the Oval Office, spoke rudely to President Trump, and refused to sign the mineral rights deal.

President Trump's political enemies, led by Senators Murphy, Blumenthal, and Schumer, prefer the status quo in Ukraine to peace. But, as the comedian George Carlin once remarked, "The status quo sucks."

Most Americans support President Trump's efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. If his efforts fail, they will place the blame where it belongs--on the insidious Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

As for Zelensky, he needs to realize that he will be jeopardizing his own safety if the war drags on. Russia launched a new hypersonic missile into Ukraine a while back, a weapon that the Russians claim is nearly impervious to Ukraine's anti-missile defenses. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he might aim his new missile at "decision-making centers" in Ukraine. What do you suppose he meant by that remark?

Senator Chris Murphy plays the demagogue. Photo credit: The Irish Times

Why would anyone oppose Trump's efforts to end the Ukraine war?

We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.

Attributed to Benjamin Franklin 

President Trump is trying to end the Ukraine war, which has brought incalculable misery to both the Ukrainians and the Russians.

I say incalculable because the war's advocates are not telling the truth about military and civilian casualty rates. Nor have they acknowledged the enormous environmental harms caused by the war.

Trump's Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, rattled Ukrainian President Vladimir  Zelensky by observing that Ukraine will probably need to cede some territory to get a peace deal. However, Hegseth was only stating the obvious. 

No credible authority believes Russia will consent to relinquish Crimea. Nor will Vladimir Putin give up the predominately Russian-speaking districts of the Donbas--where fighting has gone on for ten years.

Hegseth also made waves when he said that talking about NATO membership for Ukraine is unrealistic. Again, Hegseth was only stating the obvious. It would be insane to make Ukraine a NATO member now. Indeed, no NATO country is strongly pushing for immediate Ukraine membership. 

Every American should be grateful for Trump's energetic efforts to bring the stupid Ukraine war to a speedy conclusion. Yet, Democratic politicians are spewing vicious vitriol at the President while having no plan of their own to end this disastrous conflict.

Senator Richard Blumenthal's criticisms were particularly odious. He objected to Trump's characterization of Zelensky as a dictator who was doing a "terrible job" of running the war.

"What world is he living in?" Blumenthal asked. 

[Trump's remarks were] not only contrary to the facts and the truth but utterly despicable, a disgusting betrayal of a country that has bled and fought and died for freedom. The president's surrender is pathetic and weak.

Perhaps it was therapeutic for Senator Blumenthal to insult the President, and I'm sure his hissy fit played well with progressive Democrats in New Haven. Nevertheless, what's the Connecticut Senator's plan for ending the slaughter in Ukraine?

Does Blumenthal want the U.S. to follow President Biden's strategy, which was to ship money and weapons to Zelensky in perpetuity?

Will Zelensky's corrupt and venal regime prevail if we keep sending cluster bombs, uranium-enriched artillery shells, antipersonnel mines, Abrams tanks, and F-16s to Ukraine? Or will we eventually stumble into a nuclear war?

I favor putting the Democratic Party's deranged attacks against President Trump aside for a while and supporting his efforts to stop the Ukraine war. There will be plenty of time to slander him as a Nazi after the killing stops.

Senator Blumenthal and cronies

Is Senator Bernie Sanders auditioning for the lead role in the Bad Grandpa sequel?

Winter in southwest Mississippi is a lovely time. Even in February, the woods are dotted with green trees: magnolias, cedar, and pine.  Now that duck season is over, and the shotgun blasts have died away, Lake Mary, where I live, is especially placid. 

Unfortunately, I was anxious about President Trump's cabinet nominations, and I watched TV instead of contemplating the tranquil beauty of rural Mississippi. Would Trump's cabinet picks get through the Senate confirmation process and be confirmed, or would they be shot down like ducks in flight, destroyed by mean-spirited  Democratic senators delivering nasty questions like shotgun blasts?

Identifying the most boorish senator in last week's senate hearings would be difficult. Still, my vote goes to Bernie Sanders, Vermont's geriatric Jeremiah, who shouted at Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Sanders seemed to be interviewing for the lead role in the sequel to Bad Grandpa. When Kennedy accused Sanders of taking money from the pharmaceutical industry, Bernie went nuts. Why? Because Sanders indeed took money from Big Pharma--$1.4 million in 2019-2020. 

Sanders was not the only Democratic senator who behaved clownishly. It seemed that all the Democratic senators were acting out comedic roles. 

As I recently wrote, Senator Warren reminded me of Emily Litella, the scatterbrained citizen protester played by Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. Did Warren realize how ridiculous she looked as she screeched and shook her fists at the cabinet nominees?

Warren stridently accused Kennedy of profiting from vaccine lawsuits, yet like other Democratic senators, she took money from the pharmaceutical industry ($822,000 in 2019-2020).

Perhaps the least intelligent senator on Capitol Hill, Senator Mazie Hirono, reminded me of Roseanne Rosannadanna, one of Gilda Radner's SNL characters, who often began her commentaries by saying, "It's always something." During Kelly Loeffler's confirmation hearing, Hirono gratuitously asked Loeffler if she had ever been accused of making unwanted sexual advances. Such trashy behavior!

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who looks uncannily like Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, behaved like a bully at Kash Patel's confirmation hearing. Blumenthal concluded a partisan sermon by demanding Kash Patel answer a "yes or no" question. Patel answered the question honestly and forthrightly, but Blumenthal maliciously chose to misinterpret Patel's response.

In my mind, last week's senate confirmation hearings came across as one long episode of Saturday Night Live; the Blue State Democrats appeared to be reciting their lines for laughs.

As I watched these disgraceful proceedings, I asked myself this question. If the Democrats behave so churlishly when out of power, how would they behave if Kamala Harris had been elected president?

Is Bernie Sanders auditioning for the title role of Bad Grandpa?