🇺🇸 Tank You

Plus, dog-walkers are making how much in New York City?

January 27, 2023

The Flag

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Good morning, and happy Friday! Steven Kreitzer’s 5-year-old daughter, Iva, has respect for the US flag from watching her family lead by example. Here’s what happened next.  

Plus, dog-walkers are making how much in New York City??

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FLAG POLLS

🐎 Wednesday, January 25: 2024 New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary: Buttigieg 23, Biden 18, Warren 18, Sanders 15, Ocasio-Cortez 6, Klobuchar 5, Harris 2, Newsom 1, Warnock 1 (UNH)

📉 Wednesday, January 25: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 46, Disapprove 54 (CNN)

📉 Wednesday, January 25: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 41, Disapprove 54 (Gallup)

📉 Thursday, January 26: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

TRENDING

Right: Tech Firms Slash DEI Departments to the Bones Kay Smythe, Daily Caller

Left: The Democrats' Political Gift to Ron DeSantis Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker

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QUICK CLICKS

Schiff for Senate, DeSantis Backs Dhillon, Hackers Hacked

US: Democrat Adam Schiff announces bid for Feinstein’s US Senate seat in California (CNN)

US: Tyre Nichols: five ex-police officers face murder charges over motorist’s death (The Guardian)

US: DeSantis gets into RNC race, backing Dhillon (The Hill)

US: Biden judicial nominee Charnelle Bjelkengren stumped by basic Constitution questions (NY Post)

World: Ukrainians shelter in metro station as Russian missiles target Kyiv (NBC News)

Business: US says it 'hacked the hackers' to bring down ransomware gang, helping 300 victims (Reuters)

World: North Korea is under lockdown to fight the spread of a respiratory disease (NPR)

Business: Southwest Airlines lost $800 million due to holiday travel meltdown (Yahoo Finance)

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Tank You

On Wednesday, the White House announced the US will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in order to aid its war with Russia. Meanwhile, Germany is also agreeing to send tanks.

From The Flag: With the war’s one-year anniversary approaching next month, the US continues to send funding and material support to Kyiv in support of the nation’s military. Some in the US argue this is needed to defend democracy in the West, while others say we’re spending too much money on a foreign war. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The West Has Stepped up in Defense of Democracy at a Desperate Time

  • These tanks are not purely defensive weapons, and this move suggests the West doesn’t truly fear Russia’s military.

  • This is a major milestone in Ukraine’s fight to maintain its independence, with the West pushing for the nation’s victory.

  • In response to Germany sending tanks, people loyal to Vladimir Putin have accused the country of once again embracing Nazism.

“Why sending Ukraine tanks represents a fierce new step by the West” Nick Walsh, CNN: “It is a momentous decision, partly because these – unlike the air defense systems, or the anti-tank missiles – are not defensive weapons. Like the artillery and rocket systems that preceded them, they are intended to hit Russia’s troops hard in a ground offensive. But unlike those systems, they are unequivocally about Ukraine retaking territory. This is new, and fierce, and it portrays a NATO unafraid. … Washington’s willingness to take this task on speaks volumes about its commitment to the war and how it views Ukraine’s prospects for a wider victory. … First, these nations are not concerned about breaching Russian ‘red lines.’ The long-held belief is crumbling that some elements of NATO assistance to Ukraine could risk provoking a nuclear power too far. Second, these NATO members are less concerned about being attacked by Russia itself in the imminent future.”

“Sending tanks to Ukraine makes one thing clear: this is now a western war against Russia” Martin Kettle, The Guardian Opinion: “Sending more western tanks to support Ukraine does not mean, as some politicians occasionally come dangerously close to implying, that the war is now almost over – save only for the fighting. The Ukraine war will still last months, if not years… this is now, more clearly than before, a western war against Russia over the independence of Ukraine. … There is no doubt now that western attitudes have hardened and Ukraine’s allies agree a pivotal moment in the war is being reached. The commitment of tanks confirms that the pivot is now towards a push for Ukrainian victory. But the uncertainty about numbers and logistics in the tank deployment is not simply down to the need for secrecy. It also reflects continuing political ambivalences.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Putin Lackeys Lose Their Minds Over Ukraine Getting Battle Tanks Allison Quinn, The Daily Beast

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Overcoming NATO Discord, the US and Germany Play Catch-Up

  • This is the culmination of sharp disagreement amongst NATO allies, although it will take some time until these tanks are delivered.

  • While the White House is crowing about how the US has helped Ukraine, the UK has been more of a leader on the subject.

  • America’s defense industry continues to be unrivaled across the world – which has been true since WW2.

“Tanks for Ukraine Break Through German Lines” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “The belated decision overcomes what was a growing fissure in the NATO coalition aiding Ukraine. Poland applied for export permission while threatening to send some of its Leopard tanks without Berlin’s approval. The UK had already announced it is sending 14 Challenger tanks, and other European countries are eager to do the same. Germany risked becoming a pacifist European outlier. … But the US announcement is less helpful than meets the headline because the tanks won’t be (immediately available). Instead they’ll be delivered through the military procurement process, which will take months or longer. This delay is hard to understand given that the Marines are decommissioning their Abrams tanks as they adapt to becoming a more mobile, dispersed force. Why not send those? At least the (German) Leopards can be deployed sooner, which will help Ukraine this spring.”

“100 tanks will go a long way for Ukraine, figuratively and literally” Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner Opinion: “Correcting weeks of hesitating delay and deceptive excuses, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States would provide 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. He noted that this would allow Ukraine to form a new armored battalion. … Contrary to US claims, however, that Washington is leading the push for Ukraine to conduct such an offensive, the UK has been the primary voice for Ukrainian counteroffensives. Evinced by the hesitation that has defined the US provision of weapons to Ukraine and the countermanding example of UK special forces activities, the US has traditionally adopted a more risk-averse stance in Ukraine. These tanks may signify greater boldness on Biden's part. Alternatively or additionally, the tanks will allow Ukraine to conduct more limited offensives centered on lightning runs behind Russian lines.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Fuss over Ukraine tanks shows the world has no substitute for America’s defense industry Dalibor Rohac, NY Post Opinion

FLAG THIS

Mixed Opinions on Both Sides of the Pond

Opinion polls from two weeks ago showed "a clear majority of Germans opposed to sending battle tanks to Ukraine,” Oltermann & Connolly write for The Guardian.

Meanwhile, “surveys published this week, before Wednesday’s announcement, indicated a shift, with 44% of those surveyed by the broadcaster RTL in favor of sending Leopards to Kyiv and 45% opposed.”

Stateside, 54% of Americans support sending weapons to Ukraine, down from 59% last spring, according to new polling from global research firm Ipsos.

Do you support or oppose the decision to send tanks to Ukraine?

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WATERCOOLER

Auschwitz is Liberated, Robbing the US Metric System, New Ice Cream Truck Jingle

May/June 1944, with the gate in the background. "Selection" of Hungarian Jews for work or the gas chamber.

On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration camps—and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.

Today I Learned the ice cream truck jingle most Americans grew up with was used in minstrel shows, so RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan) created a new, publicly-available ice cream jingle.

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