🇺🇸 A Year in Ukraine

Plus, a $63K iPhone.

February 24, 2023

The Flag

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FLAG POLLS

📉 Thursday, February 23, President Biden Job Approval: Approval 47, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Thursday, February 23, General Election: Haley vs. Biden: Biden 41, Haley 45 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Wednesday, February 22, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 46, Disapprove 52 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Tuesday, February 21: 2024 Kansas Republican Presidential Primary: Trump 30, DeSantis 17, Pence 9, Haley 9, Pompeo 9, Scott 2 (Remington Research)

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QUICK CLICKS

Masks Under Review, Murdaugh Lied, Russian Bad Blood Goes Public

US: NTSB investigation into Ohio train derailment points to overheated wheel bearing (NBC News) + Ohio mom rips Biden over rail disaster: 'They think we're dumb hicks' (NY Post)

COVID: The new scientific review on masks and Covid isn’t what you think (Vox)

US: Alex Murdaugh admits he lied to investigators and denies killing wife and son (Fox News)

US: Trump Legal Team Assails Georgia Inquiry (DNYUZ)

US: Russian warlord's feud with Putin's generals explodes into the open with gruesome PR campaign (CNN)

Weather: Rare weather conditions fuel California snowstorms (LA Times)

Hollywood: Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty in ‘Rust’ shooting, can’t drink alcohol or own gun (KTLA)

WAR

A Year in Ukraine

It’s been one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating a conflict that also saw Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. While the early belief was that Russia’s military would overpower Ukraine’s, the fight continues – largely thanks to weaponry and funding provided by the West, as well as the resolve of those in battle.

From the Flag: Experts are divided as to what comes next. Both sides may be running low on resources like missiles, while also running short on available troops. Some predict the war could continue years into the future, with both sides so dug in that a truce seems impossible. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Putin Is the Wild Card: His Motivations Aren’t Well Understood in the West

  • There’s disagreement as to what Russian President Vladimir Putin would do if he were to achieve his goals in Ukraine – would he invade Poland?

  • Minus a total defeat, Putin will be able to claim victory and continue to menace the Ukrainian people.

  • Biden claims the US will provide unwavering support. But what does that mean for taxpayers? And what is the end game for this war?

“Our Ukraine Strategy Will Not Work” Koffler & Kilmeade, Fox News: “KOFFLER: ‘China is providing drones to Russia that Russia has been using to try to target Ukraine. … So, here's the biggest threat. If Russia and China challenge us in a two-theater war, we are going to have a really hard time prevailing.’ KILMEADE: ‘If we just said okay, take Ukraine. Zelenskyy (go) vacation in the Caribbean… how soon do you think China would have taken Taiwan already?’ KOFFLER: ‘China would have taken it very quickly.’ KILMEADE: ‘Exactly… You have to talk in the real world. … So we either back Ukraine to fight or just give Eastern Europe back to Russia.’ KOFFLER: ‘Putin is not suicidal. … He would agree to keeping the 20% of Ukrainians' territory… which is pretty much… Ukraine's industrial base… If we were to ever recognize it, which we won't.’”

“Ukraine Needs More Weapons and Support From the West” Boris Johnson & Lindsey Graham, Wall Street Journal Opinion: “The seemingly unstoppable force of the Russian military is breaking on the immovable object of Ukrainian resistance. We—elected representatives of the US and the UK—remain lost in admiration for Ukrainian heroism and leadership. Yet it remains possible for Mr. Putin to achieve something he can call victory. By hanging onto some pieces of land he has conquered, he shows the world that borders can be changed by force. All Mr. Putin needs to do to claim victory is continue the cynical policy he has followed since his first invasion of 2014—to use his foothold in Ukraine to destabilize the whole country. Unless Russian troops are purged from Ukrainian territory Mr. Putin will bide his time, waiting to attack again. He will continue to menace the Georgians, Moldovans, Balts and everyone living in the periphery of the old Soviet empire.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Biden's Ukraine Policy Is Yet Another Failure Paul du Quenoy, Newsweek

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

As the War Grinds On, the West Must Remain Steadfast in Its Support

  • Ukraine has shown astounding courage in the face of brutal war, but the cost associated with the fight is tremendous.

  • The US must not waver in its support of Ukraine, or Putin will believe he can win, rendering a peace agreement impossible.

  • Biden sent an unmistakable message this week: the US won’t abandon Ukraine’s cause, and Russia’s war is failing.

“One year on, no end yet in sight” Editorial Board, The Guardian: “The Russian president assumed it would be over in days… He was hardly alone. The courage and resolve of Ukrainians, and the rush of support from the west and its allies, were remarkable. Each day that Ukraine fended off defeat counted as a victory. Yet the parameters have shifted. In a war of attrition, time is usually on the aggressor’s side. Millions have been forced to flee their country. More than 7,000 civilians have died, hundreds of them children, and the US estimates that there have been well over 100,000 Ukrainian military casualties. The economy and critical infrastructure are devastated and key resources lie under Russian control. Each Russian war crime has reinforced the Ukrainian understanding that this is an existential struggle, and the fear that a negotiated settlement at this stage would simply be an opportunity for Mr Putin to restock and prepare for a renewed assault.”

“Putin Began His Unjust War One Year Ago. Here’s What Ukraine Needs Now.” Editorial Board, New York Times: “... Ukraine cannot prevail without continued and substantial Western assistance. Since the invasion, that has swelled to over $150 billion in American and European spending… The United States and its major allies have been steadfast in their resolve to support Ukraine in its fight, and their people have largely accepted the enormous cost. … (But as) Representative Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, a Republican and a strong supporter of Ukraine, has warned, ‘There should be no blank check on anything.’ He’s right. … Only diplomacy can achieve anything resembling a viable peace settlement. … But serious diplomacy has a chance only if Russia accepts that it cannot bring Ukraine to its knees. And for that to happen, the United States and its allies cannot waver in their support.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Biden's Message to Putin: The West Won't Blink Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe

FLAG THIS

Who Will Win? Americans Say It’s a Toss Up

A new poll shows Americans are almost evenly split when asked who will win the war, with 27% convinced Ukraine will emerge victorious, compared with 26% who say Russia will eventually win.

That’s a shift from recent months, in which respondents were more convinced of Ukraine’s eventual victory. In September 2022, 32% expected Kyiv would be the victor, compared to 22% who said Moscow.

A plurality feel neither Russia nor Ukraine are winning at 32%, while 34% aren’t sure who will win. 13% figure each side has an equal chance at victory (Economist-YouGov).

On the one-year anniversary, who will eventually be this conflict’s winner?

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Johnson Impeached, Too Old to Eat, A Star's Weight

Copy of the House resolution to impeach President Johnson

February 24, 1868: The US House of Representatives voted 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson. The House vote made President Johnson the first president to be impeached in US history.

Today I Learned if we brought a tablespoonful of a neutron star back to Earth, it would weigh 1 billion tons, or the equivalent of Mt. Everest.

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