A terrorist state.

March 4, 2022

[Audio version here]

          After a week of war, I want to take a moment to address our collective fears and anxieties as we watch the rapidly deteriorating situation in Ukraine. In doing so, I recognize that what matters most is the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Our feelings are secondary, but they matter. We cannot allow our understandable fears to immobilize or dishearten us. Nor should we allow them to drive us to outlandish opinions born of anger or animosity. As never before, we must summon the determination and discipline to support and elect leaders who have the maturity, judgment, and strength to lead America through a perilous time. However, whatever challenges we face in overcoming a divided political landscape, they pale in comparison to the daily suffering of millions of Ukrainians.

          The horrendous situation in Ukraine will become unimaginably worse and may drag on for years. Republicans and the right-wing media will unleash a disinformation campaign to convert a humanitarian crisis into cynical partisan advantage. It will be difficult to endure the hypocrisy and deluded smugness of people who can’t find Ukraine on a map and who have no interest in rectifying that gap in their knowledge. But disinformation and ignorance are not bullets. Lies are not cluster bombs. Hypocrisy is not a thermobaric weapon. If Ukrainians can continue their courageous struggle in the face of real bullets and bombs, surely we can find the fortitude to overcome disinformation, lies, and hypocrisy.

          In the months to come, we will witness crimes against humanity on a monstrous scale. As I write on Thursday evening, Russian troops have attacked the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. In response, President Zelenskyy rightly called Russia “a terrorist state.” Thankfully, it appears that the nuclear reactor is secure (for now). But that fact should not obscure the depravity of Putin’s plan: to destroy the sources of electricity in Ukraine so that he can freeze millions of Ukrainians into submission in the midst of winter.

          Having failed to seize Ukraine in two days as planned, Putin has turned his fury on unarmed civilians—men, women, and children alike. The urge to impose “no fly zones” and insert “boots on the ground” in Ukraine is understandable. But because direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia means nuclear war, we must watch in horror and helplessness as we limit our responses to economic sanctions. When tragedy comes to pass, it will not be a product of American (or Democratic) timidity but a feature of the nuclear standoff that has existed for seventy-five years. Don’t blame Joe Biden for the shape of the world—and don’t allow others to blame him either. For the good of humanity and the future of the earth, we must support Biden as he steers America away from nuclear confrontation despite the overwhelming urge to stop Putin through military confrontation.

          If Putin succeeds in plunging Ukraine into darkness and freezing cold, he may kill millions of Ukrainians through exposure and starvation. A million Ukrainians have fled their homeland in the first week of the war. The number of refugees will swell to many millions more, perhaps causing the largest refugee crisis since WWII. Countries of the world can welcome refugees into their borders, but they cannot repair their broken lives and dreams. They cannot resurrect the millions of victims of mass starvation.

          Biden must ignore partisan demagoguery as he remains steadfast in protecting America. Joe Manchin and Lisa Murkowski could not summon the courage to protect the right of Americans to vote, but they are proposing a blockade on Russian oil despite the fact that Biden does not believe a blockade is appropriate at this time. We should give the President the latitude to use sanctions strategically. If Congress ties Biden’s hands by forcing sanctions prematurely, Biden may have nothing left in the quiver when needed most.

          While reasonable minds can and will differ with much of what I have said above, here’s my point: As a tragedy of unimaginable proportions unfolds, we must remain focused and on track to retain control of Congress in 2022 and re-elect Joe Biden (or another Democrat) in 2024. The tragedy in Ukraine will create the urge to look away or to cower in fear—or to second guess and criticize every difficult decision Biden must make. We cannot fall into those traps.

          Our nation is in Joe Biden’s capable hands at this perilous moment because we were able to overcome feelings of despair and revulsion to defeat Trump in 2020. Incredibly, the stakes are even higher now. As we did two years ago, we must summon the determination and discipline to elect leaders who have the maturity, judgment, and strength to lead America. We can do that—again.

A review of Biden’s State of the Union address.

          James Fallows takes a deep dive into Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech and concludes that Biden “took a tired form and found a way to make it fresh.” See The Atlantic, Biden’s State of the Union Did Something New. Fallows takes a long look at what makes state of the union speech “good” and then explicates Biden’s speech at length. He concludes that Biden’s speech was “new and fresh” because Biden did something revolutionary: The speech was not about Biden but was about the American people. Biden did that by being himself:

            I thought Biden’s speech was a real success, and one that might have been underappreciated because of the plainness that was in fact its main virtue. . . . Biden sounded like himself, rather than like a person intent on Speaking for the Ages.

          Several readers and one commentor criticized Biden’s speech for being “plain” and “uninspiring.” Fallows says that is the point: Biden was speaking the language of the common man and from the heart. As I wrote in response to one reader, you can’t criticize Biden for being Biden. We elected him for who he is—faults and all.

Stopping the Fox disinformation machine.

          I mentioned yesterday that I was going to cancel my cable service because Fox News is part of the basic cable package. After spending an hour working my way through customer service asking for Fox News to be removed from cable package, a representative finally said, “That’s not possible.” I replied, “Thanks for your help. I would like to cancel my cable subscription entirely.” Suddenly, I was told a supervisor could help. I was transferred to a supervisor . . . . and was disconnected. Oh, well. I will continue my efforts over the weekend.

          More importantly, a reader reminded me that another resource for fighting the Fox News propaganda machine is Defenders of Democracy Against Disinformation. DDAD’s helpful website is resource rich and contains a number of ways to fight disinformation (not just from Fox News). I should have mentioned DDAD because I have invited DDAD as the guest on Today’s Edition Podcast for March 26, 2022. Tune in then to hear about DDAD’s efforts to fight disinformation.

Two GOP Governors receive backlash for bullying kids.

          Texas Governor Greg Abbott attempted to criminalize parents of transgender youth who seek gender-affirming procedures. In a dystopian and totalitarian application of Abbott’s new policy, the first person targeted is a mother who works for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The ACLU has obtained an injunction against enforcement of Abbott’s policies. See USA Today, Texas judge blocks child abuse investigation of family for providing gender-affirming medical care. The mother was placed on leave after she asked supervisors “how the department would interpret the governor's directive to investigate families like hers.” The mother said,

          We are terrified for [my daughter’s] health and wellbeing, and for our family. I feel betrayed by my state and the agency for whom I work.

          Abbott has faced an onslaught of criticism for his cruel policy. Good.

          Similarly, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has come under intense criticism for bullying high school students who wore masks during an appearance with the governor. See USA Today, Ron DeSantis widely criticized over high school student mask incident. Of course, like any bully, DeSantis refused to apologize, and tried to shift the blame back to school lockdowns. Ron DeSantis is an unlikable bully with a thin skin—a fact that will become more evident as he comes into the national limelight.

Concluding Thoughts.

          We are the foot soldiers of democracy whose weapons are truth and commitment to the rule of law. It has never been clearer how high the stakes are. We have the Ukrainian people to thank for showing us how ferociously we must defend democracy. Never take it for granted. Not for a minute.

          Talk to you on Monday!