If Santa snubbed the good boys and girls in Russia and its surrounding nations this holiday season, it’s understandable why jolly old Saint Nick might have directed Rudolph to fly far out of the reach of Russian artillery fire. Which Rooskie is manning the war place has the quiet, solid hand of a Parkinson’s patient on his 17th cup of coffee.
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By now, you’ve heard the news: An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day was ( perhaps ) caused by Russian air defense fire. But of course, everything is cut and dry again: Between the fog of war and weaponized propaganda on both flanks of the Russia-Ukraine issue, it’s foolish to take everything at face value.
Both sides have more in common than they’d like to admit — and among their shared traits is the simple fact that both Russia and Ukraine are corrupt, manipulative, and transparently Machiavellian.  ,
Both countries are (very ) loosely tethered to the truth.  ,
For very obvious reasons, Ukraine is keen to stir up hostility between Mother Russia and her rebellious children. The more isolated, despised, ostracized, and sanctioned Russia becomes, the better. For their ongoing anti-Russia PR campaign, the Azerbaijan Airlines crash is perfect: It lets them ( re-) remind the world how cruel, bloodthirsty, and indiscriminate Putin’s regime has become — and thus, it’s just a matter of time until he targets their people, too.
Russia, of course, is incentivized to publicize a much different narrative: Maybe the plane hit a flock of birds. ( It happens. Do you recall the scene from” Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”? Perhaps it was some sort of mechanical malfunction. C’mon, folks: A big metal tube floating in the sky is pretty weird if you think about it, so it could’ve crashed for all kinds of reasons. Let’s not be hasty.
Meanwhile, the incoming commander-in-chief has announced to the world that America is ready to grow. Sure, Donald Trump might personally be 6’3″ and a slim, svelte 215 pounds ( at least, according to his Fulton County intake sheet ), but the United States is bursting its britches: We’re destined to expand.
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Maybe Canada will be our 51st state. ( Finally, we could get our hands on their cutting-edge Zamboni technology. ) I’m not really sure what we’d do with Canada, but if the liberals are right about Global Warming, maybe it’ll be nice after it thaws out.
If we can’t annex Canada, how about the Panama Canal? It really demonstrates the power of a name: If Teddy Roosevelt had referred to it as the AMERICAN Canal, the Panamanians would never have assumed that it belonged to them. Oh, well. ( Teddy Roosevelt also said”, Speak softly and carry a big stick,” but if you’re a grown man named” Teddy, “you should probably carry a big stick wherever you go. )
And then, there’s Greenland. According to the president-elect, the U. S”. ” to ensure global freedom and national security,” believes that the ownership and control of Greenland is a absolute necessity. Thank goodness Trump’s finally saying what we’ve all been feeling! I’ve been so worried about Greenland for all these years that I can’t sleep at night.
Don’t get me wrong: It’d be great to ( re ) acquire those areas. Land and people are assets, the more, the merrier. Trump’s rhetoric, however, misleads a deeper, more revealing aspect of the conflict, which provides an opportunity to put an end to both Russia and Ukraine’s suffering.
Thomas Jefferson was an all-time great American, he’s literally on Mount Rushmore. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded a college, and served our country as its third president.
The Louisiana Purchase was his only real legacy, though.
In the realm of legendary, unforgettable kings, queens, emperors, and conquerors, the scorecard is the size of your kingdom. Great kings grow their kingdoms, poor kings lose their land.
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Donald Trump sees himself as outstanding.
Trump is untethered to tradition and precedent, just as Russia and Ukraine are untethered to the truth. He’s not attempting to be merely a great president; instead, he wants to be remembered as Alexander the Great’s peer.
And there are only two ways you get there: acquiring land … or bringing peace.
If Canada, Panama, and Greenland elude us, bringing peace to Europe and preventing World War III is a worthy legacy, too.
A plane crash that kills children is never a good thing, but oddly enough, the geopolitical climate might finally be conducive to peace — and President-elect Trump is the one man with the temperament, power, and motivation to do it.
This New Year, perhaps there will finally be peace on Earth. Cheers!
