“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.” W. H. AudenTen years ago a friend told us we would be at war with Russia. We thought he was nuts. On Saturday, June 8, ABC News ran this report with U.S. generals pressing President Biden to give Ukrainian President Zelensky a green light to go beyond the "limited" permission he already received to strike Russia within its borders.
Take a breath and ask yourself how you would expect the U.S. government to respond to anyone with even "limited" permission to strike inside our border.
Do you wonder what happened to diplomacy, peace, and disarmament? If you answered yes, you might just be an independent.
For now, a faction of the GOP opposes the war in Ukraine. And, for now, a faction of the Dems oppose Israel's continued prosecution of war -- and genocide -- in Gaza. Even independents -- Bernie Sanders and RFK, Jr. -- by choosing which war they oppose, have failed to represent the millions of Americans. Check out this poll on Gaza with the majority of Americans of all persuasions saying Israel went too far.
As well, check this out on Ukraine:
"Recent polls highlight a growing anti-war sentiment in the United States, with around 70% advocating for the Biden administration to pursue a negotiated peace for Ukraine with Russia," writes Alexander Mitchell, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, February issue, 2024.
Texas, where the political war knows no bounds.
In March, LIV covered the Governor's Executive Order GA 44 curbing free speech on the war in Gaza on university campuses. The Governor moved further to squelch small "r" republican values guaranteed by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. and Texas constitutions by prosecuting his political war against other Republicans in the Texas GOP primaries and runoffs. (Be sure to read our post, "King Greg's Runoff Primary Wars," linked below.
What can we do? First and foremost is to dare talk about it and dare to listen. If we can do that, maybe we can figure out something to do! We have some ideas we'll talk about at this forum:
Take 37-minutes to watch this Breaking Points session linked above with Prof. John Mearsheimer, focused on what's happening in Ukraine and Gaza. Then, please read the remainder of this newsletter. And, please plan to join us for a discussion at our "Blessed Are the Peacemakers Forum" on Monday, June 17 at 8 pm here.
In this edition:
King Greg's Runoff Primary Wars: The Texas Taliban
Texas independent electoral politics: Bastrop experience
Action, Reads & Calendar - calls Congress!
Thank you for your comment.
This is a to be expected response, if you believe that Russia just decided to invade Ukraine without provocation. If you haven't checked out the case made by Prof. Mearsheimer, please do and come back to this post and comment OR feel free to join us next Monday night at 8 pm. Sign up in our Events section.
BTW, if you search Mearsheimer's name on this site, you will be taken to previous discussions with the professor. We especially appreciated his appearances on Glenn Greenwald's "System Update" on Rumble.
There's also this helpful documentary, "Ukraine on Fire," linked on this site with footage of U.S. leaders and officials interference with important history.
"Take a breath and ask yourself how you would expect the U.S. government to respond to anyone with even 'limited' permission to strike inside our border." If we had invaded one of our neighbors and were launching regular missile attacks on them from our territory, then I think we should expect them to hit us back.