I have not posted anything in way too many days. A couple of days ago, I was given a short questionnaire for the California Advance Health Care Act in Pulmonary Rehab, and it made me proud to be a Californian. It is simple and straightforward and I wanted to write about it, and how different California is from the red states, but I was tongue-tied.

I collected a couple of Tweets from California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, Governor Ron DeSantis, and Governor Greg Abbott to show the difference, and all they did was make me sad before they scared me, that is.

Ilhan Omar got kicked off of the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday. It was still a shock even though everybody knew it was coming. And it is also a shame Ilhan is an excellent organizer, legislator, and one of the few people, if not the only person, in Congress that has any idea of what our foreign policy looks like from the other side. She was kicked off because, according to Speaker McCarthy, she is an antisemite, which would be laughable – she is backed by every progressive Jewish organization I know – if it weren’t so serious.

Don’t take my word for it, in an editorial in The New York Times, entitled When Ilhan Omar Asks Questions, Her Colleagues Should Listen by Peter Beinart. Beinart says:

Across the world, many people encounter American foreign policy when they see a drone flying overhead, a hospital that U.S. sanctions have deprived of medicine or a dictator’s troops carrying American-made guns. Ms. Omar asks the kinds of questions that these non-Americans — whether they reside in Pakistan, Cuba or Cameroon — might ask were they seated across from the officials who direct America’s awesome power. She translates between Washington and the outside world. More often than not, she does so alone.

I’m going to finish and get this posted before another day goes by with a Tweet Thread that moved me. It is by Maria Drutska, whom I’ve been following on Twitter, among several others, to get a hint of what it must feel like to be in Ukraine. Drutska identifies herself as working in Ukraine’s defense sector.

You know, I was thinking about the beginning of war, and the invasion of Kyiv, & I thought about how much went right for us that Ukraine is standing today and fighting. Remember, Ukraine was supposed to have fallen in one week, two at the maximum. Most of the population didn’t believe russia would try to take Kyiv. But, try they did. I remember clearly on Feb 23rd, knowing that something would happen, but confident that there was no way they would come for my Kyiv – I mean, how could they? It’s Kyiv for fucks sake!

On Feb 24th, we woke up to the sound of russian bombs & disinformation Their media told us that they had disabled the Ukrainian airforce within a couple of hours, that were marching forward as a well oiled machine, that our soldiers refused to fight, that our government fled. That first day, we were so close to panic. We didn’t know what was going on there. There were lines of cars miles long trying to leave Kyiv. Then, we heard (again from russian propaganda) that they had already taken Hostomel, and they were coming for Kyiv. They told us no one would help us, and they were coming to liberate us. They told us they wanted to protect us from the nazis, and only they could save us. They even started spreading lies that they had already takenChernihiv, Sumy, & others in the East & the South.

Moreover, our pleas for weapons to defend ourselves mostly fell on deaf ears. There was talk about a Ukrainian insurgency in the future, as if Ukraine had already fallen; some gave us Javelins, NLAWs and a few other basic things, but, Ukraine was seemingly alone & unarmed. The world spoke about a Ukrainian government in exile; that our victory was impossible. Then we heard & saw the Wagner / Kadyrovite death squads were already in Kyiv, hunting down government officials, and anyone who would resist. And we heard about their kill lists.

I will not lie! The 24th was a dark, dark, dark day! There were so many collaborators – from military & intelligence leaders, to ordinary people! Those bastard traitors! They would signal where the russian bombs would fall! May Hell be the best place they ever see!

Lies, all lies! Our leaders, despite what we may might have thought of them, had not abandoned us. They were with us! Our soldiers did not lay down their arms! Despite the overwhelming superiority the russians had in weapons, soldiers, equipment, our warriors FOUGHT! Hostomel oh Hostomel! We learned that it had not fallen! Our superhuman soldiers gave everything to stop the russian VDV and spetznats – that they were destroying them! Eternal glory to our warriors! Everything in the world is not enough to thank them for what they did!

Report after report came that first day that russia had not met any of their aims – they had been slowed down, and though the enemy was huge, Ukraine was putting up a fight. The images. I think it was on the first day, or maybe the second, but we heard the recording of our warriors on Snake Island, in the face of imminent death shouting the immortal “russian warship, Go FUCK YOURSELF” (fortunately those soldiers are alive, though we feared the worst) of destroyed russian tanks flooded Telegram – we knew then that we would not make it easy.

Zelensky’s battle cry “I need ammo, not a ride” was heard by every Ukrainian. Ukraine had finally arrived. The heart of a lion, the strength of an ox, and the ferociousness of a pack of hungry wolves. Ukrainians, whether in Kherson, or in Kharkiv, or in Kyiv, lined up in their tens of thousands to sign up to defend Ukraine from the russian terrorists. So many signed up, that Ukraine didn’t actually have the guns to give them! Videos of this were everywhere!

Meanwhile, total curfew was setup in Kyiv. Systematically, the saboteurs & collaborators were destroyed, or captured. To be perfectly honest, it’s a good thing so many Kyivians left during the first 2 or 3 days of war. Kyiv is a peacetime city of 3 million, but it was down to 1 million very quickly after the start of the war. Though our economy was hit, it meant fewer civilians to feed, house, and protect. And fewer places for collaborators and saboteurs to hide. We stocked up on food, and water, not knowing what would happen. Honestly, if we’d known then what russians would do to civilians in Irpin, Bucha, Mariupol, Iziyum, and so many other places, perhaps we really would have panicked. But, we didn’t know, & we didn’t panic. Every Ukrainian played a role.

Blood for our soldiers was donated, civilians prepared Molotov Cocktails to fight off russian tanks(!) children raised money for soldiers, the city was covered in hedgehogs, bridges were destroyed to stop a potential russian attack. Kyiv was mostly cleared of the saboteurs, but there was a huge military column, with some reports saying it was 60KM long with thousands of tanks and soldiers, coming for Kyiv. We could hear the gunfire in the streets, and went to sleep to the sound of bombs at night.

Kyiv was ready for a seige, expecting russian tanks from every direction. But tried as they could, our soldiers held them back at Hostomel, denying russia the base it needed! Slava Ukraini! The column of russians had stalled – armed with Javelins, NLAWs and Snipers, small teams of our elite soldiers were picking them off one by one. The attacks from Sumy (by civilians!) and Chernihiv were not moving, and russians dug trenches in radioactive soil in Chernobyl. I’ll never forget that video of the woman giving russian soldiers sunflower seeds, telling them to put them in their pockets so that sunflowers would grow after their deaths. Others showed unarmed civilians stopping russian tanks Heroyam Slava!

The Ukrainian air force was not only not destroyed, but led by the Ghost of Kyiv, was defending our skies, and protecting us each day and night. Those days, I remember the sound of gunfire all day, & fell asleep to the sound of russian artillery and bombs Slava Natsie!

After the shock of the first day, it became clear really quickly that Ukraine would not only fight, but Ukraine would do everything to win, because we understood very clearly that if we lost, we would not just lose a war, we’d lose Ukraine Smert Voroham! Those first few days are a complete blur for me, everything happened so fast. But I do think about how much went right for us – leadership, military, people, unity, russian incompetence… Doesn’t matter. What matters is that everything will be Ukraine.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a radical dreamer with a bold vision for revolutionary change. But he was a man before he became a martyr. A beloved father, husband, and son. As we reflect on his life and legacy, let’s not forget his humanity. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley@RepPressley Proudly serving the Massachusetts 7th.

Dr. King spoke of “the fierce urgency of now,” noting that we cannot wait for change. It’s this urgency we all should move with to ensure justice and equity for all. Today, may we remember Dr. King’s fight for justice rooted in love and liberation. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib@RepRashida Unapologetic Congresswoman fighting for justice for all. Proudly representing Michigan’s 12th District in the People’s House.

Today, we honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by continuing his unfinished work to redeem the soul of America. President Biden@POTUS·United States government official .

A year ago I wrote: Dr. Martin Luther King was not treated very well by us White people while he was alive. As Representative Ayanna Pressley said: “Dr. King wasn’t murdered because he was a preacher, pacifist with a dream, that is revisionist history. He was murdered because he was a radical disruptor of the status quo, considered by the FBI & white America to be a threat to our country. The FBI even tried to blackmail him, suggesting that he kill himself. He didn’t become an American hero until after he was dead and no longer a threat to White supremacy.” Today is a good day to remember that.

Today is still a good day to remember that.

My economic plan has always been to grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out. Today we learned that unemployment is at a 50-year low after the two strongest years of job growth ever. We’re creating jobs. We’re lowering costs. Our plan is working. President Biden@POTUS·6hUnited States government official

I’m feeling strangely optimistic about this new year. I am not entirely sure why. A lot of it is political, I think. We got through the last round of national elections with our Democracy mostly intact. Now, with McCarthy finally elected as the Speaker of the House, we have a functioning Congress, the 118^th. Although, my guess is that the 118^th will not go down as an especially effective Congress.

I am optimistic for Democracy because Russia is losing their evil war in Ukraine. This still seems sort of impossible; for as long as I can remember – from crawling under my desk in the third grade, practicing for the inevitable Soviet attack, to the Army rotating fresh troops to Poland right now – Russia or its surrogate, the Soviet Union, has dominated our national imagination as close to invincible. But Ukraine is proving that Russia is far from invincible. By all accounts – except Russian TV – Russia is running out of men and material while Ukraine is getting stronger. I can’t imagine what Russia losing will look like, but I am sure that they will lose.

I am delighted that The Squad – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib – have all returned with several additional members. However, I don’t think their presentence will result in any Progressive legislation in the 118^th. What is progressive, I guess, is that the military will start eliminating Confederate statues and names from its facilities. So, for example, Fort Hood will become Fort Cavazos (General Richard Cavazos was the first Hispanic four-star general). I have no idea why any Army bases were named after generals from an enemy army, but they were, and now they won’t be. That’s good.

Partially, I’m feeling optimistic because I’m feeling better. Not great, but better. Three weeks ago, I was gasping for air, but now I’m getting ready to return to the Pulmonary Rehab treadmill. And, partially, it’s the nourishing rain we’ve been getting even though it has brought flooding.

We didn’t watch most of the Qatar World Cup games mostly because it came at the wrong time of year and we’re creatures of habit, but also because it was in Qatar. I’ve made peace with the FIA staging Formula One races in autocracies – I was going to say fascist states, but that has a slightly wrong flavor, let’s say repressive, non-democratic countries – because motor racing is slightly sleazy anyway. But beautiful Soccer – or Football, if you prefer – is so pure. Intellectually I know that FICA is one of the world’s most corrupt organizations, but having the World Cup in Qatar is just rubbing our faces in that corruption.

I did watch the last couple of games, however, and fell in love with Leo Messi. That led to watching several highlight videos on YouTube. And then several more (which are really just the same highlights in a different order). Watching Messi got me thinking about the extraordinary athletes I’ve had the good fortune of seeing. Athletes like Jerry Rice and Mia Hamm, and, of course, Lewis Hamilton. Then Michele and I, on the recommendation of the New Yorker and Linda Melton watched The Rescue by Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The Rescue is about a couple of regular guys acting in an extraordinary way, and it would take a lot of work for anyone to feel pessimistic after watching it.

The Rescue made my day and is a great way to start the New Year.

War is killing people and blowing things up. Dominic Nicholls on the Podcast Ukraine Today

When I was in the Army in 1963, stationed in Korea on a HAWK Surface to Air Missile (SAM) site, our Battery had two launcher sections with nine missiles in each section for a total of eighteen missiles theoretically ready to fire. We had an additional eighteen missiles in the missile maintenance building for a total of thirty six missiles. Considering that the Chinese Air Force had more than 3.000 planes and that every HAWK launch didn’t result in a kill – far from it – that never seemed like enough ammunition. It was among the many things I grumbled about when I was in Korea.

To me it seemed like our whole HAWK system, our whole presence in Korea, was a sham. Only having thirty six missiles, was part of it. On a daily basis, we wore what the Army called fatigues, although they were olive-drab, they were emblazoned with a white rectangular over our hearts on which our last names were printed in in large block letters. We seemed like perfect targets. Additionally, under our olive-drab fatigues, we all wore regulation bright white T-shirts showing a spiffy bright white triangle at the regulation open collar.

But, most of all, our HAWK system did not work as advertised – when I say advertised, I mean advertised up the Chain of Command to the President – even with constant maintenance. I now read – in Wikipedia – that the quality of tube-based electronics, gave the radars in the early Hawk systems a mean time between failures of only 43 hours. We were about forty miles behind the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which is the defacto line separating North and South Korea and the presumed spot where the North Koreans would start their attack, and our resupply and repair depot, in Seoul, was between us and the theoretical enemy. In total, it seemed like were in a phony war as a way of making money for the military-industrial complex. In the end, it seemed like we were just playing pretend war.

This war, between Russia and Ukraine is different, when the Russians attacked Ukraine, they were definitely not playing at war. This war is the dreadful real thing. On a daily basis, an hourly basis, really, both the Russians and Ukrainians are now trying to kill as many people as possible. This takes ammunition, lots of it, way more than we had in Korea, and the problem both the Russians and the Ukrainians have is that they are running out of ammunition. What I mean by ammunition is more than just bullets- I don’t know how they are doing with actual assault rifle bullets, 7.62 x 39mm for older Russian made gear and the more powerful 7.62 x 51mm NATO supplied gear – I mean anything that is shot down range; 155mm howitzer shells, rockets, even loitering munitions like Iranian Shahed drones.

I was reminded of all this when I saw this headline US Army Awards Raytheon $1.2B for Ukraine NASAMS in my Google News feed. It turns out that the United States is worried that we are running too low on the ammunition that we have squirreled away for future wars and, rather than draw down from our reserves, we are ordering, as part of the US’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, six National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems that will take twenty four months to build and deliver. This is, in effect, a very much modernized and updated HAWK system that the Pentagon thinks Ukraine will still need two years from now.

The inference from that headline is that the United States has relearned the Modern wars take an incredible amount of equipment and ammunition lesson. The days of having only thirty-six HAWK missiles ready to go are long gone.

As an aside, I read in the same Wikipedia article that the vacuum tube based electronics {of HAWK has been replaced}with modern solid-state circuits, the mean time between failures has increased a hundred fold, and, according to Janes, the original system’s single shot kill probability was 0.56; Hawk improved this to 0.85. End aside.

For me, last year was sort of a surprise year. I thought the pandemic would end and, somehow, the world would return to what I think of as usual, but, thinking about it, I’ve felt that the world would return to normal for a long time, and it never has. The great Ulysses S Grant said, “War is progressive because all the instruments and elements of war are progressive.” I want to add, Everything is progressive, built on the past, but new.

Today is not a new start; it is the continuation of the long line of what went before. 2022 didn’t start fresh, and 2023 won’t either. The Russo-Ukrainian War will continue, Covid19 will continue, last year will continue, hell, Tom Brady will probably continue to play football (maybe forever). But everything will also be different.

I was listening to a New Yorker podcast yesterday, and they were talking about their most memorable cultural experiences from last year, none of which I had even heard of. One writer recommended Horse by Geraldine Brooks, which, among other things, is about the long tail of racial prejudice still with us. Another is East West Street: On the Origins of “Genocide” and “Crimes Against Humanity” by Philippe Sands, which traces the radicle world philosophy used in the Nuremberg trials to two Jewish thinkers from Eastern Europe. The third and last one was the movie The Rescue, about the 2018 rescue of a young Thai soccer team trapped in a cave. The film is by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin of Free Solo fame.

For me, the two most memorable cultural experiences were The Patient starring Steve Carrel and created by Joel Fields &; Joe Weisberg. It is a ten-episode mini-series, each about thirtyish minutes long, for a total of about five hours. I highly recommend it. Still, my most memorable experience is listening to Ukraine: The Latest every weekday morning. It is by several writers in the British newspaper The Telegraph, and I listen to it on Spotify.

As an sort of an aside, I had no idea that The Telegraph is a conservative newspaper and I wouldn’t have known except that I read a review that pointed that out. Not knowing has been great because I have ended up judging what they are reporting on their constant rather than some preconceived idea of their slant. End aside.

Finally, I want to leave with a joke that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy  told David Letterman in a subway station ninety feet underground in Kyiv. Zelenskyy said “Want to hear a Jewish joke?” and I guess it is a Jewish joke although I’m not sure why.

“Two Jewish guys from Odesa meet up, one asks the other: ‘So what’s the situation? What are people saying?”
“And he goes, ‘What are people saying? They are saying it’s a war.”
“What kind of war?”
“Russia is fighting NATO.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, yes! Russia is fighting NATO.”
“So how’s it going?”
“Well, 70,000 Russian soldiers are dead. The missile stockpile has almost been depleted. A lot of equipment is damaged, blown up.”
“And what about NATO?”
“What about NATO? NATO hasn’t even arrived yet.”