[jimbug]

I think the only motivation for Biden to give our tax dollars away is so he can get his cut. His cut is coming—in hellfire.

[Zhang Fei]

Ukraine ping

jimbug: [I think the only motivation for Biden to give our tax dollars away is so he can get his cut. His cut is coming—in hellfire.]

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Majorities of Democrats and independents support it. Majorities of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate voted for it. Even in the House, 101 Republicans voted for, 112 against, meaning many GOP districts had vocal GOP aid supporters who could have turned them blue if rebuffed.

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024151

For aid supporters, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is viewed the same way as Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia - a gathering of resources for future land grabs. Every increase of land and people makes Russia stronger, just as the addition of Western and Central Europe to Germany’s empire gave it the means to almost fight the US and the Russian and British Empires to a draw. The net result of WW2 for the US was the expenditure of 1.6x of 1941’s economy, the equivalent of $40T relative to today’s economy, to win the war. To let the Russian empire expand its reach at a savings of a few hundred billion dollars in Ukraine aid is being penny-wise, pound-foolish. The fear is of having to fight a larger and stronger Russia in a war costing tens of trillions.

And that is why Trump will likely force the Russians out by increased arms shipments. He has demonstrated no fear of Putin in the past.

The old fear was that if we killed a single Russian, they’d nuke us. That never made any sense. Hitler was simultaneously ruthless and endowed with great physical courage. His Jewish superior in WW1 recommended him for one of Germany’s highest military awards, which he received. Yet he shrank from using chemical weapons, for fear the Allies would respond in kind. Not that he was opposed out of moral principle - he had millions of Jews gassed. Putin has never shown any sign of physical courage. The idea that he would risk the extinction of Russia over the deaths of nameless (to him) Russian servicemen never made any sense.

In 2018, Trump put that to the test in the desert sands of Syria, turning hundreds of Russians into hamburger. The response from Putin was *crickets*. Trump had called Putin’s bluff. Putin shrank from further confrontation, let alone escalation.