Free Republic

Most do not realize that the West has been funding Ukraine’s entire government. Biden and other world leaders have promised Zelensky that they would fund the salaries and pensions for all Ukrainian politicians and government workers. Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister, issued a warning that Ukraine will be unable to pay MILLIONS of government employees if the West does not resume payments. The figures are correct. The West has the salaries of 500,000 Ukrainian civil servants on its payroll, along with 1.4 million teachers. The highest priced item is the 10 MILLION pensioners living completely off of foreign aid....

As we near the 2 year mark of the war, a ‘Doom and Gloom’ mood has definitely set upon Ukraine’s troops. After the failed summer counteroffensive came the sudden disruption of international funding. Now, the realization that Russia is better manned and equipped for battle, and the frustration of being on the defensive again is making soldiers question the judgment of their leaders. Read: Ukrainian Forces Are Running Out of Artillery Shells as Russia Presses With Offensive – New Military Aid Has Fallen by 90% The discontent among Ukrainian soldiers is becoming more common and expressed out in the open....

House Speaker Mike Johnson Johnson told reporters Tuesday after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that there was no resolution in sight to the impasse over President Biden’s request for $61.4 billion in new funding for Ukraine. Johnson (R-La.) said that he told Zelesnky during a private meeting that “we stand with him and against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” but that he was concerned about the lack of a plan to resolve the conflict and provide oversight of the proposed spending. “I have asked the White House since the day that I was handed the gavel as speaker for clarity....

While lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. debate sending billions more in military aid to Ukraine, an American citizen journalist, Gonzalo Lira, is languishing in a Ukrainian prison on allegations of spreading Russian propaganda, throwing into question the status of free speech in the supposed democracy the Biden administration argues is worthy of more taxpayer dollars. The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve another $24 billion for Ukraine for now through the end of this year, which would add to the $113 billion that Congress has committed to the country since its war with Russia began in February...

Former CIA Director and retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus said in a new interview that Russia can still inflict destruction upon Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot reverse Ukrainian gains in the four regions Moscow recently annexed. “I think he’s literally out of moves,” Petraeus told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

ancy Pelosi looked more like she was on the set of "Contagion" the sequel than the U.S. Capitol building ... as she and her entourage all strolled in wearing masks. The House Speaker arrived Thursday to the nation's capital as the House of Representatives begin debating several coronavirus-related issues and, hopefully, vote and approve the new stimulus package to help the reeling economy and specifically small businesses. The Senate already approved the nearly $500 billion relief bill.

For the first time since 1972, the United States is planning to fly to the moon, but instead of a quick, Apollo-like visit, astronauts intend to build a permanent base and live there while they prepare what may be the most ambitious undertaking in history -- putting human beings on Mars. President Bush in 2004 announced to great fanfare plans to build a new spaceship, get back to the moon by 2020 and travel on to Mars after that. But, with NASA focused on designing a new spaceship and spending about 40 percent of its budget on the troubled space...

MIDI - LAST SONG (La la la la la la la la la la la) Did you know I wrote a check and put it in the mail 'Cause you promised me you would always do what's right and never fail All you sen-a-tors, I have had your back But I watch you rolling over...you yellow-bellied hacks That's the last check I'll ever write for you I have had it and this time I really swear that I am through It was the last stinking check I'll ever write for you You just watch and you will see...no more...