Europe's war enters its fifth year

Joe Stalin, with help from Roosevelt and Churchill, managed to defeat Hitler's Wehrmacht in less time than it has taken Vladimir Putin to occupy a fifth of Ukraine, a comparatively small democracy whose aid from the US was halting under Biden and nearly nonexistent under Trump. Slava Ukraini -- glory to Ukraine! And shame to Putin and the two American presidents.

Editorialized the Kyiv Independent yesterday: "Here we are in 2026, marking four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion — and the pattern is already set. Russia escalates. Ukraine adapts. The West deliberates. Talks resume. Talks stop. The war grinds on — and Ukraine buries its dead."

I was a lad in WW2, and I remember Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the nuclear explosions that ended the War: we were at war for 42 months. Soviet Russia fought for 35 months, June 1942 to May 1945. Of all the combatants in the worst war ever fought, only the British Commonwealth, Nationalist China, and of course the instigators -- Germany and Japan -- had a longer battle than Ukraine's.

Get off your duff, Orange Man, and deploy some of that awesome American power against the monster in the Kremlin!

Tariff Liberation Day

Congratulations to John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch for freeing us -- temporarily, at least! -- from the inflationary tariffs imposed on us by President Trump, who no doubt will now add the US Supreme Court to his enemies list. I'm a bit surprised by the three right-wingers who voted with the president, and not at all surprised that the three left-wingers voted against him.

The vote must have come especially hard to the Chief Justice, who values comity so highly, but who ended by writing the majority decision. Good on him, and good on the two Trump-appointed justices for braving the president's ire. Long may they serve!

Boris Johnson is fed up

Britain's former prime minister has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning that everyone should read, especially those governing Britain and other European countries.

"There is a real war on our Continent," says Mr Johnson. "It is a cruel and hideous war in which Vladimir Putin is increasingly torturing the Ukrainian population, bombing their electricity supply, so that women and children are freezing to death in temperatures of 15 below." And what is Europe doing about it? "Liberal Europeans clap their perfumed hankies to their noses and proclaim their revulsion at the boorishness of the Trump administration." (Most of my acquaintances do that, too.)

What Europe should do is unfreeze the $140 billion of Russian assets in its banks and hand it to Ukraine. It should station troops on Ukrainian soil. It should supply missiles that can hit Russia where it hurts. And above all, it should share the burden of NATO with the United States, which even now pays 70 percent of its cost. That would get Putin's attention -- and Mr Trump's attention, too.

Now they're stealing our athletes!

Eileen Gu was born in the US, reared here, learned to ski here, and became a great skier here. Now she's skiing for Xi Jinping and the CCP in the Cortina Olympics. It was bad enough when China contented itself with stealing American technology; now that it has bettered us in automobiles, it's stealing our athletes. Bad China! Bad Mr Xi! And in particular, bad Ms Gu!

Worrying about the persons

The Mounties held a press conference the other day about the school shooting in British Columbia. NBC was there -- by phone or video, I think. Anyhow, the NBC newsperson was alert to the fact that the shooter is said to be "transgender," in this case a guy who identifies as female. “Do authorities believe the first two victims found were killed by the same gunperson?” the NBC newsperson asked. “Do you know the gunperson’s relationship to the school at all?”

Lionel Shriver shares the warmth of collectivism

Lionel Shriver is one of our better writers, though she doesn't get as much attention as she deserves. People don't want to read awful stuff, like a school shooter with a bow and arrows (We Need To Talk About Kevin), a mobidly obese family member (Big Brother), or a future in which Mexico must build a Great Wall to keep American refugees from flooding the country (The Mandibles). Her latest book was published on Tuesday, and I read it with such gusto that I finished it Wednesday morning. ¡Qué libro! It's her best yet.

A Better Life plays off a never-implemented proposal in which New Yorkers are paid $110 a week to host asylum seekers in their homes, thus sparing the city the cost of a $400-a-night hotel room, three meals a day, and endless other expenses. Gloria Bonaventure, a Brooklyn woman with a live-in wastrel son, is delighted to live out her inclusive dreams. She takes in a pretty Honduran with a fabulous work ethic, a few English phrases, and a heart-rending backstory. Martine (she has no last name) moves into the basement apartment, obliging the son to return to his boyhood bedroom upstairs. What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty. And Ms Shriver ladles it out with good humor. (The arguments against open borders sometimes go on too long.) Martine has a brother who needs a place to sleep, and her brother -- if he really is a sibling -- has friends anxious to share the good life in Brooklyn. And the best bit comes at the end. Grab a copy!

Oh yes, it's cold in Vermont!

This has been a bitter winter in the North Country, and Vermont is having a particular problem with its heavily subsidized fleet of electric busses. They are manufactured in Canada, which is even colder than Vermont, yet it seems the batteries can't be charged below 41 deg F, nor can they be charged indoors because they're a fire hazard. National Review has a hilarious article about how Bernie Sanders's home state is coping or trying to cope with the problem.

A quick solution, of course, would be to replace the batteries. The manufacturer seems willing to do that, but has "indicated" (why do we use such words?) that the process may take as long as two years.

Perhaps Vermont's climate will have moderated by then.

Takaichi is so CUTE!

Though I am 94 and should be past such frivolity, I'm afraid I still judge foreign leaders by their looks. Japan at the moment has a prime minister named Sanae Takaichi, and every time I see her face online, I am thrilled. She's a delight to behold, and I wish her well in Sunday's snap election.

It's a small defense, I know, but to a certain extent I apply a similar filter to the males of the species. Thus I judge Gavin Newsome of California as just too pretty to serve as president of the United States, and JB Pritzker of Illinois as -- well, I'm sorry, but it's true -- too ugly. So wise up, Democrats, and find a face in the normal range: Rahm Emanuel, perhaps, or Amy Klobuchar. (Or both!)

One thing is certain. Whoever runs in 2028, we won't have a president in 2029 who makes me as happy as does today's prime minister of Japan.