Stephan: I am home from the hospital where I had an aortic valve replacement done through my arteries not open-heart surgery, using a technique called TAVR. All went well, and I am very happy to be back in my writing house and bringing SR back online. I want to thank all of you who wrote to send me good wishes, and tell me you were holding me in healing intention. It meant a great deal to me, and I really appreciate your concern and care. Thank you.
Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center - Robert Reich Stack
Stephan: The entire time I was in the hospital coincided with the horrifying and unprovoked rape of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, who his adoring "useful idiot" Donald Trump called a "genius." Since when you are in a hospital you have nothing to do but lie in bed and either read or watch television that is what I did. I watched hours of television on the Russian invasion and started reading Ken Follett's excellent well-researched novel series The Century Trilogy, which tracks the period before World War I, the Communist takeover of Russia, and the period leading up to and during World War II. The two together showed me once again why democracy is so important.
Democracy is based on consensus. With autocracies, as we are seeing, one rather average man, two decades in power, can on a whim destroy the lives of 44 million Ukrainians, and millions more in the country he leads, Russia. Also, as I watched and read, I began to think about what a person like myself could do to support Ukrainian democracy and its people. Robert Reich gives good advice in this; which I intend to follow. I would add this. Take 20 minutes sometime each day, and hold the intention that Ukraine's democracy survives in health, and the invasion stops. If 10% of humanity does this there will be a startling effect. The research data suggests this situation will change to greater wellbeing. This may sound airy-fairy, but Gandhi got independence for India without a war using this powerful technique.
Russians invading Ukraine
The waitperson where I had breakfast this morning broke down in tears over Ukraine. “I just don’t know what to do,” she said.
She’s not alone. I feel the same way. You probably do, too.
That one tyrant can cause this much human suffering defies whatever progress we assumed civilization had made since Hitler’s rise almost a century ago. That Putin can wreak such havoc on innocent people, seemingly unconstrained by others in Russia’s government, makes a mockery of modern ideas about governance in even totalitarian regimes.
That he has control over a nuclear stockpile capable of annihilating much of humanity lays bare — even more starkly than does climate change — how far humanity has fallen behind in the primal race between technology and survival.
But bear in mind several encouraging things. The rich nations of the world that still practice democracy are exercising a unity of resolve not seen in decades. Thankfully as well, we in the United States have as president a person who is sane, thoughtful, experienced, and even-tempered. Can you imagine where we’d be with the former guy?
Alex Henderson, Staff Writer - Raw Story / AlterNet
Stephan: As the crisis in Ukraine continues, it is important to keep in mind that there is a large demographic in the United States that supports fascism, and authori8tarian government, of which Putin -- Trump's "genius" - is a living example. These people are going to try very hard to have the Republicans take over both houses of Congress, so the American government is oriented more towards fascism. It is up to you to block this with you vote.
Evangelical “christians”
Majority’s late Rev. Jerry Falwell, Sr., televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson railed against the Soviet Union relentlessly — often applauding President Ronald Reagan for standing up to the Kremlin. But times have changed.
These days, Donald Trump, not the late Ronald Reagan, is the most influential figure in the Republican Party — and white evangelicals, journalist Anthea Butler explains in an op-ed published by MSNBC’s website on March 1, are among Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent admirers in the United States.
“While the world looks on in horror as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolds,” Butler observes in her op-ed, “one group has been praising Russian President Vladimir Putin. It turns out Putin has a fan base in America’s right-leaning evangelical politicians and pundits.”
Butler continues, “At this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, which wrapped up over the weekend, Lauren Witzke, a GOP candidate for the Senate in Delaware, said: ‘Here’s the deal. Russia is a Christian nationalist nation. They’re actually Russian Orthodox…. I identify […]
Stephan: Here you see the intellectual christofascist justification for what is happening in Ukraine, put forward by one of the creators of christofascism.
Pat Robertson, one of the creators of christofascism
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has blown up into a conflict of horrific atrocities against civilians, nations around the world have lined up to condemn it — even historically neutral countries such as Switzerland.
But former televangelist Pat Robertson, who came out of his retirement to weigh in on the situation, sees something even grander in the whole affair — according to him, Vladimir Putin is being willed by God to conduct the invasion, as a way of triggering the End Times.
“I think you can say, well, Putin’s out of his mind, and yes, maybe so,” said Robertson. “But at the same time he’s being compelled by God. He went into Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”
“God is getting ready to do something amazing, and that will be fulfilled,” said Robertson. “And what Putin is doing, by moving as he is, to set up Ukraine as a staging ground for one of the armies, […]
