First, somebody mysteriously blows holes in both the Nordstream pipelines. At almost the same time, Russia, begins punishing Ukraine for defending itself, by lobbing even more missiles into civilian locations. It almost feels like Putin tried using the pipelines as a diversion from all the civilians he is murdering for no reason other than conquest and his need for ego gratification

In the south, the Ukrainians are pushing back the Russian Army and have bombed the bridge sending in supplies to Putin’s troops. Now, suddenly, Putin’s foreign minister, Lavrov, is talking about the potential for peace talks, either with the U.S. or Turkey.

It feels like Putin, may be on the ropes, gasping for air. One wonders what our intel knows and how much pressure Putin is feeling internally as the Russian people demonstrate in the streets and flee the country by the thousands to avoid being drafted into the dictator’s senseless war against innocent Ukrainians, who want nothing more than for the Russian Army to withdraw from their borders and to be left alone to live in peace.

Because of his insane war of conquest for his personal gratification, everything Vladimir Putin did not want is coming to pass as a self-fulfilling prophecy. NATO, has expanded and more than before, aligned itself as a wall of steel against Russia, a country increasingly seen as a pariah among nations. A country now under the punishing yoke of international sanctions. Most insulting of all perhaps, will be history forever seeing Putin as a butcher of babies and children. A man who failed both his people and himself.

When the killing stops and the madness ends, this may be viewed as another, anachronistic example of too much power in the hands of just one person. Something civilized people thought they had relegated to the past, with the likes of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Something Democracy, does not permit, which is why Putin has thrown so much of his energy into his attempted destruction of American Democracy.

Through it all, Donald J. Trump has favored, appeared to even idolize Vladimir Putin, a man who wants to destroy Ukraine and other free and democratic countries around the world. Those on the right who continue to support Trump and the Republican Party, need to remember this as they go to the polls. The future of our Democracy is at stake. Voting for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote to tear down our institutions and eliminate all that we hold dear. Freedom, cannot, must not, be taken for granted.