Lost chances
The war in Ukraine has been going on for nearly three years; in that time, tens of thousands of people have died on both sides. The leaders of Ukraine and Russia have both missed their chances to end the war. For Ukraine it was early on when the Russian army was shockingly defeated trying to take Kyiv. At the very beginning Russia's invasion plan centered around a surprise lightning strike on Kyiv. That was the time that Zelensky did have cards and should have demanded peace negotiations. We don't know the reason he didn't, but it was a missed opportunity.
When Trump regained the Presidency, he sought a quick peace deal that would bring security and a joint economic venture for the Ukraine and generous terms for Russia. At the time Trump was somewhat prepared to let Russia control the Ukrainian territory it had taken and disinclined to spend a lot on Kyiv’s defense. It was a peace offering that achieved many of Russia’s war aims and would have been a nice exit ramp for Putin. Instead, Putin tried to pretend to be negotiating as he pounded Ukraine. Putin seriously underestimated Donald Trump.
Now Trump has resumed weapons shipments to Ukraine after a brief pause by the Pentagon and Senate Republicans are pushing for harsh sanctions against Russia which the President is considering. This all comes within the backdrop of Trump bombing Iran's nuclear facilities. Putin and the world learned two things from that strike:
1) Trump is very unpredictable, even volatile. A very unfortunate thing for America's enemies.
2) Trump always seems to give the intended target an out (Iran got 60 days.)
Putin should have taken the out.
In the news:
Comey, no longer so smug.
The Trump administration is investigation the former F.B.I. director James Comey and the former C.I.A. director John Brennan, who previously oversaw the government’s investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign’s connections to Russia. A top analyst at the CIA told Brennan that the Steel Dossier lacked credibility, but supposedly Brenan demanded it be included in a CIA report.
President Trump will meet with 5 African countries to talk trade and rare earth minerals deals.
Trump's threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil would be the highest rate yet on a major U.S. ally and trading partner. His announcement accused Brazilian authorities of wronging the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro.
The Trump administration subpoenaed Harvard University seeking foreign student data and challenged the university’s accreditation.
Israel launched another ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
Tucker Carlson, among others are questioning AG Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files.
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Good morning and welcome to the news.
Today's most interesting poll:
"Support for President Donald Trump 's deportations has surged among Hispanic voters in the space of two months, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by polling firm Cygnal between July 1 and 2, revealed that the percentage of Hispanic voters that strongly support the deportation of people in the United States illegally rose by 11 percent between May and July 2025."
Hispanic support for Donald Trump's deportations surges
Removing illegals makes things better. Housing costs go down. Demand for medical services goes down. Wages and job opportunities for Americans go up while crime goes down.
It also makes the people less reliant on the government. THAT is why Democrats are fighting to keep their illegals.
I think all rational people would agree. Hispanic Americans seem to feel it most.
BTW:
"The Trump administration on Thursday issued sweeping new rules barring illegal immigrants from a host of federal welfare benefits, including food stamps , Title X family planning funds, homelessness assistance, and substance abuse treatment funds.
Several Cabinet departments, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services , were involved in drafting the regulation, which reinterprets the 1996 welfare reform legislation, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The new regulation rescinds a 1998 interpretation of the phrase “federal public benefit” that allowed illegal immigrants to take part in public health assistance programs. "
Trump administration bars illegal immigrants from swath of federal programs
‘Alice in Wonderland’ author’s former home asks $2.17M — where he drew his whimsical inspirations from a neighboring cathedral."
Author Lewis Carroll's former home asks $2.17M
Trump has no plan or strategy for peace in Ukraine. He very recently said Putin is a nice guy. What kind of fricking fool calls someone who is bombing women and children and old people "a nice guy"?
Putin clearly has no respect for Trump. The last couple of times they talked on the phone, the next day Russia launched their largest bombardments of the war against Ukraine cities.
A Nobel Peace prize for Trump? More like this
Wrong again. The quote in the quote box is his most recent statement on Putin. That is a FACT.
Putin clearly has no respect for Trump.
Putin has no respect for anyone.
A Nobel Peace prize for Trump?
Not as long as the left controls the committee.
Remember Christ was crucified.
There might be a special place in hell for those who compare Trump to Jesus Christ.
I will say though that most MAGAs cant help themselves in that regard. Its a cult.
It's odd that I NEVER see that comparison coming from Trump's supporters. But that idiotic claim always comes from the left.
"He’s very nice all the time,"
Putin, a guy, is nice. That makes him a nice guy in Trumps stated opinion.
You might try reading one of the comments on this seed. Among other things.
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Thank you for proving my point - That the idiotic claim always comes from the left.
The comparison was to the detractors of both.
Can you ever stop distorting what the man says?
On this seed? This is an article, not a seed and your quote posted by you.
Like one prior member who would always accuse conservatives of dog whistles, but she was the only one that heard them.
That is always funny to read. Must be the voices in her head.
Such concern for Ukraine is overwhelming. Biden used Ukraine for his own political ends, too. Biden was hoping that Ukraine would give him an advantage over Trump, the Putin stooge. But Biden defeated himself. So, what do we do about Ukraine now? Are we supposed to do what Biden and Democrats did, throw more and more money and hope the problem goes away?
Vladimir Putin does not fear your hate or seek your love. Russia won the war in Ukraine when Joe Biden promised no US troops would be fighting in Ukraine. And that was not Trump's fault.
Ukraine is Joe Biden's quagmire. Trying to force Trump to fight Russia to score political points only sucks the US deeper into Biden's quagmire. Medicaid is competing with Ukraine for Federal funding. Trying to hand Democrats Congress on a silver platter won't change the fact the Ukraine wants the money Democrats promise for the social safety net. Who are Democrats going to throw under the bus? Will Democrats scapegoat Trump to justify giving Ukraine to Russia?
No matter what happens, there's no way to hide that Joe Biden screwed the pooch. This is Joe Biden's open ended quagmire.
Does Murrow find that to be a good idea ?
No.
My job was to report it.
You dont have a job here.
Like Musk, I am a volunteer, for the common good.
Our readers.
So claimed the Jacques 1-5 and I'm guessing 'our' readers have at least flipped through A Tale of Two Cities.
He does, but it blows. I'm sure his dear Leader is eternally grateful for the full-throated support he receives daily.
Any thoughts on why the democrat party is losing with American Hispanics?
Hispanics are socially conservative and general pro-life and religious, they are hardworking and family oriented, they may just be getting tired of working hard to support worthless takers, who don't value life and only worship themselves.
As President Reagan once said: "They are Republicans ... they just don't know it yet."
Which Hispanics? Are we talking about Argentinean Hispanics, Venezuelan Hispanics, Ecuadorian Hispanics, Honduran Hispanics, Mexican Hispanics, Cuban Hispanics? Isn't what we're witnessing a rising resentment that illegal immigrants are forcing legal immigrants to give up their national self identity and assume a Democrat preferred racial identity?
Mexican flags aren't being waved at ICE protests to celebrate Hispanic heritage. Democrats have forced Mexicans who legally immigrated to the US to give up their Mexican-American identity and assume a Hispanic racial identity. That's what Democrats are doing to all the national identities from south of our border.
Democrats' Hispanic people are not a minority in their home countries. South America is a continent of Hispanics. National identity is more important than racial identity. Why would they accept being treated as a racial minority in the US?
Is it possible the Democratic Party is losing support of Hispanic voters because they are beginning to resent being classed together as a Hispanic racial minority?
It is a lot of things.
Sometimes complex situations really can have a simple explanation. We've seen the Democratic Party's coalitions begin to fragment. Analyses that highlight 'college educated Black women' certainly doesn't affirm the unity of women as a monolithic Democratic voting block. Shifts in voting for Democrats' monolithic Hispanic voting block does suggest a fragmentation is underway.
We are seeing this sort of fragmentation among women voters, Black voters, LGBTQ+ voters. Democrats' identity politics is not holding the coalitions together. In fact, shoving people into a check box has caused some resentment toward Democratic Party politics.
Naturally Brennan takes to liberal vlogger site MSNBC to blather on pointlessly about it with some of the typical liberal key words and talking points.
He is the more vulnerable of the two. Still liable under the statute of limitations.
Democrats have already shown that Statutes of Limitations really mean nothing.
Who didn't see this coming? Trump's tough talk only means the US will be sucked deeper into Joe Biden's quagmire. Why hasn't Biden's expanded, revitalized NATO alliance turned the tide? Why hasn't Finland and Sweden joining NATO made a difference?
The time for diplomacy and negotiation was before Russia invaded. But, no, Shotgun Joe had to prove he had big cajones. Shotgun Joe wanted to return to the Cold War. Shotgun Joe wanted to talk tough while assuring the world the United States would not fight in Ukraine. Shotgun Joe wanted to leverage Ukrainian duplicity for his own political gain. But Shotgun Joe couldn't survive himself. So, who's stuck with the quagmire now?
Ukraine lied, lied, and lied again. Maybe that's what has confused the Republican neocons and TEA Party dimwits. They prefer lies to reality. Ukraine doesn't mean a damned thing to the United States or Europe. The Soviets are fighting each other. Support for Ukraine has only accomplished making the United States and Europe more Soviet. Fuck democracy, we gotta kill then damned Ruskies. OoooooRaaaaah.
Thanks to Joe Biden, Medicaid has to compete with Ukraine for Federal funding. We can kill public broadcasting and use those savings to buy a month's worth of munitions for Ukraine. Ukraine gets the Golden Dome promised to the US. And Europe, as usual, pledges $10 billion for a Ukrainian reconstruction that's going to cost $600 billion. US taxpayers are on the hook to save Europe's bacon again. Ukraine is gonna take all money saved by DOGE, the OBBB, and any other TEA Party bullshit and demand more. A lot more. And Congress will pee down their legs and spend money on Ukraine that the United States does not have.
I've been handed a lot of shit over the last 3 years warning that what is happening now would happen. "I told ya so" ain't gonna cut it. All the fucking idiots have proven they are fucking idiots. And I'm gonna rub it in. Just remember, Ukraine needs everything more than we do. The fucking idiots told us so, it must be true.