Freedom Isn't Free

From the end of World War II until very recently, freedom has been expanding around the world. But no longer. The 40 million people of Ukraine were free last week. But within days, they will likely be swallowed by the Russian army. Pray for a miracle in Ukraine. 

For decades the 7 million people of Hong Kong, once part of the United Kingdom, built an economic powerhouse that astonished everyone with its success. Its people enjoyed tremendous freedom until the Chinese communist army marched in and crushed that freedom in 2020. 

The 23 million free people of Taiwan have built their own economic miracle with cutting edge technology that is in virtually everything we use. The communist Chinese declared yesterday that Taiwan belongs to them, and they will take it whenever they choose.

Free people are not only under siege from foreign enemies. 

Venezuela was once the wealthiest nation in Latin America. They didn't fall to foreign troops. Instead, the people of Venezuela fell for socialism and authoritarianism. 

Our friends in Canada are in shock as their socialist prime minister declared a state of emergency to crush peaceful dissent against his government. He is seizing the bank accounts and private property of non-violent protesters.

There's little chance a foreign enemy will occupy our country. But our freedom is in grave danger from elements of our own government, globalist corporations, Big Tech censors and the increasingly intolerant left.

Using COVID as an excuse, our first freedoms – the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly – have been severely restricted. We were told that it was an emergency. But if we can lose our freedom in an emergency, Big Government will always find a new emergency.

Ronald Reagan warned that freedom was never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for and protected. He also warned that man is only free as long as government is limited. 

As the people of Ukraine fight for their freedom in the streets today, we must do everything we can to protect our freedom here in the United States.

A Heroic Fight

There are deep divisions regarding America's role in the Ukrainian conflict. Whatever one thinks about that, there shouldn't be any debate about this: The Ukrainians are free people, and they are fighting valiantly for their homeland. 

The Russians launched attacks on multiple fronts – from the north, the east and the south. They are making a major assault on the capital city of Kyiv.  It appears that Putin's goal is to seize the capital in order to install his own puppet government. But occupying a nation of 40 million isn't easy.

Intelligence reports indicate that Russia's advance into Ukraine has not progressed as quickly as expected. The Ukrainians it seems are putting up quite a fight.

Ukrainian forces have recaptured an airport the Russians seized early in the fighting. The Ukrainian government has mobilized their reserves and has handed out thousands of automatic weapons. It is instructing civilians to make Molotov cocktails to defend their homes and neighborhoods. 

A Ukrainian Marine and engineer sacrificed his life to blow up a bridge, slowing the advance of Russian tanks.

When Russian warships approached Snake Island, they ordered the Ukrainian troops to surrender. The Ukrainian response wasn't the most diplomatic, but it was extremely defiant. The Ukrainians fought to the death. 

Biden's Bluster

There are good people who think we should make Ukraine's fight for freedom America's war and go all in. There are good people who believe it is insane to protect Ukraine's borders when we won't even protect our own. Others don't believe Biden can be trusted to win the conflict, and Europe is barely able to defend itself. 

Those are all reasonable positions. But the position I have no respect for is the one Joe Biden has taken. 

He knows his unraveling began on the tarmac of the Kabul airport. That's when his poll numbers started collapsing. So, the White House's main concern is to look tough and appear to be in charge, hoping to restore the people's trust in Biden as a foreign policy expert, which he has never been.

But in spite of Biden's tough talk, the signals he's sending to Russia and to communist China are that there's nothing there. The Ukrainians are facing the tip of Russian bayonets, and Biden's response is the tip of his pen as he writes out sanctions.

But Biden didn't sanction Vladimir Putin. Because of corruption, Putin is one of the richest men in the world. He's also the thug who ordered this unprovoked attack and threatened the West with a nuclear holocaust. But no sanctions for Putin? That makes no sense.

By now everyone recognizes the role of energy in this conflict. Biden's stupidity allowed Europe to become even more dependent on Russian energy when he approved Putin's pipeline to Germany. But Biden is still not sanctioning Russian energy.

The most telling line in his press conference yesterday came when he was pressed by reporters as to when the sanctions will bite. Biden said they will take time. Well, the one thing Ukraine does not have is time.

I am reminded of the Vietnam war. Brave U.S. pilots took off from aircraft carriers for bombing runs against North Vietnamese targets. As they were in the air, they were dodging missiles supplied by the Russians to the North Vietnamese. 

The pilots who successfully completed their bombing runs and returned to their ships would later be on the deck of their carrier watching Russian ships sail by them on their way to deliver new missiles that would be fired at them the next time they flew over North Vietnam.

Anyone could look at that situation and realize we were unlikely to win the war because there was no political will. That scenario explains the growing reluctance of many Americans to use military force when we have leaders who don't have the will to win. 

The best way to restore confidence the next time we are in a war is to allow our brave men and women in uniform to actually win it.

Biden's Pick

The White House announced this morning that President Biden's choice to replace Justice Stephen Breyer is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Jackson has not distinguished herself well on the federal bench. In fact, her decisions have been frequently overturned by higher courts. 

Senator Lindsey Graham, who desperately wanted to support Biden's nominee, quickly issued a statement declaring that "the radical left has won . . . yet again." Indeed, the radical pro-abortion group NARAL is applauding Judge Jackson's selection, as is radical Squad member Rep. Cori Bush. 

Before her appointment to the federal bench, Jackson was a "zealous advocate" for the accused terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, and an Obama appointee to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

If confirmed, Judge Jackson will undoubtedly be a reliable vote for ignoring or rewriting the Constitution in order to achieve the left's desired results.

Other Headlines

·     Fourteen state attorneys general are demanding the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his failure to secure the southern border.

·     Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a formal opinion declaring gender reassignment surgeries on minors a form of "child abuse."

·     Legislation protecting children from transgender medical procedures advanced in Alabama.

·     Legislation prohibiting teachers from pushing the radical transgender agenda on children advanced in Florida.

·     Legislation banning ballot harvesting advanced in Idaho.

North Carolina removed more than 400,000 ineligible voters from its voter rolls.