The Patriot Post® · Kissinger's Column

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is once again making headlines. It’s not for anything he said recently, but for something he wrote eight years ago. In a 2014 column in the Washington Post, Kissinger warned against exactly the very scenario we are witnessing in Ukraine today.

He wrote that the West could make a major miscalculation if we don’t understand how Russia thinks of Ukraine. It’s worth quoting a key excerpt:

“The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then.

"Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom … were fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet … is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.”

The reason I’m bringing up this Kissinger analysis is because his warning was correct. Over the years, Putin has given at least three major speeches where he has said exactly what Kissinger wrote.

Kissinger’s concerns were echoed by Russian historian Robert Service, who points to an agreement signed in November by the Biden Administration that practically guaranteed Ukraine’s admittance into NATO. That was the fatal trigger for war.

I’m not making excuses for Putin’s invasion or his conduct of this war. But it is always wise to understand your adversary, and I seriously doubt this administration, which has been stumbling from one foreign policy disaster to another, has that capacity.

Speaking Of Ukraine…

I’m sure many of you remember the great 80s movie “Red Dawn.” It was about a Soviet invasion of the United States and how a group of Colorado high school students formed a resistance cell to fight the communist invaders. The movie stirred a lot of patriotic fervor in America during the height of the Cold War.

I’ve been reminded about “Red Dawn” watching the scenes of young Ukrainian civilians fighting back against Russian soldiers. Would Americans today fight against a foreign army invading our homeland?

Well, we don’t have to speculate about it. A recent poll asked the American people whether they would stay and fight for the country or flee. And as we noted earlier this week, there’s a big partisan divide. (Republicans were more likely to fight than Democrats.) But there’s another big divide, too.

Among those 50 and older, there’s overwhelming support for staying and fighting for America. Since I would be part of this “Geezer Army,” I’m proud of the fighting spirit of my generation.

But among those 18 to 34 — those young Americans in prime military age — nearly half said they would flee. These are heartbreaking findings.

This poll is another sad reminder of the sorry state of American education. This is what happens when you teach a generation of children that the country of their birth is evil, and that it was founded on racism and genocide.

Throughout the summer of 2020, we saw some American youth attacking memorials to our heroic founders. Now this poll tells us that many of them wouldn’t even bother to stop an enemy from attacking our country.

Of all the battles we’re fighting today, teaching our children and grandchildren why they should love and defend this country, which has given them and the world so much, may be the most important battle of all.

#Putin’s Price Hike? NO! #Biden’s BS

Over the past year, Joe Biden has offered a variety of explanations for skyrocketing gas prices, and why he’s supposedly powerless to do anything about it. The latest explanation is that it’s all Putin’s fault. And the media are dutifully parroting the White House’s propaganda.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Biden and his party, facing what could well be a crushing defeat in November, intend to make this election about Vladimir Putin and the American oil industry.

They will blame Putin for every problem we’re facing — the supply chain crisis, record inflation and rising gas prices. And they will also blame the “greedy” oil companies for not doing enough to ensure that you have plenty of cheap gas.

It is imperative that Republicans get ahead of this, and make sure the American people don’t fall for the left’s gaslighting.

It’s helpful to review a little recent history.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee were scheduled to hold a hearing on March 8th, intended as a follow-up to a hearing held in late October on climate change. But it was abruptly canceled.

Well, if you know anything about what happened in October, you’ll understand why Tuesday’s hearing never happened.

Back in October, Democrats summoned the CEOs of America’s top energy companies to Capitol Hill for what was essentially a Soviet-style show trial on how evil they were because they weren’t decreasing oil drilling fast enough.

Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself how the hearing was portrayed by House Democrats. One line of their own description says it all:

“More recently, some large fossil fuel companies took public stances in support of climate actions while privately continuing to … invest overwhelmingly in fossil fuel extraction, and support efforts to extend the life of fossil fuel investments.”

Of course, they invested in “fuel extraction.” That’s what oil companies do! And to the left, that’s a very bad thing.

Democrats and the media demonized these CEOs for not jumping on the “green energy” bandwagon, and they demanded that they commit to annual oil production cuts. Can you imagine what the price of gas would be today if the CEOs did what Democrats demanded and cut production?

At the time that hearing was held, gas prices were already on the rise. Even CNN was questioning Joe Biden about the increasing pain at the pump in October of 2021.

Meanwhile, at the White House Wednesday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki was publicly flogging U.S. oil companies for not drilling even more. “What additional permits do they need?” she said sarcastically. “I don’t think they need an embroidered invitation to drill.”

No, our oil companies don’t need to be told what to do. What they need is for the government to get out of the way.

But they have been warned for years that they will be crushed by Big Government unless they get on board with the radical climate change agenda. Rather than mocking them, Ms. Psaki should be sending an embroidered apology.

Biden’s Inflation Crisis

I know it won’t come as any surprise to you that inflation continues to be a major problem. But the official figures for February were released yesterday, and they are shocking. Inflation grew nearly 8% last month. That means your paychecks are shrinking, and any wage gains are being wiped out by higher costs.

The most obvious higher costs are gas prices — up 24% over the last month and 53% over the past year. This is a massive tax on working families for which Joe Biden and the Democrats have no answer.

Disney’s Radical Demands

Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly condemned Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education law, pledged $5 million to homosexual rights organizations and demanded a meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The main provision of that new law is a prohibition on exposing children in kindergarten through the third grade to material dealing with gender identity, homosexuality and transgenderism. Walt Disney must be rolling over in his grave that the company he founded would attack this parental rights law.

DeSantis saved Disney from the COVID shutdowns. Chapek should be thanking DeSantis, not berating him on behalf of left-wing activists who are trying to impose their values on the rest of us.

DeSantis made it clear that he isn’t backing down. In a statement, the governor’s office declared, “The same Florida parents who take their families to Disney also support parental rights in education, because they do not want their young children exposed to inappropriate content about sex and gender theory at school.”

TAKE ACTION: Please take a moment to contact the Walt Disney Company. Tell them that you support parental rights in education, and that Disney should not dictate our values or support the indoctrination of young children.