The Russian military claims it now controls the skies over the entire country of Ukraine. US media was unable to confirm or deny the claim, simply noting that the Russian military has been known to lie in the past. Imagine! Not that the US military hasn’t also lied in the past. But I disgress.

Here’s my point. There is so much mis- and disinformation about what’s going on in Russia’s unprovoked attack on the sovereign country of Ukraine, that at times it drifts into the theater of the absurd. Other examples: Belarus is going to take back their nuclear arms? Putin is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, based on how he swings his arms (appendages, not weapons)? US Special Ops veterans are joining the war, based on Zelensky’s invitation to foreigners to come and help out? Social media and actual war make for strange comrades.

I’ve taken to Twitter after a many year hiatus to follow Zelensky’s posts. That way I know that he’s still alive, ostensibly, and that Kyiv hasn’t been taken by the Russians yet. The whole paint department at my HD is tracking him during our shift, rooting for his longevity. I suspect there are many other social and work places doing the same. The entire world is watching; he’s clearly managed the PR end of this war thing a whole lot better than his nemesis, VTI. That’s because his last gig before president was TV actor. You know, like Ronald Reagan? But is his success sustainable? That depends on so many different variables, that anything can and will happen. Duh! Talk about stating the obvious. Come on!

Speaking of the paint department, things are getting just a trifle easier. I’m making it through my shifts without a great deal of physical difficulty. I seem to understand the system better now, making fewer mistakes and having to ask for help less. Still very much in learning mode, but now it’s fringe instead of mainstream stuff. Most important, I’m getting ideas for making things better. Isn’t that the ultimate in successful job onboarding?

I’ve been reading The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln, by Larry Tagg. The book does a great job of detailing the period of time between Abe winning the election and his inauguration. Most history books just gloss over that period, preferring to jump into the war itself. That’s too bad, because a lot happened between November 1860 and March 1861 that is most instructive and applicable to today. Compare the southern aristocracy and VTI. All that which they feared came about as a direct result of their own actions. In the case of the American south, they feared the loss of their human capital wealth from Lincoln freeing the slaves during his administration. They lost the war and Congress created the 12th and 13th Amendments to the Constitution outlawing slavery. VTI allegedly fears Ukraine joining the EU and NATO. Putin invades Ukraine, and immediately Zelensky asks to join the EU. Can a NATO membership be far behind? Could there have been negotiations to stop either of these from happening? Larry suggests no for the south’s secession. Positions on both sides were hardened well before Lincoln’s election. I’m fairly certain the same could be said about Putin. He’d made up his mind and counted to three, well before the actual invasion on February 24th.

Things will end badly for Putin, just as they did for the South. But instead of Sherman’s scorched earth throughout the landscape, it’ll be scorched Rubles and Russian stocks. And where are the oligarchs in all this, the equivalent aristocracy, those who collectively have the most to lose? They will end up much worse off for this adventure. As previously mentioned, they might want to start looking around now for a new guy to head their enterprise. Putin’s time is fast coming to an end, either because he’s going to try to play the nuke card, or because of his poorly swinging arm, indicating a disease that leads to hallucinations. Neither option is good for billionaires in Mother Russia. Boys?