By Ray Cardello for February 21, 2023 Season 16 / Post 26

Watching the breaking news on Monday morning of President Biden arriving at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, I was not proud of him but angered at Biden’s twisted priorities. It is a horrific situation in Ukraine as the Russian military has been destroying it piece by piece for over a year. Joe Biden has been sending equipment and money to Ukraine, starting with ammunition, missiles, tanks, and possibly fighter jets. The United States has given more than $100 Billion in aid, and Joe Biden says that there is no limit to the amount of aid we will give to Ukraine. This blank check has to come with stipulations, but Biden appears to be OK with signing these checks with no strings. We should be insisting on and facilitating negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Russia is poised to come out of this winter break in the fighting and is reported to have 500,000 ground troops ready to invade and attack Ukraine. Ukraine is no match militarily for Russia, and defeat would be painful and inevitable. Even if the war ended today, Ukraine’s infrastructure is in shambles, and they will be looking for untold billions to rebuild. A negotiated end must be an option.

Biden constantly boasts about his relationship with foreign governments. He obviously could not parlay that into mutual assistance for Zelenskyy and his country. As of January 1, no other country in NATO had given more than $5 Billion except the United Kingdom. The world is leaving it up to America to fund and equip Ukraine. That may be good for Biden, but not for American taxpayers.

While Biden was planning this clandestine visit to Kyiv, he and his team ignored the tragedy in Ohio. The lies continue to mount, and the danger to the residents of East Palestine looms like a dark cloud. The cries for help fell on deaf ears. The Whites House refused to allow FEMA to visit and evaluate the site for two weeks. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg proved his incompetence for the job by not only staying away from Ohio but belittling the severity of the crash and the damage to the land, air, and water of East Palestine and the surrounding area. Residents are told they are safe to go back to their homes and drink the water. This is while surrounding streams and rivers are polluted with dead fish, and the water glows in the dark. The sore throats, congestion, and rashes tell these people nothing is safe about their neighborhoods, and they fear what will transpire in the years ahead.

East Palestine is a disaster and an embarrassment. These people have been cast aside as insignificant. Joe Biden must be held accountable for ignoring Americans in need while concerned with illegal immigrants, cartels, a lost cause in Ukraine, and the earthquake victims in Turkey.
Incompetence and twisted priorities will be the legacy of this Administration. We hope that it will be a one-term Administration.