Today's News: Small Mercies

Thank heaven for small mercies, at least -- because as awful as things are, at least TFG (The Former Guy) isn't still president:

Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV https://t.co/1ptv7kcil4

— Casey Ho (@CaseyHo) March 6, 2022

What an ass! Compare and contrast with how Biden is handling the uncertainty and danger of these times:

As part of the constant dialogue, I had another conversation with @POTUS. The agenda included the issues of security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 6, 2022

Such admirable courage in Ukraine:

Incredible ad from the Ukrainian army on what motivates them…
pic.twitter.com/qo2t9ZARVe

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) March 6, 2022

People asked in the Mud and Truck maintenance threads earlier what the Ukrainians could do to make the rasputisa mud worse.

They opened the Kyiv reservoir to accomplish just that.

The Russians pushed three Tank/Mech divisions into a flood plain the Ukrainians flooded https://t.co/39SCHaOZwd

— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) March 5, 2022

Ok, so who had Tactical Pickles on their Bingo card? pic.twitter.com/yPuUBMl2E8

— Penina (@PeninaD) March 5, 2022

What a real trucker convoy looks like https://t.co/KkrebzRzxc

— Peter Strzok (@petestrzok) March 5, 2022

Lots of thoughtful articles and good tweet threads today, with fresh information and insight:

The Ukraine crisis has folks questioning @NATO's post-Cold War expansion into Eastern Europe, especially former Soviet Republics (namely the Baltic states of 🇪🇪🇱🇹🇱🇻).

So how exactly did the Baltics get into NATO?

[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/vN1qrD0521

— Paul Poast (@ProfPaulPoast) January 22, 2022

"I still counsel caution and restraint, a position I know many Americans find impossible to understand. Every measure of our outrage is natural, as are the calls for action. But emotions should never dictate policy," @RadioFreeTom writes. https://t.co/jI0gNNVGEr

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 6, 2022

A tweet thread on why we are almost certainly overestimating the amount of strength the Russian Army has on hand, and the amount they can actually get to Ukraine when their first force losses get so high that it starts becoming combat ineffective. Yes, its logistics. @BoringWar

— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) March 5, 2022

Lots of calls for NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, as if this is some limited form of intervention in Russia’s war. It’s not. Establishing a no-fly zone requires going to war against Russia, risking rapid escalation. A 🧵 https://t.co/0pWHbNnA6K

— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) March 5, 2022

But until Russia launched its war, Ukrainian officials openly discounted warnings of an attack. I also don’t recall any of those now calling for a no-fly zone calling on NATO to deploy the necessary forces to Ukraine to deter Russia’s attack in the first place. 8/end

— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) March 5, 2022

The West’s measures have triggered chaos in Russia’s $1.6trn economy. This will cause alarm around the world, not least in China, which will recalculate the costs of a war over Taiwan https://t.co/TeBEUKiTJo

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 5, 2022

Options for helping Ukraine are limited, but Biden is working as hard as he can to find some:

There are no good options when a nuclear power makes war. You stay out of it, send supplies and hope for the best because the only alternative will result in nuclear war. Russian military doctrine includes 1st use of nuclear weapons. A no fly zone means nuclear war.

— Spartan Jay Jay 🇺🇦 (@SpartanJayJay) March 6, 2022

WSJ: The U.S. is working with Poland on the possibility of Poland providing fighter jets to Ukraine in return for American F-16 jet fighters, U.S. officials said on March 5.

The deal would require White House approval and congressional action, U.S. officials said

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 6, 2022

When the going gets tough, the tough get trolled on twitter:

Americans: We can endure higher prices for food and gas if it means putting the screws to Putin. Consider it a patriotic donation in the fight for freedom over tyranny.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 4, 2022

George Takei is a better human and American than anyone attacking him.

— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) March 5, 2022