Fire at will:

Ukraine has replaced COVID in the news and it hits me personally because my wife’s entire family lives in eastern Ukraine. A nephew over there is like a brother to my daughter, due to the many summers she spent there as a child.

Vigano Spreads False Russian Propaganda

Archbishop Vigano’s recent article “ON THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS” (he can’t even call it a war) is a disappointment. His Excellency writes brilliantly on the state of the Church and the need to fight globalists but gets a failing grade (from me at least) on Russia and Ukraine.

Vigano’s article is easy to pick on because it includes in one spot so much of the blatantly false Russian propaganda spread carelessly by conservative blogs I follow. For me as a solid conservative who keeps getting booted off social nets (Facebook banned me last summer, now looks like no more LinkedIn) the almost total dissonance on this issue between me and the blogs I read is disconcerting. But this morning I read a good one from Victor Davis Hanson so it appears I am sane, after all.

This War is Simple. Don’t Make it Complicated.

We certainly need to fight the New World Order — Vigano is right about that. But he makes that fight harder by over-complicating the Russo-Ukrainian War. The war is a simple war between good and evil. It really is. Evil Putin and his evil empire invaded a peaceful country and are now killing innocent civilians, including children, targeting them at home and even on the street while fleeing through supposed humanitarian corridors. Evil stuff. Genocide, actually, and not the first genocide Ukrainians have experienced from Russian imperialists.

There was no need for this war, apart from Russia’s genocidal imperialist designs. Russia did not have to invade. Ukraine never attacked Russia or any other country. The violence in Donetsk and Lugansk was fomented by Russia. Russian-speakers are not discriminated against; my wife’s family can attest to that.

From Ukraine’s standpoint the war is necessary only because it knew Russia would invade eventually. The question was when. This is all laid out in a 2019 video of Arestovich, top advisor to Zelensky. Not that Ukraine wants war, but it prefers war to disappearing as a nation due to genocide and/or enslavement. Ukraine has long recognized that this war, this demilitarization of Russia, is Ukraine’s price for admission to NATO.

Ample Grounds to Support Ukraine, short of Going to War

This is all the cause necessary for any reasonable person respectful of life to act decisively in support of Ukraine, short of actually engaging Russia in warfare which at this point appears unnecessary given the strong will of Ukrainians to fight for their homeland.

But it’s not enough for Vigano.

Vigano starts off talking about “respect for each other’s rights” as necessary for compromise, then engages in one-sided attacks on Ukraine and one-sided appeasement toward Russia, then appeals to Russia’s good nature to cease fire. That is either naive, evil, or both.

(Though engaging Russia is not necessary at this point, it’s crazy to take that off the table.)

Refutation of Vigano/Putin/Dugin Propaganda

So let’s go through Vigano’s weak, irrelevant, libelous, Russian imperialist propaganda point-by-point so the bloggers on the right who mindlessly spread it will cease and desist:

Expansion of NATO: Russia lost the Cold War and has no right to expect better treatment or appeasement of its perennial paranoia about being attacked. NATO is more paper tiger than Napoleon or Hitler. Any country can join NATO if NATO will have them and Russia has no right to attack them for doing so. Of course, expansion brings some risk, but I am just focusing on whether the attack was morally justified (it wasn’t). The Baltic states are in NATO right now. Does that mean Russia has the right to invade them? Russia has a long border with China and the two nations have not always been friendly. But nuclear war never broke out between them. And if Ukraine were to join NATO it does not even necessarily follow that there would be missilies deployed in Ukraine. All the NATO talk is just to cover Putin’s real reason for invading Ukraine, that he needs to control Ukraine and keep his boot on its neck because a thriving, democratic and free Ukraine, whether or not integrated into the EU, threatens his Russian imperialist ambitions. A free Kyiv also threatens Moscow’s aspiration to be Third Rome, which is part and parcel of those imperialist ambitions.
Blockade of Russian gas supplies: Vigano can theorize all he wants about a conspiracy to shut down supply from Russian gas pipelines, but countries should be able to shut off pipelines as they wish without fear of being attacked. That’s the only relevant issue here.
The Pentagon’s virological laboratories in Ukraine: So what? The US has these labs all over the world, in many countries. Should Russia be allowed to invade all of them? Is Russia really concerned about the US developing pathogens targeting Slavs specifically? Where is the evidence? Why is this suddenly an issue now that Putin’s War isn’t going so well? Isn’t this merely a bone to throw to Putin’s ally China, to deflect global Wuhan outrage?
Ukraine considering whether to rearm with nukes: Vigano says it is easy to see Russia viewing this as a threat. Why? Why would a peaceful country that has never attacked anyone, no matter how well armed, ever be considered a threat? Anyway, Zelensky is just thinking about it. And if he buys the nuke in California, there’s a ten day waiting period. So no need to attack just yet.
Corruption in Ukraine: There is corruption in Ukraine because there is corruption in Russia. Corruption is a legacy of communist rule. This is how Russia tries to influence Ukraine, to this day. We see the same corruption in the US emanating from communist China. Biden is at the epicenter. And the loop leads back to Ukraine, with Burisma and a lot we don’t know about. Democrats generate fake news about Trump working with Russia but it’s a safe bet to assume Democrats are doing whatever they falsely accuse Trump of doing. Corruption is everywhere, and Ukraine has made great strides in cleaning it up, with new transparency laws. Corruption is no reason to attack Ukraine, least of all if you are Putin’s Russia.
Color revolution sponsored by George Soros: George Soros is a bad guy. Evil guy. Actual, real live action Nazi collaborator (admitted so on 60 Minutes). Ukraine made a bad choice in following him, foolishly seeking EU and NATO membership instead of neutrality. But again that’s no reason to attack Ukraine. Attack Soros instead. He got his start shorting the pound and he’s probably shorting the ruble right now. China, you’re next. [Didn’t take long for my prediction to pan out: Three days after I posted this, Soros wrote this: “We can only hope that Putin and Xi will be removed from power before they can destroy our civilization.”]
Color revolution assisted by “nationalist paramilitary fringe”: What Vigano calls a “fringe” was able to bring liberty and plurality to Ukraine. It is a fact that even in well-armed societies, only a small minority train regularly and that is why Vigano can label them “fringe.” But in times of civil disorder, society relies on that fringe to preserve order. Praviy Sektor was not a Nazi group (they wanted Swiss-style neutrality) but Vigano segues immediately to discussing “Neo-Nazi paramilitary groups,” thus conflating the two as is common among the intellectually lazy Left. Nationalism is no cause to attack Ukraine.
Ukraine supports/empowers Nazis / Anti-semites / Racists: Vigano does not expressly state this but it’s a definite undertone. Yes, there are Nazis in Ukraine. As in other countries, it’s a tiny percentage. Perhaps a bit more in Ukraine because of historical factors (genocide by communist officials who were often Jewish; anti-semitic nationalists like Bandera who collaborated with Nazis to escape genocidal Soviet grip). Ukrainians of today are well-educated and realize Jews in Russia were forced into embracing Bolsheviks because the Russian Orthodox Church shunned them and committed pogroms against them. Ukraine today is more religious than Russia, and at the same time more tolerant and pluralistic than Russia. There is at least one black member of Ukraine’s parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and blacks are very scarce in Ukraine. Zelensky himself is a libertarian, non-religious Jew. (His benefactor, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, is also Jewish and has a long history of supporting Right Sector militia groups.) Yet Zelensky got over 73% of the vote for president, a tremendous number. Zelensky works with “neo-nazi” militias because guess what — they like guns and they are good at fighting. That doesn’t mean people who like guns are Nazis, but Nazis do like their guns. So you work with what you have. But even the notorious “neo-Nazi” Azov Battalion is only about 10-20% Nazi. And no one knows exactly why these individuals describe themselves as Nazi or how closely they fit that definition. Overall, Ukraine is very pluralistic and getting more so under Zelensky who is extremely popular, apparently even with Nazis! There are Nazis in every country and this is no cause to attack Ukraine.
Blatant violation of human rights in independent republics: They are not independent republics. They are Ukraine. Most of the civilians have fled, forced out by Russia. Remainder are largely combatants.
Why are we scandalized by Russia’s invasion yet not by others around the world: This war is a warrantless aggression upon a peaceful country in Europe, closely tied to Western Civilization (closer than Russia, actually) at a time when Western Civilization is in decline. Kyiv is the Third Rome, not Moscow. Moscow is more oriental than occidental and looks to China for alliance more than Europe. (Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.)
Ukraine persecutes Russian-speaking Ukrainians and forbids them from speaking in their own language: This would come as a complete surprise to our Russian-speaking family in eastern Ukraine! The Archbishop lies so much, is he really Catholic? As I write this, my wife and daughter (here in California) are watching on YouTube a recent detective show from the Ukraina channel and all the characters are speaking in Russian, even though everything takes place in Ukraine. But the credits are in Ukrainian. (One of the actors on this very show, a popular actor of Korean descent named Pasha Lee, age 33, was killed by Russian shelling in Irpin a couple days ago while defending his country.)
Use of civilians as human shields by Ukrainian Army: Where’s the evidence of this?
Arming mass of fanatics without rules or training: Clearly Vigano is not a fan of our natural right to bear arms. He appears less Catholic, the closer we look. The Second Amendment is, after all, based on the Catholic teaching around justifiable tyrannicide. Plus of course Thomas Aquinas’ teaching on self-defense. Though Vigano does have a point about the lack of training. Ukraine was actually destroying firearms in the early 2000’s though less than the EU wanted destroyed. Zelensky had a chance to expand gun rights in 2019 but said it was premature and needed to be studied. Now he is handing out rifles to those without training. Nobody is perfect but he is learning and adapting, at least.
Zelensky appears in drag in dance video: This is a really cheap shot by Vigano but I’m glad he brought it up because I know it’s out there. I’ve had two people send me the video. It’s shocking until you remember Zelensky is a comedic actor. Actually, it’s still shocking even after you remember that, but I had my daughter research the video (she is fluent in both Russian and Ukrainian) and she verified the video is an SNL-type spoof, a parody making fun of both Russia and homosexuality. The people forwarding this video are rightly concerned (because they don’t know the language or the culture) that Zelensky is somehow promoting homosexuality. Yet Vigano should know better and I suspect he does. The language shows he is making fun of homosexuality, and even without that it is preposterous to think he would be promoting homosexuality to the public because the Ukrainian people are very religious and very much against homosexuality (even though they are more tolerant than Russia). Vigano states falsely that Zelensky’s performance is perfectly consistent with the LGBTQ ideology of his European sponsors such as Klaus Schwab’s WEF. Putting aside Vigano’s mischaracterization of the video, he is correct to point out Zelensky’s political alignment with the international left and cultural marxist norms such as abortion and drug legalization. His party is described as libertarian but it has shifted to be more centrist. As noted above, he did not expand gun rights when he had a chance in 2019, which I’m sure he regrets now but that refusal undoubtedly pleased WEF. Query, how much of this reflects Zelensky’s actual views versus his effort to please Europe to gain membership in EU and NATO, which he views as important for Ukraine’s security? Regardless, Ukraine is very pluralistic and many still favor neutrality and are opposed to NATO or EU membership. Zelensky’s views are no cause for Russia to attack Ukraine.
Zelensky’s relationship with IMF and WEF: Again, even if Zelensky were out there rooting for the NWO, this would be no reason to ignore or appease Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky may just be playing along to gain power. He doesn’t seem to be a true believer of the Left, from what I see. If he is, he can be eliminated from office. It’s not either-or. We can fight both the global socialists of WEF and the national socialists of Russia/China, etc.
Ukraine war is part of plan for New World Order: Here Vigano mentions Kira Rudik, a member of Ukraine’s parliament who got a lot of press for saying she is fighting not only for Ukraine but also for the New World Order, even though she is just one member saying that and she is in a fringe leftist party, Horos, that barely got enough votes to have a seat in the parliament. What kind of support is she looking for from Europe? Doesn’t matter. The people of Ukraine do not want NWO. Sure, it is possible the WEF etc may be fomenting war in Europe to increase the various controls they have been pushing, but that is mere conjecture. Vigano says the war is being used as a pretext to raise fuel prices and force us into green tech, but that makes no sense because the war is temporary and prices would adjust with war’s end and also supply adjustments. Moreover, Ukraine was set on this path too long ago for the timing to be this perfect, right as the world is waking up to PharmaFraud. No, Ukraine was not part of THAT plan. It does look like Biden pushed Ukraine into this war, tempting Russia to invade, perhaps to achieve some sort of political cover for the midterms. The financial elites have always made money from war and they have a long history of pushing for more control. Nothing new there. Again, a “red herring” issue if there ever was one. We can fight both the global socialists and the national socialists of Russia/China. Indeed, we can play them off each other. The only relevant issue is that Russia chose to invade. They didn’t have to, and they shouldn’t have, but they did. And they need to leave now.
Vigano has the audacity to lecture a religiously devout Ukraine on the moral faults of Europe, and then point to Russia as a putative Third Rome that can join with Ukraine and the rest of the West to once again unite Christianity: Bullcrap! No one is uniting with evil Putin’s Russia except China! And Vigano and Putin need to get their history straight. (They both obviously draw inspiration from Aleksandr Dugin, Russian imperialist who wants to destroy America.) Ukraine is not Little Russia, as Putin calls it. Ukraine is Russia. Kyiv was a thriving city before Moscow was even a village. Moscow was a colony settled under Kyivan Rus. So Putin invading Ukraine is a little like California invading Virginia to make Virginia great again. Moscow will never be Third Rome and has no claim to it. Only Kyiv has the proper claim. Russia is not even very religious as most Orthodox joined only for political or social reasons. The Russian Orthodox Church, long dead, dessicated in its empty nationalistic shell, won’t even speak out against this evil war. Russians (not all, but the vast majority) are programmed for imperialism. Their only salvation can be under Kyivan Rus. Putin’s Russia is evil Cain, rising again to kill his brother Abel out of jealousy. This time, Abel fights back!
Russian citizens are at risk of being persecuted: I can live with that, and so can 44 million Ukrainians.

Take the High Road!

Bottom line, while it does look like Biden could have avoided this war, and could have provided Ukraine with better defense tools, I do not believe this is anything more than political cover for him in an election year. (That would explain why all of Hollywood and Big Business got the memo at the same time to support Ukraine.) I hope my fellow conservative bloggers out there are not appeasing Putin for the mere purpose of depriving Biden of this political cover. That would be counterproductive as it would cede the important high ground of saying “never again” to genocide in Ukraine.

Kyiv is the Third Rome, Not Moscow

The war in Ukraine will not further NWO significantly. The march toward NWO will continue until we kill it with free nation states. A Third Rome under Kyivan Rus can win that fight. Kyiv has been sacred since the baptism of Vladimir the Great in the Dnipr. The soil of all Ukraine was consecrated to this purpose in the genocide of Holodomor and is again with every new death of Putin’s evil war until the war ends with Putin’s total defeat. A Third Rome under Moscow/Magog would be a terror.

We can beat back the socialists (global and national) if we keep our head and our soul. Those who minimize the ongoing genocide in Ukraine because it distracts from other political goals (even valid ones such as holding globalist feet to the fire over genocidal COVID control), have lost their soul and this will undermine the good they were trying to do.

In sum, none of Vigano’s points outweigh the imperative to oppose genocide. Zelensky is far from perfect but that is not an argument against opposing genocide. Maybe he is using NWO to free Ukraine from Russia, or maybe he’s a true believer in NWO, but he is an improvement over prior Ukrainian leaders who destroyed hundreds of thousands of firearms, supported Russia, and tried to thwart Trump. Zelensky failed to liberalize gun laws when he had the chance in 2019, but he appears to have learned his lesson on that issue. And it seems he also now recognizes the folly of seeking NATO membership. He still seeks foreign aid and alliances, and that is a necessity at this point because Ukraine failed to develop full-fledged armed neutrality when it should have years ago. Zelensky certainly talks as if he is still a globalist and maybe he is, but he is also what Ukraine needs right now, and what the world needs to confront Putin’s genocide. Hopefully Zelensky will retreat from globalism when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we are nothing if we do not defend the innocent lives being lost to genocide in Ukraine.