IN CASES SUCH AS THIS, A GOOD MEMORY IS INDISPENSABLE:  The New York Times Hasn’t Always Cared About Ukrainians.

THIS IS WHY IF THE LEFT IS GOING TO REVERSE ITSELF ON VACCINES:  Canada’s trucker convoy may be over, but the problems are hardly over for the truckers – and for the rest of us.

If they’re going — like that — to pretend this never happened; if they’re not going to admit that last week they were still trying to Karen everyone; if they are going to attempt to continue their barrage of lies, they must kneel and apologize to the Canadian truckers. And to everyone else.

Now.

And then they must admit they’re faithless, spinless, brainless shitweasels who should never come within shouting distance of the levers of power, and who should be laughed out of the room if they so much as run for dog catcher.

That is the only way to preserve civilization.

WHILE I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD FEAR THE PEOPLE:  Another Fence to be Built Around the Capitol Ahead of Biden State of the Union Address.

Using tax money extorted from We the People to protect themselves against what in their heart of hearts they know to be our justified and just anger is mind-boggling.  Not one cent for fences. Not one cent for National Guard mobilization. Not one cent for Capitol police.

Does the Junta want to feel like they’re safe from our wrath? Stop conducting themselves in a way that justifies our wrath. That is all.

At least Trump hired his own bodyguards.

THESE ARE NOT SERIOUS PEOPLE:  Department of Interior to Change Names of Over 600 Sites to Remove the Word ‘Squaw’.

It’s time for the American people to send each and every one of these departments/agencies/federal excrescences pink slips. “You are no longer needed. We don’t believe you’re contributing anything to the welfare or safety of this nation. Learn to code.”

THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE REVERSING THEMSELVES ON THE COVIDIOCY:  Who Is Responsible for the Death of Matthew Perna?

THIS WAS COOKED UP BETWEEN THE BRANDON JUNTA AND PUTIN:  Some Subversive Thoughts On Ukraine.

The Junta thought they’d let Putin take Ukraine, it would be easy. And Putin would destroy the evidence of Biden malfeasance.  But of course nothing goes according to their plan and the right did not defend Putin — why would they think we would? oh, yeah, they believe their own lies — and now they’ve painted themselves into a corner. Just as Putin did.

The wages of being divorced from reality.

CORRUPT, YES.  AUTHORITARIAN, DEFINITELY. BUT DO THEY HAVE TO ALSO BE STUPID?  FEMA: If Faced With Nuclear Explosion, Wear a Mask and Maintain Social Distancing Recommendations.

I think it’s time to examine if a lot of the departments, agencies, groups and who knows what that the federal department has accrued since FDR are really, really needed.  In fact, it’s time and past time to prune the Federal government to the strictest possible interpretation of its constitutional mandate, and reserve all other power to the states and — particularly — individuals.

That great a concentration of power by nature attracts the corrupt and the deranged. Enough.

TRIALS. AND AT THE VERY LEAST PUBLIC FLOGGINGS:  NYC Mayor Eric Adams Plans to Drop Vaccine Mandate, Masks in Schools.

I am serious. If we let them get away with making people take part in a vast trial for an untried (and the more it’s tried, the worse it fares) therapy, if there are no consequences, then we owe an apology to a bunch of dead Nazis. And I have no intention of apologizing to Nazis.

Worse, the next thing they come up with to try to stay seated and propagate their crazy, non-functional ideology will be even more stupid and harmful. They must be held to account. And if no one with power punishes them, we must revile them, mock them, and never let them forget they are criminals and the worst possible kind of scum.

RACIALISM IS A MENTAL ILLNESS:  Small Twitter Account Upstages Nikole Hannah-Jones After Her Bizarre Ukraine Hot Take.

She can’t possibly have always been this stupid, right?

HE’S RIGHT, YOU KNOW:  Shapiro REACTS to SNL’s Insane COVID Hypocrisy Skit.

Go apologize to the Canadian truckers. On your knees, you hypocritical bastards.

And the worst part, you know this is coming. Not in ten years, not in five; in two months. In two months they’ll tell us they were the ones on the side of freedom. And what’s worse? They’ll believe it.

But the worst part?  People over the world, following our corrupt technocrats lead, shut down, made themselves ill, made themselves paupers. People starved. People died of untreated disease. Businesses failed. Families were broken up. People died alone, and their relatives were denied the comfort of a funeral.

All of it, all of it so that the left could steal the election and install Brandon the wonder animated corpse and his side kick, the cackle that gaffes. And now to make that dynamic duo look better (Oh, please, there isn’t enough morticians wax!) they’ll completely reverse everything. And that’s fine. And they expect to get away with it.

We should have trials, right here, in this country, of every person complicit in these crimes, starting with Fauci, who more and more appears to have been cloned from the desiccated penis of Josef Mengele.  And the rest of the world needs to take a deep, long look in the mirror, and realize that yes, America is pretty amazing, but the American Media and the American Left are not America. In fact, for most of them there are serious doubts they’re even American. At least where it counts, in the cultural software running in their heads, they’re sure as heck no longer our countrymen.

Yes, I am angry. I’m very angry. And I’m not alone. They won’t like us when we’re angry.

I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION ABOUT THIS:  Recent photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggests that there’s something to all those rumors that he’s losing what’s left of his mind.

Does he own a white, fuzzy cat?

OH, WE DO, WE DO:  Stacey Abrams: Americans Should ‘Legitimately Question’ the Election System.

Just not in a way she’d like.

No more same day registration, no vote harvesting, no vote by mail.  One day voting. Paper voting. Purple fingers. All vote counting to be done on camera and in full view of observers of all parties, plus anyone who wants to see. If cameras are off/no observers present? Those votes can’t be counted.

The end.

ELON PROMISED, ELON DELIVERED:

ANALYSIS: TRUE:

AT LEAST ONE OF THEM ISN’T ACTING:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG. You can bet the press will.

NICE TO SEE THE GERMANS ACKNOWLEDGING REALITY: Ukraine-Russia War Triggers Major German Policy Changes:

In their coalition agreement, the center-left SPD, the Greens, and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) had agreed on a restrictive arms export policy that does not allow any weapons deliveries to crisis regions — and they held on to this stance in recent weeks. The coalition agreement also states that “exceptions can only be made in justified individual cases, which must be documented in a publicly transparent manner.”

Baerbock explained her U-turn in parliament on Sunday, saying: “Just a few weeks ago, I stood here and said on the subject of arms deliveries that a decision to make a 180-degree turn in foreign policy must be taken at the right moment and with full awareness. Now — sad as it is — is the moment to do so.” . . .

Upgrading the Bundeswehr
For decades, given the country’s history as an aggressor, anyone in Germany who advocated strengthening the Bundeswehr was quickly considered a warmonger. But now the military is to be upgraded, and massively so. The armed forces are to be brought up to speed with a special fund to the tune of 100 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
Military strategists are now discussing exactly where to invest. For example, they are considering the development of new tanks and combat aircraft together with European partners, especially France.

One thing seems certain: there will be a shift away from international missions. Twenty years ago, then-Defense Minister Peter Struck (SPD) famously said: “The security of the Federal Republic of Germany is also being defended at the Hindu Kush.” That was the beginning of Germany’s Afghanistan mission. In the following years, the Bundeswehr moved into more and more operational areas far from its own territory, as it was believed that Germany itself was safe anyway.

Now the Afghanistan mission is over, the end of the Mali mission — which started in 2013 — is also looming, while NATO territory seems to be under immediate threat and possibly even Germany itself. So it is no wonder that the issue of national defense, the original purpose of the Bundeswehr, is coming back into focus. . . .

Rethinking energy policy
Germany is to a large scale dependent on Russian energy supplies: Russia accounts for more than half of Germany’s natural gas imports and more than 40 percent of its oil imports. They can hardly be replaced quickly.

The German government wants to significantly expand renewable energies. At the same time, it was planning to phase out coal-fired power generation and nuclear power. Hydrogen power is an option that is being developed, but not yet at a point where it can yield large-scale electricity output. When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, new gas-fired power plants were supposed to fill the energy gap.

To counteract dependence on Russia for gas, terminals for liquefied gas from the US are now to be built.
And the government is thinking of letting the nuclear power plants that are still operating and some coal-fired power plants run longer than originally planned. This is particularly bitter for the Greens, because they want to phase out nuclear energy and coal as early as possible. But “there are no taboos, everything is up for discussion,” says Green Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

They should in fact be building new nuclear plants to go into operation “as early as possible.” Still, give the Germans credit for changing a failed policy in the face of evidence of failure, something the United States hasn’t been particularly good at of late.

UPDATE: From the comments: “A sure sign that you are living in troubled times: ‘Great! The Germans are re-arming!'”

OPEN THREAD: Everybody wants to rule the world.

Well, not me, really. I just want to make it leave me alone.

ROGER SIMON: Trump Rocks the House to End the Best CPAC in the Worst of Times.

Who says we don’t live in an age of miracles?

Former President Donald Trump was scheduled to begin his wrap-up speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2022 at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26, and he actually began at 7:10 (I checked my watch with incredulity).

But, in truth, it wasn’t the age of miracles.

It was the age of Biden, which meant rampant inflation with endless supply-chain woes everywhere, insane COVID-19 mandates with masked children, the Afghanistan debacle, and now Russian President Vladimir Putin flirting with World War III in Ukraine. (As I type this, Putin has raised his nuclear arsenal to “special combat readiness.” God help us!)

No wonder Trump was in a hurry.

And he delivered what was, at least to me, one of the best CPAC wrap-ups ever—I’ve been to maybe a half-dozen over the years—and one of his best speeches overall.

This is no doubt in part because of the gravity of the current situation. Trump himself called it ”the most chaotic world since WWII.”

He’s not wrong: Russia Warns Nations of ‘Consequences’ for Sending Weapons to Ukraine and Wonders if Germany Was Ever “De-Nazified.”

I BLAME VENUSIAN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES: Venus’ extreme surface heat drives swirling winds in upper atmosphere, study finds.

‘GIFT TO REPUBLICANS:’ Schumer Allows Vote on Dead on Arrival Abortion Bill. Nearly entire Dem caucus votes for bill that would allow termination of full-term pregnancy. “The final vote to advance the bill was 46 to 48, with Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) as the lone Democrat to vote in opposition. The bill passed in the House in September with support from all but one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas).”

I HOPE HE’S RIGHT: Why Russia is highly unlikely to use nuclear weapons.

15 DAYS TO SLOW THE SPREAD: Public Health Erred on the Side of Catastrophe.

Lockdowns and other mandates weren’t the exclusive driver of many of the various harms I’ve described; general fear of the virus also contributed to some of them. However, it should also be noted that public health officials—and media that overwhelmingly emphasized negative stories—whipped up a level of fear that led people to overstate the level of danger actually posed by the virus.

There’s one more way in which characterizing lockdowns and other mandates as “erring on the side of caution” plays a psychological trick: Since the phrase is embedded with the notion of good intentions, it conditions citizens to be forgiving of the bureaucrats and politicians who imposed them.

Note, however, that in most everyday usage of “erring on the side of caution,” the choice to “err” is made voluntarily by individuals who bear the consequences of their own decisions—or by others, like an airplane pilot or a surgeon, to whom we’ve voluntarily and unmistakably granted control of our well-being.

The grim impacts of lockdowns and other mandates, however, were coercively imposed on society, to say nothing of the fact that so many of the edicts represented gross usurpations of power and violations of human rights.

On top of all that, the edicts were reinforced by Orwellian censorship and ostracism leveled at those who dared raise questions that have now proven valid.

So make no mistake: Overreaching public health officials and politicians—and the journalists-in-name-only who served as their mindless, unquestioning megaphones—have fully earned our withering condemnation. Indeed, holding them accountable is essential to sparing ourselves and future generations from repeating this dystopian chapter of human history.

With an suddenly mask-optional State of the Union speech coming up tomorrow, read the whole thing.

Exit question:

OUT: FIGHTING WHITE SUPREMACY. In: Fighting Height Supremacy.

YOU DON’T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS: 31 and counting: Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch will not run for reelection.