Monday Reading

 

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

First, Happy Valentine's Day to the "observant"!  If you're curious, here's a history of the holiday.

The Freedumb Convoy hosers are melting away, thanks to overdue enforcement actions:

North America's busiest land border crossing has reopened after a nearly weeklong blockade by protesters decrying Covid-19 mandates crippled the key trade route, while demonstrators in the nation's capital are expected to begin shifting out of residential areas Monday.

The standoff at the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, had paralyzed traffic between Canada and the United States. Its reopening allows "the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again," the Detroit International Bridge Company said in a statement Sunday night.

 

Protesters with the "Freedom Convoy" in recent weeks also have gridlocked Ottawa's downtown core and impeded border crossings at Alberta and Montana, Manitoba and North Dakota, and British Columbia and Washington state.  [snip]

 

Windsor Police on Sunday started arresting protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Up to 30 protesters had been arrested, most of whom were charged with "criminal mischief," Windsor Police Chief Pamela Mizuno said Sunday afternoon.

 

Police also seized five vehicles from protesters Sunday, Mizuno said, and seven vehicles were towed Saturday. Police expect to have a heightened presence in the area to maintain order, the chief said.

 

"Let me be crystal clear: It is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure," Ontario Premier Doug Ford tweeted Sunday. "Fines for noncompliance will be severe, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment." 

 

Hopefully, we've learned some lessons from this, because the fascists and their dupes are already planning to have Freedumb Convoys here in the States as they have in other Western nations.

 

David Ignatius writes about Putin's impending "march of folly" into Ukraine:

 

The world will be watching in horror if Russia invades Ukraine this week — but just watching. Ukraine will fight alone, as Russian tanks roll across the flat, frozen terrain; precision bombs destroy key targets near Kyiv and other cities; and the country becomes a killing field unlike anything Europe has seen since 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will quickly win the initial, tactical phase of this war, if it comes. The vast army that Russia has arrayed along Ukraine’s borders could probably seize the capital of Kyiv in several days and control the country in little more than a week, U.S. officials believe.

But then Putin’s real battle would begin — as Russia and its Ukrainian proxies try to stabilize a country whose people largely detest them. If just 10 percent of Ukraine’s 40 million people decided to actively resist occupation, they would mount a powerful insurgency. Small bands of motivated fighters subverted America’s overwhelming military power in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Russia’s problems wouldn’t just be inside the borders of Ukraine. As Putin tried to digest what U.S. officials hope will be a Ukrainian “porcupine,” Russia’s economy would be squeezed tight by sanctions; its business and political leaders would become international pariahs; and much of the wealth Putin and his chums have accumulated would be frozen.

We'd rather Putin alone digest a porcupine and not have the people of Ukraine, and even his fellow Russians, suffer and die for his megalomania.

 

David French reports on disturbing examples of a growing Christofascist movement:

On Thursday night in Castle Rock, Colorado, a group called “FEC United” (FEC stands for faith, education, and commerce) held a “town hall” meeting that featured a potpourri of GOP candidates and election conspiracy theorists. Most notably, the event included John Eastman, the Claremont scholar who authored the notorious legal memos that purported to justify the decertification and reversal of the 2020 election results.

During the meeting, a man named Shawn Smith accused Colorado secretary of state Jena Griswold of election misconduct. “You know, if you're involved in election fraud, then you deserve to hang,” he said. “Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.” 

“I was accused of endorsing violence,” he went on. “I’m not endorsing violence, I’m saying once you put your hand on a hot stove, you get burned.” As soon as he said, “you deserve to hang,” an audience member shouted “Yeah!” and applause filled the room. You can watch the moment here. 

The moment, almost entirely ignored by the national media, is worth noting on its own terms, but perhaps the most ominous aspect of the evening was its location—a church called The Rock. 

If you think it’s remotely unusual that a truly extremist event (which included more than one person who’d called for hanging his political opponents) was held at a church, then you’re not familiar with far-right road shows that are stoking extremism in church after church at event after event. 

Having seen their Lord Jesus Trump ousted from the White House, these Christofascists are organizing for the next battle to restore him to power.  (Btw, why is seditionist John Eastman still at large?)

If you're a fan of rap and hip-hop, last night's Super Bowl halftime performance was a star- studded spectacle.  You can read one largely non- judgemental review here. Wonkette's humorous view here.

On the other hand, we feel we can be totally judgemental about Infidel 753's latest link round-up to interesting posts from around the Internet:  it's an epic labor of love (very appropriate for today), and well- worth checking out!