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Putin blames the wrong people

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that the Ukrainian state was in jeopardy, and he knew just who to blame — the Ukrainians themselves, or at least the democratically elected Ukrainian leaders who have pushed poor Vlad into sending his troops into their country, and refuse to accept their presence by defending their country. Putin has been spreading lies and manufacturing offenses to give him an excuse to invade Ukraine. Now that the Ukrainian resistance is slowing him down while the world unites against him, Putin continues his lies by blaming his victims. Meanwhile, ...

Baseball strikes out

If anyone thought baseball owners and players would gain some wisdom this week and come to an agreement that would allow the season to start on time, they don’t understand the history of sports labor negotiations. Talks broke off on Tuesday, the owners’ deadline for ending their player lockout in time to start the season on time. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the opening day and the first two series for each team were cancelled. It’s all about the money. The owners, who have it, want to keep as much as they can. The players, who get paid plenty, want to get paid more. They ...

Putin’s plans for Ukraine are failing

We’re not sure how Vladimir Putin intended his invasion of Ukraine to go, or what plans he had for the country are, if the invasion is successful. But we doubt the current situation is what he had in mind. Putin no doubt expected the Russian military might would steamroll over the Ukrainian military opposition. So far, that’s not happening. Perhaps he expected the separatist attitudes in eastern Ukraine were widespread throughout the country, and the Ukrainian people would welcome, or at least accept the Russian occupation. But the Ukrainian people are united in opposition, and ...

Surplus still growing, but still chancy

Minnesota’s latest state economic forecast shows the state’s whopper of a surplus is getting even more whopping — instead of $7.7 billion, it could be as much as $9.25 billion. But at this point the state budget forecast is, as the old saying goes, counting chickens before the eggs hatch. The forecast that came out Monday is based on a lot of projections and assumptions that could change drastically in the months ahead as the effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spreads throughout the world. Economic sanctions designed to punish Russia could raise inflation rates and fuel ...

Brave Ukrainians fighting for their freedom

“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” — John F. Kennedy Right now, the Ukrainian people are paying the high price for their freedom. Fathers and husbands are sending their loved ones to other European countries with an uncertain future. Men and women remain to fight the invading Russians. And fighting is what they are doing with much success so far. They are keeping the Russians at bay outside major Ukrainian cities. While no official numbers have been ...

The world vs. Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine, taking his country back toward the halcyon days of the old Soviet Union when Moscow controlled wide swaths of territory, from the Baltic Sea to the Chinese border, and countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and East Germany looked to the Soviets for leadership. Under the guise of a “peacekeeping” excursion into eastern Ukraine, Putin sent Russian troops with bombs, missiles and artillery Thursday to start taking back the territory he thinks the Soviet Union should never have lost. Putin said he sent the troops to protect ...