The War Room:  Russian forces are reported to have gained some ground as they inch their way to the Ukraine capitol city of Kyiv but they are paying heavily for it.

  Video released yesterday of a Russian tank column under attack reveals a stunning incompetence in Russian operations. The tanks outside Kyiv were in a double column, nose to tail, and unprotected by infantry on the flanks. It provided what’s known in war as a “target rich environment” and the Ukrainians chewed up the tanks with accurate anti-tank weapons.

  In evident frustration, the Russians have begun missile attacks on cities and towns far from the front lines in a bombardment intended to punish and frighten Ukraine citizens.

  The mayor of Mariupol says at least 1,300 citizens in that city have been killed. Many are being buried in mass graves. The Red Cross says hundreds of thousands of people in that city are without food, water, and medical care.

  Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told the BBC that the Russians are committing war crimes. “There are attacks on civilians that cannot be justified in any way whatsoever,” she said.

Economic War: President Joe Biden is expected to announce today that along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the US will move to revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia. Removal of that status could make it more difficult for Russia to trade with other countries.

  In the first major step by Wall Street companies, the investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are closing their operations in Russia. They are joining the growing crowd of retailers, oil companies, and sports organizations and events to suspend operations in Russia.

  Both companies couched their decision more in regulatory pressure and protecting their clients’ money than in moral principle.

The Information War: The Russians now claim that the attack on a maternity hospital was justified because it was actually occupied by hostile forces, of which there’s no proof.

  The Russians also claim that a bloodied pregnant woman emerging from the wreckage was actually a Ukrainian model in makeup. The Russian embassy in London said, “It’s the indeed pregnant beauty blogger Marianna Podgurskaya” and that “She actually played roles of both pregnant women in the photos.”

  On the theory that Russia does what it accuses others of doing, the US is now warning that Russia might mount a chemical or biological attack in Ukraine. 

  In the weeks leading to the invasion, the Russians screamed that Ukraine was about to attempt a re-taking of the southern Donbas region, and then the Russians attacked first.

  This week the Russians claimed that the US is looking to manufacture bird-borne viruses to attack Russian forces in Ukraine.  “Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false-flag operation using them,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. “It’s a clear pattern.” 

Inflation: The Ukraine crisis and pandemic-related shortages have caused a dramatic increase in prices that’s killing lower and middle income Americans. This morning, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.33, up two cents from yesterday.

  Across the board, prices are way up for everything Americans buy over the past year. Gasoline, up 38 percent; Food, 7.9 percent; Clothing, 6.6 percent. Even used cars are up $41.2 percent.

Culture War: Right on the heels of the Florida bill that’s been derided as “Don’t say gay,” the state senate yesterday passed a  law that limits how schools and workplaces teach and speak about race and identity.

  This one has been dubbed by opponents as the “Stop Woke Act.” It prohibits teachings or professional trainings that cause someone to feel guilty or ashamed about the past collective actions of their race or sex. In other words, white men shouldn’t have to feel bad about what white men did in the past.

  Florida has already banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory, an academic concept that discusses racism as not just individual bias or prejudice, but a construct embedded in legal systems and policies that hold down  non-white people. The theory points to things like discrimination in bank loans and single family house zoning that stall nonwhites from living in better neighborhoods.  

  Political conservatives don’t like the finger of blame being pointed at their white power base. The conservate Heritage Foundation, for instance, has said “CRT is destructive and rejects the fundamental ideas on which our constitutional republic is based,” but then again, so does racial discrimination.

The Spin Rack: The Transportation Security Administration is extending its  mask mandate for airplanes and other public transportation through at least April 18^th. — North Carolina Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn this week  was charged with driving with a revoked license after being pulled over by the highway patrol. Cawthorn also has two recent speeding tickets but faces up to 20 days in jail for this most recent arrest. — Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced yesterday to five months in jail and 30 months on probation for staging a hate crime against himself near his Chicago apartment in 2019. Over Smollett’s claims of innocence, the judge said, “You’ve destroyed your life as you knew it,” adding later, “Your very name is a verb for lying.”  

Family Man: The House committee investigating the January 6^th insurrection has subpoenaed the cellphone records of Stephen Miller, the former senior advisor to President trump. The man who had the direct ear of the president of the United States was on his parents’ family plan.

-30-