Cold Blood: The world’s “blood should run cold” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Bidenyesterday told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

  “This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state,” Biden said, adding that the Russian invasion threatens the order created at the end of World War II.

  Protests broke out and more than 1,400 people were arrested across Russia yesterday after President Vladimir Putin announced he’s calling up 300,000 military reservists for his war with Ukraine. A group that monitors protests said there were arrests in 15 cities.

  There are also reports that one-way airline tickets out of Russia are selling out. Popular destinations are Belgrade, Tel Aviv, and Istanbul because a Russian doesn’t need a visa for those. 

  Russian men aged 18-27 are obliged to do military service and Putin is calling up those who have already been trained. “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will of course use all means at our disposal to defend Russia and our people,” Putin said. But it’s not just a matter of snapping his fingers. The military will have to equip the call-ups, whip them into fighting shape, and convince them to fight. It will take time, and winter is coming.

  As the Ukrainians take back territory, the Russian military has already proven that its fearsome reputation was overblown.  The Russians stumbled from the opening shot, starting a war in mud season, and failing to take the Capital of Kyiv. Since then they’ve lost thousands of men and uncounted, tanks, vehicles, artillery as well as valuable supplies. They’ve had trouble supplying and supporting their troops in the field. 

Econ 101: The Federal Reserve yesterday raised interest rates by ¾ percent for the third straight time, a severe hike to curb galloping inflation. The Fed has not acted this drastically since the early 1980s.

  It’s expected that the Fed will raise rates again this year and in 2023.

  “We have got to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said. “There isn’t.”

  This will result in higher interest rates for cars, homes, and credit cards, discouraging people from spending money, thereby lowering demand, and holding down price hikes. Theoretically. Layoffs and unemployment may follow.

  Powell said, “We want to act aggressively now, and get this job done, and keep at it until its done.”

Trump World: A federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department may continue using the classified documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in their criminal investigation and national security assessment, overruling the decision by lower court judge Aileen Cannon.

  The court fired several blasts at Trump and his lawyers, one of which said, “We cannot discern why (Trump) would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.” They said Trump “has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents.” 

  Trump bizarrely said last night in an interview with Fox News that he could declassify documents “just by thinking about it.” 

  Before that development, the biggest Trump story yesterday was that the New York Attorney general yesterday sued the former president, three of his three adult children, and the Trump Organization, accusing them of committing “staggering” business fraud. The suit seeks a minimum of $250 million as well as permanently barring all four Trumps from serving as officers of any business in the State of New York.

  Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Trump, Jr. are named with their father.

  The suit accuses the Trumps of inflating the value of assets to borrow money and insure properties, while deflating the values when it came to paying taxes. In just one example cited by New York AG Letitia James, Trump said his apartment in New York’s Trump Tower was 30,000 square feet, when in fact it was less than 11,000, making the 2015 value $327 million, a price no apartment in New York has ever sold for. She said Trump valued his Florida resort and home, Mar-a-Lago, at $739 million when it should have been closer to $75 million. He even put a value on unsold golf memberships.

  Playing off the title of Trump’s book in an attempt at a zingy soundbite, James said, “Claiming to have money that you do not have is not the ‘art of the deal,’ it’s the art of the steal.” 

  James said the facts of her suit are based on more than 65 witness interviews and millions of pages of documents her office reviewed.

  Trump, of course, claims to be the victim of politics. One of his lawyers said in a statement, “Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law — rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General’s political agenda.

The Spin Rack: Two Americans have been released as part of a prisoner of war exchange between Russia and Ukraine. — Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a fervent election denier, has agreed to speak with the January 6^th committee. — After being suspended for one year for racist behavior, owner Robert Sarver says he intends to sell the NBA Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. —  Former Minneapolis police office Thomas Lane, was sentenced to three years in prison for his part in the choking death of George Floyd in 2020. Lane held down Floyd’s legs while Derek Chauvin kept his knee on the man’s neck. Lane will serve concurrently with his three year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights. — The House yesterday passed an election reform bill clarifying that the vice president’s role in the electoral college count is strictly ceremonial. Donald Trump and his allies in 2020 tried to get Vice

President Mike Pence to alter the vote. 

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