THE SPEAKER RISES

Mike Johnson, Republican House speaker, finally agreed to the vote on the military aid packet to Ukraine (and Israel, Taiwan), an easy win for the coalition wherein reason prevailed. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the demented ultras in the Republican ranks are asking now for retaliation.

The speaker finally made the right choice, but he might have alienated the Republican hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus, where hysteria and fabrications usually come together. That this alliance between Republicans and Democrats happened after Johnson met Trump in Mar-a-Lago adds mystery to surprise. His future as Speaker is hard to predict but nutty Republicans are unlikely to be in a forgiving mood.

Obviously, Ukraine was in the emergency room and in need of a life-saving intervention. It is also high noon for the EU and NATO to stop procrastinating. The military priorities are self- explanatory but the attention should equally focus on the ongoing culture war of civilization (singular) that is being waged against the values the West has deemed safe and irreversible since the "end" of the Cold War. The enemy at the border is gaining allies inside, who try to undermine pluralism and democracy. The relentless sabotage of truth is now a real, well-orchestrated menace.

 A vicious aggression is waged against what is left of the former world order. The West might have acted too arrogantly after the demise of the Soviet Union. It should now beware of not becoming naive under the current circumstances. 

The little shipwrecks from "warships" from various European countries in the Mediterranean today, supposedly sent to safeguard navigation around the Strait of Ormuz, are the perfect dark fairy tale for hapless commitments and pathetic loss of face. The French president wants a European military resurgence but with dwarfs like these, ambitions die a quick death.

Maybe the House speaker will lose the support of some of his "troops", but with moral freaks like these it might be better to pack anyway.  Proximity soils.