Dear Friends and Patriots,

Today, I want you to peruse a letter authored by one of my Senators, Katie Britt. It's appended below.

I was not a supporter of Katie Britt. I had all kinds of reasons, but mainly because of her ties to the big business interests of Alabama, which seem to always work against the actual needs and interests of Alabama's children. The big businesses are fronted by the Business Council of Alabama (BCA). Katie Britt headed the BCA before she ran for Senator. Most knowledgeable people in Alabama blame the BCA for their efforts to ensure Alabama's education system stays weak and largely ineffective. We believe the BCA wants only a few truly educated people in the state, while the rest should only be capable of being their serfs. It's with that mindset that I opposed Katie Britt's run for office and it was the source of my trepidation when she prevailed.

I will go on record that I've been surprised by most of Senator Britt's positions – happily surprised. She's proven to be a fairly reliable supporter of most of the principles I hold dear. But, not all. The letter gives evidence that, in the best case I can make, she's been manipulated and, at least on this one issue, is not using her brain to good advantage.

The war in the Ukraine is being fought for illicit reasons. It was promoted and prompted by words and deeds that our own people took part in. Our hands aren't just dirty over there, they're downright filthy. There are certain interests in the US and other western nations that engineered and mismanaged everything to the place we are today. They meddled constantly in the Ukraine, keeping it weak and corrupt for their own nefarious purposes. When it looked like that country was actually succeeding in reforming itself into some kind of respectable nation, certain people in our State Department and CIA went into action and perpetrated a revolt and coup. They wanted a lapdog state so the illicit practices of the business interests could continue and thrive. We hear all about the corruption surrounding the Biden family, but we hear almost nothing of the Heinz, Kerry, Romney and other rich family interests in that country, interests played out in very similar fashion. As with everything, the saga of Hunter Biden has a large "shiny toy" aspect to it, too. Hunter Biden is the one who gets all the attention, while there are many, many others who played the very same games for the same reasons. They are the people Vladimir Putin recently described as "a gang of drug addicts."

What of Putin and Russia? Are their hands clean? My true thought? Cleaner than our own. Russia is an odd country, with an odd psyche. Russians have always felt themselves to be inferiors to western nations. That complex goes back many centuries, and in some ways it's always been true, and still is. Putin understands that very well. Like all Russians, what he most wants is secure borders for his own country. When western powers negotiated with Russian leaders over the presence of old Soviet nuclear weapons in the Ukraine they had one demand they wouldn't relent on – they demanded assurances that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO. Russia could not tolerate the notion of NATO sitting on its border. That was a demand the western powers agreed to. The Ukraine was never to become a NATO member. But, those same entities in our government and others that wanted a weak and corrupt Ukraine continued to lobby and scheme to get Ukraine admitted to NATO. They were backed by big business interests, primarily members of the defense industrial complex. Having Ukraine in NATO would guarantee another customer. A weak Russian border state? There's just no money to be made there. So, the games were initiated and it's the legacy of those games we are dealing with today.

You may ask, "What of Crimea?" Russia gave Crimea to Ukraine, then retook it by force. Trust me on this one point – it didn't take much force to do that. The population of Crimea is 90% Russian. They didn't raise a fuss over their "liberation" and they aren't today. But, the real question is "Why?" Why did Russia do that overt act of war? If you were Putin, watching western intrigues on your border, hearing all the calls for admittance of Ukraine to NATO, then watching a western-engineered coup, what would you do? At issue was Sevastapol. It was once the Soviet's premier port and naval base on the Black Sea. If a NATO country controlled it, Russia's ability to treat the Black Sea as their private lake would be severely compromised. Taking Crimea back only made strategic sense.

As to Senator Britt's letter. I read it with interest, but I found it to be a huge letdown. My overall impression is she has been overly influenced by the Neo-Con segment of the Republican caucus. That's NOT the Freedom Caucus people! The Neo-Cons are a group I struggled to understand for years. I finally realized who they are. They're mainly establishment Republicans who cater to the interests of the military-industrial complex. That includes elements of the military and almost all of the defense industrial complex. That's where their bread-and-butter is. That's the source of their power. That same Neo-Con group finds itself in odd alliances at times, mostly because their principles half-align with the principles of several factions of Democrats. It's sad for me to see words in the letter like, " Ending the conflict with a victory for Ukraine is of the upmost importance for America’s vital strategic interests, the security of our homeland, and the defense of liberty and the rule of law." That statement is far too reminiscent of all the war promotion I heard when I was growing up. The country then in question was Vietnam. The dialog centered around a theory that's been completely discredited – the Domino Theory. Senator Britt's commentary is completely of that ilk. In truth, the war in Ukraine would never have begun if the US and other western nations had kept their fingers out of that pie. It wouldn't have continued more than a few weeks if we'd just sat by and watched. We have no huge strategic interest in Ukraine. What we had there just before the war was a growing international scandal of epic proportions, with scions of our richest families shilling for millions from crooked Ukrainian companies. We had the CIA running several black ops within their borders. We had our military involved in the establishment of bio-labs that were capable of manufacturing bio or chemical weapons, if they weren't involved in internationally banned experimentation. We were also involved in some rather odd and nasty nuclear experiments at one site. All of these things were known to the Russians. Putin perceived them all as threats aimed at his own country. Together, all those comprised our true strategic interests in Ukraine. Does knowledge of such things make your heart swell with pride? Not mine. I'm most offended by the inference that our participation somehow defends our homeland, liberty and the rule of law. The truth is – everything going on over there only puts those things in greater jeopardy.

I have a few concerns of lesser importance with the letter, too. One is the creation of yet another office within our government that does little to nothing for our own national interests. We don't need a Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance. We need to stop giving money to the Ukrainians. Only a very small percentage of it goes toward intended purposes. The rest is skimmed off and diverted to various uses by those who are running that company as an organized criminal operation. Many in Congress know what's going on, yet they continue to perpetuate the idea that Ukraine is fighting a proxy war for our own freedom. I'm sorry to report to anyone who buys into that fiction, but that's all it is – a fiction.

I've studied the Russians all my life; their politics, their economic operations, and their history. They are an insular people who have far less grand designs than we attribute to them. Their country is vast and could be rich, if we'd just leave them alone. We need to adopt a different national approach to nations such as Russia. We need to keep our hands off them. They have enough problems without our continual interference. Messing in their affairs has always cost us dearly. Unless they make forays into our direct sphere of influence and concern, as happened in late 1962, we have nothing to gain by acting against them.

If I was to be so bold as to advise Senator Britt, I'd advise her to take some of her precious time to do a deep-dive study of the history of Russia and to concentrate on their historic perceptions of national need and of their relationships with other nations. A proper understanding of the present does depend on a good understanding of the past. If she does not grow in her perceptions and actions my tendency is to believe she is still a shill for big business interests – a whole lot bigger interests that she shilled for in Alabama. I'll consider her to be little but a handmaiden for the Cabal.

That is all.

In Liberty,

Steve

From: "Office of U.S. Senator Katie Britt" <donotreply@britt.senate.gov>

Date: August 25, 2023 at 3:02:39 PM CDT
To: XXXXX@gmail.com

Subject: Response from Senator Britt

August 25, 2023

Dear Mr. XXXXXX,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. I always appreciate hearing from Alabamians.

My top priority in the U.S. Senate is always fighting for Alabama’s people, values, and interests. As we continue to fight inflation, rising violent crime, the unprecedented border crisis, and the scourge of fentanyl here at home, it’s crucial we have accountability and oversight of hard-earned American taxpayer funds. Every cent the government spends must be done judiciously, transparently, and strategically.

I had the opportunity to vote for several pieces of legislation to be included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act regarding accountability in Ukraine. I voted to establish the Office of Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance and to mandate that all NATO countries give their fair share of spending towards the efforts in Ukraine before the United States spends anymore taxpayer dollars. We must also continue to support our own defense readiness and to ensure our own munition stockpiles are full to deter aggression from hostile actors. As a nation, we must strengthen and modernize our own capabilities to ensure our men and women in uniform remain the best equipped, resourced, and trained in the world. A Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden our adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party, Iran, and North Korea. My top priority is to ensure American soldiers never have to be deployed on Ukrainian soil and that this invasion does not advance beyond Ukraine’s borders into the sovereign territory of any NATO member, a scenario which could trigger a global conflict between nuclear powers. Over the course of this war, the U.S. has provided both lethal munitions to assist Ukrainian soldiers in their fight for freedom and non-military humanitarian aid to help the innocent children, women, and men impacted by Russian’s heinous acts.

Please know that I will continue to monitor this national security threat and its implications for our families, our communities, our allies, the region, and the world. Thank you again for contacting me. Do not ever hesitate to reach out if I can be of assistance.

Sincerely,