There were actually Super Bowl watch parties at some of the local pubs in Vilnius but the game came on well past my bedtime. I checked in on my cellphone when my dog first woke me up at 5:30 this morning and saw that the Chiefs had pulled off another nail-biter. I imagine that had the alpha males all in a rage. No doubt the conspiracy theories are swirling on X.
X has become pretty much like Parler and Truth Social, littered with alt-right conspiracies and now TCN on X. Tucker Carlson gained almost as much attention as Taylor Swift with his interview of Putin last week. Excerpts have been shown everywhere including Lithuanian news. Daina told me to hush when the clips appear as she wants to hear what Putin is saying in Russian. It's usually quite different from what is translated into English and other languages.
Calling Tucker a "useful idiot" is actually a compliment. Chris Wallace was closer to the mark by calling him an "eager puppy." The guy tripped all over himself in getting this interview. At least one question appeared to catch Vlad off guard. Daina said Putin paused for a moment when asked if he was winning the war. But, what we both got a kick out of was the light gray folder that was brought in during the interview as if Putin had a special dossier on all the reasons for reclaiming the former Russian territory, stretching back to Medieval times. Yes, Russia had occupied Ukraine for a very long time but that doesn't give any merit to Putin's assertions. Not like Tucker was asking to see the folder.
The big worry here remains that Russia will invade the Baltics, especially if Trump wins the presidency in November. Many political pundits are already treating this as a foregone conclusion, especially after the Hur Report. Not Ben-Hur mind you, but Robert Hur, a special counsel for the Dept. of Justice who determined that "Mr. Biden's memory was significantly limited." That's President to you, pud!
Many are questioning Merrick Garland's decision to release the report, given it was an obvious hit job by a former Trump appointee. Or even task Hur with the assignment in the first place. I suppose Garland felt he was being non-preferential. While the conclusion didn't attach any criminality to Biden having retained classified documents from his time as Vice-President, Hur presented the President as a doddering old fool with numerous references to his diminished memory.
As I told Daina, no big deal at this point as we are still 9 months out from the election. If this was an "October surprise" like the time James Comey reopened his investigation into Hillary Clintons' e-mails that might be a different story. As it is, the report will have long since been buried by the press by October.
Nevertheless, worries remain and many countries are making contingency plans for a Trump administration. Here in Lithuania, a lot of frustration is being expressed with the city government spending so much money on a new national stadium, which is currently a big hole in the ground, when it could be building bomb shelters. Vilnius doesn't have a vast underground metro service like Kyiv. Everything is above ground and easy pickings for missiles and drones fired from nearby Kaliningrad.
Ironically, there are former bomb shelters under the bluff where the stadium is being built. They were dug during the Soviet era but have been left to bums to hibernate during winter. At least they would be able to withstand the explosions.
One guy did take it upon himself to do a personal inspection of the bomb shelters around Lithuania and found that they are all in woeful disrepair with no attempt to keep them clean and stocked in case of emergency. As often as the government has warned citizens of a potential Russian invasion, it has done very little to prepare people for this "eventuality." Recently there has been talk of better emergency preparedness but as yet no real funding for it.
Instead, the Ministry of Interior has made it mandatory that any new residential construction include a bomb shelter, once again placing the onus on the private individual. The ministry even went so far as to provide examples it had culled from the internet. Most persons are treating this as a sick joke.
I suppose the government feels it couldn't withstand a Russian invasion anyway and that it should roll over and play dead, like President Smetona did when the USSR first annexed Lithuania in 1939. In this way, Lithuania got Vilnius back from Poland. A short-lived independence came to an anticlimactic end much to Lithuanians' chagrin.
Some didn't take it lying down. After the Soviet Union re-annexed Lithuania following WWII, bands of "Forest Brothers" were formed that defied Soviet rule for the next ten years. This is one of the reasons Lithuania didn't become overrun with Russians like Latvia and Estonia. Many were afraid they would be targeted by these "terrorists." Still, Vilnius saw a lot of new Russian faces. I guess they felt safer here.
Daina said the difference was astounding when her parents moved from Kaunas to Vilnius while she was a teenager. In Kaunas, there was no reason to learn Russian in school as everyone spoke Lithuanian, but in Vilnius it became a necessity. Still, most Lithuanians took up the language begrudgingly as that was the only means to work within the system.
The younger generation today speaks English as a second language. They feel it gives them ease of travel as you can speak English pretty much anywhere you go in Europe. Very few speak Russian. Years ago, our oldest daughter expressed interest in the language as she already knew English very well, but there weren't enough students to form a class in high school. She took French instead.
Lithuania had long gravitated toward the West. It has never considered itself a part of "Eastern Europe," especially since the geographical center of Europe is in Lithuania. The biggest worry is that Europe will do little to defend the tiny country even though it is part of the EU and NATO. Trump's recent wording on NATO has caused grave concern.
For most Americans, NATO is an albatross around the country's neck. They feel Europe should fend for itself, although most Americans show sympathy toward Ukraine. Go figure?
Anyway, I'm still optimistic. I figure that as long Trump keeps talking he will stick his foot deeper and deeper into his mouth. Not like Biden should sit on the sideline, as he did by refusing an interview with CBS before the Super Bowl. But, the less he engages with Trump the better. Trump will simply drag him into the gutter.
This summer should be the most telling in regard to the campaign, as Trump will be spending as much time in court as he will on the campaign trail. His immunity plea was shot down by a federal appeals court. Most likely, the Supreme Court will pass on any further appeals, as the three appellate judges were very thorough in denying Trump's claim. It is very possible that he could face jail time by November, as Hur was not as favorable in his report toward Trump, holding him criminally liable for retaining classified documents, as the former president refused to cooperate with officials.
Yet, the perception remains that this presidential election will be between two grumpy old men, as Nikki Haley called them. I would call it more a battle between the good grandpa and the dirty grandpa. It's just too bad we get a constant stream of videos and posts on social media. Our son sent me links to mash-ups of various interviews with Biden and Trump over the years that highlighted their cognitive decline. I was glad to see my son reached the conclusion that Trump suffers far worse than Biden. I just hope that American voters feel the same way in November.
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