The Pope, The Punk and the Presidents

With Memorial Day just around the corner in the United States - signifying remembrance day for US troops who have died in US war's around the globe and also the beginning of the summer vacation season - Americans are faced with higher food and gas prices, drought in the Southwest, along with the prospect of a recession caused by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes as it seeks to tame ballooning inflation rates. Americans also were reminded of the maniacal use of firearms as, apparently, a White Supremacist, took the lives of 10 people is a grocery market shooting spree in Buffalo, New York.All this has had the effect of bumping down coverage, or should we say, propaganda, of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. The US mainstream media, particularly The New York Times and Washington Post, is trying its best to keep the US proxy war against Russia top line, front page news, but issues like those mentioned above and the leaked draft of the Roe v Wade (women's right to an abortion), which denotes both a swing to the right in the US and a further fracture in the US political system, are overtaking coverage of a conflict thousands of miles away in a foreign land.In short, American citizens are losing interest in the US proxy war against Russia as many people begin to question why billions of dollars in aid is going to the Ukrainians when there are a truckload of problems in the homeland. What About Hungry, Pandemic, Fuel Price Gouged Weary Americans? According to a House Appropriations Summary of the Ukraine Supplemental aid bill the Ukrainians get the following: Administration for Children and Families — $900 million to provide refugee support services, such as housing, English language classes, trauma and support services, community support (including school impact grants), and case management, for arrivals and refugees from Ukraine. What happened to the Afghanistan refugees? $8.766 billion for the Economic Support Fund to respond to emergent needs in Ukraine, provide needed budget support to assist with Ukraine's continuity of government, and counter human trafficking. Includes $760 million to prevent and respond to global food insecurity. What about the baby food shortage in the USA? Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — $6 billion to provide assistance, including training, equipment, weapons, logistics support, supplies and services, salaries and stipends, sustainment, and intelligence support to the military and national security forces of Ukraine. And billions to America's defense contractors to replenish stocks of arms sent to Ukraine which, of course, will be manufactured for a higher price due to inflation. It's a real win for the Ukrainians and defense contractors in the USA.