I received my palm this Sunday as I have for decades. All was sunny and peaceful here and our fellow Christians were
commemorating the joyous arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem just days before he was betrayed, arrested, tortured, and finally
crucified. Upon the third day He was resurrected from the dead and ascended into Heaven. His Resurrection is celebrated as
Easter Sunday, the greatest day of the Christian Church.

But things were very different in the city of Sumy, Ukraine that Sunday. That was the time when Putin chose to launch two
Hypersonic Kinzhal missiles with cluster bombs into the city center, killing 35 civilians, injuring 119. There were no
legitimate military targets in this civilian area, only playgrounds, markets, and apartment buildings. Keith Kellogg, a
retired U.S. general and Mr. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, said that Russian forces had crossed “any line of decency”
by targeting civilians in Sumy.” Hit again during memorial tribute to Sunday’s attack. Trump calls it all just a “mistake”.
Twenty high rise buildings all destroyed: a “double tap”, a second hit to kill the first responders.

Historically, since Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, Russia’s problem, is the abandonment of its Judeo-Christian heritage. Since
Russia rejects the fundamentals of faith, justice, peace, and wisdom (Divine attributes), they chose to remain in perpetual
darkness as eternal adversaries of the good. I bring this up again because I see Putin is so successful in handling Trump’s
glaring naivete. Trump admires Putin as a good guy, a friend, while he slanders Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and says
Zelenskyy started the war. President Trump once again accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of starting the war
with Russia on Monday, saying “you don’t start a war with someone 20 times your size and then hope people give you some
missiles.” Mr. President: Zelensky DIDN’T start the war! That you must be repeatedly reminded of that fact more than
worries me. Your statements here are so blatantly false, I have to say, stupid, I was flabbergasted on first hearing them.
I’m reaching the point (as an historically strong Trump supporter) where I am losing all faith in your FOREIGN policies.

I lament the appointment of several Trump cabinet members, such as ‎Pete Hegseth , ‎Tulsi Gabbard, and Special Envoy to the
Middle East, Steve Witkoff, each for being grossly unqualified for these top jobs. Witkoff stumbles in a maze of
inexperience. He sees Putin as Napoleon instead of Machiavelli. Being Trump’s golfing buddy does not qualify him to direct
international strategic negotiations.

I’m going to have to thin the scope of my opinions on some foreign policy issues relating to Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.,

because I’m not a patient person and debates over the obvious are futile.

It’s obvious to me that the world now faces the imminent threat of global war. Each of the Free World’s enemies is prepared
for, and threatening, war. Trump has taken no meaningful counter actions against Putin, despite his, now threadbare, boasts
of ending the Ukraine War. His actions against Ukraine’s security by granting all Russia’s demands and none of Ukraine’s,
and ending of war assistance, is a stark betrayal of a Christian, democratic friend. Anyone can stop a war by ordering one
side to surrender. There is now a confusion of loyalties which should concern us all. Confusion is the work of the enemy.

I’ve mentioned the spiritual dimension of world affairs before (tediously?). As distasteful as the idea of Divinity is to
most world leaders today, to Judeo-Christians it underlies everything, all creation, all that is and all that will be. Of
course, again, this is my personal opinion, my belief as a conservative Catholic Christan, received from Scripture and
persons I find worthy of belief themselves, also rabidly disbelieved by most. Believers say it’s now prudent to prepare,
spiritually and physically, for extraordinary chastisements and natural catastrophes for which the Free World, in
particular, is wholly unprepared. Large parts of my (Catholic) Church are undertaking these spiritual and practical
preparations awaiting an unprecedented Warning, to be experienced by everyone, simultaneously throughout the world. This is
the teaching of the most reliable religious priests, exorcists, and mystics in the Church today, all of whom understand
that billions of people disregard this Warning as hallucinations or just foolishness. Others feel like Noah batting down
the hatches as the clouds roll in. Foolishness? As for me, even Pascal’s wager on the belief in God (and spiritual things)
versus atheism, welcomes belief. I believe God will permit His world to be shaken as never before - very soon.

*****

Response to Kelly Scoles’ letter: My apologies again. Schedule move this week. Next week.

Response to Pat Collins’ letter: Same scheduling problem.

However, Pat, you’re “Puzzled” because you’ve completely misunderstood my argument. I condemn Trump for his Ukraine
betrayal; I have never supported it. Again, next week.