Today is Monday, March 7, 2022. The news out of Ukraine is dismal, as the Ukrainians have valiantly fought off the invading Russians for almost two weeks now, when the Russian-backed invasion began on February 24. Everyone is wondering when will this bloody conflict end before more civilians are unmercifully killed by Putin’s war arsenal. An online article in ABC News entitled “What it might take to end the conflict in Ukraine” develops a scenario in which this terrible incursion could come to a close. Thus far, extremely punitive economic sanctions and peace talks have not succeeded in stopping Putin’s aggression.

Since the war began on February 24, Ukrainians have withstood days of airstrikes and shelling across multiple cities, while the better-equipped Russian military has shown no signs of deescalation and has claimed to have taken control of several areas of Ukraine, though it has also been slowed by Ukrainian resistance.

One expert, retired General Robert Abrams, an ABC News contributor and the former commander of U.S. forces in Korea, says, “No one has a crystal ball, and it is very difficult to predict outcomes of conflict.” Abrams notes that the use of “unprecedented” sanctions against Russia and the “stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance” appear to have the opposite effect in Putin, who seems to be more resolved in his inclination to occupy the country and make it part of Russia. Abrams also references one key factor in Ukraine’s fight is the level of support from the international community, including NATO, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations.

In the meantime, the United States has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine and millions more in lethal aid has been sent by NATO and several EU countries.

One possible scenario is that if the war wages on for an extended length of time, “the appetite for the war in Moscow might diminish,” according to Michael Kimmage, a specialist on U.S.-Russia relations who formerly served in the State Department, who mentioned this to NPR‘s “Fresh Air” last week. This outcome could obtain if the Ukrainians maintain their will to resist over an extended length of time. President Joe Biden, during his State of the Union address last week, praised the Ukrainians’ “fearlessness, their courage, their determination, literally inspires the world.” It is also the image of President Volodymyr Zelensky being broadcast on national television that has been a key part of sustaining morale among the Ukrainian people.

The retired general, Robert Abrams, also praised Ukraine’s president, saying, “He has been masterful in leading his country in this conflict.” He added, “He is sharing the same hardships, he is communicating with his people. He’s constantly communicating with the international community.” That connection can help Ukraine prevail, he said, though “we’re in for some very, very difficult, tough days and tough images, for those of us outside looking in.”

Another factor that could signal doom for Putin’s advance would be his own military that seem to have no firm belief in what they are fighting for, even though there are issues with food and fuel among Russia’s troops since the invasion began. The specialist on U.S.-Russia relations mentioned earlier, Michael Kimmage, said, “Putin might face real pressures from his population, from the economy, to backtrack, and I don’t think that he would call it a retreat, but maybe he would come to terms and try to work out something diplomatically. He’s pretty far from that at the moment, but that would be the scenario in which Ukraine wins.”

Concluding his assessment of what is store for the Ukrainian people over time, Abrams indicates, “There’s nothing good coming out of this war. The stories of the courage and heroism and just the grit, the real grit of the Ukrainian people – it’s inspiring. But their country is slowly being destroyed, one village at a time.”

One good thing that happened today, although it was about a century overdue, was the Senate passing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022 tonight by unanimous consent. The bill, which would make lynching a federal hate crime, now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. This long overdue measure was detailed in a CNN article by Ali Zaslav entitled “Senate passes Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022, sending bill to Biden for his signature.”

This significant legislation was approved by the House of Representatives last week by a vote of 422-3 (I’m curious as to know who those three Congresspersons are who would actually vote against the bill!). Passage of the bill is a long-sought goal of advocates, who have been working for years to secure its approval in Congress.

In describing the bill’s passage, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor after the bill’s passage, “After more than 200 failed attempts to outlaw lynching, Congress is finally succeeding in taking the long overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Hallelujah. It’s long overdue.” Isn’t that some understatement. Schumer did recognize, though, the “bitter stain” on America for the time it took for the legislation to finally pass in Congress.

The legislation is named in honor of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack in Mississippi in 1955, an event that drew national attention to the atrocities and violence that African Americans faced in the United States and became a civil rights rallying cry.

Schumer further added, “It is an important step forward as we continue the work of confronting our nation’s past in pursuit of a brighter and more just future.” Schumer also said he looks forward to Biden “quickly” signing the bill into law. Any idea what racist Fox News and other deplorable outlets would say about the bill, if anything?

As for us, today marks two weeks since our kitchen remodeling job was undertaken by “Cameron.” We had a nice break this morning since Cameron informed us that he would ring our doorbell about 10:30. Thus we did not wake up as early as we’ve been doing these past two weeks. We even went out at about 10:30 to have breakfast at the Austin Street Diner.

At the diner, we met the ladies who breakfast. I believe there were at least five women present having breakfast together, so Elliot and I occupied the booth in back of them. Our tall, auburn-haired waitperson, “Katrina,” was present today and she took our order. She was not wearing a face mask this time. Nobody seemed perturbed.

The rest of the day was spent taking a walk along Queens Boulevard and buying some decorative bulbs at Houseware World, Inc., located opposite the shuttered Tower Diner, a once-favorite haunt of mine. I also ventured into two ninety-nine cent stores to inquire about buying a small microwave since our Nuwave Bravo XL air fryer blew a fuse when we turned it on last week to heat some leftover chicken parmigiana. We thought we could buy a microwave at our local Jembro store, but when I inquired about how much it was, I was surprised that it wasn’t $20, as I foolishly thought. It was $120. The reason I couldn’t see the real price was that it was on a shelf, hidden from view. I know I should have asked the cashier how much it really was when I first saw it, but I didn’t.

The one microwave I did look at was ten dollars more, but it looked like the same one that Elliot and I saw in Jembro. I said I would consider buying it to the salesperson; I was certainly not going to sling the box over my shoulders and walk a mile back to our apartment building. Another convenience store had a smaller microwave priced at $99.99; it was 0.7 cubic feet instead of 0.9 cubic feet, which characterized the other two microwaves that I viewed.

Before walking back, I stopped at a bagel store to have an everything bagel with coffee.

Our microwave odyssey took on an intriguing tone when I met Elliot back home and he cheerfully reported that one of our neighbors, “Denise,” had decided to lend us one of her unused microwaves for us to operate since I had recommended our auto mechanic to her a few days ago. This was her way of repaying us for the favor of providing her the name and number of our service station on Metropolitan Avenue. This then is a nice conclusion to solving our microwave problem, I feel.

We went out later to have dinner with “Mary” and “Joseph” in Valley Stream, at a diner called Mitchell’s. We all had the dinner special which provided two dinners for $34, a very reasonable price, I believe, since one received soup, salad, entree, soda, and a scoop of ice cream. I throughly enjoyed my half chicken and matzoh ball soup. As would be expected, there was too much to eat, so I took most of it home.

That’s it for me now.

Stay safe and be well.