I just watched with horror the shouting match between Donald Trump, Vance and Ukrainian President Zelensky. 

I am very familiar with Vladimir Putin.  My master's degree was in Russian History and I visited the Soviet Union when Gorbachev was president.  I also visited Russia a few years ago during Purin's reign. 

For Trump to believe that Putin is trustworthy is beyond belief.  Not only did Putin invade Ukraine, after he had invaded Crimea and the Donetsk region of Ukraine without Western pushback,  it is widely believed that he had his first wife murdered because she refused a divorce and he was involved with a much younger woman. 

Most of the world knew of the poisoning and death of Alexei Navalny, the numbers of people who opposed Putin who suddenly fell off balconies and Prighozhin blasted out of the air.  Putin is playing a game with Trump and running circles around him. 

When the victors of WW I economically punished the losers, following WW II the victors decided it would be a better outcome to support the losers in restructuring devastation and ideology.  It worked. 

Now, the Trump/Vought/Orban government is reverting back to the WW I scenario, acting like thugs, trying to see what they can get, even if it bankrupts a country and leaves Putin in a position to go against Poland, the Balkans and anyone who has opposed him. 

It is time for the groveling Republicans to join Democrats and Independents (which I am) and stop this destruction of the U.S. 

Marlene Allison lives in Owls Head