SUPER BOWL LVI: LOS ANGELES RAMS OR CINCINNATI BENGALS, WHO WILL IT BE?

ICHEOKU says it was good playoff games as both AFC teams and NFC teams competitively represented themselves very well, admitted only two teams will go to the Super Bowl championship on February 13th, 2022 at Rams SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California. At the end of the thrilling championship finals, Cincinnati Bengals beat Kansas City Chiefs 27 to 24 to clinch the Eastern NFC championship title; while Los Angeles Rams, the host team of the February 13th Super Bowl, finals beat San Francisco 49ers 20 to 17 to clinch the Western AFC championship title. Both were close games, which shows the level of competitiveness among the teams this year; and it also shows the strength of the two teams which are going to the Super Bowl finals. 

ICHEOKU says congratulations to both KC Chiefs and LA Rams for emerging champions of their respective leagues and hopefully they will play their hearts out on February 13, showing the same skills and dexterity which made it possible for them to reach the Super Bowl. May the better side win the Lombardi trophy as ICHEOKU has no dog in the fight and will not bet on either of them. It will be a nice Super Bowl championship as the roads traveled by both teams to get to Inglewood was tough, but they still worked it and made it there. #SuperBowlLVI.

MILITARY COUPS IN WEST AFRICA: AN INDICTMENT ON PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI.

ICHEOKU says for a supposedly acclaimed leader of the West Africa sub saharan region, it is regrettable that President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria does not wield much influence on the countries in the sub region, to effectively influence events therein. This further questions Nigeria's tall tale of being the leader of West Africa or as Nigerians often delude themselves, the giant of Africa. If a giant cannot persuade a lilliputian to conform to order and not to carry out illegal acts, what use then is having such a giant anyway? 

The military in countries of West Africa has been carrying out coups, one country after another, such that today about four democratically elected governments have been forcibly removed from office without any retribution from Nigeria. Chad, Sudan, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have had military coups as of late and President Muhammadu Buhari did nothing to either prevent these coups or counter them, why? That these countries, except for Sudan, are former French colonies and Paris was expected to take the lead on countering these disruptions of democracy, is an argument somewhat in favor of Nigeria's passivity, but it should not entirely exculpate Nigeria for tolerating these many military coups in the West African sub saharan region. 

What message does it then send to the military in other countries, that it is now alright for them to forcibly change their governments and the heavens will not come tumbling down on them. So, ECOWAS makes empty threats and issues sanctions, and then what? Those military juntas are still pushing ahead with governance and waxing stronger without even blinking or sincerely negotiating for a return to democracy in these countries. What use then are these ECOWAS threats and sanctions when they have no teeth nor meaningful force behind them, to bring about a change of mind in the military and make them stipulate to a definite short time period within which to return their countries back to democracy. 

A time it was in the past when Nigeria had capable leaders who commanded respect and influence in West Africa and Africa in general. These leaders of yore would not have tolerated such upturns of governments by the military; and if they couldn't persuade the military to back down from such coups, they would put various pressures to bear on them to force them to yield power, including a threat of use of force to topple such juntas. The July 16, 2003 military coup in Sao Tome and Principe is one such example when Nigeria had a leadership that asserted itself in the region. The then President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria ordered the military coup leaders to stand down and personally led President Fradique de Menezes, who was visiting Nigeria when the coup that toppled his government took place, back to Sao Tome and ended the military putsch. 

But with President Muhammadu Buhari, it appears that he has too much on his plate already to want to add more to it: Boko Haram insurgency, the bandits, Fulani terrorists, worsening insecurity, IPOB freedom agitators as well as other small groups including the Yoruba Nation agitators. He is also old and weak to be effective; and like President Joe Biden, he does not appear to be in control of even his own personal affairs, talk-less of being fully cognizant of what is going on in West Africa. It is a sad state of affairs and the fact that Paris is not even batting an eyelid over these military coups in its former colonial countries is also very disturbing, to say the least. May be it is the outcome desired and tacitly approved by Elysee Palace to keep Africa, going and coming.

Who knows for which country the military coup's bell shall toll next, whether Nigeria or Ghana or Senegal. But anyone placing a bet on it should put it on Nigeria as the military might strike before the year's end to prevent a power shift to the south. It is the game which the north dominated military often plays, stage a palace coup against a fellow northerner towards the end of their term just to prevent a southern from ascending to power. But whether the south will accept it this time around will be seen when and if a military coup eventually takes place. Now, President Muhammadu Buhari's ineffectiveness is not only being felt in Nigeria but throughout the West African sub region and by extension, the entire Africa continent. With no leader to give direction, the region and Africa is gradually falling apart and the Ethiopian civil war is still raging on. 

JUSTICE BREYER TOOK ONE FOR THE TEAM: SACRIFICED HIS SEAT IN FEAR OF MIDTERMS.

ICHEOKU says they swore never again will what happened with late Justice Ruth Ginsburg be allowed or tolerated, to lose their seat on the Supreme Court because of her stubborn refusal to retire so that a Democratic Party President Barack Obama could appoint her replacement. The result is today's Supreme Court which is heavily tilted 6 - 4 towards conservatism, as late Justice Ruth Ginsberg was eventually replaced with a conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. A fact which was not helped because then President Barack Obama was, by deft political maneuver, prevented from replacing late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia with a liberal justice. 

Although President Joe Biden has three more years in office and some school of thought would say why the rush, especially for a Justice Stephen Breyer who is still very sound, physically and mentally, his 83 years age notwithstanding, the fear is that Republicans might take over the control of the Senate. The midterm election is just ten months away and the president is not in a good place with millions of American voters; many of whom are having buyers remorse over the choice they made in the last election. With such an abysmally low approval rating of the president, going into the midterm election, with every aspect of America people's life in turmoil, will be a big disaster for the Democratic Party as American people might use their votes in November to register their displeasure and disapproval of the situation.

The presidency and the Democratic Party fearing that they might lose their 50-50 balance of power in the Senate and that Republicans regaining control of the Senate in November might see any opening in the Supreme Court stalled again, just like it did with late Justice Antonin Scalia's vacancy. It is a risk which they do not want to take nor even contemplate, hence hedging their bet on losing seats in the Senate in the midterm, they decided to get whatever they possibly can now. The Supreme Court is very important to them as so many life changing decisions in America are being made at the apex court; so they had to secure Justice Breyer's seat and persuaded him to make way now so that Joe Biden would fill his seat with a much younger liberal Justice. 

The judge, being a good team player, saw the merit in the argument in favor of his retirement now and decided to give up his seat in the interest of liberalism. Watching Justice Stephen Breyer speak during the White House event announcing his retirement, everyone can see that he could go on even for the next ten years, still doing what he does best. But political and ideological interests weighed more than whatever number of years the judge could have effectively remained on the bench and the lesser yielded way. He has been on the bench for a long time and could have remained on the bench for even another decade, but they did not want to take the chances they took with late Justice Ruth Ginsburg and had to pull him out now.

His replacement will easily pass the Senate confirmation process as the two "renegade" Democratic Party's Senators who are standing in the way of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better, will not have any reason to stand in the way of their party getting another liberal Justice on the Supreme Court. The only little fight which might be witnessed in the process, will be intra-party; as various interests within the party will struggle to have their own black woman candidate appointed to the seat. Vice President Kamala Harris might ask that President Joe Biden give her the honor of making the choice. The APC led anarchist Squad and their ultra liberal wing of the party might throw their hats in the ring, to pick the black woman candidate. 

But President Joe Biden owes South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn bigly and is most likely to go with whichever black woman he picks for the appointment as a return favor for electing him president. As everyone knows, without Jim Clyburn's endorsement, Joe Biden's presidential quest would have ended in South Carolina, following his consecutive abysmal losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont. So, will Federal Judge Michelle Childs of United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia be Justice Stephen Breyer's replacement. She is a black woman, very young at 55 years old and will have many decades on the bench if confirmed; she also serves in Washington DC and she is the candidate of Jim Clyburn. 

Were ICHEOKU to place a bet on the black woman candidate, the odds are strongly in favor of Judge Michelle Childs, unless Kamala Harris throws a fit and puts her leg down against her selection and in preference of some other black woman judge, may be from her State of California. But we shall see who the black woman nominee eventually becomes, although Justice Stephen Breyer did not tell us in whose laboratory the experiment of America is being conducted; and who the chemists and chemistry students really are. All the best to the retiring Justice, but he is not tired nor out of contributions to the law yet and we might see him teaching a law class in some law school somewhere in the not distant future. 

HONDURAS SWEARS IN THEIR FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT: LESSON LEARNED FOR HILLARY CLINTON?

ICHEOKU says another woman has just done what Hillary Clinton could not do, win a country's presidential election. It once again proves Hillary Clinton wrong that winning the presidency of a country has nothing to do with genitalia nor is it gender biased. It is all about likability and having a resonating campaign message of hope, that everything will be alright with the person manning the tiller of state. 

But when even her dour look telegraphs a message of despair, doom and gloom; and that she was running for president just for the heck of setting a female record, and going about it as if she is entitled to be "crowned" president as a matter of right, she turns so many voters off, thus making it  an insurmountable task, cracking the proverbial marble ceiling of the White House. 

Hillary Clinton's rejection by the American people as unelectable in a nationwide election is something which will haunt her till death. She will go to her grave, sad, unhappy and unfulfilled, regardless of the many other blessings which life bequeathed her, just because her single most important ambition to become the first female president of the United States of America was denied her. American people severally rejected her, both in party primaries and in the general election, the last being 2016 which she is still sulking about. A very humiliating defeat because she lost to a political newbie real estate billionaire from New York named Donald John Trump She is still having nightmares and sometimes experiences being president in her dream, only to wake up to the reality of what is, a presidential reject of America.

Anyway, Hillary Clinton is not the reason for this piece, although she is an integral part of it as this article disproves her warped narrative that she lost several bids for the White House because American men are misogynists who do not want to see a female president in their White House. But Vice President Kamala Harris is in the White House and some American men voted for her; and the last time ICHEOKU checked, she was still a female and married to one Jewish guy. Hillary Clinton was only rejected because she is not the right type of female, period. 

President Xiomara Carlos has pulled the feat in Honduras and was sworn in as the country's first female president. She has now joined the retinue of other world female leaders and increasing the numbers of females who are leading their countries. She also entered the history book of first female presidents and females who are leading and/or have led their countries; including Golda Meir of Israel, Margaret Thatcher of Britain, Germany's Angela Merkel,  Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, Isabel Perón and Cristina Kirchner of Argentina, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Samia Suluhu of Tanzania, Salomie Zurabishvili of Georgia,  Paula Mae Weekes of Trinidad and Tobago, Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica and Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou of Greece, just to name a few. 

This shows that America too can elect a female president of the United States; but it will take the right and correct woman to get it done; but definitely not one who is not comfortable in her own female body and who attacks men as if God made a horrible mistake by creating Adam. She must be a real-deal female who American men can relate to as either a mother, girlfriend, wife, sister or aunt. Any American woman who wants to succeed where Hillary Clinton failed, break the marble ceiling of the White House, must imbibe the lessons of Hillary Clinton's rejection and approach the quest differently. 

Such a female candidate must understand that there is nothing wrong with being a woman and that American men do not hate women and that they like women enough to elect them president. All such a candidate needs to do is to appeal to men as a mother, sister, wife and aunt would do, and wallah, America will elect their first female president. But any crazed out, wild-eyed feminist on steroid, who thinks that she can get into the White House by disparaging men and acting as if she does not squat or sit down to pee, will meet the same cruel fate which denied Hillary Clinton her lifetime ambition. 

ICHEOKU says congratulations to President Xiomara Carlos for a hard fought election, victory and being  sworn in as the first president of Honduras. Hopefully, she will deliver on her election promises and by then, would have rightfully earned the trust which Honduras people placed in her with their votes; by improving their fortunes through improved jobs creation and the overall wellness of the economy and security of the Central America country. Hillary Clinton must have called her to congratulate her and also pick her brains on how she pulled it off, as hush talks have it that she is thinking about 2024. Felicidades Madam Presidente Xiomara Carlos.

RUSSIA'S BELLIGERENCE: MAKES NATO IMPERATIVE AND MORE RELEVANT NOW THAN EVER.

ICHEOKU says some school of thought would say why not just disband NATO and end all the crisis between the West and Russia, as that would assure Russia that the West has no bad intentions towards Moscow. And yes, while there may be some argument in favor, since the primary reason for setting up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was to provide one canopy security for all its members, such that an attack on one will be deemed as an attack on all, triggering a collective response, but Russia is not making such an option feasible. 

It is a fact that disbanding NATO would be the quickest and best way to end the constant threats and face-offs between the West and Russia, but it is not going to be possible because Russia has refused to create a conducive environment for it. Russia's near permanent bellicose disposition towards its neighbors, particularly the former Soviet Union countries, is a factor militating against disbanding NATO. These countries are in constant fear that their found freedom will be taken away by a Russian invasion.

This explains their frantic clamor for the membership of NATO to provide them the much needed security guarantees and protection that Moscow will never swallow them up again. Russia will do it if allowed as there is no country in the world, except for maybe China in relation to Taiwan, whose neighbors are constantly on edge about what their big brother neighbor might do to them as Russia. Russia's neighboring countries are frightened and worried sick over the ever threatening Russian invasion. 

Georgia is under the dark cloud of a possible Russian invasion and has suffered such before when it lost its two cities of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Ukraine too, which is still suffering from a Russia proxy war in Eastern Donetsk region of Donbas. It also lost its city of Crimea from a Russian military skirmish and is currently under the threat of another Russian invasion. If Russia could be this hostile to its neighbors, imagine what they would have since done to them as well as other smaller countries in Europe, if not for America and/or NATO deterrence. 

It does not make any sense whatsoever that President Vladimir Putin is screaming his lungs out against NATO and protesting that former Soviet Union countries should not be allowed to join NATO, when he is the reason for the season. He is the provocateur of both NATO and these countries' pursuit of their respective objectives. If he did not scare these countries away and still threaten them, with fear of invasion and forcible annexation hovering over them, NATO will not be triggered and neither would these countries be desperately seeking refuge in NATO. 

Having a peaceful neighbor is the reason there is no Russian or Chinese military base anywhere in Mexico or Canada because both countries do not feel threatened by America nor are they living in constant fear of being invaded and their territories seized or annexed by their more powerful neighbor, America. There is also no tension in the North American region or within their respective borders; and except for illegal immigration and drug smuggling, the three North American countries are enjoying a very peaceful co-existence as any good neighbors would ever expect. 

President Vladimir Putin has no clean hands in the current crisis, in fact, he caused it by amassing thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border. He can end the crisis today by withdrawing those troops, but he chose not; and would rather flex his military muscle to extort concessions from the West. His demands that NATO cease and desist from its eastward advance and that the former Soviet Union countries seeking membership of NATO must not be allowed to join NATO, is simply an extortion. The West must therefore not give in to them nor even negotiate with him, with his  loaded gun still pointed on Ukraine's head. 

He is demanding security guarantees from NATO but he is not willing to give similar security guarantees to his neighbors, in order to assure them that he will never attack or invade them or forcibly seize their cities and annex their territories. How about Putin practicing what he is  preaching by showing examples of it, by giving security guarantees to these countries so that his "Russia will not invade Ukraine" words will have some weight to it. And for a man who has invaded both Ukraine and Georgia before, his word that Russia is not planning an invasion of Ukraine falls flat and is not even worth the airtime given to it. 

To trust President Vladimir Putin on this issue of Russia not invading Ukraine is too risky a proposition, and relying on it is a bad platform for anyone to be on now. Rather, preparation for a full blown out war is the right strategy for the West and NATO to be taking now, simultaneously as the Russians are doing. It is about time the forever looming war is finally fought and got over with for good. The Cold War lasted for far too long and any resulting Hot War will not last as long. Both sides have been  spending trillions of dollars developing and manufacturing weapons; and now might be time to infact use them and fight and kill each other.

Africa, the Middle-east and Latin America have seen their fair share of carnage from these Western and Russian made weapons; so can the brewers now taste their potion? It cannot just be these other places which neither develop nor manufacture weapons that are constantly suffering the destruction caused by these weapons. Moreso, a war in Europe is almost long overdue and it will also be a good means to expend the stockpiled weapons on both sides, as their armies know best how to effectively use them to cause maximum casualty and destruction. So, if Putin wants war, let him have war. It will be the real mother of all wars, unlike the Saddam Hussein bogus one; and it will also end the incessant threats coming out of Moscow. 

MORE INFLATION IS GREAT, YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH - PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.

ICHEOKU says why was the outburst not extensively condemned by the liberal woke media as beneath the office of the president; and that it is not good for American children to hear their president using profanity on national television. Instead, they are providing him cover, with one media outfit even reporting it as "President Joe Biden "appeared" to say.....", despite video evidence of what the president said. Why should what the president said still be foggy in the mind of some media if not that they are giving him a "protected person" special coverage. This is unlike the scorched earth harshness with which they visited every affair of former President Donald John Trump. 

It is not as if the president is not human and susceptible to periodic anger bursts just like any of us; but the media should have roundly held him accountable and severally called him out for using such words on national television. When former Vice President Dick Cheney told Senator Patrick Leahy to go fuck himself, at least it was within the confines of the Capitol. It would have remained there if not for some gotcha members of Congress who wanted to hurt Dick Cheney and make him out as vulgar and uncouth, and relayed what he said to the public. And yes, there are such other hot-mic moments by past presidents including President Barack Obama and of course President Donald John Trump, but the level of condemnation the media gave them was  politics tinged.

Just a simple question which he was not even under any obligation to answer or respond to, and which he could have easily ignored. But not President Joe Biden, as his signature anger got the better part of him and he went off. What is wrong in a reporter seeking to know from the president what he thinks about the impact the rising inflation will have on the forthcoming midterm election? Although the answer is quite obvious and Peter Doocy rightly articulated that it will be a liability for the president and his party, the president should have still maintained his cool and not show his hand, revealing his hurt-feeling about the negative impact of an untamed inflation. 

There are times when silence trump sarcasm no matter how framed or delivered. The revelation by the president has now placed the inflation problem on the center burner, as more Americans are now more conscious of it; and worried sick about their future, as well as their overall living standards. These Americans are wondering why the president would be so irritated by the question as to make him call the journalist who asked it, a son of bitch. A more measured answer would have been, that the government will do everything within its power to bring the inflation under control and make sure that American people do not suffer or struggle too much because of the rising prices.

Anyway, what is done is done and cannot be undone. We heard what the president said, he called a journalist a son of bitch for asking a simple question which is bothering millions of American families, admitted it was framed in the context of partisan midterm election. The president must therefore not ever deny saying what he said. It must not be another one of his memory lapse episodes, or another one of this Martin Luther King Jr speech in Atlanta's moment, when he later denied calling people who have issues with his approach to voting rights legislation, Bull Conner-like and Jim Crow-istic.

Whether inflation is a political liability or a great asset going into the midterms is actually yet to be determined as so many other things could happen before November that would subsume whatever inflation there is in America. President Vladimir Putin may decide that he has nothing more to lose and launch nuclear bombs attack on Europe and America? What if it is Kim Jong Un who decides to take the spotlight off Putin by attacking Japan or South Korea. President Xi Jinping might also decide to pull the plug first by overrunning Taiwan. So, who will still be talking about inflation under any of these circumstances.

The midterm is a long way out, so President Joe Biden should calm down and not fret too much about the impact of the inflation on it, while seriously exploring and exploiting ways to rein it in, before American people completely loses their patience with him. The president should not apologize either for using such words to describe Peter Doocy or that American children heard it; he should just strive to guard against such outbursts in the future. But as uncle Joey, he can do whatever the heck he likes and as always, it will be excused as "old Joe doing what old Joe does" and not be seriously chastised by his ringside woke liberal media. Did anyone even ask Peter Doocy's mom whether she took offense by what the president said or felt defamed by the president?

WE WILL NOT SURRENDER OUR CITY TO THE VIOLENT FEW - MAYOR ERIC ADAMS.

ICHEOKU says but for the pitiful woke-politics on steroid former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the crime rate in New York City would not be as bad as it is today. A city which was once cleaned up by Mayor Rudy Guillain and which Mayor Mike Bloomberg successfully managed, until the unfortunate arrival of Bill de Blasio at city hall, is now tilting on a cliff's edge. It has deteriorated to a cesspool of violent crimes and needs a major cleaning house to get it back to a safe livability. Without safety there is no Big Apple where people are drawn to Broadway theaters, musical scenes, food, wine, culture and general New York ambiance. 

Even Central Park leisure is succumbing to this blithe and the new mayor must do whatever it takes to stop the bleeding and avoid the city from completely unraveling to what it used to be back in its dark 80s. ICHEOKU prays that Mayor Eric Adams will have the courage to stay his current course by resisting any pressure from Black Lives Matter and other black groups, including black pastors; and do what necessarily needs to be done in order to restore safety in New York City. The mayor should pay no attention to any distractive outcries and must refuse to be intimidated or blackmailed by any sector of the New York society.  He should also be careful not to fall into any trap which might bring him down. 

The only acceptable "root cause" of violent crime is that some people are criminals and they are violent, period. Nothing else qualifies as such or should be tolerated or used to either explain it away, or in trying to understand or make sense of why some people commit violent crimes. These violent few who commit these heinous acts are not the only people who are facing whatever life's situation and challenges they are embroiled in, but they made their choice. Therefore, it should not be seen as a function of being shortchanged in life or treated as a black people's unique problem, for black pressure groups to intervene or be listened to. There is no excuse for committing crimes and crimes should never be excused or made race sensitive. 

Mayor Eric Adams has a lot of cleaning up to do just because an over-pandering former beatnik Mayor Bill de Blasio, who excessively played the race card to struggle through his stay in the city hall, exacerbated the situation. He left a huge mess in every facet in New York for the new mayor, including a New York which has become a crime infested city. So far, the new mayor is talking right and acting right; and by restoring the Mayor Bill de Blasio disbanded crime fighting unit, regardless of its new name, Neighborhood Safety Team; the new mayor has shown that his heart is in the right place. He has also shown that he intends to govern as he campaigned and that he will keep his campaign promise of restoring sanity to New York City and lasso-down its spiraling out of control violent crimes.

It is true that New Yorkers now feel as if a sea of violence is engulfing their city. In fact, it is already drowning the Big Apple as what is going on is no longer a mere perception. The good news however is that blue now has a listening ear in the city hall and the new mayor has pledged not to let New York go under the churning wave of violent crimes. He promised to be the lifeguard on duty and will swim any needed extra miles to rescue New York City from drowning; and that under his watch, New York City going back to the horrible old days is not an option on his table. 

ICHEOKU says those animals ravaging New York City must not be allowed to win as they are too negligible to be allowed to force their will on a city of about ten million people. The mayor is right when he said that those merchants of death, who are "constantly carving highways of death and destroying our communities" in New York City must be stopped at all cost, using every available tool in the toolbox of the government. It is a challenge between New Yorkers and these urchins and they must be bloodied and forced to either leave town, abandon their trade in violence or be locked up in prison cages like the animals they are.

It is about New York City and no other; a city specially so uniquely that it can only be imitated but cannot be duplicated. New Yorkers must therefore seize the urgency of the now and take their city back from the violent band of marauders who have made the city unsafe for everyone. It is a task for every New Yorker, regardless of race, religion and politics. Therefore there should be no place for needless politics and woke debates or any other idiotic liberal argument against funding the police or allowing them to do the job they are paid to do. The job at hand requires being laser-focused on the violent few who are making streets of New York unsafe for every New Yorker and not on the stale politics of Defund The Police. 

Any illegal gun on the streets of New York is a threat to the safety of every New Yorker and such guns need to be taken away because they don't belong in the streets of New York. It is a war which New Yorkers must uncompromisingly win and New Yorkers must not abandon their streets to these depraved heart thugs. Frontline defenders in blue must be encouraged not to give up on the city, regardless of how they might be currently demoralized and disheartened by the vicious attacks on them and the growing number of their colleagues being murdered. They must be encouraged and incentivized not to give up because doing so will be throwing a victory party for the criminals. 

Majority of New Yorkers appreciate the awesome job which the courageous men and women in blue are doing in keeping them safe and are grateful and thankful to them for their selfless sacrifice. It is not an easy job to daily put one's life on the line for others, including the criminals who frequently expose them to grave risks. Our men and women in blue must therefore appreciate this majority and not allow anger and despondency of the current situation impact their work of protecting the supermajority who are forced to live with the daily violence. Protecting the people is a promise and a commitment they made, and as New York's finest and bravest, they shall overcome. #BlueIsGood. 

NATO'S STAND AGAINST RUSSIA ON UKRAINE: IS GERMANY DOWN WITH THE STRUGGLE?

ICHEOKU says there is something about Germany which suggests that the country is still smarting from its defeat during the world war. Strangely, it still nurses an internalized animosity against America and other western countries which formed the alliance that denied it, its attempt to subdue Europe under Berlin authority. Germany often acts like a dog in the manger each time NATO wants a united voice and/or a concerted action, requiring the organization to speak with one voice and act as an army of one. It is equally obvious that a special relationship and bond exists between Germany and Russia, which makes it difficult for Germany to be resolute on matters against Russia, especially when a resolution would impact Russia negatively. 

Germany subverted sanctions against Russia, signed multi billion dollars undersea pipeline gas projects, which helped provide Russia with much needed foreign exchange revenue and   heavily cushioned its economy from the impact of a heavily dwindled oil revenue. According to former President Donald John Trump, where is the logic in providing billions of dollars in revenue to a country, which Germany under NATO, is being protected from? Germany also strongly opposes imposing additional sanctions against Moscow, and each time Russia or President Vladimir Putin were to be so deterred, Germany always stood in the way, saying that such will not be productive. 

Now the West is once again facing another crisis with Russia and Germany has once again risen to their obstructionism of NATO, as the unofficial defenders of Moscow; or better still, the Russian mole inside NATO. Germany is frantically trying to prevent a NATO's confrontation with Russia over Ukraine. Germany said that they are in lockstep with NATO's stand against Russia's planned invasion of Ukraine, yet they are against arming Ukraine and sending much needed defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine. 

Their laughable excuse is that German's law prevents the sending of deadly weapons overseas. This is the same country which exports arms, sells weapons and ammunition to foreign countries; and which also took part as a member of the coalition of the willing nations during the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. They have also sold such weapons to many countries in Europe including Estonia, Sweden, Latvia, but now pressuring these countries not to transfer such weapons to Ukraine. So, how exactly does Germany want or expect NATO to meet its stand against Russia over Ukraine without getting these defensive weapons to Kiev. 

If the Jesus moment of the now disgraced former German Navy Chief, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach did not come to India, nobody would have known that the pro Russia and anti NATO sentiments in Germany run so deep as to penetrate its military. His message is that Crimea is lost forever and Putin deserves some respect, regardless of the forced annexation of Crimea, which was the reason sanctions were imposed on Russia. The German military chief also failed to understand that respect is earned and not conferred; and that if President Vladimir Putin wants to be respected, he should learn to conform his actions within the law. 

The German navy chief was equally indifferent to Putin's lack of regard to international law, which requires respect to other countries' borders; and every country's right to conduct foreign relations as they see fit and as would be beneficial to their overall diplomatic and economic aspirations. The German wants Putin to be respected despite Putin's penchant for violating international laws and doing things and saying things which are beneath a leader, odious and undeserving of respect. The German was not concerned about the illegality involved in seizing another country's territory, rather he approvingly signed it off as a gone forever deed, incapable of ever being undone. It goes to show where his heart lies and he is not the only German who shares such a pro Russian sentiment. 

Some German politicians and government officials are harping on the need to resolve the current Ukraine border impasse with Russia peacefully, but they are not saying how to achieve such a peaceful resolution, especially under the prevailing circumstances. It is a sign that the bond of NATO is not as strongly in place as should be expected; and it needs to be strongly welded together before going forward with confronting Russia. It is regrettable that Germany is proving itself to be such a clog in the wheel of NATO which further buttresses the question, whether NATO has outlived its usefulness. Unfortunately too, nobody knows how firmly committed France and Turkey are towards the current NATO objective. 

Therefore America must tread with caution and ensure that Europe will not leave it hanging in the wind to dry, before committing to a NATO war with Russia. There must be an iron-clad commitment by all NATO countries to proportionally, evenly contribute manpower, military and financial resources before plunging into Ukraine. America must not bear the burden of fighting Russia alone and must never allow Europe to drag it into a war which Europe is not prepared nor will be ready to fight themselves. Ukraine and Russia are both European countries, and any war between them is primarily a European problem. America will help them, but must America not carry the entire load of securing Europe or any country therein alone.

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SHOULD BE SMART ABOUT IT AND AVOID THE LOOMING WAR.

ICHEOKU says it is possible that the world is giving President Vladimir Putin too much credit for what he is really worth. Is it possible that the larger than life story weaved around him is somewhat misplaced, and overly exaggerated, that it could pass for a flattery gone too far. His admirers believe that he is smart, clever, a tactician and a survivor; and that he usually plays for the long haul. 

If all these attributes are true, why then is he  trying to crash and burn everything. Is President Vladimir Putin not aware that a full blown war in his neighborhood will not end well for him and his lording it over Russia. Why is he fixated on  recovering Ukraine, aware that any move made in that direction will be an open invitation for Western war profiteers to descend on the region, as vultures do on rotten carcasses. Why does he want to provide the West, particularly America, an opportunity to open up a new theater of war so very close to him. 

A war without timetable, which is capable of outlasting the Afghanistan war, and which will most likely, ultimately result in his own end. He is aware that any such war can only beget one assured outcome, a victory for the West; and with it, will come a very stiff price for him of loss of power, imprisonment as a convicted war criminal or even his summarily execution, which would be fed to the world as "he committed suicide" to avoid capture. They could also put him through a charade of a trial, like they did to Saddam Hussein, just for the heck of it appearing as if they gave him his human rights due process.

Where is Russian FIS and how good and efficient is their foreign intelligence gathering capabilities, for them not to appreciate that America's military industrial complex is frantically looking to open a new theater of conflict. The American military is not currently engaged in any major war and this has so impacted the bottomline of the MIC that they are prepared to exploit any loophole provided to them by Russia in Ukraine. They have to make a living from double dealing the American taxpayers by profiteering from weapons and ammunition sales, as well as milking other aspects of war.

Why would a thinking and strategy-savvy President Vladimir Putin want to fall into this trap and attract these merchants of war and harbingers of death, destruction and misery to his neck of the woods. Is he not aware that once he gives them a reason to move into Ukraine, that they will be there for a very long time, either as war advisers or under the ruse of training and helping Ukraine rebuild its military. Which reasonable person fetches ants infested firewoods, aware that lizards will come to feast on the ants. President Vladimir Putin must therefore think very fast about the repercussions of such an open season invitation and put a hard break on his misguided and irrational plan. He must do it now before the West mounts a false flag operation to manufacture a reason to invite themselves in. 

President Vladimir Putin does not look like a man on a suicide mission; and exudes the aura of a man who is still enjoying his power hold over Russians. He should not throw everything away just because his ego is at stake. He needs to beat it right away before he crosses a line of danger from where a retreat will not be possible. Also the toll on human lives from such a war, particularly on his soldiers, will be too catastrophic, that expending such many lives and in a war which he will not be allowed to win, will be foolhardy and stupid. Let's hope that his common sense and risk assessment quotient will eventually prevail and make him pull his troops back and away from a confrontation with the West. Enough of the brinkmanship.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S OWN BROWNIE MOMENT: KAMALA HARRIS IS DOING A GOOD JOB.

In his press conference on Thursday, the president praised his Vice President Kamala Harris and said that she is doing a good job. ICHEOKU says based on what, when all the indices say otherwise. It reminds ICHEOKU of former President George W. Bush and what he said to the then FEMA director Michael Brown during the Hurricane Katrina apocalypse, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job". When President Bush made that statement, ICHEOKU thought that the former president was just being sarcastic, only to be later proved otherwise and you ask yourself, to what extent would presidents go to defend their minions, even if it meant to speak untruths in their defense. 

That President Joe Biden should similarly reflect so glowingly on his Vice President despite her gross ineptitude and lackluster performance in her one year in office, shows an unearned, unmerited and undeserved cheerleading of a boss for his lieutenant. This is a vice president who has not delivered on her assigned task to put a leash on illegal immigration running amok in the Southern border. This is a Vice President who has not delivered on another assigned task to midwife voting rights legislation to fruition. This is a Vice President who has refused to visit the Southern border, the epicenter of the immigration lost its mind in America, for a first hand assessment of the dire situation. 

Continuing, this is a Vice President who has not delivered on the Build Back Better infrastructure legislation task assigned to her by the president to nurse through the Congress. This is a Vice President who bungled her first foreign trip to Latin America countries and who failed woefully to articulate the position of her administration on illegal immigration and deliver same succinctly to her host governments during her visit. This is a Vice President who has not helped the president become a better president nor helped burnish his image, such that the president's favorability rating with American people now hovers in the low 30s percentile. This is a Vice President who cannot even manage her East Wing office, such that her office is bleeding staff too rapidly as none other before her. 

The number of her staff who have resigned just within their administration's one year in office is almost competing with the number of staff whose fate were severally sealed with the former President Donald John Trump's famed "You're fired" sporadic tweets. This is the Vice President who the president said is doing a good job. Unless good and bad have switched places in their meaning or have integrated into one and like the gender dystopia, no longer distinguishes nor discriminates amongst each other, what American people have witnessed of the Vice President's performance this past one year in office does not look like a good job. If what she is doing is a good job, what then qualifies as a bad job? 

What then qualifies for doing a bad job and what does doing a bad job really looks like, if the inability to successfully deliver on every given assignment and/or the failure to accomplish a given task now meets President Joe Biden's assessment of doing a good job. Although the president has enjoyed the benefit of low expectation right through his campaign and continuing to this date, but his description of the job which Vice President Kamala Harris is doing or rather not doing, as a good job, is a new low. It definitely sank the  expectations from the president into a bottomless abyss from which the president cannot go any lower. What a benchmark to set! 

Little wonder the vice president has the inglorious habit of laughing every serious thing off, aware that her boss is either afraid to criticize or confront her on her performance, or has since gone off the deep end mentally, such that he does not even know what is going on and/or enough to appreciate that his Vice President is just biding her time and not doing jack to help his administration. The fact that the president continues to add more duties to the plate of assignments of the Vice President is equally evident of a president who is no longer fully cognitive, otherwise why assign more responsibilities to a proven incompetent vice president who is yet to deliver on those assignments earlier given to her. 

It is only President Joe Biden, who in his infinite wisdom, thinks that such continuous delegations of his duties to a subordinate, who has not delivered on her previously assigned tasks nor shown the propensity and capacity to deliver them, is a smart idea. It is no longer a case of wondering who, between the president and the Vice President, is in charge in the White House. The speed at which things are unraveling indicates that none of them is in fact, actually in charge of the affairs as the president delegates so many things he should be doing himself to a Vice President who lacks the capacity to deliver them.

Many presidential candidates normally choose running mates who will be an asset to them and who could help them wage a successful campaign and thereafter, in running the government. How great an asset the then candidate Joe Biden thought that his now Vice President Kamala Harris would be, has been forced into the debate arena due to prevailing circumstance of her shown gross incompetence. The tumbling poll numbers of the president is a clear indicator that the Vice President is more of a weighted drag on the president rather than the expected helium-filled balloon that would usually lift the president up at times like this. 

Their 2020 political marriage of convenience by her selection as his running mate is unfortunately proving to be a case of two invalids who cannot help each other. If the president had the capacity and ability to perform many of these assignments which he delegates to the Vice President, he would not have handed them over to the Vice President. As it has turned out, the Vice President, who is supposed to be the president's knight in shinning armor come to the rescue, has herself become a definition and poster-girl of incompetence. An unpopular president often gets some reprieve from the popularity of the Vice President, but with Kamala Harris, it appears that the supposed medicine is even worse than the disease as her own poll numbers are approaching single digit.    

It is increasingly giving credence to that school of thought which has it that she has always used what she has to get what she wants; and that she literally laughed her way through life and up to where she is today. Their administration's case is a sad analogy to the tale of the two knives in the kitchen of a poor widow: one of the knives is sharp but has no handle and the other knife which has a handle is blunt and not sharp. If their union was at least a case of a blind person and a lame person navigating a rugged terrain, there will be some chance at their safely making it through as the blind will carry the lame and the lame will direct and guide them safely through. 

But the case of two blind persons or two lame persons embarked on the same treacherous journey, which America is currently saddled with, will be quite challenging a task to pull off, if not utterly impossible. How the administration eventually finishes its term in office remains a very fluid assessment; but if the last one year of the administration is any barometer, then the history of presidential administrations in America will not be kind to them. Not in any department have they performed brilliantly well enough and all their signature promised items have become mired in a failure to launch.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a tweet yesterday reminded American people that when  President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris came into office one year ago, that our nation faced a dark and difficult moment from pandemic and economic crisis. But Madam Speaker did not tell the nation whether the "dark and difficult" moment had changed into "light and easy" moment, following their being sworn into office one year ago. Instead, the nation is now mired in a darker and more arduous existence, with a pandemic that is killing over one thousand American people daily and economic malaise that have seen many small businesses gone out of business or still closed; and millions of people still without jobs. 

The fog of despondency brought about by the Biden/Harris administration came in the shape of acute inflation which has sent cost of living expenses through the roof, simply becoming unaffordable in many cases, such that many Americans are now rationing meals and foregoing so many other aspects of living. Is this sudden drastic sea-change in living conditions, what Madam Speaker wants to compare with the situation in America, preceding January 20, 2021? Millions of American people, if they could, would gladly opt for what was, and would speedily go back to the life which they had before January 20, 2021.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the administration eventually saunters through the remainder of their term. The next three years will surely be exciting, in the negative sense that is; unless some sort of miracle happens. A miracle of a shift in policy direction which will change the current trajectory of affair in the land and make it possible for Americans to find themselves in their Emerald City. Not by using the same means as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, but through a less cataclysmic approach of a deft good policies formulations and implementations, which will help restore America to its pre January 20, 2021 greatness, and back to the glory which Make America Great Again brought. 

ICHEOKU says American people crave for a return to the 2020 America as we once knew it: an America without empty shelves at grocery stores and other shops; an America where cost of living expenses and purchasing vehicles is once again reasonably affordable; an America where people are not too angry and too divided; an America that will not be under a cloud of fear and uncertainty; an America which will make Russia's President Vladimir Putin to once again quake in his boots and an America which we all can once again be optimistic for its future, as an abiding and strong and safe place to call home, where there is security and safety, and where people can easily find what they need and want to buy, whenever they so desire.  

It does not matter how much signaling the president sends out, telegraphing that his Vice President is better than him and that she is literally in charge and firmly in control of situation, American people are not buying it. The Vice President's too many fumbles so far, has left many American people less confident and more despondent and frightened about what will become of their America. It is apparent that the supposed co-pilot who has taken over the yoke of the plane and pretends that she can safely land it, does not even know how to fly a plane. ICHEOKU wishes the administration well and prays for the best to come and that the dark cloud over America shall lift quickly, so that we can see some sun rays again. It is well, America.

UKRAINE BORDER FACE-OFF AND PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S STRAW MAN'S ARGUMENT.

ICHEOKU says Russian President Vladimir Putin can easily and quickly bring the crisis over Ukraine to a swift end right this very minute; if only he can just recognize and acknowledge the indisputable fact that Ukraine is a sovereign and independent nation. And that Ukraine has a full vested right to make its foreign affairs decisions, including which international organizations or blocs of influence to join and which countries to maintain diplomatic relations with. If Russia does not like any decision Ukraine makes, they can only appeal to regional sentiments and try to persuade Kiev or even lobby them for a change of mind. 

This is how international relationships work between countries, using the power of diplomacy and the purse to persuade preferred outcomes which are favorable to countries seeking to influence it. But the petite putative tsar of Russia does not seem to understand this and/or refuses to appreciate that Ukraine is a sovereign independent country with exclusive rights to conduct its foreign affairs matters. He apparently sees Ukraine as a Russian territory which must be reunified with mother Russia, just like China is smarting over Taiwan, the reason he has adopted the current use of force approach. 

The guy is obviously stuck in the stupidity of restoring a past glory of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, forgetting that he cannot turn back the hands of time, particularly the time that has lapsed since the 1989 collapse of the former Soviet Union. What President Vladimir Putin is demanding is akin to former Great Britain wishing in vain to restore its former empire by threatening the use of force to yank all its colonial territories back. It did not happen with other empires of yore either, including the Greek empire, Roman Empire, Ottoman empire, as well as West Africa's Songhai empire. Therefore, it will not happen with the former USSR, no matter how Putin desires and covets such outcome. 

The former Union of Soviet Socialists Republics is in the rearview mirror and history books of the world until hell freezes over. Daydreaming about it will not change what is and is simply delusional to even contemplate. The West will not let it happen and Ukrainians would rather all die, fighting to defend their independence and freedom from Russia, with or without the help of NATO, than yield to such a very retrogressive change of their fate as an independent sovereign country. 

How any self respecting President Vladimir Putin thinks that he can force an independent, sovereign country into a Russia-loving country by exacerbating hostilities inside the country's borders, defies every logic. Donbas, Crimea and all the other now occupied territorial space of Eastern Ukraine, by the proxy of some so called separatists, belong to Ukraine. They need to be returned back to Ukraine and a well meaning President Vladimir Putin should be seeking for ways to make amends by returning those territories to their Ukraine owner rather than embarking on the course which he is currently on. 

International friendship between countries is earned through mutuality of interests, respect for each other and diplomatic niceties; but is never imposed by force. Even conquered or occupied territories usually remain restive until their oppressors are forced to withdraw or eventually booted out. Ukraine will not be an exception regardless of whether the current crisis ends or is resolved. If Russia wants to see an improved relationship between them and Ukraine, first they have to start treating Ukraine as a respectable independent sovereign country and stop treating them as their vassal state. And giving back those occupied Ukrainian cities and territories will equally help.

Countries should be at liberty to choose who their friends are. If another country was doing the same thing to Russia as they are doing to Ukraine, would Vladimir Putin accept it? Why does the Russian air-force often scramble fighter jets to escort other countries' strayed air planes and fighter jets away from Russia airspace. The same happens when any Russia's maritime border is breached by vessels and ships, including the recent encounter they had with the British navy ship in the Black Sea when Russia fighter jets dropped some bombs so close to the front of the ship to force it to change course.

What Russia is demanding of Ukraine and also doing, by proxy of those separatists, in Donbas and Eastern Ukraine is raw intimidation, by a bully on a weaker and less strong neighbor. Russia must not be allowed to continue to get away with their actions on their neighboring countries. If it will take a war to stop Russian hostilities in that region, it is an undertaking which NATO should seriously consider taking. ICHEOKU strongly doubts that Russia will be able to prevail over such a war and in victory, the West should compel Russia to cough-up of Crimea, Donbas, South Ossetia and Abkhazia 

Why the world allowed Russia to get away with those its previous aggressions is unfathomable. Possibly the world did not want to provoke Russia and thought that if they allowed him to just take those places that they would be done with his imperialistic demons. But unfortunately, the West is now finding out that the only way to put a bully out of bullying, is to confront him. It is like with every other human want, it is insatiable; he got those territories and now simply wants more. His calculation is that the world did not try to stop him then and will probably not stop him now.  

So, the question now is whether the West is prepared to surprise President Vladimir Putin by proving him wrong by not allowing him to take another inch of Ukraine. But with the woke virus which has eaten Europe inside out, it is debatable whether there will be enough good and brave men and women, who, in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, will courageously shed the needed blood required to permanently put President Vladimir Putin in his place. 

It cannot just be only Ukraine that is in his sight and if he is allowed to take Ukraine, he will someday also make a move for other former Soviet Socialists countries. Even the fact that socialism has since been replaced by capitalism throughout these former Soviet territories, including Russia, still doesn't faze or seem to deter his quest to cobble back these countries. 

President Vladimir Putin spoke about existing agreements and understanding reached with the West following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but has largely, deliberately remained silent on  and refuses to mention the agreement reached with Ukraine, before their nuclear weapons stockpile were taken away from them. So, why is Vladimir Putin not honoring the denuclearization agreement the West and Russia reached with Kiev before they surrendered their nuclear weapons stockpile, so that Moscow will not be belligerent to Ukraine? 

President Vladimir has lost the world, including many people who used to defend him and some of his positions on issues, such as this writer; by his current deceit and attempt to manipulate the narrative over Ukraine. A man with so little credibility that his words of assurance really does not mean anything and he has a habit of invading countries and seizing their territories. He lied to the world when those balaclava-wearing and machine gun toting men were seen on the streets of Crimea before he forcibly seized the Ukrainian city, that they were not Russian special forces. 

So which foolish person would now believe his latest lame assurances that he is not planning to invade Ukraine; and that he is only moving his troops around within his country as he has the right to do. Why then move such a huge number of troops and military equipment at a go, and only to the border with Ukraine? 

Anyway, thanks to aerial satellite photographing capabilities, such maneuvers are now easily detectable, the reason the West is presently where it is, aware of what President Vladimir Putin is up to and at the cusp of fighting a war with Russia in defense of Ukraine's sovereignty. Those orbiting surveillance satellites will remain laser-focused on Russia's border with Ukraine and for however long it takes, until President Vladimir Putin makes up his mind, one way or the other. 

His only real choice in the matter is to either wake up from his delusion grandeur and call back his dogs of war to their barracks, or to stupidly order them into action in Ukraine. If he chooses the latter, the fireworks will begin and he cannot be allowed to accomplish what Adolf Hitler was unable to accomplish, a German speaking Europe. Europe will not fall under Russian jackboots and he needs to also be reminded that Turkey is still a member of NATO. Russia defeating the combined firepower of NATO will be an impossible task to accomplish, nuclear weapons or no nuclear weapons; and luckily enough Russia does not have exclusive access to the atom bomb.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN IS ONE YEAR IN OFFICE: HURRAY!

ICHEOKU says, must commend the president for standing up for nearly two hours and fielding questions from journalists who were gathered for his press conference to mark his year in office. At his nearly eighty years old age, it was remarkable that he went the full hog without sipping any water or taking a rest break or sitting down. It shows that all the cycling he does with First Lady Dr Jill Biden pays off and that the last medical checkup report was not fishy. Kudos Mr President.

The president also confirmed that he will run for reelection in 2024 and will retain Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. It shows that the president is not worried about his state of health affairs, despite what is glaringly obvious However, ICHEOKU will suggest that the president curb his enthusiasm about a 2024 rerun as it is rather too early to take such a firm position now, especially when his current term is still three years to go; and the majority of American people are not feeling the bun of his administration. If the ship of the state is not righted and steered to a correct direction, his own political party might even find the idea of fielding him in 2024 too absurd a position bordering on a political suicide to even contemplate that. 

But be that as it may, he has declared his intention to run for reelection, thereby putting  everyone on notice, including former President Donald John Trump, Hillary Clinton and other members of his party. By declaring now, he has also let members of the Democratic Party that he will be taking very unkindly to any attempt by any of them to challenge him for the party's presidential ticket come 2024. It was the primary reason they tag-teamed former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo out of the way and out of relevance with all the sexual scandal. 

The former governor was about the only formidable person who would have successfully mounted a challenge and possibly wrestled the ticket out of President Joe Biden. But with him now gone and Vice President Kamala Harris now promised a second vice presidential ticket run, the coast is apparently clear for the president, provided he will be in a good enough state of health, particularly of his mental health.

Anyway, the president said that he did not overpromise Americans during his election campaign in 2020, but he sure was big on promises but very short on delivery, which has put his administration in a pickle and will haunt him through to 2024 unless things dramatically improve for the better. He promised to shut down the coronavirus but the dreadful killer virus is still raging on like Santa Anna wildfire of Southern California, such that today the death toll in America is fast creeping up to the one million number mark. So many unfulfilled promises are now his Achilles heel leading up to the 2022 midterm election and they may linger on to 2024. 

The president promised Build Back Better, but that too is practically gasping for breath. He promised to unify Americans, but Americans are today more divided than they were when he made the promise in 2020. Instead of shutting down the coronavirus as he promised, it is the economy that he is on the cusp of shutting down, such that millions of American people are still unemployed and so many things have also become out of reach for millions of households. Gasoline, groceries, automobiles and other basic essential necessities have almost become practically unaffordable and travel has also seen a rapid cost increase. 

He promised voting rights legislation, but that too has been admitted into an intensive care unit and placed on a life support machine. Nearly every big ticket promise the president made to the American people while campaigning for the office, are comatose and without accomplishing on any of them, he now feels that going to talk to the American people about the failure to deliver, will somehow magically make their problems go away or become accepted as the new normal. So, what exactly is the case which President Joe Biden is going on the road to make to the American people, when they are feeling the pinch themselves from the many failures and unfulfilled promises of his administration. 

Even things Congressman James Clyburn assured to black people in South Carolina that  President Joe Biden's administration was going to make "easy and accessible" have themselves completely disappeared; so, what is the use of a road map when the destination no longer exists. Instead of making things "easy and accessible", the president has completely wiped them off the map. So, what case is he going to make to American people when they are feeling the hole in their pockets, wallets and checkbooks; holes drilled there by inflation from hell, which have caused prices of living essentials to go through the roof of unaffordable. 

A wise person should know when to pull back from an endeavor which is not yielding a desired and anticipated result. But President Joe Biden would rather stay the course, doing the same things he is presently doing or trying to do, and still expecting a different result. Is this how a  school of thought defines insanity? He said that he will not pull back on his many big ticket items which are literally moribund. A matter which his nearly fifty years membership in the Washington swamp could not help give him a leg up or leeway. He thought that his former boss President Barack Obama received the opposition he got because he "ain't white" and believing that as a good ole boy he will be treated differently and that the Republicans will cut him some slack. 

His whispering voice in some responses was rather eerie; and he was sometimes hardly audible enough for people to make out what he was saying. He also said that because of military superiority over Ukraine that Russia will be able to prevail overtime in any resulting war with Ukraine. This begs the question, if hostilities break out, whether NATO will stand idly by and watch as Russia rumbles through into Kiev. What is the point then of all the recent heavy threatening statements if NATO will not man up and face down President Vladimir Putin's aggression on an independent sovereign country. 

Why was Saddam Hussein driven out of Kuwait and why was Adolf Hitler chased out of occupied Europe? What exactly did the president mean by "minor incursion" or does that mean that Russia can seize the entire swathe of Eastern Ukraine or every other land space in Ukraine short of Kiev?  It is definitely a part of the president's conference that needs an urgent clarification and hopefully the White House will send out a fill the gap statement immediately. 

Those 17 economics Nobel laureates who commended the president's economic policies and general direction of the country are only as good as those 250 retired military brass who asked the American people to vote for the president in 2020. It is definitely becoming a question of buyer's remorse for all of them now; and whatever report card the president said will be good for his reelection in 2024 is not going to be based on the current general situation in the country. Unless things turn around for the better, members of his Democratic Party will be soon mouthing "Joe please do not run for a reelection" and before the year runs out. 

The president also claimed that 5 republican senators approve of his administration policies and the trajectory in which the country. is presently in. ICHEOKU says it must be in his head, imagining things which are not there and like Sixth Sense Joel Osment, instead of dead people, the president is seeing five imaginary republican senators, phantoms,

He also claimed that he had the backs of black people throughout his life, the reason he said "you ain't black" if you think outside the box or vote outside the parameters. So, if he has been for blacks throughout his life, why did he wait for fifty years to make voting rights an issue so worthy of his endeavor that casting aspersion on people who disagree with his approach, is now acceptable behavior. He denied calling people who are not down with his agenda George Wallace while choosing to forget that when you say that somebody is on a person's side, it means that they share and support the position of the person. This is the reason MAGA nation proudly identifies with former President Donald John Trump because we agree and share his position on America First. So, how could the president deny calling people he accused of sharing the views of and supporting the position of George Wallace, racists?

The president also said that vice president Kamala Harris is doing a good job which reminds people of former President George W Bush extolling then FEMA director Mike Brown as doing "one heck of a good job" in his handling of Hurricane Katrina. This is a vice president who cannot deliver on immigration run amok; who cannot deliver on voters rights legislation and who cannot deliver on other major assignments given to her by the president, yet she is doing a good job. How exactly does doing a bad job look like, if her inability to deliver on so many assignments is now a definition and benchmark for doing a good job. 

It is also noteworthy that the president attacked the idea of having robust discussions on issues in America, saying that without reaching "consensus" that we cannot sustain our democracy. ICHEOKU says America has been that way for over 200 years of practicing democracy, as issues are not usually rubber-stamped by the American people. But now, President Joe Biden sees things differently and wants to get rid of senate filibuster rule as well as other democracy sustaining tools which were put in place by our founding fathers. The statement is an insight into democrats headstrong on destroying opposing views in America and they are going full throttle to achieve it. But thanks to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, there is some hope left that President Joe Biden will not be allowed to kill democracy in America.

It is also laughable watching the president say that he will be campaigning with many democrats who will be running for reelection and other offices this year and continuing; and you wonder which democratic candidate will eagerly looking forward or even allow him to come near them, with such a record which he has set in his first year in office, and with an approval rating now hovering in the low 30 percentile. The president also mistakenly claimed that 48 democrat senators support his agenda, but chose to forget that Vermont's Senator Bernie Sanders is an independent and not a democrat. 

Overall, the press conference was not too bad; at least he stood unaided for the nearly two hours it lasted and he also attempted to answer all the questions that were asked of him. ICHEOKU is not a fan and never was; and campaigned to prevent his election but the deep state military industrial complex and their media minors had the upper hand. He is our president and we expect him to succeed by delivering on his promises to the American people during the campaign. 

ICHEOKU is not disappointed with his failures in office thus far because we did not expect much from his administration. But it shows that Washington DC is a deep swamp for a reason, it does not discriminate as swamp dwellers do not care whether or not you are a member; otherwise a dweller with over 50 years residency would have had a more forgiving acceptance and given a smooth sailing with his presidency. But it does not look like President Joe Biden is enjoying any benefit from his long sojourn in Washington DC and what he fought all his life to get, the presidency. Anyway, congratulations to President Joe Biden on his first full year in office. Let's hope that things will get better going forward, but let nobody bank on it.