Won't somebody, please, anybody, shake hands with Joe Biden? Apparently not, as Obama's visit to the White House focuses all the attention immediately back on Barack. One wonders who is in control, and what the regime's endgame is. Meanwhile the effort to crush the ruble doesn't seem to be working very well. Plus: the editors discuss the merits of "OK, groomer."

The Left isn’t trying to groom your six-year-old in school, you conspiracy theorist. On an unrelated note, Disney has created a task force to do exactly that as an end run around Florida’s explicit ban on discussing  sex with kindergarteners. How can and should the Right respond? Meanwhile, California is seemingly trying to legalize killing newborns. The editors discuss whether to take a white or black pill as the culture war accelerates apace.

What is a woman? Whatever Joe Biden says it is, bigot. Even Supreme Court nominees can no longer state the painfully obvious: the fog of woke religion obscures all. Meanwhile, the Hunter Biden laptop story is now officially real news. It’s a little late, but oh well--water under the bridge! The editors discus transhumanist tecnho-fervor at home, and liberal imperialism abroad.

There are no biolabs in Ukraine, and it’s good that there are. Also, it is apparently treason to discuss the issue--even though we’re not at war. How much of this is really about Ukraine, and how much has to do with punishing enemies at home? Plus: the feds have written a fascinating report about an incel shooting. Seth and Spencer discuss.

Biden bans Russian oil imports, driving already-high gas prices to their highest point ever and aggravating America’s existing inflation crisis. But Biden, Buttigieg, and prominent Democrats have a solution: just don’t be such a gas-guzzling pleb. Thanks, Joe! Meanwhile, the feds are looking into a centralized cryptocurrency that they could use to trace every transaction—and shut you out of if they don’t like you. Plus: the gender madness continues--but the Right can win. Our editors discuss.

In this edition of The Stakes, Michael Anton, lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, and a Claremont senior fellow, is joined by Charles Haywood of The Worthy House. The two analyze the situation in Ukraine from both sides, ultimately siding with Ukraine. Plus: between Australia’s ruthless police crackdown on its citizens and Canada’s violent crackdown on the Freedom Convoy, the West is in a bleak state. Is there any reason to hope for a brighter future?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is intensifying. Ukraine’s freedom and millions of lives hang in the balance as the West implements increasingly punitive measures against Russia and its officials. Back in the States, Biden gave his first State of the Union Address. Through stammered speech, he said the US will stay out of the Ukraine invasion—for now. The editors examine the potential geopolitical consequences of both Biden’s policies and Russia’s aggression.

At time of recording, Vladimir Putin had ordered soldiers into two separatist regions of Ukraine—he had not yet launched what is now a full-scale war. The European order looks precarious, and our political establishment looks all too eager to throw American lives into the maelstrom. To what end? Seth and Spencer discuss the internal decay of America and Canada as authoritarianism advances across the globe.

In Canada, truckers protesting a vaccine mandate have been denied funds from online crowdsourcing platforms in two different ways, raising the question: what is it going to take to preserve our natural rights on the new digital frontier? Meanwhile, democrats change their tune on mask mandates just in time for an election year, and our editors discuss the fight for truth against CRT in the Christian church and university.