I’ll be the first to admit that we, on the right, have a real problem in Ukraine. There are a non-trivial number of conservatives who can’t differentiate between holding the position that the United States does not have a vital national interest in Ukraine and has acted with recklessness in pimping NATO membership for Ukraine, and fluffing for Vladimir Putin.

Just this morning, I unsubscribed to a newsletter I’ve used for over a year because the proprietor was doing a little happy dance over the prospect of a Russian victory in Ukraine. Once Putin rolled troops across the border, I think our objective should be to ensure the Ukrainians can protract this war and bleed the Russian Army. Nothing will get Putin’s attention and generally cool his jets like truckloads of Russian dead returning home to secret funerals.

The left has its own problems (for clarity, I include in the ranks of the left some people who claim to be otherwise but never seem to find anything conservatives do worth their support, and who side with the left on all major issues). One of those problems, in regards to Ukraine, is that a large number of people who should know better are actually agitating for U.S. military action against Russia. One of the more stupid:

If you want to see stronger support for Ukraine here are four things you can tell your member of Congress you support. Call Congress 202-224-3121

1) no fly zone
2) turn off swift
3) more arms to Ukraine now
4) US will take Ukrainian refugees

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) February 25, 2022

NATO NO-FLY-ZONE over Ukraine could protect Alisa, but… More kids will dies if NATO will not impose NO-FLY-ZONE https://t.co/182awJa6A3

— Daria Kaleniuk (@dkaleniuk) February 26, 2022

Tonight may decide the future of Western Europe. We must support Ukraine with a no fly zone over the country. At least they would have a fighting chance.

— Treat Williams (@Rtreatwilliams) February 25, 2022

Naturally, where the left leads, our own quislings must follow; one of those was, naturally, Adam Kinzinger.

2) History teaches that taking a stand is inevitable and gets more costly with time. We own the skies, Russia cannot hold a candle to our Air power. Do this. Putin is too dangerous to hope he is satisfied with “just Ukraine.”

— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) February 25, 2022

A no-fly zone over Ukraine is one of the more stupid ideas to perk up to the surface in the past week. I understand why Ukraine is pushing for it, and I respect the game. What I don’t respect are people demanding that we start shooting down Russian aircraft, and having them shoot down ours for no apparent purpose beyond starting a war. The idea that aerial conflict could be contained and not spill over into confrontations on the ground is nonsense. Kinzinger, who touts his time spent in the USAF flying a gas station for his military experience creds, should know better. Kinzinger, however, is not known for his blinding intellect.

One of the eternal internet memes is “Sam Hyde.” There is a real Sam Hyde, a comedian, but his name (or derivations thereof) is routinely used on Twitter and Facebook as the perpetrator of virtually every mass shooting or act of terrorism. Wikipedia describes it this way.

Shooting and terrorism hoaxes

Sam Hyde in 2016. This and similar photos have been used by internet trolls when reporting Hyde as the perpetrator of mass shootings and terrorist attacks.

Since 2015, Hyde has been frequently misreported as the perpetrator of numerous mass shootings and terrorist attacks by Internet trolls on websites such as 4chan and Twitter.^[9][13] The hoaxes, which typically included photos of Hyde brandishing a semi-automatic weapon, reappeared so often on social media that The New York Times characterized “Sam Hyde is the shooter” as “an identifiable meme.”^[14] The first instance of the prank was the Umpqua Community College shooting. CNN mistakenly included Hyde’s image on their coverage of the shooting.^[15] Hyde has also been erroneously blamed for many other shootings,^{[9][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]} including when Representative Vicente Gonzalez mistakenly identified Hyde as the perpetrator of the Sutherland Springs church shooting.^[21] Hyde’s image was shared across social media as being the driver of the car in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that drove into a holiday parade in November 2021.^[22] Most recently his image has been misidentified as the ‘Ghost of Kiev‘ (along with the names ‘Сэм Хайденко’ (Sam Haydenko) or Samuyil Hyde), a Ukrainian fighter pilot who supposedly shot down 6 Russian planes on the 24th of February 2022.^[23]

Yesterday, Kinzinger shared, then quickly deleted, a tweet ionizing “Samuyil Hyde,” who “has absolutely OWNED the Russian Airforce.”

It's real. pic.twitter.com/x0ebd9Lmzf

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) February 26, 2022

This is pure Kinzinger.

Oddly enough, you can at least sympathize with someone getting sucked in by an internet meme, not so much someone who wants to send young Americans off to fight and die for no one knows what.