I just returned from a visit to Ukraine. I tried to help the 10 million internal and external refugees from Putin’s hell. I expect to return in a while.

Mr. Milholland’s letter sounded very much like the appeasement Chamberlain offered Hitler in 1938. As we know, that did not turn out too well. The appeasement given Putin after Chechnya, Donbas, Crimea, and Aleppo worked about the same.

I learned in ninth grade that punching a bully in the nose after he punched me did a few things: It stopped the bullying, it made me realize the bully was not as strong as I had thought, and also that I was stronger than I had thought. Letting bullies have their way is not good.

Frankly, Mr. Milholland sounds like he needs some real-world experience. I suggest he head to Ukraine and assist some of the children attempting to flee artillery and missile attacks on hospitals and other civilian structures while asking Mr. Putin to “Please stop.”

Alternatively, sit in your easy chair and imagine Canada’s government was taken over by a Putin-like faction who claimed the U.S. Pacific Northwest as a security zone and historical homeland. Port Townsend is bombed like Mariupol, the hospital is destroyed with two 2,000-pound bombs dropped by a Canadian F-18, and Mayor Faber is captured and replaced by a puppet.

Mike Loriz
PORT TOWNSEND