Hitting Russia Where it Hurts—In the Vodka 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has just banned Russian vodka and other ruskie distilled spirits from State Liquor Stores. (A spokesman for Cox said he does not drink Russian vodka.) And Utah is not the only state banning the distillates.

The ban, according to the staff here at Smart Bomb, is spreading across the country faster than Eliza "Mother" Thompson could chop up wine casks during prohibition. So say goodbye to Stoli and Russian Standard Gold and (gulp) Polugar Classic Rye Vodka. Sad but true. Smirnoff drinkers, relax, it's made in the U.S.A.

The ban is, of course, a huge sacrifice for those who prefer their Russian medication. And Stoli drinkers, get this: The makers of Stolichnaya are crying foul. Stoli, it turns out, is distilled in Latvia, although it does use some Russian alcohol. This could be a pretext for Putin to invade Latvia—like what isn't—although he's preoccupied just now.

The staff here at Smart Bomb has been doing a deep dive into vodka (no pun intended). And this is one of the things that turned up: Ukraine has its own award-winning vodka. For imbibers who want to support Ukraine, check out Khortytsa Vodka (aka Khor), distilled in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It's among the top three best selling vodkas in the world. So drink up, it's one thing you can do to help our fellow drinkers in Ukraine in their hour of need.

Just Blame Biden
Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into. How are we supposed to criticize Putin while praising Trump? The former president loves Putin. Lately he's been calling him a "genius" and "pretty smart." Yeah, and Mussolini made the trains run on time.

Meanwhile, Tucker Carson has been cheering on Russia. What is a Republican to do? Trump keeps going on and on about the would-be czar that "he knows very well." So we can't say bad stuff about Trump because ... well, because.

Wait, hold on—hey Republicans, not to worry, we've still got the good, old Newt Gingrich Playbook: "Democrats Suck." In this case, it's Biden who is the piñata. It's his fault Putin blew into Ukraine like Hitler's Blitzkrieg over Poland because Biden is so weak, weak, weak. He never told Putin we were done with his B.S.

Of course, Biden's only been in office 13 months and Trump sucked up to Putin's for four years, but that doesn't matter. What matters is real Americans know that Biden practically begged Putin to start a war. And if good Republican people believe Biden stole the election, they'll believe anything as long as Tucker and Sean and Laura keep repeating: It's Biden's fault because he's weak, weak, weak. Yeah, that's it. This is another fine mess he's gotten us into.

Rep. John Curtis: Fix the Climate with Capitalism
Utah Congressman John Curtis had an idea—no, for real, he did. There is no climate crisis, he explained, although he conceded that climate change is in the air. That's a real bummer for folks like Republicans Rep. Majorie Taylor Green and Sen. Ron Johnson, who say it's just another of Nancy Pelosi's dirty tricks. But we digress.

Curtis believes that good, old fashioned American innovation will solve global warming—to that end, he has created the Conservative Climate Caucus. Before you can say "Elon Musk goes to Mars," cool winds will blow all summer. Despite popular belief, Curtis insisted that "Republicans do care about the environment." That's right Wilson, you can learn something new every ... well, every once in a while.

The notion that eliminating fossil fuels to transition to renewables is simply dumb. "With innovative technologies, fossil fuels can and should be a major part of the global solution," he said. "Reducing emissions is the goal, not reducing energy choices." Tom Elder called that "magical thinking," in a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune. The Citizen's Climate Caucus, he said, "is just a fig leaf to cover the GOP's shameful record on climate science." The GOP is wearing a lot of fig leafs these days. Flattering—not so much.

Postscript—Whoa baby, that's about it for another week here at Smart Bomb, where we keep track of the Russian ruble so you don't have to. Americans, no doubt, are bound to see the price of gasoline and groceries go up. But you could live in Russia, where the ruble lost at least one-third of its value practically overnight.

Imagine if all of a sudden a U.S. dollar was worth 66 cents. It would be like going on vacation to New York City. Wilson was in New York a while ago and stopped to help an old lady up some steps. There, he said, that's not so bad, to which she retorted, "Things can always get worse." True that.

A camera crew was interviewing three middle-aged Ukrainian women huddled in a tent out of the rain in Kiev. They were holding AK-47s and fighting back tears. They had 48 hours of training and were awaiting the Russian assault. In the countryside at a summer camp hidden in the forest, children and teenagers were going through tactical exercises and getting instruction on how to shoot at human targets. Their expressions were stone cold—they could soon be battling the Russian army. If that doesn't make your spine tingle, nothing would.

Alright Wilson, things can always get worse and it looks like they have. But let's put that aside for a moment and embrace Congressman Curtis's hope for cool summer breezes after his Republican colleagues and big oil fix the environment. The guys in the band are decked out in baggies and Hawaiian shirts, so wind it up:

The summer wind, came blowin' in from across the sea
It lingered there to touch your hair and walk with me
All summer long we sang a song and then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts and the summer wind

Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin' by
The world was new beneath a blue umbrella sky
Then softer than a piper man one day it called to you
I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind

The autumn wind and the winter winds, they have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days, they go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind

The summer wind
Warm summer wind
Mmm, the summer wind
"Summer Wind"—written by Heinz Meier, popularized by Frank Sinatra