Remain calm. We are not going to war directly with Russia--at least, our leaders do not currently plan on it. If they did, the war drums would be very loud, very obvious and you would KNOW we are going to fight, just like back at the start of the Iraq war. If you can remember the atmosphere at the time, it was strident and excited. We are not there yet.

Think of MSNBC as a kind of state TV. There are many explanations as to why they might be saying these things. They may be part of a general threat to convince the Russians not to invade, or they may be directed internally to maintain hatred for Russia, or they may be aimed at Ukraine to bolster their confidence. Or perhaps all of those things. But if they were preparing to face Russia down, it would be the only thing they could talk about and the only thing you would hear everywhere you go.

It is possible Russia will invade Ukraine, but we will not fight them directly. Ukraine has been lured into this position by the con men and mischief makers in Washington, and the best they can hope for are some weapons shipments. They cannot beat Russia under any stretch of the imagination.

A likely outcome is the Russian annexation of the Donbass along with full blown pariah status for Russia among the nations of the West. They probably couldn't care less at this point.