Dear Mr. President, we would like to greet you from the Beyond. It is not permitted to us to share specific details of our fates in the Afterlife. Some Catholics may be granted such apparitions, but they are typically a good deal more devout than you. Instead, consider that the three of us address you from the “ash heap of history.” We share some common ground with you, faced similar temptations, and have come to bring you a warning. Think of us, perhaps, as the Ghosts of Empires Past. Each of us began our reigns as leaders of powerful, prosperous realms — like you. One of us (Franzi here) endured on the throne until his mind was almost as foggy as yours is now. Another of us (Willi says “Hallo!”) was considered half unfit to rule, and bullied by his advisors. And the other (Nikki waves) was possessed by a messianic belief that his empire was called to liberate Eastern Europe. So you might say we “know where you’re coming from.” And we see where you are headed. In your steady, willful escalation of conflict with Mr. Putin’s Russia, you are walking down a path that each of us trod. We know where it leads. And we beg you to turn aside… (READ MORE)

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