It appears Vladimir Putin did not read last week’s blog [Is he even subscribed?!]. To protest that decision, groups of demonstrators gathered outside the Texas Capitol and in the streets of Dallas, Fort Worth and The Colony this weekend.

The U.S. Census reports 15,574 people live in Texas who were born in Ukraine. Many of them held rallies over the weekend, with one in The Colony, north of Dallas.

They were walking from the Ukrainian Orthodox Catholic Church to The Colony City Hall. One woman who now lives in Texas says she still has family in Ukraine, and one of her cousins was called to active duty even though he’s in his 40s.

One of the other folks there said he was glad to see so many people honking and yelling out their windows as they drove by.

“Today, everybody’s a little Ukrainian,” he explains.

And maybe, just maybe, Ukrainians are a little Texan. Many of the people at the rallies are Ukrainians and still have family there, but I also sidled up to a Texas native who has absolutely zero personal connection.

He just observed some similarities between the two, like pride in who they are, their independence and maybe, just maybe, a bit of stubbornness. And he wanted in.

In fact, the lieutenant governor posted a picture of a Ukrainian police officer who had trained with Houston Police and wanted to alert the Russians about potential calamity when one messes with Texas.

You know who is subscribed to #ScaiaBlog? My brother, some Hollywood muckity-muck.

After last week’s post, he pointed out that “everybody can change” also applies to Ivan Drago. I enjoyed Creed, and Creed II came out more than a year before society was discontinued, so I’m not entirely sure why I never saw it.

Needless to say, I corrected that mistake immediately, calling in sick at work to screen the film. In Creed II, we learn Ivan Drago was disgraced upon his return to Russia after Rocky IV and moved to Ukraine to train his son.

I now understand my brother’s point: Ukraine turned Moscow-native Ivan Drago into a borderline sympathetic character. He pushed his son too hard in Ukraine, but once the elder Drago realized he was still fighting [questing] to overcome his past in the USSR, he was able to realize what’s truly important: his son… and, to a lesser extent, not angrying-up Texans’ blood.

We’re all unified now, but a former U.S. ambassador to NATO worries if that support will continue long-term if gas prices stay high and we have to make commitments for defense.

There’s one thing he’s leaving out, though: Even Drago’s on our side, now.