Jackie Calmes: Russia's crackdown on liberty sounds all too familiar to Americans

The news makes for a sickening split screen.

We see the ravages of Russia's war on Ukraine, where it's as if the black-and-white scenes of carnage and fleeing refugees in World War II Europe — scenes consigned to history books, we thought — have been updated in horrific, real-time color. Vladimir Putin's heinous war has united the Ukrainian people.

Then there's the coverage of the figurative war here in America, a culture war waged by Republicans against women, minority groups, LGBTQ people, educators, public health officials and just about