Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

Ukrainian Pie

Ukrainian Pie

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Music is an extremely powerful and unifying language that has the ability to speak to everyone across all borders.


I realize that music will not stop the fighting in Ukraine. However, music has proven throughout our history to move people to action.

Music once again is playing its vital role as the Ukrainian war enters its second year. For those who pray, you may pray more. For those who petition others in power, it might lead to a renewal of that effort. Or perhaps giving to a charity, or just being mindful of others around the world.

And so we offer you a song about Ukrainian defenders and the indomitable spirit of the people entitled, "Ukrainian Pie."

This version of the famous American hit, "American Pie" by Don McLean, is deeply influenced by the history of Ukraine's war with Russia. The writer researched various events and wrote the text to convey all the moods of our struggle as much as possible. In the song, President Volodymyr Zelensky is compared to John Wayne, Tom Cruise and Superman. Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko and former Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill are also mentioned there.

The song is written by Cleveland lawyer Harold Pollock, an entrepreneur, author, and lyricist. Ukrainian Pie has already garnered 1.7 billion views on TikTok and 450,000 views on YouTube. Pollock was looking for a performer for his composition for a long time and decided that it must be a Ukrainian singer. He found the perfect performer while watching the show "Voice of Bulgaria," where the musician from Ukraine Alex Kozar took part. Pollock managed to get in touch with him and they agreed to work together.

"I'm very glad that I had the honor to take part in the work on "Ukrainian Pie... It's not just the longest song I've had to record. This is the story of our struggle, which is recorded in poems and melodies. This is a dedication to the defenders who defend their native land, the strong Ukrainian people and its president, who received the support of the civilized world and turned the course of history," shared the performer of the hit, soloist of the orchestra of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and finalist of "Voice of Bulgaria" Alex Kozar .

Currently, the song can be purchased in the U.S., with proceeds from the sales being sent to support Ukraine.

Please enjoy the song:


Read More

Ukrainian POW, You Are Not Forgotten

Recruits at roll call at the infantrymen's deployment site. Recruits, including former prisoners who have voluntarily joined the 1st Separate Assault Battalion named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo "Da Vinci," take part in weapons handling and combat readiness training in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on November 11, 2025.

(Photo by Diana Deliurman/Frontliner/Getty Images)

Ukrainian POW, You Are Not Forgotten

“I have very good news,” beamed former Ukrainian POW and human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, looking up from his phone. “150 Ukrainian prisoners of war have just been released. One is from my platoon.”

This is how I learned about last week’s prisoner exchange during a train ride from Champaign to Chicago. In addition to the 150 Ukrainian defenders, seven citizens were released on February 5 in an exchange with Russia.

Keep ReadingShow less
A child's hand holding an adult's hand.
"Names have meanings and shape our destinies. Research shows that they open doors and get your resume to the right eyes and you to the corner office—or not," writes Professor F. Tazeena Husain.
Getty Images, LaylaBird

Who Are the Trespassers?

Explaining cruelty to a child is difficult, especially when it comes from policy, not chance. My youngest son, just old enough to notice, asks why a boy with a backpack is crying on TV. He wonders why the police grip his father’s hand so tightly, and why the woman behind them is crying so hard she can barely walk.

Unfortunately, I tell him that sometimes people are taken away, even if they have done nothing wrong. Sometimes, rules are enforced in ways that hurt families. He seemingly nods, but I can see he’s unsure. In a child’s world, grown-ups are supposed to keep you safe, and rules are meant to protect you if you follow them. I wish I had always believed that, too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump's Assault on Our Election System and How to Fix It

People voting

Trump's Assault on Our Election System and How to Fix It

  1. I'm not talking about Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election results. That's a Trump issue; it has nothing to do with the problems of our election system. But Trump's recent call for Republicans to take over the election process, to "nationalize" elections, goes to the heart of this issue's urgency, as does his earlier demand that red states redraw their districts to increase the number of safe Republican seats in Congress.

While elections are inherently partisan, their administration must be nonpartisan. Why? They must be nonpartisan in order to ensure that election results 1) reflect the true, accurate votes of all eligible voters, and 2) ensure that the "one man, one vote" principle is honored.

Current Problems

Redistricting: After each decennial census, each state is required to redraw its congressional districts in order to ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people, thus ensuring the "one man, one vote" equal representation required by the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution.

Keep ReadingShow less
A New Democratic Approach: Guardrails That Speed, Not Stop, Progress

A take on permitting reform, deregulation, and DHS accountability—arguing for economic growth with guardrails that protect communities, health, and the environment.

Getty Images, Javier Ghersi

A New Democratic Approach: Guardrails That Speed, Not Stop, Progress

For far too long, our national conversation has been framed around a false choice. On one side, Republicans frequently argue that the best way to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of everyday Americans is to give businesses maximum freedom by having fewer rules, fewer constraints and more incentives to grow. On the other side, Democrats have stressed the need for guardrails to protect our environment, our health, and our communities from the unintended effects of unchecked growth.

But this debate has always been too narrow. It assumes that we must choose between action and accountability, between getting things done and doing them responsibly.

Keep ReadingShow less