Born Oct. 7, 1952, Vladimir Putin will turn 70 this year. Perhaps he is looking ahead to pages in the book of history on which he would be lauded as the leader who reconstituted the USSR. And who …
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Born Oct. 7, 1952, Vladimir Putin will turn 70 this year. Perhaps he is looking ahead to pages in the book of history on which he would be lauded as the leader who reconstituted the USSR. And who knows, I often wonder, what friendship and secrets he shared with erstwhile U.S. President Trump via their unrecorded get-togethers of the 2020s and earlier. Obviously, he (Putin) was mistaken in assuming general weakness and self-serving stupidity of the U.S. due to his association with Trump (and due to the latter’s actions).
Putin meanwhile has managed to completely shut down the Free Press in Russia, and the people there know only what the government tells them. So no wonder he’s beginning to get favorable poll numbers in Moscow and environs. Along the way critics, including journalists, have been shot, poisoned or imprisoned. A 15-year prison sentence for dissemination of anti-government information now seems to be doing the trick. Trump, meanwhile, who can’t tailor the news his way, just refers to the Press in general, as “The enemy of the people.” And “fake news” is a label he pins on anything critical of his activities.
“Twentieth-century dictators — notably, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao — had all denounced their critics, especially the press, as ‘enemies of the people.’ Their goal was to delegitimize the work of the press as ‘fake news’ and create confusion in the public mind about what’s real and what isn’t; what can be trusted and what can’t be. That, it seems, is also Trump’s goal.” — Kalb, Marvin: “Enemy of the People: Trump's War on the Press, the New McCarthyism, and the Threat to American Democracy.” Brookings Institution Press, 2018.
Meanwhile I’m with Brennan and others viewing Putin’s War as something we do not wish to see escalated into World War lII — especially a nuclear conflict. I have a friend whose son flies U.S. fighter jets. For starters, I’ll sleep better nights knowing he’s not flying the skies over Ukraine — even though it’s nice having him on our side in case of other emergencies. Putin, meanwhile, would undoubtedly escalate the conflict at the slightest provocation as he has put himself in a must-win situation.
Thank God we have Biden rather than Trump in the White House.
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Justin Hale
Once again, lacking any good news about how the current administration is doing the Democrat partisan defaults to regurgitating his hatred of all things Trump.
"Obviously, he (Putin) was mistaken in assuming general weakness and self-serving stupidity of the U.S. due to his association with Trump (and due to the latter’s actions)."..... Of the last four administrations Trump was the toughest on Russia, do a Google search. Of the last four administrations, which is the one that did not see Russia invading their neighbors, it wasn't Bush's, Obama's, or Biden's.
Tom are you going to deny that the NYT, WaPo, and other media promulgated a false story about Trump and Russian collusion for over a year, that's not fake news?
"Thank God we have Biden rather than Trump in the White House." Oh hel yes, gas prices are through the roof, when not that long ago during the Trump administration the US was energy independent, a major exporter of oil, now we go begging for others to do what we should be doing. The US is experiencing the worst inflation in the last 40 years. We have a crazy man in Moscow killing innocent civilians and totally destroying cities. All this since Biden took office. God had nothing to do with it Tom.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 Report this
MargeS
We have the first black woman set to become a Supreme Court Justice.
267,000 Americans applied for first time weekly unemployment benefits last week the lowest since March 2020.
Gas prices are going down, it's the way it goes, the oil industry will use any excuse to raise prices.
Meanwhile down at Mar a Logo Trump is collecting money from his sycophants, and saying about the Jan. 6th insurrection, “Secret Service said I couldn’t go. I would have gone there in a minute.” No comment from the secret service if this actually happened, probably won't comment. I wonder if those supporters know where all their money is going. Stop the steal Mr. Trump!
Thursday, April 7, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
Good for M.Jackson. On the campaign, Biden said he would, and he did, Nah that's not racist. I do find it a little troubling that she doesn't know when life begins, or what a woman is.
Were the gas prices much lower during the Trump years? Yes.
Have the gas prices gone up since Biden took office? Yes.
Thursday, April 7, 2022 Report this
MargeS
Were there white nationalists accepted by the Republicans, Trump followers? Yes. Did a U.S. President approve of white supremacists? Yes. Racism isn't new to Trump. The birther movement, ban on Muslims, walls on the border with Mexico, and don't forget his Pu##y comments, denigrating women.
Even the Republicans couldn't define what a woman is. Can you? Is Roe v Wade the law of the land? Yes
I don't think the higher gas prices are hurting Trump supporters. At the Safeway parking lot this week there was a brand new Hummer ($60,000) with Trump plastered all over it, maybe 5 miles to the gallon! No coincidence in a county that supported Joe Biden.
Thursday, April 7, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"Were there white nationalists accepted by the Republicans, Trump followers?"
Not all of US think that being a Nationalist is a bad thing, you mean there are no white nationalists in the Democrat party?
" Did a U.S. President approve of white supremacists?" You say he did, can you show where he approved white supremacists? And please don't run down that Charolettsville riot rabbit hole again, I've read his comments about that, and nowhere does he approve of the white supremacists.
"Even the Republicans couldn't define what a woman is. Can you?"..... What?, not one Republican can define what a woman is? Either you're trying to be funny or you're just displaying an incredible level of ignorant bigotry. Of course I can define what a woman is, a female human being who has 2 x chromosomes.
Yes, Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, that's your answer to when life begins, more like when life ends! My wife and I had three children, when I felt those babies rolling around in my wife's belly I knew there was life there, and as soon as they were delivered I knew if they were a boy or a girl. If I can answer those questions why can't a Harvard-educated lawyer? Judge Jackson is a smart woman, her reluctance to be honest with US is a problem for me, but I guess for some the color of her skin is more important than the content of her character.
"I don't think the higher gas prices are hurting Trump supporters. At the Safeway parking lot this week there was a brand new Hummer ($60,000) with Trump plastered all over it,".....Once again, either you're trying to be funny or you're just displaying an incredible level of ignorant bigotry.
Friday, April 8, 2022 Report this
Thomas Camfield
Yes. The many of us who know what a woman is also know what a man is. And we know what worthwhile human beings should aspire to be. Donald Trump is a poor symbol of any form of true manhood; he's not the kind of guy one would choose to ride the river with.
Meanwhile, let's define our lives also by a little something more than the temporary cost of gasoline. Let's cheer a bit more for a Black woman on the
Supreme Court' And let's go all out for women's rights.
Friday, April 8, 2022 Report this
MargeS
A little anatomy lesson, fetuses are carried in a woman's uterus, not in "her belly" When my three children were born I just loved them, still do.
"White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white racial and national identity. Many of its proponents identify with and are attached to the concept of a white nation, or a "white ethnostate". wiki
I believe equating white nationalists to Democrats is stupid.
You racists really hate it when the truth is pointed out to you. "And please don't run down that Charlottesville riot rabbit hole again"
U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on Charlottesville generated negative responses. In his initial statement following the rally, Trump "condemned hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides". While Trump condemned both neo-Nazis and white nationalists, his first statement and subsequent defenses of it, in which he also referred to "very fine people on both sides", were seen by critics as implying moral equivalence between the white supremacist marchers and those who protested against them. Critics interpreted his remarks as sympathetic to white supremacists, while supporters characterized this interpretation as a hoax, because Trump's "fine people" statement explicitly denounced white nationalists.
Can you define a woman? The real aim of Blackburn’s question was almost certainly to try to corner Jackson on the issue of transgender women participating in women’s sports. In a follow-up email to HuffPost, a spokesperson for Blackburn said her definition of a woman is “Two X chromosomes.” same as yours JIH.
You are such a bigot. "The color of her skin" why mention that, if it was a white man would you say, he was chosen because of the color of his skin?
So I am a bigot because a Trump supporter shows up in town to thumb their nose at people and basically say, I can afford this because I am rich like Donald Trump and you Biden supporters can go to he**.
Friday, April 8, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
M.S., I know where the fetus develops, when I put my hand on my wife I wasn't touching her uterus was I, the part of my wife I touched was her belly.
Merriam-Webster's definition of nationalism
1 : loyalty and devotion to a nation especially : a sense of national consciousness (see consciousness sense 1c) exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups"
"I believe equating white nationalists to Democrats is stupid."..... I believe saying
"Were there white nationalists accepted by the Republicans, Trump followers? Yes" is stupid.
As I said your statement " Did a U.S. President approve of white supremacists? Yes" is not true, regardless of how his detractors interpreted his words.
Regardless of what Blackburn's "aim" was, it was her job to ask questions of a potential Supreme court judge, to get a measure of that person's character. I'm certain that M.Jackson knows how to define a woman, and at least to have an opinion about when life begins, her refusing to answer those questions shows me a person who is not being honest.
"The color of her skin" why mention that, if it was a white man would you say, he was chosen because of the color of his skin? Who was it that said he was only going to consider a black woman to appoint? Joe Biden did.
When you take one person and apply your perception of that one person's actions to an entire group that in my book is bigotry.
Friday, April 8, 2022 Report this
MargeS
In "your book" Trump is a fine fellow. The American voters said, your wrong. Get over it, America is now led by a leader who gives a cr*p about all Americans, not just rich white people.
Friday, April 8, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"In "your book" Trump is a fine fellow"..... No, in YOUR book you think that I think that. I just don't share your hatred toward the man.
"America is now led by a leader who gives a cr*p about all Americans, not just rich white people.".....
Biden has amassed an $8 million fortune, thanks to a few lucrative years on the book and speaking circuit. He now owns two houses, worth more than $4 million together.
Hillary Clinton's net worth: Hillary Clinton is an American politician, author, and media personality who has a net worth of $120 million.
The first female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has a net worth of $120 million. Pelosi's drastic growth, from an initial $21.7 million in 2009, is attributed to stock.
Kamala Harris, the first Black, South Asian, and woman vice president of the United States holds an estimated $7 million fortune.
You mean like those people?
Saturday, April 9, 2022 Report this
MargeS
No, I mean people who actually work jobs for low pay, can't afford housing, watch as Republicans vote against any legislation that will help people in need. Health care, when have the Republicans done anything to give a helping hand to those in need? Social Security - Democrat, Medicare- Democrat, Affordable Care Act - Democrat.
You say I hate Donald Trump. That's what you say. I say he should never have been president because he had no experience in running a country. Only in enriching himself and his family.
Saturday, April 9, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"No, I mean people who actually work jobs for low pay, can't afford housing".....Is the average American consumer better off today than they were four years ago?
"he should never have been president because he had no experience in running a country"..... I didn't know that being a life-long politician was a prerequisite for being POTUS. Actually, that was probably one of the reasons he attracted a lot of the blue-collar vote. I guess he was politically savvy enough to beat Hillary.
You say"Only in enriching himself and his family.".....Really?
Of the last four Presidents which one refused to take a salary?
Of the last four Presidents which one lost money while in office?. Here's a hint, it wasn't Clinton, Bush, or Obama.
Saturday, April 9, 2022 Report this
MargeS
So you got to see Trumps taxes and know how much money he lost. I don't think so.
If I am going to a doctor I don't want one that has never practiced medicine, does not have a degree in medicine.
Trump was unqualified in 2016 and is still unqualified even after four years of a miserable [worst president ever] term.
Obama gave $1.1 million of the $3.2 million he received over eight years in office to charitable causes. He also donated the $1.4 million he received as winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to 10 different organizations.
Hillary Clinton had 2,864,974 votes more than Trump, the largest popular vote margin of any losing presidential candidate in U.S. history
And when the votes were added up, did she start an insurrection? Call it a steal? No she conceded gracefully.
That's what a U.S. President does.
Sunday, April 10, 2022 Report this
Thomas Camfield
I wonder what meaningless little slogan Donald's writers will come up with next—so that his followers won't have to read up on what he's really doing.
Sunday, April 10, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"So you got to see Trump's taxes and know how much money he lost. I don't think so. "
"Trump left office with a net worth of about $2.5 billion, down from $4.5 billion when he announced his candidacy for president in 2015." (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-lost-2-billion)
"Trump appears to be less wealthy today than when he took office. In fall 2020, Forbes said the ex-president was now the 352nd richest person in America — down from 275 the year before, reflecting a drop in net worth from $3.1 billion to $2.5 billion" (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-made-at-least-16-billion-while-us-president-2021-2)
"Donald Trump's net worth dropped by about $700m to $2.3bn (£1.65bn) during his time as president, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. " (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56438914)
So much for your "Only in enriching himself (Trump) and his family" claim.
"Obama gave $1.1 million of the $3.2 million he received over eight years in office".....So he gave half of what Trump gave.
"Trump was unqualified in 2016 and is still unqualified even after four years of a miserable [worst president ever] term. "..... Marge, you are so blinded by your hate of Trump that you cannot be objective enough to say who is or who is not "qualified" to be POTUS.
"Hillary Clinton had 2,864,974 votes more than Trump"..... And yet she was beaten by what you call an unqualified, non-politician, and yet he understood what it would take to win.
Sunday, April 10, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"I wonder what meaningless little slogan Donald's writers will come up with next—so that his followers won't have to read up on what he's really doing. "..... Who, other than the Trump haters care? I'm more concerned with what the current occupant of the Oval Office is doing that affects my life. Worst inflation in 40 years, thousands of who knows who crossing our border every day, C'Mon man!
Sunday, April 10, 2022 Report this
MargeS
I wonder why the Saudi's gave over 2 billion dollars to Jared Kushner's company? You think it might have been because of Trump? crown prince Mohamed bin Salman bragged of receiving classified US intelligence from Jared Kushner, where do you suppose he got the information from?
You keep harping on Biden because like Trump supporters, it's the best way to cover up what their leader did.
The likelihood is rising of a criminal investigation and charges against Donald Trump owing to allegations by a House panel of a “criminal conspiracy” involving his aggressive drive to overturn the 2020 election results, coupled with a justice department (DoJ) inquiry of a “false electors” scheme Trump loyalists devised to block Joe Biden’s election.
Sunday, April 10, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
"You keep harping on Biden because like Trump supporters, it's the best way to cover up what their leader did" .....And here you are bringing up a story about Trump's Son-In-Law without any citation, at least I quote the sources, please quote yours. And as I said Trump is no longer the POTUS, Biden is, what he does affects our lives today! And you know dam well that if the roles were reversed today you would be screaming to toss Trump in jail. Hypocrite much?
In the four years Trump was in office you Haters tried to impeach Trump twice based on "allegations" and he was acquitted both times. The Mueller investigation spent 32 million taxpayer dollars and 22 months investigating the false "collusion" allegations against Trump, for what? Now you haters want to ps away more of our tax dollars chasing another "alleged" violation against a private citizen, for what? The "for what" is your way to divert attention from the mess Biden has got US in today, keep fanning the flames of hate for Trump.
Monday, April 11, 2022 Report this
Thomas Camfield
Having watched Presidents come and go since World II, I've been convinced that Donald Trump is stupid, self-serving and apparently wants to convince us all that the acquisition of money somehow equates with intelligence.
And, no. I haven't voted a straight Democratic ticket all these years. Actually, there are millions of people out here more concerned for the welfare of others (as well as themselves) than for getting more money than the next guy into the bank. And we still know the real new from fake news.
Donald got into office with a more thin 3,000,000 deficit in the popular vote, thanks to the same Electoral College that showed him losing by 7,000,000 in his attempted re-run. And he's merely upgraded the pace of his lying that everyone likes his dictatorial manner. Until he can bring about actual book-burning own South and around, history will record what an actual self-serving cheat he has been. If he hadn't been President of the U.S., he'd be im jail by now.
Monday, April 11, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
We all know "real news" from "fake news"Tom, real news is what we believe, fake news is what the "other people" believe.
Monday, April 11, 2022 Report this
Thomas Camfield
Yeah? Just what do they call it these days in Russia? They just closed down the last example of a free press there. Report anything not released by the government now and if you're not shot or poisoned, you'll at least get 15 years in prison. One won't be seeing any "Associated Press" bylines from Moscow.
Monday, April 11, 2022 Report this
MargeS
The story on Jared Kushner is on the front pages of the Washington Post, New York Times, Guardian . . .
But I don't suppose a Trump supporter would bother to read the story.
You think that calling everyone who points out what a lousy president Trump was are "haters" will make you seem right? Not going to happen.
It's time to take off your MAGA hat and realize Trump will not be an option in 2024. And for that I will forever be grateful.
Monday, April 11, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
I did read the stories about the Saudis giving $$$ to Kushner, so what? He was/is a private citizen, he was free to work with foreign entities, did he break a law?
" Mohamed bin Salman bragged of receiving classified US intelligence from Jared Kushner,".....Please give a citation.
You keep harping on Trump because like Biden supporters, it's the best way to cover up what their leader is doing.
I'm hoping that Trump does not run in 2024.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Report this
Thomas Camfield
I didn't spend too much time searching this topic, but this bit from the Daily Mail ought to do:
EXCLUSIVE: Saudi crown prince bragged that Jared Kushner gave him CIA intelligence about other Saudis saying 'here are your enemies' days before 'corruption crackdown' which led to torture and death
—Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Jared Kushner in October
—Salman has since bragged about using classified intelligence from Kushner as part of a crackdown on 'corrupt' princes and businessmen in Saudi Arabia
—He said the intelligence from Kushner included information on those who were disloyal to Salman and who were his 'enemies', insiders tell DailyMail
—Kushner's attorney's spokesman said it was 'false' that the president's son-in-law passed on secrets and that he was 'well aware of the rules'
—The crown prince launched his crackdown on corruption in November, days after he met Kushner for talks in Riyadh
—Hundreds were rounded up, including princes from rival parts of the Saudi royal family and some of the country's wealthiest businessmen
—But the crackdown saw accusations of torture and at least one reported death
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Report this
MargeS
JIH glad to see we can finally agree on something
"I'm hoping that Trump does not run in 2024."
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Report this
Justin Hale
So Mohammed bin Salman, who is responsible for a brutal murder is now to be considered a reliable resource for the truth?
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Report this