I haven’t caught up on yesterday’s thread yet since my last comment. Before doing so, let me start off today with an apology.
Kizzie,
I need to ask your forgiveness for being harsh and a bit unfair to you yesterday. I also need to tell you I’m sorry for treating you that way. Please accept my apology for my behavior.
I allowed my frustrations with the politics in today’s climate, and some unrelated matters that are weighing heavily on me to boil over, and unfairly directed it at you. That’s no excuse for my bad behavior however, so again, my apologies.
Catching up, I will say I am no more against all war than I am of policing. I would not want to be living under the Nazi’s. I would not want to be a victim of a regime like Solzhenitsyn, knowing no one will stop it ever. I do believe the just war theory is correct. War brings so much pain and suffering and should never be entered into lightly, however.
Debra – I find myself in the weird situation of criticizing US foreign policy almost my entire life to suddenly have to (partially?) defend it against people who have generally supported it. Strange role reveresal. The rise of authoritarianism in the last decade parallels the rise of authoritarianism a century ago and the liberal democracies (Nordic, Rhine, and Anglo-America) need to respond. Most Europeans understand this; it’s the Anglo-Americans who miss it. One can debate the Ukraine situation endlessly – who started it, what happened between 2014 and now, is Donbass and Crimea legitimately Ukraine, etc. Those types of questions miss the actual conflict. Ukraine and especially its young people want to join the West and this scares the Russian elite and oligarchs. In their view there are three Russian countries – Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. If the latter becomes more successful because it joined the West, their own people will want to join the west and all that it entails – democracy, economic opportunity, etc.
Now the actual territory in question – Donbass and Crimea – is neither here nor there. In the early 90s, I argued with my Ukrainian friends, they should hold a refurrendum in the two areas and let the people decide. Or even better just give it to Russia – the Donbass is a rust belt and has an aging population. However, the Donbass is not the real issue – its the western outlook of the current Ukrainian government. When Russia rushed to Kiev hoping to take over in less than three days; they had a puppet Ukrainian government all ready to install. The only problem for them was Zelensky refused to leave and the Special Forces couldn’t hang on to the airport long enough. Basically, it was the Russian version of “regime change”. Sure it’s hypocritical of the US to criticize Russia as it has been practising regime change in Latin America for almost 200 years. But at this point in time, we need to assert liberal democracy over authoritarians.
All modern war is unjust – even if it started with the best of intentions, the means involved violate any just war theory put forth whatever the belief system. And yes the military industrial complex is getting rich, but then again they are always getting rich even when the military isn’t used – we buy new “toys” to replace “expired toys”, whether they are used or not. The war has forced the “near” authoratarians in the EU/NATO (Poland, Hungary, and Turkey) to blunt their authoratarianism and at the very least renew their commitment to traditional liberal democracy.
You do make a good point on the US dollar. The left has been pointing this out for years (yeah I enjoy the irony of the right discovering what the left has said before); the American working class is by any meausrable metric much worse off than any other western counterpart. However, its ability to maintain an acceptable standard of living is derived from cheap imports. The imports are cheap due to the use of the American dollar as a default currency. The American governing elite is well aware of the dollar’s importance and guards against any attempts to replace it. When Chavez suggested using the Euro to price OPEC’s petroleum, he went from being another leftist despot to enemy number one and US attempts of regime change.
However, I’m not sure any attempt by Russia or other nations to replace the US dollar can be taken seriously. Mutual trade using each other’s currencies has been done before and is no threat. China could theoretically replace the dollar as its economy increases but they (the gov’t and their puesdo private sector) hold too much US denominated bonds to want to crash the dollar. The Europeans have been using both the Euro and the Eurodollar (a virtual currency whose value is related to the euro and $) for decades yet have no intention to replace it. Could the authoritarians create a currency to use amongst themselves – theoretically it’s possible. It would resemble the USSR attempt to create a ruble zone – it failed. The problem for the authoritarianism and their oligarchs is they are corrupt, don’t trust each other, and frequently use the democracies for their banking, education, etc. Thus on the personal level, the authoritarian elite need the US dollar for their own lifestyle. Why cut their own throat to serve their country?
And my last more cynical comment on this mess. A stalemate ensures Russia is economically drained by a conflict, which in turn will put domestic political pressure on the Federation. Weakening the authoritarians is in the interest of the West; definitely not just war theory but pragmatism. The Chinese have realized the implications of the current conflict – they’ve just informed the EU they will not supply Russia with military goods. They see the future and are quietly walking away from Russia. They have their own domestic problems (about 2000 demonstrations a year large enough to require a militia crackdown) and own military ambitions and draining their military reserves to support what they perceive as a losing unstable regime is not in their interests.
AJ – Thank you so much for your apology. I forgive you. And I hope that my other comments on yesterday’s thread will not cause any offense, as I was feeling a little heated myself. God bless!
I suspect your sales will skyrocket but you'll also get a bunch of friendly young people with odd-looking hair applying for marketing positions. Resist the urge to hire them, no matter how many Ivy League degrees they have. https://t.co/WrKJDubMt4
My 94-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I make a point of visiting her every month or two. Am I obligated to continue to visit my grandmother even after she ceases to remember me? https://t.co/iL62siNZFr
"Obligated" is an interesting word choice here. How about: You visit because it's the right thing to do, because she'll know what love feels like long after she forgets your name. And because one day you'll want your grandkids to visit you.
“Trump turns from past to future at RNC donor retreat
The former president traded his election grievance rhetoric for a forward-looking vision for party and country, according to a copy of his Nashville remarks obtained by POLITICO.”
“Donald Trump stood before Republican National Committee donors on Saturday to make his case for a return to the White House, arguing that he deserves another chance to finish a dramatic party transformation that he started nearly eight years ago.
In his remarks to GOP elite gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel, Trump traded the election grievance rhetoric that has defined his last two years in the public eye for a different type of message — his vision for the future, while arguing that he single-handedly “saved” the Republican Party from “the establishment class” when he won in 2016.
“Republicans were a party known for starting wars overseas, cutting Social Security and Medicare at home, and pushing mass amnesty for illegal aliens,” Trump told donors during the closed-door gathering, according to a copy of his remarks obtained by POLITICO.
Declaring that the “old Republican Party is gone, and it is never coming back,” Trump in Nashville urged Republican donors to help put him back in the White House through electoral strategies he once decried, like robust mail-in voting and ballot harvesting.”
—
“Trump, who for over two years has faced internal party criticism for focusing on an old election rather than the party’s future, articulated to donors on Saturday a different approach. Even in remarks during this weekend’s donor retreat, Trump critics like former Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took jabs at Trump for his tendency to look backward. But his remarks Saturday did much less of that. Despite mentioning Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential loss, Trump steered clear of talk of past unsuccessful elections.
Instead of devoting time in his speech to decry voting machines or allege election officials to be corrupt, Trump touted accomplishments from his four years in office and made sweeping pledges for what he will do if elected again. One such promise was that he would end the war between Ukraine and Russia before even stepping foot into the White House — vowing to do so, without explanation on strategy, “shortly after” winning the presidential election. Similarly, Trump said he would put an end to cartel networks “just as we destroyed the ISIS caliphate.”
Trump vowed to “totally obliterate the Deep State,” directing the Department of Justice to go after local prosecutors deemed as “Marxist” or “racist-in-reverse.” He pledged to sign an executive order cutting federal funding from schools that teach critical race theory or “inappropriate” sexual content, as well as for schools and colleges implementing mask or vaccine requirements. And he said he would sign a federal law forbidding sex-change procedures on children.”
Katie Porter is brilliant. Her white board lesson on household economics to CEOs is must watch youtube viewing. Here, she is stating the perfect Democratic line – let the various athletic bodies decide i.e. don’t involve the politicians. Morgan and Maher are paid for their opinions so they are far more forceful in their opinion. Issues in mental health, sexuality, gender etc are far too nuanced for late night TV.
Trump has some new advisors -the bunch who lived off his post election grievances must have taken their money and run. So now he’s going to end wars and end other grievances that have no definitions and solutions….
“You F***ing Slob!” – Leaked Divorce Documents Allegedly Reveal Radical California Democrat Katie Porter’s Horrifying Abuse of Her Ex-Husband, Including Dumping Boiling Potatoes on His Head!https://t.co/99nJ21Eukq
Yeah. She physically beat her ex husband. He has a restraining order against her. But she doesn't want people to know that. She denies pouring boiling potatoes over his head. He has the receipts. https://t.co/1ICdYSHfUC
— JennieFromHappyRock☮️She/Her (@Jennife39481653) April 15, 2023
"Everywhere she goes, Representative Katie Porter leaves chaos in her wake. From her home to her office to her local police department, the California congresswoman leaves no one unscarred."https://t.co/OO2YxVqBEy
Ducking — and call me crazy (which you all will) — but I am interested in seeing what Tim Scott may do as he continues to look into a possible White House run.
I know, I’m in the 1% crowd in the polls. But satisfied to live there for now, actually lol
Generally (and sadly), though, I’m discouraged and dreading what feels like will be a chaotic and angry political season ahead.
Imploding from within is how I saw the US described recently.
But, hope survives: I watched a heartening TV interview with a Republican and a Democrat in Congress who talked about the common ground being found in the Bible study and prayer group operating on The Hill. They cast completely different votes, but have found a way to push aside the anger and ugliness that’s characterizing so much of our discourse these days. Refreshing, provided some ray of hope that may still be with us?
Porter may be bright, but she is pretty far left and came off somewhat (even very) annoying in her barrage of TV spots here when she ran for Congress last year.
Stop, I kept thinking, looking for the mute button.
And I still can’t quite get my head around the issues of war and peace reversing places between the two political parties.
This week in Bahrain the Navy told sailors that they talk to their children at age 12 about gender identity, sex, STD’s, pregnancy, etc. without notifying parents. When asked if "the Navy’s policy circumvents a parents right to know?" the @USNavy official answered "Yes". Insane. pic.twitter.com/sNw5nhEfwt
I’m currently investigating if this policy is one that the @DeptofDefense forced on all branches of the military. If you’re in the Army, Marines, Space Force, Air Force or National Guard: Ask about the Navy policy to see if your branch has the same policy. DM me if you record it.
Wandering Views 
I haven’t caught up on yesterday’s thread yet since my last comment. Before doing so, let me start off today with an apology.
Kizzie,
I need to ask your forgiveness for being harsh and a bit unfair to you yesterday. I also need to tell you I’m sorry for treating you that way. Please accept my apology for my behavior.
I allowed my frustrations with the politics in today’s climate, and some unrelated matters that are weighing heavily on me to boil over, and unfairly directed it at you. That’s no excuse for my bad behavior however, so again, my apologies.
Please forgive my behavior.
Allen
LikeLiked by 5 people
Food for thought: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/why-i-no-longer-use-transgender-pronouns-and-why-you-shouldnt-either?sm_guid=NTg1MTUyfDYzMTg3NTMwfC0xfGlrZV85OUBob3RtYWlsLmNvbXw1ODc4MDg5fHwwfDB8MTU1NTM1NTU2fDEwNjR8MHwwfHw1Nzc5NjR8MA2
LikeLiked by 2 people
Kathaleena, one of my Bible study friends shared that article with me recently. It’s very good.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Catching up, I will say I am no more against all war than I am of policing. I would not want to be living under the Nazi’s. I would not want to be a victim of a regime like Solzhenitsyn, knowing no one will stop it ever. I do believe the just war theory is correct. War brings so much pain and suffering and should never be entered into lightly, however.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Debra – I find myself in the weird situation of criticizing US foreign policy almost my entire life to suddenly have to (partially?) defend it against people who have generally supported it. Strange role reveresal. The rise of authoritarianism in the last decade parallels the rise of authoritarianism a century ago and the liberal democracies (Nordic, Rhine, and Anglo-America) need to respond. Most Europeans understand this; it’s the Anglo-Americans who miss it. One can debate the Ukraine situation endlessly – who started it, what happened between 2014 and now, is Donbass and Crimea legitimately Ukraine, etc. Those types of questions miss the actual conflict. Ukraine and especially its young people want to join the West and this scares the Russian elite and oligarchs. In their view there are three Russian countries – Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. If the latter becomes more successful because it joined the West, their own people will want to join the west and all that it entails – democracy, economic opportunity, etc.
Now the actual territory in question – Donbass and Crimea – is neither here nor there. In the early 90s, I argued with my Ukrainian friends, they should hold a refurrendum in the two areas and let the people decide. Or even better just give it to Russia – the Donbass is a rust belt and has an aging population. However, the Donbass is not the real issue – its the western outlook of the current Ukrainian government. When Russia rushed to Kiev hoping to take over in less than three days; they had a puppet Ukrainian government all ready to install. The only problem for them was Zelensky refused to leave and the Special Forces couldn’t hang on to the airport long enough. Basically, it was the Russian version of “regime change”. Sure it’s hypocritical of the US to criticize Russia as it has been practising regime change in Latin America for almost 200 years. But at this point in time, we need to assert liberal democracy over authoritarians.
All modern war is unjust – even if it started with the best of intentions, the means involved violate any just war theory put forth whatever the belief system. And yes the military industrial complex is getting rich, but then again they are always getting rich even when the military isn’t used – we buy new “toys” to replace “expired toys”, whether they are used or not. The war has forced the “near” authoratarians in the EU/NATO (Poland, Hungary, and Turkey) to blunt their authoratarianism and at the very least renew their commitment to traditional liberal democracy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You do make a good point on the US dollar. The left has been pointing this out for years (yeah I enjoy the irony of the right discovering what the left has said before); the American working class is by any meausrable metric much worse off than any other western counterpart. However, its ability to maintain an acceptable standard of living is derived from cheap imports. The imports are cheap due to the use of the American dollar as a default currency. The American governing elite is well aware of the dollar’s importance and guards against any attempts to replace it. When Chavez suggested using the Euro to price OPEC’s petroleum, he went from being another leftist despot to enemy number one and US attempts of regime change.
However, I’m not sure any attempt by Russia or other nations to replace the US dollar can be taken seriously. Mutual trade using each other’s currencies has been done before and is no threat. China could theoretically replace the dollar as its economy increases but they (the gov’t and their puesdo private sector) hold too much US denominated bonds to want to crash the dollar. The Europeans have been using both the Euro and the Eurodollar (a virtual currency whose value is related to the euro and $) for decades yet have no intention to replace it. Could the authoritarians create a currency to use amongst themselves – theoretically it’s possible. It would resemble the USSR attempt to create a ruble zone – it failed. The problem for the authoritarianism and their oligarchs is they are corrupt, don’t trust each other, and frequently use the democracies for their banking, education, etc. Thus on the personal level, the authoritarian elite need the US dollar for their own lifestyle. Why cut their own throat to serve their country?
And my last more cynical comment on this mess. A stalemate ensures Russia is economically drained by a conflict, which in turn will put domestic political pressure on the Federation. Weakening the authoritarians is in the interest of the West; definitely not just war theory but pragmatism. The Chinese have realized the implications of the current conflict – they’ve just informed the EU they will not supply Russia with military goods. They see the future and are quietly walking away from Russia. They have their own domestic problems (about 2000 demonstrations a year large enough to require a militia crackdown) and own military ambitions and draining their military reserves to support what they perceive as a losing unstable regime is not in their interests.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, HRW.
LikeLike
AJ – Thank you so much for your apology. I forgive you. And I hope that my other comments on yesterday’s thread will not cause any offense, as I was feeling a little heated myself. God bless!
LikeLiked by 2 people
🙂 well done
LikeLiked by 3 people
On the homegoing of our mission’s Founder, George Verwer:
LikeLiked by 2 people
https://www.cslewis.com/why-im-not-a-pacifist/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was looking up a sermon by Lewis suggested to be read by my Ephesians Bibly study book and stumbled upon this gem about war (above).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Bwahahaha! 😂🤣🤡😂🤣🤡
I know he’s not trying to be funny, but that makes it even funnier.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Full stop. That’s it. Period.
What a concept!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This seems……
Wrong.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Un-American.
Rules are only for the peasants.
LikeLiked by 3 people
The clown who would be king believes this.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Common sense never comes from the Dem politician.
LikeLiked by 3 people
“Trump turns from past to future at RNC donor retreat
The former president traded his election grievance rhetoric for a forward-looking vision for party and country, according to a copy of his Nashville remarks obtained by POLITICO.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/15/trump-turns-from-past-to-future-at-rnc-donor-retreat-00092212
“Donald Trump stood before Republican National Committee donors on Saturday to make his case for a return to the White House, arguing that he deserves another chance to finish a dramatic party transformation that he started nearly eight years ago.
In his remarks to GOP elite gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel, Trump traded the election grievance rhetoric that has defined his last two years in the public eye for a different type of message — his vision for the future, while arguing that he single-handedly “saved” the Republican Party from “the establishment class” when he won in 2016.
“Republicans were a party known for starting wars overseas, cutting Social Security and Medicare at home, and pushing mass amnesty for illegal aliens,” Trump told donors during the closed-door gathering, according to a copy of his remarks obtained by POLITICO.
Declaring that the “old Republican Party is gone, and it is never coming back,” Trump in Nashville urged Republican donors to help put him back in the White House through electoral strategies he once decried, like robust mail-in voting and ballot harvesting.”
—
“Trump, who for over two years has faced internal party criticism for focusing on an old election rather than the party’s future, articulated to donors on Saturday a different approach. Even in remarks during this weekend’s donor retreat, Trump critics like former Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took jabs at Trump for his tendency to look backward. But his remarks Saturday did much less of that. Despite mentioning Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential loss, Trump steered clear of talk of past unsuccessful elections.
Instead of devoting time in his speech to decry voting machines or allege election officials to be corrupt, Trump touted accomplishments from his four years in office and made sweeping pledges for what he will do if elected again. One such promise was that he would end the war between Ukraine and Russia before even stepping foot into the White House — vowing to do so, without explanation on strategy, “shortly after” winning the presidential election. Similarly, Trump said he would put an end to cartel networks “just as we destroyed the ISIS caliphate.”
Trump vowed to “totally obliterate the Deep State,” directing the Department of Justice to go after local prosecutors deemed as “Marxist” or “racist-in-reverse.” He pledged to sign an executive order cutting federal funding from schools that teach critical race theory or “inappropriate” sexual content, as well as for schools and colleges implementing mask or vaccine requirements. And he said he would sign a federal law forbidding sex-change procedures on children.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s the Trump I voted for and want to see back in the WH. Keep it up Mr. President. :–)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Katie Porter is brilliant. Her white board lesson on household economics to CEOs is must watch youtube viewing. Here, she is stating the perfect Democratic line – let the various athletic bodies decide i.e. don’t involve the politicians. Morgan and Maher are paid for their opinions so they are far more forceful in their opinion. Issues in mental health, sexuality, gender etc are far too nuanced for late night TV.
Trump has some new advisors -the bunch who lived off his post election grievances must have taken their money and run. So now he’s going to end wars and end other grievances that have no definitions and solutions….
LikeLike
Katie Porter is a spouse abusing, mean, vindictive, and spiteful employer.
So a darling to the left.
LikeLike
Toxic workplace.
Sounds lovely.
A real peach.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Ducking — and call me crazy (which you all will) — but I am interested in seeing what Tim Scott may do as he continues to look into a possible White House run.
I know, I’m in the 1% crowd in the polls. But satisfied to live there for now, actually lol
Generally (and sadly), though, I’m discouraged and dreading what feels like will be a chaotic and angry political season ahead.
Imploding from within is how I saw the US described recently.
But, hope survives: I watched a heartening TV interview with a Republican and a Democrat in Congress who talked about the common ground being found in the Bible study and prayer group operating on The Hill. They cast completely different votes, but have found a way to push aside the anger and ugliness that’s characterizing so much of our discourse these days. Refreshing, provided some ray of hope that may still be with us?
Porter may be bright, but she is pretty far left and came off somewhat (even very) annoying in her barrage of TV spots here when she ran for Congress last year.
Stop, I kept thinking, looking for the mute button.
And I still can’t quite get my head around the issues of war and peace reversing places between the two political parties.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This summer is gonna be lit.
And the circus known as the DNC Convention is coming to town too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is garbage.
LikeLiked by 1 person