HeloDude

I mean, you can’t be a military pilot and ‘not’ see Top Gun 2. I’m old enough that I remember seeing the original when it first hit the theaters. Hindsight, it wasn’t really appropriate for a young middle-school kid to hear all the swearing and see Tom Cruise thrusting and french kissing Kelly McGillis. I heard Cleared Hot and M2 saw the original as well when it first hit the theaters…right after they both retired from the Air Force, so it probably brought them back some good memories of being in the military.

I’m against all subsidies for businesses, energy or otherwise. Not sure where I said I fossil fuels do or do not receive subsidies?

We will screw ourselves financially as a country before we run out of fossil fuels. And unnecessary government spending on anything has put us into unrecoverable debt, whether that’s on windmills or a useless government studies . But what’s fascinating is that you just agreed that the debt is a massive problem (“unrecoverable” using your words) and yet you’re still advocating for government spending to reduce using fossil fuels for our energy needs.

Or this… https://www.usdebtclock.org It’s a good thing that bad monetary/economic policies have never negatively impacted nations.

I’m actually very left on a lot of issues (I’m for legalizing all drugs, prostitution, thinks you should be able to marry whatever consenting adult(s) you want, doesn’t want religion in public sectors, etc). What I am not is progressive or pro-big government (synonymous). I’m also against the conservatives who love big government as well…they’re the Lyndsey Graham warhawk types. As for China, I’m all for trade, just like I am with Russia. But when we pick and choose what forms of tyranny/bad government we will accept vs not-accept, then it’s makes future arguments meaningless when not wanting trade for those same reasons. Does anyone else think it’s hilarious that we find what Russia does horrible but accept Iran and their tyranny? Iran has literally said they don’t believe Israel should be able to exist and yet we want some “Iran Nuclear Deal”? Just be consistent for crying out loud. Or is it because Iran hasn’t done anything perhaps?…other than attack our consulate in Iraq, for recent examples. But the US loves to control what happens outside of our borders, even when we often make things worse. Trade with Cuba is bad but trade with Vietnam is ok. Blows my mind.

They were happy with high gas prices, regardless of how it arrives…I doubt most of these progressives you mention are living paycheck to paycheck. I mean, why don’t these poor people just buy really expensive electric vehicles? https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-high-gas-prices-are-a_b_6855142 https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5378487

Some valid points man. The left is seeing the rubber meet the road on their green energy crusade…and they’re losing. Oh and it was always a losing battle in today’s time. Cheap fossil fuels was the only way the left could peddle their nonsense about getting rid of fossil fuels because it’s a great feel good slogan when the economy is doing well (largely due to cheap energy). But when people start to take a hit in their pocket books they care less about “green energy”…and I don’t mean nuclear since the left isn’t on board with that either. What’s hilarious is that European countries are more at risk from Russia than we are here in the US…and yet many of those same countries have not ended all economic ties with Russia. Don’t worry, it’s not the first time our leaders have screwed over its American citizens all in the name of trying to help people who wouldn’t do the same for themselves.

Tell me once where I have disagreed with anything you have said? I have repeatedly said Putin is a bad guy and Russia is in the wrong for the invasion. But we can still discuss what motivates them without discounting it as just straight tyranny…something about being able to better understand your enemy? And just because I don’t want to see our economy further suffer with what’s going on with Europe doesn’t make me pro-Putin or pro-Russia…it does though make me pro-USA. Oh and tell me where I am wrong with the media bias? And tel me where I’m wrong by not fully trusting the media after the lies they intentionally told to push an ideological narrative? Progressives love the binary Ukraine is good and is doing well (vice versa for Russia) because they were against Russia well before the invasion and are still upset that Mueller couldn’t find any evidence of Trump Russian collusion. The left also needs a scapegoat for how bad things are going with the economy, and Russia is their best bet. And as I’ve said before, the Lyndsey Graham warhawk types on the right have always loved a good war. Remember when Bush was labeled by the left as a war criminal for invading Iraq…well, it’s not like Saddam was good, so why wasn’t the left on board?

If you don’t think the vast majority of the msm (yes, even including Fox News) is biased towards reporting positives for Ukraine/negatives against Russia, then I have beach front property in Clovis I can sell you. Just look at the Trump Russian collusion BS that the media/progressives ran for over a year (Schiff supposedly had all this evidence) and likewise recall how the Hunter Biden laptop was fake Russian disinformation, during the height of an election…except it’s now admitted that it’s real. So sorry if some us don’t take what we’re being told by the WH and msm as gospel. And what you and other progressives/war hawks don’t understand is that you can be against Putin and the invasion while also not believing that there is only one side to the story that’s being reported. Hell, even on Fox News, Gutfeld (definitely more libertarian-ish) asks these types of questions and gets roasted for it… https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-russia-ukraine-competing-narratives

And make energy that much more expensive for American citizens? Not to mention that progressives want less energy from nuclear and fossil fuels, so that will be interesting to see. We need to focus on our problems at home before we start trying to be the salvation of Europe…who by the way is still happy to buy Russian energy.

Here’s how the Senate hearings on Biden’s SCOTUS nominee is going…

Just out of curiosity, do you support economic trade with China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Turkey? If so, does this mean that trading with them equates to supporting their actions that many in the US find appalling? Also, are France and Hungary bad countries for not cutting economic ties with Russia?

Oh don’t get me started on Lincoln… I grew up in midwest and was basically taught that he was a saint. He was very tyrannical. I remember 10 years ago when conservatives said Obama was the most tyrannical president we ever had and then bragged how great Lincoln was. Likewise progressives will tell you that Trump was literally Hitler and then brag about we need another FDR…who literally put American citizens in prison camps because of their ethnic background. This whole binary way of thinking is how we keep getting crap—crap politicians, crap policies, you name it. Don’t excuse bad behavior or bad policy just because X person/party is not as bad as Y person/party.

Well, I can’t disagree on using nukes against Russia if they nuke us…you know, The United States of America. The country is care about, pay taxes, serve, etc. As for declaring war against Russia for launching a nuke against Ukraine…why? Why is that your red line vs what they’ve already done? If they kill a hundred thousand Ukrainians using conventional weapons then why wouldn’t you declare war then? What if they kill a million? And yes, if we declare war against Russia for not attacking the US, then we’re asking for pain, when we don’t have to. Again…our greatest concern right now should be our economy, but to many it appears to be the well being of a European country on the other side of the globe. And for those that say “it can be both”…this is how you get yourself over $30T in debt.

So does that mean that the national debate on the issue should not occur now? You know…when that attack is not happening? When those not on the left and the non-neocon war hawks start asking these tough questions they’re branded as being pro-Putin. As for our forces being in Poland, would be upset if Russia had forces in Mexico or Cuba? Funny how just over a year ago the left was so worried that a president they didn’t like was going to do X, Y, or Z…and now suddenly it’s wrong to question what our president/his team may or may not do wrt attacking another country, nuclear weapons, etc. Or is it “different” this time? See the link below. The good news is that Biden is weak on foreign policy, so fortunately he won’t get us involved in anything too serious…it just so happens that not escalating is the right move, so I’ll take weakness in this case. Then again, I was wrong on Putin attacking past the eastern areas of Ukraine and likewise I was wrong on Biden cutting off Russian oil. Hopefully I’m right that Biden won’t want to engage Russia militarily—fingers crossed. https://nypost.com/2021/09/29/milley-admits-he-would-tell-china-if-us-launched-an-attack/

If you had to guess, what percentage of American voters would agree with you? That is, if Russia uses a nuke in Ukraine, that the next move for us would be to use a nuke against Russian forces, even if that means getting into an all out nuclear war with Russia? My guess is that you would be in a very small minority, and thankfully so. And yet I’m the weird one for being against conscription. Perhaps I misunderstood your response to my post?

The US in a nuclear war with Russia to defend Ukraine? Have you guys lost your minds? I’m mostly with Brick on this one (usually am)—no US city or American overseas base (ie Ramstein) is worth Kyiv. It’s bad enough that we’re still a member of a Cold War treaty (when the Cold War is over) in which we agreed that an attack on one certain country is automatically seen as an attack on all members (alliances for no other reason can be dangerous…WW1 anyone?), but now we’re literally saying that potentially more than a million American lives should be on the table if a million Ukrainian lives are taken? I would love to see Biden get on stage and say those very words…the support for Ukraine will quickly change. Like it or not, Putin is a bad dude and seems capable of just about anything, and he commands a force that is not some 3rd world country of goat herders or some rich oil nation of slackers in the Middle East. If we go to war with Russia then this will be the first of its kind since the 1940s and of the nuclear age. Why so many would be eager to see it happen to defend Ukraine is beyond me—nuke or no nuke hitting Ukraine. And as for potential genocide, yeah, it’s horrible, but now we care about it when Russia is the aggressor? I don’t recall seeing too many on here wanting to go to war with China or Turkey over their atrocities…what about Myanmar, are we going to war with them? At some point you have to stop being the world’s policemen. I don’t know how the Ukraine/Russia thing ends, but I’m for whatever outcome that is best for the US. Hopefully that involves Ukraine staying strong and Russia finally pulling back and realizing that it was a mistake and then that’s that (more/less); but hope is not a strategy. The more realistic best scenario is for Russia and Ukraine to “negotiate” (I know, it’s a crappy word when you’re invaded) and Ukraine allows some of the pro-Russia eastern areas to break away and Russia pulls out its troops and most (if not all) the sanctions are lifted and things quiet down that way. And then as for Russia, in terms of their internal politics, time will tell. Again, what does Putin want? You can’t say he gets nothing unless you’re willing to deal with the consequences of him not giving up and potentially being even more dangerous than he already is…and then what happens? If we’re willing to have “peace” discussions with the Taliban, then we have to be willing to do the same with one of the most powerful countries in the world. Hopefully this will alleviate the need for nukes to be a legitimate concern. Watching/reading the msm (yes, even Fox News), you would think that the Ukraine story is the most important thing affecting Americans right now…I’m much more concerned with our economy. But for the left, this is a good distraction and allows someone else (Putin) to take the blame for our woes. And who doesn’t love a good war on tv? Fox viewers and the neo-cons love it. Thanks for tuning into my rambling, flame away.

I have no clue what’s going to happen next year, much less of a clue as to what will happen in 5 years. Its funny how you use the words “critical thinking” and yet originally sought to discount my original post today by suggesting that since they’re invaded by Putin that my point was irrelevant. Critical thinking means that you can look at both points at the same time and without emotion. As far as the media, Ukraine/Russia is consuming well more than half of the news cycle so I think it’s a valid discussion point. And the vast majority of the news has Ukraine out to be some model of freedom and democracy all because they’re being invaded by Russia. Your argument was basically to overlook my points because Ukraine is a lot better than the aggressors, but I appreciate you clarifying afterwards. However I disagree that banning political parties that a president disagrees with is necessary, and it’s as far from democracy as you can get. Oh, and I’m personally anti-Russia, but I’m “jury is still out” (at best) when it comes to Ukraine. If the whole point of supporting Ukraine is to help weaken Russia and that this will benefit the average US citizen, then it’s a valid argument to be made as proxy wars have been part of international politics since lord only knows. But that’s not the argument that is being made by the president, Congress, the media/elites, etc.

Putin is a very bad dude and clearly an aggressor. And Ukraine is not some bastion of freedom and democracy that the media portrays them to be…even if they are fighting for their survival. Two different things can be true at the same time. But never turn a blind eye to the enemy of your enemy just because.

This doesn’t really sound like much of a “democracy” to me. https://www.nationalreview.com/news/zelensky-suspends-opposition-parties-in-ukraine-with-russia-ties/

When the MSM right away comes out to discredit the Hunter Laptop story as misinformation/Russian propaganda, and big tech tech sensors anything related to the story…only to 1.5 years admit that it was true, then you have to ask yourself “why”? https://nypost.com/2022/03/17/the-times-finally-admits-hunter-bidens-laptop-is-real/

So if Zelensky is an honest leader, then why didn’t the Dems trust him in 2019? https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ukraine-president-says-no-blackmail-in-phone-call-with-trump

Iran is claiming responsibility for the attack. https://apnews.com/article/iran-missile-attack-erbil-iraq-us-consulate-7a4ea6281fe6191a4e4b640c58c7fd49