305 Comments

In the Texas Hold'em game of Democracy vs Authoritarianism, everyone is having to ante up as we get to the last cards. In the past many (Saudi Arabia, India, China, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Turkey, etc.) played footsies with both sides and bluffed. But Putin running out of money-weapons-armaments and losing the war is making all players ante up or fold. 84 missiles at $4.6-8.3M a piece sounds like the value of infrastructure destroyed per missile, not a winning strategy. The domestic game of Texas Hold'em for Democracy vs Authoritarianism, not many cards remain except to indict Trump. Will he be fully charged and convicted and in this process everyone will have to ante up, no more footsie by the Rubios, McConnells, Garlands, Cruzs, Grahams, Thomas, Cannons et al. Either the law applies to all, or not?! This moment is a pivotal time in history wherein the future of democracy abroad and domestically will be decided! Buckle up!

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My hope is that this is what it took to unite Europe and the West to defend Ukraine democracy and sovereignty. We must vote Blue to keep our own Democracy.

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So much destruction, so much loss. I spent part of elementary school in drills going under my desk to protect from atomic attack by the Russians (yes there was a logic problem). Is it time to do this again, or are the drills children do to protect themselves against mass shootings from our own late adolescents/young adults sufficient?

Where have all the flowers gone?

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Oct 11, 2022·edited Oct 11, 2022

It’s becoming more and more apparent that TFG and CPAC speakers are in bed with Putin. It reminds one of the Congress Critters in 1940 who were close friends with German agents who wanted to take over the US for Hitler (listen to Rachel Maddow’s new podcast, Ulta, for the complete story). The parallels are chilling.

A good sign tonight was Tim Ryan shaming his opponent, J. D. Vance, for making nice with TFG right after TFG said Vance was “kissing my ass” for support. Not a good look for Vance. Maybe this signals a beginning willingness of Democratic candidates to call out their opponents who are supporters of TFG, and, by definition, election deniers. I certainly hope so.

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Wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that Putin’s still pulling the strings of his ex-USpresident finger-puppet, Trump.

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Russia must be careful firing on Kyiv. The ambassadors are in country. Each embassy is sovereign territory of the country it represents. Hit one and Putin has attacked one of those famous inches of NATO.

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Give Ukraine the rocket systems to attack the Russian airfields in Crimea. Knock out the airfields and destroy the aircraft on the ground, and there won't be a way for the Russians to launch ALCMs. They'd only have their eight Tu-160s, and those are nice big targets that the Ukrainians could shoot down with SAMs at long range, and that would be the aerial equivalent of sinking the Russian Navy's boat back this summer.

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So the Orange Sadist has offered his services as a negotiator (sorry! I can't keep from laughing) in the Russian War against Ukraine. We can all imagine how THAT would go: "Vlad, old buddy, what do you want?" pukin: "I vant UKRAINE!" O.S.: "OK."

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Kerch: A Bridge Under Troubled Waters.

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In September 1940, the Nazis abandoned their aerial bombing campaign against British industrial targets to concentrate on the war of terror against civilians by bombing London. That was the moment that Churchill recognized as the turning point in the Battle of Britain. He knew that the air war had failed and that no invasion could be successful. Putin is adopting Nazi strategy in so many ways, and like Hitler, he's a loser.

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Thanks for brilliant writing HCR. POWER AND VICTORY to the brave Ukrainian people over the vile Russian military machine!

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I hesitate to go all Alex Jones here, but the OPEC plus action on oil production is bound to — and has—affected gas prices , less than a month before US elections. Putin and MBS trying to sabotage Democratic prospects?

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Perhaps, while it's being less traveled, 🇺🇦 will render more, if not all, of the "bridge" unusable. The tyrant has earned it! Free Crimea!

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I am going to a language school. Three of the women in my class are from Ukraine. They came here to Spain when the war began. Yesterday (Monday) they were so fearful for family and friends in their neighborhoods. When I walk to school I pass elementary schools brimming with children and sidewalks teeming with fathers and mothers walking their little ones to school. And, I think constantly that once upon a time these were Ukrainian families in Ukrainian neighborhoods in a peace-filled Ukraine that one day because of the ego of one man became a nightmare. In a flash. In a brief moment. And how it can happen anywhere at anytime. Even in the U.S. where a different kind - but no less dangerous - of attack is happening through missiles of misinformation being fed to the ignorant. And my god. The legions of ignorant who have the right to vote in this country. For those who haven't seen this. It is so powerful. So true. and must be shared.

https://t.co/JSmch1n6WE

(https://twitter.com/IAmPoliticsGirl/status/1578058132533542921?t=ru9ZbgaQCj1-8USxu33lYA&s=03)

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Where was the outrage over the U.S.'s "shock and awe" campaign? Invading Iraq and Afghanistan for no reason whatsoever. Gazillions of civilian casualties. Decades of destruction of entire civilizations. Entire countries bombed back into the stone age. No repercussions for assassinating an entire family with a drone as they arrived at their home after distributing water their neighbors. The U.S. need to clean up its own house. No more righteous sputtering of the inhumanity of Russia. This war is no more inhumane than any other. Just ask the Vietnamese. Or the Koreans. Or the Philippines. Or indigenous nations. War is Hell. Hell on earth.

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Nothing is more important to the future welfare of the planet than Ukraine's effort to stop Putin's criminal rampages. Thank you, Heather, for providing this concise update/summary of where this highly dynamic situation now stands. Clarifying where the political commitment now stands is very revealing.

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