As a proudly ex-maga, ex-gop #NeverTrump#Ahoy! af conservative, IMO today's statements by the (soundly) defeated former president about the butcher of Mariupol who obviously cannot remain in office,
are literal treason against the USA.
Cult 45 members need to open their eyes.
When I was supporting T**** in 2016 some of the people in my life broke ties with me and refused to discuss why.
Nowadays I can understand why they did this. Since leaving the cult on 1/6, I've realized how it feels to objectively assess his political and business record...
and then have some folk in your life insist that 2+2=5, up is down, wrong is right, and lies are truth.
Even so, I didn't ditch anyone. They broke ties with me. I've had irl friends from both the left & the (far) right cancel me, lol.
I'm not complaining, though. Far from it.
Because there is a difference between hurt and harm.
Putin has murdered at least 5,000 civilians in Mariupol alone. He remains an imminent threat against not just anyone in Ukraine, a country of 44 million people on the day he invaded, but also...
against those in the Eastern flank NATO countries, and potentially Europe and the world as a whole.
He brazenly ordered the Russian army to attack the still-dangerous Chernobyl site, and the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia. He has chemical weapons, too.
The dumbass of Palm Beach is *still* trying to engage with the dictator in Moscow as if none of this is real. Cult 45 members have believed his lies about Russia and about vital American national security interests.
Turns out, there is a there, there. John McCain was right.
Which reminds me... if Republicans had not nominated T****, the runner up was Ted Cruz. They had no one capable of holding high office. They still don't.
They should next nominate Cheney or Kinzinger. But they won't.
Most of what TFG says and does is irrelevant and pathetic. But this latest insanity is important to know about.
Consider the kinds of classified intel he likely handed to P**** while in the WH.
I was never a big fan of Sen Cory Booker, but next time he runs for president, he's going to be my first choice. This speech is so eloquent, so compelling, that it should be watched by every democracy-loving person in the world.
That's the fullest version of Booker's speech I could find, so if you know of a longer version please link it below (and check first that someone hasn't done so already.)
There's also this excellent discussion:
Cory Booker's speech has motivated me to work even harder to speak up for, or offer support to, anyone treated differently bc they are Black, a POC, female, LGBTQ+, young, old, disabled, or part of any group visible or invisible that is marginalized by immutable characteristics.
Thread: International Women's Day 2022, US, & Ukraine.
Far right fascists (aka today's GQP) like chiming in to say female privilege is alive and well in the law requiring (almost) all men aged 18-25 to be registered for the draft, should one be needed.
Current US admin policy is to do all it can to avoid needing to have boots on the ground in Europe and elsewhere.
Since 1/24/22 the global security situation has worsened. If things get to a certain point, the US may need to bring back the draft.
It's mistake to exclusively think of the wars the US has been involved in since 1945, especially Vietnam. I see far greater parallels between our current crisis and 1939-45.
In both cases, none of the allied countries were sufficiently ready to defend ourselves and win the war.
I am able to sleep at night because I believe RU military personnel between Putin and whoever would actually fire a nuclear weapon are planning to stop that happening.
US Army General Mark Milley ensured the same kind of safety in the last insane days of TFG's presidency.
To understand the current Russian war against Ukraine (and quite frankly, the rest of us) it helps to understand the period before and during WWII.
The British SOE and Partisans in European countries come to mind:
Source: For my assertion that Hitler was bad not mad, right to the end. It's vital to challenge this narrative.
And, TIKhistory is an exceptionally useful & relevant YT channel on Europe & RU. About half his videos are directly relevant to this war.
I was perplexed by Putin calling the Ukraine government Nazis and drug addicts. Putin's behavior is far closer to that of the actual Nazis than just about every world leader. (Assad springs to mind as a notable exception.) So he's projecting. Is he also projecting about drugs?