Politics

[JGRaider]

Girl interviewed today at Columbia Univ protest. When asked why she was at a protest encampment she said "Jews are just really mean". Good to know your tax dollars have paid for the education of these intellectuals. .....FWB

Typical Biden voter. Dumb as a sack of rocks.

 

[Scott CWO]

Thank you for your reply. I still do not agree with you, but I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully articulate your views so that I may better understand them.

You and I have a different interpretation of the information regarding the allegations of his financial misdeeds. I have no doubt that Hunter Biden was mixed up in all sorts of shady dealings, and I certainly would not be voting for Hunter if he ever ran for office. However, I have not seen anything that has convinced me that Joe Biden is guilty of corruption. If there were evidence of it, I have no doubt in my mind that Jim Jordan and James Comer would have brought articles of impeachment by now.

I can understand why you are outraged that more has not been done to hold Biden accountable for these allegations. In the same way, many Democrats are outraged bevause they believe that Trump and his family have also engaged in all sorts of shady business dealings and they too have not been held accountable. I am not saying that one side is right and the other is wrong, rather that outrage is a logical response to perceived injustice.

Where you and I are probably most in agreement on this issue is over the media coverage, or lack thereof, regarding Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma. Without going into the details, I have had my own encounters with Burisma, and I am convinced that they are not only under the direct control of the Russian government, but also that their corruption extends into many other organizations. The most cursory research on the part of journalists could have uncovered much of this, and yet that story was intentionally suppressed.

I have a different read on this as well. My assumption is that Putin was emboldened by the inaction of the Obama administration in the wake of his invasion of Crimea, disunity amongst NATO countries, and the perception that the US was too politically polarized to do anything about it. Horrifying to think we nearly proved Putin right on that last point.

Putin has also managed to cultivate a reputation as being a ruthless yet cunning tactician. I think he is just a delusional megalomaniac. When dealing with a person like that, I am not sure there is anything anyone could have done to dissuade him from invading. For this same reason, I think trying to negotiate a peace deal is with Putin is futile.

I agree that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an abject failure. I also admit that I am woefully uninformed about the situation on the ground immediately following our withdrawal. Nor do I have the military experience to properly evaluate what errors were made and who was responsible for making them.

Regardless, the buck stops with Secretary Austin and President Biden. Again, I am not knowledgeable enough on military matters to know if it should have warranted Secretary Austin’s dismissal, but I think that probably would have been the proper decision at the time.

I would not necessarily state it the same way as you, as I am inclined to give more weight to intentionality when casting such judgements.

With that said, I believe we ultimately agree that the policy toward Iran pursued by both the Obama and Biden administrations has failed time and again because it is founded on the fatally flawed premise that if Iran were just presented with the opportunity to join the the Western world, they would jump in with both feet.

As I have stated before, I see extreme risk aversion as the common thread between every policy failure of the Biden administration. They are so concerned with avoiding every possible adverse outcome that they fail to act when necessary. They let their strategy undermine their policy.

With regard to your statement on Catholic faith, I will take your word for it. I have no dog in that fight, and I will never hold a man’s sincerely held religious beliefs against him as long as they do not infringe on my rights or the rights or others.

With regard to Biden’s actions toward following October 7, I do not believe he supports Hamas, and in a lot of ways he has been a strong ally of Israel. With that said, I too am frustrated by what I see as slowly caving to the pressure from the progressive and far left wings of the Democratic Party. I have hope that Biden can still do the right thing, but make no mistake, he will lose my vote the instant he crosses one of those red lines.

Come on @Saul are you trying to tell us that all the money that was shown flowing into several LLCs that can be traced to Biden family members is legit? Do you think Bush or even Obama had dozens of LLCs to funnel money to family? Does your family have dozens of LLCs? I’ve had one Subchapter S corp and two LLCs in my lifetime for legit businesses that provide ACTUAL services to people. Wake up brother! Biden, his brother and his son have been taking shielded bribes for decades. Democrats need to pull their heads out of the sand and elect ethical candidates, not kleptocracies.

 

[freefall]

Thank you for your reply. I still do not agree with you, but I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully articulate your views so that I may better understand them.

You and I have a different interpretation of the information regarding the allegations of his financial misdeeds. I have no doubt that Hunter Biden was mixed up in all sorts of shady dealings, and I certainly would not be voting for Hunter if he ever ran for office. However, I have not seen anything that has convinced me that Joe Biden is guilty of corruption. If there were evidence of it, I have no doubt in my mind that Jim Jordan and James Comer would have brought articles of impeachment by now.

I can understand why you are outraged that more has not been done to hold Biden accountable for these allegations. In the same way, many Democrats are outraged bevause they believe that Trump and his family have also engaged in all sorts of shady business dealings and they too have not been held accountable. I am not saying that one side is right and the other is wrong, rather that outrage is a logical response to perceived injustice.

Where you and I are probably most in agreement on this issue is over the media coverage, or lack thereof, regarding Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma. Without going into the details, I have had my own encounters with Burisma, and I am convinced that they are not only under the direct control of the Russian government, but also that their corruption extends into many other organizations. The most cursory research on the part of journalists could have uncovered much of this, and yet that story was intentionally suppressed.

I have a different read on this as well. My assumption is that Putin was emboldened by the inaction of the Obama administration in the wake of his invasion of Crimea, disunity amongst NATO countries, and the perception that the US was too politically polarized to do anything about it. Horrifying to think we nearly proved Putin right on that last point.

Putin has also managed to cultivate a reputation as being a ruthless yet cunning tactician. I think he is just a delusional megalomaniac. When dealing with a person like that, I am not sure there is anything anyone could have done to dissuade him from invading. For this same reason, I think trying to negotiate a peace deal is with Putin is futile.

I agree that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an abject failure. I also admit that I am woefully uninformed about the situation on the ground immediately following our withdrawal. Nor do I have the military experience to properly evaluate what errors were made and who was responsible for making them.

Regardless, the buck stops with Secretary Austin and President Biden. Again, I am not knowledgeable enough on military matters to know if it should have warranted Secretary Austin’s dismissal, but I think that probably would have been the proper decision at the time.

I would not necessarily state it the same way as you, as I am inclined to give more weight to intentionality when casting such judgements.

With that said, I believe we ultimately agree that the policy toward Iran pursued by both the Obama and Biden administrations has failed time and again because it is founded on the fatally flawed premise that if Iran were just presented with the opportunity to join the the Western world, they would jump in with both feet.

As I have stated before, I see extreme risk aversion as the common thread between every policy failure of the Biden administration. They are so concerned with avoiding every possible adverse outcome that they fail to act when necessary. They let their strategy undermine their policy.

With regard to your statement on Catholic faith, I will take your word for it. I have no dog in that fight, and I will never hold a man’s sincerely held religious beliefs against him as long as they do not infringe on my rights or the rights or others.

With regard to Biden’s actions toward following October 7, I do not believe he supports Hamas, and in a lot of ways he has been a strong ally of Israel. With that said, I too am frustrated by what I see as slowly caving to the pressure from the progressive and far left wings of the Democratic Party. I have hope that Biden can still do the right thing, but make no mistake, he will lose my vote the instant he crosses one of those red lines.

Sorry to drag in this whole long passage to get to the point that Saul sees no proof of Biden's corruption.
Saul, you have the sworn testimony of Hunter's business partner. You have Biden himself constantly changing his story about the depth of his involvement in Hunter's business. You have dozens of shell companies which members of Biden's own DOJ admit exist only for the purpose of concealing the origin of funds.
What would it take to convince you? Is it possible at all? I would ask if a live video would do it, but in this age of AI deep-fakery I don't know that it would convince me. I would place more credence in the sworn testimony of a decorated veteran, than the pathetic denials of a proven liar.
Which I know is going to set off a greek chorus of "Pathetic fool, TRUMP is the father of all lies".

 

[LivingTheDream]

Biden’s student loan bailout is paying the tuition of all these ass clown Hamas supporters. Wonder how the masses like that kick in the taint. We actually saved to much in my daughter’s 529, don’t use that financial vehicle, so we have to pay capital gains on the profit to take the money back which is fine but also get to pay a 10% penalty for saving to much and the free loaders are getting billions for being want to be jihadis. Starting to feel the end is near.

If you have any left you can roll up to 35k into an IRA for your daughter tax free. Not sure if that is an option but I'm sure she will be very thankful in 25 to 30 years.

 

[Corey0372]

If you have any left you can roll up to 35k into an IRA for your daughter tax free. Not sure if that is an option but I'm sure she will be very thankful in 25 to 30 years.

That or a couple of ounces of gold... the way they keep wanting to punish any type of growth its hard to put faith in anything anymore

 

[steve white]

Thank you for your reply. I still do not agree with you, but I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully articulate your views so that I may better understand them.

You and I have a different interpretation of the information regarding the allegations of his financial misdeeds. I have no doubt that Hunter Biden was mixed up in all sorts of shady dealings, and I certainly would not be voting for Hunter if he ever ran for office. However, I have not seen anything that has convinced me that Joe Biden is guilty of corruption. If there were evidence of it, I have no doubt in my mind that Jim Jordan and James Comer would have brought articles of impeachment by now.

I can understand why you are outraged that more has not been done to hold Biden accountable for these allegations. In the same way, many Democrats are outraged bevause they believe that Trump and his family have also engaged in all sorts of shady business dealings and they too have not been held accountable. I am not saying that one side is right and the other is wrong, rather that outrage is a logical response to perceived injustice.

Where you and I are probably most in agreement on this issue is over the media coverage, or lack thereof, regarding Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma. Without going into the details, I have had my own encounters with Burisma, and I am convinced that they are not only under the direct control of the Russian government, but also that their corruption extends into many other organizations. The most cursory research on the part of journalists could have uncovered much of this, and yet that story was intentionally suppressed.

I have a different read on this as well. My assumption is that Putin was emboldened by the inaction of the Obama administration in the wake of his invasion of Crimea, disunity amongst NATO countries, and the perception that the US was too politically polarized to do anything about it. Horrifying to think we nearly proved Putin right on that last point.

Putin has also managed to cultivate a reputation as being a ruthless yet cunning tactician. I think he is just a delusional megalomaniac. When dealing with a person like that, I am not sure there is anything anyone could have done to dissuade him from invading. For this same reason, I think trying to negotiate a peace deal is with Putin is futile.

I agree that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an abject failure. I also admit that I am woefully uninformed about the situation on the ground immediately following our withdrawal. Nor do I have the military experience to properly evaluate what errors were made and who was responsible for making them.

Regardless, the buck stops with Secretary Austin and President Biden. Again, I am not knowledgeable enough on military matters to know if it should have warranted Secretary Austin’s dismissal, but I think that probably would have been the proper decision at the time.

I would not necessarily state it the same way as you, as I am inclined to give more weight to intentionality when casting such judgements.

With that said, I believe we ultimately agree that the policy toward Iran pursued by both the Obama and Biden administrations has failed time and again because it is founded on the fatally flawed premise that if Iran were just presented with the opportunity to join the the Western world, they would jump in with both feet.

As I have stated before, I see extreme risk aversion as the common thread between every policy failure of the Biden administration. They are so concerned with avoiding every possible adverse outcome that they fail to act when necessary. They let their strategy undermine their policy.

With regard to your statement on Catholic faith, I will take your word for it. I have no dog in that fight, and I will never hold a man’s sincerely held religious beliefs against him as long as they do not infringe on my rights or the rights or others.

With regard to Biden’s actions toward following October 7, I do not believe he supports Hamas, and in a lot of ways he has been a strong ally of Israel. With that said, I too am frustrated by what I see as slowly caving to the pressure from the progressive and far left wings of the Democratic Party. I have hope that Biden can still do the right thing, but make no mistake, he will lose my vote the instant he crosses one of those red lines.

You infer corruption by the Trump family, yet his children DIVESTED THEMSELVES from many business dealings after he became president, while the Biden crime family just lives at the trough. I will defend Trump's children as straight arrows with their lives largely together--can you credibly say the same for the Bidens? Trump declined to take the presidential salary--no one sees virtue in that? What is he supposed to have done that was specifically corrupt, especially to compare him to the Biden cartel? These are the kind of things that make conservatives hair catch on fire when dealing with liberals, BTW.

 

[LivingTheDream]

That or a couple of ounces of gold... the way they keep wanting to punish any type of growth its hard to put faith in anything anymore

I prefer Bitcoin.

Was reading that Biden Admin is trying to push for a 44% capital gains tax on gains over 400k. Talk about crushing investment.

 

[Corey0372]

I prefer Bitcoin.

Peter Schiff isn't in the thread somewhere is he?? Be careful!! haha

 

[LivingTheDream]

Peter Schiff isn't in the thread somewhere is he?? Be careful!! haha

Michael Saylor has got my back, lol.

 

[Corey0372]

Michael Saylor has got my back, lol.

Bukele needs to bring that guy into his cabinet somehow

 

[Saul]

This point warrants much more attention and discussion on here. I cannot thank you enough for bringing it up. I've been trying to find a way to explain this, even to friends of mine. Some of my friends and some on this thread accuse Zelinsky of being extremely crooked. I haven't been able to bring it up on here and have not been able to convince friends...

The general concept I've struggled with goes back to Hunter Biden's involvement in Burisma and Joe's intervention as VP to hold up that money from the US to Ukraine until Ukraine fired the guy investigating Burisma.

So the point being made is that Ukraine is corrupt because they fired the guy to get that funding from the US. Hard to argue, although that was a lot of money and good old Joe really had them over a barrel.... To me this is understandable to at least say, ok I see why Ukraine caved.

However, does that make Zelinsky a crook? Especially to the point that we should not send help to Ukraine?

Or is there a side to this story where Ukraine may have really been trying to stand up to the real crooks?

@Brent in Az what do you think?

Sadly, when it comes to the former combloc countries, they are all corrupt. The difference is in degrees and whether that corruption is intended to help Russia.

My understanding of the investigations into Burisma is that they were shams launched to either extract bribes from Burisma (and by extension PrivatBank) or to strong-arm other government officials with ties to Burisma. These are all extremely unsavory characters, none of them were on the level.

While I am deeply troubled that Hunter Biden was involved at all with Burisma, I seriously doubt he was ever personally involved in what they did, not because I think he is a great guy, but because he would have been way out of his element.

With regard to Zelenskyy, I would say that he is a mixed bag. He is certainly worlds better than every Ukrainian president before him, but I am troubled by a few of his associates. The unfortunate reality is that even the most upstanding person over there is going to have to work with some very bad people whether they want to or not.

To be clear, I do not think any of it is anywhere near bad enough to even consider withholding military aid. From everything I have seen, Zelenskyy has proven himself to be a true patriot who is deserving of our support.

 

[freefall]

Why do you think Hunter Biden was involved with Burisma? What product, service, or expertise did he have that made him valuable?

 

[Saul]

Come on @Saul are you trying to tell us that all the money that was shown flowing into several LLCs that can be traced to Biden family members is legit? Do you think Bush or even Obama had dozens of LLCs to funnel money to family? Does your family have dozens of LLCs? I’ve had one Subchapter S corp and two LLCs in my lifetime for legit businesses that provide ACTUAL services to people. Wake up brother! Biden, his brother and his son have been taking shielded bribes for decades. Democrats need to pull their heads out of the sand and elect ethical candidates, not kleptocracies.

Yes, Hunter is a bad guy. His uncle does not seem to be a great guy either. Guilt by association is not a legal standard to which I subscribe.

Sorry to drag in this whole long passage to get to the point that Saul sees no proof of Biden's corruption.
Saul, you have the sworn testimony of Hunter's business partner. You have Biden himself constantly changing his story about the depth of his involvement in Hunter's business. You have dozens of shell companies which members of Biden's own DOJ admit exist only for the purpose of concealing the origin of funds.
What would it take to convince you? Is it possible at all? I would ask if a live video would do it, but in this age of AI deep-fakery I don't know that it would convince me. I would place more credence in the sworn testimony of a decorated veteran, than the pathetic denials of a proven liar.
Which I know is going to set off a greek chorus of "Pathetic fool, TRUMP is the father of all lies".

What would it take to convince me? Physical evidence would be a good start. If the House GOP actually finds something then I am sure they will bring impeachment charges.

You infer corruption by the Trump family, yet his children DIVESTED THEMSELVES from many business dealings after he became president, while the Biden crime family just lives at the trough. I will defend Trump's children as straight arrows with their lives largely together--can you credibly say the same for the Bidens? Trump declined to take the presidential salary--no one sees virtue in that? What is he supposed to have done that was specifically corrupt, especially to compare him to the Biden cartel? These are the kind of things that make conservatives hair catch on fire when dealing with liberals, BTW.

I am sorry but this is just patently false. It is very well documented that all of Trump’s children continued to engage in business dealings with foreign nations throughout his presidency. It was certainly unethical, but I have my doubts about whether it rises to the level of illegal.

Why do you think Hunter Biden was involved with Burisma? What product, service, or expertise did he have that made him valuable?

While I do not discount the possibility that they hired him in an attempt to curry favor from within the Obama administration, I think it is more likely that they did so to bolster their standing with the EBRD. Frankly, both possibilities could very well be true.

 

[freefall]

Well, Saul, I hope if I am ever arrested for a crime that I'm guilty of that you will be on my jury. Of course, I'll register as a D to get the benefit of the doubt you deny Trump's children.

 

[Saul]

Well, Saul, I hope if I am ever arrested for a crime that I'm guilty of that you will be on my jury. Of course, I'll register as a D to get the benefit of the doubt you deny Trump's children.

Sorry but there is no way they will let me serve on a jury again after I voted to acquit O.J.

 

[freefall]

Sorry but there is no way they will let me serve on a jury again after I voted to acquit O.J.

Great strategy! One killer goes free, but you get a "stay out of court free" card for life!
Smartly played!

 

[spike.t]

Bit off the current track...but an interesting part of politics from years ago I never knew....

The song that ended Europe's longest running fascist regime

Fifty years ago, on April 25, 1974, a Eurovision song gave the signal for a military coup.

www.bbc.com

 

[GuttormG]

Question for our maritime experts:
Any thoughts on the vessel losing power and control, hitting the bridge in front of Baltimore harbour?

I’ve seen a video with repeated power losses, and strong course corrections at or during those power losses. Is it envisageable that such a vessel could be “hacked” / controlled from a distance and its course modified?

Very unlikely.

 

[spike.t]

Chinese warships permanently deployed at new overseas naval base

An expert believes the five-month-long presence of the Chinese naval vessels at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base is the beginning of the permanent deployment.

www.newsweek.com

 

[bob meadows]

I am genuinely not seeking to criticize you or anyone else for believing what you do about Biden. I try to at least understand all points of view, but this is one that I struggle to grasp. I can understand being vehemently opposed to Biden’s political views or believing that Biden is incompetent as President, but I do not understand how Biden’s alleged shortcomings or misdeeds rise to the same level of “evil” as someone like Vladimir Putin.

I will throw one out, our border he is destroying our country . no other way to put it. that makes him worse than Putin in my eyes......and you might be able to make a case about his interaction with children.......bob