Now what if, and hear me out, the real power behind the throne are the Ukrainian oligarchs like Deripaska who lost a shitload of money when they kicked out Yankovic?
"Putin would never persecute a political opponent, of course, it’s just that all his political opponents have terrible balance around windows and poor judgment about how much nerve agent to sprinkle on their dinner and how their planes should get from the sky to the ground."
I guess ol' Vlad thinks Americans forgot about Navalny rotting away in some god forsaken corner of the gulag for saying bad things about the Russian president
>> That splashy sound you hear is Donald Trump running barefooted across the Atlantic to reassure his hero that he can do better next time. <<
Evan, I love you, I do, but I must say that this bumped me out of the realm of poetic immersion. Vladivostok, after all, is across the PACIFIC, not the Atlantic.
So I was all ready to drop a note of criticism here in the comments. Then I realized that Trump doesn't know the location of Vladivostok, because Trump doesn't know anything. So I wanted to salute you for your creation of metaphors so exquisitely sensitive to subject and context. You are truly a master of your craft.
This "you do it too" attitude was a favorite of the late ball of rage known as Andrew Breitbart. I remember him screaming at some conference, "We're going to tell the liberals that we'll hold them to the same impossible standards that they've been holding us to for years!"
Like not being racist? Not abusing women? Yeah, meeting those standards isn't especially hard.
..."because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy.” Even a megalomaniacal clock is right every once in awhile. Out of the mouths of killers...
"because if Donald Trump is a criminal, so must also Joe Biden be, obviously!"
Thinking about why this is wrong was helpful to me. The logic is, I think (make that "logic"), "if you can prosecute our guy for non-crimes, then we'll prosecute your guy for non-crimes.." When you look at it that way, evidence is irrelevant. Since they don't believe the evidence against Trump is true, then they don't need evidence to try to impeach BIden.
This is basically Tu Quoque, or in simpler terms "I know I am but what are you".
It's an attempt to paint the other side as equally bad or culpable. This doesn't logically lead to the fact that what is being accused is NOT bad (or that one side is not being fairly accused), but that is resolved by implying that everyone (through false dichotomy of there being only ever 2 sides and no other options) is equally guilty.
And as already mentioned, if everyone is guilty, no one is.
And I call that the Syndrome Effect after the villain from the first Incredibles movie.
Going to bake Putin a casserole immediately, bless his heart. He’s gonna need it when he finally wins in Ukraine and realizes he’s sitting smack dab up against NATO countries. Oh dear.
I think it’s not just false equivalence to soften the offense. It’s to soften the blow to their supporters egos. There are now Republican voters who were previously full blown MAGA, but now that Trump is being indicted everywhere, they’ve decided he’s just not the best candidate anymore. See, there’s nothing wrong with his policies, no no no! It’s just that he’s too embroiled in controversy and too distracted to be in the role. Uh huh. So, they allegedly won’t support Trump being in the primary, BUT, they also think Biden has to go. Definitely can’t accept Biden, for reasons. It’s because admitting they were wrong isn’t an option. Not wrong about voting for Trump the first time. Just can’t do it a second time. Not wrong for thinking Trump was the mightiest winner and wanting to be affiliated with that. Trump ain’t losing and he ain’t weak now. He’s just not an appropriate fit anymore! But Biden is a hard no. For reasons. They can’t name any of those reasons without running into something Trump did.
Dude was arrested and jailed upon his return to Russia, after he “fled” the country to seek life-saving medical treatment after Putin’s henchmen sprinkled poison in his underpants (literally).
I think Russia has far too many corrupt billionaires, made rich with taxpayers' money, to qualify as Communist. They're phony Communists, much like our phony Christians and phony patriots.
Question for travelers: Go see Budapest and Poland and other teetering central/eastern European countries a) now before it's too late b) Nope, already too late, c) give it 10 years for them to get better?
Same question applies to whether to get out of the US I suppose
Leaving week from Thursday for Prague... in Czechia... next to Slovakia, which has a heavy leaning towards Russia, and is next to Ukraine. It's been on my bucket list, as my grams and gramps were from Moravia. And yeah. I'm glad that I'm going now. Not necessarily because of imminent invasions, but not not either. Czechia has been messed with about enough, tyvm, and it would be a damn shame to be dealing with the fascist invaders again in general, and in particular Russian oligarchs' penchant for making life miserable for its people. Long live Ukraine. Long Live Democracy. Long live my ancestral homeland.
Prague is beautiful! Have a great trip! I was more concerned with the countries that are leaning fascist than risk of Russian involvement. Afaik Czhechia is currently relatively good on both counts
Now what if, and hear me out, the real power behind the throne are the Ukrainian oligarchs like Deripaska who lost a shitload of money when they kicked out Yankovic?
You mean the one who literally owned the NY FBI office that played a crucial role in elected Trump?
That one?
Yeah
Wait... is Weird Al Ukranian?
Ding!
"Putin would never persecute a political opponent, of course, it’s just that all his political opponents have terrible balance around windows and poor judgment about how much nerve agent to sprinkle on their dinner and how their planes should get from the sky to the ground."
Nicely done, couldn't have done it better myself.
PAB isn't Putin's liege, the liege is the OVERLORD. He's Putin's vassal. Or possibly serf.
I guess ol' Vlad thinks Americans forgot about Navalny rotting away in some god forsaken corner of the gulag for saying bad things about the Russian president
"A" Gulag. There are many, from what I hear.
I still really miss Al Franken in the Senate.
Big overcompensation there, us.
>> That splashy sound you hear is Donald Trump running barefooted across the Atlantic to reassure his hero that he can do better next time. <<
Evan, I love you, I do, but I must say that this bumped me out of the realm of poetic immersion. Vladivostok, after all, is across the PACIFIC, not the Atlantic.
So I was all ready to drop a note of criticism here in the comments. Then I realized that Trump doesn't know the location of Vladivostok, because Trump doesn't know anything. So I wanted to salute you for your creation of metaphors so exquisitely sensitive to subject and context. You are truly a master of your craft.
It's also across the Atlantic if one considers running barefoot across Europe.
We're assuming dude can run. We don't even have evidence he can walk down a ramp like a normal human.
This "you do it too" attitude was a favorite of the late ball of rage known as Andrew Breitbart. I remember him screaming at some conference, "We're going to tell the liberals that we'll hold them to the same impossible standards that they've been holding us to for years!"
Like not being racist? Not abusing women? Yeah, meeting those standards isn't especially hard.
..."because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy.” Even a megalomaniacal clock is right every once in awhile. Out of the mouths of killers...
"because if Donald Trump is a criminal, so must also Joe Biden be, obviously!"
Thinking about why this is wrong was helpful to me. The logic is, I think (make that "logic"), "if you can prosecute our guy for non-crimes, then we'll prosecute your guy for non-crimes.." When you look at it that way, evidence is irrelevant. Since they don't believe the evidence against Trump is true, then they don't need evidence to try to impeach BIden.
This is basically Tu Quoque, or in simpler terms "I know I am but what are you".
It's an attempt to paint the other side as equally bad or culpable. This doesn't logically lead to the fact that what is being accused is NOT bad (or that one side is not being fairly accused), but that is resolved by implying that everyone (through false dichotomy of there being only ever 2 sides and no other options) is equally guilty.
And as already mentioned, if everyone is guilty, no one is.
And I call that the Syndrome Effect after the villain from the first Incredibles movie.
Evan, was the "You Betcha." a poke at The Thrilla from Wasilla who could smell Russian BBQ from her back yard, or was it a coincidence?
Correction: Putin is trump's liege, not the other way around.
Going to bake Putin a casserole immediately, bless his heart. He’s gonna need it when he finally wins in Ukraine and realizes he’s sitting smack dab up against NATO countries. Oh dear.
I think it’s not just false equivalence to soften the offense. It’s to soften the blow to their supporters egos. There are now Republican voters who were previously full blown MAGA, but now that Trump is being indicted everywhere, they’ve decided he’s just not the best candidate anymore. See, there’s nothing wrong with his policies, no no no! It’s just that he’s too embroiled in controversy and too distracted to be in the role. Uh huh. So, they allegedly won’t support Trump being in the primary, BUT, they also think Biden has to go. Definitely can’t accept Biden, for reasons. It’s because admitting they were wrong isn’t an option. Not wrong about voting for Trump the first time. Just can’t do it a second time. Not wrong for thinking Trump was the mightiest winner and wanting to be affiliated with that. Trump ain’t losing and he ain’t weak now. He’s just not an appropriate fit anymore! But Biden is a hard no. For reasons. They can’t name any of those reasons without running into something Trump did.
Alexei Navalny would like a word.
Dude was arrested and jailed upon his return to Russia, after he “fled” the country to seek life-saving medical treatment after Putin’s henchmen sprinkled poison in his underpants (literally).
The nerve (agent) on that guy!
"He claimed the Biden administration has instilled a strong bias against Russia "
Right-wingers screeching about the commies for 50 years has nothing to do with any bias.
I think Russia has far too many corrupt billionaires, made rich with taxpayers' money, to qualify as Communist. They're phony Communists, much like our phony Christians and phony patriots.
Well...yeah. This is totally true. Almost so true we don't need to be told. The Animal Farm Effect. ( is it 'affect' or 'effect'? I forget)
Question for travelers: Go see Budapest and Poland and other teetering central/eastern European countries a) now before it's too late b) Nope, already too late, c) give it 10 years for them to get better?
Same question applies to whether to get out of the US I suppose
Leaving week from Thursday for Prague... in Czechia... next to Slovakia, which has a heavy leaning towards Russia, and is next to Ukraine. It's been on my bucket list, as my grams and gramps were from Moravia. And yeah. I'm glad that I'm going now. Not necessarily because of imminent invasions, but not not either. Czechia has been messed with about enough, tyvm, and it would be a damn shame to be dealing with the fascist invaders again in general, and in particular Russian oligarchs' penchant for making life miserable for its people. Long live Ukraine. Long Live Democracy. Long live my ancestral homeland.
Prague is beautiful! Have a great trip! I was more concerned with the countries that are leaning fascist than risk of Russian involvement. Afaik Czhechia is currently relatively good on both counts