If Putin's feelings are hurt by the fact that there are countries in the world that he doesn't rule, he should get to just have to deal with it, exactly like literally every other person on the planet. Unless he's suicidal, in which case he should be prevented by any means necessary from taking the rest of us along with him.

There are rules. Now, rules don't have to be obeyed. If you're playing canasta and you don't like the rule that says a three keeps you from picking up the pile, you can pick up the pile anyway. It just means that you're not playing canasta any more. Likewise with the rules for having there continue to be some people in the world who aren't dead yet despite the existence of weapons that can kill every person in the world in a matter of minutes: you can break those rules too. It just means that you aren't alive any more, and neither is anyone else. If Putin pushes any further into the gray areas of the rules, he should be relieved of his responsibilities (such as breathing and maintaining a non-zero blood pressure) before he takes the rest of us along with him.

Indeed!

And, I should think it would be a reasonable assumption to make that turning it derogatory is rooted in the same misogynistic rationale as is the opposition to abortion and reproductive rights.

In other words, those who oppose abortion and reproductive rights are many of the same people who have misogynistic views about sex and sexuality and what a healthy sex life looks like. This is the point that I'd like to see emphasized in the abortion debate with as much fervor as other arguments used to support abortion and reproductive rights.

You can see Putin's point. How would we feel about Cuba or Mexico or Canada joining the Soviet Bloc??

Was it Ukraine in NATO per se that was allegedly a bad idea, or only pushing for it at the time in question, in the manner in question?

Have I got a book for you!

She Comes First: the thinking man's guide to pleasuring a woman ... by Ian Kerner, Ph.D.

I promise you'll be thanked for your effort. And, you can thank ME, later. :)

Are all of you youngsters around here unaware that the term 'To suck" traces its roots, at least as far back as the sixties, to fellatio, and while it has evolved in other directions away from its origins, it is still technically homophobic!

Two things:

* Anyone who'd see the word "suck" as it's being used in this comments section and immediately think of "fellatio" likely isn't getting any.

* Any male who claims incorrectly that "fellatio" is "homophobic" likely has a partner who never gave him any.

So it appears it sucks to be you, Stucki.

I'm kidding. :)

BTW, though it's no excuse, I was 5 years old in 1968, so I don't have firsthand experience.

I wish I could say I didn't have any firsthand experience either, but when I was a baby I was handed to Lyndon Baines Johnson whereupon (I am told) I began screaming very loudly and holding out my tiny arms for my father to take me back. I have no memory of the traumatic event, but I've been assured repeatedly I was a colossal embarrassment.

And, no, I wasn't comparing the two Democratic conventions. I was trying, however poorly, to pose the question of possible parallels between the impact PROTESTS of 1968 and 2024. The latter have been OVER-reported IMO, especially with the additional GOP propaganda of the Congressional hearings.

I'm just saying I will be surprised if the media isn't falling all over themselves to make that comparison, and I also wouldn't put it past the Trump campaign/MAGA cult minions to be planning a "ratfucking" protest based on rhetoric being bandied about at right-wing rallies.

Having said that IMO you appear to have included pro-appeasement, anti-Biden and anti-Semitic content in your news mix. My other beef is that you’re failing to address our respective replies/arguments regarding a given topic. You really was far better at “engagement” before you kind of lost your mind over Ukraine — heck, you still haven’t answered the question why is Ukraine in NATO a bad idea? It still trips me out that you were so pro-Joe before Ukraine and now I’m a far bigger fan than I was in 2020.

The Board Mother stuff doesn’t bother me because (1)your heart is in the right place and (2) I feel no particular obligation to conform.

Really?

Yes, you seriously suck at comedy.

I see my criticism of how the Biden administration is handling things - from war to presidential elections - has been hitting a nerve.

Nope! It's actually three things:

* PLEASE leave comedy to the professionals because you suck at it. (props to JL)

* Might consider leaving the drama to the thespians, too. (props to dsws)

* Absolutely unequivocally leave the mind reading to the telepathists because you suck at that too.

Here's some free advice - stop the obsession with Trump - your actual drama queen - and start paying attention to what actually matters.

I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- I tell you, to find that people are discussing the "Republican" opponent on a political chat board! *laughs*

You know nothing at all if you're under the absolute asinine belief that the posters on this forum aren't "paying attention" to a myriad of current events, and you're even more clueless than that if you're under the mistaken impression that you can read our thoughts and/or control our comments.

In conclusion, pound sand. :)

You can't let this happen! Yeah, that's dramatic but, it's true!

Here's some free advice - stop the obsession with Trump - your actual drama queen - and start paying attention to what actually matters.

This is the absolute last thing I ever thought I would ever say in a place like this, especially to you, and it literally pains me to tap it out but, for the sake of the good of this excellent blog, I think the less interaction we have, the better - regardless of the issue at hand.

Usually, my first impressions about what kind of person a person is is usually pretty spot on. Not so in your case, sadly. And, don't ever doubt that I am deeply saddened by this realization.

No need to reply.

oh, i insist.

PLEASE leave comedy to the professionals.

Right. Because, God forbid we have any fun around here.

no, because you suck at it.

Why am I not surprised?

because you knew what kind of response you'd get before you wrote it.

have a happy lag ba'omer and a lovely week.

~JL

Right. Because, God forbid we have any fun around here.

Why am I not surprised?

No need to reply.

And that slogan is as meaningful to too many American voters as "freedom of religion" - which of course means, "I am free to worship Jesus, and you are free to do as I do ... but NOT to have any (or NO) other belief."

Perhaps popular media has overstated the impact the student-led protests and resulting police overreaction had on Nixon's victory.

And, no, I wasn't comparing the two Democratic conventions. I was trying, however poorly, to pose the question of possible parallels between the impact PROTESTS of 1968 and 2024. The latter have been OVER-reported IMO, especially with the additional GOP propaganda of the Congressional hearings.

Lawn order is one of the opposites of rule of law.

Rule of law is when you have actual laws, a functioning judicial system, and stuff like that. It's what MAGAts are spitting on. Lawn order is when you like to fantasize about shooting "criminals" and such-like. It's a political/ cultural identity thing, and MAGAts love it. The lawn order vote is going for Trump 100%.

Countries do not have interests. They have internal politics, which consistently leads them to act in ways that are blatantly contrary to their putative interests.

i am not interested in engaging with you, on anything, anymore

Elizabeth, countries don’t have “friends” nor “allies.” Countries have interests. That’s why, for example, America rebuilt Japan and (West) Germany after WW2 to counter the Soviet Union.

Yea, verily, America has screwed its allies — most recently Trump abandoned the Kurds who battled ISIS on our behalf. But on the whole America has (and continues) to offer a far better deal than the Russians/Chinese block. So I don’t “get” your statement.

You give the impression that you’re soaked in pro-Russian pro-Hamas propaganda. This is not the Miss Vancouver that I met down here in Weigantia.

Sadly, most Americans are ignorant of our own history.

This is sadly true.
The Democratic convention of 1968 was a self-inflicted disaster,

Self-inflicted? There was global civil unrest as well as countless protests in American in 1968 due to raging anti Vietnam war sentiment, men being eligible for the draft who weren't eligible to vote, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April and Robert F. Kennedy in June. The Democratic convention in August was just more of the same continuing unabated civil rights and anti-war protests.

resulting in the re-election of (the evil mastermind of Vietnam) Nixon.

Nixon wasn't re-elected in 1968. Nixon had narrowly lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 who was (obviously) succeeded by Lyndon Johnson upon JFK's assassination in 1963. Johnson then was re-elected in 1964 in a landslide against Barry Goldwater (who only won 6 states), but then LBJ (famously) declined to run in 1968. Nixon won his first election in 1968 (not what I would describe as a landslide) but won re-election in a massive landslide in 1972 running against George McGovern who won 1 state and the District of Columbia while Nixon won 49 states.

Ironically, it was the young, idealistic protesters who swayed middle America to vote for Nixon in one of the biggest landslides in modern history.

Nixon's landslide was in 1972 and had nothing to do with the 1968 protests. Keep in mind, in 1968 there was an Independent run by George Wallace and the "Dixiecrats" that basically split the Democratic Party over racial issues, and Wallace won many of the states in the Deep South. I personally believe Robert F. Kennedy would have defeated Nixon, but we'll never know.

Will the campus protests in 2024 convince progressives to NOT support Biden and "law and order" voters to support Trump?

Comparing Chicago 2024 to Chicago 1968? I'm sure the media will be salivating all over this prospect, but I personally think it's a giant leap in false equivalency. I also think "law and order" voters supporting Trump is a laughable prospect when considering Trump's war on the rule of law in America and his decades of history in breaking it. :)

There is no bottom to the endless whining of the "orange turd" (props to Stormy Daniels).

He is still out there insulting the judge, this time calling attention to the fact that he wasn't born in America.

Do you think the orange turd insulting Judge Juan Merchan has any clue whatsoever that Judge Aileen Cannon -- who is slow walking Trump's willful retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice case in Southern District of Florida -- was also born in Columbia?

Trump's brand of racism is predictable because his ignorance is the type that goes deep down into the bone.

So under the current circumstances, would it be safe to say that the SCOTUS will not be granting the POTUS full immunity to smite down those he deems to be enemies of America? Asking for Justice Treasonous. :)

Trump and Fox News were bragging that 25k showed up to support him. The drone footage of the rally maybe showed 2.5k at best.

Trump has been upset that there aren't mobs of his supporters showing up to protest his trial. Maybe that is why the GOP has been rushing down to the courthouse to cheer him on.

Trump isn’t nearly as popular as he thinks he should be.

So when Trump is re-elected and declares that all future elections are suspended, if the Supreme Court agrees, will Americans once again roll-over?

I believe it can become the most respected branch of government again but, it's going to take a lot of time and effort.

I know what's trying to be said here but there has to be a better way to say it. I've got nothing better right now but, I'm workin' on it. :-)

If only!

In other words, sometimes it is true that with friends like America, the allies don't need any enemies.