Editor,
So, finally, the mask comes off and Trump reveals himself to be the Putin puppet we all suspected him to be. Preempting peace negotiations, he accuses Ukraine of starting the war, accuses Zelenskyy of being a dictator, has his amateurish vice president, defense secretary and secretary of state concede the loss of Ukrainian territory, foreclose potential NATO membership and renounce any U.S. involvement in securing any eventual peace agreement.
He then schedules peace talks with Russia without our ally and the victim of Russia’s unprovoked war even present. This is how the master of “The Art of the Deal” negotiates. At home, Trump (with the connivance of Elon Musk, who spent about $250 million to get Trump elected) is breaking down the federal government, imposing ruinous tariffs that will teach American voters what real inflation looks like and inciting hatred everywhere. Trump is abandoning Ukraine just as he abandoned our Kurdish allies in Syria in October 2019. And why? Because it benefited Putin. Move over Benedict Arnold.
Tom Paine
Burlingame
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(13) comments
The Russian invasion was deliberately provoked by US neocons such as Victoria Nuland. The 2019 Rand report, "Extending Russia, " more appropriately called: "Ways to weaken Russia," listed various ways to weaken Russia including by arming Ukraine. This follows the same formula used previously by US neocons to weaken the former Soviet Union by deliberately provoking an invasion into Afghanistan in 1979.
Those who believe neocon war mongers, now running the Demoncrat party and the US media, always seem to not notice that the US has a long history of involvement within Ukraine prior to 2022, including militarily arming and training Ukraine to NATO standards, funding far right nationalist parties hostile to Russians and engineering color revolutions in 2004 and 2014. The primary issue that led to the Russian invasion was NATO expansion to Russia's borders. The 2008 NATO Bucharest Declaration called for bringing Ukraine, which is right on Russias border, into NATO, something Russia has repeatedly said posed an existential threat and was unacceptable.
The effort to lure Russia into a hornets nest and ignore all attempts at negotiation is part of a well known neocon grand strategy of controlling the globe by not letting any other country like Russia or China gain peer or near-peer status (laid out plain as day in neocon documents such as by Project for the New American Century).
What has this imperial policy of deliberately using Ukraine as a proxy battering ram to weaken Russia led to? The deaths of 1 million Ukrainians and the loss of a fifth of Ukraine's territory which has been devastated, hundreds of billions of US taxpayers money, and the threat of a nuclear war.
Normal people including most Ukranians are happy that steps are being taken to end the conflagration, though Russians may be suspicious of US motives.
Three for one…
Poor Mr. Paine sounds like he’s in pain but that’s okay because his hysterical screeching is a cost of Making America Great Again. Known to the rest of us as “winning.” Mr. Paine throws unconvincing Dem talking points at us but what Mr. Paine willfully ignores is that over 77 million voters voted for our (yes, our) great President Trump to end another of treasonous and incompetent Biden’s America Last policies. Instead of bellyaching about a dystopian future, Mr. Paine should be giving thanks.
Rel-ly? Just two days ago you were trying to peddle a lie about IRS agents returning $12 for each $1 spent and now you’ve changed it to $3-12? I guess you realize you lied, too. Considering you still try to blame Trump for a so-called insurrection knowing that it’s been debunked, how can we take you seriously?
The truth is that it currently costs more than $1 to gain $1 in revenue. I did a bit of homework for you, but obviously you didn't study (https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/02/13/four-key-moments-hearing-on-the-lack-of-return-on-investment-from-irs-funding-and-the-need-for-agency-modernization/). Now will you go silent since I’ve provided evidence for Mr. van Ulden? TY in advance.
Jorg, let me get this straight… Trump is dumb and uneducated and managed to lose hundreds of millions but is now a multi-billionaire (https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenpastis/2024/12/25/trumps-net-worth-rose-36-billion-this-year-despite-wild-fluctuations-in-his-wealth/)? If only everyone were that dumb and uneducated but still received that rate of return. But what's that say about you if you're not a multi-billionaire? As I’ve said before, if you don’t understand the 2A or the EC, how can we take you seriously? Have a Trump-tastic day!
So, why don't you try to explain, then, what I got wrong, and you got right, re. the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and the EC?
Yawn, snore… Jorg, you’re still boring us since we’ve gone over this before multiple times (lately, less than two weeks ago) and my answer hasn’t changed… I’m not letting you cheat off my homework. Do your own. As I’ve said in the past, educate yourself by reading Supreme Court opinions in regards to rulings on the Second Amendment and the Electoral College. They’ll explain why your interpretations of both concepts are ignorant and misunderstood. Have a blessed day!
Yes, Tom, it goes further down the road of stupidity. Their expressed goal is to reduce government waste and save money. Yet, Trump and President Musk have laid off nearly 7,000 IRS agents at the height of the tax season. Since each agent actually returns between $3-12 to the government in the form of a profit, the government stands to lose billions.
Rel: That's way too difficult math to understand for someone as dumb and uneducated as Trump, who also managed to lose hundreds of millions gifted him by his dad!
Rel - I am breaking my silence. You are penny wise and pound foolish. Please refrain from blurting out unsubstantiated government stats.
OK, Dirk, since you are in the know, please refute my stats with your evidence. It is common knowledge 6,700 IRS agents were summarily fired. IRS agents are among the government employees who turn a profit for the government. If not proven otherwise, you can go back to your silence.
What a burden you put on good old Dirk, Rel! My goodness, how can he get out of this one, - without using some Trump lies!
Simple math Rel, existing staff and the Biden infused new IRS agents collected an additional $147 on average per filing according to the IRS website. They were either really cheap or they should have a hard time justifying their existence at your and my expense. The IRS fielded many calls but essentially replaced tax services provided by for profit agencies and accountants. An Intuitive TurboTax program can be bought for $56 which is a lot less expensive than a federal employee who can sit back most of the year and has apparently a hard time responding to Musk's question about his or her activities for the last month. Well, in your opinion $147 is pure profit, regardless of the expenses that were needed to secure that monumental sum which even USAID would scoff at.
Here’s the icing on your puppet cake. “The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of US policy. The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” (Source: CNN)
We really must wonder what Putin has on Trump! It must be such a serious embarrassment, that it would be too much even for a low-life like Trump! It shouldn’t be a surprise, if Putin has a video of something the easily fooled Trump was lured into during a previous trip to Russia, perhaps a long time ago. There have been some rumors about a naked prostitute and Trump relieving himself! Evil Putin plans ahead!
It has been 8 years since the psyop known as Russiagate was hatched - main participant being neocon Hillary Clinton -and still no evidence. One doesn t have to be a Trump fan to think it is time for a retraction and even an apology for trying to fool the public for so long. However, liars rarely apologize. Making up new claims out of thin air is par for the course but really man: show some evidence for the previous claims before even starting this.
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