FullMoon wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2024 10:39 am
Trevor wrote: ↑Sun Jun 16, 2024 6:48 pm
Has anyone heard from John? He hasn't posted for almost 2 months.
Please say something John. Trevor, you've had many good posts and posting more often would be appreciated. Navigator too. And all those smart people who have shared their insight here before, give it another try.
I still lurk on this thread. I just don't have a lot to say when it comes to politics. I lean liberal, but not nearly to the same degree as Bob. I live in what could be called "MAGA country", with almost 70% of people voting Trump. Most of my family and co-workers are conservative. I think they're wrong about certain things. I just don't think they're evil, foul racists, motivated by the desire to oppress minorities. Actual white supremacists are usually pathetic losers whose belief their skin color makes them superior is all they have going for them.
I've heard plenty of talk that we're unwilling to fight if anything happens, or posters ranting that they refuse to fight for third-world rabble. Well, public opinion can change quickly, not just against war, but for it. I'm old enough to remember September 11th, when even your bleeding heart liberals were ready to turn Afghanistan into a graveyard. My great-grandmother lived through Pearl Harbor as well, and she told me people's opinion changed almost overnight, to where most people she knew were ready to slaughter everyone in Japan.
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We're starting to see this in Europe now. The aid bill held up in Congress for four months put the fear of God into many of them. A year ago, Macron was talking about de-escalation, negotiating with Putin, reluctant on sanctions; now he's talking about sending troops to Ukraine. Poland's considering this as well, as is Finland. The USSR did something similar in Korea and Vietnam, so it's not without precedent.
The EU's starting to realize that Russia's all in on this war, contrary to hopes anti-war movements would bring it to an end. It might not be popular, but Russians are long on resignation, and despite their poor military performance, they can endure enormous pain before breaking. There's also the prospect of facing this without the United States, and it's a huge struggle for them, given they've taken it for granted for 75 years.
I watched Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson. What I noted is that Putin barely mentioned NATO expansion at all. Only when Tucker pushed him on it, and even then, only briefly. He went on and on about the 1600s, wars and conflicts that most Americans have never heard of, let alone possess any knowledge on the subject. This has more to do with Poland than NATO, given the two nations have a centuries-long grudge.