[Robert DeLong]

But they did not succeed in conquering Ukraine and in time were thrown out of Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson or about half of the newly conquered territories.

What makes you think Putin was trying to conquer Ukraine? Putin even said himself that he was sure that western Ukraine would be much happier under Polish control. Their only interest in (Kiev - interesting that you use the Russian spelling instead of the preferred Ukrainian spelling of Kyiv) may have been to capture Zelenskyy. But you used the phrase conquering Ukraine, because that is the propaganda you have been fed, that Russia's intention is to conquer & reconstitute the Soviet Union. That will never be possible as long as we are strong. You know peace through strength.

But you are working to destroy our strength, you just do not see that, because you do not believe we will ever be anything but strong. Well, Ukraine keeps demanding more & more, and they keep using up what they are given, at record speed. They are now asking for 600,000 shells per month. The EU nations, the U.S., as well as, NATO are having to dip into their stockpiles to provide for Ukraine's needs. It not like any of the entities, I mentioned, can put in orders for millions and have them magically produced in short notice, even if we were in terrific economic health. That will put more burdens on the economies of all entities mentioned, of which the majority will be saddled upon the U.S. taxpayers. But you seem to have little to no grasp upon reality, and are instead engrossed in fantasies, and your responses confirm that claim I'm making.

I agree the national debt could be a huge problem, and it has already driven up inflation rates to historically high levels.

And with the Fed raising interest rates, we could be facing recession too.

See those statements also confirm that your grasp upon reality is just not there.

Consumerism was put on hold for the "plandemic". As, the consumerism ticked up after the foolish suppression of economic stability and extreme spending by the government to compensate, was eased in a somewhat return to normal, the election theft changed everything.

Not only did it remove a strong leader, replacing hm with a weak leader. It put in place a leadership that is either inept or by design is destroying this nation. With the policies that they removed & replaced with bad policies, the march towards destruction began.

Typically to slow down an economy, the remedy is to raise interest rates, but because of the national debt, along with inflation, it is causing pain. Not only for this administration, but for the Fed also. Without raising interest rates, then the economy stays heated and inflation becomes even more pronounced.

But now with failing banks, they will be bailing out the rich, while the poor & middle-classes are once again being given the bill. To meet those obligations more dollars will need be printed weaking the dollar further still.

We are already in a recession, and the national debt is a huge problem because it limits what can be done to rein in the inflation. It will only continue to get worse, with our providing Ukraine money, ammo, weapons, and equipment. It increases our national debt more. Printing more dollars fuels higher inflation, along with the frequency that inflation increases.

It is sadly true that Democrats, by their nature, deeply corrupt and eventually destroy whatever they can touch, with prime examples being our law enforcement in big cities and in Washington, DC.

Again, you miss the mark, because the problem with corruption is present on both sides of the aisle. The difference is that the numbers of Democrats not participating in corruption, is smaller than it is on the Republican side. By how much is anybody's guess.

Again, they have been identified as the Uniparty. They are real, and they are very corrupt.

The military is no exception and we are now in grave danger. But that danger is not a function of our support for Ukraine, nor can it ever be corrected by Democrats. Only Republicans can and will make it right again.

By supporting the conflict in Ukraine with money, ammo, weapons, & equipment, is absolutely weakening the military, along with the country, financially, as well as, diverting funds to deal with our crumbling infrastructure.

In turn your support for Ukraine is tacitly providing support for this administration, as well as the corruption of the Uniparty actors. Your seemingly inability to connect these dots is dumbfounding, not to mention frustrating, to the people who are trying to help you all see those connections.

The majority want to label us as traitors etcetera etcetera etcetera. That frustration makes as retaliate with calling you useful ignorant idiots. I'm trying very hard to keep this conversation civil, because we share far more views then we have disagreements on.

But this is a major one we disagree on, and you all need to wake up, and start thinking with your brains instead of reacting with your hearts, because you are not doing the world any good whatsoever, by basing your actions upon emotions. Emotions only tend to exacerbate problems, not fix them.

Vlad the Invader was thrown out of Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson but still controls more Ukrainian territory than he did in January 2022. What will happen in the coming months is anybody's guess. For sure, China will benefit the most, but that choice was Putin's, to make war against Europe and ally with China. I don't think there was any way, short of our abject surrender to Vlad the Invader, for us to prevent it.

Again these childish names that you give Putin, are just that, childish. But then again it illustrates that you are not thinking like adults.

Beyond that though, you misinterpret why they may have willing backed out of those regions, and instead credit the abilities of Ukraine. Without assistance Ukraine would not have repelled them, in my opinion.

You are also operating on the assumption that Putin is acting in a vacuum, that there were no extenuating circumstances for his actions, and you do so because you refuse to look at the evidence that clearly shows that he was forced to act for the security of Russia.

Putin wanted Russia to become a part of NATO, and then there would be no reason to fear Russia, because by extension Russia becomes part of the EU.

But the U.S. rejected that because that would in essence mean that NATO would have no purpose whatsoever to exist. which in turn means that the U.S. would lose its hegemony that keeps Europe as a vassal state of the US.

The U.S. also chose to threaten Russia's security by breaking the promise they made to Russia to not expand NATO. In addition, they schemed to place Putin in a box where they would become involved in a proxy war With the U.S., NATO, and European allies in Ukraine, by not getting involved in providing solutions to the hostilities in eastern Ukraine that had been ongoing for 8 years.

So, what choice did Putin have but to look to China? I'm sure Russia didn't want to join China, because Russia doesn't trust China anymore than they trust us. In fact, they probably trust China even less.

[BroJoeK]

Robert DeLong: "What makes you think Putin was trying to conquer Ukraine?
Putin even said himself that he was sure that western Ukraine would be much happier under Polish control."

So, are you telling us that Vlad the Invader wants to repeat the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in which Germany got half of Poland and Stalin's Soviet Union took the other half, only this time with Ukraine?
And Vlad is different from A. Hitler in what respects?

Robert DeLong: "Their only interest in (Kiev - interesting that you use the Russian spelling instead of the preferred Ukrainian spelling of Kyiv) may have been to capture Zelenskyy.
But you used the phrase conquering Ukraine, because that is the propaganda you have been fed, that Russia's intention is to conquer & reconstitute the Soviet Union.
That will never be possible as long as we are strong.
You know peace through strength."

Well, first, I don't speak either Russian or Ukrainian, so I use the spelling I see most often, there's no significance in it.

As for Vlad the Invader wishing to reconstitute the old Tsarist Russian or Soviet Empires, that obviously is the case, he has said as much himself and his actions in bullying, threatening and invading his neighbors speak louder than any words.

Remember, when A. Hitler signed a pact with J. Stalin, in 1939, that did NOT mean either one had given up even one inch of ambition to conquer more territories.
And so, we must assume the same with J. Stalin's love-child, Vlad the Invader.

As for Peace Through Strength, you've propagandized us already into a second-rate power, incapable of arresting murderers until we've arrested all our own jaywalkers!
There's no strength in that, and no peace will come from it.

Robert DeLong: "But you are working to destroy our strength, you just do not see that, because you do not believe we will ever be anything but strong.
Well, Ukraine keeps demanding more & more, and they keep using up what they are given, at record speed.
They are now asking for 600,000 shells per month.
The EU nations, the U.S., as well as, NATO are having to dip into their stockpiles to provide for Ukraine's needs."

Sure, but every western nation can easily double their defense budgets, if they need to, and ramp up production to whatever levels are required.
For comparison, the US Congress authorized circa $100 billion in 2022 for Ukraine.
That is in the range of 15% of our total national defense budget.
Contrast -- the War on Terror cost around $8 trillion over 20 years, or about $400 billion per year.
The WOT required many new technologies and downplayed the importance of some weapons now in demand for Ukraine.
So US defense industries will now be adjusting away from WOT priorities and more towards those of conventional war in places like Ukraine or Taiwan.

Robert DeLong: "It not like any of the entities, I mentioned, can put in orders for millions and have them magically produced in short notice, even if we were in terrific economic health.
That will put more burdens on the economies of all entities mentioned, of which the majority will be saddled upon the U.S. taxpayers.
But you seem to have little to no grasp upon reality, and are instead engrossed in fantasies, and your responses confirm that claim I'm making."

Nonsense, because it's pure fantasy for you to imagine that the US and our allies cannot ramp up military production in the face of obvious military threats.
The fact is US defense spending has been on a very long-term decline, since WWII, and is now at historically low levels, with our allies even less.

Robert DeLong: "See those statements also confirm that your grasp upon reality is just not there."

And yet... with many words in five paragraphs, you more or less confirmed my brief summaries.
Perhaps the difference between us is that I believe strong Republican leadership -- i.e., Pres. DJT -- can still set things right, while you seem to believe that nothing can or will make it right, and therefore we must defeat ourselves in the face of aggressive dictators like Vlad the Invader and the Xi-snake.

Robert DeLong: "Again, you miss the mark, because the problem with corruption is present on both sides of the aisle.
The difference is that the numbers of Democrats not participating in corruption, is smaller than it is on the Republican side. By how much is anybody's guess."

My view of this is that Democrats are 100% corrupt, meaning no amount of reform or leadership can ever fix what's wrong with them.
Republicans, by contrast, are just 49% corrupt, meaning good leadership (i.e., DJT) can fix what's wrong and make the country right again.

So your alleged "Uni-party" is only "Uni-" when Republicans lack good leadership.

Robert DeLong: "By supporting the conflict in Ukraine with money, ammo, weapons, & equipment, is absolutely weakening the military, along with the country, financially, as well as, diverting funds to deal with our crumbling infrastructure."

Congressional appropriations of funds for Ukraine DO NOT come out of the US defense budgets, they are in addition to.
That means, every weapon and ammunition sent to Ukraine is being replaced by money Congress authorized.
And since we and every ally are sending Ukraine the old stuff first, it means that we are upgrading our defense stockpiles.

As for our "crumbling infrastructure", that is not the real problem.
The real problem is runaway Democrat spending of multiple $trillions on social programs like alleged Covid Relief, Green New Deal and Student Loan forgiveness.
Once those are brought under control (or eliminated), the Federal budget will do fine and there will be money for essentials, including support for Ukraine.

Robert DeLong: "In turn your support for Ukraine is tacitly providing support for this administration, as well as the corruption of the Uniparty actors.
Your seemingly inability to connect these dots is dumbfounding, not to mention frustrating, to the people who are trying to help you all see those connections."

So here's the real truth of this matter: you will NEVER defeat the Democrats in the ballot box by letting Vlad the Invader run roughshod over Ukraine on the battlefield.
Nothing good happens if Vlad wins, nothing bad is avoided if Ukraine is destroyed.
So you can yammer-on all you like about "Uni-party", but war is existential and there's no "silver lining" in defeat.

Robert DeLong: "The majority want to label us as traitors etcetera etcetera etcetera.
That frustration makes as retaliate with calling you useful ignorant idiots.
I'm trying very hard to keep this conversation civil, because we share far more views then we have disagreements on."

Because you drank the Russian propaganda Kool-Aid and now your brain cells are fried beyond functioning.
All you can insanely think of is: "let's give Vlad the Invader a win so somehow that might let us defeat Democrats in the next election."
It's pure nonsense.

Robert DeLong: "But this is a major one we disagree on, and you all need to wake up, and start thinking with your brains instead of reacting with your hearts, because you are not doing the world any good whatsoever, by basing your actions upon emotions. Emotions only tend to exacerbate problems, not fix them."

And yet... and yet... it is purely your emotional attachment to Russian propaganda Kool-Aid which blinds you to the utter necessity of defeating Vlad the Invader's "special military operations" in Ukraine.
Any logical analysis tells us that allowing aggressive dictators to win wars only encourages them to start new ones, and each new war will be bigger and more costly than the one we should have won before it.

Robert DeLong: "Again these childish names that you give Putin, are just that, childish.
But then again it illustrates that you are not thinking like adults."

I was just channeling my inner Trump, he's a great one for names.
These are mine:

1. Vlad the Invader -- dictator of Russia
2. The Xi-snake -- ruler of China
3. Little Kim -- North Korea's bad boy
4. The Mulla Mullahs -- Iran's money-grubbing wannabe nukers

All of these people are evil and dangerous and well deserve amusing monikers.

Robert DeLong: "Beyond that though, you misinterpret why they may have willing backed out of those regions, and instead credit the abilities of Ukraine.
Without assistance Ukraine would not have repelled them, in my opinion."

Reports from Ukraine showed Russian forces fleeing in panic with huge stockpiles of their weapons destroyed around Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson.
So, we can only speculate how much of that was Russia's deliberate tactical "repositioning" and how much was rapid retreat forced by Ukrainian advances.
The true fact is this: Russia's maximum advance into Ukraine happened within the first months after February 2022.
Ever since, Russian forces have only retreated or held their lines at seemingly great cost to themselves.

Robert DeLong: "You are also operating on the assumption that Putin is acting in a vacuum, that there were no extenuating circumstances for his actions, and you do so because you refuse to look at the evidence that clearly shows that he was forced to act for the security of Russia."

Those are total lies, the truth is Russia could have joined NATO, as was planned in 1994 along with other eastern European countries.
That would eliminate the possibility of NATO being a threat to Russia, but Putin (not NATO) chose a different path.

Nor did NATO ever oppose Russia in the least until Vlad the Invader began invading smaller countries in 2008.

Robert DeLong: "Putin wanted Russia to become a part of NATO, and then there would be no reason to fear Russia, because by extension Russia becomes part of the EU.
But the U.S. rejected that because that would in essence mean that NATO would have no purpose whatsoever to exist, which in turn means that the U.S. would lose its hegemony that keeps Europe as a vassal state of the US."

And the lies just never stop with you, do they comrade?
The truth is, the US rejected nothing.
Russia could have applied for NATO membership -- via a MAP -- at any time they wanted between 1994 and Vlad's invasion of Georgia in 2008.
Even then, I don't think Russia had lost 100% of the west's goodwill and might have worked back into our good graces.
But Vlad the Invader loudly declared himself to be the Evil Empire with his 2014 invasion of Ukraine and from then until now that reality has slowly, slowly sunk into the minds of westerners and our friends in the Far East.

Robert DeLong: "The U.S. also chose to threaten Russia's security by breaking the promise they made to Russia to not expand NATO.
In addition, they schemed to place Putin in a box where they would become involved in a proxy war With the U.S., NATO, and European allies in Ukraine, by not getting involved in providing solutions to the hostilities in eastern Ukraine that had been ongoing for 8 years."

Do you not yourself see how insane that is?
Putin was not "rejected" by NATO, HE NEVER APPLIED!!!
And NATO NEVER promised not to expand, NATO was open to accepting Russia itself, along with other Eastern European countries.
So Vlad the Invader was not threatened by NATO, but he did himself threaten many of his smaller neighbors, including:

1. Azerbaijan (1990-1994);[1][2]
2. Moldova (1992–present);
3. Georgia (2004–present);
4. Lithuania (2006);
5. Estonia (2006–2007);
6. Poland (2006-present);
7. Belarus (2007); Ukraine (2014–present);
8. Syria (2015–present);
9. Turkey (2015–2016);
10. Kazakhstan (2021-2022);[3] and
11. Armenia (2022)[4] amongst others.[5]

Robert DeLong: "So, what choice did Putin have but to look to China?
I'm sure Russia didn't want to join China, because Russia doesn't trust China anymore than they trust us.
In fact, they probably trust China even less."

Vlad and Xi-snake share at least two existentially common interests:

1. Their intense desire to dominate their neighbors through threats & intimidation, and to invade them when possible.

2. Their hatred of the current World Order as organized and lead by the United States.

Both would like to replace the US, EU and our Asian allies with their own domination, economic and military.
That's what makes them partners.