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He sure has! One man, THIS man, has scores of leaders around of the world wondering how he does what he does. This is an amazing part of history Bray, just absolutely magnificent!

I was watching a Canadian-produced program about psychopaths and psychopathy.

They spent several minutes on Donald Trump, stating that he’s undoubtedly a psychopath.

The comments weren’t kind, interestingly.

Hat tip: Today's Toons 10/14/25 by pookie18

“Russia has no plans to attack NATO...”

Russia already is engaged in hybrid warfare against NATO by computer hacking, drone use, and sabotage for over a decade.
To avoid "escalation", whatever that means anymore, the west is ignoring and downplaying it as much as possible.

Additional Information. This is a quote by an unknown Radical author in a 1968 SDS Publication "New Left Notes", but I can't tell you the month.

SDS.....New Left Notes

NLN has also been microfilmed and is available at the University of Wisconsin Madison. (As yo might expect!)

Bank robbers rob banks because that is where the money is.

Perverts go into education because that is where the kids are.

Home schooling bump.

“The funds were routed through a maze of “Non-Government Organizations” (NGOs) and charitable “foundations”
We can thank Bathhouse Barry for the proliferation of these groups. Remember ACORN? They didn’t go anywhere, they just morphed into this group.
Obama’s fingers are at the controls of all that is wrong in the U.S., presently.
A 3 a.m. raid on his compound in D.C. would probably net ton of R.I.C.O. evidence. I say do it.

The only article I could find about it is from 2014. It says they were “only joking.” No, they weren’t. Seems the event was covered up.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/ted-cruz-criticized-abortion-protesters-for-chanting-hail-satan-this-satanist-is-offended/455673/

How stupid do you have to be to not understand that negotiations and promises don’t work with a lying and hypocritical dictator?

—
A certain hopeful and optimistic personage will bite every time on those enticing lures listed.

I used to really like him back in the day watching him and other Republican congressmen making Special Orders speeches on C-Span.

Too bad he ended up being a complete toolbag later in his career.

Yes, I started about the same age, with Mark Twain, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, etc.

History has been my focus ever since. A short list includes authors Paul Johnson, William Manchester, John Keegan, Hilaire Belloc, Winston Churchill, Alison Weir, and I would have to say, hundreds of others.
I’ve given away a couple of hundred books but I still have about a thousand left.
Not sure what I’ll ever do with them, but to quote Thomas Jefferson, “ I cannot live without my books “.
All of Barbara Tuchman’s books are superb, her scholarship is impeccable.
I think she spent 5 years researching her book about 14th century France, A DISTANT MIRROR, much of the research in French libraries studying original 14th century documents.
Prussian militarism was the genesis of WW 1, the prelude to WW 2, and we currently still live in the aftermath of that conflict.
While Tuchman lays out the timeline up to August 1914, the wars of the 20th century had their origins in Y1K, similar to our Y2K.

Catholic Europe expected the Second Coming of Christ on New Year’s Day, Y1K. When it didn’t happen, it was concluded that it was because the Holy Land was still in the possession of Islam, hence the French Crusades, and the creation of the Templars.
Not to be outdone, the Germans began their own effort under the Teutonic Knights.
The Crusades failed, and King Philip the 4th destroyed his rivals for power, the Knights Templar, on October 13th, 718 years ago yesterday.
The German Teutonic Knights returned, took over a piece of North West Poland, and created Prussia.
With the 1870 victory over France, the King of Prussia became the Emperor of the 2nd German Reich, and was lying in wait for its turn to repay France for its humiliation of Germany under Napoleon.
So the origins of the wars of the 20th century date back at least a thousand years, and even longer if it is dated back to the Roman conversion to Christianity in the fourth century AD.

Anyways, I keep telling family and friends that nothing happens in a vacuum, that EVERYTHING has its roots in history.

Aristotle once said that the only thing we don’t know is the history we haven’t uncovered yet.

I’m not sure what you would make of my bookshelves.
The books range from ancient history to modern politics.

Always fun to hear from other aficionados…

Definitely going on my list!

It's sort of a re-telling of the Beowulf legend.
I thought it was freakin' awesome.

Is it that her obsession is with male gays? (sorry if this a repeat ... just want to chime in ... no time this morning to read through the whole thread)

Oh, and humblegunner, I cannot recommend The Expanse enough!

I’ve read Ringworld, it was pretty good.

He did a great job with The Puppeteers in Ringworld. Very imaginative. They were my favorite race. The Kzinti, not as much. Not too original.

A lot of the stuff Niven did with Pournell is also great.

I'll have to look that up. Many people recommend stuff that the two of them wrote.

Highly recommend Legacy of Heorot.

Definitely going on my list!

You should re-read Foundation. I did, and with my adult perspective, it was much more interesting. As far as reading Tolstoy, I've read Anton Chekov's The Sneeze in the original Russian, during an immersion course in the Russian language when I traveled to Санкт-Петербург in 1998 for a month. It's fascinating how much is lost in translation! Some concepts expressed in Russian do not translate well to English.

If you want a stellar read and an even better TV incarnation, I highly recommend The Expanse. Utterly superior sci fi.

Curious that the media focuses it’s fiery eye on MTG so much of the time, elevating her commentary to levels it probably doesn’t need or require.

It’s almost like they’re trying to force the ‘nutty broad’ image.

MAGA needs to KNOW (to the core) that the name of the leftists game is DIVISION.

People can have opinions and thoughts, and speak the uncomfortable truths - doesn’t mean they’re an enemy.

I’ve read Ringworld, it was pretty good.

Before or after you were in Divinity School or is that claim also a fantasy?

I’ve read Ringworld, it was pretty good.
A lot of the stuff Niven did with Pournell is also great.

Highly recommend Legacy of Heorot.

One of them is reading some of the classics, like Isaac Asimov's Foundation...

Yeah, I read Asimov's "Foundation" when I was about ten then moved on to Asimov's "Guide to Shakespeare" and then on to Shakespeare himself a few years later. But good for you! Send me a telegram when you graduate to Tolstoy, James Jones (not the Star Wars guy), Gibbons, Durant (Will and Ariel), or Steinbeck.