Ukraine / Russia

[longbow51]

I too wonder how long a country so large, diverse and divided can hold it all together over a long term. Then again, we have made it thru many rough patches in our history.

It is very corrosive to our politics when a former president continually asserts the election was stolen from him. I do not know if he truly believes that or calculates it is the best path for him politically. Either way it sets up a situation that the losing side in every election will reject the results of the election.

I agree wholeheartedly. Stacy Abrams still thinks she won, and Hillary Clinton, even after her Russia collusion hoax was exposed, still thinks the election was stolen, and Trump isn't even President anymore (and I hope is not again).

I'll admit this has derailed from Ukraine.

 

[Straight Arrow]

I'll admit this has derailed from Ukraine.

Yep, this makes an Independent want to fumigate ... as all the radical ideological D's and R's come out of the woodwork like termites ... idolizing their respective tsars, and even unknowingly tearing down the walls of this great experiment in representative democracy.

 

[Randi]

Bridget Brink

You want me to be ambassador to what country ?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Holy smokes that is a lot of money.

In this context it's really not...

~10 F-35s
or
1 Arleigh Burke Destroyer
or
1.5% of the US Defense department R&D budget.

We spent 22.5B on the Zumwalt destroyers and got 3 for that price

... you could go on at nauseam. This is a WAG but I think the US has probably spent over 500 Billion in the last 20 years on things that are basically useless or at least functional failures, classes of ships that we never used, planes, missiles, vehicles, etc.

 

[Rhcuam]

I get a kick out of people when they pretend $2 billion could not do a whole hell of a lot of good here at home.
It’s always the same argument. We spent this much in Iraq. We spent this much in Afghanistan. We spent this much here……. Blah blah. I can understand how we got to the point we are currently at as a country when we just piss away money and then justify it by saying oh well we wasted a lot more over here, or we wasted 10 times out on this.
I don’t know, how about we just not waste money in other countries. I really feel like that’s a simple solution that should be easy to do.

 

[TOGIE]

I get a kick out of people when they pretend $2 billion could not do a whole hell of a lot of good here at home.
It’s always the same argument. We spent this much in Iraq. We spent this much in Afghanistan. We spent this much here……. Blah blah. I can understand how we got to the point we are currently at as a country when we just piss away money and then justify it by saying oh well we wasted a lot more over here, or we wasted 10 times out on this.
I don’t know, how about we just not waste money in other countries. I really feel like that’s a simple solution that should be easy to do.

here's one example of domestic spending:



2 billion is like a few boxes of kleenex

 

[willy]

Back to the thread...

Whoever hit the oil/fuel depot in Russia, way to go!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I don’t know, how about we just not waste money in other countries.

I disagree with the premise that this is a waste, it's a legitimate military/national security expenditure just as military R&D are legitimate expenditures.

 

[Handlebar]

I disagree with the premise that this is a waste, it's a legitimate military/national security expenditure just as military R&D are legitimate expenditures.

I am not sure if it is a waste or not but I wish that there was some sort of way to judge the effectiveness of the money spent. Is the money spent going to allow Ukraine to recapture the eastern provinces, because I do not believe that
Russia is going to try to capture the whole country.

 

[BuzzH]

I don't have solutions for the rancor that exists other than to treat everyone I interact with politely. Whether it is Hillary calling some, deplorables or the right calling people "woke" as an insult... it serves everyone poorly to think people that hold different views are less than.

I do...more of this:

 

[Shangobango]

admittedly, i voted for trump twice, with my nose plugged each time.

Meh, I voted for him the first time. I voted for Kanye the second time just so I could say I did and piss everyone off.

 

[SAJ-99]

I get a kick out of people when they pretend $2 billion could not do a whole hell of a lot of good here at home.
It’s always the same argument. We spent this much in Iraq. We spent this much in Afghanistan. We spent this much here……. Blah blah. I can understand how we got to the point we are currently at as a country when we just piss away money and then justify it by saying oh well we wasted a lot more over here, or we wasted 10 times out on this.
I don’t know, how about we just not waste money in other countries. I really feel like that’s a simple solution that should be easy to do.

But we do like our tax cuts.

You’re argument is like complaining about the money spent on insurance because the house hasn’t burned down.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I am not sure if it is a waste or not but I wish that there was some sort of way to judge the effectiveness of the money spent.

In 2020 we spent 13.3 Billion on a project to replace the Minutemen missiles in total it will cost 290+ Billion.

Ostensibly we are spending that money as a deterrent for Russia, and China.

To some extent our entire nuclear triad + a lot our military is in response to Russia.... what's more effective an ICBM or severely weakening their military.

I don't see a net negative of "helping" Russia over extend itself.

 

[KB_]

2 billion is still 2 billion gents and that is every month. That's 24 billion per year for who knows how long this is gonna go. Not to mention how much money we have already spent. That's a lot of freakin money. Maybe I need to have the same conversation with congress that I have to have with my wife on her amazon shopping sprees. Maybe some accountability as to where money is going, and maybe look at the debt ceiling and stop raising the damn roof.

Or lets just keep pretending this is not a problem, thats cool too.

I really hope this war stops soon, for the sake of our young people.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I do...more of this:

Wouldn't it be nice to have a presidential candidate of her caliber? Sigh...

 

[BuzzH]

Wouldn't it be nice to have a presidential candidate of her caliber? Sigh...

Yes, and I think she may have vaulted herself well beyond State politics in Michigan...by doing one thing, making sense.

 

[Rhcuam]

But we do like our tax cuts.

You’re argument is like complaining about the money spent on insurance because the house hasn’t burned down.

No you’re incorrect. I receive coverage when I pay my insurance premium.

A accurate hypothetical scenario would be me having to pay the insurance premiums for houses in California, paying for the fire response, and paying to rebuild it. All the while receiving nothing in return except higher rates on my insurance.

 

[406dn]

Since we are all over the map on everything remotely connected to the Russian/Ukrainian war...the election results in France suggest that there remains a commitment to Ukraine, at least in France.

LaPen occupies a similar political lane as Trump. I thought she might make it a closer election than it actually turned out. From what I read, Macron is not all that popular either. So, we aren't the only country where the public has to pick the lesser of two evils.

 

[Rhcuam]

I disagree with the premise that this is a waste, it's a legitimate military/national security expenditure just as military R&D are legitimate expenditures.

After seeing Russia stumble and bumble their way through Ukraine, do you honestly believe they have the capabilities to touch the United States.
Come on man. Their getting a bogged down in a neighboring country with a military a quarter of what their’s is, yeah there a huge danger to the US.

 

[KB_]

After seeing Russia stumble and bumble their way through Ukraine, do you honestly believe they have the capabilities to touch the United States.
Come on man. Their getting a bogged down in a neighboring country with a military a quarter of what their’s is, yeah there a huge danger to the US.

From Experience:
We stumbled and bumbled in Afghanistan for 20 years.

That sir is War, not dominos. Hardly anything ever goes as planned.