mtutiger

Why are you so afraid of Vladimir Putin? Your philosophy seems really weak and beta, tbh

Your post stands as a reminder of, if we were ever going to have a star player of his caliber, how lucky we have been to have him as our star. He has had his personal demons, but on the whole he’s a good egg. And he seems intent on playing that mentor role for the next generation

Totally. And not just opponents, but also the fact that his gaffes would be framed as being part of his appeal to the base and whatnot. Very similar to how Putin gets treated in the press

This kinda gets to something I have seen all the time prior to this war... the almost standard assumption that every piece of leverage is asymmetrical in a way that advantages Russia. Place sanctions on Russia? Can't do that, they'll pull Russian gas that the Germans et. al need (despite the fact that if Germans et. al aren't buying gas, Russia doesn't make any money). Give weapons to Ukraine? Can't do that, we risk Putin shooting off a nuke (despite MAD / our own nukes). It's almost like the entire world gaslit themselves into thinking this guy is impregnable and cannot be stood up to. And even as we have learned over the past month that he's not, some still seem to be doing this. He can still do a lot of bad, but people need to stiffen their spines a little more. The past month has told us that he's not a God.

Its really telling that his two biggest gaffes since this conflict (ie. "Putin is a war criminal", "Putin shouldn't remain") are things that I could have easily heard over the water cooler at work any day since 24 Feb. Like you suggest, Putin has enough problems on his plate.

I like the comparison to The Crown, it seems apt. I will say that I find it really weird that supporters of the Republican Party, which gave us Reagan, just seem really wobbly about Putin. Now, I get that he has nukes and that is important and all, but even after a largely failed first month of this conflict and a domestic situation that seems far weaker for them, on account of sanctions, there is still this desire to walk on eggshells in regards to this guy. I keep bringing up Reagan because, if that guy were around today, he wouldn't be doing that. He wouldn't be worried about Putin's feelings or emotions. I could easily see him giving a speech and saying something as forceful or even more forceful. I dunno, it's just strange to see people talking about how the world is "laughing at us" and how we are "weak" who simultaneously seem to live in fear of Putin's shadow.

I would just add that, iirc, Reagan, who many look back on as the guy who ended the Cold War, used to generate a lot of comments from his opposition that his comments/actions could land us in hot water. Yet we turned out OK there. Same may be true in this case as well.

I understand. In the grand scheme of things, its something for Biden Derangement Syndrome types to latch onto but isn't the end of the world. In the grand scheme of things, he's done a good job... the world is united (ie. not laughing) in opposition to the dictator. We are giving the Ukrainians what they need to fight back. We are hitting back with sanctions that bite. Given that, I can live with the occasional rhetorical mistake. And I dont think anything that Biden has said to date has done anything to push us closer to a world war...

You must be senile 😛

Its another case where Biden is saying something that 80+% of Americans are thinking, but that as leader of the free world, you need to stay above it. That said, I dont know that it's a massive error either. I dont think it changes much in the grand scheme of things.

Has Russia sent any troops in from Nagorno Karabakh?

Chafin needs more work... he's lost some velocity

It's definitely an integrity issue in my view. I'm just making the point that it still is circumstantial that he knew or was directly involved. Its a thin reed that conservatives will hang onto, but it is a reed nonetheless

Do the texts directly implicate Clarence Thomas? My understanding is that we don't know that. But maybe I'm mistaken?

This post is the Mona Lisa of hypocrisy

I always find it interesting that the people that keep ****ing the chicken on the whole Hunter Biden (thin as as any evidence is) thing never say anything about the Trump kids profiteering off the last administration... including one of them who actually was a government employee. It just makes it easy to question whether these folks are actually concerned about good government or whether it is simply partisan politics (rhetorical)

This is a fair point and matches my experience...

I am agreeing with you, for what it's worth. Ewsieg is arguing the technicality which, OK, is correct. The evidence, compelling as it is, is still circumstantial. But that isn't gonna stop people from looking at the situation and assessing the improbability that Clarence Thomas has zero knowledge of the sorts of political activities that his wife engaged in. To say that would be hard to believe would be an understatement. Nothing will come of this, of course... Thomas isn't resigning nor will he recuse himself of any case that involves elections on account of this. But in my view, having a member ruling on cases of that nature given his proximity to someone who worked so hard to overturn the results of the last election, it hits at the credibility of the court and makes a mockery of it, frankly.

Random observation from the Blue Jay broadcast yesterday, but Buck Martinez and Joe Siddall waxing poetic about the Tiger/Jays rivalry and how it isn't what it used to be was interesting. I was too young to understand the significance, but there seems to a lot of sadness (at least on the Jays side) that the two teams don't play each other more

Theoretically, sure, maybe they never talk about this stuff at home. And legally there ain't enough there to prove it. But given all of the reporting that has been done on Ginni Thomas and her nuttery, the idea that she was communicating this stuff with the Trump Team is maybe the least surprising thing I've heard all week. And one would have to believe that if, in fact, her husband did not know, he may live under a rock or may simply be the most oblivious human on the planet. Again, not enough to prove in a court of law. He's not resigning, I get it. But I can't blame Chas or others from seeing the reporting on Ginni Thomas and coming to their own conclusions on this.

Small sample size and with the usual spring caveat, but Baddoo's ABs against left handed pitching may be the most encouraging thing to come out of spring training thus far.

Thread regarding the latest statements from the Russian government today... He really FUBAR'd this beyond belief.

He'll probably make it, but frankly, he's been outpitched during the spring by guys like Will Vest, Jason Foley and Miguel Diaz. If he doesn't perform, his days oughtta be numbered. Tigers have more depth now.

Game ovah

Probably feels good for Jeimer to get off the schneid