Hanaguma

Really? You mean LGBT Palestinians in Israel are treated different than Jewish? Palestinian women in Israel are repressed and marginalized the way they are in every other country in the region? I never knew...

The sole purpose that Hamas exists is to kill Jews and wipe out Israel. The sole purpose Israel exists is to save Jews from maniacs like Hamas. Now I understand if you have some trepidation over the actions that Israel has taken over the past several decades. Some quite reprehensible to be sure. But they pale in comparison to the evil done by their surrounding Arab and muslim neihbours. You need to remember that, as soon as Israel was formally granted statehood by the UN, it was attacked and invaded by every country around it. And not attacked to defeat it militarily- attacked to finish the job that Hitler started. So, their paranoia has roots in reality. And at present, for its faults, Israel is the only country in the region with human rights. Rights for women. Rights for LGBT. Rights for religious minorities. Civil society and rule of law. And so on. None of those who surround them are even close. So bear those things in mind when making judgements. You want Gaza to revert to Hamas control? Because that is the only option now if you are not in favor of total Israeli victory.

Well, perhaps people are nostalgic about 2 dollar gas 1.5% inflation record low unemployment for minorities Middle East peace criminal justice reform the Abraham Accords low mortgage rates no new wars...

A lot will depend on who Trump picks as his running mate. Chances of the Donald or ol' Joe stroking out and not being able to serve out the full 4 years is pretty damn high. We already know that if Joe wins, Kamala is in the on deck circle. A total disaster. If Trump picks someone moderately sane and palatable to the public it will do him a world of good.

Ah, you have no idea how low I can go, my friend... Now instead of getting your panties all in a twist and feigning outrage, perhaps you could add something a little more interesting to the discussion?

Well, he and Jill certainly didn't love their grand-daughter. They put a Christmas stocking for their DOG on the mantle, but not one for their youngest grandchild. It's not about politics at all. If one of Trump's sons were a similar case, I would criticize him equally. But the whole media pap about "unconditional love" is just BS. I am sure he loves his son. But he did Hunter no favours by letting him self destruct and in the process hurt a lot of other people.

"Unconditional love" is just another way to say "doormat". If they cared, they would have made sure he went to, and stayed in, treatment until he was healthy. Not just let him careen from disaster to disaster, not look on benignly while he shtupped his dead brother's widow while he was STILL MARRIED, not 'forgotten' that he had fathered their seventh grandchild.... that isn't love. That is enabling.

It won't matter in Trump's case. IF the judge sentences him to time in jail, his attorney will immediately have an appeal ready to file, and a judge on call from the New York Court of Appeals who can immediately stay the sentence. At worst, Trump will be held in a holding cell at the court while the legal formalities are taken care of. Those who are getting woodies at the thought of the Bad Orange Man going to Riker's Island are going to be disappointed.

Keep telling yourself that. The original post mentioned NONE of what you are talking about. It is completely irrelevant. But you simply can't resist inserting The Donald into every discussion, perhaps you should look at why that is. The Bad Orange Man broke you, didn't he?

This is true. His family is not without resources, so hopefully they will kick in some bucks and finally get him straightened out.

In what ways are these populist parties 'far right'? They aren't seeking to disband any government social programmes, end universal health care, cut funding to universities, restrict pensions, or any other right wing positions. Is it just their collective stance on illegal migrants? Pretty weak sauce if that is so.

As for Hunter, he is a rather sad and pathetic shell of a man. Personally, I don't think he needs to do any prison time. He should get a suspended sentence, a lifetime restriction on owning a firearm, and mandatory drug testing. If he fails the test, THEN he serves his sentence. He is a dirtbag of the first water for sure, but prison won't fix that.

And the Tugster wins the prize for the record "b-b-but Trump!", Managed to sneak it in with the very first response to the topic. Congratulations!

Nice try. Trump's pre covid deficits were all less than the Trillion that Biden has been spending post covid, and will continue to spend. As for the tax cuts, the CBO (do you know what that is?) estimated the cost at less than 2 trillion over 10 years. And it is the height of foolishness to put immigration and gender in the same category of seriousness as 'hot button topics'. The former is far more important and deserves serious consideration.

Lovely shift of the goalposts there Mike. Well done!

...and that is why you will lose. If you think the other side is all stupid and brain dead idiots, you are misunderestimating them at your peril. Plus AFAIK Biden added more to the debt than Trump, and is projecting trillion dollar deficits into the forseeable future.

You are conflating politics and patriotism. A common error. Patriotism is acknowledging your country's problems but at the same time maintaining pride in its accomplishments. It should be a subject where partisan politics falls away. Flying your national flag with pride should never be decried.

Y'all might want to watch that 'draft dodging' talk. Sure, Trump got 4 deferments as a student and a final one for a failed medical. Yet, Biden got FIVE deferments as a student and a final one for a failed medical. So which is the coward? Bill Clinton got 5 student deferments. Bush the Younger joined the Guard but rarely actually trained. It is a crowded field of those who didn't want to join up.

Not at all. You claimed that "nothing was better under Trump". I disagreed and provided true examples. Gas WAS cheaper, housing WAS more affordable, etc. You agreed. Now, you may disagree about the person to give credit for those examples, but they are facts. And voters are generally not going to play the mental gymnastics necessary to follow your logic about them. They will simply compare 2019 and 2023, and see that the former was demonstrably better.

Tell the Democrats to take all that BS to the voters. I am sure they will do well....welcome to being the minority in Congress for 4 looong years. And more Covid deaths under Biden. If you really want to use that as a measure of a presidency.

Cogent points. I would say that a de-Hamasification program would be needed. Much like the de-Nazification program that was done in Germany at the end of WW2. There needs to be a sustained and rigorous effort to drive the Islamist political sentiment out of Gaza. A great way would be to make the area prosperous. Prosperity and freedom often go together, much like extremism and poverty. That is why Hamas has held Gaza in poverty for so long.

I was actually in the US during the Trump presidency, several times. Gas was cheap, inflation was very low, flight costs were down. Housing was affordable and mortgage rates were very reasonable. No wars happening. People seemed happier than now. How about you, Johnny? What was YOUR experience in American under Trump and/or Biden?

Trump didn't pay the whore for sex. He paid her to shut up and stop talking about it. Not illegal. If you can't distill that word salad of a criminal charge down into something more easily understood, it will never catch on. That is precisely WHY "hush money conviction" is used, however inaccurate it may be. You could always say, "convicted business record falsifier"....

You will get used to it. Smooth brained leftists cannot conceive of anyone having a nuanced position. Either you are 100% on board with them, or you are a Cult of the Orange Man member. No middle ground. And that attitude is precisely what will get the Bad Orange Man re-elected in November.

Actually, polling shows majority support for Hamas in both Gaza and the West Bank. And something that is almost never mentioned is what form of government will take over in Gaza once the war is over. Are we going to return to status quo ante? A misogynistic homophobic terror regime? I hope not.