heybruce

For example, those who make claims they can't support with facts.

No, I don't "watch the news", I read the news from a variety of sources. My guess is that you don't. You posted: "Then he won the elction anyway against all the odds and all the so-called predictive polls. Because he was exposing and fighting corruption in government. " I made a simple request, give one example of Trump exposing and fighting corruption. I am not aware of any, and I'm reasonably well informed. Your unwillingness or inability to support your claim leads me and others to conclude that you are not well informed.

How long can Putin wait? "Now, however, sanctions are finally beginning to strangle the Russian economy in ways that could set it back for years. Laura Solanko of the Bank of Finland recently described how Russia is undergoing “reverse industrialization” in which the military-industrial complex driven by war needs crowds out the consumer economy, as in Soviet times. “Russia is stuck ineluctably on a path to lower potential growth and a bleak economic future,” Solanko wrote on March 27." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/putins-getting-nervous-about-russias-sinking-economy-201143630.html

You mean the predicted unusual number of mail-in ballots during a pandemic? Most coming from people voting for the party that did not deny that Covid was a legitimate health emergency and that did not want to wait in crowded indoor polling stations. Every allegation of voter fraud was investigated. Only a trivial number were found to be legitimate, and they were mostly Republican votes.

There were recounts, audits, and rulings by Republican and Trump appointed judges. All reached the same conclusion, the election was fair and the result legitimate. No allegation of fraud stood up to any kind of scrutiny. What will a "proper, independent investigation" investigate?

There were not widespread allegations of fraud, there were nonsensical allegations put out by Trump and his team of psychotics, amplified by Faux News pundits who didn't believe them.

Seriously? In spite of all the recounts, audits, and court cases that determined the election results were fair and legitimate, you think it's acceptable to storm the Capitol to prevent the certification of the election? So in your mind it's democratic to ignore all rules and logic, declare you don't believe the clear election results and overthrow the government. That's not democracy, it's anarchy.

I lived through the last two coups, martial law, curfew, soldiers on the streets and a military roadblock close to where I lived. What part of contemporary history am I missing?

Noted. You have no use for democracy and like life better under military rule.

Undemocratic attitudes? It wasn't Trump opponents who invaded the Capitol in an attempt to violently prevent the certification of a legitimate election result.

Please give an example of Trump exposing and fighting corruption.

Another cultist viewing Trump with religious awe.

Right, why don't those teenage girls being raped by family or acquaintances use contraception? Don't those underage women who were denied any sex education know about contraception? Why don't those women with a deformed fetus unlikely to survive not want to carry the fetus to term? Why don't women with health issues want to have the baby or die trying? Of course when contraception fails, as it sometimes does, I guess the woman is just SOL.

Do you really not know this? Six in 10 not wanting Trump to be President again means four in 10 either want Trump to be President or are undecided. Some people want to know what the alternative is before choosing.

I agree with the need, but I question the ability of the geriatrics in Congress to intelligently regulate AI.

"The Red Shirts (Thai: เสื้อแดง, romanized: Suea Daeng) are a political movement in Thailand, formed following the 2006 coup d'état which deposed then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Shirts_(Thailand) No coup, no redshirts. The redshirts are both a symptom and an attempt at a cure for the disease of military coups and undemocratic rule. You prefer the disease.

Apparently you can only reply to two out of context words in my post, and even then your reply is weak. Yes, the Red Shirts were democracy advocates. They began when democracy was denied to Thailand. They never would have existed if election results had been respected.

Right. You don't care if Thailand is denied democracy and if corrupt military rule holds the country back, so long as they keep those pesky democracy advocates off the streets. I like the Thai people and think they deserve better. You obviously have a different opinion.

I like the way you qualified your post--IHMO, In Humble My Opinion. You greatly humbled your opinion by overlooking the most obvious flaw: There is no peaceful way to remove military leaders who don't want to go. The peaceful change in leadership is the greatest strength of democracy, but your hatred of all things Shinawatra blinds you to that.

You want a more nuanced understanding? OK, you clearly think having an unelected corrupt military leader who can't be removed is better than having a corrupt elected leader who can be removed in the next election.

Yes, you've made it very clear that you don't care when a corrupt military topples an elected government.

Countries that border on Russia seem to have a choice between joining NATO and being threatened with attack, or not joining NATO and being invaded. It's not a difficult choice.

Do you think those coups would have succeeded if the military hadn't had guns and a history of turning them on civilians? Do you think the elite who were thrilled about the toppling of democratic government represent the majority?

Right. They can do all that and if the ones that get elected upset the elites they get deposed in a coup. Why are you so upset about the corruption of elected officials and show no concern for the corruption of those who seize power in a coup?

The last two coups would not have happened if the Thai military had not chosen to overturn democracy. Democracy, for all its failings, has accountability. Leaders can be changed peacefully when the majority wants change. Coups happen when a minority wants to maintain undeserved privilege. Change comes at gunpoint.