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Slartibartfast

When the story of the collapse of the USA is written, what will the defining word be?

One of the most difficult parts of watching Trump disgrace himself in front of the whole world is that brief moment where you wonder if this is it ... will this be the thing that finally breaks through to his followers to reveal to them who he really is?

But we've been here before.

We thought the veil had irreversibly slipped when he bragged about sexual assault on camera.

We assumed he had no more chances when he attempted a coup.

We believed that 34 criminal convictions (and another 17 pending) would matter.

It never mattered. It just shifted the goal posts.

Even on this specific issue; it didn't make a difference to his supporters when we learned that Kremlin representatives had met his campaign officials in Trump Tower and offered to help get him elected.

It couldn't turn the party against him when he was found to have extorted Zelenskyy, withholding aid unless he opened a phony investigation into Hunter Biden.

And when Trump stood next to Putin and declared that he believed him over his own intelligence agencies, his party just made excuses for him.

... and for some reason, we see a despicable moment like this and console ourselves with the notion that surely this depravity was sufficient to prove to even the most cynical minds that Trump is on Putin's side, not America's.

But it won't change a single mind. Not a single Republican will take a stand. Not a single member of this administration will resign in protest. The authorized media will toe the party line, and the narrative will bend to appease this new "truth".

When the story of the collapse of the USA is written, there will be one defining word: cowardice.

Posted - March 2
Tags : None

Responses


  • 35077
    Most of the listed is propaganda.
    And the American people have learned to spot it a mile away. 

    America is not going anywhere anytime soon.
    This post was edited by my2cents at March 3, 2025 4:59 AM MST
      March 3, 2025 4:44 AM MST
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  • 17088
    Okay, how about former Polish President Lech Wałęsa's letter?

    https://www.reuters.com/world/polish-cold-war-hero-walesa-writes-trump-expressing-horror-zelenskiy-spat-2025-03-03/ This post was edited by my2cents at March 4, 2025 5:03 AM MST
      March 3, 2025 8:26 PM MST
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  • 35077
    Pay wall...I not giving them a cent.
      March 4, 2025 7:35 AM MST
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  • 4288
    Former President of Poland Lech Walesa wrote the following letter to Trump.
    Your Excellency, Mr. President,
    We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defense of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin’s russia.
    We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolizes the free world cannot recognize this.
    Our alarm was also heightened by the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation, which reminded us of the interrogations we endured at the hands of the Security Services and the debates in Communist courts. Prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the all-powerful communist political police, would explain to us that they held all the power while we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the government or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated in the same manner.
    The history of the 20th century shows that whenever the United States sought to distance itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately became a threat to itself. President Woodrow Wilson understood this when he decided in 1917 that the United States must join World War I. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this when, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he resolved that the war to defend America must be fought not only in the Pacific but also in Europe, in alliance with the nations under attack by the Third Reich.
    We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and America’s financial commitment, the collapse of the Soviet empire would not have been possible. President Reagan recognized that millions of enslaved people suffered in Soviet russia and the countries it had subjugated, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their defense of democratic values with their freedom. His greatness lay, among other things, in his unwavering decision to call the USSR an “Empire of Evil” and to fight it decisively. We won, and today, the statue of President Ronald Reagan stands in Warsaw, facing the U.S. Embassy.
    Mr. President, material aid—military and financial—can never be equated with the blood shed in the name of Ukraine’s independence and the freedom of Europe and the entire free world. Human life is priceless; its value cannot be measured in money. Gratitude is due to those who sacrifice their blood and their freedom. This is self-evident to us, the people of Solidarity, former political prisoners of the communist regime under Soviet russia.
    We call on the United States to uphold the guarantees made alongside Great Britain in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which established a direct obligation to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for its relinquishment of nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditional—there is no mention of treating such assistance as an economic transaction.
    Signed,
    Lech Wałęsa, former political prisoner, President of Poland
      March 4, 2025 9:17 AM MST
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  • 35077
    We are NOT the world's piggy bank anymore.  We fulfilled our end of 1994 Budapest Memorandum. AND IF Zelensky does not want a cess fire then he can pay for his war himself or EU etc can step up and pay it.    
    That agreement does not require US to pay for a endless war or to fight on their behalf....
      March 4, 2025 2:47 PM MST
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  • 4288
    I only posted this because you said you couldn't access it - not to discuss it with you.
      March 4, 2025 2:52 PM MST
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  • 35077
    Thank you for the post.
      March 4, 2025 2:59 PM MST
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  • 17088
    No you haven't and yes it does. That Memorandum (and the Bulgaria Protocol alongside it) made Ukraine's nuclear disarmament entirely dependent upon its territorial integrity being guaranteed by the other signatories. Russia reneged on that (surprise, surprise) but unless you want the United Soviet States of America (under Putin's thumb) and NOBODY to trust the US again, then you have a job to do. Boots on the ground if necessary.
    Otherwise tear up AUKUS and all the NATO agreements and get the hell out of Europe and Australia. Or give Ukraine back its nukes. This post was edited by Slartibartfast at March 4, 2025 10:13 PM MST
      March 4, 2025 10:11 PM MST
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  • 35077
    No, that is NOT what it says.  
    It says assurances to represent Ukraine at the UN. 


    https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/news/budapest-memorandum-myths

    Ukraine nukes went Russia,  and they did not have money needed to keep them. 
    American troops will  not be on the ground for Ukraine,  not happening.
    Leaving NATO is not the threat you think it is...

      March 5, 2025 3:53 AM MST
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  • 216
    So, not only are you the self elected spokesperson / interpreter for Trump on here, you're now the voice of collective American people?
      March 4, 2025 2:15 AM MST
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  • 35077
    I speak for me....and those I know. 
    I believe I can confidently say the American people saw through the false reports and the lawfare aimed at President Trump based on the results of the election.  
      March 4, 2025 5:07 AM MST
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  • 216
    So, are you suggesting that those who didn't vote Trump aren't American? 
      March 4, 2025 12:31 PM MST
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  • 35077
    Ok, the MAJORITY of Americans were able to see through the propaganda and lawfare based on the results of the election.  
      March 4, 2025 2:38 PM MST
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  • 11591
    Only 63% of eligible voters actually voted. Trump got 49.9% of that 63%. That is not a majority of Americans and just misses being a majority of voters.  This comment is only about math (not about which side believes propaganda) and does not require a rebuttal.
      March 4, 2025 4:02 PM MST
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  • 17088
    And since the inauguration his approval rating dropped to around 35% and that was before 1300 points were wiped off the market on day 1 of his trade war. You think inflation was bad under Biden?
    And NONE of the stuff Trump is pulling was foreshadowed in the campaign, except in Project 2025 which His Royal Orangeness publicly repudiated. Now he's implementing it.
      March 4, 2025 10:18 PM MST
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  • 35077
    I think you have Congress approval confused with Trumps. 
      March 5, 2025 4:41 AM MST
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  • 11591
    As I said to m2c, I am only explaining math. And apparently, the meaning of the word majority.
      March 5, 2025 5:21 AM MST
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  • 35077
    Won every swing state.
    Nearly every county in the country shifted to the right. 
    Even Beverly Hills was 49.x% to 49.x%....

    49.9% close enough to round up to 50% for me. This post was edited by my2cents at March 5, 2025 6:04 AM MST
      March 5, 2025 4:13 AM MST
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  • 11591
    As I said, my response was about math. But ,I will add, the word majority does not mean 50%, it means more than 50%. 

    When you're arguing about how math works, it doesn't help you make a point.
      March 5, 2025 5:26 AM MST
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  • 11591
    Russian propaganda has infiltrated our social media, influenced our elected officials and bamboozled gullible citizens to the point that they do not believe what they see and hear. I don't think cowardice is the defining word, I think it's a combination of gullibility and greed.
      March 3, 2025 5:25 AM MST
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  • 10799
    I have said for years now that the US will fall (I even said it would happen within 50 years).  The US is a decadent society - more so now than ever.  The US has for years bragged at how strong it is and that no outside force could tear her down.  However, her destruction is coming from within.  Since many of its citizens trust in its military might to "protect" them, they have become blind to the threat from within - their own hubris. 
      March 3, 2025 8:12 AM MST
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  • 4288
    Perhaps Trump's fascist bent will wake up the MAGA crowd when he decimates the social safety nets like Medicare and Medicaid and they start dying in untold numbers because they can't afford food and medial treatment.  
      March 3, 2025 9:01 AM MST
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  • 11591
    Cruelty is another defining word I could add.
      March 3, 2025 10:03 AM MST
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  • 216
    They'll still blame the pet eating kids of illegals, no matter what. 
      March 4, 2025 12:32 PM MST
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