"More Details Emerge in Harrell's 1996 Gun Drama, Trump Pulls Aid from Ukraine"

The solution is staring us in the face: Send Bruce Harrell to fight in Ukraine. 😃

"Hey Russia ... you took my parking spot." Clappa-clappa-clap!

Why did the 1960s get such a better soundtrack for their cultural revolution?

Sorry, but when it comes to BLACKPINK members' solo projects, ROSÉ has nothing on JENNIE. "Mantra", "Zen", "Love Hangover" with Dominic Fike, "ExtraL" with Doechii. New album "Ruby" coming out Friday. JENNIE is shaping up to be for me in 2025 what Charli XCX was for me in 2024--THE transcendent pop artist.

P.S. I'm going to assume the pro-Putin trolls are not going to be inclined to weigh in on this topic, although "Genocide Jennie" does have a nice ring to it. ;-)

SimpleTony Soprano continues his quest for the Nobel Peace Prize by suspending military aid to Ukraine & inviting Pooty Poot to have his way with the rest of Europe

Guess that's a hard no on parking reform in Seattle now

@2 The Impact of Commercialization on Music Authenticity

The 1950s and 1960s saw the birth of rock 'n' roll, a genre that embodied rebellion and authenticity. Artists like Elvis Presley and The Beatles became cultural icons, not just for their music but for the authenticity they brought to the stage. However, as the industry grew, so did the pressure to commercialize. Record labels began to exert more control over artists, shaping their image and sound to appeal to a broader audience

https://toxigon.com/the-impact-of-commercialization-on-music-authenticity

@4 " inviting Pooty Poot to have his way with the rest of Europe"

It took him 3 years to take ~20% of Ukraine with immense difficulty and big losses. The threat to Europe he represents is greatly exaggerated.

Harrell was only 37 in 1996. Who didn't brandish firearms over parking spots at that age? Jeez, move on, TS!

averagebob @7: "The threat to Europe he represents is greatly exaggerated."

This is just the sort of message the Russians want to be hearing from voices which purport to be progressives. Gee, and here I thought averagebob was just a standard-issue right-wing disinformation operative and not a contractor for the successor to the Internet Research Agency, although I guess these days the two categories are virtually indistinguishable.

"average" "bob", this is all the time I have today to comment on Slog, so I'll cede the floor to you and your rendition of what Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin want to be coming out of "the left."

@9 more ad-hominem from you and no counter-argument of course. Your paranoid style is tiresome.

Ukraine and its defense, and the rest of the world to avoid a much broader conflict, have everything to gain from making cogent arguments about aggressor Putin instead of pushing unreasonable fear-mongering

"this is all the time I have today"

who fucking cares?

@7: A nuclear-armed state is conquering territory in the largest European war since WWII. It's a big deal. 😆

If you want an example of a war whose consequences have been "greatly exaggerated," the so-called "genocide" in Gaza is where you want to look. 😉

@8 latest research indicates the brain is not fully developed until a person's mid-20s, but we can safely assume even longer for anyone who'd want to go into politics

Something about pulling a gun on a pregnant woman in 1996 feels so much more depraved than it would if it happened today. We’ve always been a gun-crazy country but 1996 was the era of the assault rifle ban, before Columbine, and before 9/11 completely broke the brains of small-town Americans. It’s never a good time to threaten to kill someone over a parking spot but in 1996 it was completely unhinged.

Life is going to get even more expensive.

it's also gonna get
vastly Cheaper.

@11

'it's
Just
a stupid
Land Grab.*

with 300,00 or
So DEAD.
so get
Over
it.'

*on
OUR
Dime!
lol! Lol! LOL!

@10:

While the reality is that Putin has been mired in Ukraine for three solid years without completely overrunning the country, he has said more than once that he aspires to restore modern Russia back to its pre-1917 Revolution borders, which would include Belarus, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland (keeping in-mind the latter four are members of NATO), as well as Ukraine. So, it's not in the least bit "paranoid" to point that out, especially now that Trump has unambiguously signaled to him that we won't lift a finger to stop him should he continue his quest to re-unite mother Russia back to its former territorial glory.

7: You’ll excuse Poland and the Baltic states if they may disagree because of their lived experience, of course.

HUD should be eliminated entirely, the cuts aren't enough. Housing is a local issue and should be dealt with by state and local governments and the private sector. Mostly the private sector.

Withdrawing military support from Ukraine is the only sensible solution. As long as Ukraine feels emboldened by US support they will continue fighting and continue losing. No more US funding means they will be forced to accept a cease fire. It's obvious to every adult in the room that they will not see a return of lands occupied by Russia since 2014 so making this a requirement of any peace deal is ridiculous.

Canada better learn to love American imports or their economy will be devastated by these tariffs. A little US pain is well worth it to open Canadian markets to US exports. Or heck, Canada could always join the United States and never have to worry about tariffs again.

Of course the US must now cut more timber. In part to make up for lost timber imports from Canada and in part to prevent future devastating wildfires. Don't worry, North America has far more trees today than we did when Europeans arrived. We can spare a few.

@17 & 18
The evidence on the battlefield suggests that Russia couldn't afford to take on more populous and wealthier Europe irrespective of what Putin said (assuming he said it). For one, he tried to avoid a full mobilization of Russia to avoid a public backlash until he didn't have other alternative because he was losing the war. Putin is a bloody dictator but I don't think that he is crazy.

@11 Laying waste to Ukraine and killing its population is a big deal but it's a huge stretch to claim Putin is going to attack Europe. You should try addressing my comment.

@13 - pointing a gun at a pregnant woman is indeed depraved. That's why so many people were disgusted that George Floyd was being lionized by the press.

@17 'paranoid' was in reference to Cressona seeing right wing and Russian bots everywhere. I tend to qualify the 'Putin the imperialist who is going to conquer Europe' into the fear-mongering department

Ignore doofus @21. Not only nobody 'lionized' George Floyd (objecting to his being chocked isn't equivalent to 'lionizing' by any stretch of the imagination) but there is no evidence that he pointed a gun at a pregnant women.

No evidence except he plead guilty.

I just want to say hi for today. It's tough. But the people here help. Thanks for being here. Hope you find a good slice of pizza from the ingredients of the days latest realities. My slice gets smaller most days recently but with the sane people here in comments it makes it seem bigger. Fuck Trump. Fuck the GOP. Hugs for all the resistance.

"HUD should be eliminated entirely, the cuts aren't enough. Housing is a local issue and should be dealt with by state and local governments and the private sector.

Mostly the private sector."
--@babyback

Bingo.

cue us now the Private Equity
snatching Up all the Housing
not to Mention our Hospitals
Doctors you fucking Name it
by Gawd they're a'snatchin it

the American Dream
the Fuck OUTTA the
hands of the Ameri-
can people gobbling
our Lives as Fast as
thet fucking Can.

babyback
Loves him
some Fascism
aka Corporate Rule.

@24: There are also statues of George Floyd in Brooklyn, Houston, and Newark, so the lionization claim checks out too. 😂

Assuming for the sake of argument this murder victim was "lionized," anyone who's upset about that is a weirdo.

@10, @22: Keeping Russia fighting in Ukraine is our best practical option for precluding other Russian imperialist ambitions. Cutting off aid helps that how, exactly?

You asked for a cogent argument, so please show us how it’s done.

@21, Probably because smothering someone to death while they’re begging for their life in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers is even more depraved, and this is the extent of what most people know about the guy (this is the first I’ve heard about a gun and a pregnant woman, but I don’t watch tucker carlson or read stormfront). Your definition of lionize may vary from mine but most people just saw a man who was executed by a government agent for no good reason and judged everyone involved accordingly.

@29 Cogent argument are in response to cogent questions about what i really said in my comment. Imagining that I argued for cutting off aid to Ukraine clearly doesn't qualify. Next time pose for a while before pouncing. It'll avoid you the embarrassment.

@31: Ok, what you actually wrote @10 was: “Ukraine and its defense, and the rest of the world to avoid a much broader conflict, have everything to gain from making cogent arguments about aggressor Putin…”

So therefore, cutting off aid to Ukraine, which was one of the items in the headline atop this post, helps “…Ukraine and its defense, and the rest of the world to avoid a much broader conflict,” how, exactly? What’s your “cogent argument about aggressor Putin” say about that?

@32 I momentarily forgot that you have no sense of embarrassment so that you'd likely write another word salad to attempt salvaging appearances

I know it's hard for you to understand given your history here but saying things that are obviously not true ("Putin is going to attack Europe") do not help any narrative, including that Putin is aggressing Ukraine and killing its people so it has to stop. Note that I didn't say we ought to stop aid to Ukraine.

@33: "things that are obviously not true ('Putin is going to attack Europe')"

Putin is already attacking Europe. Russian troops have seized territory in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, all of which are in ... wait for it ... Europe! 😛

Your pro-Hamas line is bad enough. Must you also subject us to a pro-Putin line? 🤪

Wait - are "Tensorna" and "Cressona" one and the same person?

"Life is going to get even more expensive."

I wish TS had the same level of concern when Jay Inslee and the local Dems levied their own form of tariffs on everything in WA state under the guise of climate change.

@34 You should tell Europe that Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have joined the Union because Europe doesn't know about it.

Thugs like thumpus only have slander

@36 of course climate change deniers object to climate change remediation even though it is necessary

Shocking that Bob is downplaying Russia and Putin’s threat. SHOCKING! Who coulda ever seen that a comin’? Well, pretty much everyone that was paying attention.

By the way Bob, a country doesn’t have to be part of the EU to be considered in Europe. Hope that helps.

@37: Ha ha ha, what? Everyone in this thread said "Europe," not "European Union." 😂🤣😂🤣

@36 I'm not denying anything merely pointing out that the CCA is a form of a tariff as well that definitely had an increase on prices that extended outside of gasoline yet it was all fine. That doesn't even get into the fact that the impact it has is negligible at best.

Here's another shock. The day TS pushes out another hit piece on Harrell their good friend and ally Ron Davis publishes an op ed in The Urbanist calling Harrell a failed mayor. Sounds like the campaign to unseat Bruce is starting to gear up. The question remains who is carrying the progressive banner though? Is it Davis?

@39 Joe McCarthy wannabe agree with the pro-genocide crowd.

and people wonder why we have a neo-fascist problem.

It's obvious I was talking about political Europe but hey have a cheap shot. It's all you can do.

@40 don't forget to wipe the drool off your chin.

@41 I am tired of your shtick opposing all climate remediation. Dismissing the need to do something about global warming amounts to climate change denial.

@43: “It's obvious I was talking about political Europe”

Ha ha, what’s obvious is that you didn’t realize just how many European countries Putin has already invaded! 😉 Not to worry, Professor Thumpus got ya back! 😁

@43 and what exactly is the CCA doing besides lining the pockets of the state? They can't even measure our current level of emissions so there is no way to even gauge programs that are effective. Just because you are paying for something called "climate" doesn't mean you are doing jack squat to solve the problem.

@45 so you are for increasing funding to build systems so that carbon emissions be accounted for, excellent because we absolutely need to build these systems. But how can you know that it has a "negligible impact at best" as you claim @42 since emissions aren't monitored yet? which is it?

We have discussed already how the cost of remediation and mitigation now is a small fraction of the economic impacts of climate change later. Do you want our kids to pay the larger amount later because you don't want to invest now? Or is it the usual ploy to do nothing that is typical of deniers?

@44 Well Georgia is East of the Caucasus mountains so technically not part of geographical Europe but do go on pretending to know what I know and what I don't know, internet blowhard

@46 how much does wa state contribute to global emissions? Thats how you know the impact is negligible. The pain for people of all incomes in this state are real right now. I focus on that before a theoretical future that may or may not come to pass.

Hey, I'm finally able to check back in on this thread, and all I can say is, I rest my case. If "average-Genocide-Joe-bob" is not already making serious bank from Vladimir Putin, he needs to sue RT for wage theft.

Looking forward to that Stranger profile where we can get to know the real man behind our resident Jill Stein. Hey Komrade, don't be shy!

BTW, I have to give a little hat tip to TheTourGuide @39: "Shocking that Bob is downplaying Russia and Putin’s threat. SHOCKING! Who coulda ever seen that a comin’? Well, pretty much everyone that was paying attention."

Like me, TheTourGuide didn't have to see a single word about Russia and Putin from the hundreds of posts by our resident genocide activist "averagebob" to smell a Russian influence operation. As that crazy, paranoid, old lady Nancy Pelosi once said about Trump, "With him, all roads lead to Putin." In this case, the road from Gaza leads to Moscow--albeit probably indirectly through some domestic right-wing influencer farm.

@46: Yes yes, I’m sure you know where Georgia is, please accept my hearty congratulations. 😆 What you didn’t know about Georgia is that Putin invaded it. Now that you have learned about the Russian invasion of Georgia, and of Moldova, and of Ukraine, I hope it’s the last we’ll hear from you that “Putin obviously won’t attack Europe.” 🤣 On the contrary, Putin already is attacking Europe, so that little ship of yours has already sailed. 😘

@47 So, are you now saying that the lack of emission monitoring being a major policy flaw was not relevant after all. Also, Washington emitting a small fraction of global emission has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the policy implemented as you first claimed. Are you suggesting that we don't need to do anything because we are a relatively small state?

"a theoretical future that may or may not come to pass."

Ha! So you are a climate change denier after all

@48 & 49 You should consider laying off the sauce before starting to spew on the internet

@50 Putin hasn't attacked political Europe, which is what I meant despite your comical insistence that you know better than I do what goes on inside my head.

" I’m sure you know where Georgia is"

oh, so you acknowledge that Georgia isn't in Europe in spite of your silly grand standing about geographical Europe

averagebob @51, I feel sorry for you that you have to expend so much energy and stay up so late and face so much ridicule trying to downplay the threat of Vladimir Putin and deny Ukraine is part of Europe. Hey, in all a day's work. Right, my friend?

I'm calling it a night myself. I'll let you get the last word.

@51: “Georgia isn't in Europe”

Ha ha, OK then, I take it back, I guess you don’t know where Georgia is! 😂🤣😂🤣

The Murray Incident happened in my hometown! It's a rough place. Everyone is always pulling guns out there. It's pretty methy.

@53 Internet blowhard strikes again: The commonly defined South-Eastern boundary of the European continent is the Bosporus, the black Sea and the Caucasus mountains, which places Georgia in Asia whereas Western Russia is in Europe.

@52 You are lying. I didn't deny that Ukraine is part of geographical Europe, but it isn't part of political Europe, which is what political commentators refer to when talking about Europe.

The fact that you are completely losing your shit over my saying that Putin's threat to Europe (as in political Europe) is greatly exaggerated as shown by Russia's inability to defeat Ukraine says everything there is to be said about your politics (trending authoritarian as in labeling the political opposition as disloyal) or that you aren't mentally stable. I don't know which it is but I don't really care.

@55: “Georgia isn't in Europe”

Aw, if only there was some sort of free-content online encyclopedia that could answer questions like this! 😂🤣😂🤣

@54: Murray? I think you meant Harrell.

@57: Yes, the “Murray Incident” was in Portland, and it was even more grotesque. 😂

averagebob @55: "The fact that you are completely losing your shit..."

Sounds like you're projecting again.

I just think it's interesting that, for all your hundreds of posts going after Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala for what's happening in Gaza, when you finally deign to make one point about what's going on in Europe (and yes, it is Europe), it is to express the deeply unpopular and and totally out-of-left-field view that somehow Vladimir Putin is not a threat of Vladimir Putin. Of all the things you could say about this conflict, that was what you chose. It's really exactly the message which the Russians would want to be getting out to a progressive American audience, just like the relentless focus on Gaza.

Somehow I don't think this is a coincidence, and I can understand why you would be losing it over anyone calling this out.

Signed,
Somebody who has a regular job and a regular life and is just commenting here as a concerned citizen

P.S. Hey, "average" "bob", at what point should we be retiring this thread and cycling over to the next one?

REWRITING MY COMMENT @59 TO CORRECT TYPOS.

averagebob @55: "The fact that you are completely losing your shit..."

Sounds like you're projecting again.

I just think it's interesting that, for all your hundreds of posts going after Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala for what's happening in Gaza, when you finally deign to make one point about what's going on in Europe (and yes, it is Europe), it is to express the deeply unpopular and totally out-of-left-field view that somehow Vladimir Putin is not a threat to Europe. Of all the things you could say about this conflict, that was what you chose. It's really exactly the message which the Russians would want to be getting out to a progressive American audience, just like the relentless focus on Gaza.

Somehow I don't think this is a coincidence, and I can understand why you would be losing it over anyone calling this out.

Signed,
Somebody who has a regular job and a regular life and is just commenting here as a concerned citizen

P.S. Hey, "average" "bob", at what point should we be retiring this thread and cycling over to the next one?

@60: It's not so much that progressives want Russia to succeed, it's more that progressives want America to fail. I admit it horseshoes around to the same thing a lot of the time, as we see here with Averagebob's Putin apologia. 😃

69 "Sounds like you're projecting again."

No, claiming that someone is a Russian whatever based on the comment I made is insane and/or an attempt to curtail the democratic debate. Calling it "losing you shit" is an understatement as it is wildey irrational and a blatant display of your authoritarian tendencies.

" going after Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala"

your words, not mine. Biden enabled genocide and Harris didn't distance herself from Biden. It's telling that twits like you have used those terms more widely in these pages than critics of Biden as a whole.

"yes, it is Europe"

making the same stupid remarks in agreement with genocide apologist thumpus shows with whom you chose to align especially when combined with your utter silence about the Gaza genocide

"It's really exactly the message which the Russians"

no, no your batshit crazy display of intolerance for dissent is exactly what warmongering neocons and authoritarians want to see. Russia doesn't appear to have the capacity to attack Europe and your stupid hissy fit won't change any of it.

"Somebody who has a regular job and a regular life and is just commenting here as a concerned citizen"

More like a crazy moron trying to smear the opposition

@61 Death cult thumpus who puts violence on a pedestal and hasn't found a single reason to condemn the murder of 10,000's of innocent Palestinians talks about "horseshoe theory". Thank you for the laugh

averagebob @62: "no, no your batshit crazy display of intolerance for dissent"

I must admit, it takes some pretty Orwellian effort to take somebody pushing back on your obvious right-wing influencer campaign and equate it with some sort of authority suppressing speech and dissent.

But hey, I would expect nothing less from somebody whose job it is to spread disinformation. I mean, if you do have a regular job, when do you have time for it? Does your boss know what you're up to? 8-)

@62 Averagebob: "Putin never attack Europe! Putin friend! America is number-one Europe villain for makings the NATO! Ukraine is Russia, Georgia is Asia, Moldova is nothing, so you see Putin never hurt Europe!" 😂

@63: I condemn utterly the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, who died as a result of Hamas's failure to segregate its fighters from its civilians, as required by international law. You no? 😉

@64 "your obvious right-wing influencer campaign" "whose job it is to spread disinformation"

see, as I said 'batshit crazy, moron'

Opposing neoconservative warmongering by the rightwing of Democrats is certainly not right wing and clearly not supporting Putin's bloodbath in Ukraine.

@65 Your "Hamas made us do it" defense of the deliberate killing of 10,000s of innocents is not only disgusting but it is a clear attempt at whitewashing Israel's ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians. You are a very sick person. Get help.

averagebob @66, now that there's a new Slog AM thread going for today, I'll let you get the last word on this.

I must say, though, you need to cool down a bit. Not good for your blood pressure.

Yes, I did indeed mean The HARRELL Incident. I was thinking about Murray because Harrell took over after he left in disgrace.

The HARRELL incident took place in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Many Omahans refer to it as “Counciltucky”, but many Omahans are horrible people.

Mrs. Vel-DuRay regrets the error.

@66: No “ethnic cleansing” or “genocide” ha ha! Just another botched Arab war, waged on the backs of their own people. 🤪

@31, @33: Actually, I never said you’d advocated for the U.S. to cut off aid to Ukraine. I merely asked how our cutoff of aid to Ukraine might affect your “cogent argument” that Russian imperialist aggression in Ukraine is nothing to worry about, as the war has (according to you) not gone well for Russia. Maybe cessation of U.S. aid will change the basis of your “cogent argument”? That’s what I was asking.

"your “cogent argument” that Russian imperialist aggression in Ukraine is nothing to worry about"

I never said that either. You are a very dishonest person that goes from one lie to the next.

&1 is for @70

@70 " I never said you’d advocated for the U.S. to cut off aid to Ukraine"

This is a lie as well as anyone can read your comment @29

I also starting to suspect that you systematically come back after everyone has evacuated a comment thread to repeat the same falsehoods unchallenged for posterity. Weirdo.

well, ab,
it's how The
Wormtongue's

"always
winning."

like the
pigeon who
struts across the
chessboard knocking o-
ver & shitting on all the pieces

and declaring
'VICTORY.'

our
dear
Lurker
WILL be
back, baby.

Go, Bob, go.

I'm sick of the Seattle Slava Ukraini contingent. If they feel so f*cking strongly about it, please by all means, Ukraine is taking volunteers. You cowards sitting behind your keyboards while Ukraine is rounding up people your age and sending them into the meat grinder.

Being anti-war and pro-peace talks means not one more Ukrainian soldier (average age high 40's or 50's) dies for the keyboard warriors talking sh*t here in the States.

And I'm certainly sick of the pro-war, ahistorical Stranger crowd never bringing up the 2014 coup, the Minsk Accords, Victoria Nuland, Stepan Bandera, Nazi's, the U.S. bioweapons laboratories, George Soros and USAID/NED funding of the Maidan "color revolution" (we now know that EVERY color revolution was funded by USAID/CIA).

It's actually a scandal that Americans know nothing of these things. Please, do everyone around the world a big favor before you open your big mouths. Google Jeffrey Sachs and watch, oh I don't know, any of the HUNDRED or more interviews that he has given publicly about how the United States provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine, spoken by someone who was THERE.

Nice meeting you, Bob. Let's let the halfwit Nazi supporters get busy with their yellow and blue coloring books for awhile...