I would say the difference was, in the Soviet era, they weren’t trying to trade with others. They were an almost completely closed economy. Sanctions couldn’t do anything to them then because no one was trading with them anyway. That’s why they couldn’t meet the needs of their citizens.

Treating your people poorly is called “freedom.” We’ll make sure you have more healthcare plans to choose from, but not enough money to get any of them! It’s called freedom. I’ve been told on many occasions that any government handout chains the people on them. I mean, you’d hate to be able to buy food with food…

You gotta be known for something.

Based on the fact that I don’t see a reason they would have to lie about this one. Based on the fact that they haven’t ginned up a threat in recent history. (Iraq wasn’t the fault of the intelligence agencies. The Bush administration asked them to find evidence for their claims. The intelligence agencies had no motive…

Are you aware of the fact that Putin already went past the term limits? He created a new position so he could stay in power when his term was up, and then he went back to being president again after that. He hit his limit in ‘08, yet 9 years later he is still the leader of the country. He also extended the length of…

The difference is, we will deal with democracies or terrible dictatorships, but we prefer democracies. They will deal with either one as well, but they prefer the dictatorships.

I’m not saying it would fall apart. I’m not saying it would come to an end or stop spinning. I’m saying that right now we are on top, and the world order is stable and many democracies flourish in this environment. Russia and China are the only two countries that could take the top slot if we weren’t there. Both of…

Because this election was razor thin, and there is a decent chance that Russia actually swayed it. That is an existential threat. We can no longer have faith in our democracy.

Yeah, that part is bad, but also anything that has “with a single tweet!” is terrible. The whole headline is clickbait, and the article isn’t.

France came to no conclusion because they were looking at the digital fingerprints afterward. The US came to a conclusion based on seeing the crime happen in real time. Now, if I see a bank robbery happening, and see the guy without a mask on and can identify him, but the guy wore gloves and the crime scene guys can’t…

We have to somehow stop them from doing this again. What other option do you have that has a good chance of doing it? Talking to them about it hasn’t worked. Obama tried to warn them not to do it and they did it anyway. Trump tried to talk to them about it, and Putin just denied it. What’s your option?

What do you think a dictatorship is? They now have a leader for life. There is no free press to stand up to him, he kills members of his political opposition who threaten his power, and they now longer have fair elections. Putin is a dictator. Russia is a dictatorship.

What odds? Who else has a proven history of doing this? France said the attack was performed in a way that they couldn’t tell who did it. They did not come to a completely different conclusion based on the evidence. They came to no conclusion, because they had less evidence. Our experts saw this happening, which is…

It is so sad to me that that is true....

No, I’m saying we have to retaliate in some way. What’s the other option? You keep saying they exist, but you won’t say what. Or you could even tell me a way in which we could get them to stop without actually retaliating. I’d take that. But you aren’t saying anything.

Russia is not a democracy. I was reading something the other day that claimed that only one election they ever held was actually a fair and free election, but even if it’s more than that, it’s not now. I would call it a dictatorship when there is a leader (dictator) who takes power and will not let go. Since he got…

So which defense do you think they’ll use to try to defend this one? “Do you know how dangerous it is for police?” is a classic, but it doesn’t seem to fit here. I’m guessing they’ll just sling dirt at the victim. That always seems to work. Cops brutalize or murder some innocent, but they find an arrest for a minor…

Give me another option. If there are an infinite number, give me one. I’ve asked again and again, and you haven’t said anything yet. Really, the only nicer option we have that anyone is considering is sanctions that aren’t meant to topple the government, just hurt the country.

Again, France says they can’t prove it, but they do not doubt it was Russia. And the US has stronger cyber warfare and security capabilities than France, so when two top officials testified under oath to Congress that Russia did it, I tend to believe them. You’re arguing they didn’t do it based on one statement by the…

Russia is absolutely a dictatorship, and far more so than the US. They were making real strides towards freedom at the end of the Soviet Union and the years after. However, since Putin has come in, their elections are no longer legitimate, and he has cracked down on the press. The man kills reporters and political…