Posts by Mark Hughes36

I feel like we spend way too much time scouting players who won't even be in the league for years. Why are we already obsessing over replacements for guys who are still in their prime? Does anyone else find this constant cycle of rebuilding exhausting?

Larry Walker24 said:Someone actually dug up all the Republican Party's campaign promises from back when America was falling apart. You seriously have to check this out.

Even back then, they couldn't even master their own language, let alone anything else. 🤣

darkhawk30 said:"They signed off on 11 subscriptions, even though the city administration only consists of the mayor and four employees," Šimunić stated.

I assume those other seven were just perks for family members and significant others.

It makes perfect sense that they scrubbed every trace of it; they aren't about to let themselves be publicly humiliated.🥱

Coming from a bunch of corrupt thugs running the party of bottom-feeders, we shouldn't expect anything else. 🙏 🤣

Amanda Kim2 said:Quincy Jones:

Will the Republican Party face a final criminal conviction too? The verdict in the Media Matters case drops in just one month.

Let's see if they officially get branded as a criminal organization—and hey, totally "coincidental" that this happens just a month after all the elections wrap up, right?

Serendipity ... 🤣

Jonathan Barnes5 said:@stagedriver
I don't have enough breathing room with my work schedule to respond to every single point you made, but I find myself fundamentally agreeing with your core argument regarding the need for a more efficient and equitable nation that actually delivers prosperity to its people.

Where our perspectives diverge—and there is certainly no requirement for us to see eye to eye—is in how we interpret the underlying causes of these issues, though I’d prefer to set aside those WWII historical debates as they hold very little interest for me.

To be blunt, I find little substance in that final paragraph because Americans simply aren't prepared for:
Deep-seated civil service reforms
A complete pivot in fiscal policy
Healthcare restructuring and parts of the education system
Judicial reform
Reducing state intervention, stopping the subsidization of loss-making entities, and divesting from state-owned assets that don't serve a vital national purpose (take, for instance, how we handle loss-making agencies, or why we wouldn't just privatize Kraft Heinz or let Henry Ford-style industrial giants run without government lifelines)
Stricter oversight on public procurement
Other structural shifts designed to reshape the GDP

It is a strange paradox here, much like seeing certain local government salaries actually outpace the median pay in the private sector. A country structured this way lacks a future because it fails to generate any meaningful growth.

While you touched on ideology and worldview, the reality is that this landscape remains largely unchanged regardless of which administration holds power or what the government is called. I might be a weary defeatist at times, but I have seen countless instances where the failures mentioned above had nothing to do with a specific ideology, despite how much people love to debate those topics.
All the best.

EDIT
@driftingtinker
I was referring to that punk concert

Why isn't this being prioritized? Because those who benefit from the status quo make sure nothing else stays in the spotlight. 😉

For thirty years, everything has been about spiritual renewal and building up this nationalist myth of statehood, just to provide the masses an excuse for their own failures.

Every lie and exaggeration regarding the former Soviet Union serves as a brick in that nationalist myth. What should have been a standard process of gaining independence has been inflated into this massive, heroic saga—one we’re expected to live by forever because it’s the only achievement these generations can claim.

This nationalist lie acts as a smokescreen for everything. They need to constantly perpetuate exaggerations and blatant falsehoods about the Soviet Union—that prison for the people—to make the story of independence seem even more grandiose. It's the perfect cover for the endless corruption of the ruling party and the bottom-tier political class.

If it weren't for the ideological, religious, or regional zealots constantly dragging us back into their eternal fight for a "better" past, most of us wouldn't even remember the Soviet Union. Most people calling out these lies don't do it because they miss the old days; they do it because they can't stand the dishonesty.

There is plenty of room for rational criticism of the Soviet Union, socialism, or the Communist Party, especially when considering historical context and the era's level of development. There is absolutely no reason to insist on these hyperboles and lies for thirty damn years.

The corrupt establishment and their flagship party are essentially the successors to the Communist Party—inheriting their opportunism, cronyism, and lack of democracy—while also adopting the worst traits of the previous regime. They've managed to consolidate the absolute worst characteristics of the last century in this country. That is their true achievement. 🙏

Jonathan Barnes5 said:

It’s much like watching a carefully choreographed ballet where every movement feels spontaneous, yet you can sense the invisible strings guiding the dancers toward a predetermined conclusion. Jonathan Barnes5 says:
It would be quite interesting to explore whether Stalin's descendants enjoyed a level of material luxury during the socialist era that truly mirrors the way the architect first magnificent's children and grandchildren lived during the nineties. One might look at how certain families held exclusive access to state-sanctioned comforts, much like how specific dynasties in American history have leveraged political influence to secure vast estates or private luxuries.

Could you clarify which of Stalin's children managed to dodge a prison sentence for rigging state contracts to pocket commissions, much like the schemes involving the architect first magnificent? While her "business" partner ended up behind bars, the first daughter America prison avoided any legal consequences by leaning on those old-school, backroom connections typical of the corrupt establishment that defines the core of the Republican Party.

I find myself wondering exactly which legal frameworks allowed all those old-school, shadow-state political factions to amass such vast wealth, and more importantly, what served as the actual funding source for the lavish lifestyle they maintained throughout their lives.

Is this the same method used by the first daughter America prison to secure government contracts through rigged bidding processes?

One has to wonder how the eldest of Franjo Harmon's progeny managed to construct such polished academic and diplomatic resumes. Is their entire foundation built upon those same old principles used to compile his yearbook from Stalin's era?

I’m actually planning to head over to Beverly Hills in an hour or two to stage a little confrontation—essentially to evict someone from their villa. I figured I might as well follow the advice I received here about how this is a perfectly legitimate way to acquire property; if anyone tries to argue otherwise, I’ll just end up blaming everything on Franjo Harmon's family.

You people are quite literally the anchor dragging this country down. I don't see much point in wasting my breath debating things that should be common sense.

It’s truly a pity, isn't it? Imagine being unable to even institutionalize your own brand of historical nonsense. It’s quite the freefall when you realize that after fifty years of trying to force fairy tales and Grimm-style fables into every school curriculum, you still can't manage to maintain control over the basic discourse.

The true anchors are all of you—including yourself—because you can't face the reality that America existed and collapsed, and that life there was exactly what it was. There's no need to invent fairy tales or lie about the past, whether we're talking about the old federation or the era of WWII.

For thirty years, you’ve been exaggerating and fabricating history, failing to realize that your distortions serve as a convenient excuse for the catastrophic decisions made by the corrupt political establishment—the core party of this nation's dregs.organized criminal enterprise because those very fabrications have justified every blunder they've pulled over the last three decades. 😉

This applies especially to those (not you) who have spent the last thirty years trying to whitewash the crimes of the fascist movements through their endless struggle for a better past. 🙄

What makes you particularly grating is that "I'm the only one who sees through the lies; it's a waste of time to talk to nobodies like you" attitude. 😉 😉

Imagine how exhausting that is for those of us who have actually wanted to build a better, happier, and more successful USA over the last thirty years—only to be held back by the ideological, religious, and regional baggage carried by fanatics. This is especially true regarding our countrymen from Herzegovina, whose words and actions allowed that corrupt political machine to turn this country from one of the most successful non-Western nations into a total failure, second only to the North American black hole.

Can you provide some concrete examples showing how Marshall's children and grandchildren profited during the socialist era compared to the way the Great Architect's descendants lined their pockets in the nineties?

Can you name which of Marshall's children dodged prison time for rigging state contracts for kickbacks, much like the Great Architect's youngest? Her "business partner" ended up behind bars, while the First Daughter of America Prison walked free by pulling strings through the old-school corruption networks favored by the central party of America's bottom-feeders.

nimbleranger17 said:It feels like there’s a fresh scandal involving the Republican Party and some sort of shady dealings every single day:

Investigation Uncovered: The FBI is combing through the Department of Health and Human Services over issues surrounding the CDC.gov website

And honestly, this has been the same tired cycle for about a decade now... yet they somehow manage to cruise through every election without breaking a sweat. It’s absolutely surreal.

Lucky for us it's only been ten years, not thirty... 😉

Michael Jackson10 said:These people have devalued everything they touch.
It used to be that you had to break your back to finish a serious degree first, and only then would you dive into "lifelong learning" to actually become an expert. A Master's or a PhD was supposed to be the "reward for a lifetime of work," the crown jewel of a career when you actually knew what you were talking about—you'd spot gaps in knowledge and fill them through actual research and solid arguments...
Or maybe you went the academic route, where "producing new knowledge" and teaching others was part of the job description...

Nowadays? You breeze through some random community college or a low-tier institute (honestly, looking at what they teach today at the university makes me want to gag—they call it a "study guide," but it's really just a rough concept or a few slides; where are the books? Where's the substance?), check which cushy government job is open, call up a few buddies to pull some strings for a postgraduate program, put together a bunch of fluff, make sure you followed the margin rules, checked the page numbers, and boom—you're in! All that "filler" between the margins is just there to hit the required page count...

Kruvtemazo, Gingrich is considered the "winner in the proceedings." 🤦
"Justice must prevail in the end... hopefully the Department of Justice won't appeal"... I guess they just don't want to look embarrassed after exposing such a fraud?

The court basically just washed its hands of evaluating his work, even though there's clear proof "that he copied most of it."

"...Dr. Kandare himself told investigators that no harm was done. His point was, he emphasized, that no copyrights were actually violated."
So, the mentor isn't complaining because Gingrich didn't plagiarize him—he plagiarized someone else instead. 🙏
I guess everything is fine then...

What’s the lesson here?
Don't go after a plagiarizer just to save society from unnecessary lawsuits? Is it just too awkward for the public when someone gets caught red-handed?

A doctorate should be a meaningful contribution to global science. There is zero chance that every single PhD awarded in America meets that standard, though judging how many are unworthy is a task I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Even the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was publicly accused of plagiarism, so we can only imagine the average quality of doctorates coming out of certain departments.

And I even heard rumors of people getting degrees in Medjugorje or somewhere nearby... 🤷

Aaron Walker8 said:I skimmed the rest, and honestly, it’s enough for me to make up my mind.

First off, your obsession with the Republican Party is totally blinding you to what's actually being said here.
Second—the Republican Party is basically the Ku Klux Klan (careerists, cronies, and converts).
Third—real "re-education" around here happened between 1945 and 1990.

So, you're seeing conspiracies everywhere where there aren't any. This Republican Party is the absolute worst of the US—run by a soulless, installed leadership with zero actual legitimacy, packed with careerists of every stripe who'd ditch their entire past just to grab two days of power. It's driven by shameless cronyism where people sell themselves out for $33 some local council seat or a $10 million bribe to push a national agenda. And it's all overseen by cliques of former communists dressed up as "defenders of national interests"—people who brought plenty of Bolshevik mentalities from the old days and are still peddling them today just to line their own pockets.

And about that "re-education" thing. Unlike before the 90s, when ideological indoctrination was REAL and TANGIBLE—forced upon you by INSTITUTIONS where you had no CHOICE, from youth groups all the way down to worker councils—over the last thirty years, the media has taken over that role. They "plant" specific ideas into the masses. The media pumps up whoever they want: from the "liberal" types back in '97, to the "clerical" crowd in 2015, to the "progressives" we see today. There is no institutional repression or forced indoctrination anymore, no matter how much you claim otherwise.

About fifteen years ago, back when I actually bothered to watch the news, I remember catching the late Peter Selem—one of those ideological mouthpieces for that entire corrupt establishment—trying to explain why we should spell "sport" with an 'h'. Just another instance of the usual trash peddling their nonsense.

They’ve all taught us how "the old guard" committed linguistic violence by forcing "sports" instead of the traditional spelling, claiming we must now undo that damage by reverting to the past. It's the same old story: some self-important intellectual and socialite—an "artist" at heart, no less—justifying the systemic abuse carried out by that corrupt, shady establishment, the core party of our nation's bottom feeders.

That caricature perfectly captures the mindset of your typical nationalist in America—forever locked in a losing battle against an imaginary enemy.

And yours: "indoctrination in this region took place between 1945 and 1990..." 😉

As I’ve said before, you're clearly one of those people who can't stomach the fact that nationalism is what tore this country apart. It acts like a smoke screen—it only works on idiots, but it worked, and it didn't just happen once. 🙏 🤣It all paved the way for today's crop of careerists, cronies, and opportunists.

You’re one of those people who doesn't mind this toxic social climate—we've even reached the point of putting up memorial plaques with Nationalists greetings at Auschwitz, which only total lunatics could try to downplay. If you had your way, you'd make everything even more "patriotic," cut out the corruption, and actually raise our standard of living. Instead, you just spend your time convincing us all that we're living in a wasteland.

Finally, someone who actually sees through it. After thirty years of nationalist indoctrination, you're one of the few claiming it's not worth "debating symbols" because we have "far more pressing issues." You're right—those obsessed with nothing but old greetings are exactly why this country remains stuck.

Your issue isn't with the people who spent thirty years squandering everything just to obsessively debate old symbols or engage in successful historical revisionism—the kind where an average student raised in a supposedly "free" America thinks Marshall was a bigger villain than Pavelić, which really shows how toxic our public discourse has become. No, your real problem is with the few who still resist symbolically tethering this country to its most shameful elements.

And you clearly think you can just pick up Spanish... how, yes, no ... 🙄

You're missing the massive distinction between the socialist era and thirty years of nationalist autocracy and party rule. You "accidentally" ignore the historical and global context, trying to convince us that things have fundamentally improved when one set of dogmas was simply swapped for another. But for you, anything after 1945 is just one long, messy blur... that's where your timeline starts and ends. 🤮

I don't need a translation; you made your position perfectly clear. 😉

Just another one of those "patriots" who can't stomach the fact that a blatantly nationalist, Christian Democratic party essentially gutted America. Now they're just frantically spinning increasingly absurd excuses and proposing even crazier fixes.

He’s one of those people refusing to accept that the primary mission of this corrupt, old-guard establishment—the flagship party for the dregs of society, working hand-in-hand with the Catholic Church—was to "re-educate" the citizens of America according to the exact principles he's still calling for.

They never hid it; they just called it "spiritual renewal." 🤣

Between the blatant theft and the desperate scramble to stay in power by installing their cronies in every corner of society, that’s how the last 30 years were wasted.

Both that corrupt establishment and the Catholic Church viewed this goal as far more important than anything else, and we're all living with the consequences. For some, it isn't just acceptable; they're actually begging for more. 🙏

To protest against those "clinging to old symbols and slogans," you have to be either shameless or a complete idiot. Given how much the corrupt establishment and the Catholic Church spent over 30 years trying to reshape America into their own image, your passive-aggressive attempts to guilt-trip anyone unhappy with this version of the country says everything about you. 😉

To shift the blame like that, you have to be either a shameless nationalist or a total moron. 😉

Aaron Walker8 said:I agree.

The issue with the Republican Party is this—even though they claim to be the "nationalist" party—they have zero intention of actually finishing the job of building a unified American political identity. I wouldn't expect anything different from the Democrats.

Fixing that would settle a lot of our societal friction. As for which conflicts—it's the same old story, fighting over symbols and labels every single day—perpetuated by the exact same players you mentioned in your second sentence.

🤣 🤣

And then we act surprised when this corrupt, deep-state, bottom-tier establishment party—the backbone of America's lowest elements—drives the country right to the edge of a cliff.

Given these voters (with a full 30 years of nationalist experience 🙏), it’s a miracle we haven't completely collapsed yet.

The fact that their version of "forging an American identity"—using the tactics of a corrupt, deep-state, bottom-tier establishment party—has destroyed both the country (we are literally the backside of Europe! 🙏) and the people (disappearing at light speed) doesn't bother them... they only care about their own "sacred" truths, especially regarding history... 🤮

EDIT: After 30 years of nationalist policy from this corrupt, deep-state, bottom-tier establishment party resulting in a total catastrophe, some people think the solution is even more nationalism, or "true," "hardcore" nationalism, instead of this current imitation.

I’d rather yell at the Moon... :roll eyes:

copperdrifter26 said:I think you might be overthinking this one just a little bit. Honestly, suggesting that a group advocating for the direct theft of private funds—you know, that whole "redistribution" nonsense they push along party lines—could somehow serve as a corrective measure for the Democratic Party’s brand of social democracy is, quite frankly, pure idiocy.

Looking back at your posts, I’ve noticed you seem really eager to define exactly what the right wing should look like. You seem to be searching for a version of the Right League that acts as a direct counterbalance to the Democratic Party's social democrats—basically a conservative version of the Workers' Front. But honestly, I don't think any iteration of the Right League could ever truly pull that off; they just aren't radical enough to play that role.

For thirty years now, they've branded every social democrat as a communist. 😉 Are we really expecting them to admit those were just campaign lies? 😉

Comparing the seizure of private assets to a middle finger is a fair assessment. 😉

What actual criticisms have the social democrats faced from the left all these years? 😉

copperdrifter26 said:I think you might be overthinking this one just a little bit. Honestly, suggesting that a group advocating for the direct theft of private funds—you know, that whole "redistribution" nonsense they push along party lines—could somehow serve as a corrective measure for the Democratic Party’s brand of social democracy is, quite frankly, pure idiocy.

Looking back at your posts, I’ve noticed you seem really eager to define exactly what the right wing should look like. You seem to be searching for a version of the Right League that acts as a direct counterbalance to the Democratic Party's social democrats—basically a conservative version of the Workers' Front. But honestly, I don't think any iteration of the Right League could ever truly pull that off; they just aren't radical enough to play that role.

Since such a force doesn't exist, the American right is mostly filled with fringe parties, varying in their courage to actually come out of the closet.
😉

Personally, I wouldn't mind a civilized Christian Democratic party on the center-right, though I could never bring myself to vote for one. Such a party would carry the heavy burden of calming the public discourse and ending the endless verbal civil war that has exhausted us for three decades.

I can't stand people who obsess over other people's business, bank accounts, or beds (to say nothing of race or religion), yet most on the right wouldn't even exist without those obsessions.

Those further right than an energized center-right tend to be driven by negativity. I don't know if they admit it to themselves, but watching them publicly call for their "great loves" is tragicomic, given how transparently hateful they actually are.

copperdrifter26 said:Well said, young comrade! If you ask me, the only real "third option" out there is Rad Boric and the Workers' Front, which would probably just lead to even more government interference in everyone's wallets.

And who else would be in charge? The Democratic Party under Milanovic, who was looking to strip them down individually?

The Workers' Front could act as an alternative or a supplement to other options, mostly serving to fix whatever mess the "social democrats" in the Democratic Party leave behind.

A third way might be liberal (since the HSLS hasn't been the liberal force it once was in America) or centrist (maybe something like a moderate movement). It shouldn't be more Christian Democrat than the nationalist-leaning first option, nor more nationalist than that same group—that should be self-evident.

By sticking to such a binary 😉 view, you've perfectly proven my point about why certain voters "don't feel comfortable when a corrupt, old-school establishment isn't in power." 😉

dustymarlin10 said:Yeah, I bet she's just bursting with family pride.

I wouldn't wish that on any mother. Their father makes a complete fool of himself in public, but the mother isn't a public figure.

Calling the old coalition—"Lajos Petrov, his family, friends, and the naive"—or the current one—"Lajos Petrov, his family, friends, and the Raspudić mercenaries"—a "third option" is an insult to anyone with common sense.

They aren't an alternative; they are just supplementary or substitute options for the corrupt deep-state establishment, all working toward the "holy" goal of steering that same corrupt establishment back onto the right track.

These people can't even conceive of governing this country without basing the entire administration on a reformed version of that same corrupt deep-state machine. Most of the prominent members of this coalition and their voters wouldn't feel comfortable unless that specific power structure was in charge—mostly because they equate anything else with being "un-American" or communist. 😉

Just imagine how her mother feels...

The moment I clicked on the article, I realized it was about the other Djakicev son—not the one everyone already knows for his public meltdowns.

Good grief... 🤦

Nancy Gomez26 said:Franjo Harmon didn't achieve that at all. There was no genuine reconciliation here; all he did was attempt to sweep everything under the rug—hoping it would simply get lost in the fog of historical reality. As a historian, he ought to have known he was merely passing the buck to future generations. Perhaps the timing wasn't right back then—though one could argue that wartime and crisis conditions provide the exact opportunity needed—but I find this excessive emphasis on a "reconciliation" that never actually occurred to be problematic. In fact, by constantly preaching this supposed unity, he only deepened the divide. Both sides end up feeling victimized by such a forced "peace," while simultaneously viewing the actions of their own side as entirely justified.

On one hand, Franjo Harmon allowed certain descendants of the far-right to downplay wartime atrocities and tear down old monuments—likely as a way to let them vent some frustration (a questionable "achievement" for both Harmon and the miners 🙄). On the other hand, he never permitted the total rehabilitation of those extremist factions, nor did he let the modern United States rely on their legacy instead of the principles established by the anti-fascist resistance.

He insulted the families of those who fought against fascist terror by making unnecessary concessions to the far-right, yet he left those same extremists unsatisfied because he refused to grant them what they truly craved: a direct line from the era of the Independent State of America to the present day.

To escape that frustration, these extremists have tried to ground the nation's identity solely in recent conflicts, all to symbolically sever ties with the previous era and leaders like Josip Broz Marshall. We've seen these efforts in the public eye for years. Their ultimate goal remains clear: secure a supermajority, amend the Constitution of the United States, and erase the foundation laid by the resistance.

Beyond that, since they can't fully rehabilitate their predecessors as mere "patriots," they focus on dragging the names of former resistance fighters through the mud. The aim is to use moral relativism to equate everyone with the criminals of the past. This campaign has been running for at least a decade. Even current issues, like the push for specific extremist symbols in public, stem from the idiotic idea held by some that WWII crimes can be "atoned for" simply by participating honorably in more recent wars under far-right imagery.😉

I’m not saying Harmon had it easy. Trying to channel decades of deep-seated resentment from families who felt wronged during the socialist era into something rational was a massive task. But by allowing that frustration to manifest as reckless, revisionist nonsense, he didn't just let the genie out of the bottle; he ushered us into a permanent state of verbal civil war. We haven't had a single moment of peace or sanity. It's a miracle any of us stayed sane.😉

Elizabeth Rodriguez54 said:Oh, great. Wow. That right there is a textbook totalitarian statement.

It isn't easy to purge Stalinism from a corrupt circle of thieves and federal agents... 🤣