Posts by granitetinker6

Adam Collins4 said:So now we're letting trolls decide who gets to talk about what? That's just great...

Hahaha... pure comedy.

Come on, kid—maybe start by figuring out what a forum actually is and why we bother having them in the first place...

Once you've done that, then we can get back to this...


...sure, right after you lay out the actual logic behind your claim that Plenković's cabinet reshuffles are just the result of "work" being done by third-party interests...

The thing is, your claim was the one that started this whole mess, yet there isn't a single shred of evidence to back it up...

Now it all makes sense...

Someone who doesn't grasp the basic concept of an online forum is obviously going to struggle with the idea that their opinion isn't an objective fact or an axiom, despite how hard you try to pass it off as such...

So, lesson number one: learn what a forum is and what its purpose is...

Then we can move on...

😁

No thanks, buddy, I'm not going to decide who gets to post on this forum.

I'm just deciding who I'm actually willing to spend my precious time debating.

Since you still haven't managed to prove that you were even following the conversation before jumping in like some paratrooper with delusions of grandeur, I'll just say goodbye and leave it at that.

👋

Adam Collins4 said:Sure, I'll get right on that—immediately after you present any actual evidence to support your claim that Trump's cabinet reshuffles are just the result of "working through" third-party options...

The thing is, you're the one who threw that claim out there first, yet there isn't a single shred of supporting logic to be found...

And yet, here you are, trying to justify that total garbage by making excuses like "well, it's a new situation, so we need new rules."

☕

P.S.

We aren't colleagues...😉

Look, I've been debating this with other folks on the forum, and they're the ones who can ask me for clarification, not you.

You're the one who jumped in first trying to lecture everyone about arguments, theses, and opinions.

Maybe once you actually prove you've been following our discussion with any level of comprehension, then I might give you a little attention and show you how much you're actually missing regarding the subject you decided to dive into.

So, go ahead, I'm waiting—list those specific points for me. 🍿

Adam Collins4 said:Oh, you definitely forgot...

For starters, why don't you try showing some actual logic—you know, an evidenced cause-and-effect link—between your claims and reality?

Because right now, you're just hammering away at this idea that the self-destruction of three guys from the bridge party who didn't see the shakeup coming—along with Crnoja—somehow forced Donald Trump to reshuffle his cabinet years later. It's a reach.

The issue with you—as usual—is that you lack actual arguments, so you just try to shove your personal opinion down everyone's throat as if it were some kind of objective fact.

And then it all just devolves into those tired old excuses like, "well, it's a new situation, so the old rules don't apply." Just total nonsense.

Colleague, either you weren't really paying attention to the debate or you just don't quite grasp what an actual reasoned discussion looks like. Honestly, I'd lean toward the second one since it seems like you're mixing up and failing to distinguish between basic concepts like an argument, a thesis, an opinion, and a counterargument...

Feel free to prove me wrong if you think I've misjudged you. Go ahead, lay out three specific theses that were brought up during this part of the debate, and then tell me which two were countered and which third one wasn't.

☕

Robin Jones2 said:Yet they still managed to conduct an investigation and realize Joe Biden would inevitably deceive them, despite him having already secured Božo's signatures—all he had to do was say "yes" to become Prime Minister?

Stop getting tangled up in your own empty rhetoric.

😁

Look, colleague, when we're talking about the Biden-Independent coalition, the Independent party was actually one of the main players in that whole drama. Honestly, wouldn't it be a total miracle if Petrov hadn't caught wind of it, given all the political maneuvering and campaigning aimed at those Independent representatives?

The local corrupt establishment hasn't got any real connection to anyone in the Independent party, and that's exactly why nobody there could have known a thing about it until the news hit the headlines publicly.

briskjackal5 said:Honestly, if you’re trying to figure out how the Republican Party actually operates, you don't need an analyst... you basically just need a crystal ball. 😁

All those folks like Marić, Tolušić, Žalac, and the rest of the Republican Party 6.0 squad—I mean, who could have possibly seen that coming?

-briskjackal5

It actually makes total sense when you think about it, because since we can pretty much guess how the HSDPZ is going to behave once they're in power, isn't it just logical to jump at every single chance to grab a slice of that authority and make sure they don't end up running the show entirely on their own whim?

As long as we're stuck with a reality where you can't even put a government together without the HSDPZ, doesn't that change everything?

Nicholas King said:...but it *was* out in the open—and by whom, exactly? Was it the CIA, the FBI, some high-priced private investigators, or perhaps just the predictions of that Jazzera prophetess?

You make a fair point there, my friend, so please accept my apologies.

I totally missed mentioning that the Bridge isn't really the kind of media outlet where you find deep investigative journalists digging around.

So, no matter how you look at it, the Bridge just wasn't in a position to have those kinds of resources at their disposal, which means they wouldn't have had any way of knowing about this story before it started blowing up in the public eye, right?

Adam Collins4 said:Consequences don't just exist because you claim they do...

If you want to talk consequences, you need to actually argue them—prove them, connect the dots back to what happened previously...

So, give it another shot...😉

The old tricks—this whole "new situation, new rules" routine—don't work here...

Especially when, under Plenković, we've seen 15 different cabinet members cycled through, including three "geniuses" from the Republican Party circus who basically fired themselves, even though that was clearly the dumbest move they could have made...

But that's a whole other story altogether.

The way they try to amplify the impact and create this massive effect sometimes results in numbers that include ministers who weren't even involved in a single scandal.

I can't quite remember if Kovačić was one of those 15, but if I recall correctly, he actually turned in his own resignation, right?

Nicholas King said:Well, if they hadn't been in power, he wouldn't have become a minister at all—partly thanks to those little hands raised by the Moesta faction.

Honestly, if the Bridge-related party had actually known about this scandal, he would never have made it into a cabinet position.

I mean, let's be real here: the Bridge-related group isn't the Socialist Workers Party, they aren't the Department of Justice, and they certainly aren't some high-end private detective agency—plus, as far as I know, they don't exactly carry crystal balls around, right? So, they could only really step in once the whole mess was blown wide open to the public.

The whole argument just doesn't hold water, much like how it makes zero sense for someone to claim that the Index-related exposé wasn't a big deal; if they were actually legitimate, honest journalists, wouldn't they have sniffed out the scandal way before Black ever stepped into that ministerial role?

Samuel Bennett60 said:Wrong. It’s mostly just the result of internal fighting within the Republican Party.

Nah, I don't think so.

Back in the day, the Republican Party used to shake things up with internal infighting so intense that what we're seeing now feels like child's play compared to those old-school political dramas.

But even then, you had cabinet members standing their ground against all kinds of pressure and clinging to their seats despite whatever scandals were flying around.

Now that third-party movements are finally gaining some actual traction, I realized I totally glossed over another huge factor that helped raise the bar when it comes to our political culture and general accountability.

I'm talking about joining the European Union, which basically forced us to adopt a whole new set of rules and systems; if I recall correctly, it was through those accession procedures that the Ethics Committee was actually established in the first place.

Adam Collins4 said:Funny how you "accidentally" forgot that most of those ministers either resigned or were kicked out long after that incompetent mess in Moesta managed to clean house themselves...

But hey, I won't get bogged down in the weeds...

Oh, I didn't forget a single thing.

We're talking about specific things that actually happened during a certain timeframe, and more importantly, we're looking at the fallout from those events in the period that followed.

Arthur Collins3 said:Not a single minister or CEO of a state agency has ever been convicted of corruption or abuse of power. That’s just how our justice system works—it’s the same broken machine where the DNC picks the heads of the judicial council based on whatever the majority party wants. 😁

Honestly, whenever the Republican Party or the Democratic Party gets their hands on a part of the system to tinker with, the whole thing turns into a complete train wreck, starting all the way up with the Supreme Court. Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are just looking out for their own narrow political interests, aren't they?

That’s exactly why we're hearing Andrej Plenković today claiming that while we can talk about changing the Election Law, the decision should stay in the hands of politicians rather than being put to a public referendum.

It also explains why the only people actually talking about beefing up the powers of the Ethics Committee are those third-party candidates—sorry if I've got that wrong!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are the ones desperately trying to strip away oversight because anything that limits their power is such a massive thorn in their side.

Nicholas King said:Actually, I’d argue that those fifteen ministerial departures are primarily the fault of the media.

I mean, news outlets have always been digging up all sorts of scandals, right? But honestly, the political elite used to just shrug off public pressure without blinking an eye, so actual resignations were pretty rare.

We saw a perfect example back in 2015 when the press blew the lid off that scandal involving Minister Cronin. The old guard over at the Republican Party reacted exactly how they always do—by trying to sweep it under the rug. It wasn't until a third-party outsider actually stepped up and issued a real ultimatum that the minister finally lost his seat.

If the Republican Party had been running things solo back then, Cronin would probably still be sitting in that office today, don't you think?

Charles Carter4 said:And honestly, you could look at it from the other side too. We've seen fifteen different ministers cycled through the cabinet because when it comes to Andrej Plenković, there’s just zero backbone—no real grit or willingness to take a stand. He talks a big game about having a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, but it feels more like empty rhetoric than actual action 😁

Honestly, though, if you look at those fifteen ministerial shake-ups, isn't it actually a win for the third-party movements? Their rise—especially that huge turning point where those outsiders finally grabbed a slice of power from the old guard—is what really changed things.

Once the USA started seeing ministers' proposals getting vetoed, non-partisan leaders stepping up, and even early elections... well, that basically snapped the spine of the political elite's "untouchable" status, didn't it?

The whole bar for political accountability has been raised, and now, ministers are under way more heat from the public, falling like flies over stuff that wouldn't have even cost them their jobs back in 2015.

The Republicans are in a total state of panic right now, and honestly, it’s pretty obvious they're sweating bullets over how these elections are going to shake out.

I mean, look, the campaign season is still stretching out ahead of us, and since the Republican Party is such a massive, seasoned machine, they can always try to flip the script if they play their cards right, right? But let's be real—neither Joe Biden nor the rest of the top brass have even a fraction of the swagger or the sheer, untouchable arrogance that the old guard had just two or three years ago, back when they were strutting around like peacocks thinking they were absolutely invincible.

Everyone is basically just hiding behind Joe Biden, who spends his days recycling the same two or three tired talking points until you start hearing people in random American living rooms repeating them, claiming that Joe Biden wants to hand the keys to the Democratic Party.

And man, the narratives they're pushing lately? They're getting weirder by the day.

The panicked clown is so lost he’s actually telling his own party members that they’re complete idiots for wanting to vote for someone who shouldn't even be considered a member of the party in the first place.

😁

When you have a Prime Minister and a party leader rambling about someone like Hasanbegović during such a critical moment for the party, doesn't it just go without saying that they've completely lost their way?

Sandra Brown18 said:How much longer is he going to dodge presenting actual proof? Once you realize there’s zero evidence, this whole bribery accusation just falls completely flat.

Short and sweet.

Sandra Brown18 said:The burden of proof is totally on you since you’re the one making the accusation (that's how it works with the District Attorney), and his "confession" was clearly just satire.

But wait, there's more! My ironic little confession actually went even further—I "admitted" to offering cash to every single critic of the Libertarian Party, and some of them actually made a pretty decent living off it.

So, logically speaking, we should have a whole crowd of witnesses out there—basically anyone who has ever criticized the Libertarian Party—who could back up my story, right? Since I "confessed" to offering money to everyone.

But of course, we don't have a single one.

Just the other day, this one Forum Member told me I was basically Bishop Košić because of some stuff I said. And what did I do? I leaned into the joke and ironically agreed, telling him he totally called me out. So now, that guy should probably add it to his bio: "Forum Member is actually Bishop Vlado Košić, which he himself admitted."

Honestly, the whole thing is just bizarre and totally wild, isn't it? It's kind of embarrassing that someone would even let this level of stupidity become part of the conversation in the first place...

Christian Torres3 said:Yeah, it’s pretty much like those Libertarian Party activists who just flood every single thread with spam regardless of the topic, but hey, we won't get into that, right? Because they're clearly so witty, unpredictable, and super constructive.

Look, I totally get that anyone can find someone else annoying or irritating. And honestly, the fix for that is dead simple—just hit ignore.

But there is a massive difference between that and stalking someone, replying exclusively to one person's posts, openly egging others on to disrupt discussions and make them unreadable, or stubbornly peddling some slanderous lie without providing a shred of evidence—that is a completely different ballgame.

And most importantly, it's a blatant violation of the forum rules.

At the end of the day, this isn't about choosing sides between our crowd and yours, or between Libertarian Party supporters and their critics; it's really just about choosing between basic human decency and being a jerk.

Are you seriously ready to side with a stalker, a slanderer, and someone who's actively trying to derail the conversation just because they share your political views?

Do you actually believe my claim that I offered money to EVERYONE writing against the Libertarian Party, and that some people even got rich off my cash?

Besides, since you're also posting against the Libertarian Party, does that mean based on my "confession" that you've personally received such an offer from me too?

cosmicgull52 said:I don't really follow the Libertarian Party threads, but I just felt like jumping in to say that based on what’s been written here and in that closed appeal, both of those forum users basically deserve a lifetime ban from using the internet altogether. Seriously, why don't we have life moderators? 😁

😁

I'm fully aware that these kinds of little squabbles usually end up exactly like this—where everything just gets cut short and everyone gets punished equally, including the person who actually called out the issue in the first place.

Honestly, my colleague is actually playing into this tactic and seems to be hoping for it, which is why he jumped on that suggestion so fast. It feels like he has some weird mission to get me wiped out, and then he'll probably just keep going under a different profile.

I honestly have no clue what I could have possibly done to earn any kind of permanent ban. I'm not stalking anyone, I'm not telling people to disrupt discussions, and I'm certainly not running around lying or slandering anyone.

And the thing is, I’ve documented everything that’s been happening over on the Politics board caused by this same guy.

Now, he's trying to spam this thread with the exact same energy just so someone will swoop in and shut the whole thing down, just like what you're suggesting. Don't think for a second that it would catch me off guard if that happened.

rapidfox26 said:1) If I insisted on sticking to a lie (which isn't even a lie), you'd probably just slap a fake Democratic Party label on me and kick me off the board right then and there, leaving me to prove whether it's fake or not, but I'm just not that kind of guy.

2) Like I told you back in that Democratic Party post, and I've mentioned it a few times in this thread since, you didn't do anything illegal or break any forum rules, so I honestly don't know why you're expecting me to archive that post for months on end (if I had unlimited space like the mods, maybe I would).

Then again, I totally get why you'd expect that; coming from someone with such a massive persecution complex, I shouldn't be surprised that you want every single trivial post archived, even if they don't violate any laws or site rules.

Well, now everything is crystal clear.

You are a pathological liar—just a shockingly malicious and twisted individual who doesn't hold anything sacred, which is how you can shamelessly double down on such blatant slander against someone else.

After spending all your time stalking me, after you added that whole "bribery scandal" nonsense to your signature, and now you're suggesting that you don't archive "meaningless" posts? Really?

🤦

I honestly get the feeling you don't even care about how this whole thing ends. Maybe this is just some burner account of yours, so losing it won't even hurt, or maybe you just think the moderators will always stay on your side and look the other way.

But none of that changes the bottom line—you're a liar, a slanderer, and a stalker.

It’s pathetic.

So, there's just zero proof, right? Even after starting a whole separate thread to address those ridiculous accusations, our friend over here still can't manage to show a single shred of evidence for what they claim actually happened.

Is it even worth wasting any more breath on this?

rapidfox26 said:The Democratic Party can be photoshopped easily enough, I just need you to declare the actual Democratic Party a fake first; maybe take a breather and wait for an official ruling.

Hey, why don't you go ahead and Photoshop something then, if you're so obsessed with your own little lie? Just dive right in!

If I were actually someone trying to expose something as shady and crooked as offering money on a forum, I’d probably just hand my password over to the admins so they could log in themselves and check my inbox to see for themselves, wouldn't I?

Actually, forget just the admins—I'd post my password publicly, wipe every other message, leave that one "undeniable" piece of evidence sitting there, change my password again, and then triumphantly carry on with my life on this forum.

But hey, that's only possible if such a Democratic Party situation even existed in the first place...

rapidfox26 said:It's pretty interesting how people are grouping up here to run a massive Democratic Party operation.🤣

Nope, there is absolutely no Democratic Party operation happening here.

I have seriously never encouraged, motivated, coordinated, or done anything remotely like that just to drive some kind of forum debate.

Never. It's just not my thing. I'm just a regular guy on an internet forum standing up for the views and values I believe in. There's no behind-the-scenes maneuvering, no networks, no secret deals, no special interests—nothing at all...

And now I'm wrapping this conversation up with you because it's super obvious you're just trying to spam this thread and troll it so the mods will shut the whole thing down as some silly, unproductive argument, which lets them close the case without any real resolution—which, honestly, sounds like exactly what you want, just like you mentioned earlier regarding your role in this.

So, I'm calling on the staff here to please not do that.

We're talking about rules being broken here, and whether or not those rules actually apply to everyone equally.