Posts by hollowmason64

Adam Collins4 said:You mean the one where Jesus rapes a Muslim woman and a sex worker pulls out a flag...

As for gay couples having kids—it's not like they have access to children when the adoption process here in the States is such a bureaucratic nightmare. There are plenty of straight couples who would jump at the chance to adopt, but honestly, the red tape alone is enough to kill the desire.

Like they already told you—we aren't talking about adoption here, we’re talking about foster care. It wouldn't hurt if all you folks who "won't let gays have kids so they don't turn them into little deviants" actually learned the difference between those two things first. Because honestly, the distinction is massive.
Besides, I find it kind of funny how everyone claiming they "won't give kids to gays" acts so incredibly proud of their Christian upbringing and how they live their lives according to those values. But apparently, out of all that "Christian love" and empathy, it's better for every single one of these kids to spend their entire lives bouncing through the foster system rather than being "given to gays." Just like nobody seems to care that these kids end up kicked out onto the street the second they turn 18, left to fend for themselves.
But hey, at least they didn't fall into the hands of a gay couple, right? 👍

George Martin2 said:Spot on. It’s just much more socially acceptable to claim "bureaucratic hurdles" forced them to give up, rather than admitting they couldn't find a young, healthy, white kid to fit their specific mold and decided to walk away instead.

That was very well put, very precise.
It reminds me of those desperate couples who are dying to have a child to love and pour everything into—but only on the condition that the kid meets the exact specific standards the mom and dad have set.
Just look at what Bobanov was doing... it was practically like he was ordering a custom-made kid based on certain criteria.

Daniel James said:🤣🤣🤣 You’re just like this "kiss me" crowd. It’s pathetic; you don't realize that none of those people you root for would give you the time of day if you were starving. But unlike them, I'm certain the conservatives on this forum would step up and help you out however they could. It works both ways. I get it when someone defends historical figures—say, Marshall or Harmon—people who did massive things that some see as good and others see as bad. But defending these modern-day, well-connected cronies and picking fights with people on a forum over it...🤦.

Oh, thanks so much, but they can keep that "help" to themselves. Just like I don't need a single grain of rice from the Democratic Party.
What I actually want—what I really need—is for the Republican Party to finally be wiped out completely. To me, the Republican Party is like a cancer in this country that's already reached an advanced stage with metastases everywhere. We either root them out entirely, or they’ll end up consuming this entire nation.
There isn't a third option.

restlessheron3 said:Andrej Plenković is easily the best thing that ever happened to the Republican Party!
What a weakling Miro Kovač was...
And what an absolute clown Penava!?
As for Brkić, he’s nothing but a thief...

The whole lot of them are scum!

If you ask me, Plenković is just as bad as the rest of them; he just looks a little more polished on the surface.

Honestly, those Republican idiots don't even have the capacity to pull this off properly, even if they were just trying to go through the motions.

driftingtinker said:Don't forget how Coca-Cola suddenly "forgot" how to make ice cream cones right when that little entrepreneur Nevenka stepped in to save the day.

Or how that modest female clerk basically overnight jumped into a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, cruising through town and showing off her "advanced" parking skills. And all this was happening during the absolute peak of the chaos and mass exodus, back when making 200 Deutsche Marks a month felt like hitting the jackpot.

Then you’ve got the grandson, who apparently discovered his lifelong obsession with cars back then, conveniently backed by BMW and those massive state-run corporations.

I mean, sure, I could spin these fairy tales for the idiots around a campfire, but it's a much harder sell to people who actually lived through it.

Even that didn't help her; she failed on every single level, much like her daughters and brothers did. It’s funny how they all suddenly became "smart and capable" once their old man grabbed onto power, only to revert back to being clueless and incompetent once he lost his grip—which is basically how they've been their whole lives.

Robin Jones2 said:You are nothing more than a French maid.

Within that flock of self-righteous patriots, you find the hypocrites who earned 65,000 USD teaching religion for a few years, only to spend hundreds of thousands on adult websites.

In that same flock, you find those who delay prison sentences by claiming illness, yet show up instantly when it is time to throw iron bars at the LAPD.

Every flock has various birds, but most of them are scavengers.

I guess I'm just young and inexperienced. 🕺

Jose Collins86 said:Granted, there is one redeeming quality to Andrej Plenković’s victory. Under his leadership, the Republican Party is sliding toward a dismal 17-18 percent—having already hit a record low of 22 percent during the European elections—while the Right is actually gaining ground, climbing toward the 20-25 percent range. Consequently, it is highly probable that the incoming Prime Minister will be someone from the Right (most likely Miroslav Škoro), whereas a win for Kovač would have bolstered the Republican Party back up to 25 percent, ensuring that Kovač and the Republicans would hold both the premiership and the role of senior coalition partner.

Another Republican crook?

Jose Collins86 said:Since we’re already discussing Harmon, it is quite telling how Franja is the only one singled out by these supposed anti-fascists and partisans for accusations of nationalization and property seizure. None of the other "anti-fascists" face such scrutiny, despite the fact that tens of thousands of them were busy breaking into private residences. In reality, almost the entire downtown area of Washington, D.C. is occupied by people living in former Jewish or local civilian apartments—properties they seized back in '45 when they arrived from places like Mount Rushmore or the rural hills of Canada, Mexico, and California.

Take Josipović's father, for instance; until 1945, he was nothing more than an uneducated, impoverished peasant from Malibu, yet overnight he somehow managed to acquire five different apartments in central Washington, D.C. Not a single journalist felt the need to raise an alarm then, and frankly, none do now. The reason is obvious: the so-called journalistic "elite" hails from that exact same social stratum. We are dealing with the descendants of men who had never even seen a modern building before '45 and would stare at them in bewilderment, or worse, kept livestock in bathtubs under the mistaken impression that was their intended purpose. Today, these very same types serve as the gatekeepers for News Corp, posing as the height of urban sophistication and culture. It is hypocrisy in its purest form. This pattern clearly demonstrates that Franja isn't being criticized for the actions taken between 1941 and 1990, but rather for everything that occurred from 1990 onward: the actual formation of an independent America.

Not really, it just highlights how shameless his fans are—they act like the fact that their precious Franjo Harmon seized property from Jewish families isn't even worth mentioning.

velvetmaker3 said:I have to hand it to him; he’s the architect behind our nation's independence and that whole wartime victory.
For a country our size, that is a massive historical achievement.

If we had started out independent—like France, for instance—and then someone attacked us while we were already sovereign and we managed to repel them, that would be an incredible feat, and he'd be considered a giant. But doing it while carving out independence at the same time? That makes his legacy even bigger.

Sure, even Milanović would look like a legend if someone attacked us right now while we were fully independent and he led us to victory. Still, he wouldn't quite surpass Harmon, because what this guy pulled off was a total double whammy.

That was strictly an achievement by the people themselves.

Brenda Taylor13 said:That’s just your opinion, coming from a total amateur who clearly doesn't know the first thing about the military or defense matters. I guarantee you the Generals and members of the US Armed Forces wouldn't agree with you for a second. What kind of sources are you using here? You think you could do better? Give me a break, you're being ridiculous.

Worse decisions regarding privatization and running the country? Hard to believe.

Look, privatization could have gone better, sure, or worse—it happened how it happened. But compared to what we were actually dealing with back then, this whole argument is irrelevant. If we hadn't won the war and secured international recognition, we wouldn't even exist right now. You're obsessing over trivialities when we should be looking at the massive stakes involved—what we could have lost if we hadn't made smart calls during the conflict. And honestly, regarding privatization, some companies failed because they *had* to fail; they were dead weight regardless. Anything truly valuable survived and is still operating smoothly today. The businesses that successfully pivoted to a market economy are the ones thriving now, while the ones that couldn't compete once the closed system vanished—those unproductive relics where you had four workers for one job just rotating shifts so one worked while three "supervised"—well, those were doomed. Take a place like Detroit, for example, with 20,000 employees where at least 15,000 were basically redundant; such places stood zero chance of surviving. Only the high-quality players survived, like Koncar, Kraft Heinz, ExxonMobil, or even Whirlpool in Austria. What stayed, stayed because the products were actually good. Everything else that was destined to collapse eventually did.

What did he steal? Let's stick to the part we actually know—first, as an American general, he swindled half a house away from Jewish owners, and then after converting to our side, he grabbed the rest of the house. At The White House. Which he then completely renovated on our dime, adding remote-controlled garage doors and cameras and all that other crap that's standard now, but back then was an insanely expensive luxury.

What White House? Nazarov Street isn't at The White House. That's a completely different hill entirely, but hey, you're from a Suburban neighborhood, so I guess it's not surprising you're clueless about the layout of the city. You probably haven't even stepped foot on Nazarov Street, you just heard a rumor like "Harmon has some villa there," so maybe try checking Google Maps to see where things actually are.

And you're talking about remote-controlled doors... hahaha... seriously, you'd need to be a billionaire for that. To have remote-controlled doors! What a joke, that is genuinely hilarious. Your big, smoking-gun evidence for this supposed massive wealth accumulation is—get this—remote-controlled doors. Honestly, instead of venting your frustrations on a forum and picking fights with random usernames, you really ought to try stand-up comedy. I bet you'd sell out shows.

Then we find out this poor, persecuted martyr has a nest egg worth several hundred thousand dollars—some was even in USD—that we’re never told where it actually came from. Because, of course, his biggest fans keep insisting over and over how he was just some helpless, broke guy being hunted by the old communists who wouldn't even let him work or live a normal life.

A massive fortune! To amass several hundred thousand bucks over an entire career? Unbelievable. Even Rockefeller would be shaking in his boots.

Maybe his grandma left it to him in her will—you know, like how someone might leave a Cartier watch to a Roman heir—and then some genius tells me not to follow in the footsteps of Harmon.
Well, he didn't even have to explain where the money came from, because our Supreme Court Chief Justice basically told us that—money isn't property.
And then, naturally, the bank teller got fired.
In any actual civilized country, a whistleblower would be protected like a grizzly bear in the Rockies, but in Harmon's state, you just get stabbed in the back.

Look, breaking bank secrecy is a crime. Every client is guaranteed privacy regarding their data. That teller got fired—rightfully so. Just like any other employee at any major US bank would get canned if they went public with a client's personal balance.

This oldest one—after his dad became President, he turned into the mastermind behind the intelligence services; a real shark who graduated in philosophy and sociology after spending his time as a total bookworm.

Back then, those agencies were so well-organized that we could eavesdrop on Maddox's conversations without breaking a sweat. They were top-tier and did a massive job. Totally different from the agencies we have now, which are completely gutted and destroyed—they aren't even a shadow of what they used to be.

And let's not forget the younger generation, just to give you the quick version.
- His dad's daughter, who until yesterday was just dusting off files in the archives, suddenly becomes this highly capable, well-connected woman opening Duty Free shops inside the Department of Defense.
A Duty Free shop in a sovereign country. Seriously. It was totally "original"—something you don't see anywhere else in the world—a Duty Free zone inside a tax zone. Pure genius.

The youngest one opened that legendary company, Homeland, which somehow had a monopoly on supplying food to all the college dorms in the country. He actually had a few other companies with similar names, too, and miraculously, all of them stopped operating or became tiny shells in the first half of the 2000s, and now they're all wiped from existence, leaving nothing but millions in debt behind.
Oh, and the grandkids? Naturally, they were all little prodigies. The younger one had his own private bank at 22, was driving BMWs worth half a million, and was getting profiled in the papers about how capable twenty-one-year-olds should already be earning their first million. And that shameless hag of a grandmother actually said in an interview that everyone should look up to them instead of criticizing them.
Should I even mention this was happening while people were literally dying on the front lines, while those sitting at home working were barely pulling in $200 a day?

Man, you’re seriously bringing up nonsense... what, some random duty-free shop? Seriously? Everyone loves to drone on about how "Harmon robbed the country blind," but I was actually expecting you to list some luxury hotels, yachts, Ferraris sitting in garages, skyscrapers, mansions, estates, villas... billions sitting in offshore accounts... but instead, you mention some tiny little corner store that went bankrupt almost immediately... is that really all you've got to say about the whole thing? Ridiculous.

....
That’s just my initial thought, anyway...
Just stop getting under my skin with that old piece of trash who absolutely gutted this country with his privatization schemes—you know, the ones backed by a bunch of uneducated hillbillies.
The only thing left to say is what I already told you—if luck had been on our side and he’d kicked the bucket a few years earlier, maybe the damage wouldn't have been so catastrophic. Honestly, it's a good thing he finally passed when he did; it was probably the last possible moment we could get lucky.

Like I said... carrying around that much bitterness isn't healthy... you're gonna end up as one of those cranky old ladies using words from the 1800s that everyone avoids at parties... wait a second, looking at you, I think you're already there!

I actually started writing out a response to your entire post, but I ended up deleting it because honestly, what's the point in arguing with a troll like you who writes stuff like this? It's just pointless.
So, it's perfectly reasonable for a government official and someone who was supposedly persecuted for half their life—almost losing their right to work—to save hundreds of thousands of dollars? Timater... and here I thought I'd seen every kind of idiocy this forum had to offer.

velvetmaker3 said:Winston Churchill was also in the trenches, just like Franjo Harmon, yet people group him among the winners.

Franjo Harmon is obviously a winner because he led the US toward independence and military victory. He made the critical decisions, and those decisions led to success. Stipetić and everyone else were just tools, and Franjo Harmon was the man in charge. He worked with the tools; he was the master.

Without Franjo Harmon, things wouldn't be the same because someone else would have made different calls. Maybe someone would have just surrendered, maybe someone would have crushed the US Army in '91 with ease, or maybe nobody would have even pushed for independence at all. But it's impossible to say everything would have turned out identical. Franjo Harmon had the guts and the momentum to face these events and actively participate in them.
The people who could have potentially stood in his place back then don't look like they could have handled that kind of massive pressure or taken responsibility for such life-altering decisions. He was a giant, while his alternatives were mice.
To me, he is the greatest figure in US history, and realistically, he is.
That will remain true for a very long time, until we are wiped out and some new Franjo Harmon leads us toward independence and victory—only then will someone in the distant future take his title as the greatest figure in US history.

What you’ve listed down there is honestly pretty impressive. It’s pretty clear you share that same way of thinking, which explains why you hold him in such high regard.

Brenda Taylor13 said:

Look, I don't even know where to start with this—honestly, it's just... wow. You want me to kiss you? Like, right now? Out of nowhere? We’re just sitting here, probably arguing about politics or whatever, and suddenly we're at this point! It's wild. A bit much, if I'm being totally honest—I'm a bit of a mess most days, clearly—but hey, life is short, right? Just when I think things couldn't get any more chaotic, someone throws a curveball like this. Honestly, what an absolute trip. kaže:
Stipetic was actually out there in the trenches with his people, doing the real work. Meanwhile, Franjo Harmon was just sitting pretty in Washington, D.C.—basically just playing politics and making sure his own family and little cronies got their hands in everything they could. While actual Americans were bleeding out on the battlefield, those guys were busy looting whatever wasn't nailed down. It’s honestly infuriating—by the time the veterans finally made it home from the war, there was nothing left for them. Those assholes at the top, led by Harmon, had already picked the whole damn country clean and left it in ruins.
Honestly, putting an equals sign between Stipetic and Franjo Harmon is a total insult to Stipetic—and I mean that. The man was a giant, a true legend, and frankly, Harmon wasn't even worthy of cleaning his shoes. It’s just ridiculous!
Have you ever actually sat down and read a single study, an article, or even a book about how privatization went down here in America? Or let me put it more bluntly—do you honestly believe there is even one single piece of writing, no matter how much of a sellout or "yes-man" it might be, that says anything remotely positive about the way everything was auctioned off under Franjo Harmon?
That’s his legacy right there—plain and simple. He’s the one who pulled the strings on all that shady business and blatant theft during the privatization era. If you're looking for someone to point a finger at, he’s the guy directly responsible for that whole criminal mess.
Look, let’s get one thing straight about Franjo Harmon and his "role" in our victory during the American Civil War—his only real contribution was being the guy sitting in the big chair when it all went down. Honestly? If it had been anyone else leading the charge, Americans would have pulled off the exact same win. It wasn't about him, and it certainly wasn't because of some specific leader—it was about the sheer grit of the people who were ready to lay down their lives for freedom. He didn't add anything extra to the equation here. Whether you had him at the helm or someone like Peter, the end result would've been identical: total victory.
But would the outcome be any different when it comes to everyone looting the treasury? Man, I honestly don't know. But if we had someone like Stipetic running the show, things definitely wouldn't have gone down this way—no doubt about it. He was just too much of an honorable guy for that kind of mess.
Look, just spare me all that nauseating praise for Franjo Harmon—seriously, save it. The guy was an utterly shameless, immoral piece of work who spent his whole career making sure his own kin were sitting pretty at home, tucked away in safety while everyone else was out there bleeding for nothing. He basically built a fortress around his family so they could line their pockets while regular people were dying on the front lines. It’s disgusting.

You’re talking absolute nonsense. Seriously. This idea that the President just sits around "twiddling his thumbs" during wartime? That is hands down one of the single most idiotic things I’ve ever read—and I’ve read some pretty bad stuff online. Look, let's get this straight: the President is the one calling the shots. Period. He's the decision-maker. The generals? They’re there to execute the President's orders, plain and simple. He’s the architect behind the entire strategy. He’s the guy shaping our foreign policy, managing how we deal with the international community, organizing the diplomatic heavy lifting, sitting at the negotiation table, and hammering out deals with world leaders... and it goes on and on and on. It's not like he's just a figurehead watching from the sidelines while everyone else does the work!

Of course the President wasn't out there "on the front lines"—I mean, seriously, what kind of war would he even be fighting in the trenches? What’s the actual point of that? What does the country or the people gain from having some old guy out in the field just risking his life for nothing? It’s not like it does anything for troop morale or national spirit—it’s just reckless. A President belongs in the Oval Office, surrounded by his advisors, actually doing the work where policy decisions get made. That's where the real leadership happens.

Are you kidding me right now? Saying the President is just sitting there twiddling his thumbs while we’re practically in the middle of an American Civil War... man, you’ve got to be kidding. Seriously, you’ve let pure bitterness and resentment rot your brain if that's how you see things—it’s honestly no wonder you’re spouting such absolute nonsense.

Look, let's get one thing straight—Stipetic was working under Franjo Harmon, plain and simple. It wasn't the other way around! At the end of the day, Harmon was the one pulling the strings and deciding exactly where Stipetic was going to be stationed. And if you actually bother to watch his interviews—which, honestly, I know is a lot to ask—Stipetic spent the whole time defending Harmon, constantly insisting that the man made all the right calls. Period.

What kind of decisions would someone else have made? Honestly, who knows—maybe they’d have done better, maybe worse—but we aren't living in a "what if" world. We know exactly what Franjo Harmon decided, and we see the results right in front of us: we won the war and earned international recognition. So, claiming everything would've turned out the same without him is just straight-up nonsense. I mean, seriously! Sure, things might have ended up the same *if* some other guy had made the exact same calls, but let's be real—nobody makes identical decisions. Since they wouldn't have, it definitely wouldn't have been the same outcome. Period.

Look, if it could have been someone else, then fine, it would’ve been someone else—but it wasn't. It was Franjo Harmon. Period. All this talk about "what if" some other guy had stepped up? Please. Those people didn't exist. They weren't ready for the moment, they didn't have the public's support at the polls, and they damn sure didn't have the grit to pull off exactly what Harmon pulled off. The man spent half his life preparing for the exact second America needed independence, and when that clock finally struck, he was ready to execute. Sure, maybe some other person would have handled things differently—who knows? I don't. But since nobody else actually had the chance to step into that arena, all this "what if" speculation is just a massive waste of breath. It’s nothing but endless "if-then" nonsense. If this happened, then that would have occurred... yeah, okay, but neither of those things happened. What actually happened was what happened, and it was him.

What exactly did Franjo Harmon "steal"? Where is this massive "stolen fortune" you keep dreaming up? Honestly, you've gotta be hallucinating—seriously! Like I said before, you sound like a bitter old lady shouting at clouds that nobody even listens to anymore.

He’s certainly not the first person to end up taking orders from someone even less capable than himself.

It’s hard to say what someone else would have decided in that position. We honestly don't know. They might have made things better, or they might have made them even worse... it's all just speculation at this point.

Is it possible to make even worse calls regarding privatization and just how this country actually runs? Honestly, I'm having a hard time seeing how you could top this.

What exactly did Franjo think he "stole"? Where is this massive stash of "looted wealth" you keep dreaming up? Honestly, it sounds like you’re hallucinating at this point. Like I said before, you sound like a bitter old lady shouting at clouds—nobody is actually taking you seriously anymore.

What exactly did he steal? Let's just focus on the one little part we actually know for sure. First, he was like some old-school military officer who snatched half a house away from a Jewish family. Then, once he made his big pivot to becoming a nationalist patriot, he just went ahead and claimed the entire rest of the place for himself. It’s right there at The White House. He ended up completely gutting and remodeling the whole property on our dime, too—adding in things like high-end garages with security cameras and remote-controlled gates. Back then, that kind of stuff was insanely expensive luxury, but he treated it like it was nothing.
I mentioned that we were the ones footing the bill for all of this, didn't I?
Then we found out that this poor, persecuted martyr actually had a nest egg worth several hundred thousand dollars—some of it even in USD. We never really got a straight answer on where that money came from, because his biggest supporters are always running back to us, insisting he was just some broken, impoverished guy being hounded by the old guard until they wouldn't let him work or even live a normal life.
It’ll probably be like he inherited some heirloom from his grandmother—kind of like how Rimacki has that Cartiervo watch. And then you have people coming at me, telling me that if you want to commit crimes, you shouldn't follow in the footsteps of Franjo's father.
Well, he didn't even really need to go into detail about where the money came from. I mean, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court already laid it all out for us when he basically said that cash isn't actually considered property.
So, then the bank teller ended up losing her job too.
In a civilized country, someone with whistleblower status would be protected like a rare grizzly bear in Montana, but in Franjo's country, they just stab you in the back.
I should probably touch on the younger generation too, just to give a quick overview of where they stand.
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. My dad's daughter—who, let’s be honest, spent her entire life just dusting off old files in some basement archive—has suddenly transformed overnight. Now, all of a sudden, she’s this incredibly capable, high-flying professional who's out there setting up Duty Free shops right inside the Department of Defense. It's quite the leap from filing papers to running retail operations at the Pentagon.
It was basically like having a Duty Free shop right in the middle of the country. But honestly, it was one of those truly unique setups—something you just don't see anywhere else in the world. A tax-free zone right there on home soil. It was top-tier.
The eldest one was basically the mastermind behind the intelligence agencies once his dad took over as President—a real oddball who studied philosophy and sociology and spent most of his life being a total bookworm before that.
Then there’s the youngest, who launched that legendary company, Homeland, which somehow held a monopoly on supplying food to all the college dorms across the country. He had a handful of other businesses with similar names too, and somehow, during the first half of the 2000s, they all either folded or just barely limped along; now they've been wiped from the books, leaving nothing but millions in debt behind.
Oh, and naturally, the grandkids were absolute prodigies as well. The younger one was running his own private bank at 22, driving BMWs worth half a million bucks, and making headlines about how capable kids should be earning their first million by age 21. Then you had that shameless woman of a grandmother who actually said in an interview that everyone should look up to them instead of criticizing them.
Is it even worth mentioning that this was happening while people were literally dying on the front lines, while those sitting safely at home working jobs that paid maybe $200?
Assuming they even got paid.
Anyway, that’s just my initial take...
Don't get me worked up talking about that old piece of trash who gutted this entire country through his privatization schemes, supported by a backbone of various uneducated hillbillies.
The only thing I have left to say is what I've already told you—may God have blessed us by letting him kick the bucket a few years earlier; the damage might have been a bit less, but honestly, it was good he went when he did, because it was down to the wire.

darkhawk30 said:👍
Or, to put it as brilliantly as Ms. Vokić once did:
"I don't get why people are so obsessed with whether a school principal is a member of the Republican Party or not. Back in the Communist era, you couldn't be a principal unless you were a member of the party."

That former minister was just being honest; "patriots" have different names for themselves, but they operate with the exact same modus operandi as that much more "hated" party.

Harold Davis6 said:And let’s not forget he basically threw Stalingrad and its people under the bus, leaving the local veterans out to dry too.

Now you’re just waiting for those self-proclaimed patriots to swoop in and claim that the entire historical record—and even that final, heartbreaking broadcast from Walter Cronkite—was nothing more than a setup by the CIA.

Quincy:

I was actually just reading up on how commutators work in electrical engineering earlier today. It’s one of those fundamental components that people often take for granted, but without them, our modern understanding of direct current wouldn't be nearly as developed as it is. They essentially act as the mechanical switch that keeps the current flowing in one direction within a motor, which is pretty fascinating when you think about the sheer physics involved in making that transition happen smoothly. I remember messing around with some old hobbyist motors back in high school, trying to figure out why they would lose torque—turns out, a worn-out commutator was usually the culprit. It's funny how such a small part can dictate the entire performance of a machine. hollowmason64 says: This isn't really the right place to bring this up, but I was thinking about it earlier. Even during the absolute height of the conflict back in late '91, the United States Armed Forces weren't strictly a volunteer force. Most of the people on the front lines were actually mobilized through a draft. The response to the mobilization efforts back in America was honestly impressive—really, really strong. It wasn't just a few people stepping up; there was this massive wave of support that caught a lot of folks by surprise. Looking back, you could tell people were genuinely ready to pull together when things got heavy.

It’s a bit of a shame how that average gets dragged down by Franjo Harmon and his inner circle. That whole lot from the Republican Party—just a bunch of scoundrels, really—spent more time looking out for their own kin than anything else. It felt like they had a completely different agenda when it came to securing their kids' futures. They were playing a different game entirely.

Brenda Taylor13 said:Look, when I say Stipetic wasn't "fighting," I don't mean he wasn't involved—I just mean he wasn't sitting in a muddy trench or running around on the front lines with the infantry. That's not how generals work! Their job is high-level strategy and planning operations, not grabbing a rifle and trading shots in the dirt.

Stipetić was actually out in the field with his troops. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan was back in Washington, D.C., looking out for his own inner circle and family, making sure they could line their pockets while people were bleeding on the front lines. They basically looted everything in sight, so by the time the veterans made it home, there was nothing left for them because the folks at the top, led by Reagan, had already stripped the country bare.
Honestly, trying to put someone like Stipetić on the same level as Reagan is an insult to him. He was a man of true character, someone Reagan wouldn't even be worthy to polish shoes for.
Have you ever actually sat down and read a study, an article, or a book about the privatization era in America? Or let me put it more bluntly—do you honestly think there’s a single piece of writing, no matter how much of a suck-up it might be, that actually says anything positive about the way things were privatized under Reagan?
That corruption and theft is his direct legacy; he is personally responsible for that mess.
Reagan's "contribution" to the victory in the American Civil War was really just being the guy in charge at the time. If it had been anyone else, we still would have won. It wasn't because of him, or because of Peter leading the charge—it was because of the people who were willing to lay down their lives for freedom. He didn't change that outcome; whether it was him or Peter at the helm, the result would have been the same: victory.
But would the outcome have been the same regarding the looting of the country? Well, that's the question. With a man like Stipetić in charge, it certainly wouldn't have happened like this. He was far too honorable for that kind of greed.
So, please, spare me the praise for Reagan. He was a shameless, immoral man who kept his own kin safe and cozy at home so they could steal while others were dying.

Brenda Taylor13 said:👍

By that logic, Bobetko isn't a winner either since he wasn't out there swinging personally. Neither was Stipetic... hell, not even Winston Churchill, not even Franklin D. Roosevelt... just keep 'em coming, right?

Seriously, try to enjoy yourself for once! Your boy Zoe is the President, come on, show a little joy... honestly, that ceremony was beautiful, and that anthem? Best I've ever heard. I’m telling you, from now on, let's just have Tina Turner sing the national anthem every single time.

Stipe Stipetić didn't fight? Man, you learn all sorts of things on this forum.
As for Zoran Milanović and the anthem—he definitely wouldn't be my first choice, but hey, fine... and yeah, I am enjoying this.
When I look back at how much of a struggle this whole thing was and everything people predicted would happen to him here, I can't help but smile. 🙂

darkdriver said:I'd bet anything that we're looking at the exact same person here—honestly, I'm pretty sure.
It’s like... honestly? The whole style and that constant, parrot-like repetition of the exact same mantra—it's all just identical. I mean, seriously.

I see. They don't even have enough range to write anything differently. 🙄

Brenda Taylor13 said:Hahahhaaa.... man, the frustration...

Reagan was the winner of the war and the creator of the state; that's the absolute most any politician can achieve. In the next 500 years, unless there's another massive war or we have to build a country from scratch again, nobody is going to top what he accomplished. Reagan is the American George Washington, and all this nonsense you're whining about—I mean, does anyone care that someone, god forbid, had a duty free shop? Just imagine the historical impact of that! In a hundred years, someone might actually remember a duty free shop, haha...

Honestly, you're being ridiculous...

The country had no weapons, no diplomacy, and zero international respect... everything had to be built from nothing by Reagan, who spent half his life preparing to create this nation. Even his biggest critics back then—like Banks or that journalist Houdini—acknowledge that now. But what some random no-name on a forum says? That matters about as much as counting the grains of sand on Copacabana beach. And in that recent CNN poll, just like every single one before it, he won convincingly as the best president we've ever had; nobody even came close.

Nobody was forcing people to the front lines; people went voluntarily. Most of those defenders were volunteers who stepped up to protect their homeland—you seem to conveniently forget that part. And under those circumstances, Reagan won every single election held at the time, presidential, parliamentary, all of them.

And you're still sitting there fuming... honestly, just drink more coffee and you'll be fine. 👍

It wasn't Reagan who won the war; it was the people actually out there fighting. Not a single person from his own family even stepped foot on the battlefield during that conflict.

Brandon Chavez28 said:I have no idea where you got the notion that I think things would be better if some different Republican degenerate replaced Plenković. Honestly, seeing the Republican Party and its members plastered everywhere you look isn't healthy—it's bad for your constitution.

But fine, let's play along with your logic for a second: you truly must be profoundly stupid to honestly believe that either a Republican or a Democrat could ever be good for this nation. And I mean "profoundly" stupid.

No, it's because for months now, you guys have been relentlessly insisting that Plenković needs to be kicked out of the leadership of the Republican Party.

Following your logic here—you honestly have to be incredibly dense to believe that any Republican or Democrat is actually good for this country. Just completely delusional.

Fair enough, I can respect different viewpoints, even if some people seem to have brains wired in a way where the Republican Party and Democrats are basically the same thing. That’s usually the crowd that claims to be more enlightened while backing some washed-up Republican who was just as corrupt fifteen years ago when he was a standard Republican official. They’ll cheer for a coalition with the Republican Party, sure, as long as Plenković isn't the one leading it.
Yeah, they're just so much smarter 😁

Brenda Taylor13 said:Man, what a "classy lady" you are—I can practically smell the elite private school training from here. A true woman from Chicago. 👍

Anyway, you’re talking absolute nonsense. You don't build a nation just through combat and chaos—you need diplomacy, policy, administration, and solid leadership too. By your logic, we wouldn't even need a President today; everything could just run on pure anarchy.

Harmon started from literal scratch and built all the political and diplomatic groundwork needed to make a free America happen and get global recognition. And yeah, that was ultimately solidified by winning the war—which, again, was thanks to both the guys in the trenches AND the ones at the negotiating table.

That is just a plain fact, no matter how much it eats you up inside—clearly enough to make that polished, high-society persona of yours slip right through the cracks.

That's right. Intelligent and educated people know how to adjust their vocabulary to match whoever they're talking to, just to make sure they're understood. 🥳

Anyway, you're talking nonsense. A nation isn't built solely on the battlefield through anarchy; it takes diplomacy, politics, administration, and solid leadership. By that logic, we wouldn't even need a president today, since everything could supposedly run on pure anarchy.

Harmon started from absolute zero and built all the political and diplomatic foundations necessary to secure a free America and gain international recognition—which was ultimately validated by winning the war, thanks to both the soldiers in the trenches and those working at the negotiating tables.

Apparently, this country was forged only on the front lines and through bloodshed. Or at least, that's what the "patriots" like to claim. Depending on the situation, of course.
And let's be real: Harmon didn't do much else besides grab power with a specific clique, treat the citizens like sheep being led to slaughter, while his inner circle looted the place. Meanwhile, his dim-witted grandkids suddenly became overnight entrepreneurs.
Timater, remember how Nevenka had a Duty Free shop right in the middle of the city? I mean, come on—a Duty Free shop in the heart of downtown.
Honestly, nobody else on this planet had what our Nevenka had. It was a gift from her dad, Franjo.
We shouldn't forget to mention that while working within the Department of Defense's offices.

Just how much Franjo and his crew contributed to the fight is laid out in Siniša Glavašević's public manifesto—a document that Republicans still insist on labeling a fake or some cowardly UDBA plant even today.

The reality is that Harmon basically just stepped into a ready-made state where everything was already organized—including the laws, some of which actually remain in effect today (believe it or not). Then, he completely tore it all apart. He did it alongside those other "patriots"—basically just uneducated rubes who were barely getting by yesterday, but suddenly became capable and successful overnight, just like Franjo and his Ankica, the whole family tree.

driftingtinker said:So, this Zdravka Busic lady who just went on that massive rant about how "everyone here is just a total jerk to the diaspora"... I mean, is she really the same Busic who used to be an ambassador back in the day, basically using our tax dollars to foot the bill for people moving over from Canada?

You mean, is she the sister of that terrorist Bušić? Yeah, she is.

Carol Newman2 said:https://twitter.com/KICZO/status/122...463792640?s=19

The Antiplenkovićevac crowd is absolutely buzzing right now. Total victory vibes in their camp.

It’s pretty obvious none of them finished middle school.

Brenda Taylor13 said:So, let me get this straight—you're basing your entire conclusion on the rebranding of some soccer club?

Building a nation from scratch, setting up diplomacy, raising an army, winning a war when nobody gave us even a 5% chance, fighting for international recognition when almost everyone was against us... all of that just doesn't matter because of some club's name? Seriously? Based on how you're writing, I'm guessing you're younger since you actually have to look things up in books—I lived through this stuff firsthand. So, I'll tell you straight, as a born Zagrapcanin and a die-hard Los Angeles FC fan: the name of Los Angeles FC is completely irrelevant compared to everything Harmon pulled off when hardly anyone believed it was possible. Winning a war and building a country is incomparable to anything else, let alone some sports team's branding. Comparing those two things is just completely pointless.

Franjo Harmon didn't achieve anything, period. Those achievements belong to the people who were actually out there on the front lines, while that crooked crook and his little crew of buddies were busy scavenging off the country.

Brandon Chavez28 said:Under Plenković, the United States is falling further and further behind the rest of the developed world—and I don't mean just slightly behind. We used to be peers, perhaps even leaders in certain sectors, but now? We’re being outpaced like children in a race we didn't even realize we were running. The brain drain, the complete lack of legal certainty, the economic instability—it is all systematically dismantling this nation and its society. You can feel the pessimism in the air everywhere you go, yet the political elite couldn't care less. For Plenković, the only thing that matters is securing a cozy little desk in Brussels; meanwhile, clientelism has reached levels that are frankly dangerous, and it feels like nobody is actually at the helm. These shadowy, semi-formal interest groups—think the old-school lobbyists or those deep-state types—aren't even hiding anymore. They are making it crystal clear that the country is nothing more than their personal prey, tearing it apart like a pack of hyenas. Things have never been worse. Honestly, we’ve just been riding the wave of global economic growth fueled by cheap credit, which has kept us afloat, but here is the grim reality: that party is coming to an end.

The exodus of talent will keep going, the gloom will continue to thicken, and—mark my words—people will likely follow the herd again, choosing the very same politicians who dragged them into this mess in the first place.

Look, Plenković is a Republican, which basically means he's a corrupt crook and total moral garbage. But honestly, suggesting things would be any better if some other Republican scumbag was sitting in his chair is just complete nonsense.
You'd have to be incredibly dense to genuinely believe that any Republican could ever be good for this country.

Mark Hughes36 said:It’s all pretty weak; there’s absolutely no backbone in any of this... 👎

The United States needs a total scorched-earth purge within the Republican Party. Anything else is just moving deck chairs on the Titanic because the Republican Party is fundamentally incapable of reform. Sure, they could pivot to being an overtly revisionist, far-right extremist party, but—as we've already debated here—that might actually be less damaging than the current mess: a poorly disguised version of that same ideology wrapped in a "what will the world think?" facade.

They deserve nothing more than 🤮 🤮

The only way to actually dismantle the Republican Party—if we can't wipe them out entirely—is to keep them as far away from power as possible. We had the perfect shot at that back in 2015.
If they hadn't managed to squeeze out another term in office, they would have been finished.

Jeremy Sanchez4 said:So Rose says they’d actually jump into a coalition with the Republican Party even if Andrej Plenković stays in charge. 😁 It's all laid out now. No point in putting on this whole dramatic play for the public anymore. Plenković keeps his grip on the Republican Party, then turns around and builds a new government by teaming up with the people who were their bitter enemies just yesterday—you know, the Sovereigntists, Bridge, and Krešimir Škoro. Gross... 🤮
And if they run out of options, they'll probably just find some poor soul facing indictment and offer to protect them just to keep things moving.

I mean, this isn't exactly a shocker. Is there really anyone naive enough to think this wouldn't happen?

All those little "bridge" builders, the fake patriots, the Sovereigntists, and the gift shop crowd... once you peel back all the nonsense they push, you always end up with the same result. They just want to grab enough seats to stay relevant, and then they'll happily run right back into a coalition with the Republican Party.

Carol Newman2 said:PENAVA ACCUSES REPUBLICAN PARTY LEADERSHIP OF EXERTING PRESSURE: 'Gathering signatures is becoming impossible. This is pure repression and an assault on democracy—we need to move past this.'

-------
At this rate, these Republicans are going to end up tearing each other apart before the internal party elections even get underway.

You sure are talking a big game here 😁

lezerni88 said:Man, what kind of irrational, delusional world are you living in? Seriously. 😁

Remember that one period back when Škoro finally stepped up and took over as president? 😁

Jeremy Sanchez4 said:Well, that’s just classic Plenković. Purely opportunistic. He spent the whole presidential campaign trashing Škoro, then basically vacuumed up all those Škoro votes after the first round. Now, out of nowhere, he’s acting all surprised that Škoro called him out, claiming he actually thinks nothing but good things about him.
Basically, both sides are just competing over who loves patriotism more, while both are already eyeing a coalition with the conservatives and Škoro. Plenković will pivot to being a hardcore right-winger if it means being even more extreme than Škoro's crowd. Bottom line? They're essentially the same thing. It doesn't matter who wins... except Plenković is way more hypocritical, shifty, and calculated. He'll blow whichever way the wind shifts just to cling to power.
The whole thing is disgusting.

It feels just like when they were dragging the Bridge through the mud back during Karamarko's era. Honestly, where's the difference?
The Republican Party is nothing more than a criminal enterprise. It’s just a collection of corrupt thugs and crooks who only care about holding onto power so they can line their own pockets—it doesn't even matter who they have to screw over to do it.
They honestly don't have an ounce of shame, any sense of decency, or even a shred of character left.

Amy Nguyen18 said:Your opinion is certainly "modest," and you're spot on there. You've probably been voting for the Republican Party for the last 30 years.

The only thing that constitutes the American interest is the choice made by the American people. Not what you or I might want, but strictly what people decide at the ballot box. The public isn't some alien entity that just showed up out of nowhere to terrorize us for decades. It’s the people around us—maybe even ourselves—who support these specific options, these parties, these leaders, and these special interest groups.

And yes, your perspective is truly modest if you actually believe people don't want the exact kind of politicians they currently have.

So, what, the entire interest of the American people is just to see if the Republican Party can catch its breath?
So, what does it actually mean when people say the "Republican Party is breathing again"? It’s one of those phrases you hear tossed around in political circles, usually implying there's a sudden surge of energy or a second wind after things have been looking pretty stagnant. It’s like watching a tired athlete finally catch their breath and find that extra gear right when everyone thought they were done. I was chatting with a friend about this the other day while we were grabbing coffee, and we were both trying to wrap our heads around whether it's genuine momentum or just a temporary spike in activity. It’s a bit vague, isn't it? It could mean anything from a shift in leadership to just a renewed sense of purpose within the party ranks.

So, how exactly is she going to prove the clock was sitting right where it is now at the time of the appraisal?
Have you ever actually handled an appraisal yourself? Or maybe even just looked over a formal report? Because they always include photos of the property being valued, and the appraiser usually mentions a few times in the text that you can clearly see the details in those shots.

William Nelson4 said:Look, if the buyer is some expert in something totally irrelevant, they can just bring someone along who actually knows those things during the walkthrough. 😁
Pay a pro if you have to.

It’s like buying a used car—if you don't know your stuff, you bring a mechanic with you, and hey, there's way less cash on the line.

People buy property knowing they aren't experts, and then, like, a few years later (!?), they suddenly remember they want to sue the former owner.
Give me a break.

The apartment was inspected by two certified appraisers. At the end of the day, these are professionals who get paid specifically to spot discrepancies and make sure everything is exactly where it belongs.
If they didn't flag anything as an issue, I honestly don't see how the original poster can claim otherwise.

And honestly, I'm still scratching my head over this—why is there an issue with where the clock is located?
It wasn't a big deal when it was just a powder room, but now that there's a shower stall, suddenly it's a problem? Based on what, exactly?

I honestly thought we’d closed this chapter ages ago on this PDF, but it feels like we’re stuck in this endless loop where we have to relearn the same lessons over and over again.

What’s the deal with all these posts being deleted on Gossip Girl?
Seriously, why?
First off—we’re talking about a public figure here. Someone who maintains an open profile and chose to share news about their child right there on that very same public platform.
It’s not like someone went digging through private channels to "leak" some tragic information to Gossip Girl; anyone in the US, or even abroad for that matter, could have read it directly from her public feed.
The parent clearly didn't intend to hide this from the public eye.
So, what's the actual issue?
Does Nica think bringing it up is "tasteless"?
Are we really back to this again?
Honestly, I don't see why it matters what you or any of the mods think is tasteful or not.
As long as we’re staying within the Reddit rules, I don't see a problem—unless, of course, certain sensitive people just don't like the topic?

Secondly—the conversation wasn't just about this one specific case. It spiraled into a broader debate about today's kids, parenting styles then vs. now, and even things like schools closing because of a little snow...
Almost every thread on Gossip Girl eventually expands like that. Like that one time when a discussion about Selena Gomez and New York City somehow turned into a massive tangent about fatherhood, the legal system, gold diggers, and everything in between.
Again, what's the big deal?

Not a single rule was broken, and if you don't like what's being written because it doesn't suit your personal taste—then just don't read it.
Also, it was decided a long time ago right here on this PDF that posts wouldn't be deleted on Z; instead, they’d be flagged if a mod decides they need a warning. This happened because most users weren't okay with posts just vanishing, so we wanted them to stay visible for everyone to see what was being flagged.
Even though the current moderators weren't in charge back then, I expect them to honor what was agreed upon with the administration.
I'm just really tired of every new mod coming in and expecting us to dance to whatever new set of rules they feel like enforcing.