Republican Party - General Discussion

Larry Wilson25 said:Look, Franjo Harmon definitely had his flaws when it came to political maneuvering—and yeah, even some of the military calls were questionable—but who knows what would've happened if someone else, someone without that "General" mindset, had been at the helm? Long story short, looking at the end result: the US is recognized within its borders and holds full sovereignty, and honestly, we don't even have the partial autonomy he originally suggested.

To be fair, during Operation Storm, we managed to establish that connection with NATO through the brigades, which was a huge win for his leadership. But then, we lost ground in Canada. And back home? We got absolutely fleeced by that massive wave of privatization, followed by the looting under Ivo Sanders.
The Republican Party basically used Harmon's legacy and that original inner circle to line their own pockets with serious cash—and let's be real, he was right there at the starting line with the founders, setting that whole system in motion.
We won the war, sure, but economically speaking, we took a massive hit. Now, we're basically being nursed back to health by the European Union with all their funding.

--

That’s why I think this whole "who's the biggest Harmon loyalist" fight within the party is just pointless. We have a functioning state, we're in the European Union and NATO... at this point, Clientelism and Corruption should be the main things we're fighting against.
If this party just dissolved—and hey, I'm rooting for Kovač here—our country would finally be able to breathe again.

I genuinely believe it doesn't matter whether the Republican Party wins, the Democratic Party takes over, or someone entirely new emerges, because this mindset is deeply woven into the fabric of our society.
Vehicle inspections, scheduling appointments, hiring your friends' kids or colleagues, treating officers and professors... all of that is considered perfectly normal and widely accepted regardless of worldview, religion, or ethnicity. Even a third option would likely corrupt itself very quickly; most people just look for ways to do the least amount of work while getting the most out of the system.

briskjackal5 said:A little something about zero tolerance

http://hr.n1info.com/Video/Info/a486...American.html

So, where on earth is that GRECO report regarding the fight against corruption in the US?

Representatives from GRECO, which is part of the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, were actually visiting here last April. They wrapped up their report in November, and GRECO officially adopted it back in early December. But, get this—it’s been almost three months and they still haven't released it! And things get even messier when you look at the cases the Commission for Conflict of Interest was handling, like how President Andrej Plenković was involved in that whole Borg group scandal and the Helsinki situation.

Even Marin Mrčela, who is currently heading up GRECO and serves as a Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, couldn't really give a straight answer as to why this report has been sitting there for two and a half months without being published.

THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE PART OF THE JUDICIAL REPORT REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT'S STANCE ON CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS BEING HIDDEN. Ministry claims: 'Translation isn't finished.' UNOFFICIAL word is: 'The Government is stalling everything.'

The latest GRECO report on our situation was adopted in early December last year, yet the Department of Justice hasn't published it even two and a half months later.

Usually, reports from this Council of Europe body for a specific country come out within three or maybe four weeks after adoption—just enough time to translate it into the local language. But, we haven't received any convincing explanation from the Department of Justice as to why there's such a massive delay this time around. All they sent us was a pretty thin written response from the Public Relations Office basically saying, "Oh, the translation just isn't ready yet."

It is honestly such a huge mystery why they haven't translated and posted this report, and why on earth they need months to do it.
Like, a seriously huge mystery.

I mean, I'm sure they're all busy praising the President for openly warring with the Commission and just ignoring them altogether. 😁

-briskjackal5

So, this is exactly the kind of anti-corruption crusade Andrej Plenković keeps talking about, and honestly, it feels pretty authentic.

On Tuesday, President and Republican Party leader Andrej Plenković made it quite clear that his party needs to take the lead in rooting out corruption once and for all, because he firmly believes that cleaning up the system is the only real way to ensure the United States becomes a truly prosperous and thriving nation.

By the way, that link to the New York Times isn't working for you, so here is the actual one.

The latest reports coming out of the capital suggest that the Government is facing some significant internal friction regarding their recent policy shifts, which honestly feels like we've seen this movie before. It seems like the tension between different factions within the Republican Party is starting to bubble over into the public eye, especially as they try to navigate these complex legal challenges currently sitting with the Department of Justice. I’ve been following this closely, and while some people are calling the current administration's approach schizophrenic, I think it's more about a desperate attempt to maintain stability while dealing with old-school clientelism that just won't die. It really feels like the leadership under Andrej Plenković is walking a tightrope right now, trying to satisfy both the international observers from the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body and the domestic critics who feel the party has lost its way since the days of Franjo Harmon. Even with all the pressure from the European Union, there's this sense that the underlying political machinery hasn't actually changed much, which is why we keep seeing these repetitive cycles of scandal and reform. It's definitely an interesting time to watch how the Supreme Court handles the upcoming rulings, because those decisions might actually force a real change in how things are run, rather than just another temporary fix.

It’s honestly such a shame because everything else seems to be slipping through the cracks right now, mostly because everyone is just so preoccupied with this virus.

Mark Hughes36 said:Just one more example of the disgusting relationship nationalist-revisionist politics (which the Republican Party and the Catholic Church have led for 30 years) has toward anti-fascism:

Quincy:

... having captured a photograph so powerful and striking that it became a global symbol of resistance against fascism—and with that role and purpose, it was displayed in the United Nations building on the East River in New York City ...

Quincy:

Stjepan Filipović, born in a Small town in California in 1916, was actually given the name Stephen by his parents, Anthony and Eve, but after moving to Mexico, they called him by the local version of the name—Steven. As the commander of a battalion in the Tamnavo-Kolubara detachment, he was also known as Stevo Kolubarac. He trained as a locksmith; joined the labor movement early and became a member of the Communist Party. Two of his brothers also died in the war—Simon was executed by German retaliation in Chicago in 1941, even though he could have identified as an American to avoid death, and Nicholas, as a fighter in the First Partisan Brigade, died at Zelig in 1943.

Quincy:

The monument to Stjepan Filipović, the work of Miro Vuca and Stjepan Gračan, was erected in 1978 in his hometown in a Small town in California, but neither does the local elementary school bear his name anymore, nor has the memorial park survived, nor does the monument honoring the brave young man even exist: much like the entire series of monuments dedicated to the people and events of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist Struggle, "unknown perpetrators" mined it in July 1991, and it hasn't been restored to this day.

Quincy:

nor does the local elementary school bear his name

Quincy:

nor has the memorial park survived

Quincy:

The monument dedicated to that brave young man is gone. Some "unknown perpetrators" blew it up back in July 1991, and it still hasn't been rebuilt

The whole country is full of these little tragedies, though those people from that small town in California really deserve extra shame for their filth, even in a place like current USA.

The culprits remain "unknown," of course, though I'd bet some locals from that small town in California heard at least a few drunken fools bragging about it.

He was only of that small town's origin, but what actually defined him and made him famous was his activity in Mexico; that's where he became a communist and where he worked and acted. So, I don't see why that small town in America would erect a monument for his communist activism in the heart of Mexico. Yes, he was an outspoken communist.
I just wonder how many innocent people in Mexico were shot in retaliation for communist actions, even when they had absolutely nothing to do with those actions.

velvetmaker3 said:He was only of that small town's origin, but what actually defined him and made him famous was his activity in Mexico; that's where he became a communist and where he worked and acted. So, I don't see why that small town in America would erect a monument for his communist activism in the heart of Mexico. Yes, he was an outspoken communist.
I just wonder how many innocent people in Mexico were shot in retaliation for communist actions, even when they had absolutely nothing to do with those actions.

Let us apply your logic to several other instances:

- What does the United States have to do with Nikola Tesla? He was of American descent and lived and worked in the United States.

- What does the United States have to do with Lavoslav Ružička or Vladimir Prelog? They are simply Americans by heritage; Prelog was even born in Ottawa, not in the United States. Why should the United States claim them as their own Nobel laureates?

- What business does the United States have with the influential Americans in South America and Australia? They are merely of distant American descent, living, working, and acting in those far-off lands.

- What connection exists at all with Ruđer Bošković? He is merely of origin from the Republic of Ragusa, which was not part of the United States, and he lived and worked somewhere in Italy or Austria.

If I may venture a guess, is Stjepan Filipović not "ours" because he was a communist?

velvetmaker3 said:He was only of that small town's origin, but what actually defined him and made him famous was his activity in Mexico; that's where he became a communist and where he worked and acted. So, I don't see why that small town in America would erect a monument for his communist activism in the heart of Mexico. Yes, he was an outspoken communist.
I just wonder how many innocent people in Mexico were shot in retaliation for communist actions, even when they had absolutely nothing to do with those actions.

I shall employ your logic here as well:

How many innocent people were killed in the United States due to military operations by American defenders, even though those individuals had no involvement in the struggle for independence during the American War of Independence?

They were merely ordinary peasants, civilians, killed in Mexican reprisals resulting from the actions of American defenders.

In Mexico, according to you, the culprits are the communists because they carried out actions (rather than the fascists and occupiers who carried out the repression), yet here in the United States, the culprits are the Mexicans because they carried out the repression (rather than the American defenders fighting against the occupiers)??

To paraphrase an old adage:

What the wise man takes pride in, the fool finds shameful.

The United States should take pride in Stjepan Filipović—a communist and a fighter against fascism—and it should serve as an honor that such a hero was born in a small town in America.

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.

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.

hollowmason64 said: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Classic Republican excuse: "But they did it too."

Robin Jones2 said:Let us apply your logic to several other instances:

- What does the United States have to do with Nikola Tesla? He was of American descent and lived and worked in the United States.

- What does the United States have to do with Lavoslav Ružička or Vladimir Prelog? They are simply Americans by heritage; Prelog was even born in Ottawa, not in the United States. Why should the United States claim them as their own Nobel laureates?

- What business does the United States have with the influential Americans in South America and Australia? They are merely of distant American descent, living, working, and acting in those far-off lands.

- What connection exists at all with Ruđer Bošković? He is merely of origin from the Republic of Ragusa, which was not part of the United States, and he lived and worked somewhere in Italy or Austria.

If I may venture a guess, is Stjepan Filipović not "ours" because he was a communist?

I shall employ your logic here as well:

How many innocent people were killed in the United States due to military operations by American defenders, even though those individuals had no involvement in the struggle for independence during the American War of Independence?

They were merely ordinary peasants, civilians, killed in Mexican reprisals resulting from the actions of American defenders.

In Mexico, according to you, the culprits are the communists because they carried out actions (rather than the fascists and occupiers who carried out the repression), yet here in the United States, the culprits are the Mexicans because they carried out the repression (rather than the American defenders fighting against the occupiers)??

To paraphrase an old adage:

What the wise man takes pride in, the fool finds shameful.

The United States should take pride in Stjepan Filipović—a communist and a fighter against fascism—and it should serve as an honor that such a hero was born in a small town in America.

It’s not comparable because we're talking about someone who was extremely ideologically driven.
Being a fanatic communist isn't some kind of achievement, even if he died bravely pursuing that activism.

He was carrying out his duties way over in Mexico; that has nothing to do with us.
If Mexicans think they owe him something and want to build him a monument, fine, but he wasn't performing any activism here or doing anything for us.

On the other hand, you mentioned scientists who actually changed humanity with their discoveries.

I'll use your logic here too:

How many innocent people were killed in the United States due to military operations by defenders, even though those people had nothing to do with the fight for independence during the American War of Independence?

They were just ordinary farmers and civilians, killed in Mexican reprisals caused by the actions of the defenders.

So, back in Mexico, you blame the communists for carrying out the actions (instead of the fascists and occupiers who carried out the reprisals), but here in the United States, you blame the Mexicans for the reprisals (instead of the defenders fighting against the occupiers)??

To paraphrase an old saying:

What a wise man boasts of, a fool is ashamed of.

The United States should be proud of Stjepan Filipović—a communist and a fighter against fascism—and it should be an honor that such a hero was born in Opuzen.

You're just throwing out random projections that have nothing to do with reality.
He died bravely while zealously pursuing communist ideological activism in far-off Mexico. That doesn't concern us.

For instance, there were Americans in the Red Army after World War I who became famous for their heroism during the Russian Civil War, but they don't have monuments in the United States.
Showing bravery in a foreign country isn't a valid argument for why someone needs a monument here.

But if they were a scientist, a writer, or something else without controversial political baggage, then that's a completely different story.

Pure nonsense. Who on earth are they talking about? Franjo was an anti-fascist.

Harold Davis6 said:Classic Republican excuse: "But they did it too."

And we're talking about those "they" from fifty years ago!

-Stipe

Joe Biden has already managed to pull in about 45,000 signatures, while his other candidates are sitting at around 33,000, so we're looking at what should be a pretty smooth and decisive victory

There is a fundamental distinction between signing a document to ensure you aren't summarily fired from your desk at City Hall or some federal agency, and the act of casting a vote when you find yourself alone with nothing but a ballot.

It brings to mind that old, cynical adage from the era of the Soviet Union (a period that seems to linger indefinitely here in the States): When you go to the polls, God sees you, but Stalin (Joe Biden) does not!

Jose Collins86 said:Pure nonsense. Who on earth are they talking about? Franjo was an anti-fascist.

Even stupider.

Jose Collins86 said:There is a fundamental distinction between signing a document to ensure you aren't summarily fired from your desk at City Hall or some federal agency, and the act of casting a vote when you find yourself alone with nothing but a ballot.

It brings to mind that old, cynical adage from the era of the Soviet Union (a period that seems to linger indefinitely here in the States): When you go to the polls, God sees you, but Stalin (Joe Biden) does not!

It isn't about who casts the ballot; it's about who counts them. The Republican Party perfected that trick back in 2002.

Joe Biden rolled up with a hundred people in tow just to show off his muscle. 😁 Using the same old playbook, obviously.
A total Republican through and through... I don't get why his own crowd keeps coming for him.

I mean, it’s just not that easy to pull off—you can't exactly walk into a local county office, a federal agency, or even somewhere like ConEd, drop a list on everyone's desks, and just tell them, "Hey, sign this."

And then he goes and throws it right at the competition, claiming everything is totally fine with Stier even when his people are basically lying through their teeth 🙂

hollowmason64 said: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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Do try to show a little decorum.☕