Hodad

You lost every thinking person with the first fantastically stupid remark right out of the gate. Sure, there wouldn't be a war if Ukraine had simply let Russia invade without resistance. 🙄 Brilliant.

You're willfully naive. Ukraine is fighting for it's very existence against Russia, and you complain that they are muzzling pro-Russian political and propaganda elements? Boo hoo. It's a war. Compromises are made when people are trying to survive. If Zelensky were an actual villain those people would be rounded up and killed or interned. The US, back in the era you MAGA fools romanticize, locked up Japanese citizens just for being of Japanese ancestors--they weren't even actively supporting Japan. Now that was bad, yet here we are still a free country. Seems like Zelensky is doing pretty well in context. Again, look at the facts. Ukraine is still, remarkably, a relatively free country even in the midst of an existential war. Grow up and save your pearl clutching for the your fellow Puties in the next issue of your Putin fanzine.

Yes, despite whatever fever swamp YouTube crap you mainline, Ukraine is our democratic ally in the region and a relatively free country, even under stricter wartime conditions.

I suspect you know full well that's not all he told them. He did mention peaceful once at the beginning of the speech, but then he spent an hour framing the moment as an existential crisis, to fight (21ish times, iirc) and that if they didn't stop "the steal" (the vote certification) they wouldn't have a country anymore. He told them where to go, what to accomplish and that the urgency was critical and immediate. The insurrectionists interpreted that language exactly as it was intended. All while he was actually plotting to steal the election He's a traitor and a scumbag. Also happens to be guilty of the many charges he's facing.

Eh, it cost member and non-member nations whatever aid they elected to give. Unlike you, these Nations collectively believe in liberty, democracy, self determination and are willing to lend aid to free people fighting to remain free. To people of conscience, it's more than a "wasteland."

Geez, we do all know what it means (now) but I was just suggesting you acknowledge the mistake. You've gone overboard. That kind of negative self-talk doesn't help anyone. It's okay to make mistakes.

Well, if "they" are people like you who don't know the definition and use of the word, I guess maybe they might. But the rest of the world very much understands that compelling language does not necessitate physical force or threat. Again, try reading your own definition. And you may be unaware, but legally people can indeed be liable for inciting action with compelling language. Obviously that includes things like conspiracy and insurrection, but also slander and libel and things like "fighting words" because they are understood to compel action in response. So your own personal "made-up" definition of "compel" is incompatible with common understanding, with formal definition, and with legal definition. Maybe you should write a strongly worded letter to the rest of the world. Tell 'em you'd like to render the word "compel" meaningless. Good luck with that.

No, they don't. They understand that there is a spectrum of compulsion informed by the context. Again, I refer you to the first definition and example that YOU posted. 1. force or oblige (someone) to do something. "a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions" Nobody thinks that a "sense of duty" physically forced or even explicitly threatened consequences. Post after post, you dig a deeper hole. lol Read your own damn definition.

Great. Now look up the definition of "force" which ALSO does not have to be physical. Jeebus. As expected, you clearly will choose to die on the stupid hill. The definition YOU posted contradicted your argument, but still you persist. Talk about silliness. If your ego is too fragile to admit a mistake or gap in knowledge, that's pretty sad.

Blah, blah, blah. NATO, as an organization isn't doing anything. The member states are the actors. And Blackrock isn't a nation, let alone a NATO member. No member nation has any need to keep NATO relevant. The member nations do not derive any financial gain from the fact that NATO exists. They receive a security benefit. Again, what you are proposing is that Sally in apartment 7B is down in the basement bashing the boiler with a hammer in order to justify the existence of the co-op, which will route the collected money for repairs. I guess because she loves paying money to the co-op for repairs? lol -- it's kookoo

You posted it, but apparently didn't read it. 🤣 The very first example: "a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions" <-- oh, look, it's not physical. Summons? <-- oh yeah, those are words Did you happen to read that long list of "similar" words? Or synonyms? Apparently not. Coerce, pressure, demand, insist, urge, etc. I'm guessing you're the sort of person who will choose to die on this hill rather than admit you didn't know the meaning of the word, but it wont' change the fact that everybody else is pretty clear what it means. You're erecting an artificial barrier to communication.

Of course the listener makes their own choices. You could choose to defy the law. There would then be consequences.The language of the directive is still compelling. Do you think the word "compel" means exclusively to literally use physical force to move someone's body. If so, you're using your own made up definition. Everyone else understands that "compelling" describes a spectrum of very motivating language rather than physical force.

Of course words compel action. They just have to be compelling words. Are there any laws that you follow that cause you to behave in ways that you wouldn't voluntarily or naturally behave? Of course. Congrats, words have compelled you. To be compelling, words have to be believed and communicate plausible positive or negative benefits of a proposition. You believe the words are earnest and true, they give you information and you take action on that information if the perceived consequence is sufficiently attractive or repulsive to justify the action.

"Taxpayer funds" is still completely irrelevant to your moronic conspiracy theory. The member countries of NATO are not opposing Putin so that they can pay themselves--they are spending that money on defense anyway. Nor are they opposing Putin so that they can chip in to keep the lights on at NATO headquarters. You're theory is unbelievably stupid, predicted on a fundamental ignorance of what NATO is or how it operates. "The end."

Oh, there were no convictions? That'll be a huge comfort to the guys rotting in prison, liar. Two guilty pleas and five convictions. Jeebus. You're utterly without shame.

At this point, I think we know the old saying is not true. We see that words do hurt. They can hurt anyone, but the emotionally vulnerable are particularly at risk. And with the easy reach words have today we've seen an epidemic of young people socially bullied to death. Or you can think of Hitler and the Nazi propaganda machine dehumanized Jews and other vulnerable minorities to the point that an otherwise sane populace came to accept unbelievable atrocities. So words do matter and they certainly can hurt. The idea of a hate crime is that it has the secondary effect of terrorizing the targeted group. It's similar to the way that we think of terrorism and murder differently. Yes, they are both killing, but terrorism (like hate crimes) causes additional harm to the population outside of the direct harm to the victims.

Sounds easier. And no, he absolutely did incite the insurrection. The only reason those people marched down to storm the Capitol and hunt our legislators is because Trump told them lies for months, riled them up again that day and told them that stopping the certification was an existential crisis for the country. Partisan hacks will equivocate, but that's a fact.

I expect is simply a pragmatic choice. If you can put a crook behind bars with something easier to prove and skip all the silly wrangling about free speech and word definitions, do it. Take the concrete case as an easy (or easier) layup Add new charges later if you want to. A little like Al Capone and tax evasion.

Trump is mercurial, but the one constant amidst the chaos is that he consistently hires the worst, batshit crazy lawyers.

Yes, the reason is that there are a lot of dumb people in the world. With small imaginations. Half of the population is below average intelligence.

Jeebus, man. People watched them board the shuttle and watched it launch. Third parties tracked the mission. At the same time the world watched the broadcast as the astronauts walked in the moon. And then the world tracked the journey home and watched splash down And they brought home souvenirs, which again the world has studied. You think they went to the moon and just didn't go outside? Multiple countries can share the ISS, but you think we can't go to the moon? What you're proposing is just insanity. The thinking is so poor and disordered it seems impossible that it comes from a functional human being.

We did go back to the moon. Multiple Apollo missions returned. 12 Americans set foot on the surface. There is really no reason to doubt the moon landings. Governments/militaries (and others) around the world tracked the missions and "watched" it happen. The Russians gave up when we won the race. They would have loved nothing more than to call us out on a fake, but they also knew the rest of the world was watching and tracking the Apollo missions. IIRC, a couple of years ago an Indian spacecraft actually photographed the original landing site with our discarded modules still there. Moon litter!

You go to the dermatologist to have an irregular mole analyzed. It's measured and graded and the doctor tells you it's malignant and will have to come off. The girl at ULTA beauty tells you it looks benign. You're the kind of guy who thinks those pieces of advice are equally valid and the un-credible opinion deserves as much weight as the expert evaluation. In other words, a dumb guy who's likely going to die when that beauty mark metastasizes. 🙄

If you think that, you have no idea what was happening inside the certification process. The mob was just the tip of the iceberg. Educate yourself.

Sure, nobody erected gallows at the Capitol and nobody chanted to "Hang Mike Pence!" Except they did, liar.