Butschi

You are aware that currencies were invented millennia before the USD was a thing and that there are many different currencies all around the world, right? It is even possible to exchange one currency for another... /s

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

We were maybe more fun because we were younger too. (Nah, never mind, we're wargamers)
BTW, Imperator @Probus may simply have been honourably retired for somewhat longer than you or I (tbh, I myself keep trying to retire and failing, there's no money in it). And good on him.  And that, not some 'agenda' could explain the difference in his lived experience and current realities. Procurement policies literally shift that quickly (I've watched the death of the last credible non-Chinese renewable energy suppliers and contractors in the 3 years since Covid ended. Even folks who dislike the Chicoms -- like Vietnamese--just can't say no to the crazy low prices).
....And just to tie back to the topic currently prevailing on here, there's a LOT of reasons why large sections of the Western populace are chucking their votes to yahoos and jackasses (the long word is 'demagogues') that have nothing at all to do with Putin brainwashing them on tha Twitter. That's a fairy story Team Blue is telling themselves to 'splain away things they'd rather not face.
.... mainly, that the sleek Smart People presently controlling (with money) all major parties and institutions in the West have shipped most of the proles' Jerbs offshore in an astonishingly short period of time.
Meanwhile, the knowhow ('ecosystems') to manufacture anything at large scales in the West is aging out with us (Boomers/Xers).
This is a Major Problem, but it hasn't yet harmed any of the smug bastards who happily did all this (entirely bipartisan, btw).
So when the Smart People, like elitists throughout history, shriek 'How Could The Mob Possibly Be So Dumb?' well, the proles have their reasons. They always do.
Anyway, ramble over.

Yes, having a social conscience by advocating social justice makes you a communist in the eyes of the Archie Bunkers of the US of A. 

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

You are aware that currencies were invented millennia before the USD was a thing and that there are many different currencies all around the world, right? It is even possible to exchange one currency for another... /s

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

You are aware that currencies were invented millennia before the USD was a thing and that there are many different currencies all around the world, right? It is even possible to exchange one currency for another... /s

Your smarter than this aren't you?

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

True, but
A little humility would serve some of our US forumites quite well. 😉 
Europe is roughly on par with the US in military aid and well ahead in total aid:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
It's not a competition, so no point in nitpicking. Just saying.

I really am not all that invested in this US political debate…beyond the fate of the free world of course. But you just did what we have called out MAGA clowns for on this thread - you employed over the top hyperbole to “other” the opposite position.
No political party in the US is even close to being truly communist - hell, even these clowns don’t even fully prescribe to fundamentals of communism doctrine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA
The big one being abolition of private property. The second you start tossing around accusations along these lines it tells me 1) you really have no idea what communism is or is not and 2) you are jumping on the same boogey-man schtick as the rest of the loonies we have had in here on occasion. You do seem more polite about it.
I fully concur though. If you guys wanna try and change each other’s votes, get a room. But let’s keep the uninformed mud slinging to a minimum.

I am just gobsmacked that this comes from someone who lives in the state where the far right set off a truck bomb killing 168 people and injuring 680.  And yet you'd still vote for a guy who brought far right violence to the steps of our capitol.  But I guess there were "good people on both sides" back in 1995 too.  😬

LOL
"Plutôt personne que Hitler ou Blum" is not the flex you think it is...but yes, slow day around here...please send us your best excerpts of Harris being a red toothed Bolshie.
<sits down, cracks a beer with a sigh of contentment>  

Oh dear, here we go. Worst attempt at mediation ever.

Sounds great, Probus.  I believe a big part of the latest off-topic stuff started with ..... your "woke is broke' comment in connection with Switzerland, which no one seems to understand.  If you do want to not get 'attacked', which I will call 'challenged', then don't post MAGA drive-by comments.  Especially one that makes zero sense to anyone.  This aint some MAGA echo chamber.
But I completely agree and will not start any political commentary, though if someone throws in political comments they should expect to be challenged.
The one thing we all agree on here is that UKR needs to win, for every reason both moral and strategic.  That support is one of the few things that really spans across most of the political spectrum, though not all of course.  I've praised politicians I otherwise can't stand when they stand up for UKR and will continue to do so.

Meh, I prefer some side roads to endless streams of drone porn to make everyone feel better. What is going on - well same thing that has been going on for months: a grinding war of attrition with a few sparks now and again.

Nothing personal, but speaking of 'weird' low T posturing as high T, I pretty much never click on a video whose splash screen features some unshaven guy with a quizzical expression. No clue where this meme comes from, or why it is so ubiquitous.
"Hi guys! Today I'm gonna mansplain to you at high speed about ________! Don't forget to like and subscribe!"
****
As to all the polemical stuff....
I'd like to answer that question in two ways, first in my normal voice and then in a kind of silly high-pitched whine

Certainly an emotional choice, since it sure isn't based on any possible version of an evidence-based reality.  Unless you are really really rich -- if so, congrats and enjoy your tax cuts!  

One side thinks EVERYONE should have their needs met and the other thinks that only certain people should be allowed to exist .
One side thinks people are fundamentally equal and the other thinks some should inherently serve and be served.

This also gets into one of my great pet peeves.  That people don't seem to know that these two words actually have different meanings: confidence and competence.  I have seen in my life, over & over & over how folks say "oh he seems confident in what he's saying"  --  so what?  But is he actually competent in what he's saying?  Does he have evidence to back up his claims?  How true have his statements turned out to this point?  I've seen the most ludicrous shysters at my previous job do great by just being aggressively confident but spouting complete b--s--t.  And I've seen these folks continually fail upwards.  Mistake after mistake but are good at presenting.  Works..... until you are on a battlefield (or in a competitive market)

Hope the west (and east) Germans make it into this title before it is put to bed, otherwise it would be like 'fortress Italy' without the Italians.😄