51 Comments
Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Again, a nuanced and thorough examination of outrage felt by us all

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Thanks.

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So glad you said ALL OF THIS! Why doesn't the people in "power" to do something, who should be protecting us, GET THIS? I'm just this little grandma, pretty ordinary, yet I get it. I day dream these thoughts all day long.

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Joe and Kamala get it, thank God.

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Thank you. As you so clearly stated, as long as Putin is in power, there is no satisfactory end to his war on Ukraine. I have not heard any critic of President Biden offer a better path to peace. He has no need to apologize for expressing what so many of us feel.

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And certainly not to the Putin fluffers of the GOP, who want him to fail more than anything.

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Anyone spending even a moment listening to the Biden criticism is wasting valuable attention. This President is speaking for humanity. He’s speaking from the heart, not as President, not as policy maker (unless his administration is using slyness and stealth to introduce this policy idea into the public discourse), but as compassionate human. The “gaffe” pushers are (1) Republican society-of-diversity haters (Biden being the scapegoat) or (2) Russian disinformation supporting the white supremacy R Party or (3) ageists or (4) a combination of them.

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Exactly so. There is simply no way that Putin can be rehabilitated -- he cannot remain in power

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Not on the world stage, no. He's toast.

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Agreed. No way his criminal government structure comes through this unscathed, either.

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Perfect. You speak for so many of us. Thank you, Greg.

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Thank you.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Brilliant piece, Greg. One of your best - and they’re all good.

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Thanks!

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

This man, Greg Olear, should write Joe Biden's speeches. This is operatic. Set that refrain to music, Greg. You can do it.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Our minds are in sync again, Sharon! I started to write that Joe Biden should give this as a speech!

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

I thought the same thing!

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Thanks. I must say, however, that whoever is writing his speeches is pretty good.

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Agreed. But you would bring a flair, a certain Je ne sais quoi.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

"That grace period is now over." How can there be a grace period? Do serial killers ever get a grace period?

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BAM!

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Of course not. But I think there was a point when he could have pulled out and saved face. That moment has long past.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Would you please consider publishing this where it will reach a wider audience? I don't know where that is, but everyone needs to read it. This is a towering achievement, Greg, from its masterful presentation of facts to its perfectly on-point rhetorical flourish linking comedians. My God, you're good.

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I am sharing this, all of us should!

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Thanks, Gail. As for the wider audience, well, we'll see how it goes. Sometimes these pieces here DO get read quite a bit.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

No it was not a gaffe. I wish these evil, corrupt GQP criminals would either leave our country or get behind our President. I remember 9/11 and how we all got behind Bush and yes even America's Mayor RUdy (God what happened).

And I never, ever thought about disrespecting The President of the United States in my life until dotard arrived in the Oval and damn near ruined it.

I was so glad when I seen a FB post from my Dad showing his disgust for that dotard. Because my Dad was a bit of an Archie Bunker when he was much younger. But, he is a Marine and once a Marine, always a Marine and that man is the reason I never disrespected a President or the Oval office until tfg got there and I wonder what Joe had to do to clean it up. Well that and I spent 6 years with the 82d Airborne Division like my Dad's oldest brother that jumped in during WWII. God bless him he passed a couple years ago.

Joe was in retirement until he saw what was happening to our Beloved Democracy. How can one evil human being wreak so much havoc? We may not even know the extent of it for ages, because you know the child went out of his way to plant his cult members deep in the administration. You still hear them being weeded out. And why is DeJoy still there?

President Biden was a Godsend if you really want to know and I am not a fanatic and I know Joe would not like it but if anyone was Second Coming it sure was not tfg. I always liked Joe. I admit I did not have high expectations; just maybe a little normalcy. Joe gave the Churchillian speech of a life time and the useless garbage immediately came out. They are there at every turn like vultures looking for the kill.

I watched the whole thing with my cousin and I was rewinding it all the way through because we kept chirping up. Yes, even the media, many that I cared for them are so out for the clickbait that they act almost as bad as the maggots.

I hope we can gain 2 senators to make up for the 2 that sold out to the big money.

I wish we could get rid of Grassley and Joni Ernst here in what used to be a decent state. Kimmy Reynolds can kick rocks too. I don't know why everything turned so fast.

Even my younger brother. He is a hard worker and he is simple but has been in rural Iowa ever since my Dad had bought a hick bar back in the 70's. My younger brother never voted in his life and hardly understood or cared about politics. He was not gungho maggot but he is around some crazies. When Biden was declared the winner he said okay let's move on he was hoping. Just like me. I did not realize we are not going to be rid of tfg until we get accountability and the monster is in a cell isolated from all humankind that we can get relief. I do not want the grim reaper to get him like Epstein. No, he has to get his just due. Not that he will ever repent. He actually said he has nothing to ask forgiveness because he never did anything wrong. How can anyone be so self centered as to think that. Now Putin I just want him to keel over and the sooner the better and I do not really care how. I do not pray as much as it would be beneficial but I do pray that the suffering in Ukraine will stop and Please God stop it soon!

Thanks Greg for the writing you do and I appreciate you letting me vent here a bit. I hope I did not offend anyone. I believe that Love is the most important thing and I know forgiveness is always better for me than the other person.

I justify the likes of tfg and putin and hitler because they are not human.

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Thanks for sharing this, Mark. The silver lining in this horror is that Ukraine has burst the information bubble. People, red and blue, know about it and are appalled. And who knows, maybe Cruz and Hawley will go down for 1/6, which would be similar to having more Senators, at least for a few days.

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As many as had anything to do with it they need to go do some time. Just look at the damage that has been done. As soon as someone decides they will not concede and election that they know they lost and especially the way tfg did it then we lose credibility in our elections and it is way difficult to come back.

Remember Gore in 2000? Yeah, that election was stolen then but Gore was more than a man just so as not to undermine the election. Trump was asked repeatedly if he would accept election results and i am not sure why he just did not lie as usual but he would never answer. Seems like people already suspected he would not.

I think it has to be a requirement and ever since George Washington we have pretty much always had a peaceful transfer of power.

I do like your thinking though, Greg. Just like mine and if there was truly accountability we would do better than 2018. I do not believe the polls. I think some are voicing their displeasure with people not being held accountable, yet they never bring that up. In fact, instead of suggesting a lack of accountability they try to say people are tired of hearing about going after Trump. It is what it is. He is the most criminal politician in the history of the United States of America.

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This response is wonderful. Thank you, Mark!

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Thank you. It felt wonderful too, Gail. lol

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

A masterpiece in writing. Worthy of the admiration of any painting or song. Could this be a window into a world the GQP will create if given the chance? They are certainly trying.

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Thank you. Yes, the GOP want to live this way. Why, I can't say, but it's what they want.

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Fanfuckingtastic!

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: )

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Greg Olear

Thank you, Greg, as always. An awful lot of ink was spilled over President Biden’s remarks, which you have beautifully used as a refrain amidst the horrifying laundry list of abhorrent acts and endless suffering that Putin has been unleashing - virtually unchecked - for a generation.

A diplomatic gaffe? Give me a break. I am amazed by the commentary about what Putin wants, what he will do, what is on his mind, when it will end, how can we give him an off-ramp, what lines can be crossed, what is a bridge too far, whether his feelings will be hurt, etc. All of these conversations are anchored in the assumption that this beast will play by anyone’s rules other than his own. It’s insane. He is a monster and monsters DGAF.

Just as we can see that another COVID wave is coming at us based on what is happening abroad, so can we see what Putin is capable of doing and how it will unfold. He levels cities. He kills civilians. He massacres innocent people in the most obscene ways. Putin is COVID in human form. He is an indiscriminate virus that will seek any host and kill anything that is not well defended.

"For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power."

How is this not self-evident? How is this a controversial statement? After witnessing his crimes and atrocities, is there anything that can be said about the man that could possibly reach his level of depravity?

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"Putin is COVID in human form." Perfectly put. Perfect! Thank you.

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I started to write that too! I'm using it, but I'll cite you, Jeffrey Davis!

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BRAVO!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Interesting that you brought Snowden up as I have been thinking a lot about him lately. I am no longer conflicted why he moved to Russia. Vlad should not be able to suck in one more breath of oxygen. He is to be hunted down like a rabid animal and then destroyed. Not a gaffe, just the truth.

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I had been meaning to check in on him, and lo, he's hiding like the treasonous coward that he is.

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THANK YOU GREG!!!

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So perfectly stated, Greg, with the drumroll of the refrain: This man cannot remain in power.

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Thanks!

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