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Wait... so if we don’t buy into the Ukraine narrative, by this writer’s logic, then we are nothing but Russian shills? I know gender is binary, but thinking definitely is NOT. You can hate Russia (and everything it stands for) and still acknowledge that Ukraine is a deeply corrupt country (where corrupt US politicians launder their money and make shady deals to get their sons on the boards of energy companies) not worth getting into World War III over.

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It never ceases to surprise how some writers can take their own skewed, cynical view of the world then use it as a foundation for skewed arguments leading to skewed conclusions - conclusions without any proof other than self reference. Typical in this little missive: "The New Right - Trumpian in its isolationist America First attitude and deeply cynical about the country’s ability to act competently in the world." I don't know anybody remotely like that. The only Trump supporters I know supported his economic policies, which were reaping tremendous benefit for the Average, Middle-Class American, appreciated his restraint vis à vis spilling American blood to fulfill non-serving politicians such as the Clintons, Cheneys and Romneys lust for foreign adventuring (hardly "isolationist"), and his willingness to stay out of fights that did not involve American interests. They (we) appreciated our being energy-independent and the benefits thereof; compare those days to now, when the entire nation's economy is being whipsawed on a daily basis by the craziest progressive ideologues in the Democrat party while Titular President Asterisk begs our enemies for a few crumbs of oil.

No, Sir, you are dead wrong about America. This is a fine, good Nation filled with good people who simply have been asleep at the switch and have allowed their homeland to be taken over by elected fools - the Nancy Pelosis, the Chuck Schumers, the Sandy Occasional-Cortexes, and little unelected dictators like Herr Fauci. This is the greatest nation that has ever existed, and it deserves to be saved from these fools and predators. Can it be done? I don't know, but we must try.

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Martinez offers nothing here that I haven’t already heard a dozen times yesterday on CNN.

If this is the sort of intellectual conversation I can expect from guest authors, than perhaps I’m wasting my money

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Bari, I rarely comment, but please keep the bar high for Common Sense. This article is hopeless - as many have pointed out. No hard examples, lots of grand claims/sensationalism.

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Mar 24, 2022·edited Mar 24, 2022

Sorry but the only vacuum I see is between Mr. Martinez's ears. Tucker Carlson does not sound like a Berkeley leftist. Nor does he bash America. What he does do is expose the fatuous lies of the New York Times and the leftist foreign policy elites for whom the Times shills. Sorry but even the odious Victoria Nuland admitted to Congress that there were US funded bio labs in Ukraine that held dangerous materials. Yes, the very same Nuland whose meddling in Ukraine led directly to the severing of the Crimea - a crime for which Obama did zilch. Is there a coincidence between Nuland being back in government and Ukraine's troubles? You tell me. And no, Ukraine is not a "fighting for our democracy" as the leftist media shrieks. And Zelensky is not the second coming of George Washington. He presides over a corrupt country and has jailed and silenced his opposition. He is, however, fighting bravely for Ukraine. His country, not ours.

Bari - we subscribe to your blog to read honest discourse. Not the same sort of lies that led you to abandon your former employer. You're way better than this. Martinez is a fool and a liar.

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Here we go again - obviously this guy has never watched tucker yet gets his info from cnn edited clips - we should ignore Biden and his disgusting son’s connections to Ukraine -these articles are getting old - I prefer the old liberal to this new poison we call liberals today!

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Yes there is a growing group of conservatives questioning the US ability to be the world policeman. One of the reasons is concern for our growing financial limitations (which no one seems to acknowledge). The other is a growing realization that while our efforts maybe well intentioned we don’t always get it right and we are slow to recognize that we some times do more harm than good. Good intentions are not enough, that’s a solid conservative position.

Unlike the Berkeley left who embrace counter movements like Cuba or Venezuela the right is not embracing other cultures or political systems, it is merely recognizing the hubris of believing everyone wants or should be like us and that it’s in our power to make it happen. That’s not anti American it is certainly protectionism.

I don’t know where I personally come out in this as it relates to Ukraine. I am sympathetic to the underdog and believe they are serving the world by exposing Putins considerable limitations. The debate as to how involved we should be is needed and healthy. I suggest Tucker is more like Rogan debating Covid policies than Angela Davis wanting to burn it down. The authors argument linking the two as America haters is weak.

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Tucker Carlson hates America? Trump hates America?

I think this writer just hates. What a fool.

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It seems that no one can write about Ukraine and Russia except in cartoon-style.

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This article is strong on accusations, but almost completely bereft of actual examples.

Another head scratcher.

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Bari, Are you sharing this because you believe what is written here? I’m actually sorry this article is in my email. For the first time ever I have regrets for following you and I highly respect your Common Sense opinions. I listen to your podcasts…repeatedly. Your guests are usually smart, thoughtful and passionate. I’ll admit, the consistent drumbeat of hate for Trump supporters is sometimes deafening. This writer, however, raised the volume and for completely unnecessary reasons. NEWS FLASH: The majority of “the new right” is primarily made up from the same grand ole’ party. Only now people like this writer view its every word through a filter so clouded with hatred, the basic picture is hidden from view. Me thinks Antonio can’t see the forest for the trees. You’re better than this.

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Agree with a lot of this article, but you lost me at “supposed biolabs”. This was confirmed under oath:

On Tuesday, the US government’s Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified before a Senate Foreign Relation Committee hearing on Ukraine in Washington, DC, and said that the United States was working with Ukraine to prevent invading Russian forces from seizing biological research material. The State Department also stated that it was concerned that Russian forces are trying to gain control of biological research facilities within Ukraine. The committee was set to examine Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the worldwide response.

At the hearing, State Department official Victoria Nuland was asked whether Ukraine has bioweapons. “Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of”, she stated to the US lawmakers on March 8. “We are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach”, she added.

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Antonio, I care about America’s borders more than Ukraine’s borders. Unfortunately the powers that be in America right now don’t give a shit about our borders. But they’re willing to send our money, weapons, and citizens to protect Ukraine’s border. That’s pretty fucked up, and that’s why Tucker Carlson wants people to question what we’re doing with this issue.

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There is a reason for shift Americans appetite for war.

- Country is facing several major internal crisis that need immediate attention -> student debt, fentanyl, southern border, falling inner cities, health of the nation is worst it had ever been

- US is heading for destroying it self financially through endless engagement abroad. Take for example Afghanistan, it costed $2 trillion, and it crashed and burned in two weeks. For that money every inch of USA couls have been covered with high speed internet and every single American could have healthcare.

- US is running unsustainable deficts without any investment, US infrastructure is crumbling, I live in China (but I am not Chinese), I am flabbergasted how bad is US infrastructure compared to China, literal third world country.

- looming social security crisis

And thise are issues that I as non American know with top of my head. With all this said, should US really fbe focusing and sending billions abroad while neglecting problems at home?

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Mar 24, 2022·edited Mar 24, 2022

This is a far too simplistic assessment of what seems to me to be only a few people who actually have little in common. If you are going to paint Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon with the same brush, you need a new brush. Speaking of Carlson -- people listen to him because he's pretty much the only person on television who presents a daily, pithy, sarcastic assessment of the news. Like Johnny Carson's opening monologue long ago, it's a "must listen" to many. That doesn't mean they all agree with their TV messiah, it means they just want to hear the perspective of someone who looks at a photo of white Congressmen and women in kente cloth masks (useless against an airborne virus) and $700 suits kneeling with raised Black Power fists and sees the ridiculousness of the scene, or who reacts to a candidate for the Supreme Court who's asked to define "woman" and says she's not a biologist by saying, not "what a clever riposte to a savage attack!" but, "give me a break, lady!"

It seems to me that few know how to respond to the Russian attack against Ukraine. Russia is not and cannot be "the good guy" here. And Ukraine, though well known for its political corruption and no pristine example of democracy -- IS the victim of a massive attack. Our political class really seems to have fallen for the globalist utopian dream that if we only discourage everyone from being patriotic (because that might lead to nationalism) and make sure all countries are dependent on each other for trade and goods, only the "bad, uneducated, poor countries" will ever attack each other again. Only people who don't understand human nature could ever believe such a fairy tale. But because they DID believe it, they have no idea what to do now. There is no good guy., and we don't know where we fit (if at all). There's a lot more going on, but that's a big part of what we're seeing.

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This is the typical strawman argument of the left. They claim we believe something that we don’t and then argue against THAT instead of the position we ACTUALLY hold. It’s YOUR warlike ideas and fabricated casus belli that are the indefensible ones. Before you ascribe to me a mindless position on Russia begin by defending your 20 year wars in the sovereign nations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

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