301 Comments

Al Franken should still be in the Senate.

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I met him at Logan airport a year after that bitch senator from NY, can't remember her name but she ruined herself by pressing him to resign. He was very gracious about having his picture taken with me. The person who took our picture was none other than the late Bill Richarson! Bill and I both said to him to run for senator again but Senator Franken who seemed so sad and a little broken, said there was currently no room for him. I asked if he was writing and he said yes. I just love that man to pieces!

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He really was railroaded out of the Senate. I know there were allegations and evidence of sexual harassment, but republicans wear that as a fucking badge of honor. ain't fucking fair.

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I agree and the cunt who tattled on him was a republican Fox news junkie. He should have stood his ground because it seemed the sexual assault shit was all done in jest. I felt at the time I met him, his sadness was based on his regret of resigning because when all was said and done, it would have blown over.

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There should have at least been the due process/ ethics hearing that fucking Santos got. I mean, I'm all for the "me too" movement, but the price Franken paid for something that happened years before his Senate stint was far too high.

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He read the writing on the wall back then during the peak of that movement. These things always overshoot their original intentions and get carried to extremes. Eventually the fever breaks, and common sense prevails, but while a movement's cresting the media tries to outdo itself in pushing the narrative. Gillibrand was just another politician who thought she could ride the wave to increase her popularity with the movement's promoters. Sometimes you have to accept that if you advocate for something and it comes to pass, you also have to adhere to its consequences. Otherwise known as unintended consequences.

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An excellent analysis of the times, the movement and so well said!

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When going through the evidence there wasn't any. Yeah, that set-up with the GOP wanna be was put together by Stone and others. Remember Stone talking about "someone spending time in the barrel"? There was a writer that later retracted completely her complaint of Fraken putting his arm around her waist and that she didn't even let her husband do that! Her confession was she felt self conscious of gaining weight! People were more touchy Feely back then. If you look at photos from the recent past you will see many with men not their husband's with arms around women's waist.

Anyway, it was a political stunt and I wish he had stayed. The senate let him down.

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I have 2 wonderful Senators, but I had, 2 wonderful Senators w/Franken's senate seat.

Now, shortly Fter 2 terms we have the political moron of Dean Phillips, his tagline being everyone was welcome and he was a man of the people-such BS!

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The woman was seen in pics with Roger Stone right after that happened to Franklin - Roger Stone with the big Nixon tattoo on his back, walking down the street with her, she was topless and he was sucking on her nipple and they were laughing. It was from a credible publication. She was partially painted. It all sounds so crazy. ALL of it. Al Frankenstein is so brilliant, I wish he was still a Senator. And I will look at nothing with (the Senator that went after him)name on it. Nothing. The other Democratic Senators who went along with it were wrong too. Self righteous posing, grandstanding, oh how I hate that crap.

And I am definitely a Democrat. She took him out because she saw it as a way to bolster herself.

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*Franken.....spell check keeps changing it.

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I totally agree and recall in real time your info.

Autocorrect happens even after you visually read your unposted comment.

One wonders were just 'auto-correct happens and "additional " help from this AI app start and stop.

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Yes indeed. Before publication I found in a story I wrote that "Colorado Livestock Association" had been converted to "Colorado Live Tech Association" (!)

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Never met the man, what I came to know about him impressed me more than most of the people who he served with.I was genuinely surprised that he didn’t push those sleezey ,opportunistic,bloodsucking parasites on their many inequities and lesser intellectual talents,he was obviously quite a bit more intelligent and personable than the majority if not all that conspired against him.His former profession in comedy should have prepared him for the fools, and clowns in the Senate.Wish we still had him working for the common good.

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OMG, still pissed by that move. Look, I am not besties with Al, but back then when I was employed I thought, why not go all in? So yeah, I met and talked with Al Franken during mostly his 1st campaign.as a donor. His 2nd, not so much. A really wonderful person. I never regret one $ I spent. Other than every other campaign running anywhere asking for $$.

If I ever won a lottery or if I ever actually bought a ticket and won. THAT is where i would go wild in spending it.

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Franken got fucked over. With known traitors like Tuberville still in the Senate and molesters like Pervy McForehead still in Congress, it's obvious how far down the shitter that the GOP Congress has gone and will continue to go.

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You’re missing the point here, guys. It was our own Kristen Gillibrand who called for his ouster! I will never forgive her for that.

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Marlene;

Absolutely! And she destroyed her credibility after that. A similar thing happened with Debbie Wasserman- Shultz when she screwed Bernie over as DNC Chair in 2016. Democrats! Holy Shit Batman!

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YES!! That’s when I stopped having any respect for her. She jumped on that bandwagon way too fast. Wasserman-Schultz really screwed things up for Hillary when she did not embrace Bernie’s ideas. That’s one reason why she lost.

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Marlene; Wasserman- Schulz cheated on HRC’s behalf by showing her the debate questions prior to a primary debate. I still don’t trust the DNC because of that.

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Do you think Republicans believe in what's Fair? That went out the window a long time ago

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It makes me sick to think about it.

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Kirsten Gillibrand, and every time I see that WOMAN, all I can think of is how she whined and bitched about Al Franken and "The Picture" and how he should resign immediately. I'm absolutely NOT a misogynist, but that picture was totally on brand for Franken; funny, a little naughty, and never meant in a mean or "locker room talk" kind of way. He was one of the best senators in ANY room.

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founding

Wasn’t it later determined that the subject of the uproar was an extreme rightie who was in on the joke of taking the picture? Or was I reading bs?

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I don't know who took the picture, but it was backstage at a show they were doing in, I think Iraq.

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Kirsten Gillebrand. I will never forgive her.

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Me neither but she did reck her presidential aspirations. Bitch.

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Nov 30, 2023·edited Nov 30, 2023

Yep. Hate her. I just wish Franken had fought harder.

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He would make a great foil to turtlehead mcconnell.

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The problem here is that Franken actually has ethics -- combined with his gift for hitting his marks so effectively, I'm sure he was a priority for the GQP to eliminate.

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She was never presidential material anyway. Kamala Harris outshines her in every respect.

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Yep, that stand on top of people's shoulders is not a boost that works.

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Nor will I.

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Nor should you.

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Kristin Gillibrand, a woman whom no other woman should ever want to emulate. She brands herself a feminist but is nothing more than an attention seeking, self-aggrandizing hypocrite. New York can do much better than that.

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"That bitch senator." "That WOMAN."

Good grief, you can disagree with her position or even excoriate her without the misogynist garbage.

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Gillebrand?

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Ditto

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He should be president

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That would be fun and hopeful at the same time.

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That would be wonderful.

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He was my senator and I worked on his campaign. Mainly writing checks. He studied political s incentives at Havard.

An amazing person.

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POLITICAL SCIENCE

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Senate? Only the Senate?

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It was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand - a democrat - who insisted he resign after pictures of Franken surfaced (before he was a Senator and was working as a comedian) of having his hands over the breasts of a sleeping journalist with a smile on his face. This was back before we knew how filthy, stinking, dirty Mitch McConnell was and before the GOP turned into the GQP. We all assumed there were rules about conduct but Gillebrand was way off base and I am so sorry Franken listened to her. She has stated she has no regrets about pressuring him to resign. We lost a good Senator and a good man in the Senate. When we have people like Matt Gaetz unabashedly serving in Congress, she helped to ensure the double standard. Democrats have standards, the GQP has none see :George Santos.

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"I am so sorry Franken listened to her." And I am, too. So very sorry...

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David; No shit. Thanks for nothing Kristen Gilibrand!

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He should have run for president.

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He still can, but he would be putting his life in danger from the MAGA crowd.

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Yes!

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I KNOW!!!

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Absolutely

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Old broad here- many, MANY other boomers hated Kissinger as much as we hated Tricky Dick. You only had to watch them in interviews and see their eye movements to KNOW they were LYING. I have no remorse for either’s passing..they HURT our Republic.

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Nov 30, 2023·edited Dec 1, 2023

My sister and I were saying last night in a conversation, “only the good die young,“ but someone as purely evil as Kissinger gets to live to 100. I’m so grateful that Biden never hosted him at the White House. It makes me worried that Trump could keep going for a long time. Please Donald, keep eating those triple burgers with extra cheese three times a day.

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Janet; and slathered with extra mayonnaise and lots of salt.

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Sounds delicious and deadly. 😉

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Janet;

Add some bacon to the burger as well! 😉

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There are days when I think Donald may be some kind of android. Nothing seems to get him.

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He is the Terminator; “I’ll be back!”

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Sharon;

And those two rat bastards enabled the bullshit we are going through right now!

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One thing's for sure, he's not going the same place as Rosalynn Carter. I didn't even realize the sonofabitch was still alive.

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even hell didn't want him for 100 years.

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A friend said the same thing.

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Yeah. He was even too horrid for the Devil.

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Me either, I'd thought he died years ago. Him and Dump and Trickster can rot in Hell and talk about the good ole days...

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I was flabbergasted when that asshole won a Nobel peace prize. A Piece of Shit prize would have been more applicable.

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Sort of tarnishes the Nobel Peace prize, that’s for sure.

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And then I remember Alfred Nobel is famous for inventing dynamite...

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That has to be the most ignorant and egregious thing the Nobel committee has ever done. I don’t know what on freaking earth they could have been thinking, having awarded that prize over the years to so many truly worthy individuals.

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Kind of puts the legitimacy of the Nobel Peace Prize in question, doesn't it?

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Fck Kissmyassinger. My Dad was a staunch Republican. He was friends with quite a few politicians and Presidents. My Dad was a USNavy veteran from WWII. BUT he knew HenryFuckingKissMyAssinger and bluntly stated the only thing Henry cares about is Henry. My Dad said in simple terms : HenryFuckingKissMyAssinger is unfortunately a racist and will throw anyone and everyone under the proverbial bus to promote himself to a higher position. He is a danger to humanity and human rights. My Dad said this when I was just little kid. Dad always spoke about politics in front of me because he thought it was important even at an early age. That I have a responsibility to hold those in power accountable by voting.. and to always conduct myself with: Character, Integrity, and Kindness. Character: What you do when no one is watching

Integrity: if you give your word you keep your word: period

Kindness: It costs absolutely nothing but being kind even to a stranger can mean so much to someone who is truly in need of it.

My Dad is gone now and he was from a different era but he was and is to this day a very good human being.

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Sounds like an excellent example to follow. You were lucky.

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I was. My Dad was awesome. My Mom not so much. But he explained when I was young that my Mom was the love of his life.. but he didn’t always like her. It kinda gave me permission to love my Mom but I never liked her cause she wasn’t a nice person. He was from a different time and he was always a gentleman and when he was with his buddies he was hysterically funny. I was his little shadow. Super quiet but always with my Daddy and watching and listening. Best teacher EVER

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Your story sounds a lot like my own. My dad was a joy to be with, but my mother (that’s what I had to call her, never ‘mom’) was not a very nice woman. Even so, it was very difficult when she died.

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My father was also a World War II naval veteran, but he thought Kissinger was a great man. He was an unwavering Republican, and his last vote while still alive was for Trump. It makes me very sad to have had a parent with this kind of blind loyalty that makes them unable to see evil for what it is, and we never got along. And that’s one of the reasons I moved 2000 miles away from my family soon after I got my college degree. I never regretted it for a minute.

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Oh Janet I’m so sorry. The blind loyalty I totally get .. my father’s loyalty to (not birth mother) Mother🙄 And she was not loyal at all. My so called Mom did not have a loyal bone in her body. She would talk shit about everyone including my Dad, who was a straight arrow. Everyone respected my father except my Mom and my siblings. And that speaks volumes. She’s still kicking😒 and her Weasel Dick kids are in their mid /late 60’s and not one of those griftingassmunchfucktards has worked in over 26 years. They all live with Mommy on her property in Hawaii.. My dad died in ‘98. Do I miss my siblings or my notMother? Nope not even a tiny bit.. My Dad.. every single day. And my Hubster is exactly my like my Dad. I swear Dad had a hand in finding my hubby. When I met my hubby I heard my dad’s voice in my head ( yeah yeah.. I’m hearing things LOL) I heard him say “Little One( that’s what he called me) he’s a good one” then my youngest met him and took one look and said Mommy, he’s a good one and he’s the one. My youngest went on our first couple of dates with us lol.. She was right and Thankfully, I listened. I’m a very lucky girl.

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What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing that. I had a similar relationship with my mother even though I had to travel long distances to see her regularly. She is gone as well, and there isn’t a day that goes by that she isn’t whispering something to me. I love that your kids approved of your choice. That’s the only way to do it right.

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Thank you Janet. Right?!? You know when they’re sending you a message. My Dad’s favorite song is Stardust by Nat King Cole and damn if that song doesn’t come on randomly and it’s not on my playlist.. and my kids look at me and they say Mom Stardust is playing., what?!? And sure enough it’s playing on my Spotify. I smile a sad smile and know he’s watching after me still. He sent me my husband, I know he did cause I know he did not like my ex.. when he was dying he said.. get rid of the dead weight soon he’s gonna take everything you worked for. Dad was right. He took everything and left me and the kids with absolutely nothing. Fuck the EX. Karma is coming. Hehehehe making popcorn for this one. He just got served..15 + years of back alimony…

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Sometimes karma does her job beautifully. May you enjoy every penny of that back alimony.💜🌈

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Amen from your mouth to God’s ear 🙌🏽💜🤙🏽!! Hopefully! And first order of business is to pay my kids college loans off. I had college funds for my kids and the douchey EX emptied their college accounts and stole the money. And yes I’m going after ALL the stolen funds. He just got served court papers after dodging the service for the last 6 months..🤭

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Get him!!!

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Thank you Charlie!! He got served 🙌🏽Booyah

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I see common threads between us with our deceased too-good-for-this-world fathers & our (not) mothers & her offspring. It doesn't much help either of us, except to know we are not alone enduring similar situations in life. 💞✌

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Susie I’m here when you need to vent. Or just snarky humor. I’m so thankful I’m not alone. I’ve got you and so many others who unfortunately have mothers and siblings who completely suck donkey balls.. getting my adjectives in today!🤭

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I love your spot-on adjectives! Sisterhood is the best! 💞✌🌈

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Yes it is 🙌🏽🤙🏽🤪💜

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💔💔💔

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Thank you. Sometimes a picture paints 1000 words. 💜

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That's the US military code of honor. Those are great principles to live by. Kissinger was a ruthless bastard.

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“Forget Pinochet, Milosevic, Hussein, Kim Jong-il, or Gaddafi: America need look no further than its own lauded leaders for a war criminal whose offenses rival those of the most heinous dictators in recent history-Henry Kissinger” Christopher Hitchens, The Trial Of Henry Kissinger

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Hitch had his number a long time ago

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As did Vidal

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Hitch was no dummy!

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Very Intelligent, and very Logical

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Steve, if you like Christopher Hitchens, I highly recommend the last book he wrote during his days dying of pancreatic cancer, called “Mortality.” It’s possible you’ve read it already, but if not, it’s a short brilliant work of art.

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I’ll check it out Janet, thanks

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I appreciate the referral also. Sounds intriguing.

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Janet; “Mortality” was very courageous.

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Indeed, it’s a small book, so I read it in one night because I just couldn’t put it down. His way with language has always enthralled me. He doesn’t hold back.

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Another one who died too early...

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Jeff.

Why does everyone give me a Blank Stare whenever I mention East Timor?

It's like whats an East Timor? Is that a Place? Where is it?

Ask the People of East Timor Today

They are probably giving thanks, or dancing in the streets,after learning of that evil , sick , bastards Death

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Mar, I knew nothing (that I could at least remember) about East Timor. Your post drove me to Google it and I found this article that folks who think like we all apparently do might want to read. http://etan.org/issues/kissinger.htm

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And how could I forget this, MY children's first babysitter, Tia Maria, escaped to Canada,from Chile. Due to Pinochets Regime, another Kissinger Fiasco and War Crime, So Glad for them and for Canada

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Or the people I met in Ecuador in 1975 fleeing from Chile? I stayed in a hotel, even writing hotel is funny... a gringo hotel run by an escapes from Chile. A college student who's American husband returned to the state to work on her visa.

My older self wonders if she thought she was abandoned? Not what my more innocent self would have thought then. Now, however her story ended (some 45 years later)it most be with a sigh of relief. We, the USA and much of the world did not know their reality ( your babysitter or my Chilean host) of the many "disappeared " college students by their government. One supported by the Nixon administration.

I think until one smells the tear gas it may not be real. Something very scary in a SA country and backed by a US president like Nixon would do here.

A long time coming...as the song goes.

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As equally horrible as the Argentinian Junta, The dissapeared, The murders, the imprisonment. Torture!

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Yes, so horrible. One of my professors had had to flee Argentina. The junta has a list of words that could get professors and journalists arrested. One of them was "unconscious."

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Yep, spent 4 months there. I still think a requirement of foreign travel and/ community service should be an educational requirement. A d not like Romney with his "Mormon service" I Paris no less! Although that would be at least a start in opening up hearts & minds of the average American's ignorance.

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Mark;

I remember reading about Pinochet’s goons taking people that were bound up, weighted down and thrown out of aircraft over the ocean. Disappeared

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Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! covered the outrages in East Timor in detail in many of her broadcasts. I believe they are available on YouTube now.

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Great summary. I love that you touched on how the media is covering this. One really can’t “both sides” this monster

Also, ahhh, I miss Bourdain

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He was a war criminal with plenty of blood on his hands. He deserved to die in prison. Good riddance is spot on Jeff.

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If Gitmo was made for anyone, it was made for Henry Kissinger. But no, he lived a life of freedom, winning a prize he never deserved, while causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

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I especially love the Gore Vidal quote. And I don’t remember seeing Kissinger’s comment about breaking Dems. He, W & Cheney, tffg, & Netanyahu — mass murderers one and all.

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tfg is also a mass murderer, Covid? Syria?

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He’s in the list: tffg. Biden is nicer than I am, so the f-bomb is mine.

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Absolutely and he'll even kill more people if he's reelected.

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I wish you had been writing this column when Nixon died. I hated watching the solemn and respectful commentary on that man. The two of them can rot in hell.

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They are as we speak.

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I personally called him a war criminal to his face at the Peking Duck House in Manhattan. His breaking the peace deal Johnson had in place before the election added over 25,000 American soldiers dead in the war, Additionally, double that amount of war Vets who committed suicide when they came home and those who exposed to agent orange. Also the death troll and lasting poison the Vietnamese and Cambodians have paid because of this evil man.

His actions in South and Central Americas are a major contributor to the turmoil and dysfunction there.

Truly a loathsome american...

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He and Nixon committed treason to win the 1968 election.

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Nov 30, 2023·edited Nov 30, 2023

Was he involved in tanking the peace talks in Paris back then? I know their failure led to Nixon's election, since an agreement to end the Vietnam war just before the election would have carried the Democrats to keep the White House. I know the scheme was promoted by Nixon (Tricky Dick!).

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Yes he was....

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And to think, those of us who protested the war drove LBJ to not run again in ‘68. He was mean and cagey enough to beat Nixon, but none of the other potential candidates were and the party infuriated us all by picking Humphrey. In hindsight…oh WTF, that doesn’t help, does it.

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Married to a Vietnam vet 47 yrs now. Still fighting the VA for benefits for Agent Orange exposure and PTSD! It’s been a nightmare.

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Sadly you are far from alone......

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founding

100 years. "Only the good die young"?

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author

lack of stress. if you don't have a conscience, you're never going stress out about being evil, and you end up living longer.

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founding

It’s that good government health care coverage that they don’t want the rest of us to have.

It keeps them on their feet while we, the expendables, die waiting in emergency rooms.

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Bingo!!

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yep, too mean to die. another cockroach like the orange turd.

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the benefits of being a psychopath?

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Hi Jeff, I came upon this Substack newsletter today from Robert Reich, our former labor secretary in the Clinton administration. He gives some interesting details in here on the whole Chilean disaster with Kissinger. He also flat out calls him a war criminal. Mr. Reich was never one to mince words.

https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/henry-kissinger-1923-2023?r=2vk1c6&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

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author

in fact I quote from Reich's piece in the post above these comments

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Nov 30, 2023Liked by Jeff Tiedrich

I didn’t realize that. I read Reich’s post quickly, but he discussed these backdoor conversations that I never knew took place.

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That’s why all of us would be dead if we behaved toward our bodies the way tffg does his, but he’ll live on. Without compassion and empathy, nothing touches and therefore ages a person.

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You called it!

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Some people refuse to die with all their might. They are terrified of where they will be going next.

Maybe “Only the good die young” is true in the sense that the good are not afraid of their next destination.

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And his son mentioned that he had terrible health habits.

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Biden is one exception to the rule.

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founding

If you can’t see any difference between 81 and 100, think of when you were 18 and remember people who were 19 years older than you were then - and 19 years younger…oops.

Biden’s not that old yet - Fox News's opinion notwithstanding. Hell’s bells I’m older than President Biden and so are most of my friends. But 100?

Jimmy Carter and Roselyn, now those are the exceptions. 99 is as good as 100 but Jimmy is 100 times the man Kissinger ever was.

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Shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath .J C. Is a human being k was not.

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Robert, I’m sorry to have to break it to you, but all the humans that now exist is what we are. You can’t disown the bad ones. We produced them.

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I feel sure that Kissinger is either getting a very warm welcome in hell, or is currently being reincarnated as a Cambodian child who will have to live with multiple mutilations from the secret bombing.

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Your second suggestion sounds good to me. I have spent my life wondering what happens to the truly evil among us when they die.

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Only the good die young. Just hearing about that monster sends me into a RAGE! I have to go out and take a long walk.

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Janet, I think at death the ego dissolves and we are all returned to original purity. That’s just my deduction.

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Oh, a billion skillion "Amens!" to this most heartfelt column!! I never understood why anyone thought he was a wonderful guy. DJT would have invited him to live at his shitty Florida golf motel and be his bestie.

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Nov 30, 2023·edited Nov 30, 2023

The next few days of DC-elites and the media praising Kissinger will be sickening. He was 100% a madman. He is a war criminal responsible for the deaths of millions of people esp in Southeast Asia. I hope he rots in hell.

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Rolling Stone’s article has a headline that tells it like it is. Jeff level bashing, without the swearing of course.

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