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I'm a pretty firm supporter of Abbott, but his statement this morning is a little over the top. He asks that Texas retailers remove all Russian products from their shelves. Good grief. Those store owners have already PAID for those products, and they didn't pay Russia, they paid 2nd and 3rd level wholesalers. Is Abbott going to reimburse them? I'm seeing pictures of liquor store owners pouring out bottles of Russian vodka. Stupid. Like that's going to affect anything.

I've seen this sort of thing before, like people don't know how commerce works. It's similar to destroying your own AR-15 to get them off the streets.

It is just virtue signaling and morale building, just like an older generation calling french fries freedom fries or sauer kraut liberty cabbage. It can be considered a show of support for the Ukrainians in this war. It is an emotional response that doesn't make economic sense, like most emotional responses.

I just expect that from the liberals, not as much from conservatives.

Sort of like states or counties calling themselves 2A sanctuaries. It's symbolic and doesn't mean anything.

To me it shows support for Ukraine, sort of like lighting a monument blue and yellow. Really doesn’t do anything.

https://www.axios.com/texas-power-grid- ... 0b41f.html

This Abbott order, however, cost me a bunch of money.

So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

Blackhorse1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 6:31 pm So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

Blackhorse1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 6:31 pm So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

No, actually I don't want to go fight over there. In fact, I don't want ANY Americans fighting in Ukraine. What I want is for those slacker Europeans, who've gotten that way because American taxpayer dollars have provided their defense for the last several decades, to do something for themselves and their neighbors for a change. Why do they have all that stuff like great public transportation and national healthcare systems? Because that's what THEIR taxpayer money goes to, instead of into their military budget to maintain readiness. Meanwhile, their governments continuously badmouth Americans who aren't globalists, in other words, those who aren't happy to keep paying for Europeans' defense. And if anyone wants to jump down my throat about it, well, I'm a "retired" USAF E-7. I make ZERO claims to being ANY sort of hero, I just fix airplanes, but I did do a bunch of deployments, including quite a few for both the Bosnian mess and the Kosovo mess back in the 90s, as well as a few to the more airid parts of the world. My complaint isn't that I had to go somewhere, I did sign up and raise my hand for the job, and I'm very happy no one ever shot at me. Again, my complaint is the Europeans not handling their own business, and expecting the USA to always bail them out. We lost a lot of good young people fighting the terrorists only to give that back so they could build right back up. I really don't want a bunch of young Americans dying in Ukraine.

K.Mooneyham wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:59 pm

Blackhorse1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 6:31 pm So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

No, actually I don't want to go fight over there. In fact, I don't want ANY Americans fighting in Ukraine. What I want is for those slacker Europeans, who've gotten that way because American taxpayer dollars have provided their defense for the last several decades, to do something for themselves and their neighbors for a change. Why do they have all that stuff like great public transportation and national healthcare systems? Because that's what THEIR taxpayer money goes to, instead of into their military budget to maintain readiness. Meanwhile, their governments continuously badmouth Americans who aren't globalists, in other words, those who aren't happy to keep paying for Europeans' defense. And if anyone wants to jump down my throat about it, well, I'm a "retired" USAF E-7. I make ZERO claims to being ANY sort of hero, I just fix airplanes, but I did do a bunch of deployments, including quite a few for both the Bosnian mess and the Kosovo mess back in the 90s, as well as a few to the more airid parts of the world. My complaint isn't that I had to go somewhere, I did sign up and raise my hand for the job, and I'm very happy no one ever shot at me. Again, my complaint is the Europeans not handling their own business, and expecting the USA to always bail them out. We lost a lot of good young people fighting the terrorists only to give that back so they could build right back up. I really don't want a bunch of young Americans dying in Ukraine.

This^^^^

K.Mooneyham wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:59 pm

Blackhorse1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 6:31 pm So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

No, actually I don't want to go fight over there. In fact, I don't want ANY Americans fighting in Ukraine. What I want is for those slacker Europeans, who've gotten that way because American taxpayer dollars have provided their defense for the last several decades, to do something for themselves and their neighbors for a change. Why do they have all that stuff like great public transportation and national healthcare systems? Because that's what THEIR taxpayer money goes to, instead of into their military budget to maintain readiness. Meanwhile, their governments continuously badmouth Americans who aren't globalists, in other words, those who aren't happy to keep paying for Europeans' defense. And if anyone wants to jump down my throat about it, well, I'm a "retired" USAF E-7. I make ZERO claims to being ANY sort of hero, I just fix airplanes, but I did do a bunch of deployments, including quite a few for both the Bosnian mess and the Kosovo mess back in the 90s, as well as a few to the more airid parts of the world. My complaint isn't that I had to go somewhere, I did sign up and raise my hand for the job, and I'm very happy no one ever shot at me. Again, my complaint is the Europeans not handling their own business, and expecting the USA to always bail them out. We lost a lot of good young people fighting the terrorists only to give that back so they could build right back up. I really don't want a bunch of young Americans dying in Ukraine.

Blackhorse1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 6:31 pm So, as you see it, is that it costs you money? Well they probably don't care about your money. You should be smart enough to know that your wealth shouldn't be put above a country's population. DUDE they're fighting for their lives. No one is doing hands on to help them but themselves. Women, children,grandparents,husbands.. I commend those people for being as dedicated to their country as they are. Those citizens probably have never used a gun before but they're damn well doing it. It seems as those people are fighting a fight that most Americans wouldn't even thinking of doing. This country needs to be more pro-american than so much devided. That small under dog country is doing great in my book. Anyone else want to fight a super power country? I'm all about this underdog country's unity.

You're drowning in the media's Koolaid. Ukraine is a worthless, corrupt toilet of a country. Zelensky is a corrupt billionaire dictator installed by the U.S. who jails his opponents and has murdered over 14,000 ethnic Russians in Donbass over the last 8 years. They were planning a major military attack on the region when Putin finally said "enough" and moved in. I mean, think about it: Putin is an extremely astute, shrewd, experience individual. Do you really BELIEVE he just did all this on a whim, for NO REASON, knowing full well what it would cost?

No, I think he did it on whim, for no reason, not realizing what it would cost.

Ruark wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 5:35 pmYou're drowning in the media's Koolaid. Ukraine is a worthless, corrupt toilet of a country. Zelensky is a corrupt billionaire dictator installed by the U.S. who jails his opponents and has murdered over 14,000 ethnic Russians in Donbass over the last 8 years. They were planning a major military attack on the region when Putin finally said "enough" and moved in. I mean, think about it: Putin is an extremely astute, shrewd, experience individual. Do you really BELIEVE he just did all this on a whim, for NO REASON, knowing full well what it would cost?

I disagree with your description of Ukraine, and feel the attitudes shown by the current population prove it cannot possibly be as bad as you describe. And Zelensky may be a corrupt billionaire, but he is also going out and fighting in the street against the Russians personally. I bet NONE of our politicians would do that, even the few I consider honest and properly elected. I admit that at least part of this is a historical bias in favor of Ukraine because some of my ancestors were Ukrainian (my maternal grandmother was born in the Kiev area).

I also admit that Zelensky and the Ukraine government are not as pure and democratic as the media would have us believe. I am not as sure that I would describe it as murder of the ethnic Russians (I don't know enough and there are conflicting reports on what happened), but many have died at the government's hands.

But I know for a fact that Putin did not do this on a whim and he did not care about the ethnic Russians in Donbass any more than he cared when he seized the Crimean area from Ukraine using the same excuse. He did it for two reasons. The first reason is the same one Hitler used when he seized Czechoslovakia in 1939 - "the area has always been part of our country and is our territory historically". Putin is going to try to take Ukraine because he is rebuilding the Russian Empire as it was at its peak and Ukraine was conquered by the Russians in the past. He is also threatening to do the same with other former Soviet Republics using this logic. The second reason is the fear of Ukraine joining NATO. Note that Putin threatened Finland and Sweden with punitive actions if they join NATO. A good portion of this is a justified fear of NATO putting troops on his border, especially with missiles. He sees NATO as the US and sees the US as the enemy. And we reacted the same way when the Russians put missiles in Cuba (remember that missile crisis - hmm also under a Democratic president - a pattern may be emerging here).

And as Dave2 said, I think Putin underestimated the cost of this enterprise. That includes the direct costs of the invasion and the indirect costs of the sanctions and public opinion. I am not sure he cares about the public opinion though, either that of Russian citizens or anyone else.

I don't drink anymore but when I did, I thought Vodka tasted like rubbing alcohol. I always liked a good old fashioned all American Bourbon. I am OK if Abbott wants to kill vodka.

Two, I thought we were still calling them Freedom Fries and when I hear the words Sour Kraut, I think of a mean old German woman.