Hey thanks for the reply, but I don't understand how you can attest to Putins intent. Does he confide in you? Do you read his blog?

There is just no way that this war is one sided. Didn't US/Nato provoke Russia by moving resources into Ukraine, breaking the minck agreements? I don't know if that's true, but thats way more plausible than it's just big bad Putin. He's the villian. Case closed.

I honestly don't KNOW anything for certain. History was written by the victor. Propaganda is everywhere. I just find it annoying when people claim to KNOW something because they watch the news or read history books. Were you there?

Can you one hundred percent positively say Putin is NOT just trying to defend his nation from this US/Nato proxy war? Don't lie to me.

(I don't necessarily think Putin is a good person, I just don't think he's the only bad one.)

I do appreciate you taking the time to set me straight. Not sarcasm.

I think your premise is wrong. It's more plausible that because war is beneficial for the 1 percent, that this song and dance of political theater is purely to keep you and I entertained and in line.

Or we could go with your idea that Putin thought it was a good idea to piss off the most powerful nations because he wanted to conquer some land. He was like A) I could peacefully hang out on my massive yacht or B) become enemies with a country that is notorious for stealth drone strikes.

Dana Gould: Hey guys, I was just not remembering Rush and not remembering how influential he was and not remembering how much I hated him.

Everyone: Yeah, I don't even remember that he made millions of dollars and I'm not even remembering the exact cemetery that he was buried in. Yay, I'm glad we're all not remembering this.

What do you think is worse, taking really good care of animals you are exploiting and possibly going to eat, or taking really shitty care of that same animal?

I get what you're saying and maybe zen or meditation isn't necessarily the right words to describe it. More like a stress reliever. Like a punching bag with a productive outcome that adds to its satisfaction. For me, the wood does not need to be cut, yet I cut it. Maybe someday I'll need firewood and I'll be ready.

I might be a little more country than this community, but exercise to me is grabbing wood from the local yard waste site to split by hand. Some good clean fun to clear the mind and keep the body strong, and just the right amount of danger to keep it interesting. Not to mention the lifetime supply of campfire wood.

I maybe just might also like to grab wood that requires a chainsaw because chainsaws are neat(fricken awesome). It actually takes all my restraint to not start a rampage through the local woods. It's addicting, the chainsaws not deforestation. I'm a tree hugger by nature and deeply conflicted by alot of human's creations.