#44- the one time I went to Buffalo, a local recommended that I go to the top of the City Hall. It had a great view of the city, the canal and the shipyard.

I also saved a ton of money when I went to Niagara Falls, since the taxi drivers were all ripoff artists, but the day pass for the bus and transit only cost $5 at the time.

"Double thanks for looking so stupid while doing it"

You really are a sore loser.

What point does your point make? Nada. Your point was pointless, for the reasons I gave above.

"You had to look up the name."

Yes, and so what? I don't know what you think that proves, but it's not whatever you think it does.

Who are you and what have you done with the real LegallyMyDead?

"Machado is a ... Traitor"

If your country hadn't had a legitimate election since 1998, where the opposition candidate had over 70% of vote in the most recent one but the dictator was still in power, I suspect you'd become a "traitor" to your country too. Especially if they were actively persecuting and trying to imprison you for criticizing it.

"Machado is a Fascist Traitor, why did she get a Nobel Peace Prize of all things, for Advocating a Military Attack on her Own Country?"

In late 2025, Mara Corina Machado expressed openness to increased international military pressure and escalation to force Nicols Maduro to step down. While she has not explicitly called for a ground invasion, her support for "escalation" and "strength" is based on the following arguments:

1. . Enforcement of Electoral Will
   Machado argues that the 2024 presidential election gave a clear mandate for regime change, with over 70% of the population voting for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzlez. She contends that since Maduro has refused to recognize these results, external "strength" and "pressure" are the only remaining ways to enforce the will of the Venezuelan people.
   
2. . View of the Government as a "Criminal Structure"
   She has stated that the Maduro administration is not a "conventional" dictatorship but a "criminal narco-terrorist structure" that cannot be removed through purely diplomatic means. By framing the government as a criminal enterprise rather than a political one, she justifies the use of "law enforcement" and military-style operations to dismantle its funding and control.
   
3. . Claim of Pre-existing Foreign "Invasion"
   When questioned about supporting a U.S. invasion, Machado has countered that Venezuela is already "invaded" by foreign actors including:
   Adversarial states: Russian and Iranian agents and Cuban intelligence.
   Non-state actors: Colombian drug cartels, and alleged presences of Hamas and Hezbollah.
   She argues that Venezuela has become a "criminal hub" for these groups, making external intervention a matter of hemispheric security.
   
4. . Failure of Previous Diplomatic Efforts
   Machado and her allies have expressed that 26 years of diplomatic negotiations and internal protests have failed to move the government. She maintains that only by significantly "raising the cost of staying in power" through military escalation will Maduro understand that his time is over.
   
5. . Alignment with U.S. Strategy
   In 2025, Machado aligned closely with the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign, which included military strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels. She has called these U.S. actions "decisive" in weakening the regime and necessary to stop what she describes as Maduro's "war" against his own people.
   

"They love beating up on the little guy where there's little chance of a loss or embarrassment."

The idea that Venezuela, with the backing of Russia and China, is a "little guy" is laughable.

"How is Trump better than Maduro?"

You tell us, since you voted for him.

How often has Routh's name appeared in popular culture, including television, movies and musicals? Was Routh noted for being linked to anyone as famous as the Manson family?

I love it when posters inadvertently disprove their own points.

*whoosh*

"OK. Without looking it up, who tried to assassinate Trump?"

Grover Cleveland's daughter.

#19- not really surprising, considering she has a much more peculiar name, was already somewhat of a celebrity, and had numerous pop culture references to her afterwards (SNL, books, movies, musicals).

Plus, the person she attacked was Gerald Ford, and you're not.

"Normalizing Trump is hard werk."

Those of you who constantly react to him with the typical Partisan Derangement Syndrome are the ones who've been normalizing him. If your gut instinct is to oppose everything a president does before even thinking about it, then you probably have PDS.

As I said, anyone else?

"Me.
I disagree ... vehemently."

Really? You think that the USA should be responsible for leading Europe's defense, with the Europeans only in a support role?

Of course, we already know that you're a bit unhinged from reality, based on your posting history.

Anyone else?

"They [the EU] should be the ones leading their defenses, with support from the US, not the other way around."

Does anyone disagree with this statement?

"I sit here, an American citizen, and wonder how long it will be before they come after the rest of us, for the crime of speaking out, for opposing the dictator..."

The partisans who are currently cheering on the police state apparatus will be crying about it in a couple of years. Meanwhile, the partisans on the other side complaining about it now will have no problem once their party gets their hands on it. Such is politics.

#5- nobody said anything about "tough love".

You don't have to hate or assume the worst about everything your president does (whether Trump, Biden, Obama or whoever), just like you don't have agree with or defend everything they do.

"Apparently we can't say "midget -------" on this site, since the latter word will be censored and cause bemusement."

See, told you so. :-)

"imo, Pres Trump has been actively weakening NATO and the solidarity of the EU."

The divisions within the EU were already existing and longstanding. Regardless of what you think of Trump, his actions have helped the EU realize they need to step up and take greater responsibility for the security situation on their own continent. They should be the ones leading their defenses, with support from the US, not the other way around.

The problem is that the left either doesn't take the mass migration issue seriously, or they incentivize if not actually encourage it, while the right takes extreme over the top measures that hurt not only legal immigrants but also trade and transit. Unfortunately, we can't have a sane middle ground.

And to those who like to blame the U.S. for everything, remember that we are not the ones supporting Maduro, who has caused a mass exodus from his country that's been affecting both North and South America.

Amateur comedians need to start somewhere.

World Naked Bike Ride

The World Naked Bike Ride is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport, to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world."

Apparently we can't say "midget -------" on this site, since the latter word will be censored and cause bemusement.