I'm loving these dispatches. At last, ballast against all putridly pungent pundocracy (as Bill Safire might have put it) sucking us like so much quicksand into despair. Nellie Bowles, watch your back.
Whether I agree or disagree with her conclusions , I always enjoy Tina’s commentary, her insightful musings and trenchant wit. I this case I am grateful for the descriptive summary of the Magnitsky awards, I was only vaguely aware of the event and totally unaware of the details which she provided, and providing the historical context for Putin’s regime of terror reminds us of how abysmally the arc of history has treated the Russian populace in comparison with own history, regardless of how imperfect our republic has been.
As usual, I am in total agreement with her description of the horrors inflicted upon the citizenry of Russia by the KGB thug who maintains his iron grip on the levers of power while attempting to reunite what he believes to be the historical Russian empire. However, while I understand her concerns about President elect Trump and certainly second her view that he has many far from ideal traits, between the two candidates and the two major parties his election was so preferable to that of the Obama puppet candidate who either had no opinions of her own or as Bernie Sanders suggested knew hers were so unpopular and far leftist that she had to run away from them during her campaign. As Van Jones and James Carville stated, a campaign consisting of on joy, platitudes, broad generalizations , identity politics , and fringe issues was bound to fail when the opposing candidate Trump was running a populist campaign appealing to all spectrums of Soviet who were increasingly upset by the condescension of the well educated costal elites (look at the electoral map) who are the epitome of those who knew everything and understood nothing - no better examples can be found than the Biden administration and their sycophants in the press continually preaching to individuals living paycheck to paycheck that they didn’t understand hie good the economy really was or Biden continuing his record of being wrong on practically every major foreign policy decision that he had ever made ( think Afghanistan withdrawal and unbelievable appeasement of the terrorist Iran regime) and his appointee Jake Sullivan opining on how stable the Middle East had become and the reduce threat level just as the Hamas savages funded and encouraged by Iran committed their horrific acts of genocide and kidnapping of innocent civilians including several American citizens some of whom still are not freed or accounted for due to the feckless diplomacy of Sullivan and Blinken
Once , thanks Tina - happy to continue this debate/ discussion concerning Trump at any time - I suspect that the range of opinions concerning his part and future presidencies will continue to range as is currently the card literally from one our best and most consequential presidents ever the the absolute worst ( at least certainly in modern history) , since his accomplishments remain a work in progress I will withhold judgement , but certainly am glad that he enabled The Revolt of thevMsses ( thanks to Ortega y Gasset) against the tyranny of the elites
Cant say I disagree with you on the utter incomptence of Dem rule in recent years. Biden lost me on Afghanistan exit about which he has never said one apologetic word. So glad you are an attentive reader T
Tina, you’re my hero and I read Vanity Fair Diaries over and over for inspiration and courage in my own corporate battles. I wonder if I may ask you to write about your son. I find myself the mother of a toddler with autism, and would be grateful to hear about your experience. I know you’d put it into a perspective no one else could.
So happy you left the circus even for a week to your homeland. Having your view from the other side of the pond is very insightful and valuable to those of us still numb. The London event sounds remarkable and inspiring and to be in same breathing distance of Yulia must have been intoxicating. Thank you for your spirited voice and keen POV. I look forward to each substack column. xo roni
I'm loving these dispatches. At last, ballast against all putridly pungent pundocracy (as Bill Safire might have put it) sucking us like so much quicksand into despair. Nellie Bowles, watch your back.
ooh just seen this as i work backwards on comments. You know my weakness for alliteration so thanks for this.
Whether I agree or disagree with her conclusions , I always enjoy Tina’s commentary, her insightful musings and trenchant wit. I this case I am grateful for the descriptive summary of the Magnitsky awards, I was only vaguely aware of the event and totally unaware of the details which she provided, and providing the historical context for Putin’s regime of terror reminds us of how abysmally the arc of history has treated the Russian populace in comparison with own history, regardless of how imperfect our republic has been.
As usual, I am in total agreement with her description of the horrors inflicted upon the citizenry of Russia by the KGB thug who maintains his iron grip on the levers of power while attempting to reunite what he believes to be the historical Russian empire. However, while I understand her concerns about President elect Trump and certainly second her view that he has many far from ideal traits, between the two candidates and the two major parties his election was so preferable to that of the Obama puppet candidate who either had no opinions of her own or as Bernie Sanders suggested knew hers were so unpopular and far leftist that she had to run away from them during her campaign. As Van Jones and James Carville stated, a campaign consisting of on joy, platitudes, broad generalizations , identity politics , and fringe issues was bound to fail when the opposing candidate Trump was running a populist campaign appealing to all spectrums of Soviet who were increasingly upset by the condescension of the well educated costal elites (look at the electoral map) who are the epitome of those who knew everything and understood nothing - no better examples can be found than the Biden administration and their sycophants in the press continually preaching to individuals living paycheck to paycheck that they didn’t understand hie good the economy really was or Biden continuing his record of being wrong on practically every major foreign policy decision that he had ever made ( think Afghanistan withdrawal and unbelievable appeasement of the terrorist Iran regime) and his appointee Jake Sullivan opining on how stable the Middle East had become and the reduce threat level just as the Hamas savages funded and encouraged by Iran committed their horrific acts of genocide and kidnapping of innocent civilians including several American citizens some of whom still are not freed or accounted for due to the feckless diplomacy of Sullivan and Blinken
Once , thanks Tina - happy to continue this debate/ discussion concerning Trump at any time - I suspect that the range of opinions concerning his part and future presidencies will continue to range as is currently the card literally from one our best and most consequential presidents ever the the absolute worst ( at least certainly in modern history) , since his accomplishments remain a work in progress I will withhold judgement , but certainly am glad that he enabled The Revolt of thevMsses ( thanks to Ortega y Gasset) against the tyranny of the elites
Cant say I disagree with you on the utter incomptence of Dem rule in recent years. Biden lost me on Afghanistan exit about which he has never said one apologetic word. So glad you are an attentive reader T
Sounds like a great T
It was! T
Oops. 🤣
“Orwellian-sounding Department of Government Efficiency” — exactly. Orwellian is the word.
We need Orwell now! T
Excellent writing and perspective. Thank you Tina
Bless you for saying so T
Tina, you’re my hero and I read Vanity Fair Diaries over and over for inspiration and courage in my own corporate battles. I wonder if I may ask you to write about your son. I find myself the mother of a toddler with autism, and would be grateful to hear about your experience. I know you’d put it into a perspective no one else could.
Thanks so much and I do plan to write more about my son. Trust you saw my NYT piece in the Summer about him https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/1198913155/why-this-writer-says-her-son-deserves-a-champion-like-tim-walz.
Hes now coming up to 39 and gives me so many heartwarming moments. Stay tuned for more Tina
Brilliantlly written; thank you, Tina. I'm an American, and I agree with your assessments. Fight the good fight ("Good trouble"--John Lewis).
And bless you for saying so. A toast to Good Trouble! T
Tina,
So happy you left the circus even for a week to your homeland. Having your view from the other side of the pond is very insightful and valuable to those of us still numb. The London event sounds remarkable and inspiring and to be in same breathing distance of Yulia must have been intoxicating. Thank you for your spirited voice and keen POV. I look forward to each substack column. xo roni
Thanks dear roni. Yulia is so inspiring. A true hero in a bleak landscape that doesnt have many. Have a great Holidays T
Stunning writing, thank you for showing what strength and resolve looks like in real time.
Something here in the US we could really use right now
So glad you enjoyed and thanks for saying so T