Katie Roberts 🌻

I love music. And science fiction. And sarcasm. I'm on Threads and BlueSky.

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@TxDOTSanAntonio If using brine, will the rain wash it away before the freeze arrives?

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

https://t.co/bMrBC964Dd

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

Hey @exxonmobil , what's with your gas pumps requiring a pin, and no override option? Just so you know, this causes me to take my business elsewhere.

[Matthew Modine @MatthewModine]

REPOST (+ be following) by Monday, 11/18 for a chance to win this signed Limited Edition Blu-ray of Alan Parker's BIRDY from @indicatorseries! I signed both the cover insert & booklet! I'll pick one winner and announce next #ModineMonday! Good luck and thank you to all those who have served. #VeteransDay2024

I also donated a copy to the @FMJDiary project. Their auction starts at only $1 with no reserve! Place your bids!

https://t.co/IWnU3DzAFv

[KATU News @KATUNews]

BALLOT BURNING: The Clark Co. auditor said hundreds of ballots were inside the box at the time of the burning, and maybe only a few can be saved.
Voters who dropped off ballots at that location after Sunday need to contact the Auditor's Office IMMEDIATELY
https://t.co/QX55IrHQyU

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@KENS5 @TexasTribune 🤮

[Jennifer Griffin @JenGriffinFNC]

741 former high-ranking national security officials (233 general and flag officers) signed letter endorsing Kamala Harris for president. 15 four-star generals, 10 former cabinet secretaries, 10 service secretaries, and Repub leaders who served under Trump. https://t.co/I0clmLZOAL

[Ian Sams @IanSams]

NEW >> Ten retired Generals, Admirals and Sergeant Major: “Harris is the best—and only—candidate who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief”

Trump a “danger to our national security,” “disparages heroes,” “fails to take responsibility” for Taliban deal
https://t.co/F75mLD2270

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

Please be careful if you’re in the path of any of these storms. Already multiple tornado warnings, and it’s expected to get worse as it gets dark.

I haven’t seen meteorologists this collectively concerned in a *long* time.

[Angry Staffer @Angry_Staffer]

Let’s talk Ukraine.

There’s a lot of analysis out there that I believe is driven by a fundamental misunderstanding of the way Russia fights wars.

Bottom line up front: Russia’s current goals in Ukraine aren’t necessarily victory, at least not in the traditional military sense.

We’ve seen evidence of this since even before Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. More on that later.

Would Putin like to “get the gang back together” and continue rebuilding his sphere of influence in the former Soviet states? Absolutely. Is that his primary goal? Not even close.

Putin’s stated goal for decades has been preventing NATO expansion, which he views as an existential threat to the Russian Federation’s survival. His “special military operation” obviously failed spectacularly in this regard.

Putin was furious when Estonia and Latvia joined NATO; he’s clearly not happy about Finland and Sweden joining either, but Ukraine? Ukraine would be the ultimate insult.

So what’s the best way to keep Ukraine from joining NATO?

- You could corrupt their electoral process and install a puppet. They tried that and failed.

- You could conquer the whole country. They tried that and failed.

- You could keep them in a perpetual state of warfare—a stalemate and a war of attrition—knowing that NATO won’t allow them in while they’re tied up in a hot war. That’s where we’re at now.

Back to how we’ve seen these signs since at least Crimea:

To put these datapoints together, it’s important to understand how invested Russia is in their nonlinear war strategy.

In 2014, after Yanukovych was ousted, sentiment was that Ukraine would gravitate more towards NATO. Putin immediately moved to annex Crimea.

In April 2014, the Crimea occupation evolved into fighting in Donbas, and thus began the perpetual conflict strategy.

In 2015-2016, Russia was working on two additional fronts: devastating Ukrainian critical infrastructure with a barrage of cyber attacks, and interfering in our Presidential election.

For context here: remember some of Russia’s goals with their 2016 influence operation:

- hurt US support for Ukraine (they did that when Trump and Manafort forced a massive change in RNC Ukraine policy)

- denigrate Hillary Clinton with the goal of hurting her Presidency, or electing Donald Trump

- They had a clear preference for Trump, and after watching Trump get impeached for trying to extort Zelenskyy, it’s clear why:

Electing Trump furthered their goal of keeping Ukraine in conflict indefinitely.

To be clear, in February 2022, Russia seems to have shifted their goals temporarily; hey legitimately thought they could take Kyiv in a 3-Day operation, in what has to be one of the biggest intelligence failures in history.

Now they’re back to plan stalemate. Some of this is because they know if Trump gets elected in 2024, US support for Ukraine (and probably NATO) will end.

With this understanding of Russia’s goals, the way forward is pretty clear in my eyes:

We give Ukraine what they need to win. Immediately. Simply giving them enough to defend themselves only acts to further Russia’s goals of a tactical stalemate.

A tactical stalemate will never put enough pressure on Putin to force an end to this war. We have to stop being risk averse and let Ukraine go on offense.

This last aid package — combined with EU support — goes a long way towards advancing this capability, but we still have work to do.

[Dan Rather @DanRather]

At a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump mocked President Biden’s stutter. Again.

While Trump gives a new meaning to the term “bully pulpit,” the dim glow of the newsroom has taught this reporter that there are things the media can do when a candidate’s speech turns to vitriol:

Hold up a mirror to every instance of Donald Trump’s bullying, to his “Truth Social” posts, his rally tirades, his late-night rants. They should all be divulged to the public for scrutiny.

To combat the difficulty of covering Trump’s absurdities when they become too repetitive, here are a couple of thoughts:

The media should examine the effects the taunts have on members of groups Trump has targeted.

Think of the people who might be harassed because a bully who is also a presidential candidate says it’s ok.

The media could also highlight data that shows how bullying negatively impacts society as a whole, much like hate speech.

Most importantly, don’t allow any candidate to normalize bullying tactics. Call them out on it. Right away. Every time. 

Meantime, let us hope that the gentle forces of kindness and empathy — or at least civility — may prevail.

↓

[Bob Krause @KrauseForIowa]

Did you notice that there was not a @DoonesburyComic in your Sunday Paper (basically any @Gannett paper, including the @DMRegister) here it is! See the thread for all six panels! (1)

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@PiattPatti @Angry_Staffer I think that couple has a whole different set of issues

[Dan Rather @DanRather]

Why do we always come here?
I guess we'll never know
It's like a kind of torture
To have to watch the show

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@Brodiesmom68 Mine were white boots with hot pink wheels and laces.

[The Hoarse Whisperer @TheRealHoarse]

Hoping to crowdsource a little help on a happy project.

I was looking to find some of the most uplifting, heartwarming, meaningful replies to my weekly One Good Thing post.

Trying to do that alone would take days and days.

Hoping some of y’all might want to help.

1/

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@News4SA Are they accredited? Do the classes meet graduation criteria?

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@TheRealHoarse Frog?

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

@TheRealHoarse Don't look now, but there's a hoarse in your beer 🐴

[Katie Roberts 🌻 @katiegail79]

PSA once again, if you are breaking the rules of traffic to "be nice", you are an asshole. It is not nice; it is dangerous.