We all just learned from Walgreens’ latest report that placing barriers between consumers and the goods they’re trying to purchase reduces sales, and CVS’ response to this problem is to add a login requirement.

If you’re going to try and call somebody out like that, you should do your homework.

The only times since 1998 (the first year of data for Ukraine) that Russia was deemed less corrupt than Ukraine were the stretches from 2000-2004 and 2011-2015.

Ukraine performed better than Russia 1998-1999, 2005-2008, 2010, and 2017-2023. They were a cumulative 20 points better on corruption than Russia over that time.

No, I’m talking about the 2004 elections. In case you’d forgotten, Russia was so upset about failing that they attempted to assassinate the rightful winner. When Yanukovych eventually gained power, he was so transparent about wanting to turn Ukraine into an authoritarian vassal state of Russia that parliament removed him and undid his efforts to convert the presidency into a dictatorship. And then he fled to Russia.

You did not. You hinted at a point without stating it directly.

Are you saying that this corruption charge is disingenuous and intended to redirect attention from other issues? Because if so you need to make that explicit and then support it with evidence. Otherwise it sounds like you’re parroting known disinformation.

Ukraine is actively trying to battle their corruption, with this being a step towards that end, however small.

Meanwhile Russia is famously more corrupt than Ukraine, has been since long before Maidan, attempted to pervert Ukraine’s elections to install a corrupt leader under their control, and then invaded in an attempt to expropriate Ukrainian land and resources when that attempt failed.

What point are you trying to make here?

This is the tragic truth.

The most frustrating part about it is that withholding votes was framed as a principled position. And I’m sorry, but that’s asinine. How many of those people who declared that they wouldn’t vote for the democratic ticket because of their action/inaction on Gaza actually did anything more than posting rants on social media? How many raised funds for aid? How many organized rallies, protests, or educational outreach? How many even so much as contacted their representatives?

It is either naivety or complacency to believe that national policy should change just because you and your friends sent around some memes. And it is callous indifference to base your vote on a single issue and then claim that you’re inhabiting the moral high ground.

If you yell into the void, you shouldn’t expect a response. And if you believe in an issue, either take action or acknowledge that it would be staggeringly arrogant to expect other people to put in work that you yourself won’t do.