I view history through a clear lens, not rose colored, not tinted, not mirrored. If you do not recognize history on it's merits you will repeat it. In 1858 there's was a revolution and it happened fast. Just 4 short years before a new party was formed on a radical dedication to the eradication of American slavery. And in 4 short years the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives while the conservative slavery supporting Democrats controlled the Senate, setting up the most destruction election in American history 2 years later, an election that led to the eventual slaughter of over 600,000 Americans. When the Republicans took over both chambers of Congress and we went to war.

The Republican Party was not founded from the ashes of another party or parties. Yes is drew a large constituency from the Whig and Free Soil Parties but it was a true brand new coalition of likeminded anti-slavery politicians. Radical politicians by any measure. These likeminded politicians were also willing to bleed real blood for their cause. I won't compare the budding Democratic Socialist movement in America to the Abolitionist movement of 1854 in any way other than the degree of radicalism or the potential for such radical political fervor.

What do we do? Do we emulate the past and choose a side? Dixie or John Brown's Body? Blue or Gray? I don't think it would be possible to repeat 1860, as there's no alternative party strong enough, or moral enough, or grounded enough regarding the preservation of the Constitution to rally behind. If a natural resistance to democratic socialism forms from the aftermath of such political turmoil then let it form organically. There's only one simple narrowminded goal. The preservation of the American Constitution and the preservation of our Constitutional Republic. Based on the Federalist ideal, and guided by the principals outlined in the assays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Also guided by the minutes of our first fragile Congress all the way through to the Constitutionally relevant rulings by SCOTUS.

We need men that will think for 100 generations of Americans to come. If God allows us to survive that extended period of time as a nation. We need to not only preserve what we have we need those thinking men to modernize this document laid down by Providence. It must be updated to ensure the enemies of the Constitution have no opportunity to deceive a nation of people ever again. To deceive a nation of people into destroying themselves for the sake of an atheistic authoritarian state. A Socialist state, it will never happen again.

But to happen again, as I just stated above, it must first happen and I believe it will happen. The momentum is such that I don't think it can be stopped. But the corruption within the current opponents of Democratic Socialism is the single most destructive weapon the Democratic Socialists have. They will shift toward the center, drop the Che Guevara flags and self identify as working class blue collar stiffs who want true change. This sounds like the same old boring tripe of parties past but this time it's different. At the head is a socialist serpent, the same serpent we put down in 1990-91 with the fall of the USSR. Our society has forgotten how horrible of a world that was. I personally have no desire to return to that world.

I think there's a lot of likeminded people here who will not tolerate the destruction of our Constitution and will fight to preserve it. Especially those who gave an oath to protect it, such as myself. That oath is for life.

In the ecosystem of The Sopranos how do women fair? If you take into account the whole body of work in the 6 seasons of the hit HBO series? (technically 7 seasons, you have to watch David Chase's HBO documentary for the extended explanation).

I personally think women were treated fairly considering the culture in which they were portrayed but The Sopranos also portrayed some of the most evil, gullible and dumbest women in TV history. Some knew full well of The Life they were living, the life of a mafia wife or goomar (girlfriend) and some were either the dumbest women ever or chose, in the context of their lifestyle, to ignore the life.

Livia Soprano: (Evil and fully aware of The Life) What can you say, she tried to have her own son whacked out. She was also treated as an unofficial consigliere of sorts by Junior Soprano, and even a go-between by Tony. So she was in a position to nudge Junior towards assassinating Tony, although for selfish reasons. While Junior may have had a legit beef to whack Tony out (acting as boss behind the real boss's back and conspiring with his Capos is an automatic death sentence in the real mafia).

Carmella Soprano: (Evil and fully aware of The Life) Probably one of the most hypocritical characters in TV history. If there's a character that did women a disservice then Carmella is that character. Her hypocrisy knows no boundaries from how she treats her own family, her friends and even the Church. No one is safe from her duckface strut and wrath. Personally, I probably despise her character the most because of her adultery (while not physical in most cases) it was still adultery. She was a so-called religious Catholic and if you commit adultery in your heart you've done the dirty deed even without getting physical, she knew that. And the way she set Furio up to be killed just to make Tony mad yet again shows she had no boundaries when it came to her hypocrisy. (She knew dang well what would happen to Furio)

Mary DeAngelis: (Evil and partially aware of The Life) The busybody mom of Carmella she was one of the most hated female characters of The Sopranos and probably TV history due to her insular and hateful persona.

Janice Soprano: (Evil and fully Aware of The Life) She also, although in a more subtitle fashion, tried to have Tony, her own brother, whacked out. She plays the role of an underachiever, lazy con artist, perfectly. Even though I can't stand her character she probably did the best job as an actor for a female role on The Sopranos.

Charmaine Bucco: (Morally Centered and fully aware of The Life) During the pilot run of the series in the Northeast U.S. an audience poll showed that Charmaine Bucco was the moral center of the series but obviously David Chase couldn't make her the show's central character. She was the one consistent anti-mafia female (or character, no matter the gender) of the series. (Reminds me of my Italian Ex-Wife actually, in more than one way, lol. Especially the mouth)

Meadow Soprano: (Spoiled and gullible by choice when it suited her). Meadow was the epitome of the spoiled modern mafia princess. I wouldn't call her evil but she was working on it.

Rosalie Aprile: (Abused and fully aware of The Life) I actually felt sorry for her character, she doesn't stand a chance but she is fully aware of the life she lives and I guess in a weird way that helped her character cope with the many tragedies of her character experienced.

Gabriella "Gabby" Dante: (Slightly Evil and fully aware of The Life) I call her slightly evil because she treats the mafia as if it were some fortune 500 company. The way she swoons over Silvio's temporary promotion to acting boss when Tony was shot is the cringiest of all cringe. A temp promotion that also set him up to be shot in the final episode.

Adriana La Cerva: (Gullible and half aware of The Life) While Adriana La Cerva is certainly not an evil character she is the stereotypical Italian-American frizzy haired young woman of that era. She is also probably one of the dumbest and most gullible female characters in TV history (I put her close to the same level of a Chrissy Snow). Her gullibility led her straight to her grave.

Irina Peltsin: (Evil and fully aware of her situation) Tony's Russian goomar was shown as a partially gullible alcoholic who caused Tony nothing but trouble. I guess Tony had it coming.

Gloria Trillo: (Damaged Goods) Another of Tony's unhinged and violent goomars who eventually committed suicide.

Valentina La Paz: (Evil and fully aware of The Life) If her character would been allowed to continue I think she would have caused Tony the most trouble in the end. But she set herself on fire and that was that for her character.

Svetlana Kirilenko: (Smart and Strong) She had her act together more than another other female character on The Sopranos, even though she only had one leg.

Dr. Jennifer Melfi: (Smart but slightly gullible) In real life Tony and her both would have been found in the trunk of a car, probably together. A Don going to a shrink would have never been tolerated but it makes for good TV. For me personally I can't stand the continuous Freudism and agnostic psychoanalysis bullsh*t but it's to be expected from her character, I just personally hate it because I believe it does more harm to people than good. (No I'm not a scientologist)

Ginny Sacramoni: (Fully aware of The Life) The overweight wife of Johnny Sack was fully aware of The Life she was living and was probably one of the most stable female characters of the series. She just kept doing her thing while her loving psychopathic husband climbed his way up the mafia ladder.

Marie Spatafore: (Gullible and Dumb) Probably the dumbest female character on The Sopranos. It's incredibly cringey to watch her during the coming out of Vito and how she led her homosexual husband straight into the arms of her cousin, Phil Leotardo, to be brutally murdered.

Angie Bonpensiero: (Fully aware of The Life) Her character is probably one of the most unbelievable as there's NO WAY the mafia would allow her to become a Lady Shylock and partial chop-shop operator, after her husband (Big Pussy) was murdered for being a rat. She would have been ostracized and isolated from that life all together.

After watching the series 5 or 6 times it becomes obvious from the beginning that David Chase is telling a story of hypocrisy as associated with his own life and associated with America as a whole. This has been said before, I'm revealing nothing new.

From the association with Livia's narcissism and his own Mother's mental proclivities. To the mafia serving as a representation or a microcosm of America. The rotting soul of America who's stench became obvious in the 80's and 90's. We went from a nation of builders and manufacturers to a nation of cheap consumers and obese cynics.

I think the general population of this America "in David's mind" is encapsulated within 4 main characters; Anthony, Carmella, Junior and Meadow. Tony being David's imaginary impulsive, greedy, dark, adulterous and violent subconscious. Carmella's hypocritical rationalization of her lifestyle. That soccer mom you see every day. Seemingly normal in every way but behind closed doors is a monster. To Junior's cynical Pre-Boomer generation stubbornness (and everyone in America can relate to this generation's evil stubbornness). And finally Meadow's continuous diatribes aimed at her parents for simply existing, her spoiled brat pouty face is the epitome of the Millennial condition.

And as every fan of the show knows as the show progresses it becomes darker and darker. I think this progressive darkness partially represents the deterioration of David's relationship with James Gandolfini, as it was very strained toward the end of the show's run. It also represents the deterioration of America's morals.

From 911 to the end of the decade every American spent some of that time soul searching. And what did most of America find during that moral easter egg hunt? More moral and religious degradation, just as the series shows. Especially with Vito's somewhat "coming out" which was, at that time very controversial. Call it what you want but to religious America that is not tolerated. And in David's story telling the moral champion is the traditional mafioso. A subculture that has no business preaching traditional moral values, just like most of America has no business preaching moral values. To A.J's naive environmentalism (that no one listens to). I could go on for a fortnight with a dozen or more examples but you can also see David's longing to preserve the traditional Italian family structure. Best story telling ever in a TV show.

I don't think anyone has caught this, maybe, but I haven't read it anywhere. A little gem of a clue left in season 4 of The Sopranos that seeded the demise of Tony. This quote, "More is lost by indecision than by a wrong decision" first made by Carmella and then adopted by Tony and the indecision that follows ultimately leads to Tony's demise. If you're one of those who believe Tony is eliminated in the last episode in Season 6.

Tony makes a deal with Johnny Sack to whack out Carmine Lupertazzi in season 4. He recycles the quote to Johnny "More is lost by indecision than by a wrong decision". Then Tony gets cold feet and changes his mind "Indecision" and backs out of the deal to assassinate Big Carmine. This indecision leads to the war between Johnny Sack and Little Carmine after Big Carmine's death.

1. Billy Leotardo Kills Lorraine Calluzzo because she's kicking up to Little Carmine instead of Johnny Sack.
2. This leads to the decision Murder of Joey Peeps: In retaliation for Lorraine's death, Angelo Garepe and Rusty Millio hire Tony Blundetto to kill Joey Peeps, who was involved in the Lorraine Calluzzo killing.
3. Rusty Millio is murdered by two Neapolitan Zips hired by Tony S.
4. Murder of Angelo Garepe: Seeking payback for Joey Peeps' death, Johnny Sack, Phil Leotardo, and Billy Leotardo retaliate by murdering Angelo Garepe.
5. Murder of Billy Leotardo: After Angelo's murder, Tony Blundetto goes nuts and kills Billy Leotardo outside a social club, and wounding Phil in the process.
6. Phil goes insane after the murder of his brother and this leads to the final war.
7. Tony Blundetto is murdered by his own cousin Tony Soprano because of the unsanctioned hit on Billy Leotardo.
8. The two Neapolitan Zips accidently kill two civilians while thinking they were hitting Phil Leotardo.
9. Bobby Baccalieri: Shot and killed in a hobby shop. (I argue the war continued because of Little Carmine's slip up and mentioning Billy's murder during the sit-down between Phil and Tony. If Little Carmine had never mentioned Billy then peace would have been established but it led to Phil's decision to decapitate Tony's family.)
10. Silvio Dante: Shot and wounded during a gang ambush (ending up in a coma)
11. Phil Leotardo: Shot in the head at a gas station by Walden Belfiore.
12. Tony Soprano assassinated in the Pizza Shop (If one believes that ending)

All this from Tony's indecision. If he would have carried out the hit on Carmine then Johnny Sack would have gained control of the family and thus avoided all the bloodshed. Now one could argue that Little Carmine would have still tried to wrestle control of the family away from Johnny just as he did later on but Phil, Tony B and Angelo were all still in prison at this time. The dynamic would have been totally different, in my opinion, favoring Johnny Sack. There would have been no Phil to push Rusty toward Little Carmine. My opinion of course.

NOTE: AI was used ONLY to summarize Paulie's murders, that's it, and I wrote the second summaries that's published here myself. MY WORDS NO AI WAS USED TO WRITE THIS ARTICLE! Don't remove the post.

If you were a total outsider and not a fan of the show, how would you rank the Top 10 most to the least despicable characters on the show, and why? You cannot show favoritism, pass judgement based on their body of work, or body of sin.

1. Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri - Number 1 BY FAR is Paulie Walnuts
   1. Murdered Minn Matrone - An elderly woman (a longtime acquaintance of Paulie’s mother). Paulie suffocated her with a pillow after she caught him robbing her life savings and threatened to tell his mother. (scumbag move level 10)
   2. Raoul the Waiter - Shot by Paulie after Christopher threw a brick at his head during a minor argument. (scumbag move level 10)
   3. Valery - The Russian (former special forces) shot in the head by Paulie in the Pine Barrens episode. Started over Paulie's Russian prejudice and just being an all-around mafia jerk. (scumbag move level 7)
   4. Betrayal of Tony - I think it's safe to say that Paulie was Tony's biggest threat from within his own family. And it's speculated by many fans that Paulie was behind Tony's perceived assassination. It's safe to conclude that if Tony would have confirmed any one of these multiple betrayals, especially his secret discussions with Johnny Sack, Tony would have whacked out Paulie in a NY second. (scumbag move level 9)
   5. Betrayal of Christopher (Pine Barrens episode, Paulie was setting up Christopher to take the fall for the Russian's murder. If this played out this would have undoubtably gotten Christopher whacked, especially if it led to war with the Russian mob. (scumbag move level 8)
   6. How he treated his Mother/Aunt - How he treated his aunt/mother after he found out his Nun aunt was actually his mother. (scumbag move level 9)
   7. His attempt to withhold monies from Carmela after Tony was shot (scumbag move level 7)
   8. His all around demeanor - Like his comments that his donations to the church should cover all his sins/murders. His all around ignorance and despicable demeanor is a disservice for all Italian and Catholic people. He's just a greasy scumbag.
2. Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto (He has 3 scumbag move level 10's)
   1. Ordering the murder of Jackie Jr. (scumbag move level 10)
   2. How he precipitated the murder of Jackie Jr. by mentoring him into and not away from the mafia and a life of crime. (scumbag move level 10)
   3. Beat a pregnant stripper named Tracee to death (scumbag move level 10)
   4. Burned the racehorse Pie-O-My to death, an act that led to his death by the hands of Tony. (scumbag move level 8) (I didn't give him a level 10 because his son was fighting for his life at the time and he needed the money. I probably would have done the same thing if my kid was lying in ICU)
   5. Just an all-around scumbag with no redeemable qualities what-so-ever
3. Richie Aprile
   1. Assaulted Beansie Gaeta which led to his paralyses below the waist. (scumbag move level 10)
   2. Attempt to overthrow Tony (scumbag move level 7)
   3. Assault on Janice (which led to his shooting death) (scumbag move level 8)
   4. Probably the most loathed character for the entire series. If his character would have lasted longer I am sure he would have overtaken Paulie as the biggest scumbag for the entire run of the show.
4. Livia Soprano
   1. Anyone who tries to have their own son killed is a scumbag worthy of a top 5 ranking on this list. (scumbag move level 10)
   2. Livia's all around narcissistic personality and abuse of her own children.
5. Tony Soprano
   1. His consistent betrayal of his wife. (scumbag move level 10)
   2. Was going to smother his own mother with a pillow (even though his mother tried to have him killed)
   3. Murder of Christopher. Christopher was partially in this situation because of Tony not supporting his sobriety. (scumbag move level 8)
   4. Murder of his cousin Tony B. but considering the situation it was unavoidable. (scumbag move level 6)
   5. Ordering the murder of Adriana - considering the show's premise, it was unavoidable but still horrible. (scumbag move level 6)
   6. His constant assaults on Georgie - It shows that Tony was deep inside a coward because he knows Georgie can't punch back. This particular show dynamic probably is the most scummy of them all. (scumbag move(s) level 10)
   7. His all-around greed.
6. Phil Leotardo (His high ranking is more for his abrasive personality than his scumbag body of work)
7. Christopher Moltisanti - A selfish, ignorant junkie who's self-pity is tiresome and offered his fiancee up to the mob to be whacked, truly scummy!
8. Carmela Soprano - She is just as manipulative as Tony and if she had her choice(s) she would have cheated on Tony just as many times as Tony cheated on her. If there's one character on this show that epitomizes the hypocrisy of the modern mafia Carmela takes the prize.
9. Junior Soprano - Hard to believe someone would rank Junior below Carmela regarding a scumbag top 10 but if you consider all facets of the arguments, it's a justifiable ranking.
   1. Ordering the murder of his nephew Tony - Kind of unavoidable considering Tony was meeting with Junior's Capos behind the Boss' back. That's a death sentence in the mafia.
10. Janice Soprano - It seems betrayal runs in the Soprano family. She fits the mold of a underachiever and con artist perfectly who would murder her own brother if she thought it would propel her selfish agenda.

Honorable mentions

• Father Phil Intintola - (It's more suggestive than realism but I think its safe to say Father Phil Intintola would have had his way with more than one lonely housewife on The Sopranos. I don't think Father Phil is all about the baked ziti.)
• Hesh Rabkin - (A thief who stole publishing rights from African American artists in the 1960's and lives a flamboyant rich lifestyle because of it. Also a nonobservant Jew who perpetuates the greedy Jew stereotype, which is a little cringy but in that world is very accurate and part of the mafia culture.)

Let the venom spewing begin!!!!!

(First off David Chase left Tony's fate totally open and ambiguous) I think the final scene is purely psychological and it pertains to the main theme of The Sopranos, the family betrayal angle which is psychologically the mental agonist of the entire series. It's almost a character within itself. Uncle Junior, Tony's Mother trying to whack Tony out, Tony killing both his cousins Tony B. and Christopher. The constant betrayal of Carmela by Tony. A.J trying to kill Junior because of Junior's betrayal of Tony. It's the deeper metaphor of La Familia, and "The Family". It's not only BS within the mafia, the bond of The Family but's also BS in real life with your own family and at the end of the day Tony's real family was far more dangerous than his mafia family

I think the final scene in season 6 was partially an assassination fantasy by A.J.

1. After A.J. attempts to stab Uncle Junior to avenge Tony, Tony bails him out and berates him. A.J. fires back, calling Tony a hypocrite that the restaurant scene where Michael makes his first hit is Tony's favorite movie scene. (sets up the basis of A.J's fantasy)
2. A.J tried to commit suicide and the guy in the Members Only jacket who fans presume killed Tony is wearing the same jacket as Tony's dead soldier Eugene Pontecorvo who hangs himself. There's obviously a connection here and not just the simplistic theory of a mafia member. Tony would have 100% recognized this jacket when he saw this guy walking through the door wearing one, especially right after the war ended, no chance Tony would have forgotten or ignored this jacket or the guy wearing it. Why didn't Tony remember or acknowledge the guy? (Because the guy doesn't exist)
3. The guy walks into the diner with A.J through the same open door (Because A.J actually opens the door, the guy doesn't exist)
4. When A.J is shown walking toward his parent's table, where is the guy? He was in front of A.J and it was a wide enough shot where he should be in frame but he's not. (Because the guy doesn't exist)
5. A.J, as he is sitting down, looks directly back toward the guy in the Member's Only jacket, or where he should be showing A.J the only one to supposedly acknowledge his existence. Because he lives in A.J's head.
6. The guy glances twice back towards A.J while he is sitting at the counter and he is stirring a cup of coffee but you never hear him speak or hear a waitress ask if he wanted anything but he magically has a cup of coffee. And it acknowledges a young couple laughing to establish that you can hear the other people in the diner. Why didn't we hear him or the waitress? (Because he doesn't exist)
7. When he gets up from the counter it appears Tony glances towards him but in fact Tony was looking at A.J because the camera shows A.J in the next frame after Tony looks up not the guy in the Members Only jacket (Because he doesn't exist)
8. Tony throws a object at A.J after A.J says "Right, focus on the good times... Isn’t that what you said one time? Try to remember the times that were good" and A.J is clearly agitated and that's when the guy stands up to go to the bathroom. (In A.J's mind to get the gun and kill Tony)
9. And NO ONE looks up as the guy walks by on his way to the bathroom; why? (Because he doesn't exist)
10. Tony doesn't look up at the guy in the final shot he looks up at Meadow because you can hear the bell chime as she walks through the door. He's not looking at the guy because, yet again, the guy doesn't exist.
11. Tony lives.

Meadow (Indirect Involvement)

It finally hit me watching the final episode in Season 6; Meadow and A.J both aided in the assassination of Tony, their father.

She was dating Patrick Parisi, the son of Tony's soldier Pasquale "Patsy" Parisi. As any esperto of The Soprano's know will know that Patsy was going whack out Tony for killing his twin brother Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi for running his mouth about Tony.

Facts...

1. Patrick Parisi was with Meadow in the restaurant in Little Italy when Coco insulted her leading to his curb-checking by Tony. If Patrick would have stood up to Coco like that in reality Coco would have beaten him to death. But he held back; why? I think it was a setup and Patrick was in on it.
2. The Captains and Soldiers in Tony's crew are already thinking out loud against Tony.
3. (From AI overview) Carlo Gervasi flips and agrees to testify against Tony. Carlo's son, Jason, was close friends and criminal partners with Patsy's other son, Jason Parisi (And A.J). Patsy is visibly terrified during a dinner with Tony because he knows that if the FBI pressures his own son, Tony might pre-emptively murder them both to protect himself. Striking Tony first becomes an act of survival.
4. Patsy hesitates pulling out of the strip club parking lot when Silvio Dante gets shot where Silvio has to tell him to hurry up. (even though Patsy takes a few shots at Phil's sluggers it seems halfhearted and the return fire from Phil's guys seems a little off as well)
5. Why did she park across the street when there was a parking spot right in front of the restaurant and seemed very nervous. (BUT Season 2, Episode 2 ("Do Not Open This Box"), she had trouble parallel parking)
6. Of course how did the shooter know Tony would be at this Diner to begin with? Other than Meadow telling her BF Patrick and Patrick telling his father
7. Meadow may have found out the plan because she looked very nervous running into the diner and the last shot was Tony looking up at Meadow (you could hear the bell on the door chime as he looked up)

A.J (Direct Involvement)

1. A.J tries to commit suicide and the guy that is the presumed shooter wears a Members Only jacket and of course one of Tony's past soldiers Eugene Pontecorvo hangs himself and wears the same exact jacket.
2. The guy in the Members Only jacket walked into the Diner with A.J.
3. The Members Only guy sits at the counter while A.J sits down across from his father at a booth, the guy glances over his shoulder and looks directly at A.J, while A.J makes no noticeable reaction. And if you notice the guy glances over a second time, I believe toward A.J. not Tony.
4. When the Members Only guy gets up to go to the bathroom Tony glances up and then it shows AJ. Why show AJ?
5. After A.J. attempts to stab Uncle Junior to avenge Tony, Tony bails him out and berates him. A.J. fires back, calling Tony a hypocrite that the restaurant scene where Michael makes his first hit is Tony's favorite movie scene.
6. I believe AJ hid the gun the bathroom just like in the Godfather and the que was when A.J talks about "remembering the good times". Seems very strange to me why he would be almost eulogizing Tony right at the table.
7. I believe A.J made a deal because he had flirting with the mob thing at the clubs, the sports betting ring, and I think he was approached and simply had had enough of Tony. He finally made his mind up what he wanted to do. Tony was a horrible father and very abusive in ways that would drive one over the edge.
8. And A.J was hanging out with Pasty's other son Jason. So Pasty is connected to both of Tony's kids. AND Jason Gervasi, A.J's other friend and son of Carlo was busted for selling Ecstasy and Pasty may have manipulated A.J into thinking Tony would whack him out if Tony thought A.J. was involved in the drug deals. Could you imagine if A.J found out that Tony killed his cousin Tony and that he was going to smother his own grandmother with a pillow? The same story that got his twin brother whacked out. What sweet revenge that would be if the same story ends up causing Tony's death.