People who know how these sorts of snatch ops work are taking notice that the description of the "raid" to grab Maduro doesn't sound like a raid. On the ground for 2 hours? Never before. No casualties? Also never before (the "casualties" announced by the Defense Minister have no proof of actual deaths). What it does look like is a collaborative internal coup - the US and the rest of the Maduro govt under VP Rodriguez, who you will remember Trump said Saturday cooperated. Then she "condemned" the event, but has taken no other action. As to the Opposition, Trump dissed María Corina Machado (who got "his" Nobel Prize), and no mention at all of Gutierrez, the guy who won the 2024 presidential election. Maduro govt still in control of country. No move to send any US representatives into Venezuela.
And several other observers note that the case against Maduro isn't as strong as Pammikins wants us to believe. It's also before a Federal judge in NYC who has a record of not putting up with Trump's flimflammery. The case could take a year, and be dismissed (after the November elections)
Given that Trump has never told the truth once in his entire life, is anyone surprised by this?
It's a pure case of Wag the Dog, and proof of how radioactive the Trump-Epstein Files are to him. Nothing else he's tried has distracted away. Now he does Venezuela and another huff-and-puff-I'll-blow-your-house-down with Greenland. Just more squid ink from Dearest Squid.
Stick with the Trump-Epstein files. If he's this terrified, what's in there is Kryptonite.
Never believe a word Trump or his toadstools say about anything, not even the time of day.
Even if the op went as reported, there is still the problem of the follow-up. We are very good at “snatch-and-grabs”, but absolutely terrible at the follow ups. As mission creep turns into body bags, this “wag the dog” effort could turn out to be Trump’s undoing.
And I totally agree. He's entered a black hole. China will be poised to move into this situation anyway it can, and no one should ever think they won't. Trump really thinks he can take them on? He'll do anything to cover up his preferences for 16 year olds.
”Never believe a word Trump or his toadstools say about anything, not even the time of day.” 🤩🎉🏆👏🏼👊🏼👍🏻
Potus is a compulsive liar and I will never understand how his magats refuse to see the truth. He PARDONED the Honduran president who sent tons of cocaine into the US and said he was after Venezuelan oil—which is actually very sulfurous—In a righteous country, they would be sharing a jail cell. Piece Of Totally Useless S💩💩T.
I would say Trump has a dark triad personality disorder. He is a very experienced conman, with an evil talent for figuring out what naive, ill-informed or sociopathic people want to hear, then saying that. He also has an evil talent for finding people he can manipulate or bully, or who will willingly do his bidding, to appoint to his administration, and forcing out anyone with integrity and courage.
The NYT, I believe, reported Maduro's mocking, Trump-like "dance" was a trigger for the "Commander-in-Chief" to order the operation. With DJT's cognitive impairment overlaid on his personality disorders, it just may be so. Yet, I wonder how much validity to grant this notion.
They don't "refuse to see the truth" - they don't GET to see the truth. Fox news, Sinclair radio, FB, X and Instagram algorithms - how do they "get" to see the truth? They don't even look for it because they don't know it's there. And NOBODY is going to tell them how important it is. I reckon a good 50% of MAGA would be horrified if the actually found out what is going on.
The “Trump Corollary” explicitly authorizes military force to deny Chinese/Russian influence over “strategically vital assets” in our hemisphere. Venezuela was proof the doctrine works…no congressional pushback, mission accomplished.
I just published analysis showing this wasn’t improvisation. The NSS elevates threats to bypass war powers, reframes regime change as “law enforcement,” and treats congressional oversight as optional. Trump literally said “we’re going to run the country” about Venezuela. That’s the template for Cuba, Greenland, Mexico…anywhere the doctrine applies.
Congress has already been tested on Venezuela and failed. They accepted the “just executing an arrest warrant” excuse. That precedent now applies hemisphere-wide.
I would love to see how Kryptonite works… And I'm sure it will with the two pit bull representatives who are pursuing the release of the Epstein files.
The military action was rehearsed for months. So it has been in the works before legislation passed to release the Epstein files. Sure, it distracts but I don’t believe that was the primary motivation. Trump is a madman. This is about conquest and enriching himself and his cronies. He is just getting started.
HE IS JUST GETTING STARTED. NEXT..COLUMBIA..CUBA..MEXICO…GREENLAND. HE WILL CONTINUE TO LOVE PUTIN AND RUSSIA, OF COURSE, AND LEAVE THEM ALONE. EVEN WILL AID THEM AS MUCH AS HE CAN.
If in fact there were no American force fatalities among what is now reported as 80 Cuban/Venezuelan fatalities, then this was a purely extra-judicial armed attack, and not a simple police action. Civilians at some number were shot dead on sight. I.E. we went in with guns a blasin’. It was an imperialist act of war, and not the first step in a constitutional judicial process. When I squint hard enough , I can believe that America still stands for the rule of law, but with eyes open, I have to acknowledge that it no longer does.
It worked with his ear…so why not go big? It’s also ridiculous as an oil grab scenario. It will take AI level capital to revive that industry. Costs Big Oil nothing to high five the lunatic.
Yup. It’s a mess. It’s an unstable country with corruption at every level. US corps have been burned there before. Folks give T and Company too much credit. They’re evil, but they’re also dumb as rocks. Big oil can’t easily afford the capital investment on top of all the non financial risks. T is great at spending other people’s money. But at the end of the day, Chevron et al need to answer to their shareholders. And all that assumes that this is even within shooting distance of anything other than a dog being wagged.
TC, sorry to tack this onto your excellent item. I tried to publish it in its own right, but found no means to send my piece, which may be worth some thought. Send function missing... How strange...
*
Sometimes significant news reaches us via unusual sources, in this instance via the network of mainly exiled journalists, “foreign agents” who once worked for the now banned Ekho Moskvy station and for other independent Russian media like Dost, New Times, etc.
Today, one of these journalists, Ekaterina Bazanova, who has lived in and covered Latin America, mainly Argentina, reports in some detail on developments in Venezuela since the violent ups and downs of the pre-Chavez State, ups and downs closely tied to the country’s single-asset economy, its total petro-dependence and failure to diversify investment.
According to Bazanova, Chavez’s populist and, for a long time, popular rule utterly ruined the economy while destroying democratic freedoms and institutions. She reports how, under his successor Maduro, only one thing works: total control and micro-surveillance of the wretched population. The outcome: one in three of that population has fled the country, including almost all the highly educated, now all too often doing menial jobs in America… and hiding from ICE, lest Trump’s tender mercies deliver them to CECOT or some African hell-hole. Meanwhile, back home, the once emblematic iguana has disappeared from Caracas, now forming one of the country’s rare food sources…
Like North Korea when famine raged, Venezuela is surely now close to a Trumpian ideal. A country perfectly packaged, citizens reduced to the level of starving farm animals, a country ready for the limitlessly greedy gringo mob boss to grab it from the local mob boss, Maduro, and strip it of its sole asset, oil. The tight, highly localized network of total surveillance and control can remain in place, ensuring that those who are so much as suspected of stepping out of line can be jailed or — more likely — disappeared, as was not long ago the custom under far-right juntas elsewhere on the continent, while asset stripping can proceed in peace.
Only problem — what’s left to steal? Trump may be making Big Oil an offer they can neither refuse… nor afford and accept.
The pastmaster of diversions while performing yet another heist… or drawing attention away from crimes that will revolt even his most faithful cultists… may now fail. Yet nothing could be more dangerous than this alleged dominator of little girls and would-be dominator of the Americas — and those behind him — if and when their crazed edifice collapses. Even the Bibi’s forever wars, mass killing and destruction, all to draw attention away from his failure to prevent 10/7 and to close down his trial for relatively minor corruption, may pale into insignificance when Trump’s backers and their chosen instrument find their backs to the wall.
Even the Kremlin may come to regret their choice…
*
P.S. If you read Judd at Popular Information today, you'll find news of one Trump supporter who's set to make a big profit from the takeover of Venezuela.
"She reports how, under his successor Maduro, only one thing works: total control and micro-surveillance of the wretched population. The outcome: one in three of that population has fled the country, including almost all the highly educated, now all too often doing menial jobs in America… and hiding from ICE...."
I am certain that this is the goal of Trump, Vought, Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, and Project 2025. But... where is it that WE can flee to?
I guess Trump missed the big Hegseth lecture on manliness. (Likewise Hegseth seems to have missed, along with Trump, the big lecture on how manliness includes accountability.)
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It is especially important to remind all citizens, especially those serving abroad, to return ballots ASAP, as changes in processing mail may delay postmarks for up to 48 hours. These ballots have been contested by Trump every year, and with changes to the mail system, this year “on-time” or late ballots will be particularly challenged. Changes to Postal Processing took effect on Christmas Eve and should be considered as an attempt to subvert voting rights. The number of Processing Centers across the country decreased from 200 to 60 - just over 1 per state. In Oregon, there is one, in the Portland area. Mail collected by carriers, drop boxes, and Post Offices from around the state will be directed to the Portland Processing Center for a dated post mark. For items requiring a date to meet legal, medical, tax filing, and other reasons, such as vote by mail election date, a hand stamp can be requested in the Post Office from a postal worker at the counter to verify the date the item enters the postal system. Otherwise, the date stamp may reflect a delay of as much as 2 days.
Remember when Post Offices used to be open late on 4/15 w/ clerks out at the curb to collect tax-returns from drivers so they'd get postmarked in time?
Maybe at least some (at least in some 'friendly' areas) could gin up a similar effort for election-night-ballots??
I can’t wait for the day when Pam Blondi is tried, convicted, and sent to Fricken prison. Seein tears running down her mascara will be as delightful as tears running down the mascarad face of Donald Scunk.
You go girl! Congress has been sitting on its collective asses for 1 year, allowing this stupid tyrant to ignore the Constitution and basically run the US as his fiefdom with his slavish cronies. They have obviously forgotten their constituents, although we have not forgotten them, and will remember them in Nov. But guess they've also forgotten their oath to the Constitution. The entire Congressional body should be run out on a rail.
Yes, Joyce, thank you! He's running away from all of that! "All that and a bag of chips", as they say in Texas. We're already protesting and making phone calls. I was also impressed by republican Rep. Massey spoke up about the attack on Venezuela, and read them the riot act. Nice to see that, too.
What happens now that they missed the deadline to release the unredacted files? Aren't they easy to "unredact" because of a computer glitch? It's time for them to hit the front pages-- along with Jack Smith's testimony. Let's focus on those things and shine a big light on the things he's trying to hide!
That's why we keep reposting and take to the streets. Even a conservative (non Maga but non political) friend has started listening. It's up to us. Btw, you can also call your local media outlets and demand they cover these stories. Make noise.
I won't be surprised to learn that DOJ finally forked out the dough for the Deluxe version of Acrobat which, purportedly makes redactions un-redactable. Maybe that's the reason for the new lengthy delays.
But not soon enough, for those without even our crappy health insurance. Can we not take advantage of this disintegration to enact single-payer get-profit-taking-insurance-companies-out-of-it health care? Our American exceptionalism in this is killing us, literally as well as financially.
Marsha, this inability to enact it is bewildering. Because people are so stupid they will take long walks off short pairs (misspelled) I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one.
I turn 65 in a couple of months, and I've decided I have to keep working in at least a part time job for my current employer, the State of Oregon, because their benefits were designed around good public health policy. Diabetes maintenance supplies - I'm a Type 1 from age 7 - are covered in full. Even working for Kaiser didn't get me such enlightened coverage.
Mother was pre diabetic. Her father the same. I too. But I have taken to heart my food intake. I just added flax seed to my diet. I make my own unsweetened chocolate. Tastes wonderful. I’m sorry if you need insulin.
Joyce - I listened to the full 8+ hours of testimony. Jack Smith clearly had much more that he wanted to say about the documents case but was limited by Judge Cannon's blocking the release of the Special Counsel's Volume II report. What grounds did Cannon have to block the release of Volume II? What can be done by Congress and/or the Appeals Court to override her decision and speed up the report's release?
Distract, deflect. Sheesh! Starting a war is a bit over the top! Back to the good old days when we could control the raw materials of other countries. (Heads up, Greenland.) One aspect of all this that has received scant public discussion is the makeover of the DOD along with Trump's promises of military benefits and enrichment and Hegseth's emphasis on lethality.
'Accountability' - like 'affordability' - must be a hoax... I do think that the looming anniversary of Jan. 6 requires desperate measures to divert public attention, as does the ongoing adamant insistence on the release of the Epstein files..
I am fervently hoping that Greenland has surrounded its borders with strong military surveillance, with Denmark backing them up. I may be wrong, but I really don't think that Denmark/Greenland will respond to a "takeover" like Venezuela. It will be war.
Well, for one very important thing, Denmark is a founding member of NATO and any foolhardy move by the US would (in theory) trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty which states that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.
I fully believe that Trump is capable of anything, including trying to take over Greenland. Denmark has voiced its strong opposition to Trump's threats, but I guess the test of the west would be up to NATO. I totally agree that the response would be a far cry from what occurred in Venezuela. No country can afford to indulge in complacence after what has just happened with the abduction of Maduro and his wife.
I don't think we have quite realised yet the depths of trump's stupidity. That's why every time he does something gob-smacking we say "Oh! THIS is the lowest!"
I, like you and Norm Eisen, am not optimistic but I am hopeful. Perhaps the purposefully spineless MAGA side of the aisle will finally wake up and regrow a spine. We shall see.
Presidential power was increased by a huge percentage during the G.W. Bush Administration, starting with The Patriot Act in 2001. He opened a Pandoras Box.
Thank you for sharing Senator Booker's words. I read an interview he had with Marc Elias today, and now like him more than ever. I'm hoping that someday (during my lifetime) that he becomes President. He'd be a good one. It would be good for the country to have someone as plain-spoken and easy to understand as Senator Booker is.
Susan - I’d be ecstatic if the Ds replaced Schumer with Cory Booker as minority leader. The Ds need to take back the House before the midterms. Schumer and Jeffries are obviously not up to the task. Marc Elias at Democracy Docket has done an excellent job documenting the hundreds of ways the Rs plan to steal the midterms, keep Rs in power and enshrine the minority rule of white men.
Jason, I read Marc Elias regularly, so I'm up on that. I was thinking that Schumer had done some good things, but I think Booker is far more of a leader - definitely more forceful, not wimpy. I don't know who would be good in the house - I would love to see Jasmine Crockett as house leader, except she's running for the senate and she or James Talarico needs to beat Ken Paxton for the senate.
Agree with you about Crockett and Talarico - I've donated to both. But I think Talarico would be preferable for the Senate so we can retain Crockett in the House.
Interesting viewpoint. I like it. That would give us the best possible outcome, and then maybe Jasmine Crockett could become Speaker? I'm betting that she has a lot of the skills Nancy Pelosi had. We definitely need someone original in that position.
Heather Cox Richardson spoke of the Venezuelan issue, and she took us through the International Law Order for all countries, a law created after WWII that says that no nation, unless war is declared, can invade another sovereign nation. Trump did just what Putin did to Ukraine. She argued that what Trump did (and will probably do with Greenland) is very, very scary. What do you think?
Fact is there are dozens, if not hundreds of prominent (or infamous) individuals under U.S. indictment around the world. Now with the Maduros arrested with the help of the CIA, Delta Force and something like 150 sorties, can we assume these other miscreants will be spirited away in the same fashion? Or is the arrest just the pretext of the hour? Little Marco says we don't need or want the Venezuelan oil, but that was several hours ago. Suppose anything is possible with Demento's delusions of grandeur including taking Puerto Rico...again.
Thank you, Professor. Mr. Smith from what I have heard scared Representative Jordan from Ohio. Trump is taking an infusion of drugs for dementia, in the same category of Xanex. I understand that will go ahead with articles of impeachment against the Attorney General. I think they better do this or people will vote members of The GOP out of office.
People who know how these sorts of snatch ops work are taking notice that the description of the "raid" to grab Maduro doesn't sound like a raid. On the ground for 2 hours? Never before. No casualties? Also never before (the "casualties" announced by the Defense Minister have no proof of actual deaths). What it does look like is a collaborative internal coup - the US and the rest of the Maduro govt under VP Rodriguez, who you will remember Trump said Saturday cooperated. Then she "condemned" the event, but has taken no other action. As to the Opposition, Trump dissed María Corina Machado (who got "his" Nobel Prize), and no mention at all of Gutierrez, the guy who won the 2024 presidential election. Maduro govt still in control of country. No move to send any US representatives into Venezuela.
And several other observers note that the case against Maduro isn't as strong as Pammikins wants us to believe. It's also before a Federal judge in NYC who has a record of not putting up with Trump's flimflammery. The case could take a year, and be dismissed (after the November elections)
Given that Trump has never told the truth once in his entire life, is anyone surprised by this?
It's a pure case of Wag the Dog, and proof of how radioactive the Trump-Epstein Files are to him. Nothing else he's tried has distracted away. Now he does Venezuela and another huff-and-puff-I'll-blow-your-house-down with Greenland. Just more squid ink from Dearest Squid.
Stick with the Trump-Epstein files. If he's this terrified, what's in there is Kryptonite.
Never believe a word Trump or his toadstools say about anything, not even the time of day.
Well said, TC👏👏👏
Even if the op went as reported, there is still the problem of the follow-up. We are very good at “snatch-and-grabs”, but absolutely terrible at the follow ups. As mission creep turns into body bags, this “wag the dog” effort could turn out to be Trump’s undoing.
And I totally agree. He's entered a black hole. China will be poised to move into this situation anyway it can, and no one should ever think they won't. Trump really thinks he can take them on? He'll do anything to cover up his preferences for 16 year olds.
RRiveter, "He entered a black hole"...
But he IS a black hole.
One that would swallow the planet. Then, the solar system. There are no limits.
Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Something wicked is already here!
Quite possibly 13 years old female and male whom he and his perverted cohorts offended on and that’s worth Venezuela Mexico and Canada.
From your lips…..
isn't this the 187th thing that is bound to sink Trump and drive him from public life? I hate to think what #200 will be.
They will hide the truth.
”Never believe a word Trump or his toadstools say about anything, not even the time of day.” 🤩🎉🏆👏🏼👊🏼👍🏻
Potus is a compulsive liar and I will never understand how his magats refuse to see the truth. He PARDONED the Honduran president who sent tons of cocaine into the US and said he was after Venezuelan oil—which is actually very sulfurous—In a righteous country, they would be sharing a jail cell. Piece Of Totally Useless S💩💩T.
I would say Trump has a dark triad personality disorder. He is a very experienced conman, with an evil talent for figuring out what naive, ill-informed or sociopathic people want to hear, then saying that. He also has an evil talent for finding people he can manipulate or bully, or who will willingly do his bidding, to appoint to his administration, and forcing out anyone with integrity and courage.
And greed is a pretty big motivator for him and his magats.
His Flying Monkey Squad.
He opened up Pandora’s Box with much glee…..
The NYT, I believe, reported Maduro's mocking, Trump-like "dance" was a trigger for the "Commander-in-Chief" to order the operation. With DJT's cognitive impairment overlaid on his personality disorders, it just may be so. Yet, I wonder how much validity to grant this notion.
They don't "refuse to see the truth" - they don't GET to see the truth. Fox news, Sinclair radio, FB, X and Instagram algorithms - how do they "get" to see the truth? They don't even look for it because they don't know it's there. And NOBODY is going to tell them how important it is. I reckon a good 50% of MAGA would be horrified if the actually found out what is going on.
You have more faith in maga. I don’t think they’d care, he’s a dog whistle, for racism, sexism and xenophobia, they’re behind him regardless.
No, they refuse. You're being kind, but they have control of the tv remote.
And then there's those who "don't watch the news" but feel they shoukd do their civic duty and vote.
No, you don't get to do that.
Exactly.
The “Trump Corollary” explicitly authorizes military force to deny Chinese/Russian influence over “strategically vital assets” in our hemisphere. Venezuela was proof the doctrine works…no congressional pushback, mission accomplished.
I just published analysis showing this wasn’t improvisation. The NSS elevates threats to bypass war powers, reframes regime change as “law enforcement,” and treats congressional oversight as optional. Trump literally said “we’re going to run the country” about Venezuela. That’s the template for Cuba, Greenland, Mexico…anywhere the doctrine applies.
Congress has already been tested on Venezuela and failed. They accepted the “just executing an arrest warrant” excuse. That precedent now applies hemisphere-wide.
—Johan
Former Foreign Service Officer
Did anyone expect the American Congress to be this cowardly and submissive? Really?
I would love to see how Kryptonite works… And I'm sure it will with the two pit bull representatives who are pursuing the release of the Epstein files.
The military action was rehearsed for months. So it has been in the works before legislation passed to release the Epstein files. Sure, it distracts but I don’t believe that was the primary motivation. Trump is a madman. This is about conquest and enriching himself and his cronies. He is just getting started.
HE IS JUST GETTING STARTED. NEXT..COLUMBIA..CUBA..MEXICO…GREENLAND. HE WILL CONTINUE TO LOVE PUTIN AND RUSSIA, OF COURSE, AND LEAVE THEM ALONE. EVEN WILL AID THEM AS MUCH AS HE CAN.
Good point; I hadn’t thought of the timing.
If in fact there were no American force fatalities among what is now reported as 80 Cuban/Venezuelan fatalities, then this was a purely extra-judicial armed attack, and not a simple police action. Civilians at some number were shot dead on sight. I.E. we went in with guns a blasin’. It was an imperialist act of war, and not the first step in a constitutional judicial process. When I squint hard enough , I can believe that America still stands for the rule of law, but with eyes open, I have to acknowledge that it no longer does.
Those Epstein Files must be flammable…
It worked with his ear…so why not go big? It’s also ridiculous as an oil grab scenario. It will take AI level capital to revive that industry. Costs Big Oil nothing to high five the lunatic.
Big Oil donate Big Bucks for this…
Right. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelan-oil-industry-worlds-largest-reserves-decaying-infrastructure-2026-01-03/
Yup. It’s a mess. It’s an unstable country with corruption at every level. US corps have been burned there before. Folks give T and Company too much credit. They’re evil, but they’re also dumb as rocks. Big oil can’t easily afford the capital investment on top of all the non financial risks. T is great at spending other people’s money. But at the end of the day, Chevron et al need to answer to their shareholders. And all that assumes that this is even within shooting distance of anything other than a dog being wagged.
"Toadstools".
Great sobriquet. Totally appropriate. I am gong to use that till the Bezos Post adds it to its list of "rejectable" words.
I've been thinking of them as 'spineless toads' &/or 'spineless toadies'.
Epstein, Epstein, Epstein!
Thank you TC for this comment. It all make sense.
TC, sorry to tack this onto your excellent item. I tried to publish it in its own right, but found no means to send my piece, which may be worth some thought. Send function missing... How strange...
*
Sometimes significant news reaches us via unusual sources, in this instance via the network of mainly exiled journalists, “foreign agents” who once worked for the now banned Ekho Moskvy station and for other independent Russian media like Dost, New Times, etc.
Today, one of these journalists, Ekaterina Bazanova, who has lived in and covered Latin America, mainly Argentina, reports in some detail on developments in Venezuela since the violent ups and downs of the pre-Chavez State, ups and downs closely tied to the country’s single-asset economy, its total petro-dependence and failure to diversify investment.
According to Bazanova, Chavez’s populist and, for a long time, popular rule utterly ruined the economy while destroying democratic freedoms and institutions. She reports how, under his successor Maduro, only one thing works: total control and micro-surveillance of the wretched population. The outcome: one in three of that population has fled the country, including almost all the highly educated, now all too often doing menial jobs in America… and hiding from ICE, lest Trump’s tender mercies deliver them to CECOT or some African hell-hole. Meanwhile, back home, the once emblematic iguana has disappeared from Caracas, now forming one of the country’s rare food sources…
Like North Korea when famine raged, Venezuela is surely now close to a Trumpian ideal. A country perfectly packaged, citizens reduced to the level of starving farm animals, a country ready for the limitlessly greedy gringo mob boss to grab it from the local mob boss, Maduro, and strip it of its sole asset, oil. The tight, highly localized network of total surveillance and control can remain in place, ensuring that those who are so much as suspected of stepping out of line can be jailed or — more likely — disappeared, as was not long ago the custom under far-right juntas elsewhere on the continent, while asset stripping can proceed in peace.
Only problem — what’s left to steal? Trump may be making Big Oil an offer they can neither refuse… nor afford and accept.
The pastmaster of diversions while performing yet another heist… or drawing attention away from crimes that will revolt even his most faithful cultists… may now fail. Yet nothing could be more dangerous than this alleged dominator of little girls and would-be dominator of the Americas — and those behind him — if and when their crazed edifice collapses. Even the Bibi’s forever wars, mass killing and destruction, all to draw attention away from his failure to prevent 10/7 and to close down his trial for relatively minor corruption, may pale into insignificance when Trump’s backers and their chosen instrument find their backs to the wall.
Even the Kremlin may come to regret their choice…
*
P.S. If you read Judd at Popular Information today, you'll find news of one Trump supporter who's set to make a big profit from the takeover of Venezuela.
"She reports how, under his successor Maduro, only one thing works: total control and micro-surveillance of the wretched population. The outcome: one in three of that population has fled the country, including almost all the highly educated, now all too often doing menial jobs in America… and hiding from ICE...."
I am certain that this is the goal of Trump, Vought, Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, and Project 2025. But... where is it that WE can flee to?
Then there's the content of this Reuters article about Venezuela's "oil industry". I can understand the hesitation of big oil companies jumping at moving back into Venezuela's oil fields. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuelan-oil-industry-worlds-largest-reserves-decaying-infrastructure-2026-01-03/
This is such an interesting read on what happened. This is why I subscribe to Joyce.
I guess Trump missed the big Hegseth lecture on manliness. (Likewise Hegseth seems to have missed, along with Trump, the big lecture on how manliness includes accountability.)
U.S. citizens living, serving, or studying abroad—you can vote from wherever you are! 🌍 Visit https://votefromabroad.org to register and request your overseas ballot.
It’s quick, free, and valid for all elections in 2026. Need help? Write to help@votefromabroad.org.
Vote from Abroad volunteers are ready to assist you with any questions about requesting or returning your ballot. Don’t wait! Request your ballot today and make your voice heard! 🗳️
It is especially important to remind all citizens, especially those serving abroad, to return ballots ASAP, as changes in processing mail may delay postmarks for up to 48 hours. These ballots have been contested by Trump every year, and with changes to the mail system, this year “on-time” or late ballots will be particularly challenged. Changes to Postal Processing took effect on Christmas Eve and should be considered as an attempt to subvert voting rights. The number of Processing Centers across the country decreased from 200 to 60 - just over 1 per state. In Oregon, there is one, in the Portland area. Mail collected by carriers, drop boxes, and Post Offices from around the state will be directed to the Portland Processing Center for a dated post mark. For items requiring a date to meet legal, medical, tax filing, and other reasons, such as vote by mail election date, a hand stamp can be requested in the Post Office from a postal worker at the counter to verify the date the item enters the postal system. Otherwise, the date stamp may reflect a delay of as much as 2 days.
Good point Judy. This has been discussed the past weeks on the Democrats Abroad and Indivisible Abroad Signal chat groups I am in.
Remember when Post Offices used to be open late on 4/15 w/ clerks out at the curb to collect tax-returns from drivers so they'd get postmarked in time?
Maybe at least some (at least in some 'friendly' areas) could gin up a similar effort for election-night-ballots??
I can’t wait for the day when Pam Blondi is tried, convicted, and sent to Fricken prison. Seein tears running down her mascara will be as delightful as tears running down the mascarad face of Donald Scunk.
This is IMPORTANT and should be read and/or shared !!
Pete was doing pull-ups and Trump was getting fitted for a blue cape when that manliness reminder was issued!
I just sent Senators Britt and Tuberville and Representative Palmer an email asking them to heed Senator Booker’s words which I copied and pasted.
Tuberville’s form asked for a subject. I wrote “do your job and grow a spine.”
You go girl! Congress has been sitting on its collective asses for 1 year, allowing this stupid tyrant to ignore the Constitution and basically run the US as his fiefdom with his slavish cronies. They have obviously forgotten their constituents, although we have not forgotten them, and will remember them in Nov. But guess they've also forgotten their oath to the Constitution. The entire Congressional body should be run out on a rail.
Shocking to see how an entire Congress is so cowardly and submissive.
Says it all!
Bravo!!! I love that subject line.
Yes, Joyce, thank you! He's running away from all of that! "All that and a bag of chips", as they say in Texas. We're already protesting and making phone calls. I was also impressed by republican Rep. Massey spoke up about the attack on Venezuela, and read them the riot act. Nice to see that, too.
What happens now that they missed the deadline to release the unredacted files? Aren't they easy to "unredact" because of a computer glitch? It's time for them to hit the front pages-- along with Jack Smith's testimony. Let's focus on those things and shine a big light on the things he's trying to hide!
Sadly..much of the MSM has been purchased by DARK DARK MONEY and thus, nothing of true importance will be written about.
That's why we keep reposting and take to the streets. Even a conservative (non Maga but non political) friend has started listening. It's up to us. Btw, you can also call your local media outlets and demand they cover these stories. Make noise.
I won't be surprised to learn that DOJ finally forked out the dough for the Deluxe version of Acrobat which, purportedly makes redactions un-redactable. Maybe that's the reason for the new lengthy delays.
Good point.
If Trump is dead set on battling corruption … what better place than home? Or is that too personal?
No mirrors in the WH for sure!!
Not quite true—only face mirrors allowed … to show the “beauty” not the bulk.
Good point!!
Magic Mirrors
Funhouse mirrors
Just four the first words and stop.
I am also concerned about all of this distracting from the follow-up on the Epstein files and health insurance.
Everything will come home to roost….chicken pun intended 🙂
But not soon enough, for those without even our crappy health insurance. Can we not take advantage of this disintegration to enact single-payer get-profit-taking-insurance-companies-out-of-it health care? Our American exceptionalism in this is killing us, literally as well as financially.
Marsha, this inability to enact it is bewildering. Because people are so stupid they will take long walks off short pairs (misspelled) I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one.
I turn 65 in a couple of months, and I've decided I have to keep working in at least a part time job for my current employer, the State of Oregon, because their benefits were designed around good public health policy. Diabetes maintenance supplies - I'm a Type 1 from age 7 - are covered in full. Even working for Kaiser didn't get me such enlightened coverage.
Mother was pre diabetic. Her father the same. I too. But I have taken to heart my food intake. I just added flax seed to my diet. I make my own unsweetened chocolate. Tastes wonderful. I’m sorry if you need insulin.
I have needed insulin for 57 years. That's the least of the problems a long term Type 1 has.
Distract distract distract.
Joyce - I listened to the full 8+ hours of testimony. Jack Smith clearly had much more that he wanted to say about the documents case but was limited by Judge Cannon's blocking the release of the Special Counsel's Volume II report. What grounds did Cannon have to block the release of Volume II? What can be done by Congress and/or the Appeals Court to override her decision and speed up the report's release?
ONE TRUMPER CAN STOP THE TRUTH THIS EASILY IN AMERICA?
Distract, deflect. Sheesh! Starting a war is a bit over the top! Back to the good old days when we could control the raw materials of other countries. (Heads up, Greenland.) One aspect of all this that has received scant public discussion is the makeover of the DOD along with Trump's promises of military benefits and enrichment and Hegseth's emphasis on lethality.
Lethality … and an avoidance of responsibility.
'Accountability' - like 'affordability' - must be a hoax... I do think that the looming anniversary of Jan. 6 requires desperate measures to divert public attention, as does the ongoing adamant insistence on the release of the Epstein files..
Well, at least he can differentiate a lion and giraffe on the cognition test.
Lol
Drew them on the palm of his hand-not yet bruised there!!
Behold! The master of the Master Race … and the very face of Christian Nationalism.
You nailed it! Another facet of his lack of self-awareness. The slurring of words is another good touch.
JANUARY 6TH ANNIVERSARY. Anyone remember the Police being killed and injured? Anyone?
I am fervently hoping that Greenland has surrounded its borders with strong military surveillance, with Denmark backing them up. I may be wrong, but I really don't think that Denmark/Greenland will respond to a "takeover" like Venezuela. It will be war.
Well, for one very important thing, Denmark is a founding member of NATO and any foolhardy move by the US would (in theory) trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty which states that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.
Donny would love to attack Greenland/Denmark. It would destroy NATO, which would please his boss, Vlad.
Pleasing Putin is all he loves to do.
Has NATO said anything about this? Mad King Shitler hates NATO.
I fully believe that Trump is capable of anything, including trying to take over Greenland. Denmark has voiced its strong opposition to Trump's threats, but I guess the test of the west would be up to NATO. I totally agree that the response would be a far cry from what occurred in Venezuela. No country can afford to indulge in complacence after what has just happened with the abduction of Maduro and his wife.
He might also consider that Greenland IS covered by NATO.
Impossible to ignore - unless he’s only bluffing/ deflecting.
I don't think we have quite realised yet the depths of trump's stupidity. That's why every time he does something gob-smacking we say "Oh! THIS is the lowest!"
And it's not.
Not just stupidity … dementia
He didn't always have dementia.
But he's ALWAYS been stupid.
See the reports from Wharton. . .
Agreed. Always a moron … but the dementia, the delusions, amplifies exponentially.
He is a dark hole of hate….and it is endless.
I think you're right about his ever-deeper depths of stupidity.
Me, too. I sincerely worry about Greenland being threatened and hope Denmark and others aren’t going to give up to a Dictator.
And with Greenland and Denmark being part of NATO, will the other countries come to Greenland's defense and go after the United States? I hope so.
I think Greenland should start seriously thinking about closing down the US base on their soil.
I, like you and Norm Eisen, am not optimistic but I am hopeful. Perhaps the purposefully spineless MAGA side of the aisle will finally wake up and regrow a spine. We shall see.
Presidential power was increased by a huge percentage during the G.W. Bush Administration, starting with The Patriot Act in 2001. He opened a Pandoras Box.
Thanks, Joyce, for this very helpful update and call to action. And thank you for your book, it's excellent - clarifying and inspiring!
Thank you for sharing Senator Booker's words. I read an interview he had with Marc Elias today, and now like him more than ever. I'm hoping that someday (during my lifetime) that he becomes President. He'd be a good one. It would be good for the country to have someone as plain-spoken and easy to understand as Senator Booker is.
Susan - I’d be ecstatic if the Ds replaced Schumer with Cory Booker as minority leader. The Ds need to take back the House before the midterms. Schumer and Jeffries are obviously not up to the task. Marc Elias at Democracy Docket has done an excellent job documenting the hundreds of ways the Rs plan to steal the midterms, keep Rs in power and enshrine the minority rule of white men.
Jason, I read Marc Elias regularly, so I'm up on that. I was thinking that Schumer had done some good things, but I think Booker is far more of a leader - definitely more forceful, not wimpy. I don't know who would be good in the house - I would love to see Jasmine Crockett as house leader, except she's running for the senate and she or James Talarico needs to beat Ken Paxton for the senate.
Agree with you about Crockett and Talarico - I've donated to both. But I think Talarico would be preferable for the Senate so we can retain Crockett in the House.
Interesting viewpoint. I like it. That would give us the best possible outcome, and then maybe Jasmine Crockett could become Speaker? I'm betting that she has a lot of the skills Nancy Pelosi had. We definitely need someone original in that position.
As a New Yorker, I agree with you 100%
Jersey Girls appreciate the brilliance of Booker…
Oh..but Chuck is great at writing STRONG LETTERS… isn’t that enough?
Agree.
Heather Cox Richardson spoke of the Venezuelan issue, and she took us through the International Law Order for all countries, a law created after WWII that says that no nation, unless war is declared, can invade another sovereign nation. Trump did just what Putin did to Ukraine. She argued that what Trump did (and will probably do with Greenland) is very, very scary. What do you think?
Fact is there are dozens, if not hundreds of prominent (or infamous) individuals under U.S. indictment around the world. Now with the Maduros arrested with the help of the CIA, Delta Force and something like 150 sorties, can we assume these other miscreants will be spirited away in the same fashion? Or is the arrest just the pretext of the hour? Little Marco says we don't need or want the Venezuelan oil, but that was several hours ago. Suppose anything is possible with Demento's delusions of grandeur including taking Puerto Rico...again.
Thank you, Professor. Mr. Smith from what I have heard scared Representative Jordan from Ohio. Trump is taking an infusion of drugs for dementia, in the same category of Xanex. I understand that will go ahead with articles of impeachment against the Attorney General. I think they better do this or people will vote members of The GOP out of office.
I believe people will vote members of the GOP out of office with or without impeachment of the AG.
If I didn’t read you, I would have no idea Booker said anything.
EXACTLY!
That is because MSM is nothing more than propaganda for the Mad King. DARK MONEY HAS PURCHASED MUCH OF THE AMERICAN MSM.