Trump’s Lawless Administration

Posted: January 28, 2026 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Board of Peace, CBP, Constitution, Customs and Border Protection, Davos, Greenland, ICE, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Minneapolis, Minneapolis Murders, NATO, Special Counsel | 2 Comments

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the Veterans Affairs (VA) ICU nurse executed by federal agents on the street in Minneapolis on 24 January 2026. (Official portrait for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.)

The lawless and out of control Trump administration continues to destroy and abuse the bedrock principles of our country. It is difficult to keep up with all that is happening because it is continuous, unrelenting and horrific. Not to mention embarrassing. From Minneapolis Minnesota to Davos Switzerland with stops in between, Trump is ripping our country apart. Fundamentally, he has destroyed the trust necessary to protect us internationally and to govern as a functioning democracy. Without trust, there is no legitimacy. Without legitimacy, there can be no governance. Our allies and our fellow citizens never know from one day to the next as to what mood swing or perceived insult will cause Trump to lash out unpredictably. One day we are on a particular path and the next day he reverses course and then lies about all of it. Trump and his cabinet lie as easily and instinctively as they breath. All trust is gone.

For the second time in a matter of weeks, federal agents killed a peaceful protester in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti a U.S. citizen, was murdered by violent extremists, this time by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Without hesitation or investigation the senior members of the government called the innocent victim a “domestic terrorist” with the intent to “massacre law enforcement.” Most of us have seen the numerous videos capturing the horrific incident. Alex was trying to help a fellow human being at the scene of a peaceful demonstration when he was attacked by seven CBP agents, taken to the ground, beaten and then shot ten times. The federal government, our government, immediately went into reflex mode to outrageously lie about what happened and to immediately blame the victim. Don’t believe your lying eyes, only believe what we tell you. He had a gun! (He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.) Protesters are not allowed to carry weapons! (Just like in the state house in Michigan, or the march in Charlottesville, or at the insurrection in Washington D.C. or countless other right-wing demonstrations?) After the murder, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Governor Tim Walz in Minnesota to inform him that she would have the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP agents withdraw if the state turned over all voter information on the citizens of the state as well as for those receiving public assistance. That data would include driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, addresses, party affiliations and other deeply personal information. It was in essence a blackmail letter as it clearly shows the real motive behind the surge of unidentified people in tactical gear and face masks roaming the streets and breaking into people’s homes.

I clearly remember right wing zealots claiming that during the presidencies of Bill Clinton, and later Barak Obama, that the federal government was going to send unidentified masked men in tactical gear to break into people’s homes, whisk them away and take away everyone’s guns. It never happened. But it is now. Where are all those people that protested what did not happen, now that it is happening?

For the record, according to court records and legal challenges our government has violated the First (Freedom of Speech), Second (Right To Bear Arms), Fourth (Unreasonable Search and Seizure), Fifth (Due Process), Tenth (State Sovereignty) and Fourteenth (Equal Protection) Amendments in the name of “safety.”

It appears that the Trump regime is going to try and pull a public relations stunt by firing the senior CBP official Greg Bovino and replacing him with the “Border Czar” Tom “CAVA Man” Homan in Minneapolis. (The same Tom Homan that was investigated for taking a $50,000 bribe in cash carried out in a CAVA bag. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) quietly dropped the investigation when they took over.) There is no change in policy. Mass deportations are still the goal. The administration’s white nationalist and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is still calling the shots. We will see if the tactics change, not just in Minnesota, but everywhere ICE and CBP agents are operating. Will they still detain five year old boys like they did Liam Ramos in Minnesota and send them to a detention center in Texas?

All of this came days after Trump tried to destroy NATO by insisting on taking over Greenland. Fortunately, his TACO instincts (Trump Always Chickens Out) kicked in, but the damage was done. In his rambling, nearly incoherent speech at the conference in Davos Switzerland, including insulting several heads of state by name, it was clear to our European allies and friends throughout the world, that Trump could not be trusted. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave one of the greatest speeches in recent history, and directly challenged Trump. Canada recently entered into a massive trade deal with China and pointedly rejected U.S. entreaties not to do so. The European Union and India just concluded a different trade agreement. That means two billion people are now in economic relationships that do not include the U.S. At least Trump has his Board of Peace which he alone controls. It only costs one billion dollars to join (c’mon, are you sure it isn’t Dr. Evil demanding this?). At the ceremonial signing of the treaty creating the Board were officials from the following countries: Argentina, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Qatar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Paraguay and Pakistan. Our closest European allies have consistently rejected joining. Russia and China expressed interest in joining. Trump thinks this will be a replacement for the United Nations. To me, it looks like another of his scams to make money for himself. The fee to join, along with the oil money from Venezuela, is going into off-shore accounts controlled by Trump. Yep, everything is just normal. Nothing like giving a convicted felon, adjudicated sex offender and instigator of an insurrection a multi-billion dollar slush fund to control.

Speaking of the insurrection, former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday. He was in charge of investigating the attempt to overthrow the government and investigating the theft of highly classified documents that were stored in a bathroom at Mar-A-Lago. It was compelling. He concluded that, “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat. No one should be above the law in this country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did.”

It is exhausting. It is tempting to throw up my hands and just quit. Let it all go by and take solace that it doesn’t impact me directly. Yet. We must remain vigilant and push back hard in any way that we can. There is no over-arching entity that can save us. It’s just us. Talk to friends and family members. Contact your Representative and Senator. When possible attend peaceful demonstrations. Assist immigrants. Work in a food bank. There are lots of ways to help. To me this is not a political issue. It is a matter of humanity and morality. Heroic Minnesotans are peacefully pushing back and loudly declaring their total disgust with the way an entire city is treated. I hope they soon can get back to their normal lives, but I fear that Minneapolis is a testing ground for further violations of our Constitution. Stay tuned.

An Insecure or the Most Insecure President?

Posted: January 19, 2026 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Arctic Ocean, Denmark, Greenland, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Maria Machado, Martin Luther King Day, Minneapolis, NATO, Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, Russia, Vladimir Putin | Leave a comment

Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. (Getty Images)

Today is a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, despite the current administration’s efforts. Thanks to Trump’s anti-DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) efforts, you cannot get into a national park today without paying, which we used to be able to do today and as is done on several federal holidays. However, for the first time you can now get in for free on June 14. Although that is Flag Day in the United States — which is not a federal holiday — one can get in for free because it is Trump’s birthday, according to the official website of the National Park Service. Nothing is awarded to anyone without Trump becoming jealous and trying to take it for himself. We have a six year old for a president. I am sorry he is so insecure about how people view him, but his insecurity is ruining our country.

Like most bullies, nothing is ever enough. The primary opposition leader in Venezuela Maria Corina Machado earned the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize that Trump insisted should be his. Last week Ms. Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, hoping that he would help her to get rid of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and help to move the country towards democracy. Instead she got a bag of Trump “merch” and a photo op. Trump prefers to work with the murderous Maduro regime — every member of that dictatorship remains in power except for Nicolas Maduro himself — rather than to help the people of Venezuela improve their lives. Taking someone else’s Nobel Peace Prize and pretending it is your own is cringe worthy. I am embarrassed for the man and for our country.

But it gets even more ridiculous and yet serious. It could be the focus of many a psychiatrists’ case study, but this has real world consequences.

Trump sent a text (!) to the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Store informing him that because Norway did not give him the Peace Prize — as we all know, the government of Norway does not pick the winners, an independent five member committee decides, as it has since 1901 (“life is hard, but it’s harder when you’re stupid”) — he was going to take Greenland, which is a semi-independent territory of Denmark. The text was later put into a demarche, or letter, to other governments and delivered to their Ambassadors. Here is the text (punctuation, grammar and capitalization as in the original):

“Dear Jonas, Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United State of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only a boat that landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT“

Wow. There is so much to unpack there it is hard to know where to begin. Once again, it shows a complete and utter misunderstanding — ignorance? — of how NATO works. We have military access to Greenland and Denmark has been our staunchest ally for over two hundred years. If we want to build more bases, they would allow it. You have heard the arguments before, so, what is really going on?

One explanation might be what always drives Trump. Money. Greenland is rich in natural resources, and probably has vast deposits of rare earth minerals which are crucial to burgeoning industries. But again, through diplomacy and cooperation the U.S. could get access to those minerals.

As the sea ice continues to recede due to climate change, year round passages are beginning to appear in the Arctic region. This opens up new commercial shipping routes and also has military implications. The solution, again, is NATO. Obviously Russia has a long coastline on the Arctic Ocean, but so does Canada, a member of NATO as well as the U.S. and Scandinavian countries.

The Artic map created by U.S. State Department geographers.

In 2023 to prevent a president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO, Senators Kaine (D-VA) and Rubio (R-FL) (hmmm) successfully included a provision in the 2024 National Defense Appropriations Act that requires a two-thirds majority of the Senate or a law passed by the entire Congress in order to withdraw from NATO. Legal experts differ as to the effectiveness of that provision and possible efforts to litigate it in court. Trump claims that as president, he alone has the power to withdraw.

But there is another way. Get kicked out.

This is what Trump’s game plan may be and it is back to Russia, Russia, Russia again. Nothing would please Vladimir Putin more than to see the U.S. withdraw from — or get kicked out of — Europe and Trump always defaults to what Putin wants. If the U.S. leaves NATO, under any circumstance, there will be many “Ukraines” as Putin endeavors to re-create the Russian Empire. In the worst case scenario for most of the world — but the best case for Russia — if the U.S. tries to take Greenland by force, and Denmark invokes Article Five of the treaty which says that an attack on one country is an attack on all, and other former allies respond to the U.S. attack, fighting could break out. The U.S. would be at war with its allies. Unthinkable? Of course. At least until the last few months. Reporting indicates that senior military officials in the Pentagon are pushing back hard on any use of the U.S. military in Greenland or anywhere else protected by NATO. It is not clear whether they will be listened to at all. Numerous NATO countries have already moved military forces to Greenland for “exercises.” Even if no fighting breaks out, irreparable harm has been done to our relationship with Europe. Put simply, we are no longer trustworthy or a reliable ally.

Trump threatened to put tariffs on the nations leading the resistance to his taking Greenland. (Which is an entirely different area of discussion as we await a Supreme Court decision as to the legality of existing tariffs.) Perhaps the European Union (EU) will respond in a way that creates a financial crisis for the U.S. They could impose their own tariffs, or sell U.S. assets or bonds or block U.S. firms from doing business in Europe. If other former, but not NATO, friends and allies do the same our economy will collapse.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that several NATO countries are limiting or stopping their intelligence cooperation with the U.S., especially with respect to Ukraine, because of suspicions that the information may be shared with Russia by U.S. intelligence agencies. We are markedly less secure than we were one year ago.

The lawlessness continues in other areas. Last Friday the Department of Justice (DOJ) told a federal judge that they do not have to follow the law and release the Epstein files because the law has no enforcement mechanism and no entity or person has standing to sue them to force their release. All that I can think is that there must really be something that they want to hide.

Meanwhile, in addition to 3,000 Immigration and Border Patrol agents terrorizing the streets of Minnesota, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Warning Order (notification to prepare to deploy) to 1500 paratroopers to move from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage Alaska to Minneapolis. The DOJ also announced that they are pursuing a criminal investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly conspiring to obstruct federal immigration enforcement, despite their mostly successful efforts to keep protests peaceful. The Trump regime is clearly trying to provoke a serious incident so that they can take over a major American city as an “example” to the rest of the country to stay in line with their repressive policies.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are in deep trouble.

As our government acts in our name to prop up a murderous dictatorship, attack our allies, suppress our fellow citizens, and break the law, we can try to take a moment on this day meant to honor a great American man of peace and remember his thoughts on peace and justice.

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.“

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.“

Dr. Martin Luther King (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

Show Me Your Papers!

Posted: January 14, 2026 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 1984, Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, Donald Trump, Fascism, history, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), Operation Metro Surge, Propaganda, United States Constitution, White Nationalism | Leave a comment

A 1938 German poster used throughout the country but especially in Austria after the Anschluss or the German annexation of Austria. It translates to “One People, One Nation, One Leader!” Last Saturday the United States Department of Labor posted a video that projected the slogans “One Homeland! One People! One Heritage! Remember Who You Are, American!“

A poster placed on “X” by the Department of Homeland Security. The caption read “Protect. Serve. Deport.” This is one of a series of such posters, all depicting white men in heroic and patriotic settings, as part of their “wartime recruitment” effort.

As events in Minnesota continue to spiral out of control, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Border Patrol (BP) agents are escalating their response to the peaceful demonstrations protesting the occupation of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Rather than de-escalating the situation and attempting to restore calm, they are using ever stronger tactics that are clearly meant to intimidate and abuse American citizens. There are believed to now be more than 3,000 federal agents in the area. That is more than the entire police departments of the two cities combined. Technically, there are two federal operations under way. One is Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) aimed at eliminating refugee fraud — in other words, directed at the Somali population in the region. (One might ask why there is not an army of accountants deployed to the city vice ICE.) The other is Operation Metro Surge aimed at combatting “illegal immigration and crime.” As a result, many American citizens are increasingly being assaulted (choke holds, knees to the back or neck, cars broken into and the occupants drug across the ground, not to mention the unprovoked killing of Renee Nicole Good). Yesterday, Trump posted on social media at the end of a long screed aimed at the citizens of Minnesota and the denunciation of President Joe Biden, “FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!” (All caps in the original. Because, of course….) In fact, the post was meant to intimidate American citizens, not to calm their fears.

The 1930’s style posters I displayed above are only a fraction of those in use by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor. They have also taken famous paintings by Norman Rockwell, Thomas Kinkade, Morgan Weistling and other artists and used them, without permission, in posters with words and slogans not intended in the originals, despite protests and condemnation by the families and estates of the artists. It is pure propaganda promoting a vision of America that never existed except in the minds of those yearning for something they never experienced. The images and phrases clearly leave no room for the diverse society we now have in the United States. It subtly, or not so subtly, promotes a “pure” nation of white Christian nationalists with men clearly in charge. All “others” are not welcome. The message to those that protest the deportations and thug like tactics of federal agents is that such people are not true Americans and are in fact, enemies to be defeated, humiliated and brutalized — maybe even rounded up and imprisoned. It is no accident that Renee Good was immediately branded a “domestic terrorist.” There will be no investigation into the shooting by the Department of Justice (DOJ), only into the background of Renee Good and her widow who are accused of being part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to create an insurrection. As a result, at least six federal prosecutors in DOJ resigned in protest.

Wake up America! This is no accident or series of accidental events. This is a concerted effort to display the uninhibited power of the federal government to crush dissent. Support Trump and his policies or be trampled. In my view, the events in Minnesota are a dress rehearsal for ever greater repression leading up to the mid-term elections. Trump’s private para-military force on our streets is getting larger and larger everyday as they grow ever less inhibited in trying to intimidate all of us who do not support them. When they say that there will be no investigation of the shooting, when they pardon all of the January 6th insurrectionists, and they repeatedly tell the thugs in tactical gear that the administration “has their back” they are telling those agents that anything goes and that there will be no accountability. That should scare the bejesus out of all of us.

Recall that shortly after his second inauguration Trump posted on social media that “He who serves his Country does not violate any Law.” He also claimed that he would be a dictator, but “only for one day.” Last week in an interview with the New York Times he explained that he is not bound by international law or anything else. The only thing limiting his power is “my own mind.” Trump is asserting that he has unlimited authority which completely rejects the Constitution and our long political and legal traditions.

There is no law that requires U.S. citizens to always have some form of identification on them to prove that they are citizens. However, that is not stopping ICE and BP agents from demanding proof of citizenship. There are increasing numbers of videos and eyewitness accounts documenting that it is happening. If someone does not look “American” they are likely to be detained, questioned and told to provide proof of citizenship. If they do not have it in their possession at the time, they are arrested and taken away. It is happening with increasing frequency.

The “f word” has been overused in recent years — that is fascism. However, there are several examples in history that are eerily similar to what is happening in our country. Fascism is not some theoretical idea that academics debate. It is a specific political movement that prioritizes the nation over the individual and manifests through nationalism, militarism and the suppression of enemies of the state. Those enemies are particular ethnic groups, religious groups or opponents of the ruling regime. Fascism is a governing structure, it is more than just an idea. A self-declared small group of people claims ultimate authority to run the country. It disavows democratic norms and rejects equal rights under the law. Then the powerful leader fuses the power of the state with the power of big businesses and the military to run the country. The virtue of brute strength is idolized. It includes disdain for the role of women in positions of leadership and fears non-traditional sexual identities. By inventing enemies, declaring national emergencies or acting in the name of national security, their power is used to control the population. Elections are rigged and therefore of little meaning. The media is controlled to feed the population only the propaganda that serves those in power. Other “elites” — academics, journalists, opposition political parties, intellectuals and the rest — are used as targets to enrage the population by claiming that the average person has been tricked out of their share of the wealth and power by those elites.

“You’ll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong.” “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” From Trump’s speech to his supporters on 6 January 2021.

I do not think it is inevitable that we will fall into the depths of a fascist society, but the Trump regime is sure trying to get there. Increasingly, everyday people are pushing back. I think that pushback will only grow, but it is not going to be easy to unseat the regime in power. Most importantly, that pushback must be peaceful, calm, but unyielding. The Trump regime is looking for an opportunity to crack down even more and in more areas. As the DHS army grows, more cities will be targeted. Do not be fooled by the propaganda. Thank goodness for cell phones — a statement I did not think I would make — because the videos and pictures are the easiest and best way to counter the propaganda. Stay safe out there.

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” George Orwell in the novel 1984.

Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes

Posted: January 10, 2026 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 6 January Insurrection, Donald Trump, Greenland, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), International Law, NATO, Oil, Renee Nicole Good, Russia, Stephen Miller, Venezuela | Leave a comment

An “X” post by Katie Miller, White House staffer and wife of Stephen Miller Deputy Chief of Staff, regarding questions about the U.S. taking over Greenland.

The new year is only ten days old and already I am exhausted by all of the shenanigans pulled by the Trump regime. Trump and his advisers are dropping any pretense of trying to persuade us, as citizens, that their actions are in our best interests. From Venezuela to Minnesota we now know that they have only their own best interests guiding them. International, national or local laws are only guidelines. If the law is not convenient to get what they want, then damn the law, they will do it anyway. Am I exaggerating? No. Let Stephen Miller, the power behind Trump’s throne explain the world view of Trump and his advisers. In an interview earlier this week with Jake Tapper of CNN he explained (actually he shouted, as he does in every interview I have seen) how they will act towards Greenland.

“The United States should have Greenland as part of the United States. There’s no need to even think or talk about this in the context that you’re asking, of a military operation. Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.” Then he added more.“We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world that have existed since the beginning of time.”

Will we really invade Greenland? I have no idea. There is no strategic reason to do so, despite the lies coming from the administration. Greenland is a semi-independent Danish territory. The Danes are, perhaps, our strongest and most supportive ally in NATO. There are treaties and agreements that go back to the early 1950’s about the use of Greenland for military activity. If the U.S. wanted to build another base there (we have one already called Pituffik Space Base formerly known as Thule Air Force Base) we could and the Danes and Greenlanders would welcome it. Greenland is on the western flank of the Greenland, Iceland, U.K. Gap (GIUK Gap). That gap is the avenue used by Russian naval forces, especially their ballistic missile submarines, to get from the ice free year-round port in Murmansk to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. NATO has significant anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets monitoring the gap. There is no military reason for the U.S. to occupy Greenland or to take it away from Denmark.

There is only one real reason and it is the same as for our incursion into Venezuela. Trump wants it. He wants to dominate the Western Hemisphere and he wants to demonstrate his domination. He also wants to make money off any endeavor that the U.S, undertakes, but that is almost a given after nearly a year of watching his policy decisions from tariffs to oil to the rare earth elements believed to be in large deposits in Greenland. Trump has no desire to be a part of, or abide by any international treaty. Last week he withdrew the U.S. from sixty-six international organizations.

Everything that Trump and his minions said about Venezuela were lies. Many of us knew it at the time, but now the whole world knows it. It was never about drugs, or democracy or giving Venezuelans a better life, it was simply another grab for money in the form of oil. We sent our sons and daughters and husbands and wives into full-fledged combat so that Trump can look tough and steal oil. Does that make our military forces mercenaries? Fighting for money? Of course, as usual, he did not know what he was talking about because either none of his Cabinet members did their homework, or because Trump did not listen, but the truth remains, U.S. oil companies have mostly moved on from Venezuela and have no intention of going back.

As usual, as multiple oil executives explained to him yesterday as to why they were not interested, Trump waved his hand and promised to make the real world problems go away. As one of my favorite sayings goes, “nothing is impossible for the person that doesn’t have to do it.” (I am no geologist or oil industry expert, but even I know that Venezuelan oil is hard to extract, hard to refine, the infrastructure would have to be rebuilt costing at least 100 billion dollars and the government and internal unrest are not conducive to safe operations any time in the near future. Not to mention that the cost of oil right now is low and therefore barely profitable and U.S. producers use a lot of U.S. and Canadian shale oil.)

Here is the real “tell.” At last count we have already seized five “ghost” tankers that are headed to the U.S. worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump announced that Venezuela will “give” us the oil now in storage in Venezuela because of the embargo. All together, that oil could be worth several billion dollars. Earlier he announced on Truth Social, “this oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” CNN reports that the money will not go into the U.S. Treasury. Instead it will “utilize a collection of international oil traders and offshore bank accounts to sell the oil and manage the resulting cash.” A billion dollar slush fund for Trump! What could go wrong? Does anyone still doubt what the real purpose of the incursion into Venezuela was all about? Does Congress remember that we have a Constitution? Article I gives control of the purse strings to Congress, but I have little hope of anything coming from them to check his power.

This same lawless exercise of raw power is evident in our domestic policies as well. One example is ignoring the law — not a request, not a subpoena, not a committee hearing — to turn over the Epstein files. They were to be turned over by 19 December and now the Department of Justice (DOJ) is saying that they have released less than one percent of the documents in the file. We should not expect to see any real progress on that front anytime soon, if at all. Stonewall. Deflect. Ignore. We know the routine by now.

More tragically are the efforts to remove immigrants from our country. Many, not all, that are being rounded up and hunted down are here legally, either through the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) program or because they followed the rules and officially applied for asylum. A mere fraction are “the worst of the worst.” As reported in the New Republic, on New Year’s Eve the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency announced a new 100 million dollar recruitment effort that ICE called “a wartime recruitment” strategy that will target people “who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts, or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear.” Starting last summer, they used social media to advertise the hiring of more agents as a chance to “Serve your country! Defend your culture! No undergraduate degree required!” Since then they have reportedly hired 12,000 new agents, more than doubling the size of the agency. I will not speculate on the quality of the hires, or the extremely shortened training they receive, but when it is all put together, there is a troubling theme to the recruitment effort. Think about the term “defend your culture.” Do you honestly believe that they are appealing to Jews, Muslims, Latinos or any other minority group in our country? There is a very specific type of person they are hiring and while the horrific killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has sparked protests around the country, we can probably expect more killing. Our highest government officials lied about the situation before her body was removed from the scene. The ICE agent that shot her is on tape after he shot her and as she crashed saying “f***ing b*itch.” As if she deserved to get shot in the face three times for trying to help her neighbors. There is a sense for those within this administration that they are untouchable. No one is held accountable. If there was any doubt that a cover-up would ensue, that doubt was erased when the FBI announced that no Minnesota or Minneapolis law enforcement agencies would be included in the investigation of the murder of Renee or be allowed access to evidence.

We need to protest, peacefully but clearly. This is not the America I love and served for twenty eight years. It is important to remain calm but resolute. My gut tells me that Trump is hoping that these various confrontations result in a major escalation of violence so that he can declare martial law and cancel the upcoming elections, or at least severely inhibit them, under the guise of national security, their go to explanation for everything illegal that they do. But, don’t take my word for it. Here is Trump talking to a gathering of Republicans. “You gotta win the midterms ’cause, if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just gonna be – I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me, I’ll get impeached.”

He is weaponizing the government and his supporters. When his administration tells ICE and other instruments of repression that “we’ve got your backs” he is telling them that anything goes. For proof, look no further than pardoning all of those that tried to overthrow our government. Then, last week on 6 January, the fifth anniversary of the coup, an official website of the United States of America went up that repeated every lie ever told about that day. (You can find it here. Be ready to be disgusted.) According to the official government website, “peaceful patriots” were framed that day. The attempted coup was really staged by Democrats with the help of the law enforcement officers at the capitol.

There are no limits. Trump believes that he can do whatever he wants and take whatever he wants. Or as he said in response to a New York Times question about obeying international laws and treaties, “I don’t need international law, I’m not looking to hurt people.” He was asked if there were limits to what he could do and he replied, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

Stay vigilant.

The Pottery Barn Rule

Posted: January 3, 2026 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, Drug Interdiction, Monroe Doctrine, Nicolas Maduro, Oil, Policy Strategy Mismatch, Regime Change, Venezuela | Leave a comment

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture, is seen in this handout image posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social Jan. 3, 2026.

The Pottery Barn Rule is that “if you break it, you own it.” The saying was popularized by then Secretary of State Colin Powell in advising President George W. Bush in 2002 prior to the military invasion of Iraq. It originated, according to Bob Woodward, then with the Washington Post, when the Secretary told the President that, “You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people. You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You’ll own it all.” As of today, we now have the same situation in Venezuela.

Early this morning, U.S. forces “arrested” Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a coordinated joint force operation in Caracas. Technically, the U.S. military was supporting the FBI, also on the raid, who made the actual arrest. Maduro was first indicted in March 2020. A new superseding indictment was unsealed this year. The complicated raid went off very well and the women and men of the U.S. Armed Forces should be congratulated and praised for their professionalism, bravery and ability to pull it off without the loss of personnel or equipment. It was a great tactical success. The Venezuelan president and first lady will be taken to the United States later today and held on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Unfortunately, a great tactical success may turn out to be a strategic disaster.

Every senior military officer is taught about a “policy-strategy match.” In dealing with Venezuela there was and is a huge policy-strategy mismatch. For months the Trump administration has been arguing that the reason for their attacks on fishing boats is to stop drugs from getting to the U.S. The policy was to stop the flow of drugs. The strategy — blowing up small fishing boats, whether or not drugs were on board — would never stop that flow. It is a complete mismatch. Fifteen thousand uniformed Americans and a carrier strike group were not there to interdict drugs. As we have all come to know, most lethal drugs such as fentanyl come from Mexico. Few drugs are actually created in Venezuela, it is more of a transit station for cocaine headed to Europe. Indeed, Trump pardoned a convicted drug king pin, the former president of Honduras Juan Fernando Hernandez, who was sentenced to forty-five years in prison. It was never about drugs.

Then there were rumblings about “regime change.” From a military perspective, what does that mean? It is way too vague of a concept to build a strategy to accomplish it. Regime change is more than just removing the head of government. The regime consists of countless government officials, military officers and units, police, intelligence services, bank officials and on and on. To carry out regime change means a whole of government response. It includes political and economic forces and officials, not just the military. Today Trump administration officials tried to put the arrest of Maduro in the compartment labeled “narco-terrorism.” It is not about that. (Please do not misunderstand me. Maduro is a bad guy. I have no sympathy for him at all. But there are lots of bad guys around the world. Why this one? Let’s look at the larger implications.)

It is about oil and Trump setting himself up as the king of the Western Hemisphere. That was clear from his “speech” and answers to questions at Mar-A-Lago today. It is about power and riches and our profound “right” to both, even at the expense of the sovereignty of other nations. As he explained today, “All the way back, it dated to the Monroe Doctrines and the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal. But we’ve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Monroe Doctrine. I don’t know, it’s Don-roe Doctrine. We sort of forgot about it. It was very important, but we forgot about it. We don’t forget about it anymore.”

The first rule of strategic planning is defining the end state. Trump set out vague guidelines today that to put into coherent terms means the U.S. will take Venezuelan oil. That is his desired end state. But as anyone that has planned anything knows, one also needs to think through the steps to get there and do the cost benefit analysis as to whether it is worth it. None of that appears to have been done in this case.

Oh. Oh.

The flawless military plan was fantastic. Now what? What we got today was a vague assurance that “we” — the United States — would “run” Venezuela until we transition to a new government that can take over. That could be a year or more, according to Trump. Meanwhile, when asked specifically who the “we” are and did that mean U.S. military forces would occupy the country, all I could figure out that he said was “maybe.” Clearly, no one — at least no one at the top — has thought much about what comes next. That is dangerous.

Maduro may be gone but his regime remains intact. The paramilitary enforcers remain intact. The drug lords remain intact. The corrupt officials that bankrupted the country remain intact. And so on. The country is 353,841 square miles in size (roughly twice the size of California) with a population of about 30 million people. Most of the population lives north of the Orinoco River and 88 percent live in urban areas. How is the U.S. going to run that with bureaucrats sitting in Washington D.C.? Trump promises the Venezuelans a wonderful new life of prosperity using oil money. How does that work on a day to day basis? Especially since he also said that the oil money would go to the companies that had their oil and land “stolen” in the 1970s. (They did not have it stolen. They never owned it.) Who supplies medical treatment, groceries, sanitation and all the other things we now take for granted in modern cities? There are significant humanitarian needs that must be met when running another country.

From the way Trump talked today, he was only interested in the oil. Perhaps they will put troops into the oil region to guard the workers employed by the American oil companies that he promises will have everything up and running in no time. What about the rest of the country? Even if he is only interested in the oil areas, massive amounts of troops, far more than are in the Caribbean right now, will be needed to provide security. Those troops will need logistical support. That means getting ports and airfields working and moving supplies efficiently which means even more troops.

We learned some hard lessons in the early part of this century in Iraq. We learned some in Afghanistan as well. It is hard to convert a foreign country into a working democracy. We gave up in both Iraq and Afghanistan because it was too hard, but only after we had lost a lot of lives and treasure. Here is another secret from those experiences — civilian planners thought the U.S. military would be welcomed as heroes because they got rid of the dictators. While they were glad that they were gone, they did not want foreigners in their country. Who pays the police and Venezuelan military when things start to fall apart? Will we disarm them? What if they do not want to be disarmed? In Iraq the police and military units were suddenly without any income, but they still had weapons and were mad as hell. That is not a good combination.

Not once today did Trump, or Rubio or Hegseth mention anything about elections and the transition of power except in passing in response to a question. The Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado was not consulted or informed of the pending arrest of Maduro. She would be the logical choice for a new government to coalesce around but today Trump said about her, “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. A very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.” Maybe he is just jealous that she won the prize and he did not.

It is also necessary to point out that no one in the House or Senate was notified of the impending raid. They were only told about it afterwards. Once more, the branch of the government responsible for declaring war was left out in the cold.

Equally troubling is the impact that this action had on our friends, allies and adversaries around the world. From many of their viewpoints, the U.S. declared open season to hunt down anyone in any country if they are deemed a criminal. Sovereignty went out the window as the U.S. demonstrated that anything goes. Further, in his remarks, Trump vaguely threatened the presidents of Colombia and Mexico. Apparently, if Trump wants it he will take it. So much for the rule of law.

We now own Venezuela. I have no idea how that will play out. It could be all talk and no action after nabbing Maduro Trump may forget all about taking over and running Venezuela. He does have an extremely short attention span. We will see.

Happy New Year.

That Was The Year That Was

Posted: December 30, 2025 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Authoritarianism, DOJ, Donald Trump, FBI, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), NATO, Russia, Signalgate, Tariffs, Ukraine, United States Constitution, US AID | Leave a comment

The plaque below an image of an autopen signing former President Joe Biden’s signature, displayed in place of a portrait on Trump’s “Walk of Fame” at the White House. Apparently, he has nothing better to do than to mock his predecessors and to put his social media screeds in bronze. (picture by Jessica Koscielniak of Reuters)

“The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.”

J.D. Vance on 21 December 2025 at the “Turning Point USA” national rally. As usual, a member of the Trump regime ignores the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment. The founding fathers clearly spelled out that there was no religious foundation to the Constitution.

Many of us prefer to look forward at the end of a year hoping that the new year will be better — regardless of whether the last year was personally good or bad. It is also a tradition to gather lists of key events, books, movies, songs and other notable achievements from the past year. I could not resist the temptation to do the same for the Trump regime and gather the ten worst things that they have done to our country. It was hard. Not because of a lack of anything to say. Rather, because there was so much to choose from. For example, Ron Filipkowski of Meidas+ posted the top 500 worst things that Trump did since taking office. There is a lot to choose from scanning the spectrum from trying to overturn the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship via an Executive Order (now before the Supreme Court) to turning the White House, the People’s House, into his own personal vision of Mar-A-Lago meets Versailles. In looking back, it is astounding how much our government has been corrupted in eleven months. I had forgotten some of his worst efforts because everyday we get more and more incredibly poor actions, decisions, and self-enriching “deals.” It is hard to keep track.

I am still at a loss as to how he got re-elected. The best analogy I have heard is to compare it to hurricane warnings and how people react. His first term was predicted to be a Category Five storm of destruction. For most people, it was only a Category Two. As they often due in the south, people evacuated for a “five” but would have ridden out a “two.” Predictions of a second Category Five storm are received skeptically since they survived and the predictions were wrong about the first one. No one believes the predictions. “It can’t be all that bad. We rode it out before.” And here we are.

Many of you may disagree with my list or the order of the rankings. Feel free to let me know where I went wrong. In order from bottom to top — the worst — is my list.

Destroyed Valued Institutions. The Trump administration is systematically destroying or changing our military, cultural, educational, and other institutions. For example, the Smithsonian Institution has been directed to remove from The African American History Museum, The Women’s History Museum and the American Art Museum any exhibits that promote “divisive narratives” (discrimination and slavery) or that promote “improper ideology” (does not conform to Project 2025). It also means firing senior military officers and other officials that are women or minorities. By the administration’s definition, they only got to where they were because they are “DEI hires.” A potent indicator of the racist and misogynistic tendencies of this administration.
Undermined the Rule of Law. Trump uses the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), two institutions that were the gold standard for justice and law and order throughout the world, as his personal tools of retribution. He has directed the prosecution of his perceived enemies from the former FBI Director Jim Comey to former President Barack Obama (yes, in order to prove the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” is really an ongoing conspiracy to rig elections.) On his first day in office he pardoned or commuted sentences for all of those involved in the January 6 attempted coup. Most of those pardoned had either pleaded guilty or were found guilty at trial for breaking the law and attempting to overthrow the government. They also injured 174 law enforcement officers, four of whom later died. Every FBI agent and federal prosecutor that had anything to do with investigating and prosecuting J-6 was fired.
Used Grift and Graft to Enrich Himself. If you are a “crypto bro” or a billionaire, or a staunch defender of Trump and you broke the law, you have nothing to worry about. A “contribution” of a few million dollars and you can walk free. Pardoned of all crimes. Which also means you do not have to pay your victims the millions of dollars that you took from them in your schemes. They were all suckers anyway. Need approval from the government for a corporate merger? No problem. Just make a “contribution” to Trump’s PAC or ballroom or buy a few million of his meme coins. If you have a spare five million dollars you can get a Trump Gold Card and become a citizen.
Destroyed Our Health and the Environment. The two are interlinked. First, get rid of the scientists. Whether it be health care or climate change, like everything else (these folks have a limited vocabulary) it is a hoax. No need to spend money on research to keep people healthy. It is all waste, fraud and abuse. Fire most of the experts at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) and replace them with non-doctors and influencers. Vaccines? No need to worry about that even though diseases we thought we eradicated are making a come back. Polio anyone? It is just natural selection. Hey! Look at all that land in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge (AWR) in Alaska. Perfect for drilling for oil and gas. Clean coal rules! Renewable energy is a hoax (again). Besides, wind turbines spoil the view. Deregulation is the way to go. Make toxic emissions great again!
Demonstrated Incompetence with Signalgate. Is there is any better symbol of the incompetence, abrasiveness and contemptuousness of the Secretary of Defense than putting out tactical attack information over an unclassified network hours before pilots and others were going in harms way to attack the Houthis in Yemen than the scandal surrounding Signalgate? Hegseth checks all the boxes for what is wrong with this administration. And no accountability.
Destroyed the Economy with Arbitrary Tariffs. The ups and downs and pure arbitrariness of this administration is fully on display with their policies around tariffs. Besides outright lies that the country of manufacture pays the extra money — they don’t, American companies and consumers pay the tax — it is the sheer lack of understanding or consistency that makes it worse. Trump seems to think that tariffs are some magic panacea to solve all of our problems. Recall that he earned his nickname of TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) because one phone call — good or bad — changed what a country or industry would be charged that day. Tomorrow it could be different. Good bye strategic planning and hello chaos.
Conducted Illegal Murders in the Caribbean Sea and East Pacific. Trump continues to murder people on boats at sea in international waters. Drug dealers or not, there are legal processes to deal with criminals. Extrajudicial executions where Trump is judge, jury and executioner is not how we, as Americans, roll. This is not about stopping drugs. As I have written before, this is not how the flow of drugs into the U.S. will stop. This is pure and simple a case of Trump throwing around his weight because he can and he wants to rule the Western Hemisphere. More money into his pockets and his buddies pockets from larger access to oil is a benefit. So far, the administration has provided no proof of anything that they are claiming is a justification. Indeed, the evidence points in other directions, especially when Trump pardons a convicted drug kingpin who is quoted as saying that he will “stuff the cocaine right up the noses of the gringos.”
Expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Raids. Trump and his minions continue to insist that they are only arresting and deporting the “worst of the worst” criminals who are not in the country legally. Somehow, as the publication ProPublica has been able to document, there are at least 170 U.S. citizens arrested in 2025 by ICE and the Border Patrol that we know about. Not arrested for interfering with legal arrests but swept up in raids because of the language they spoke or the way they looked. A year ago who among us would have thought we would have a paramilitary force on our streets, out of uniform with no identifying markings, driving unmarked cars, wearing masks, and that they would snatch people off the street without a warrant and spirit them away to a detention center in another state without legal representation? It seems to me that rhymes a lot with a form of national government that starts with an “f”.
Undermined Allies and Hindered Ukraine. It is astounding to witness the degree that Trump will go to assuage Putin’s every whim. Putin is determined to restore the Russian/Soviet Empire. Trump, apparently, wants to help him or at least stand by with admiration at how powerful he is. He continues to denigrate NATO and our other allies and takes Putin’s side in every way. We can speculate as to why, but Trump, and now his administration, stand by a dictator that invaded a democracy rather than supporting that democracy. He continually pushes Ukraine to end the war by giving in to Russian demands and expects Russia to do nothing. Threatening Denmark over Greenland does nothing to dissuade our allies from their increasing realization that the U.S. has the worst possible motives. It fits Trump’s world view that only three leaders matter in the world today, Trump, Putin and Xi. They are powerful and everyone else is weak and therefore unimportant. Eighty years of a generally stable world order is fading away. We may never get it back. Even if a new administration tries to renew and strengthen our ties to Europe, Canada and elsewhere, the damage is done. Two Trump terms taught the world not to trust us. We are no longer a reliable partner and therefore they are going to look elsewhere to strengthen their security and economies. We will become ever more isolated.
Shutdown US AID. In my view the shuttering of nearly every U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) program is the worst thing this administration has done on many different levels. It is amoral, it is un-American and it is short sighted. In practical terms thousands of people around the world have already died who could have been saved. Over the next few years hundreds of thousands will needlessly die from diseases and malnutrition that could have been prevented. Despicable. The U.S. has always been a force for good in the world. Now we are despised. It was also a symbol of soft power — giving people insight into America and its people and that we are basically kind. That can pay dividends in the geo-political world, the intelligence world and the peace keeping world. In a practical selfish sense, those programs also gave us access to and “eyes on” governments, movements and potential threats — natural, military or terrorist — around the world. That is lost. At home, thousands of people’s jobs depended on that aid as well. Farmers, truck drivers, shippers, dockworkers and others that depended on supplying those programs for their livelihoods. We should be ashamed.

If J.D. Vance thinks we are a “Christian nation” then he must be talking about a different Christianity than the one I know. This administration is perhaps the most un-Christian like in its policies concerning dealing with real human beings that I know about. What he really means are the principles outlined in their operating manual Project 2025. A white Christian nationalist nation ruled by powerful white men.

If asked on a scale of one to ten, with ten as doing great, how bad the administration has been to date, I would give it a three. It has been worse than I expected — not in what they have tried to do because they told us exactly what was coming — but because I did not think that they would be able to pull it off. I especially did not think that they would be able to do it as fast as they have. So, I give it a three because they are capable of doing even worse, more damaging things and I have to leave room to rank it. Call it the Trump Scale.

And yet. I believe in the United States of America. I believe that the majority of us see exactly what is going on, where we are headed and how bad it could be unless we raise our voices and register our dissatisfaction. I believe that Trump has built a house of fake gold gilded cards and that soon, it will come crashing down. How bad that crash will be is anyone’s guess, but from it we will restore our foundational values, put morality back in our policies and move forward as a renewed democratic republic.

Best wishes to all for a great 2026. As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would say at the end of roll call on the television police drama Hill Street Blues, “Hey! Be careful out there!”

Party Like It Is 1880!

Posted: December 23, 2025 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, Gunboat Diplomacy, Kleptocracy, MAGA, Monroe Doctrine, NATO, Russia, The Epstein Files, Venezuela, Western Hemisphere | Leave a comment

The new sign defacing the memorial to President John F. Kennedy on December 19, 2025. (Getty Images)

After eleven months of the Trump administration, I am exhausted by the antics, crass behavior, crude language and the methodical destruction of our democracy and cultural foundations. Perhaps you are equally exhausted. However, after a breather to enjoy the holidays and the company of friends and family, we will need to get back to pointing out that nothing this regime does is “normal.” It is not “just politics.” It is a systematic assault on the United States in an attempt to change our fundamental way of life and to establish a kleptocracy that enriches Trump and his buddies and that keeps the rest of us down while they accumulate billions. (Even Doctor Evil from the Austin Powers movies — “one billion dollars” — would be an underachiever and not in their league.) It is said that Trump’s frame of reference is the 80’s. I would suggest that it is the 1880’s. Robber barons? Check. Close down immigration? Check. Discriminate against minorities? Check. Build big, slow outdated battleships? Check. Lesson the power of women in politics, society, and business? Check. Restore gunboat diplomacy? Check. Create banana republics in Latin America? Working on it. Consolidate power in the hands of a few white Christian men? Almost there. Like the old saying goes, history rarely repeats itself but a lot of times it rhymes.

After nearly a year of their relentless pursuit of crazy, I am noticing a pattern. It appears to me that the Project 2025 authors and advocates (Miller, Vought, Vance to name a few) are working to attain their goals while keeping grandpa with the addled brain busy with inane “branding” exercises where Trump runs around doing landscaping and tearing down public buildings and defacing monuments (the newly renamed Trump Institute of Peace is another example). No one is actually governing. While Trump sleeps through Cabinet meetings, they go about developing their individual pet projects and then do them in any manner they see fit. Legality, morality or ethical behavior play no role in the pursuit of their goals. If Trump likes to rename organizations, agencies and monuments then he should rename the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Department of Retribution and Bribe Collecting (DORBC). If you pay, you walk away — no matter the scope of your crimes. If you criticize Trump you may be prosecuted for accidentally checking the wrong box on a form. The Department of Defense (DOD) could be renamed The Department of Toys for the Regime’s Enjoyment (DOTRE). There is no coherent policy coming from Trump as he is focused only on destroying his perceived enemies, adding billions of dollars to his personal accounts and pretending to be powerful. All of his advisors are world class liars. It is no longer about Democrats and Republicans or even MAGA, in my view we should focus only on morality versus immorality. Everything is justified by claiming that it is a national security threat whether it is approved and effective wind farms along the East Coast or tariffs or blowing up small boats in the Caribbean. Everything, legal or not, is justified under the rubric of national security. They clearly believe that there will be no accountability and no one can stop them. They may be incompetent, but they clearly have a plan. Cruelty is the path to achieving their goals. When one steps back and looks at the big picture it is clear that Trump is mostly a figurehead while the boys in the back of the room pursue their agenda. There is a reason as to why they do what they do, no matter how random it may seem in the moment.

Examples abound. The new National Security Strategy is nearly incoherent and undoes eighty years of a working world order. In addition to enumerating why Trump is the best president ever and all the other recent presidencies were horrible, it lays out The Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. In other words, according to Trump, we own the Western Hemisphere. All hail! We will do what we want and destroy anyone or anything that gets in our way. It calls for the redeployment of military assets to the hemisphere and away from other regions. It also essentially claims that natural resources in the region should go to the United States through our American companies in order to strengthen our position in the region. The desire for regime change in Venezuela makes sense in that context. Venezuela has the biggest known oil reserves in the world. Trump wants to make the fossil fuel barons happy so that they will keep giving him millions in “contributions.” He will keep repeating that Venezuela “stole” “our” oil and land (they did not — they nationalized the oil industry in the 1970’s and paid the oil companies nearly a billion dollars a piece in compensation). If we are going to be the hegemonic power in the Western Hemisphere then his noise about Greenland and Canada makes sense. It is our American destiny, not the rantings of a man that is clearly declining in physical and mental health. (Did you see his prime time address to the nation last week? I watched — a waste of 18 minutes I won’t get back as there was no new news there — and was worried for the man. He is not well.) Borders are arbitrary, in their telling of history, therefore they can be redrawn or even ignored. Denmark, NATO and the European Union, not to mention the Greenlanders, are taking his comments seriously. Putin is loving it. Imagine if Trump takes Greenland by force. That is a NATO country attacking another NATO country — not only the end of NATO but a green light to Russia to take what it wants in Europe. (So long Baltic states.)

And then, there are the Epstein files. Exhibit number 27 that the Trump regime easily disregards any law that they do not want to follow. The law required DOJ to turn over all of the files last Friday. It specifies the way it should be done, exactly what needs to be turned over and other specific details. All ignored. The Attorney General of the United States is purposely breaking a law passed by a nearly unanimous vote in Congress (one Representative voted no) and signed into law by the President of the United States. They do not care. It also indicates to me that something really bad must be in there. Way too much effort to obscure, hide and cover-up for there to be nothing in them. Even Trump’s body language whenever he is asked about the situation shows his fear of what may be in the files. (My own theory is that he knew about the sex trafficking even if he did not personally get involved. In my opinion, his real fear is that his and Epstein’s money laundering operation in Florida and elsewhere in the 1990’s and early 2000’s will be exposed. Real estate deals broke up their friendship. The Russian’s know. A lot of it was for their oligarchs.)

The most disgusting part of the entire Epstein situation is that nobody in the administration — not Trump, not the Attorney General, not the Vice President — has expressed any sympathy or explanation or concern about the hundreds, perhaps thousands of survivors, most of whom were young girls when they were trafficked. Not a word. Trump only cares about Trump. I am still surprised that millions of people, some of whom work for him, believe that he cares about them. All loyalty and concern goes only one way.

As a retired naval officer I must make at least a short comment on Trump’s announcement yesterday that he was, personally, because he is an expert on aesthetics, designing and building the Trump class of “battleships.” There is so much wrong about the whole thing that I do not want to waste your time. I see it as another scheme to keep grandpa occupied and to make him feel like the king that he wants to be. It is yet another branding exercise — the one thing that he knows how to do. That particular ship will never be built. I will leave it at that.

Please take a moment to think about the 15,000 Americans in uniform in the Caribbean Sea that are Trump’s pawns as he and Hegseth pretend to act like they know what they are doing. Those folks will be spending the holidays away from their friends and families on an ill-defined mission to achieve unknown objectives.

Take time to enjoy the holidays be it Chanukah, Christmas or in your own spiritual way, Take some time to contemplate and enjoy the wonderful things that still exist in this world. Best wishes to all for a joyful season!

War Crime or Murder?

Posted: December 2, 2025 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Constitution, dod, Donald Trump, franklin-cartoon, jsoc, news, pete-hegseth, Rules of Engagement, Secretary of Defense, UCMJ, Ukraine, United States Constitution, War Crimes, war-on-drugs | Leave a comment

An AI generated cartoon from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that he posted on “X” in response to war crime accusations. Franklin is a character from books and an animated TV series for young children . Apparently, the Secretary has nothing better to do than to “own the libs.”

The United States continues to attack unarmed boats at sea under the guise of stopping alleged narco-terrorists operating in international waters in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. To date they have attacked at least 23 boats and killed over 80 people. The president and his cabinet allege that the boats carry drugs that are killing tens of thousands of Americans. As I have explained in previous posts, such claims are baloney. The administration has yet to present any concrete evidence that the boats are being used in the drug trade or to explain exactly how this is a direct threat to the United States since the boats are too small with too little fuel to directly reach the United States. The president wrongly asserts that he can declare anyone a terrorist and thus they can be legally killed by the U.S. Armed Forces.

In the last few days, the Washington Post published an article asserting that the Secretary of Defense ordered the destruction of the first boat attacked on 2 September this year, with the order to “kill everybody.” There were eleven people onboard, which to those of us that have participated in stopping the drug trade, means it is unlikely that there were significant, if any, drugs on board because the number of people limits the cargo space. There are usually only three people on drug boats like these. After the first weapon hit the boat — the only video released to the public — two people were observed in the water clinging to the wreckage. A second attack followed to kill the unarmed, helpless survivors. This is in direct contrast to everything that the United States holds near and dear and is a crime under U.S. law, international law, and the Department of Defense Law of War Manual which in section 18.3.2.1 describing clearly illegal orders and violations says, “for example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.” It is the same as the German U-boat commanders machine gunning survivors in lifeboats after hitting a ship with torpedoes.

Most legal experts, former military officers and national security officials understand that the entire operation is illegal. It is not a military problem, it is a legal problem. Even if the people in those boats are drug runners, they are criminals, not terrorists and not a direct threat to Americans. If the attacks are illegal, then the United States is murdering people on the high seas. Even if one believes that the entire operation is legal, then a war crime was committed. Trump and his administration claim that this is to stop the illegal drug trade, which would be humorous even if it were true. The people in the boats are not cartel members or anything but mostly poor fishermen that have been coerced into transporting the cargo or paid a few hundred dollars to help feed their family. This is not to say that anyone condones such activity, but no one is going after the real drug lords or manufacturing plants or distribution centers. Instead we have a Secretary of Defense acting like a 12 year old with new toys to play with. After the first video went public, the Secretary was on Fox News bragging about how he ordered the operation and watched the whole thing “live.” Clearly he knew what happened and observing his personality, he probably thought it was really cool to kill people.

There is now a concerted effort to pin the whole thing on the operational commander Admiral Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, USN. At the time he was the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) commander in Fort Bragg North Carolina. Trump and Hegseth are publicly washing their hands of the whole thing by claiming “support” for the Admiral who they say ordered the strikes. In fact, Admiral Bradley should be held accountable. Whether or not Hegseth ordered the second strike, the Admiral should have known it was an illegal order. But clearly, by his own statements, Hegseth was involved as the senior person in the chain of command that conducted the attack. Therefore he is liable for a war crime. Or murder.

I suspect that there has been push-back from the military about the anti-fishing boat operation. As I wrote earlier, Admiral Alvin Holsey, USN is resigning two years early from his post in charge of the military’s U.S. Southern Command responsible for the Caribbean and Latin America. Widespread reporting indicates that he is leaving after arguing with Hegseth over these operations. Additional reporting indicates that military Judge Advocates General (JAG) did not clear these operations. They decided that they were illegal. The final opinion on the matter — claiming that the U.S. was in ” non-international armed conflict” with “designated terrorist organizations” — came from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel. In other words, non-military people that are coopted in Pam Bondi’s DOJ that is running amok.

Remember that one of Hegseths first moves when voted into office (by one vote — the Vice President’s) was to fire scores of JAGs. Additionally, I warned back in September that Hegseth’s speech to all flag and general officers and senior enlisted at Quantico Virginia had some very disturbing words in it. It turns out that he was signaling that war crimes were just fine with him. As a reminder, here is what he said about the Rules of Engagement (ROE) — essentially what is legal or illegal during a particular operation.

“We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.” (emphasis added)

Apparently telling people not to kill unarmed survivors that pose no threat is stupid. What a great patriot!

Only an unserious person would think that all of this is about stopping drugs and killing terrorists. There are several “tells.” First, that they did not want any survivors in the first attack. Second, they actually returned two other surviving “narco-terrorists” from another attack on a “go-fast” boat to their native countries where they were allowed to go home. Why? If these are the worst of the worst why not take them prisoner, bring them to the U.S. and put them on trial? In my opinion they did not do that because they would have had to produce actual evidence of their crimes and the survivors would have a chance to tell the world what they were really doing. It would not hold up to public scrutiny. If you want further evidence that this is not a serious counter-drug operation Trump just pardoned and released the former president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez who had been convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was at the center of an enormous drug ring that brought tons of cocaine into the United States, tortured informants and is believed to be responsible for more than 50 murders. Trump said it was a political “witch hunt” by President Joe Biden and set him free. So much for the war on drugs.

So what is really going on? I do not know but I have an idea.

Besides the cosplay by Hegseth — have you noticed he is not in on any serious national issues such as the war in Ukraine, solving the Middle East crisis, working on China issues, procuring future weapons systems or anything else that a real Secretary of Defense would have in his portfolio? — there is something else going on.

I think that Trump sees the world as dominated by three people — himself, Putin and Xi. Each has, or should have, their own spheres of influence where they can pretty much do as they want. Trump’s domain is the Western Hemisphere. Putting 15,000 uniformed Americans in the Caribbean area of operations is a demonstration to the rest of the hemisphere that he has the power and the will to use it against anyone that gets in his way. Blowing up fishing boats is a manifestation of that power. He is showing that he can do anything that he wants. In Venezuela, it is to get oil for his billionaire oil buddies that are paying him what are, in essence, bribes by buying his crypto, bitcoins and “contributing” to his various vanity projects.

For Putin, Ukraine is his for the taking. Trump probably believes that Putin deserves to control Ukraine because Russia is a power and Ukraine is not. If one looks closely at the 28 point peace plan — experts can tell it was originally written in Russian and then translated into stilted English — it is really a surrender plan. It gives Russia everything they want with no guarantees of Ukrainian sovereignty. Note also that the prime negotiators for the Russians and the U.S. are billionaire businessmen. Included in the negotiations are many U.S.-Russian business deals ranging from oil to precious minerals to development projects. Ukrainian concerns are not Trump’s concerns. He has also offered to broker a “deal” between NATO and Russia. Wait. What? The U.S. is part of NATO, how could he do that? Because he does not believe in NATO and would leave it at the drop of a hat if it meant a deal with Russia where he benefits. (I have no idea, but some people speculate that the Russian intelligence agencies have copies or at least know what is in the Epstein files.)

Xi gets to have the western Pacific. Specifically he can take Taiwan without the U.S. offering any real resistance. China is big and powerful, Taiwan is not. Japan is not. China deserves it.

Note how Trump talks with such admiration about Putin and Xi. He thinks he is in their league and that they adore him as much as he adores them. So, lets divvy up the world and all its riches. Trump will make himself rich (he has already accumulated billions since he came into office) and he will make all of his billionaire buddies even richer. Same with Putin and Xi. Regional alliances and the rule of law are old fashioned. Plutocrats rule! We, the rich and powerful will run everything. If other people were as smart and savvy as we are they wouldn’t be poor and weak.

With that perspective, a lot of what this administration is doing makes sense. What’s a war crime against some peasants in a boat when we own the world?

Six Senators and Representatives with military and national security backgrounds released a video reminding the military that not only does one not have to obey an illegal order, it is the law as established in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that they must not obey an illegal order. The six are 100 percent correct as any individual that has been in the military more than two months knows. Hegseth is clearly threatened as he is making a lot of noise about bringing Captain Mark Kelly, USN (ret) (now a Senator from Arizona) up before a court martial. (Officers serve at the pleasure of the president. Retired officers can be recalled to active duty at any time — even if it is extremely unusual.) The others are being threatened by the FBI. It is ridiculous and without any legal grounding to do so, but the intent is not to actually convict anyone. The intent is in the harassment, expenses and time involved in defending oneself. It is meant to instill fear and to inhibit criticism. The exercise of power against the powerless. The message is that if we can come after these high ranking people we can come for you. He also thinks that the military should be loyal to him, not to the Constitution. They should do whatever he orders them to do and the six are getting in his way. He even threatened to execute them.

Each of those participating in the video ended their explanation the same way that we should all be thinking — from “No Kings” demonstrations to quiet support for those in need. We should all remember their words which are the foundational motto of the United States Navy:

DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!

The Epstein Saga Continues

Posted: November 17, 2025 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Access Hollywood Tape, Club Fed, Congressional Oversight, Discharge Petition, Donald Trump, Ghislaine Maxwell, jeffrey-epstein, Miss Teen USA Pageant, The Epstein Files, USS Ford Carrier Strike Group | Leave a comment

Donald J Trump and his then Slovenian girlfriend Melania Knauss partying at Mar-A-Lago with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell both of whom were later convicted of sex trafficking girls and young women. (Getty Images)

The House of Representatives is back from their nearly eight week paid vacation and were in session last week. Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) was finally sworn in after Speaker “Little Mikey” Johnson declined to do so for more than seven weeks. It is widely discerned that he delayed her ascent to office to prevent her signature on a discharge petition that will bring a bill to the House floor for a vote on releasing the “Epstein Files.” The files in question cover the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker that died in a New York prison deemed a suicide.

In a separate, but related development, the Epstein Estate turned over roughly 20,000 pages of documents and emails to the House Oversight Committee that released them last week. As a result, Trump is freaking out. He is also mentioned more than any other person in those files.

Nothing in the information released so far implicates Trump in doing anything illegal. Despite speculation and some embarrassing emails, no one else has yet to be implicated in any wrong doing or direct involvement in Epstein’s sex ring. Yet. Which is why there is such a clamor for more from the estate, but especially from the Department of Justice (DOJ) which is believed to have incriminating information. But on who? Or for how many rich and powerful individuals? The common perception is that there was long-standing and wide-ranging knowledge of Epstein’s sex ring among the rich and powerful but that they all worked to protect each other. That, it is believed, is why no information is yet forthcoming. In recent polls eighty one percent of Americans want the DOJ files released. Let the chips fall where they may. For his part, Trump calls the entire Epstein case a “Democrat hoax.” That he would say that only further punishes the estimated hundreds of women and girls that were abused for many years. It implies that the survivors are all liars or in cahoots with the Democrats. Trump is totally disrespectful towards them and further abuses them by claiming that it is a hoax. However, why would he tell Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Democrats mentioned in the documents if it is a hoax? Of course, logic is never Trump’s strongest trait.

Trump is freaking out and according to press reports is doing everything in his power to suppress the files and to make the whole thing go away. So far, no luck. Although only four Republicans joined all Democrats that signed the discharge petition, it is expected that as many as one hundred of them will vote in favor of the bill to release the files. The vote will be viewed in simple terms — do Republican Representatives support bringing pedophiles to justice or do they support pedophilia?

Trump finally realized last night that the bill was going to pass. Consequently, he announced on social media that Republicans should vote for the bill. Since many were going to do so anyway, it is a little like a military officer saying “there go my soldiers — I am their leader — therefore I must follow them.” No one has any misconceptions that Trump really wants the files released. We can openly speculate as to how they will continue to be suppressed even if the bill passes both the House and the Senate. Trump could veto it. DOJ could claim that since there is an ongoing investigation (see above) no information can be released. They could release only select portions that are favorable to Trump or damning to people he dislikes. The possibilities are endless. Passing the bill in the House of Representatives is an important first step. But only a first step.

What about Maxwell? She was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Trump’s personal attorney, now the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche visited her to ask questions about Trump’s involvement with Epstein. A known liar (she was charged with perjury) who desperately wants to get a pardon or commutation to get out of prison, she was, after Blanche’s visit, transferred to a minimum security prison in Texas (commonly referred to as Club Fed — a play on the resort chain Club Med). Such a transfer is totally unheard of for a sexual predator. It is now reported that she gets custom meals delivered to her prison cell, a puppy, late-night private workouts, special accommodations to meet privately with friends and family and other perks not available to the other inmates. Reportedly, inmates or staff that complain about the situation are transferred or fired. It sure seems that somebody (could that be someone in the White House?) sure does not want Maxwell to get mad and tell the truth. When asked numerous times if he would pardon or commute Maxwell’s sentence, Trump dissembles and tries to change the subject. He never says that he will not pardon a convicted pedophile. Of course, he has pardoned a rogues gallery of hardened criminals already, so what’s one more pedophile if it keeps her quiet?

Trump denies, denies, denies. And, again, to date there is nothing that ties him to any illegal acts. However, whatever is in the files must really be bad given the full court press he is instrumenting to keep them secret. The available information to date suggests that he at least knew what was going on with Epstein, Maxwell and the underage girls.

“I’ve known Jeff [Epstein] for 15 years. Terrific guy, He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Donald J Trump in 2002

So let’s take a look at what we do know.

The Access Hollywood tapes. In 2016 a video tape of Trump bragging about his approach to women included a description of his attempt to seduce a married woman. He then bragged that he might start kissing a woman that he and his interviewer were about to meet saying, “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the p***y. You can do anything.”
In 2018 a story broke about Trump’s alleged one night stand with an adult film star named Stormy Daniels in 2006 while his wife was recovering from the birth of their son. It included a 2016 conspiracy to cover up the incident to protect his presidential campaign and resulted in a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels. Trump was indicted and later convicted of 34 felony counts related to the conspiracy and his illegal business activities.
In 2023 Trump was found guilty at trial of sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll, a journalist and author and was ordered to pay her five million dollars. In a separate case in 2024 Trump was ordered to pay Ms. Carroll 88.3 million dollars in a defamation law suit.
While still married to his first wife Ivana, he took his wife on a ski trip and had his then girlfriend Marla Maples stay in the same hotel at the same time. Ivana and Trump later divorced. Trump married Ms. Maples and soon divorced. He is now on his third wife.
Trump owned the Miss Universe Pageant organization for nearly two decades until he sold it in 2015. The franchise included the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants. Multiple contestants related how he would enter the dressing areas where the girls and young women were in various stages of being undressed. But don’t take their word for it, here is Trump explaining his activities in his own words on the Howard Stern Show, “Well, I’ll tell you that the funniest is that before a show, I’ll go backstage and everyone’s getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere and I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it. You know, I’m inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good. You know. The dresses. ‘Is everyone okay?’ You know they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody okay?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so, I sort of get away with things like that.”

The Guardian has documented nineteen credible accusations in addition to those above, that Trump forced himself on young women in various locations from the 1980s to 2013.

Need I go on? Whether he joined or not, with such a track record is it totally inconceivable that Trump knew nothing about anything having to do with Epstein’s pedophile ring?

It is going to get worse for him and for us before it gets better. He will try every gambit that he can to change the subject or to obscure his involvement by creating a barrage of other major news developments. To me, the most likely will be military activity in South America, primarily against Venezuela.

Think about that. It is straight from the Autocrat’s Playbook. If you find yourself in trouble domestically, create a military distraction to try and rally the public and to give the autocrat “emergency” powers to suppress press reports and to use extraordinary powers to prosecute the war. Meanwhile, our Sailors, Marines and Airmen are being put in harm’s way for a manufactured crisis involving fantasy narco-terrorists “attacking” the U.S. Nonsense. But dangerous nonsense. Just the word “narco-terrorists” is made up to suit some public relations effort to justify the ongoing extra-judicial killing of people in boats in international waters. As I have previously explained, it is a totally illegal operation. In fact, press reports indicate that at least the U.K. and the Netherlands, who both have interests in the area, have stopped sharing intelligence with the U.S. because they do not want to be a party to murder. Presently, an aircraft carrier strike group is in the Caribbean Sea. The carrier and escorts are strategic assets. Having them there weakens our abilities in other places around the world where there are, you know, real crises such as the Middle East or western Pacific. From my experience, there is also a tendency among civilian leaders in government that in such a situation they think “use it or lose it.” In other words, they cannot keep the strike group there indefinitely so it is time to attack. So much for Trump’s peace agenda.

I am still waiting for Congress to re-assert their power. Until they do, as Bette Davis said in the 1950 movie All About Eve, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Let Them Eat Cake

Posted: November 2, 2025 | Author: Tom | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, Food Bank, Government Shutdown, Great Gatsby, Halloween, Mar-a-Lag0, SNAP | Leave a comment

A young woman in a martini glass — A “decoration” at Mar-a-Lago for Trump’s Halloween Party. Picture unattributed from The Daily Beast

On Friday night, Donald J. Trump hosted a lavish Halloween Party at Mar-a-Lago and named the Great Gatsby themed party “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” This, while the government is shutdown — for 31 days at the time of the party — the House of Representatives has not met since mid-September, and 42 million Americans are going without their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds. The Trump regime at work.

Donald J. Trump, Marco Rubio, Jeanine Pirro and other partygoers at Mar-a-Lago. Picture from the Instagram account of Jeanine Pirro.

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess….” From the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The line to get to a food bank in Florida on 31 October 2025. Getty Images.

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Into The Fray

A Look At Life From Many Angles

Trump’s Lawless Administration

An Insecure or the Most Insecure President?

Show Me Your Papers!

Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes

The Pottery Barn Rule

That Was The Year That Was

Party Like It Is 1880!

War Crime or Murder?

The Epstein Saga Continues

Let Them Eat Cake

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