Brilliant analysis connecting the Corleone family's cold pragmatism to current geopolitics. That specific Godfather scene you mentioned has always been a masterclass in how power operates without pretense, when Michael just drops "just my enemies" it's the kind of moral clarity dictators love to invoke. I find myself thinking about how differently audiences received that line in the 70s vs now, given how normalized this kind of naked resource grab has become.
The other brilliant line in Godfather II was when Michael told Senator Geary, "we're both part of the same hypocrisy."
That was the same year Nixon had to resign. After Vietnam and that, we should have had enough evidence to understand how true that statement was. But disco emerged and people went dancing on Saturday night.
Yes, and Senator Geary was brought to heel by an Epstein-like scandal orchestrated by the Corleone family. It's highly amusing how he sings the praises of Italian-Americans in the Senate after the scandal. :-)
Also in "Godfather II," it's observed that those crazy rebels (Fidel's forces) just might win. And they did, and La Cosa Nostra has never gotten over that. And now the threat of a full scale US attack on Cuba cannot be ruled out for a second. This would make the "Bay of Pigs" attempted invasion look like a modest picnic by comparison of military force to be unleashed.
Hey wait a minute those Mafia types are really great Family Men loyal, nepotism, spoiling/ giving jobs to family members-- throwing lavish Weddings for their Mafia Princesses c'mon now...! Welcome to the "Family"Don't make me go to the mattresses on ya!! :/ :o) "You're getting a helluva reputation Sonny. Just help me win Tom. Geez Pop had "Genco" a real Sicilian Wartime Consigliere' look what I got!! Sonny was a bad Don, rest in peace."
"Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' TO ME?!? You must be talkin' to me, I'm the only one here!" Oops, wrong movie!! But a telling one about American society. :-(
For all the talk in the MSM boasting about the efficiency of the US Act of WAR in Venezuela, no one mentions the main reason the Venezuelan and Iranian Economies are performing so badly is mostly due to the US Economic Wars against those regimes.
Ordinary Americans and Canadians know how hard it is when you don't have enough money to survive in a money driven World.
A spot-on observation. And of course the US has done its damnedest for decades now to cripple Cuba's economy. And now a full naval blockade, a la Cuban Missile Crisis? If only Mr. Putin could do something to help Latin America. :-(
After the failed 1961 CIA Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and after the US deployed missiles in Turkey aimed at Soviet Russia, those US actions pushed Russia and Cuba closer together. Cuba was exercising it's Sovereign Rights to have Russia deploy missiles in Cuba as a DETERRENT against another US invasion?
The US saw that as such an existential threat, it responded with the only Act of WAR during the whole crisis with the illegal Military Blockade of Cuba without a UN Security Council Resolution.
The US is not only that exceptional but hypocritical. Russia feels the same way about the US/NATO wanting Ukraine in NATO so US boots and missiles would be right on Russia's Border.
The fact the US/NATO can't see that, is the Danger this World faces. The last NATO Summit and the upcoming Summit in France, makes it clear NATO, including Canada, is on a Path leading this World to WWIII.
Otherwise, what is the logic when the People at the lower levels of the Power-Economic Pyramid systems are increasing experiencing WANT when more limited funds are being spent on stuff that could kill us all with thousands of NUKES at the ready.
I understand Mr. Zelensky is griping now that the US hasn't moved with real force on its behalf. Well shoot, Mr. Z, that WOULD bring WW III upon us all. Not real strong in the reasoning department, is he? Started out as an alleged "stand-up comedian"!
So this means anyone who has something the US wants is now subject to invasion, "regime change", or whatever. If I read this correctly, if someone has something we want, it was ours to begin with, and they just need to pony up ... or else.
Maduro reportedly had been sending a message to Washington that he was open to "reforms." Now we see how he was thanked for this softening. Reminds me very much of Iraq. Just as Scott Ritter and other UN inspectors were reporting that "Gee, we just can't find any WMD and Saddam is acting cooperatively" the hammer was dropped on that country. But Venezuela's crude oil reserves reportedly dwarf those of Iraq. What a "blessing," this particular resource! Why does Trump wreck any project trying to wean us off fossil fuels? The answer is more clear than ever. Doubtless the Trump family will have its filthy mitts all over any new exploitation and profits generated.
In TrumpWorld "logic," stealing natural resources at gunpoint = the possessor of those resources is "giving" them to you. Not quite the same as a legal sales contract. :-(
Just reading Smedley Butler's little book, you realize that the US has been acting like an organized crime ring since at least the 1890s. We have done the same thing we just did to Venezuela many times, often with tens of thousands of people killed. For more in-depth information, check out Lindsey O'Rourke's book "Covert Regime Change" which documents all the secret takeovers that the US has either attempted or accomplished. As much as many people would like to think that Trump is doing something far worse, he is actually just doing it overtly and without shame, rather than covertly. Smedley Butler made the point repeatedly that the government was using him as the "muscle" for big corporations and their owners.... "all wars are banker's wars", as he put it.
Gen. Butler admitted, after his awakening, that while in uniform he never thought independently or questioned his orders. I have previously predicted there will be almost no dissent within current US military ranks against Trump's policies. And that is a tragedy. The rare resignation by a commissioned officer in protest certainly cannot turn the tide. "The Rule of Law" lies dead and buried, without a decent funeral service.
Maybe that's why it was the last straw for the Jewish Religious Establishment, when Jesus overturned the tables of the bankers & merchants working the shopping mall on Temple property.
Consequences...with actions like this, Trump and Co, are ensuring what the CIA called "blowback", even though the abduction was out in the open, unlike most of the secret CIA actions. Excellent post again!
And the beat goes on: Not a day passes that this POTUS fails to commit multiple impeachable offenses. But those Members of Congress who still have something like a conscience--that they haven't yet sold to Big Business--and a modicum of respect for that vaunted RULE OF LAW the US likes to boast of, are TOTALLY POWERLESS to stop this madness. As are we, the ordinary citizens. Thus, "THE SYSTEM" HAS UTTERLY COLLAPSED.
I fear there is no stopping Trump - and more specifically the sneering psychopathic Rubio - as they move on from this 'success' to the next one (be it Cuba, Iran, or Panama). I am filled with revulsion as it may only stop when body bags start returning in large numbers to Dover AFB. And with the coverup to be provided by the MSM - maybe not even then.
Thank You for another eye-opener and thought-provoker, Bill.
But again, yet, and still, the Questions remain: So What and Now What?
Specifically: What can be done to Change America’s system of Government and Governance so that Presidents can’t bomb, invade, and overthrow other Nation’s Governments at will?
And just a quick note: What is at work here is not “Gangster CAPITALISM,” but “Gangster CORPORATISM.”
“Corporatism” ~ the term Mussolini created as an friendlier-sounding term for “Fascism” ~ is the marriage at the hip of Governments [particularly at the National, Federal level] with Corporations and other privately-owned economic enterprises.
It is a system whereby cultural, social, civil, and, particularly in this case, economic Vested Special Interests [VSIs] can gain ready and easy, but expensive access to the legal power, the administrative authority, and, above all, the spending capacity and capability of that Government as governed by its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees. And use that access to advance the agendas, profits, and returns-on-investments of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs.
That is NOT “Capitalism” by any stretch of any definition. Capitalism is the COMPLETE Separation of The Economy and State; just like there is supposed to be a COMPLETE Separation of Church and State. [EMPHASES added.]
America is not now, nor has it ever been a “Capitalist” Nation.
What needs to be changed in America is that those Corporatist VSIs can and do have access to that Government’s power, authority, and ability to print, control, and distribute money. And until that Is changed, NOTHING is going to change. Except to get worse.
And this is nothing new.
There were all sorts of Vested Special Interests very much at work crafting what became America’s system of Governance as established by the Constitution in 1788. And successive generations of VSIs ~ thru their owned, operated, commanded, and controlled politicians, bureaucrats, and judges ~ have manipulated and modified that Constitution and its system of Governance so that that power and authority of ~ and, particularly, that control and distribution of wealth by ~ the Government, has grown and grown to what it is today.
Again: The REAL PROBLEM is the fact that that Government has all that legal power and administrative authority, and, above all, that ability to create and spend or give away money.
That is what really needs to be changed. And again: Unless and until it is changed, things are only going to get much worse than they are becoming now.
Well, now we know exactly what the 2026 Congressional Elections will be all about...
The Question is: Will there even BE Congressional Elections on November 3? And if there are, will the results be accepted by the Losers?
TRUMP TO HOUSE REPUBLICANS: IF WE DON'T WIN MIDTERMS, I'LL GET IMPEACHED
by Trevor Hunnicutt / Reuters 06Jan26
WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Republicans must win the 2026 congressional midterm elections - or else he will get impeached by Democrats.
"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," Trump told Republican lawmakers at a retreat in Washington. "I'll get impeached."
Ahead of the November elections, which could stall his agenda and expose him to congressional investigations, Trump teased and prodded allies who narrowly control the U.S. House of Representatives. He told them to put aside their differences and sell his policies on gender, healthcare and election integrity to an American electorate angry about the cost of living.
"They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterm," Trump said. "I wish you could explain to me what the hell's going on with the mind of the public."
Now its onto Goose Bay Canada and lets see Thule Greenland, and Victory!! None bigger & betterer than say WW ll ("A Girl behind every Tree")- only thing no trees- frozen Tundra, NATO won't be happy nor the Kingdom of Denmark!! But what can they do?? Nothing right.! Maybe my old Sky-Cop brothers & sisters tho. will be happier they'll have a little more company @ these "Remote" Airbases. King Trumpland...:/ :o)
Scott Ritter’s THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK nails it even better than Dennis Kucinich did yesterday...:
The future of the United States is being fought in a courtroom in New York City, where America itself is on trial.
If the courts do anything other than dismiss the manufactured charges against the kidnapped President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, then the last bastion of Constitutional legitimacy will have fallen in the face of the dictatorship that has become the Presidency of Donald Trump.
While the world struggles to come to grips with the brazen abduction of the sitting head of a sovereign nation by the armed forces of the United States, operating with zero legitimacy either in terms of international law or domestic legal authority, the American people struggle with their own shortcomings as citizens and—frankly speaking—members of the human race, cheering on this wonton act of aggression as if it defines who and what we are as a collective, not comprehending that our cheers are really the screams of a dying dream of a Constitutional Republic once known as the United States of America.
Today the dream has become a nightmare, and the vestiges of democratic freedoms we once ostensibly held near and dear to our hearts have been replaced by an orgy of narcissistic excess as Donald Trump, a modern-day Caligula transformed into a walking, talking cult of personality, has turned the American democratic experiment, founded as it was in the notion of the rule of law, into an open air coliseum where might makes right, where strength supersedes reason, and where the ideal of the citizen has been replaced by the gladiator, whose only purpose is to go forth and kill for the pleasure of his demented rulers.
LET ME BE AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE—IF YOU CHEER ANY ASPECT OF WHAT DONALD TRUMP (I DEIGN TO CALL HIM PRESIDENT, AS THAT ATTACHES THE NOTION OF DEMOCRATIC NORMS AND VALUES, AND CONSTITUTIONAL CHECKS AND BALANCES, WHICH NO LONGER EXIST IN AMERICA TODAY) HAS DONE IN VENEZUELA, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM, AND NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION.
THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT WHAT THE UNITED STATES HAS DONE, IS DOING, AND PLANS TO DO REGARDING VENEZUELA THAT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS LEGITIMATE. [EMPHASES added.]
This Administration, elected with a promise to end forever wars, has since taken America to war against Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Nigeria, while funding genocide against Gazans.
It has invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its President, Nicholas Moduro, and his wife; pledged to “run” the county, and to appropriate (steal) Venezuela’s extensive oil reserves. Venezuela spent approximately $ ZERO for its defense in 2024.
This is not Pax Americana. It is Pox Americana from War-a-Iago.
As a Member of House of Representatives, I challenged in court and in Congress President Clinton over Serbia, President Bush over Iraq and President Obama over Libya, each time working with members of both political parties to take action to insist on Congress’ co-equality, and its constitutional responsibility to decide when America should offer the treasure of our youth and our precious financial resources to be taken from peace to war.
EVEN A REMOTE POSSIBILITY OF U.S. GROUND TROOPS BEING SENT TO INVADE AND OCCUPY VENEZUELA OUGHT TO SHOCK AMERICA’S MORIBUND PEACE MOVEMENT INTO ACTION. [EMPHASIS added.]
The long-term consequences of U.S. actions in Venezuela demolish laws which hold together the United States, and the International legal order.
This is not academic. The U.S. Constitution and the UN Charter must not become confetti showering an authoritarian fantasy victory parade.
What the Administration has done in smashing the US Constitution and international law is to unravel generations of painstaking work to try to limit war. Instead, it has set the stage for a war of all against all.
Our vainglorious leaders’ unseemly bravado about the precision operation for Venezuelan regime change, bespeaks a pathological consequence-free mindset: Aggression in its effrontery inviting every manner of retribution upon Americans everywhere.
A government that abandons its ideals, its Constitution, its laws, its freedoms, its commitments, its promises in search of global empire and booty will bring our nation to ruin, leaving America in debt, depression and danger.
We had a glimmer of what we may further expect domestically, notwithstanding court disapproval, with the President’s digression from his celebration of the takeover of Venezuela to extolling the glories of federal troops’ enforcement of law in American cities, in clear violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, a nineteenth century law which limits the use of federal troops for domestic purposes.
Our Constitution holds America together with principles of cohesion, coherence, common sense and liberty. It is not to be nullified by self-aggrandizing social media posts.
The Administration, dispensing with all pretense, now exercises a “War Department,” with a TRILLION-DOLLAR war budget, while trillions of military spending dollars remain unaccounted, and America’s leaders afflicted with a crass messianism informed not by 19th century imperialism, but 11th century crusading of like against unlike.
This is not the Will of a Heavenly God being fulfilled but a venal desire for more earthly power.
Furthermore, knocking over the government of Venezuela which, to reitterate, spent approximately ZERO for its defense in 2024 and then declaring the gambit to be one of the greatest military operations since WWII, is a violation of the English language which imposes limits on hyperbole -- or should.
Here are the US laws that this Administration violated in its January 3, 2026 attack:
The U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 8 grants Congress the sole power to declare war. The attack on Venezuela was an carefully contrived Act of War. Period. The invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of President Maduro was in planning stages for several months, according to General Caine who was tasked with overseeing the attack. Congress was deliberately circumvented.
The War Powers Resolution: Requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and sets time limits for withdrawal, unless an AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force) or Declaration of War is passed. The President has noted that ”boots were on the ground” for the attack on Venezuela and has left open the possibility of US troops being sent for the second stage of the invasion.
The Neutrality Act: Prohibits the US government from engaging in or supporting unauthorized military actions against countries not at war with the U.S. Venezuela was not at war with the US.
The Foreign Assistance Act: Forbids U.S. assistance to governments or groups involved in coups or military overthrows.
The Arms Export Control Act: Forbids U.S. weapons being used in unauthorized acts of aggression.
Inside the Chamber of the House of Representatives, the most famous law givers in history, in bas relief, frame the rectangular chamber as sentinels, evoking the primacy of law in our national experience. Today, U.S. law is reduced yet again to whim, capris and corrupt motives.
America is in a Constitutional crisis.
Congress has a responsibility to our Constitution, to its constituents and to the world, to call out this Administration for its calculated, gross violations of the Constitution and U.S. law, and for making Americans less secure financially and at risk physically due to its wanton, illegal practice of war.
Congress must insist on enforcement of the War Powers Act and also ensure that the Administration acts within the bounds of international law.
If I were in Congress, I would put forth legislation to cut off funds for any military action not expressly approved by Congress and then go to federal court to obtain enforcement, if the Administration defies Congress.
Congress must reclaim its Constitutional authority in the process of checks and balances, or the Republic is lost.
From my reading, the oil in Venezuela is not of the ideal grade (more steps to refine), AND the oil companies may not be eager to undertake the infrastructure expenses. If all of this is true, then Rump may have miscalculated a bit.
I saw a short video, Denise, that suggested the heavy crude of Venezuela is perfect for U.S. refineries in Texas and Louisiana. Apparently, we import a lot of heavy crude from Canada. Having a big supply from Venezuela, close to our southern refineries, may be a "good" thing if you're in that business.
What I read is that much of Venezuelan oil is "sour" crude. Evidently, there's a concentration of sulfur, which makes it dirtier and more polluting. And again, needs more refining. But I didn't get into the details.
Great article, Bill; thanks for sharing. Extremely thorough.
I do kind of question his use of Nixon's War on Drugs as a prime example of presidential stupidity. Of course, it was/is relentlessly stupid, but GWB's pursuit of WMDs in Iraq was more recent, and arguably more costly.
Not sure I'd use the term "wiped out" it sounds so determinatively fatalistic. There is still lots of fight in Venesuela as there is in Cuba and Palestine and Yemen and many orther countries around this world. The will and strength and determination of the oppressed will never be extinguished. Don't you agree Bill
The Palestinians in Gaza show that will and determination to resist the Israeli Genocide having no defence against superior US jet fighters, bombers and Attack helicopters.
Brilliant analysis connecting the Corleone family's cold pragmatism to current geopolitics. That specific Godfather scene you mentioned has always been a masterclass in how power operates without pretense, when Michael just drops "just my enemies" it's the kind of moral clarity dictators love to invoke. I find myself thinking about how differently audiences received that line in the 70s vs now, given how normalized this kind of naked resource grab has become.
The other brilliant line in Godfather II was when Michael told Senator Geary, "we're both part of the same hypocrisy."
That was the same year Nixon had to resign. After Vietnam and that, we should have had enough evidence to understand how true that statement was. But disco emerged and people went dancing on Saturday night.
Yes, and Senator Geary was brought to heel by an Epstein-like scandal orchestrated by the Corleone family. It's highly amusing how he sings the praises of Italian-Americans in the Senate after the scandal. :-)
Also in "Godfather II," it's observed that those crazy rebels (Fidel's forces) just might win. And they did, and La Cosa Nostra has never gotten over that. And now the threat of a full scale US attack on Cuba cannot be ruled out for a second. This would make the "Bay of Pigs" attempted invasion look like a modest picnic by comparison of military force to be unleashed.
Hey wait a minute those Mafia types are really great Family Men loyal, nepotism, spoiling/ giving jobs to family members-- throwing lavish Weddings for their Mafia Princesses c'mon now...! Welcome to the "Family"Don't make me go to the mattresses on ya!! :/ :o) "You're getting a helluva reputation Sonny. Just help me win Tom. Geez Pop had "Genco" a real Sicilian Wartime Consigliere' look what I got!! Sonny was a bad Don, rest in peace."
"Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' TO ME?!? You must be talkin' to me, I'm the only one here!" Oops, wrong movie!! But a telling one about American society. :-(
For all the talk in the MSM boasting about the efficiency of the US Act of WAR in Venezuela, no one mentions the main reason the Venezuelan and Iranian Economies are performing so badly is mostly due to the US Economic Wars against those regimes.
Ordinary Americans and Canadians know how hard it is when you don't have enough money to survive in a money driven World.
A spot-on observation. And of course the US has done its damnedest for decades now to cripple Cuba's economy. And now a full naval blockade, a la Cuban Missile Crisis? If only Mr. Putin could do something to help Latin America. :-(
After the failed 1961 CIA Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and after the US deployed missiles in Turkey aimed at Soviet Russia, those US actions pushed Russia and Cuba closer together. Cuba was exercising it's Sovereign Rights to have Russia deploy missiles in Cuba as a DETERRENT against another US invasion?
The US saw that as such an existential threat, it responded with the only Act of WAR during the whole crisis with the illegal Military Blockade of Cuba without a UN Security Council Resolution.
The US is not only that exceptional but hypocritical. Russia feels the same way about the US/NATO wanting Ukraine in NATO so US boots and missiles would be right on Russia's Border.
The fact the US/NATO can't see that, is the Danger this World faces. The last NATO Summit and the upcoming Summit in France, makes it clear NATO, including Canada, is on a Path leading this World to WWIII.
Otherwise, what is the logic when the People at the lower levels of the Power-Economic Pyramid systems are increasing experiencing WANT when more limited funds are being spent on stuff that could kill us all with thousands of NUKES at the ready.
I understand Mr. Zelensky is griping now that the US hasn't moved with real force on its behalf. Well shoot, Mr. Z, that WOULD bring WW III upon us all. Not real strong in the reasoning department, is he? Started out as an alleged "stand-up comedian"!
So this means anyone who has something the US wants is now subject to invasion, "regime change", or whatever. If I read this correctly, if someone has something we want, it was ours to begin with, and they just need to pony up ... or else.
Well, it depends. If you play the game, we won't invade. But if you resist ... we'll make you an offer you can't refuse.
Maduro reportedly had been sending a message to Washington that he was open to "reforms." Now we see how he was thanked for this softening. Reminds me very much of Iraq. Just as Scott Ritter and other UN inspectors were reporting that "Gee, we just can't find any WMD and Saddam is acting cooperatively" the hammer was dropped on that country. But Venezuela's crude oil reserves reportedly dwarf those of Iraq. What a "blessing," this particular resource! Why does Trump wreck any project trying to wean us off fossil fuels? The answer is more clear than ever. Doubtless the Trump family will have its filthy mitts all over any new exploitation and profits generated.
Big Deal overnite 2 billion worth of Oil Venezuela in historic deal w/ Washington!! No doubt billions in his pockets...
In TrumpWorld "logic," stealing natural resources at gunpoint = the possessor of those resources is "giving" them to you. Not quite the same as a legal sales contract. :-(
Just reading Smedley Butler's little book, you realize that the US has been acting like an organized crime ring since at least the 1890s. We have done the same thing we just did to Venezuela many times, often with tens of thousands of people killed. For more in-depth information, check out Lindsey O'Rourke's book "Covert Regime Change" which documents all the secret takeovers that the US has either attempted or accomplished. As much as many people would like to think that Trump is doing something far worse, he is actually just doing it overtly and without shame, rather than covertly. Smedley Butler made the point repeatedly that the government was using him as the "muscle" for big corporations and their owners.... "all wars are banker's wars", as he put it.
Gen. Butler admitted, after his awakening, that while in uniform he never thought independently or questioned his orders. I have previously predicted there will be almost no dissent within current US military ranks against Trump's policies. And that is a tragedy. The rare resignation by a commissioned officer in protest certainly cannot turn the tide. "The Rule of Law" lies dead and buried, without a decent funeral service.
Maybe that's why it was the last straw for the Jewish Religious Establishment, when Jesus overturned the tables of the bankers & merchants working the shopping mall on Temple property.
The US president is a criminal. And proud of it!
Yes, and the military will continue to fawn, genuflect and kiss his ample butt. Oath to defend the Constitution?? Ha ha ha!!! A good laugh!!
Consequences...with actions like this, Trump and Co, are ensuring what the CIA called "blowback", even though the abduction was out in the open, unlike most of the secret CIA actions. Excellent post again!
And the beat goes on: Not a day passes that this POTUS fails to commit multiple impeachable offenses. But those Members of Congress who still have something like a conscience--that they haven't yet sold to Big Business--and a modicum of respect for that vaunted RULE OF LAW the US likes to boast of, are TOTALLY POWERLESS to stop this madness. As are we, the ordinary citizens. Thus, "THE SYSTEM" HAS UTTERLY COLLAPSED.
I fear there is no stopping Trump - and more specifically the sneering psychopathic Rubio - as they move on from this 'success' to the next one (be it Cuba, Iran, or Panama). I am filled with revulsion as it may only stop when body bags start returning in large numbers to Dover AFB. And with the coverup to be provided by the MSM - maybe not even then.
Thank You for another eye-opener and thought-provoker, Bill.
But again, yet, and still, the Questions remain: So What and Now What?
Specifically: What can be done to Change America’s system of Government and Governance so that Presidents can’t bomb, invade, and overthrow other Nation’s Governments at will?
And just a quick note: What is at work here is not “Gangster CAPITALISM,” but “Gangster CORPORATISM.”
“Corporatism” ~ the term Mussolini created as an friendlier-sounding term for “Fascism” ~ is the marriage at the hip of Governments [particularly at the National, Federal level] with Corporations and other privately-owned economic enterprises.
It is a system whereby cultural, social, civil, and, particularly in this case, economic Vested Special Interests [VSIs] can gain ready and easy, but expensive access to the legal power, the administrative authority, and, above all, the spending capacity and capability of that Government as governed by its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees. And use that access to advance the agendas, profits, and returns-on-investments of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs.
That is NOT “Capitalism” by any stretch of any definition. Capitalism is the COMPLETE Separation of The Economy and State; just like there is supposed to be a COMPLETE Separation of Church and State. [EMPHASES added.]
America is not now, nor has it ever been a “Capitalist” Nation.
What needs to be changed in America is that those Corporatist VSIs can and do have access to that Government’s power, authority, and ability to print, control, and distribute money. And until that Is changed, NOTHING is going to change. Except to get worse.
And this is nothing new.
There were all sorts of Vested Special Interests very much at work crafting what became America’s system of Governance as established by the Constitution in 1788. And successive generations of VSIs ~ thru their owned, operated, commanded, and controlled politicians, bureaucrats, and judges ~ have manipulated and modified that Constitution and its system of Governance so that that power and authority of ~ and, particularly, that control and distribution of wealth by ~ the Government, has grown and grown to what it is today.
Again: The REAL PROBLEM is the fact that that Government has all that legal power and administrative authority, and, above all, that ability to create and spend or give away money.
That is what really needs to be changed. And again: Unless and until it is changed, things are only going to get much worse than they are becoming now.
Rather than blather on, I'll just cite the example of Ho Chi Minh, Woodrow Wilson, and what happened subsequently, you can fill in the blanks and draw the logical implications and conclusions https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3457
Well, now we know exactly what the 2026 Congressional Elections will be all about...
The Question is: Will there even BE Congressional Elections on November 3? And if there are, will the results be accepted by the Losers?
TRUMP TO HOUSE REPUBLICANS: IF WE DON'T WIN MIDTERMS, I'LL GET IMPEACHED
by Trevor Hunnicutt / Reuters 06Jan26
WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Republicans must win the 2026 congressional midterm elections - or else he will get impeached by Democrats.
"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," Trump told Republican lawmakers at a retreat in Washington. "I'll get impeached."
Ahead of the November elections, which could stall his agenda and expose him to congressional investigations, Trump teased and prodded allies who narrowly control the U.S. House of Representatives. He told them to put aside their differences and sell his policies on gender, healthcare and election integrity to an American electorate angry about the cost of living.
"They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterm," Trump said. "I wish you could explain to me what the hell's going on with the mind of the public."
Full article at https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-house-republicans-if-we-dont-win-midterms-i-will-get-impeached-2026-01-06/ .
###
Now its onto Goose Bay Canada and lets see Thule Greenland, and Victory!! None bigger & betterer than say WW ll ("A Girl behind every Tree")- only thing no trees- frozen Tundra, NATO won't be happy nor the Kingdom of Denmark!! But what can they do?? Nothing right.! Maybe my old Sky-Cop brothers & sisters tho. will be happier they'll have a little more company @ these "Remote" Airbases. King Trumpland...:/ :o)
Scott Ritter’s THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK nails it even better than Dennis Kucinich did yesterday...:
The future of the United States is being fought in a courtroom in New York City, where America itself is on trial.
If the courts do anything other than dismiss the manufactured charges against the kidnapped President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, then the last bastion of Constitutional legitimacy will have fallen in the face of the dictatorship that has become the Presidency of Donald Trump.
While the world struggles to come to grips with the brazen abduction of the sitting head of a sovereign nation by the armed forces of the United States, operating with zero legitimacy either in terms of international law or domestic legal authority, the American people struggle with their own shortcomings as citizens and—frankly speaking—members of the human race, cheering on this wonton act of aggression as if it defines who and what we are as a collective, not comprehending that our cheers are really the screams of a dying dream of a Constitutional Republic once known as the United States of America.
Today the dream has become a nightmare, and the vestiges of democratic freedoms we once ostensibly held near and dear to our hearts have been replaced by an orgy of narcissistic excess as Donald Trump, a modern-day Caligula transformed into a walking, talking cult of personality, has turned the American democratic experiment, founded as it was in the notion of the rule of law, into an open air coliseum where might makes right, where strength supersedes reason, and where the ideal of the citizen has been replaced by the gladiator, whose only purpose is to go forth and kill for the pleasure of his demented rulers.
LET ME BE AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE—IF YOU CHEER ANY ASPECT OF WHAT DONALD TRUMP (I DEIGN TO CALL HIM PRESIDENT, AS THAT ATTACHES THE NOTION OF DEMOCRATIC NORMS AND VALUES, AND CONSTITUTIONAL CHECKS AND BALANCES, WHICH NO LONGER EXIST IN AMERICA TODAY) HAS DONE IN VENEZUELA, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM, AND NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION.
THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT WHAT THE UNITED STATES HAS DONE, IS DOING, AND PLANS TO DO REGARDING VENEZUELA THAT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS LEGITIMATE. [EMPHASES added.]
Full article https://scottritter.substack.com/p/the-battle-of-new-york .
Dennis Kucinich absolutely NAILS it with his 05Jan26 piece "VENI, VIDI, VENEZUELA: Pox Americana from War-a-Iago" at https://kucinichreport.substack.com/p/veni-vidi-venezuela-pox-americana .... :
This Administration, elected with a promise to end forever wars, has since taken America to war against Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Nigeria, while funding genocide against Gazans.
It has invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its President, Nicholas Moduro, and his wife; pledged to “run” the county, and to appropriate (steal) Venezuela’s extensive oil reserves. Venezuela spent approximately $ ZERO for its defense in 2024.
This is not Pax Americana. It is Pox Americana from War-a-Iago.
As a Member of House of Representatives, I challenged in court and in Congress President Clinton over Serbia, President Bush over Iraq and President Obama over Libya, each time working with members of both political parties to take action to insist on Congress’ co-equality, and its constitutional responsibility to decide when America should offer the treasure of our youth and our precious financial resources to be taken from peace to war.
EVEN A REMOTE POSSIBILITY OF U.S. GROUND TROOPS BEING SENT TO INVADE AND OCCUPY VENEZUELA OUGHT TO SHOCK AMERICA’S MORIBUND PEACE MOVEMENT INTO ACTION. [EMPHASIS added.]
The long-term consequences of U.S. actions in Venezuela demolish laws which hold together the United States, and the International legal order.
This is not academic. The U.S. Constitution and the UN Charter must not become confetti showering an authoritarian fantasy victory parade.
What the Administration has done in smashing the US Constitution and international law is to unravel generations of painstaking work to try to limit war. Instead, it has set the stage for a war of all against all.
Our vainglorious leaders’ unseemly bravado about the precision operation for Venezuelan regime change, bespeaks a pathological consequence-free mindset: Aggression in its effrontery inviting every manner of retribution upon Americans everywhere.
A government that abandons its ideals, its Constitution, its laws, its freedoms, its commitments, its promises in search of global empire and booty will bring our nation to ruin, leaving America in debt, depression and danger.
We had a glimmer of what we may further expect domestically, notwithstanding court disapproval, with the President’s digression from his celebration of the takeover of Venezuela to extolling the glories of federal troops’ enforcement of law in American cities, in clear violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, a nineteenth century law which limits the use of federal troops for domestic purposes.
Our Constitution holds America together with principles of cohesion, coherence, common sense and liberty. It is not to be nullified by self-aggrandizing social media posts.
The Administration, dispensing with all pretense, now exercises a “War Department,” with a TRILLION-DOLLAR war budget, while trillions of military spending dollars remain unaccounted, and America’s leaders afflicted with a crass messianism informed not by 19th century imperialism, but 11th century crusading of like against unlike.
This is not the Will of a Heavenly God being fulfilled but a venal desire for more earthly power.
Furthermore, knocking over the government of Venezuela which, to reitterate, spent approximately ZERO for its defense in 2024 and then declaring the gambit to be one of the greatest military operations since WWII, is a violation of the English language which imposes limits on hyperbole -- or should.
Here are the US laws that this Administration violated in its January 3, 2026 attack:
The U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 8 grants Congress the sole power to declare war. The attack on Venezuela was an carefully contrived Act of War. Period. The invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of President Maduro was in planning stages for several months, according to General Caine who was tasked with overseeing the attack. Congress was deliberately circumvented.
The War Powers Resolution: Requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and sets time limits for withdrawal, unless an AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force) or Declaration of War is passed. The President has noted that ”boots were on the ground” for the attack on Venezuela and has left open the possibility of US troops being sent for the second stage of the invasion.
The Neutrality Act: Prohibits the US government from engaging in or supporting unauthorized military actions against countries not at war with the U.S. Venezuela was not at war with the US.
The Foreign Assistance Act: Forbids U.S. assistance to governments or groups involved in coups or military overthrows.
The Arms Export Control Act: Forbids U.S. weapons being used in unauthorized acts of aggression.
Inside the Chamber of the House of Representatives, the most famous law givers in history, in bas relief, frame the rectangular chamber as sentinels, evoking the primacy of law in our national experience. Today, U.S. law is reduced yet again to whim, capris and corrupt motives.
America is in a Constitutional crisis.
Congress has a responsibility to our Constitution, to its constituents and to the world, to call out this Administration for its calculated, gross violations of the Constitution and U.S. law, and for making Americans less secure financially and at risk physically due to its wanton, illegal practice of war.
Congress must insist on enforcement of the War Powers Act and also ensure that the Administration acts within the bounds of international law.
If I were in Congress, I would put forth legislation to cut off funds for any military action not expressly approved by Congress and then go to federal court to obtain enforcement, if the Administration defies Congress.
Congress must reclaim its Constitutional authority in the process of checks and balances, or the Republic is lost.
From my reading, the oil in Venezuela is not of the ideal grade (more steps to refine), AND the oil companies may not be eager to undertake the infrastructure expenses. If all of this is true, then Rump may have miscalculated a bit.
What a novelty THAT would be! /s
I saw a short video, Denise, that suggested the heavy crude of Venezuela is perfect for U.S. refineries in Texas and Louisiana. Apparently, we import a lot of heavy crude from Canada. Having a big supply from Venezuela, close to our southern refineries, may be a "good" thing if you're in that business.
What I read is that much of Venezuelan oil is "sour" crude. Evidently, there's a concentration of sulfur, which makes it dirtier and more polluting. And again, needs more refining. But I didn't get into the details.
Here's a good article, Denise: https://davidstockman.substack.com/p/tmm-trumps-macho-madness
Yes, it's dirty, expensive crude. Emphasis on crude.
Great article, Bill; thanks for sharing. Extremely thorough.
I do kind of question his use of Nixon's War on Drugs as a prime example of presidential stupidity. Of course, it was/is relentlessly stupid, but GWB's pursuit of WMDs in Iraq was more recent, and arguably more costly.
Not sure I'd use the term "wiped out" it sounds so determinatively fatalistic. There is still lots of fight in Venesuela as there is in Cuba and Palestine and Yemen and many orther countries around this world. The will and strength and determination of the oppressed will never be extinguished. Don't you agree Bill
The Palestinians in Gaza show that will and determination to resist the Israeli Genocide having no defence against superior US jet fighters, bombers and Attack helicopters.