So. Trump. Epstein. And an attempt to make us forget about it as the deadline for release gets closer. 1000 FBI agents are still combing through the files. Ka$h Patel mentioned delaying. Pam Blondi and the DoJ are dragging their feet, and were even before this “distraction” was started. Trump thinks he’s going to get away with NOT producing anything on Epstein, and he’s in trouble with this second item. No one can protect him very much once or twice, but make that three strikes, and it’s going to be very, very ugly. From AlterNet:
Mark Twain allegedly quipped, “God created war so Americans would learn geography.” Whether or not he actually said that, might it not be a good test, that the world’s most mighty military power be prevented from waging war if a majority of Americans failed to find the alleged enemy on a world map? Whatever one thinks of the current government, nearly 30 million people live in Venezuela, and they don’t deserve to be demonized or threatened for the policies of their president, as Venezuela poses no threat to the United States.
It’s practically a given that they haven’t been a threat. Drugs don’t come from them, although they *do* come from other countries. They come in by boat and by plane. They certainly don’t come in from a 2 or 3-person motorboat from the Caribbean! Our president and the Department of Defense want us to believe they are a threat because it redirects attention from the Epstein files.
Well, we the people haven’t forgotten. And these boat strikes are high on the “illegal” actions for killing people, where we have no proof of what they are supposedly doing. Legal experts have weighed in on the issue, stating that this is a war crime in so many ways. But those experts are brushed off because our great and powerful Trump (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain) has decided they are gang members and drug smugglers. People in a small boat!
The American people get this. A recent CBS News poll shows widespread public skepticism and disapproval of any US military attack against Venezuela, properly so, with 70 percent opposing the US taking military action. Moreover, the current US military buildup in the Caribbean is an unnecessary and dangerous provocation. An obvious question comes to mind. Is this really about oil, not drugs? We can’t imagine anyone wants a rerun of the Iraq wars.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. They also have rare earth minerals, which are already being fought over in the country itself. This hurts ordinary people like you and me. Their economy is in freefall. (Sound familiar?) War always hurts the regular people who want to live their lives and not get trampled, or used, or lose their homes. Those of us who have loved ones in the military won’t want them to be in a war, either. And Trump is sending the National Guard into cities FNAR. He’s trying to create violence anywhere he can to get an excuse to do something, likely starting with martial law and then attacking Venezuela.
Congress needs to not only investigate these shady “drug boat” attacks, but also assert its constitutional authority by passing a War Powers Resolution to stop the out-of-control Trump administration from further attacks or escalation. Wasn’t Trump supposed to be about “America First” and avoiding foreign wars? His voters thought so. Trump is about to risk American lives, when nobody voted to have their sons and daughters fight a war with Venezuela, or any other country. Congress needs to listen to the wisdom of the American people and shut this ill-conceived threat to Venezuela and its neighbors down now.
Congress needs to flat-out listen to us. They need to pull their heads out of Trump’s ass. They need to quit being cowards and stand up to Trump. This *has to* stop. But how? We, the people, need to go after the Republicans in Congress and slap them until they wake up. We need to tear apart their fantasies and show the *TRUTH* they are refusing to see. Trump’s distraction isn’t working. We remember Epstein. And we remember missiles and motorboats. And we’ve noticed our economy and inflation. And we need to dump ice water on someone, or several someones’ heads.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
They seem to be being cagey about how many Naval assets have been staged down there but I gather they have been building up an invasion force. Navy and Marines and possibly Army troops. What no one is talking about is the cost of the “ops tempo” by which I mean all those ships and aircraft operating on a deployment have regular maintenance required to keep them combat ready. Being deployed for any length of time, whether its a carrier, a helicopter landing ship (mostly Marines) or troop ships means keeping them supplied with the basic needs of those serving on them, and with fuel (for aircraft and non-nuculear powered ships) and parts that get used every day to keep everything running smoothly.
Over time that adds up and to a point where a ship has to stand down for a major overhaul which at best for some can be done in a few months or so but for some it can take closer to a year or longer in the case of a carrier. Lest we forget there have been other trouble spots in the world and ships (and people) have been being used a greater than normal rate. Those ships, aircraft and troops are far more likely to be needed in places that are far more of a threat to our own and the free world’s security than freaking Venezuela.
I keep waiting for some retired talking head military person to bring all this up on news shows or to print outlets.