Two Nations Occupying the Same Space

 

Two Nations Occupying the Same Space

Another American Tradition, Since 2025: Lying to Justify Cruelty

“We don’t want to put a bunch of troops on the ground so we got people from the old regime helping us rebuild the country, to transition to democratic elections.” 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R/SC), January 7th.

Well, it’s clearly not about regime change or drugs, now, is it? Our little escapade in and around Venezuela was only Donald Trump fulfilling his pledge to Big Oil… with the exception of Chevron which never left, the rest of Big Oil is eying a highly unstable country with all the same players running everything (I suspect Trump’s helming this from over 2,000 miles away is a pretty abstract effort)… and rebuilding will take billions and billions, before oil production becomes meaningful. We’ve already spent enough. “The ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan has cost an estimated $700 million and counting with two more oil tankers seized Jan. 7, as President Donald Trump aims to sell more Venezuelan crude oil to American refineries and convince U.S. oil companies to return to embattled nation.

“Operating the USS Gerald R. Ford and its aircraft carrier strike group costs more than $9 million per day—adjusted for inflation—since being ordered to Latin American waters in October, according to a prior report from the Center for a New American Security. Those costs do not account for the boat strikes that began in late August—killing more than 100 people thus far—or the Jan. 4 attacks in Venezuela that resulted in the arrests of leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.” Fortune, January 7th. And Big Oil expects US taxpayers to guarantee the reconstruction risk, perhaps even directly funding it. Trump and his crony capitalists may benefit from all this, but I suspect taxpayers won’t. And if Iraq failed with a whole lot more planning, and control with boots on the ground, what do you think our adventure in Venezuela is likely to produce… if ever? They’re actually arresting local Venezuelans who cooperated with the US in the capture of the Maduros.

Meanwhile, Trump is cutting childcare funding for blue states, alleging fraud, and the cadres of ICE sent to reduce crime in Minnesota (read: dark skinned US citizens of Somali descent, among the least violent or criminal in the state)… but have already justified the execution of a blonde 37-year-old mommy – driving her Honda Pilot mommy-mobile trying to escape masked federal agents – shot by an under-trained ICE officer, quite obviously in no danger of being run over. Perhaps those stuffed toys in the back seat were filled with explosives, as Kristi Noem immediately labeled the dead mommy as a “domestic terrorist.” Although you may not recognize the cosmetically enhanced Ms Noem from the above recent photo, she also put the FBI in charge of the investigation and denied that state legal officers could partake in that inquiry. And unless those toys were lethal bombs, no one looking that that execution video would see a dangerous terrorist.

But there are more fun lies that Mr Trump can promote is his statements, with zero tangible evidence, that our acquiring Greenland is essential for our national security. The US has had free rein in that massive island to station troops and have airstrips and bases there… with the full cooperation of the Danish miliary (Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory). With a mere 57 thousand people, who now all seem to hate the US, Trump wants access to their vast mineral wealth… but no one outside the US seems to want that to happen. The above red hat, once all the rage in Canada, is all over Greenland now. In fact, local Danish forces are legally required to resist any such military invasion:

“A Cold War-era Danish military order has reemerged amid rising tensions between the United States and its European allies, after President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to acquire Greenland and declined to rule out the use of military force.

“Denmark’s Defense Ministry confirmed Wednesday that a 1952 rule of engagement remains active, requiring Danish forces to immediately counterattack any invading force without waiting for orders. The rule, first reported by the Danish newspaper Berlingske, states that ‘the attacked forces must immediately take up the fight without waiting for or seeking orders, even if the commanders in question are not aware of the declaration of war or state of war.’… The ministry told Berlingske that the order ‘remains in force.’

“Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland — a semi-autonomous Danish territory and NATO member — has alarmed European leaders. Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly said the island is not for sale… French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said European allies were coordinating their response. ‘We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners,’ Barrot said. Barrot later said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured him that Washington was not planning any military action. ‘He ruled out the possibility of an invasion [of Greenland],’ Barrot claimed.’” uPolitics, January 7th.

Indeed there is the fading power of cruelty, represented by America’s Rasputin, Stephen Miller and his minions like AG Pam Bondi, Secretary of Machismo Pete Hegseth and ICE Barbie Noem, and the crony capitalists directly led by Donald “I want more and more” Trump representing the layer of special interests for whom this nation is currently prioritizing… well everything they want… and leaving the loser rabble, the rest of us, unrepresented and abandoned. Donald Trump is withdrawing the United States from, well, most everything international, moves that will cost ordinary American taxpayers their quality of life, their net worth… as the rich have their way with them.

“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday [1/7] that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. entities, including a key climate treaty and a U.N. body that promotes gender equality and women's empowerment, because they ‘operate contrary to U.S. national interests.’… Among the 35 non-U.N. groups and 31 U.N. entities Trump listed in a memo to senior administration officials is the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change - described by many as the ‘bedrock’ climate treaty which is parent agreement to the 2015 Paris climate deal… The United States skipped the annual U.N. international climate summit last year for the first time in three decades.” Reuters, January 7th. Oh, and costs are now reflecting the Trump tariffs big time, and the jobs picture is going from bad to terrible.

I’m Peter Dekom, and which America do you live in?