Update from the Heartland
No.1253
12.1.26 – 18.1.26
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
On Thursday, Venezuelan opposition leader and properly elected president María Corina Machado made a blatant and unabashed visit to the White House. She had decided to genuflect to the wannabe emperor to present a gilded (of course), framed set of documents plus her Nobel Peace Prize medal. The title and captions read:
To President Donald J. Trump,
In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength, Advancing Diplomacy, and Defending Liberty and Prosperity.
The Machado Nobel Peace Prize Medal
Presented as a Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People in Recognition of President Trump's Principled and Decisive Action to Secure a Free Venezuela.
The Courage of America, and its President Donald J. Trump, will Never be Forgotten by the Venezuelan people.
Ms. Machado went on to say that the plaque was given in “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Ms. Machado, unfortunately, you do not have much history by which to judge the sincerity of [the person who shall no longer be named]. Here is a news flash, Ms. Machado, that man is an accomplished con-man; he sells worthless knick-knacks to his believers who see his snake-oil elixir as a genuine cure-all for anything.
Here is another news flash, Ms Machado. That man, the orange one, whom I refer to as [no name], because he is an absolute disgrace to his family name, and even worse to his oath as president of this once grand republic. Further, he does not care a twit about freedom of the Venezuelan people. He only cares about self-aggrandizement and money for the oil beneath your territory.
Machado was clearly trying to curry favor with [no name], which is not likely to work. I am afraid she is going to be terribly disappointed when she realizes the genuine waste her gesture will be. He will throw her away like a piece of used tape when he feels she no longer serves his purposes. She joins a very long list of discards who thought they were the exception to break the paradigm. Ms. Machado, I am truly sorry that you fell victim to the con-man’s Siren Song. We live and learn. This too shall pass.
The United States has absolutely NO authority whatsoever over the sovereignty of Greenland. So far and to date, the public accusations that Denmark has approached Russia and/or China are just hot air—no substance. As I have stated previously, I have seen no (nada, niente, zilch) evidence to substantiate such a claim, and we have absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe a single word spewed by any means by any of these ‘official’ characters. The breaking up of the Arctic ice cap is adding significant complexity to the Greenland security situation, making accessibility by foreign adversaries less difficult. To me, this is a classic ‘just because you can does not mean you should’ situation. If Greenland security was so important and critical, why is [no name] and his MAGAts not negotiating agreements with Denmark and Greenland to station appropriate military and intelligence assets at bases in Northern Greenland or elsewhere? This saber-rattling nonsense is counter-productive in every possible way. And now, after his foolish chest-thumping, [no name] has poisoned the well. He could have gone to NATO and negotiated a joint security agreement, but no, he has to beat on his chest like a silverback mountain gorilla in an attempt to intimidate an important ally. OMG, he is attempting a de factoisolationism—alienate all of our friends and allies. He is doing Putin’s heavy lifting—disintegrating NATO. I ask you, seriously, what is different between Putin’s demands on Ukraine and [no name]’s demands on Greenland? The political world as we have known it may well be irreparably changing due to one man and his sycophant minions.
Immigration control and enforcement are a necessary part of national sovereignty. Millennia ago, there were no boundaries, no borders, only tribal frontiers taken and defended by force-of-arms. Borders came in existence in an attempt to reduce armed conflict between nations. The issue I have with the immigration control we witness today is the manner by which the current administration is enforcing those laws. They are ignoring established law to take an overtly aggressive process to detain and deport peaceful individuals and families. I have long advocated for immigration control in depth. What we see today is NOT that. What we see today is politically biased, retributive, aggressive enforcement by a blinded administration. I say blinded, because they are incapable of seeing beyond the vengeance of ihr Anführer. What they are doing is wrong and anti-American!
Comments and contributions from Update no.1252:
“I agree that Cadet Bone Spurs’ claim to be limited only by his own morality translates to his being unlimited because he has no morality. His being limited by “my own mind” is more apt because his mind is quite limited.
“Based on history, our nation will survive this episode with some level of damage. We’ll need to change the conditions that enabled this, though. I’ll note that parliamentary governments generally avoid concentrating as much power in the hands of a single person as the American way. Also, the advanced nations have some way of keeping big money out of politics.”
My response:
Exactly as I see it. Hitler was only limited by his morality as well, and we know how that turned out. Yes, his mind and cognitive capacity are indeed quite limited. And tragically, the MAGAt bunch stand behind the orange one is doing exactly what they want him to be doing. I admit that I never imagined such a substantial part of our citizenry would seek the disassembly of the Republic. It is truly sad and extraordinarily disappointing that so many Americans want the orange one doing what he is doing.
I sure hope you are correct. The resiliency of the Republic and our representative democracy is far more fragile than I ever imagined. A new president (if s/he is other than a MAGAt or Republican) is going to spend years restoring the government as it was and as Congress intended by law.
Your observations regarding parliamentary governments are worthy of consideration. After all, the Declaration states:
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
We are headed toward (if not already there) ‘absolute Despotism.’ The thought of convening a constitutional convention to alter our form of governance is mind-boggling to me. In our current political state, such an initiative would likely result in the dissolution of the Republic, which would substantially weaken the United States of America.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
. . . follow-up comment:
“There has been a quiet effort underway to convene a Constitutional Convention for the far right. Whether that could be made to backfire or is simply too big a step remains to be seen.”
. . . my follow-up response:
I have not heard any serious undercurrents regarding a constitutional convention. Once opened, a convention is absolutely unpredictable. Turning this country toward the right and isolationism is not a solution to my thinking. We made a dreadful mistake in electing the orange one and his MAGAts to gain control of government. I would rather sweep out the riffraff and repair the damage done.
Another contribution:
“Cap. Good day to you across the ocean. As always good to hear from you, indeed what miserable and demanding times we live in. We are cautious when we hear or see the current news broadcasts, one particular name that I will not mention regrettably dominates our news. The urge to ‘turn it off’ is overwhelming. Where does the future lie my friend?”
My reply:
[No name] is simply a fact of governance today. He is a con-man selling worthless snake-oil. To him, any publicity is good publicity; it keeps his name in front of the public. He desperately wants to dominate the Press and Media coverage. The best we can hope for is enough of the complacent electorate turn out for the mid-term elections this Fall and turn Congress to a more responsible organization to check his unilateral dictatorial actions. Repairing the damage he has done to our allies and friends will take much longer to restore.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
