Update no.1253

 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                  :-)

Update no.1252

 Update from the Heartland

No.1252

5.1.26 – 11.1.26

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

Days after [the person who shall no longer be named], who has been pretending to be president, executed a raid to capture President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela [1251], a journalist asked the pretender if there were limits to his power?  [No name] answered:

“Yeah, there is one thing.

My own morality.

My own mind.

It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

There is one major problem with his answer. He has no discernible morality, which in turn, means he has no boundaries, no limits, no constraints. The man went on to declare, "I don't need international law. I'm not looking to hurt people." I wonder what happened to the 80 plus people in those boats he blew up in the Caribbean Sea without due process of law? The last time I checked, smuggling was not a death sentence. Without due process of law, killing is murder, which is punishable. If that is not bad enough, he continues to rattle the saber at Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland, stating, “We’ll take it one way or another.” Then, the MAGA sycophants and ihr Anführer started spewing misinformation that Denmark has approached Russia and China about buying Greenland. The orange one sacrificed his credibility and integrity many years ago with his grotesque penchant for making false statements on a myriad of topics. We cannot believe any of them—not a single one of them, from top to bottom.

The decent, moral, experienced president would have answered: ‘Yes, the Constitution, established law, precedence, and common sense.’ Unfortunately, the orange one does not recognize, nor does he demonstrate any of those constraints. The Founders and Framers of the Constitution recognized they needed a strong but not autonomous president. They made a critical assumption that the electoral process would eliminate those candidates with less than acceptable moral values. Unfortunately, with all the collective wisdom of the Framers, no one ever considered an immoral person would make it through even the first few steps of the electoral process. Even worse, the Framers would have said the checks and balances in the tripartite governmental structure would stop any aberrant conduct. In our contemporary instance, the last and final check on any rogue president has been removed—impeachment, conviction, and permanent banishment. I know and acknowledge that there are good, moral, responsible Republican members of the House and the Senate. Regrettably, the MAGAts have figured out how to cower even good people into compliance. The consequence is, there are no checks & balances to stop this particular rogue president. Our system of governance has failed!

If anyone is looking for an epitaph on the tombstone of the orange one, it is his words noted above. He has declared himself dictator . . . and perhaps even dictator for life.

Lastly, I am compelled to reiterate that the current version of the United States of America is NOT and NEVER WILL BE what the principles that founded the Republic intended. Whether this Republic can survive and recover from the damage [no name] and his MAGAt supporters have done is yet to be seen. This is not the United States I defended, and I know and love. This is an ugly aberration. To quote very famous words, “Forgive them, Lord! They know not what they do.”

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1251:

Comment to the Blog:

“Cadet Bone Spurs cares nothing about any law. It’s utterly ridiculous to charge a foreign official with a U.S. crime over unrelated foreign internal policy. Nationalizing Venezuela’s oil reserves is Venezuela’s option. (Drugs aren’t a real part of this.) The problem is that Bone Spurs occupies the White House for now and only knows aggression as a strategy.

“Why aren’t we listening to Epstein’s many survivors? What about the millions losing health insurance?”

My response to the Blog:

I agree for the most part. I can find very little to debate. He has consistently and persistently demonstrated his paucity of any respect for the law. If both chambers of Congress change hands, his tune might change.

Good Q. I suppose the answer is, people do not want to listen, so the Press does not report. I have noted that every time we hear from the victims, we do not hear names. I would encourage the survivors to tell us what they experienced and especially by whom. We are not there yet.

 . . . with a follow-up comment:

“Were I an Epstein victim, I'd hide my identity. People have already died. I'm not sure who the people are who don't want to listen. We've had plenty of discussion of the Epstein ‘files;’ why not witnesses?”

 . . . my follow-up response:

The perpetrators are the ones who do not want to listen. They are rich, influential friends of Jeffrey Epstein. They do not fear prosecution, but they do fear the public humiliation that would surely come with disclosure.

Witnesses are going to be few and far between. At that kind of gathering, there were victims and perpetrators, very few witnesses.

What I want to see is the list of perpetrators (with or without the victim’s identity. I imagine part of the allure Epstein used was the identity of his customers.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1251

 Update from the Heartland

No.1251

29.12.25 – 4.1.26

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

At 02:01 [Q] Atlantic Standard Time (AST), Saturday, 3.January.2026, U.S. Special Forces, presumably and initially reported as a unit of Delta Force, executed Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE, a ‘snatch & grab’ action within the presidential compound in Caracas, Venezuela. By 04:29 [Q], U.S. forces departed Venezuela with Maduro President Nicolás Maduro Moros and his second wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, in custody under an arrest warrant, charging drug and weapons violations of U.S. law. They took the captured president offshore to the USS Iwo Jima. In support of the capture operation, other U.S. forces hit and disabled various air defense and command & control facilities in and around Caracas. No U.S. casualties were reported in Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE. An estimated 50 Venezuelan government and civilian were killed or injured. A full damage assessment has not been made public.

I do not know the validity of the arrest warrant issued for Maduro and Flores. That will be up to the courts to decide.

I will confess my confliction on this one. There is little question that Maduro, and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, ruined Venezuela, forcing many of the nation’s intellectual brain trust to flee the country. Venezuela would be far better off using the Gulf States as a model for distributing oil revenue wealth rather than the Cuban or Russian model, rampant with corruption. However, that is for the Venezuelan people to decide, not Chavez/Maduro. As a consequence, I am encouraged to see Maduro removed. However, what I do not see is the justification for the United States to violate the sovereignty of another nation because we do not like their leader.

The worst aspect of it all, our president has a long, sordid history of lying, exaggeration, misinformation, and otherwise obfuscating everything from small to big, simple to complex. We cannot trust a word he says. If he is speaking, he is probably lying. And, as if that is not bad enough, he chose and the Republican sycophants in Congress confirmed a bevy of cabinet officers, who do nothing but say, ‘yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.’ We have no basis to trust a word any of them say or do. We cannot trust anything coming from this administration, which means another nation and people must pay a heavy price I would not be surprised if they are making everything up as they go. Until we see the legal basis for this kidnapping tested in court before a federal judge, we do not know whether Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE was (is) a legal action.

If Maduro/Flores are guilty as accused, and the charges are validated in a proper court of law with a conviction, then I will say good-on the administration for bringing a criminal to justice. What diminishes the validity of this action is the president’s unilateral “full and complete pardon” to former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted and imprisoned on drug trafficking charges. The message to us—John Q Citizen—this president only cares about those people who support him or give him money.

As other contributors to this humble forum have written, the U.S. actions against Venezuela were not about drugs, but all about oil. The orange one and his minions see money in the oil reserves of Venezuela. Now, the orange one is claiming Venezuelan oil production capacity belongs to us, and we are taking it back. He is apparently referring to the days when the “Seven Sisters” dominated oil production around the world until the mid-1970s, when oil producing countries nationalized their oil production. Venezuela was among those nations; their indigenous oil fields were nationalized on 1.January.1976. The obvious question is, does the Felon-in-Chief intend to depose all governments that nationalized oil production owned by U.S. companies?

All that put together . . . a different, disturbing picture emerges. The use of extra-judicial murder on the high seas was simply an excuse, a prelude, to the real reason for this string of USG actions against Venezuela. It appears there was only one actual reason—money. Does anyone want to take a bet that the orange one will not try to put his name on his new acquisition?

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1250:

Comment to the Blog:

“CBS News is a real loss to ethical journalism. While the Sharyn Alfonsi’s story on the CECOT prison showed up immediately via multiple sources, Agent Orange’s soldier, Bari Weiss, will find ways to prevent good journalists from doing their jobs in the future. Losing the 60 Minutes program harms all of American journalism.

“I’m sad to see the West Coast devastated by these atmospheric rivers, as I was to see the wildfires the scars of which now make the rains’ effects worst. Climate change proceeds apace.

“Agent Orange uses social media, which really is ‘something new under the sun.’ He seems not to realize that the multitude of us can use it to force the truth on (relatively) traditional media. Prior dictators’ mouthpieces had far less feedback from ordinary people, and Agent Orange doesn’t like it one bit. Besides his personality issues, he probably fears we’ll force media attention on the victims of his violent crimes. People will be more outraged by that than by the theft of their own money.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my, you got that right! Tragic actually. They used to be the standard for broadcast journalism. I absolutely agree. Terrible loss . . . and all to serve the orange one’s ego.

I am with you on that one. On the positive side, all this precipitation is putting a good dent in the drought that has choked California’s agriculture.

Good observation about social media and the orange one. The blade cuts both ways. I would like to see more generals speaking out, but they would be subject to the same processes as Senator Mark Kelly is facing—recall and court-martial to satisfy the orange one’s sense of vengeance.

. . . and, we are not even to the one-year mark.

 . . . Round two:

“I need to look up the level of Lake Mead. The rains might have given them a reprieve for a year or two.”

 . . . my response to round two:

I did look up Lake Mead’s water level. It has come up but is currently 166 feet below full pool. My comment was not about Lake Mead. It was about California’s drought situation. If you look at the national drought map. The current map shows the whole of California to be drought free now. The state’s reservoirs are apparently full. Whatever the current situation is, one thing is certain—it is not permanent.

 . . . Round three:

“Now I get your point. California produces a great deal of food; drought there is a concern for all of us. I hope they can maintain good water levels, but I also doubt they will. Lake Mead is a related issue. I noticed that Ohio has more and more serious drought than California at the moment. It's in some of our best agricultural land, too. Water is more and more of an issue as the climate changes.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Regardless of the internal California water supply, the southern part of the state is a major consumer of water from the Colorado River—Lakes Mead and Powell. Water will remain an issue for all of us regardless of the reservoir levels. Climate change will only exacerbate any local situation. We all need to pay attention to protect our water and food supply.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1250

 Update from the Heartland

No.1250

22.12.25 – 28.12.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

 

The terrible consequences of the orange one’s “Fake News” efforts in his first political campaign (2015) onward are yielding their horrific and destructive outcomes. This week, CBS New editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulled at segment due to be broadcast on CBS News “60 Minutes” program. The subject correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi, wrote in an internal memorandum, “the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship.” Precisely! This is what happens with the Felon-in-chief’s extortion of Paramount during the merger with Skydance and no name’s convenient lawsuit against CBS and thus Paramount [1220,1224, 1225].

Two relevant news articles:

https://webmail-oxcs.networksolutionsemail.com/appsuite/?user_domain=mail.parlier.com#!!&app=io.ox/mail&folder=default0/INBOX

and

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/media/60-minutes-cecot-bari-weiss-cbs-sharyn-alfonsi?utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Monday%2C+December+22%2C+2025&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=yAt8PlnvJHhbMKS2XdNCw7rLum03hLpnIj5c7n0Gyg0%3D&bt_ts=1766402726920

A leaked, earlier, un-broadcast version will give everyone a good feel for the content of the subject story:

https://www.thereset.news/p/breaking-heres-the-60-minutes-segment

This is either a very real, or an incredibly well-done CGI version. Based on other sources and similar broadcast segments on CECOT, I believe it is the former.

Just a short reminder: the orange one has a long established penchant for gross exaggerations, falsehoods, and outright lies. When he says, “Fake News,” he means it is news he does not like. We are given a choice—to believe Sharyn Alfonsi, or a persistent liar and convicted Felon. For me, the choice is straightforward and easy. And worse, we have three more years (at least) of this tragic nightmare to endure. It will probably take longer to repair the damage he has done.

 

The West Coast is getting hammered by a seemingly endless stream of storms. I suspect the drought that racked California for years will be over when this is done. Worse, the burn-scarred landscape will be transformed forever.

 

[The person who shall no longer be named], AKA the orange one, the Felon-in-Chief, and myriad other descriptive monikers complains incessantly and vehemently about the negative coverage of him in the various media / Press outlets. That con-man refuses to acknowledge or accept that the reason for the negative coverage in the Press is his negative actions, conduct, and plethora of falsehoods and outright lies; so, he accuses the Press of improprieties or malfeasance. The majority of the Press does not accept his ridiculous hype of all topics. Negative actions get negative coverage, numb-nuts—simple, full stop, shut the front door!

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1249:

Comment to the Blog:

“Having followed Agent Orange’s mental issues for some time now, I see his delivery of that speech as one last accomplishment for his diminished and diseased brain. I expect the ridiculous numbers and words came from one of the lackeys. None of these creatures ever shops for groceries or experiences the other costs of ordinary lives.

“The ego trips don’t top my priority list. He’s causing untold death and destruction by attacking Venezuela and nonwhite immigrants, by supporting Netanyahu, and by any number of policy decisions.

“Agent Orange is also avoiding prosecution for hundreds of sex crimes. Many of those financing him are complicit in the same crime ring, such as Leslie Wexner, the wealthiest man in Ohio. Wexner is currently dodging a subpoena as a witness in the Ohio State University Dr. Strauss sex crime case. That’s on top of the corruption Agent Orange and his family commit on behalf of those same financial sources.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my, you got that right. Spot on! They have no touch with reality from their narrow view beyond the gilded palace.

The MAGAts in the form of ihr Lieber Anführer is blatantly racist and xenophobic. I know some MAGAts are not so predisposed, however their alignment with the MAGAts makes them guilty by association. Again, you are spot on with your observations.

I do not know Wexner, but I should learn more. The Felon-in-Chief is absolutely desperate to avoid the public condemnation once his malfeasance is documented and exposed. He is not alone. I would bet a dollar to donuts there are hundreds of powerful men who are in that bunch of perpetrators. I will add, I am not surprised by the appearance of Bill Clinton in those files; his participation is absolutely consistent with his documented behavior. He should face the same disgrace the orange one should (along with all the other perpetrators). I would love to see prosecutions. Epstein was not a lone perpetrator. However, I suspect I shall not live to see the day.

Follow-up comments:

“When I looked up the opposite of ‘woke,’ it gave me ‘zombie’ among other things. Any remaining MAGAts are zombies or downright evil.

“Les Wexner is a businessman whose achievements include the founding the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain. Epstein did financial consulting for him, among other services. One of the survivors tells of visiting one of Epstein’s properties near Wexner’s home in New Albany, Ohio.

“I’m starting to picture the loose stones rolling down the mountain ahead of the avalanche.”

My follow-up comments:

Interesting antonym; seems quite appropriate to me. The MAGAts’ blind loyalty to a weasel who has never display any loyalty to another living soul qualifies them for the moniker.

Perhaps Wexner’s name and actions will appear to the Epstein files as well.

You may well be correct. However, avalanches are indiscriminate; they destroy everything in their path.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1249

Update from the Heartland

No.1249

22.12.25 – 28.12.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

Our employee occupying the Oval Office, AKA [the person who shall no longer be named], is an embarrassment of the worst kind, and sadly, he represents 77 million American citizens who actually want him to be doing what he is doing. The orange one proffered a prime-time national televised address on Wednesday evening. The principal aim seemed to be to assuage growing concerns about the economy, or at least the personal economy. From my perspective, the performance was just another campaign rally filled with misstatements and outright falsehoods, taken to a far more bizarre level. For reasons unknown, he shouted his reading of the teleprompter speech, almost screaming. If he intended to instill confidence within the citizenry, he accomplished exactly the opposite. He came across as a scared, confused, verging on a panicked bully who demands we believe him just because he says it. Unfortunately for him and for us, the Felon-in-Chief has a very long, sordid history of misstatements, falsehoods, gross exaggerations, and outright lies. The reality is, if he says something, it is not true, and the truth is most likely the exact opposite of what he just said. That behavior is not presidential—never can be, never will be. The Bully-in-Chief is rapidly becoming the antithesis of what it means to be presidential. As if that is not bad enough, he does not know basic mathematics, or rather simple arithmetic. If you reduce the price of something 100%, you are giving it away for no cost. If you reduce the price of an item, say a medication for example, “400, 500, and 600 percent,” you are paying a consumer to take your product. Sadly, there are people who actually believe him. Being president of the United States of America is so much more than just being a wrecking ball to the federal government. The current fellow has certainly performed well in the wrecking ball category, but he has failed miserably, demonstrably, and dramatically in all other aspects of being president.

 

In his effort to waste extraordinary amounts of the national Treasury (our money), [the person who shall no longer be named] continues his penchant to gild everything, as he is King Midas in the flesh. So now, he created a so-called ‘presidential walk of fame’ with gold framed images along the exterior of the West Wing Colonnade. Each image is framed in gold. As a metric of his infantile behavior, the Felon refused to display President Biden’s image; instead, he used a simple photograph of an autopen above the former president’s signature. As can be easily imagined based on the orange one’s established conduct, selected, cast, brass plaques offer his particular insults, baseless claims and random capitalizations. Those plaques have absolutely nothing to do with history—only his brand of inflated ego. They read like his Truth Social vindictive posts. He is such a weak, shallow man, and I truly hate to call him a man. He is far more akin to an immature boy, who failed to grow up.

 

Joining the near infinite list of aberrant conduct, the orange one demonstrated that he did not need Congress, did not care about the law, and basically thumbed his nose at We, the People. He directed his name to be added to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. First, only Congress can change the name of a facility they created. Second, the orange one’s malignant narcissism affliction has contaminated so bloody much of the nation’s capital. He can play his silly narcissistic games, but the Gulf of Mexico will always be the Gulf of Mexico. The Department of Defense will always be the Department of Defense, until Congress properly changes the name. And, the Kennedy Center will always be the Kennedy Center.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1248:

Comment to the Blog:

“The notion that we can’t do two or more sound national actions because of the cost ignores the fact that the wealthiest 1-10% are not paying their share of taxes. It’s used to evade our nation’s responsibilities. (The defense budget is also a factor, but that doesn’t get much discussion.)

“Not only does the Orange Menace need a weak-enough enemy, he also needs distractions from the corruption.

“The ‘war on drugs’ (as marketed) is a failed approach to reducing use, much like Prohibition.

“The ‘disease of despair” the other contributor discusses strikes me as depression. It’s understandable, but must be addressed individually.

My response to the Blog:

Well said, and spot on. The wealthy pay less in equivalent tax than you and me. A goodly portion of the Defense budget is a gravy train for Congress. That must change.

Also well said, and spot on. Such are the symptoms of malignant narcissism.

Always has been; always will be. Alcohol Prohibition failed because it refused to address demand, so it is with the ‘war of drugs.’ Demand is the key. If we cannot impact demand, then the best approach is to supply demand legally, properly, and well regulated.

Exactly so from my perspective.

Postscript after thought, re: ‘war of drugs’: When you constrict supply, prices go up, and generally, demand gets more desperate to feed their addiction, which in turn means there is more crime of all sorts. There are addicts who are dependent upon psychotropic substances because they seek the sensations offered. Others are dependent because of the physiological effects of removing the supply. Desperate situations drive desperate people to do desperate things, and We, the People, ultimately pay the price. We must help those who want help, and to be brutally blunt, we should supply proper, clean, regulated substances to those who seek the euphoria. Fentanyl is NOT a ‘weapon of mass destruction.’ It is a highly effective pain reliever, when used properly. Illegal, smuggled fentanyl can be contaminated and be a contaminant. We need to stop killing people with the contaminants of unregulated production and distribution.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-) 

Update no.1248

 Update from the Heartland

No.1248

8.12.25 – 14.12.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

From a protracted debate about United States support of Ukraine in the defense of their national sovereignty in a different forum, I offer the following excerpt [contributor: red; mine: blue]: 

Wow! That is quite the list of queries. I shall endeavor to respond with my opinions (and that is all that they are). I had to find a work-around to deal with the quirks of my eMail system. My opinions inserted below.

“Let's push back: Why when our own country's infrastructure including our own economy is in a rapid failure mode (except for the super wealthy and Silicon Valley TECH monsters) do we need to be giving Ukraine the tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars to them, if our conditions are so dire?”

We did not instigate the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That source is the Kremlin alone and Putin specifically. He dictated the timing and the action. Yes, I would rather be spending that treasure on American poor who need our help. I do not agree with an assessment that our conditions are ‘dire.’

“Why reignite a new Cold War (version 3.3 the new and improved model) with a failed USSR now we call the Russian Federation?”

We did NOT reignite the Cold War. If anyone deserves that blame, it is Putin alone. He chose to invade Ukraine and kill Ukrainians willy-nilly.

“Why are we not helping our own Afghan and Iraq war VETS living on the streets, some addicted to alcohol & drugs, PTSD'd, and unable to afford their own housing?”

The current administration is making those decisions. The orange one is the singular source of those decisions.

“Why are we pushing Russia towards a more regional and widespread war with Europe (NATO)?”

We did not push Russia to invade Ukraine. We are not pushing Russia to do anything other than stop killing Ukrainians.

“Why is our so called leader calling on wars on Venezuela, Columbia and Mexico?”

The ego and eccentricities of [the person who shall no longer be named] must be fed, such is the nature of his malignant narcissism affliction. He needs an enemy. His cowardice wants an enemy he can manage. Russia and China are too big in his mind.

“Since Nancy Reagan's so called "Just Say No!" campaign on drugs, why does our country not focus more on the demand side than supply side?”

An excellent and applicable query. Since Nixon opened this ridiculous “war on drugs,” the USG has spent billions, if not trillions, of our money in the Treasury on the wrong part of the equation. Demand has been and always will be the primary factor in the equation—demand. IMHO, the USG ignores demand because it would mean spending money on helping people. It also means recognizing that freedom of choice is a fundamental unalienable right. Proper capitalism would say, there is demand, let’s get legal products to satisfy that demand. No, we chose to ignore the lessons of the alcohol prohibition era. I wrote a novel about this very issue—Indulgence. You should read it.

“What we have in America, is the DIS^ease of DISPAIR.” [emphasis original contributor]

I will disagree because I do not feel despair. I certainly understand why you would say that. After the orange one and his MAGAts have unleashed a police state in the name of immigration control. Unfortunately, they have scooped up U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and a large number of undocumented potential immigrants; none with due process of law. There are lots of MAGAt things to despair about. The nationwide effort to make voting far more difficult and discourage general voting. I could go on and on. So, I understand despair, but this too shall pass. We shall move on (eventually) to brighter, sunlit uplands. I just hope the orange has not done too much damage.

“Can we afford a nuke conflict at this juncture of humanity?”

NO! No one can. And, the more we alienate our allies and isolate ourselves, the more we invite others to take that step. No one wins in a nuclear exchange.

“Are we truthfully trying to contain Russia, excite Russia, or destroy Russia???”

None of the above! We want Russia to be a peaceful, non-aggressive, member of economic nations. The Russian people must change their government. It is not up to us.

A few afterthoughts if you will permit me. There are some simple facts in this whole mess. Ukraine did not attack Russia. Russia attacked Ukraine twice. The first time in 2014 when there “Little Green Men” invaded the Eastern Ukraine province of Donbass and carried out an illegal plebiscite in Crimea, so that Russia could annex the peninsula. That did not satisfy Putin. Then, with no more effort at subterfuge in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in full measure, attempting to take Kviv outright. The protracted assault has exposed the genocidal methods of the Russian military, undoubtedly under orders from Putin and his ultra-right-wing cronies and supporters. Russia should never get and definitely does not deserve any gains from Ukraine. Can anyone imagine giving up 20% of our country to an invader for just a promise of peace . . . as Britain and France did to Czechoslovakia in 1938?

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1247:

“Thanks Cap-a very strong and meaning message- thanks, we all feel that way too.”

My reply:

Thx mate. I try to call ‘em like I see ‘em. I do not proclaim that I always have it correct, but I try. It is comforting that I am not a lone voice in the wind. This too shall pass.

 

Comment to the Blog:

“I see no reason not to believe Agent Orange is taking orders from Putin through sheer stupidity, extortion, or both. The legalities you mention are not part of anyone’s calculations, but Ukraine’s situation in relation to Europe isn’t what Czechoslovakia’s was.

“The claim of pursuing drug traffickers has disguised many politicians’ devious motives. As many others have pointed out, Venezuela has the largest proven petroleum reserves in the world. Agent Orange is fascinated with oil. Drugs, if any, aren’t his real concern.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh, I do not know that it goes that far, but it sure does look that way. There is no question that the USG 28-point plan for peace in Ukraine is most of Russia’s demands. Ukraine is being asked to give up a lot, 20% of their sovereign territory and most of their operable coastline (ports). I think the orange one wants to curry favor. Ukraine is not the same as 1938 Czechoslovakia, but there quite a few similarities.

Interesting observation. Perhaps so. I would agree that the real issue is not illegal drugs; he does not care a twit about other people. His real concern may well be oil, but that is hard to see yet prove. I remain quite disturbed that the USG refuses to recognize demand in the smuggling equation.

 . . . Round two:

“Historians (or possibly the legal system) will determine why Agent Orange does as Putin says, but he does.

“We need not prove Agent Orange's Venezuela motivation to a court. It's enough to have a working assumption so that we can base our actions on it.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Yes, he does, and that is a genuine tragedy for Ukraine. The beleaguered nation has done its best to defend its territory against an unprovoked, unjustified aggressor. The West tried its best to support Ukraine in their effort. But, as you say, history will have to judge.

I can support that position. I just hope he keeps his current illegal actions at a low level. The legality of the high seas executions is debatable. Invading another country is not. I suspect he is trying to provoke Maduro to take an instigating action. We need to pay attention.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1247

Update from the Heartland

No.1247

1.12.25 – 7.12.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The loose rhetoric and outright evidence-less conspiracy theories about President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the Ukrainian nation, and their efforts to defend their nation against the blatant aggression of their neighbor—Russia—have not helped the peace process. Unfortunately, we have a president and his sycophant minions who believe that drivel and pass it on as facts. Despite the efforts of previous administrations, the current government of [the person who shall no longer be named] appears bound and determine to align the United States with the aggressor. The U.S. government presented a 28-point plan. Two stipulations of that USG plan were:

“6. The size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be limited to 600,000 personnel.

“7. Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to include in its statutes a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future.”

The audacity of just these two of 28 conditions is striking. Apparently, the negotiators and We, the People, must be reminded that Ukraine has been a free and independent nation since 1991 with the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Ukrainians suffered and endured a series of Russian surrogate puppets like Belarus does to this day. In 2014, they shook off that shackle and freely elected their first truly Ukrainian president. Putin and his ultra-right-wing cronies were not happy and decided to punish Ukraine for their drive to be truly free of Russian domination. The Ukraine government made advances toward European Union membership and the umbrella protection of full NATO participation. Putin and his buddies did not like that, so they rattled their saber to intimidate and cower Ukraine and the former Warsaw Pact countries for that matter. The Russian army invaded Donbass with “Little Green Men,” i.e., Russian soldiers without identification, and they conduct an illegitimate plebiscite in Crimea; both actions in 2014. That deed did not accomplish what Putin wanted, so he initiated an outright invasion in 2022. To this day, Russians occupy around 20% of Ukraine. They continue to bombard schools, residential buildings, shopping centers, hospitals, and innocent Ukrainian women and children. Putin is not fighting a war of any kind or sort. Putin is attempting to destroy Ukraine—their brutal form of scorched earth . . . to punish them for daring to be free. What is distinctly and starkly missing from the Russian peace plan under a United States title is, there is no mention of prosecution of Russian war crimes. These are largely Russia’s conditions, not Ukrainian; they are not even American. They are Russian plain and simple.

I do not want war. I do not want Ukrainians, or Russians for that matter, to die because of a hegemonic dictator in Moscow. I want the Russian war on Ukraine to end. I also want Ukraine to be free . . . to be free, to choose their course in international relations. I support their efforts to join the EU and NATO. From my perspective, the orange one’s 28-point plan ‘for’ Ukraine is quite akin to the Munich Accord signed by Chamberlain and Daladier in 1938, when they unilaterally dissected Czechoslovakia, another independent, sovereign nation, to satisfy another hegemonic dictator. How did that work out? History will record the same judgment.

Just a sidenote of sorts, NATO has been, from its inception, a solely defensive organization. Russian claims of feeling threatened by NATO at its border is bogus, nonsensical, and verging upon irrational. They have had NATO on their border since 2004. Why did the former Warsaw Pact nations join NATO? Simple answer—protection . . . from Russia. No one has attacked Russia, but Russia sure as hell attacked other sovereign countries—Georgia (2008), Ukraine (2014). Russians love to point to the 27 million people they lost in fighting the Germans in World War II as rationale for their actions today. What they conveniently ignore or refuse to acknowledge are the million plus Russians killed by Stalin and his NKVD / NKGB agents to satisfy Uncle Joe’s paranoia. Punishing Ukraine for Stalin’s / Putin’s paranoia is wrong and absolutely unacceptable.

 

During my contemplation of Ukraine’s situation with the United States advocating for the Russian demands, a number of relevant questions came to mind.

1. Is Ukraine a free, independent, sovereign nation?

2. Does Ukraine have the rights of sovereign nations to decide its path to peace and prosperity?

3. Is Ukraine just a contemporary version of 1938 Czechoslovakia?

4. What right does Russia have to take territory from Ukraine by force of arms?

5. What authority does any nation have to dictate to Ukraine (or Czechoslovakia) how they should choose to live?

6. What is the difference between Putin’s claims on the Donbass region and Hitler’s claims on Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia?

I would genuinely like to hear how others answer the above questions, and how they see the Ukrainian situation? Or even, their opinion on the orange one’s 28-point plan. Let’s hear it—good, bad, or ugly.

 

Yet another MAGAt fallacy becomes clear. The orange one likes the term ‘narco-terrorism’ in his warped rationalization for the deployment of massive military force to interdict narco-traffickers in the Caribbean Sea. This administration joins previous administrations—Nixon, Reagan, and now the orange administration. No name wants us to believe there is an active program to contaminate our society with illegal drugs. The fallacy in the whole process is, they ignore demand. If there was no demand for those substances, there would be no smuggling. Case in point from history, the massive smuggling and criminal operations that existed during the prohibition era (1919-1933) brought significant direct and collateral crime to feed demand. No demand, no supply. Worse, no name has initiated extra-judicial executions in the name of stopping narco-terrorism without due process of law. At least one of those attack videos showed what appeared to be an empty boat. Just another necessary reminder, only Congress has the authority to declare war, or short of that, to authorize the use of military force. None of those actions have occurred. Congress has remained impotent and immobile. These are the times in which we live.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1246:

Comment to the Blog:

“Those of us who have consumed too much fiction expect the villains in this situation to be brilliant, but evil. Someone pointed out recently that in reality, most of them are barely competent. They’ve stumbled upon circumstances they can exploit. Here we are. Bondi’s and Halligan’s attempted persecutions of James Comey and Leticia James are outstanding examples of this. In other situations, individuals just like these don’t thrive.

“On the same note, while I hope Mark Kelly remains impervious to this nonsense, Agent Orange has drawn much more attention to the duty to refuse illegal orders. That could set up prosecutions.

“I agree that Agent Orange committed sedition on January 6, 2021. He might not live long enough to receive sentencing for that.

“The people making the decisions about health insurance and other issues at the Federal level have so much money that they needn’t worry about paying for healthcare. They are the goats. The MAGAts are the sheep.

“I await the release of the Epstein files (not redacted other than victims’ identities), and I support the calls to listen to the victims who continue trying to get Americans’ attention.”

My response to the Blog:

I cannot argue with your assessment. The orange one’s penchant for choosing bootlickers for important jobs is pervasive, demonstrable, and well-known. Most intelligent citizens see them exactly for what they are—bootlicker sycophants. Any individual who cozies up to the orange one like a moth to the flame should always remember loyalty is a one-way street with that con-man. He will use you and throw you away; easy come, easy go.

I am not sure I see the “drawn . . . to” assessment. I think he knows he is guilty and is screaming to obfuscate and deflect. Now, they are throwing the CinC South Command, Admiral Bradley, under the bus.

Whether the orange one lives long enough is not what I am concerned about. I want history to record his malfeasance.

Interesting observation about health insurance agents.

I am with you on the Epstein files. I want the consumers of Epstein’s services to face the public humiliation, and if possible, the prosecution they deserve.

 . . . Round two:

“I never said Agent Orange intended to draw attention to military law. That's the result, though.

“I didn't say anything about any insurance agents. They are not the ones making policy decisions. The wealthy people who operate the party Central Committees make the decisions.”

 . . . my response to round two:

OK. Noted. ‘Nuf said.

It is unfortunate that you apparently took my comments as a direct statement about you. When Congress grappled with the PPACA legislation, they struggled with who would pay. A portion sought a universal health care system similar to numerous other countries. We are part way toward that objective, e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, and to a certain extent, the original PPACA. From my perspective, Congress buckled under the enormous pressure from the health insurance companies to utilize the existing payor system, i.e., their companies. It was a compromise that created numerous deficiencies thus making PPACA an easy target for conservatives, who do not care a twit about people.

We have long agreed that money corrupts our political systems. We like to claim purity, but we are a very long way from democracy. It is no wonder so many citizens are and become disheartened by the political process. We must continue the struggle to achieve true democracy.

 . . . Round three:

“I think I know where I went off track in the discussion about health insurance. I didn't say or read anything personal to me. ‘The people making the decisions’ about health insurance that I referred to aren't me, you, or the politicians enacting the decisions. They are insurance executives and Wall Street players.”

 . . . my response to round three:

I am not so sure it is that simple. One of the many flaws in the PPACA is the ceding of payer authority to the for-profit insurance companies. I am running into those insurance decisions in my medical treatment. So far, we have been successful, but the request for approval, rejection, and appeal process takes time that I do not have much of it these days. I’m not sure I want Congress making those decisions either. I feel the total rejection day coming as my treatments get more complex and my capacity to tolerate those treatments decreases. Sooner or later, an ‘enough’ decision must be made. Money is not in limitless supply for anyone, including me. That’s the difficult part.

Just some thoughts of first-hand observations.

 . . . Round four:

“I support your personal observation, and it generalizes to all of us. I hope one day we'll emulate countries with better health outcomes, which have single-payer systems. The problem about that is how we can push those who are making personal and corporate fortunes out of the way.”

 . . . my response to round four:

Thank you for your support.

I would suggest in the same way Roosevelt pushed for the massive reform during the Great Depression era. Health care is a very complex matter. Yet, there are simple axioms, e.g., early detection improves outcomes. We will continue to advocate for universal health care (of some form).

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)