Thoughts for the Day, January 5, 2025: Here we go again
It has never worked before, what makes Trump think it will work in Venezuela?
Here we go again
Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Venezuela.
In my lifetime these are the countries that the U.S. has tried to use force to make regime changes and turn the country and its people into a country that looks favorable toward the U.S. History shows us that it has not worked out as we hoped. I am certain Venezuela will be another failure. When you don’t learn from your mistakes, you are bound to repeat them.
Why?
For the last forty-eight hours, I have tried to make sense of Trump’s kidnapping President Maduro and his wife.
Accusing Maduro of being a drug trafficker makes sense except for Trump’s pardon of the President of the Honduras Juan Orlando Hernadez who was convicted of charges much more serious than Maduro has been charged.
It can’t be about the oil, because no company in its right mind would want any part of investing in Venezuela, without a major commitment of protection from the U.S. for its investments. This would require boots on the ground which would be highly unfavorable in Venezuela and the U.S.
In the end, my conclusion goes back to what a good friend told me over a year ago. Trump wants to control the Western Hemisphere and he and Putin made a deal in Trump’s first term that Trump would allow Putin to expand his control in the Eastern Hemisphere if Putin would give Trump free reign in the Western Hemisphere.
Based on Trump’s recent threats toward Columbia, Mexico, Cuba and Greenland, and his comments about Canada becoming the 51st state and Trump’s clear favoritism toward Russia in its attempted takeover of Ukraine, it is clear there is merit to Trump and Putin having such an agreement.
Note: in today’s NY Times, it is being reported that in 2019 Russia signaled that it was willing to allow the United States to act as it pleased in Venezuela, in exchange for Washington giving the Kremlin a free hand in Ukraine, according to Congressional testimony from Fiona Hill, who ran Russian and European affairs on the National Security Council during the first Trump administration.
****************************************************************************************************
Trump is stomping on Congress
When Trump was asked why he didn’t inform Congress as required by law prior to the removal of Maduro, Trump said, “Congress has a tendency to leak.”
I was all set to continue by rant that Congress should do its job, not Donald Trump’s bidding. The Republican controlled Congress continues to allow Trump to run roughshod over the Constitution without fighting back. Trump’s action in Venezuela is unconstitutional no matter how he spins it, yet the Republican led Congress just sits back and allows Trump to do whatever he likes. I cannot even get a response anymore to my emails by my congressman, Jack Bergman.
Rather than my own rant, I will share comments from Senator Cory Booker and his reaction to the Congress’ willingness to allow Trump to stomp on the Constitution. Here are excerpts from Civil Discourse by Joyce Vance.
Booker called Congress cowardly and submissive.
We are long past due for someone to speak so plainly to the country about the Republican-led Congress’ failure to do its constitutional duty. The question is, who is listening, and will it lead to action this week? As my good friend Norm Eisen like to say, I am not optimistic, but I am hopeful.
Booker writes that “Republicans in Congress own this corrosive collapse of our constitutional order” and that their submission to Trump’s will “now stands as one of the greatest dangers to our nation and to the global order America claims to defend.” The fact that Maduro is “a brutal dictator who has committed grave abuses” does not, Booker concludes, suspend the Constitution. And so, he drives home the point of what must come next:
“The Constitution is unambiguous: Congress has the power and responsibility to authorize the use of military force and declare war. Congress has a duty of oversight. Congress must serve as a check, not a rubber stamp, to the President.”
“We face an authoritarian-minded president who acts with dangerous growing impunity. He has shown a willingness to defy court orders, violate the law, ignore congressional intent, and shred basic norms of decency and democracy. This pattern will continue unless the Article I branch of government, especially Republican congressional leadership, finds the courage to act.”
“What happened today [in Venezuela] is wrong. Congressional Republicans would say so immediately if a Democratic president had done the same. Their silence is surrender. And in that surrender lie the seeds of our democratic unraveling.”
“Enough is enough,” Booker concludes. With three years left in this administration, it’s time to stop the (constitutional) bleeding.
Senator Booker wrote at length at a time when many Americans have lost the will or the ability to take in an argument laid out like this. For some people, it’s easier to ignore common sense and stay in the fold of the cult. But Booker’s words are well worth our time and well worth sharing with others. His argument is not subtle or nuanced, and it’s accessible to anyone who has taken a fourth-grade civics class: Congress should do its job, not Donald Trump’s bidding. The future of the Republic depends upon it. They would demand it if a Democratic president had done what Donald Trump did—something that has been true over and over, but is all the more poignant with the anniversary of January 6 staring us in the face. Maybe Congress will remember what that day felt like and how they reacted. Maybe enough of them can muster some courage—if for no other reason than that the history books, and likely voters at the midterms, will condemn them if they don’t.
********************************************************************************************************
And then there is this
From Mary Geddry on Saturday following the military strike and kidnapping of the Venezuela President and his wife
Obviously, I hadn’t planned on writing about this today. But here we are again, reacting to spectacle and crisis instead of responding to policy, governance, or anything resembling strategy. That, more than any single strike or statement, is the through-line of the Trump era: chaos as a governing tool, distraction as a defense mechanism, and consequences outsourced to everyone else.
It’s telling that Trump once again scooped his own State Department, announcing a major military operation on Truth Social before diplomats, allies, or even Congress had been briefed. Foreign policy by social media isn’t just reckless, it actively undermines the institutions meant to manage escalation, prevent miscalculation, and keep the world from spiraling.
What this moment demands isn’t bravado or loyalty tests. It demands grownups in the room, people willing to reassert constitutional limits, rein in Trump’s worst impulses, and remind the world that the United States is not supposed to function by midnight posts and fait accompli military actions.
********************************************************************************************************
A special day on the golf course
While getting ready for our round of golf today, we were treated to special entertainment as the Blue Angels decided to make a few practice runs today. To the best of my knowledge two of the jets flying. We were able to watch one streak across the horizon above the trees and then go 90 degrees straight up and then fly upside down back to in the direction it started.
When I got home to tell Leah, she was more excited than I was. She was walking the beach when they flew directly over her and then did the same 90-degree maneuver I saw, but she was able to see more of a show. She got to see them flying upside down over the beach.
It is an awesome experience.
See my Video of the Day for a previous practice day in May 2025
************************************************************************************************************
Please accept my apology
This past weekend, I was working on making some enhancements to my blog. When I went to test the changes, the changes were supposed to be sent only to me, instead it was sent to all subscribers under the title “Why Subscribe?”. This is what happens when a 74-year-old is working with technology and he doesn’t fully understand how it works. I am sorry for any confusion it caused. I get the Onion for the Day
Quote of the Day: “Congress should do its job, not Donald Trump’s bidding.” Senator Cory Booker
Orchid of the Day: The Blue Angels. Poetry in motion. See my Video of the Day
Onion of the Day: Me for sending out a post to subscribers this weekend that was not supposed to be sent.
Question of the Day: Why?
Lyrics of the Day: Headin’ out to San Francisco
For the Labor Day weekend show
I got my Hush Puppies on
I guess I never was meant for glitter rock ‘n’ roll
And honey, I didn’t know that I’d be missin’ you so
Lyrics of the Day for December 23. 2025. Let it snow.
Video of the Day: Blue Angel Practice - NAS Pensacola Flight Line - May 14, 2025 (no music) Not today.
I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.
That would be Come Monday by Jimmy Buffet.