Oil Be There

Some shitstorm they stirred up last weekend, huh? He actually had to go and invade another country, kidnap their president and his wife, and bring them back here for trial. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Maduro, there are so many things that don’t pass the smell test for a nation with integrity. Nothing makes sense in any benign way; only in the most corrupt readings.

AG Bondi says she’s charging them with breaking arms laws. American arms laws. Jesus H Christ, since when do American laws apply to citizens of other countries, who are located in other countries? So can the Philippine government kidnap US citizens and cane them for spitting gum on the sidewalk or spraying graffiti? National laws start and stop at their own borders. WTF is wrong with these idiots?

TFG justifies the invasion by saying, “They took our oil.”  How in the actual fuck is oil buried deep under Venezuela the property of the United States? How totally presumptuous. And I know there were oil deals made and broken, but they’ve already been long resolved:

This thing is 50% about stealing oil for the big fossil fuel industry donors to Republicans, and 50% about distracting from the Epstein file mess, for which the explanation for excessive redactions was due yesterday. We are literally living through the great movie Wag the Dog; war as distraction from problems at home.

TFG says we’re “going to run Venezuela,” and Little Marco had this to say in defense of the indefensible:

The US creates “court orders,” so the US has grounds to topple a foreign government. It’s basically the Fox “News” practice of bringing up various charges lobbed at Democrats and then later broadcasting: “Many people are talking about these charges about Democratic Democrat politicians…” And again, since when does a US court order have any sway in another country?

I wonder why they took the wife, though. As leverage to make him do what they want? Or maybe she has too many Venezuelan parking tickets, or owns an exotic animal that’s illegal in Alabama. Or maybe they just don’t want Maduro to get lonely.

Deep down, there is no rational rationale; there are only piles of shit to throw at the wall to see what sticks. Ultimately, they don’t care if they can’t defend these actions because the system is set up to allow them to do as they please. Thank you, Supreme Court, for creating an 800-pound monster with a Sultan’s desires and a toddler’s impulse control.

The BS about defending the nation against drugs rings hollow when he just pardoned another South American president/drug lord who had been convicted here. It’s key to remember that Republicans don’t have many core beliefs; they believe strongly in whatever they need at that moment, and are ready to do a full 180 should that need disappear. State’s rights, bodily autonomy, it’s all negotiable depending on what they want to do today.

Republicans are lining up to support whatever he does, because I’m sure they realize that if he can disappear a foreign president, he can do the same to a US Congressman. Or worse, he might call them mean names.

When I heard the news on Saturday morning, the first thing I thought was that if this is the new normal, maybe we could work out a little quid pro quo with another country like Canada or Denmark. But by midday, that notion was all over the place. Thus is the drawback of doing a weekly blog.

There’s been more talk that this was prearranged with Russia years ago, where we would allow them to take Ukraine, and they would allow us to take Venezuela. I believe it, because TFG doesn’t do anything on the international stage that doesn’t benefit Putin. I’m sure they’re in lockstep on this.

So, here we are, in another foreign war brought on by oil. Republicans kill any movement on increasing development or renewable energy sources, so the money continues to flow to oil companies/donors. And now, they’re replenishing the fossil fuel troughs with more oil, to keep those big donations coming. Palatial ballrooms don’t build themselves, you know.

There's nothing like starting a new year with a giant kick in the face.