Category: Current Events

These are posts in which I comment on events which are happening right now. They may or may not fit into any other specific category.

Destroying the Village to Save It: Modern Version

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

In just a few days, the two week cease-fire in the Iran war will come to an end. What happens then is anybody’s guess, that is, if you’re not politically or militarily connected to the power-brokers who call the shots. What is certain, however, is that all the warring parties have been feverishly restocking their depleted stores of bombs, missiles, drones, planes, and other assorted war-waging materiel just in case the shooting starts all over again. I am quite sure it will. This time around, if it does, I would expect an all-out, no holds barred, assault on Iran and a reciprocal fire aimed at Israel, the GCC, and any US assets in the region.

Whatever happens, shoot or go home, there is one serious side-effect to this war which is not going to go away anytime soon, i.e., the shortage of oil around the world which has been caused by the Hormuz Strait closure and which will not be restored to any former sense of normalcy for months, at the very least. Larry Johnson sums it up quite well in this interview with Danny Davis. Donald Trump might put it like this, if he was to think about it.

“Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz which was open before the war cannot be tolerated. It was closed by Iran because we attacked them and now we’re going to attack them again to force it open. This war has already caused immense financial and social damage world-wide, but we have to continue it because Iran is at war with us.”

In other words, we have to wreck the world economy to save the world. Shades of Viet Nam.

The Strait was closed to traffic at the start of the war and, except for a few isolated instances, no oil tankers have transited it since then. Now, assume that a fully loaded tanker leaves the Strait headed for China or Japan, a voyage of 6500 +/- miles and travels at an average speed of 15 miles per hour, 24 hours per day. The voyage would take 433.33 hours or about 3 weeks to complete the trip. This means that all the tankers which left the Strait at the start of the war have already reached their port destination and unloaded the cargo. Plan a week to offload and another three weeks to make the return voyage means that a round trip could be made in seven weeks, or just about the length of time of the war so far.

The problem, under this scenario, is that there are no more tankers en route with cargo since none are allowed through the Strait and, even if these tankers could reload and ship out immediately, say another week to turn around, it would mean four more weeks before they arrive again in China or Japan. This means at least two months with no oil shipping from the Persian Gulf which will be absolutely disastrous to these countries (and all others dependent) and the effects will be felt around the world, including the US which (supposedly) is self-sufficient in oil. Not exactly true, but that’s another story. For a good description of how this affects the societies on the ground around the world, see here. Even if the Strait was fully opened immediately, there would still be that time lapse when no oil moved and the consequences of that will linger for a long time. If the active shooting restarts, the problem will only get worse.

Net result: cost of oil going through the roof and everything else which is derived from it rising in lockstep. We may very well see gasoline at $10 or $12 per gallon before this is done, which will basically cut the foundation from under the world economy and it will fall like a stone. A very large stone. Recall the lyrics which John Fogerty of CCR sang in the classic, “I see a bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way.”

Well done, Mr. Trump.

Massive dislocations in society, both public and private, are coming, like the predicted return of Jesus by so many people, soon, real soon. Those changes will probably get here first and will result in major alterations in the way the average person lives. They will drive the switch in thinking from “What can I buy which will make me feel better about myself?” to “How can I stay alive and feed my family today?”. In short, a paradigm change in the consideration of what is truly important. We need to be ready for that, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and the best place to start our preparations is found in this. 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
And do not lean on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
-- Proverbs 3:5-6

Weekly Wrap-up: War, Peace, Church Tradition, and Pure Speculation

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

The ongoing war between US/Israel and Iran, with all the permutations and angles this possesses (Hezbollah, Strait of Hormuz closure, potential Bab el Mandeb closure, etc.) is set to resume on Monday after the temporary two-week “cease-fire” expires. I hope that it will not and that the belligerents involved will be able to talk through their differences, but I expect that they will pick up their guns and begin firing again, this time with all-out fervor until one of them knuckles under and cries, “Uncle!”.

Col. Douglas McGregor lays it out quite plainly in this 30 minute video. See here.

Tucker Carlson has a lengthy video out concerning Donald Trump and his blatant mockery of Jesus Christ, Christianity, and Islam. I watched the first fifteen minutes, then shut it off to work on this post, however, I am in complete agreement, at least, so far, with his argument. Like I said, I only watched fifteen minutes. See here. For good measure, read my recent post on the same subject.

For the last few days, I have been reading Immanuel Velikovsky’s book, “Worlds in Collision”, in which he posits that the planet we know today as Venus was once a comet which nearly collided with Earth and was then captured by the sun’s gravity. He claims this occurred near the same time as the Biblical story of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt and the conquest of the “promised land” about 1500 years before Christ. It is fascinating reading and for serious scholars (unlike myself) is heavily footnoted. His argument is compelling and, even though I am only about a third of the way through, I intend to finish it. It explains a lot in a logical manner (sometimes it appears to be quite far-fetched) about past happenings which we tend to disregard as myths and pooh-pooh as ancient religious beliefs.

Traditional religion and modern science ridicule his hypothesis as bunk, delusional, and unscriptural, but the question remains. What if he is correct and everyone else is wrong? After all, the saying, “Athanasius contra mundum.”, originated because a leader in the early Christian Church stood virtually alone in his defense of the divinity of Jesus Christ against the doctrines and beliefs of the Arian teaching. Athanasius was eventually vindicated and his teaching accepted as truth.

Just because you’re the only one doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

If you’re interested, download a free .pdf copy here.

Just war? What exactly is just war? Is there such a thing as a “just” war? Apparently, according to the recently anointed Pope, Leo XIV, this is open for discussion. And some hate him for bringing up the subject.

“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.” — https://x.com/Pontifex/status/2042588417578668338

This does not sit well with some Catholics, however, who prefer tradition, interpretation, and doctrine over the actual teachings of Jesus, who spoke very plainly about the need to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us. Instead, we prefer to “do unto others, but do it to them first”.

Notice that the author of the article linked to, Matthew McCusker, leans quite heavily on Old Testament scripture to reinforce his position, but when he shifts to a discussion of the topic according to the New Covenant, there is absolutely no New Testament scripture quoted. Instead, he resorts to a history of the Catholic Church calling for wars and blessing wars in the name of the Christ. For instance,

‘The Sacred Scriptures, which are divinely revealed and free from all error, make it clear that (i) God commands war, (ii) war can be justified by reference to God’s commands and revelation, and (iii) He listens to the prayers of those who wage war.

Indeed, the waging of war at God’s command, and with His blessing, is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. Throughout the history of Israel and Judah, from the time of Moses down to the Maccabean revolt of the second century BC, God blessed those who fought in His name and He answered their prayers.”

And, without any reference to New Testament approval or blessing,

“The Church has also shown that God approves of fighting and leading just wars by repeatedly canonizing soldiers and military commanders.”

God approves of wars and fighting because the Church has repeatedly canonized soldiers and military commanders. I mean, my goodness, if this is the way to life then, by all means, let’s kill them all and let God sort them out. The problem for McCusker is that we do not live under the Old Covenant and are not obligated to its demands, but a New Covenant which has different rules of living. There is no such thing as a “just” war. Wars always result in the deaths and sufferings of innocent individuals, many of them women and children, who have done nothing to deserve what they are getting. McCusker needs to come up with a better defense of war than church tradition and papal bulls.

I am not Catholic and never will be, but I have to say that I think the Pope is on the right track and, given that he is on Donald Trump’s “naughty” list, makes me even more convinced that he is worth supporting in this.

“Tradition, tradition!” “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!” “That way, the whole world will be blind and toothless.” — from the musical, Fiddler on the Roof

Don’t Cross These Red Lines

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

From an article on Zero Hedge:

Trump’s 6 Red Lines

Fox News reports that Vice President Vance’s final offer delivered to the Iranian delegation in Islamabad includes the following “red lines.”

  1. End all uranium enrichment
  2. Dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities 
  3. Retrieve highly enriched uranium 
  4. Accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies
  5. End funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis
  6. Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage

Needless to say, Iran refused to agree. 

Oh-kay! Translation below.

Trump: “End all uranium enrichment.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “Dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable. Besides, we don’t have any nuclear enrichment facilities anymore since you “obliterated” them last year in the 12-day war. Remember? Do we need to play the clips?”

Trump: “Retrieve Surrender highly enriched uranium.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “Accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies.” Iran: “We have already proposed this as a condition, but that will have to include Israel as well. Without Israel, this is not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “End funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.” Iran: “What funding is this? We can’t even afford to pay our own people since our currency is worthless. We know this because you are always bragging about destroying it.”

Trump: “Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable. That is our trump card (pardon the pun) and we intend to play it to the max. Someone is going to pay for this war and if you refuse to pony up for the damages caused, then the rest of the world will. Besides, and we hate to belabor the point, but before we were attacked, the Strait was fully and freely open to anyone who wanted to transit it. We did not start this trouble, but we are going to finish it.”

Needless to say, Team Trump got up and walked out.

Next move: Donald Trump. “Blockade the blockade.”

Resumption of War: Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

There was, supposedly, a two-week ceasefire in the war between Iran and the US/Israel tag team for the purpose of “negotiating” an end to the shooting. I say supposedly because the shooting never really stopped completely, but was only diminished to a fairly low degree. The negotiations (if you can call them that) occurred between the US and Iran because Israel refused point-blank to participate and, if an actual ceasefire had been adopted, probably would have refused to cooperate.

Nevertheless, the US team (led by vice-president J. D. Vance and his “minders”, Witkoff and Kushner) apparently could only stick it out for less than 24 hours before they determined that the talks were fruitless and walked out. This tells me that they came into the arena with a pre-determined set of demands (as did the Iranians) which they were unwilling to alter for any reason (as were the Iranians). However, since US/Israel were the aggressors in this conflict and had unilaterally attacked Iran, without warning, it seems logical and fair that they should have been the ones to soften their stance first. Since this didn’t happen, the only way to look at the situation is that the ceasefire was implemented, not out of a sincere desire to arrive at a resolution, but for strategic purposes, that is, to allow time for a breather and an opportunity to re-arm in preparation for Round #3.

The war will resume and continue until one side or the other has had enough and calls it quits:

  • Israel will not do this, continuing to the very end, fighting with everything it has, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons if it is deemed necessary, which will probably be its death knell. No matter, suicide is better than being beaten to death.
  • Iran is in an existential position. Defeat for it means submission to and subjection under the heel of the US hegemon, the destruction of its society, and the loss of control over its resources, similar to other countries within living memory: Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Syria, Somalia, etc. It is not likely that Iran will capitulate and surrender, until or unless surrender becomes preferable to death. In this, Iran is more reasonable than Israel.
  • This leaves the US as the only possible dropout, with serious international repercussions and harm to its unipolar status and empire, not to mention personal humiliation to the pride of Donald Trump who cannot admit wrong in anything. However, American wars since Korea have not produced anything approximating a clear and sustainable victory, virtually guaranteeing that this one will be no different and the longer it drags on, the more resistance it will generate at home, perhaps even culminating in a vigorous anti-war movement a la the Vietnam era.

As I said, the war will resume and continue, probably escalate into a region-wide conflict far beyond the current locations, and may very well result in the large powers (US, Russia, China, EU) flinging nuclear tipped missiles at each other, threatening not only each other but the entire planet.

Why do we have wars? Why can human beings not live without trying to kill each other? Why does destruction of “others” hold so much fascination for us? What would it take for this tendency to be eliminated from our pattern of living? Why are we not willing to attain that?

This morning, I replied to a comment on the Unz Review in which the commenter took exception to the conclusion of the article which sought to explore the reasons for war, basically arriving at the conclusion that money (profit, interest, financial gain) was behind all wars. The commenter in question disagreed with that, stating that most wars, the large majority, were due to differences in tribal identity, ethnic interests, and religious viewpoints. While I cannot argue that these contribute to the hostility between people, they are, in my opinion, symptoms of the disease and not the cause of it. I concluded my comment with this thought.

“The winner takes it all. Gain (call it profit) is all that counts. In animals, this is instinctual and they can do nothing about it. In humans, it is a spiritual matter (call it greed, covetousness, selfishness, hatred, etc.), springing from the depths of the personal soul and it can be countered, overcome, and changed for the better of everyone. It must be conquered if we are to survive.”

https://www.unz.com/article/all-wars-are-bankers-wars-iran-and-the-bankers-endgame/#comment-7579938

There is only one solution to war. It has nothing to do with money, power, the “greater good”, better and more destructive armaments, political savvy and machinations. Instead, it begins within the individual human soul, the admission that the hatred, anger, selfishness, greed, covetousness, and desire to see others harmed, is not beneficial to oneself and is to be repented of. The absence of war might be achieved by states, powers, and societies temporarily, but the absence of war is not equivalent to the “peace which passes all understanding” and which can only be gained by the admission of sin in one’s soul, the humbling of personal pride, the earnest request for help, and the alteration of the way a person thinks about his relationship to God, to himself, and to those around him. Without this spiritual level paradigm shift, there simply is no peace and, as a consequence, wars arise, not because one person can create wars, but due to the fact that societies and cultures are built by the agglomeration of individuals, many of whom have not made that shift and who seek power for its own sake, using all the techniques known to sinful man in the process.

If you would change the world, change yourself.

Easter Morning Message of Death and Destruction

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116351998782539414

“Praise be to Allah.” ???? Just two days ago, Trump gave glory to God in posting about his ultimatum to Iran over the Hormuz Strait. Either he can’t make up his mind which god he worships or else he’s covering all the bases. Which god does he actually represent? Certainly not Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who teaches us to love our enemies, not kill them.

I am not a psychologist but I can read into this. Things are going horribly wrong and Donald Trump is at his wit’s end, pulling his hair out, over this Iran debacle which he foolishly injected himself and America into. No, wait! Let’s make that, himself and the United States1, not America, because the two no longer are synonymous. The vast majority of America is against this conflict and wants him to pull out–win or lose. Just get out!

Back to the point.

No one, including US presidents who can do whatever they want, who have no restraints placed on their power and will except their own mind, would talk like that if things were going their way. If Trump was getting everything he wanted out of this war to destroy Iran for the sake of Israel and Bibi Netanyahu, then he would not make threats and demands in such strident and crass language. These are not the words of a diplomat making attempts to resolve a critical situation. Instead, they reflect an understanding in his soul that his wants and desires are being thwarted and that his vision of a speedy victory of accomplishment is rapidly receding into the rear-view mirror. They are the words of a passionate madman, an extremely dangerous madman, and all of us should be concerned because of, not so much the words themselves, but the irrational, incoherent actions, orders, and consequences which they foretell, a potential Armageddon, so to speak. If you think I’m being too hard on the man, see these responses from far more prominent and powerful persons than I will ever be.

Consider one of these Armageddon scenarios, as mentioned in Ryan McMaken’s thoughtful article on Lew Rockwell.

“We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets for our air force. Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: “Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.” I consider it all hopeless at this point. We shall have to try to prevent things from coming to that, if at all possible. Our armed forces, however, are not the thirtieth strongest in the world, but rather the second or third. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.’” — Martin van Creveld, a prominent Israeli military historian who spoke these words in 2003.

In layman’s terms, this is called the Samson Option.

“Strategic literature has long discussed what is sometimes referred to as the “Samson Option” — the idea that Israel could resort to nuclear weapons if faced with defeat. Whether or not such a doctrine formally exists, the logic behind it is clear. If a state genuinely believes its existence is threatened, the pressure to escalate dramatically becomes far greater.”

In van Creveld’s quote above, he referenced Moshe Dayan. “Israel must be like a mad dog…” Today, we can clearly see that Donald Trump is talking and acting like a mad person, virtually foaming at the mouth in his insane remarks and, considering the close relationship he has with the string-pullers who support and back Israel, it is not far-fetched to expect that the world will soon be bitten and savaged by this “mad dog” mentality. In the real world, rabies (the official term) is treated by a vaccine before the symptoms appear. In the political world, especially one in which Congress refuses to act as any kind of restraint on Trump’s behavior, it may be too late to “inoculate” the victim, which only leaves two options: remove him from office via the 25th Amendment or allow him to continue “biting” in a furious rage until everyone who is affected (the entire world) meets a logical, horrible end.

It’s the end of the world as we knew it and tomorrow will not be the same as yesterday.

Clearly, the most obvious rational move would be for JD Vance and Trump’s cabinet members to declare him unfit to rule and depose him with the assent of Congress. In this, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth would also have to be shown the door, shaking up the entire power structure and ushering in a new dynamic which might, actually might, restore a sense of balance to foreign policy.

However, being that this is Washington, DC, all bets are off and there is nothing to do except make noise, hope for the best, and wait to see what comes out of it.

  1. Defined as the entire government structure, the military-industrial complex, the mass media, the neo-con warmongers like Lindsey Graham, the major banks and money-changers, and the sycophantic, delusional believers in Christian Zionism. ↩︎

Broken, but Still Defiant

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

By this time, you have probably seen Donald Trump’s recent address to the American public and the world on the situation in the Middle East. If you haven’t, watch it here.

I only watched the first half of this, about nine minutes, then I turned it off. I couldn’t take any more. I actually felt compassion for the man, which is something different for me, because I have never had anything but contempt for him before this.

Trump is broken. He’s done. He walked in as if he was about ready to collapse, head down, without any life in his step. During the time I watched, he never let go of the lectern and never took his eyes off the auto-prompt, reading everything on it in a mechanical manner quite unlike his usual self. Eyes straight ahead, monotone voice. Body language defying everything he said. None of the usual bombastic, flamboyant behavior. Even when he took credit for all the “good” things which have happened, it was as if coming from a robot.

I’m not surprised. After all, the Word promises that those who exalt themselves shall be humbled, and there is no question about Trump exalting himself. “I’m the president. I can do anything I want. The only limit I recognize is my own mind, my own will, my own morality. Look at me. Look at me. Look. Look. Look.”

Trump is broken. He’s run up against something which he can’t control and it has done him in. This is probably the first time in his life where he experienced something like this, with negative repercussions directly and visibly in front of him and no way to avoid the accounting, which is disastrous. No matter which way he turns, no matter what he does, he loses. Loses, loses bigly. He is in uncharted territory.

I could easily expound on the Iran war, but that is not necessary. There are more than enough pundits eager and willing to analyze and write about that. Instead, I’m going to psychoanalyze Mr. Trump’s position and his mentality, from a distance, of course, as I have never met the man and I have never had any training in the profession, but I have had a lot of experience from life.

Trump is in a very bad position, between Iran and a hard place.1 If he withdraws from the battle because it is beginning to cost too much, then he will be seen as a loser, a quitter, someone who can’t stand being punched in the nose. If he stays in the fight, he has to escalate in order to “win”, a subjective perception which might or might not play well at home with his fan base. If he escalates, he runs the risk of generating even greater losses than already incurred, i.e., the lives of hundreds or thousands of American servicemen/women which will not play well at home. If this war drags on very much longer, it runs the risk of becoming a Viet Nam type engagement, which will not play well at home. If he resorts to the use of nuclear weapons (or consents to the use of Israeli nuclear weapons), he runs the risk of world-wide condemnation, including from his home base. He can’t quit and he can’t continue. Is it any wonder that he appeared as he did last night in the speech he presented? Old, broken, and unwilling to admit failure and defeat.

God, please, please have mercy on that man. He needs it.

  1. Pardon the pun. George W. Bush was in the same predicament more than 20 years ago. Caught between Iraq and a hard place. The saying goes, “caught between a rock and a hard place”, in other words, in a position where everything you do turns out badly because you made a stupid, a really stupid mistake to start with. ↩︎

Trump’s War: Escalate or TACO

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Can Iran actually sink a US aircraft carrier? Well, maybe. Simplicius says no and explains why here. Fifteen minutes of detailed information to make his case. This video, on the other hand, lays out a different viewpoint. An interesting thirteen minutes why we might be finding out soon which theory is correct, and who loses the most.

https://youtu.be/Gr5DMqDPCQk

What really connected with me are the multiple references in the video to the US striking Teheran’s power generation system which would plunge the city of ten million people into darkness for weeks, perhaps months, with many more times the number of deaths due to the outage than from the original strike. Yet, this is exactly what the West has constantly lectured Russia about with respect to Ukraine’s power system, calling the Russian strikes on the grid vicious and barbaric, designed to starve and freeze the civilian population into surrender. We don’t wage war on civilians, do we? Now, we are in the same boat and…crickets.

Why does this matter so greatly? Because Donald Trump is caught between a rock and a hard place1, where every move he makes is going to be wrong. He can’t bomb Teheran’s power grid into “obliteration” without risking the destruction of the USS Gerald R. Ford and the loss of 5000+ personnel. He can’t back down because that will be seen by the Irani leadership and the rest of the world as capitulation to threats. If the carrier is sunk, he would have to choose between all-out war with the potential use of nukes and the risk of Russia and China becoming directly involved or calling off his dogs of war and slinking home with his tail between his legs. Either way, no matter which way, Trump loses. There is no “Art of the Deal” here. It is highly unlikely that he has never been in this position before in his entire life.

Which explains why he appears to be increasingly rattled and unhinged.

Oh, did I mention that he postponed the long-scheduled meeting in China with Xi Jinping for a month? Seems he needs to be in Washington to administer the war, his war, which was originally slated to last for only two days–between the stock market close on Friday and its opening bell the following Monday. Now he’s telling us that it will go on for at least another 30 days.

Hmmmmm. The best laid plans of mice and men…

I’ve given up trying to guess what he’s going to do next. I don’t think anyone knows for sure. Probably he doesn’t. Whatever it is, though, I am sure that it is not going to be good and pleasant for either America or the rest of the world. When I wrote a year ago that Trump was an orange-haired wrecking machine, I was putting it mildly. Today, it’s not looking quite as nice, neat, and tidy and, if I was to rewrite that article, it would have considerably more bite.

  1. His situation is even worse than George W. (Dubya) Bush’s war in the same region, when he was caught between Iraq and a hard place, and the US spent more than a decade trying to figure out how to escape the situation. ↩︎

Wars begin. And they end.

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

Ho hum! Yawn! Another week of killing them over there so we don’t have to kill them over here.

It’s beginning to look like The Man, Mr. Donald J. Trump himself, is desperate and flailing about for any means of extricating the US from this ill-conceived and extremely stupid conflict he got himself into. Reading alternative news sources (not the Major Media Machine) gives me the understanding that the war is not going at all the way it was intended to when Trump and Older Brother Benjamin started it. A quick in-and-done result is long gone and Iran sounds resolute about not stopping until the menace of future attacks is completely obliterated and never to be attempted again.

Never is a very long time.

  • Strait of Hormuz passage subject to Iranian consent, none given to ships with US and/or Israeli ties.
  • Despite very public “begging”, many EU members have refused to join Trump’s “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait. Coalition of the Willing, of course, is a throwback to George H.W. Bush’s drive to wreak havoc on Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War.
  • Why have 5000 Marines been ordered into the region? Boots on the ground? But, to effect a successful ground invasion would require multiple times that pitifully small number, perhaps on the order of 500, 000, which the American public will not tolerate without just cause, such as, a mushroom cloud rising over an American city. Shades of the Iraq war in 2003 under Bush’s son, Dubya.
  • US Navy ships pulling back beyond the range of Iran’s missiles for no apparent reason, although rumor has it that one aircraft carrier has been struck.
  • Oil refineries throughout the region burning. Oil prices spiking daily. The world is beginning to feel the effects as evidenced by Denmark’s driving population encouraged to stop driving. Just stop, will you?
  • Trump sounding more and more erratic, not only in speech, but also on his own Truth Social.
  • Scott Bessent summoned abruptly to the Oval Office while in the middle of an interview, returning two hours later appearing very shaken and incoherent. One possible reason why:
  • Rumors flying around that Netanyahu has been killed in the heat of battle. Brought down by a random shot. No official confirmation at this time, but speculation is growing. If this proves to be true, that would be reminiscent of another of Israel’s leaders being taken out in the same manner, but 3500 years or so earlier: Ahab.

Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!” So the king died… (1 Kings 22:34-37a)

History, it is said, does not repeat but rhymes, and it would be ironic (and rhythmic) if the war was ended because Dear Leader Bibi was indeed killed. Which brings us to the quote by Machiavelli seen at the top. Wars start whenever at the discretion of the leaders. They end when they end and usually for reasons unknown, unforeseen, and unanticipated at the initiation of the action.

When the first shot of battle is fired, the plan goes out the window.

Random Thoughts about the World Situation

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

https://www.slow-journalism.com/delayed-gratification-magazine/eight-years-stuck-on-the-suez-canal

Remember the Ever Given? The massive cargo carrier, which became stuck on a sand bar in the Suez Canal in the spring of 2021, completely blocked traffic through the canal and forced other carriers to make the long trek around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, adding thousands of miles to their journey, driving shipping costs sharply higher, and causing considerable discomfort among the shopping public in Europe.

https://www.reuters.com/world/ever-given-container-ship-set-leave-suez-canal-2021-07-07/

Here’s a little bit of speculation.

Full Disclosure: This is nothing more than a consideration of the possibility of such an event and is not an endorsement, encouragement, instruction, incitement, nor support. It is only speculation which may get me into trouble for exercising my right to free speech. Heck, I wouldn’t even know where to start to bring that about and don’t have the necessary funds to make it happen. If I am investigated and prosecuted for mentioning this potential, well, it is what it is, and I will consider it an honor to be persecuted for speaking the truth.

Just suppose that, during the Fog of War in the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the US, another very large cargo carrier (or even an oil tanker) was suddenly and without warning struck by a missile and sunk in the narrowest portion of the canal. Not damaged, not disabled, sunk. Deep-sixed. Sent to Davy Jone’s locker. Considering that it took six days of strenuous effort by an army of workers to refloat the Ever Given, it would be reasonable to expect at least six months to clear the wreckage, during which time all ship traffic through the canal would be halted. That is, ALL traffic. For an unknown period of time.

How does anyone protect against that?

It has also been bandied about that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, will be hit by an errant missile, destroying it. Situated on the so-called Temple Mount, supposedly the location where Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrificial offering to Yahweh and, also supposedly the location where the prophet Mohammed was translated into Heaven. In other words, a very holy place in the minds of millions of people.

This has a high chance of happening, whether by an errant missile or by design–coordinates or false flag. It doesn’t matter. What is important is that the State of Israel ought to be everything it can to protect the site, to the detriment of the rest of the country because, if the mosque is destroyed, then nothing stands in the way of building a new third temple–except 1 billion upset, angry, and raging Muslims, many of them willing to die “martyr’s” deaths for the cause of their ideology.

Think about it. One percent of one billion Muslims is ten million persons, far more than the entire population of the entire state of Israel, including the non-Jewish part.

There’s more of them than there are of them. This is an existential problem for Israel.

Think about it. How do you get around that?

If, and I stress if, Donald Trump loses this war and has to retreat to the White House to lick his wounds, how would he react? My guess: Shift direction and beat up someone else who simply does not have the means to defend themselves, namely, Cuba. 90 miles off the southern tip of Florida, in our own back yard, emaciated and devastated by decades of socialist rule and suffocating sanctions, Cuba would be a cake walk compared to Iran. Land 100,000 Marines on its shores and let them do their worst. Marco Rubio would be issuing Executive Orders from the presidential palace within a week and Trump’s reputation would (might) experience a significant rebound.

Or, perhaps, initiate a military tyranny over the citizens of the US itself. “You didn’t like what I was doing there and didn’t support me, so we lost. Well, you’re going to pay, and pay dearly. Take that, you ungrateful wretch.”

China. OMG, we have completely forgotten about China!! How would the US Empire react to a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan, the primary source of high-tech computer chips upon which the rest of the world depends. Imagine a scenario where any ship or air traffic from Taiwan is blocked. Total stoppage. No exceptions.

Darling, in my wildest dreams…1

And, at the end of it all, the Epstein Files. Still there, still relevant, still a threat.

  1. Who ever decided that Pat Benatar was classic rock? ↩︎

Trump Tells the Truth–Finally

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

At last! Something honest from the man who cannot tell a lie.

“We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth. We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116219996530067941

“I…am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!”

This was posted March 12, at 10:33 p.m., and by 7:00 a.m. the next day it had already gained over 17, 000 likes.

“Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.” —  Jean Rostand

I suppose I should not be shocked at anything Trump says anymore, but this statement has hit a new low. I simply cannot countenance anything like this and wonder at the control which evil exercises over his mind and mouth. Not only does he brag about killing people who have done him no harm (little schoolgirls, etc.) but he considers it an honor. No, no, it is a great honor, as if the act itself ought to be applauded vigorously by a “civil” society. What makes this even worse, however, is the fact that in 8-1/2 hours, in the space of one night, more than 17, 000 followers, presumably Americans, hit the Like button to show their support for his efforts. Presumably, they are also of the mindset that it is honorable to kill others whenever you can.

How low can you go?

“One man must not kill. If he does it is murder. Two, ten, one hundred men, acting on their own responsibility, must not kill. If they do, it is still murder. But a state or nation may kill as many as they please, and it is no murder. It is just, necessary, commendable and right. Only get people enough to agree to it, and the butchery of myriads of human beings is perfectly innocent.” Adin Ballou (1803–1890) American minister

Kill one person, you are a murderer. Kill one hundred persons, you are a sick, perverted psychopath. Kill one million persons, you are esteemed and held up for great honor. I suppose this is the reason why so many people worship the ground that George W. Bush walks on. Probably right-wing Christians, for the most part, who really ought to know better considering the clear message in Scripture about killing and idol worship. More than likely, many of these also give Trump the adulation he seeks.

But, then, this has been the pattern of America for a long, long time. From the very beginning, America’s MOD (Mode of Operation) has been to kill anyone who stands in its path or who makes life inconvenient. From native Americans (Indians) who were only trying to defend their property and way of life to unborn children in the womb, the prevailing attitude has been to kill them because they are inconvenient and causing trouble. Magnified manifold, this is exactly why America, The State, has been so successful at killing populations worldwide…and, seemingly, gotten away with it. In reality, the State is nothing more than the individual writ large and, since the individual is bent on murder, so also the State.

Today, however, we are captive of (or captivated by) a man who openly celebrates and exalts the murder of those less fortunate…and we are extremely uncomfortable with the idea. Is this because his words and actions mimic the temptations within our own souls? The temptations which we (presumably) control but which we allow to fester because they fit the worldview we have adopted and embraced? The idea, which is completely contrary to the teachings of Jesus the Christ, that it is perfectly acceptable to murder those you consider to be your enemies while claiming love for them? The cognitive dissonance which we experience because we know this is wrong, yet make excuses for it anyway?

How low can you go?

If…if God gives us what we deserve, then we deserve Donald Trump. What, me worry?

My God! We should be terrified!

John Maynard Keynes, the father of inflationary financial politics said that, “In the long run, we are all dead.”, yet in the short run, we are still here and still subject to the vicissitudes of life, including those imposed on us by our “Dear Leaders”, chief of whom acts exactly as we would if we were sitting in his chair in the Oval Office, surrounded by sycophants, groupies, and ass-kissers who only tell us what we want to hear.

We have no one to blame except ourselves.

With a Flick of the Wrist

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

In the movie, The Three Musketeers (1993), starring Chris O’Donnell as D’Artagnan, there is a scene in which Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) made a pass at his beautiful, but seductive spy, Milady de Winter (Rebecca de Mornay) and, when she responded by pressing a dagger point into his ample girth, he made a comment. “With a snap of my fingers, I could put you back where you were before I rescued you.” Or something to that effect. Her immediate response, which he nervously laughed off, was far more sinister. “With a flick of my wrist, I can change your religion.”

Ah, yes. A simple flick of the wrist. In an instant.

“Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” (Revelation 18:10b)

Did you get that? Flick of the wrist! In one hour the entire world system has been overturned. How close are we to that actually happening?

I am American, born and raised in the United States of America. Most of the people who read this article will be in the same situation. We are Americans. I have lived my entire life in the dominance and sway of the American way and, if I believed the narrative pumped into everyone from nursery school onward, I would not understand why things are as they are. WTF is the matter with the rest of the world anyway? Can’t they see that our way, the American way, is so much more superior than everything else? And, why do they not embrace it wholeheartedly as an improvement on what they now hold to be true? How in the world can anything be any better? WTF is the matter with them, those heathens, those unbelievers, anyway?

Unfortunately, this attitude is prideful and arrogant and goes against the Spirit of God, which stresses humility before God and service to others as the only proper method of operation. America is not good at this, no matter the propaganda. God opposes the proud (James 4:6)1 and is the REAL kingmaker (Daniel 2:21, Daniel 4:17, Psalm 75:7, Romans 13:1). Donald Trump, contrary to his opinions and beliefs, is nothing more than a tool in His hand.

I look at Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as modern-day, real life clones of the villainous cardinal in Alexandre Dumas’ novel, The Three Musketeers. Out of pure hubris, arrogance, and a lifetime of exercising power to get whatever they want, they are basically saying to anyone who opposes them, “We can send you back where you came from, back to the Stone Age2, or, even better for us, to Hell itself.”

Iran is basically saying, “With a flick of my wrist…”

Now, if only it were that simple. We laugh at the incident and move on to the next scene. But God…3 God is the one who decides how the situation works out and it is quite possible, increasingly likely, that events unfold in which we see the current political and financial world system upended and destroyed almost instantly, virtually overnight, in one day, so to speak. If that happens, there will be millions and billions of people who will be shocked and in despair at the speed of the implosion.4

“Alas! Alas! Oh, Babylon, Babylon, where art thou?”

And many will have to change their religion because the Beast they worshipped is no more.

  1. I wrote about this just a few days ago. See here. ↩︎
  2. Without saying so, they are following the example set by Richard Armitage, a top official at the State Dept. during George W. Bush’s run-up to the Afghanistan invasion. Armitage is alleged to have told Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, that the country would be “bombed back to the Stone Age” if Musharraf didn’t get with the program and allow the US access. Armitage, of course, denied that he ever made the threat. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/09/paki-s27.html ↩︎
  3. Used in conjunction, this is one of the most profound and powerful phrases in the English language. ↩︎
  4. To get the full impact of this, read Revelation 18: 9-24, then use your wildest imagination. ↩︎

Note to readers: I have reached a milestone at Poor Roger’s Almanac. This article is #300 in a line of posts stretching back to 2012. I have made a lot of progress–spiritual, emotional, and literary in that time. Nothing is denied, held back, nor paywalled. It never will be. This is my mission in life and I am grateful to have the opportunity to share it with you.

The Mother of All Cataclysms…Gaining Speed

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

A little over five years ago, I posted a short article describing how the situation in America was analogous to being caught in the current of the Niagara River and not able to escape the falls and the crackup which was the inevitable result. Perhaps this is a good time to repeat the message. Read it here.

Past the Point of No Return

Thirteen years after the original publication and, from my perspective, nothing has changed. There is no going back. America has gone over the edge and is plunging downward at full speed towards the rocks below. For anyone who has their eyes open and their wits about them, this is obvious. For those who don’t, well, it’s party ’til it’s over, rally ’round the flag, and/or hope that Jesus really does come back to snatch you out of the hell which has been created.

Big pile of rocks. Dead ahead!

We, as Americans, have built the system which is in the process of destroying us. It does no good to deny it nor to blame someone else. We must squarely face the fact that it is of our own doing. We must admit our own wrongdoing. We must change the way we think and operate. We must, to put it into religious parlance, confess our sins and repent with humility, courage, fortitude, and faith in God and God’s Word alone. As individuals and as a society, this is the only thing which will save us.

A “New” Way to Run Government

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

A friend of mine, Dan Shumway, is implementing an idea he had about instituting a system of “representational direct democracy” in Montana. He has built a website and is running for the US Senate seat just vacated by Steve Daines who, in my opinion, saw the writing on the wall (destruction of the American Empire) and quit while he was ahead.

Anyway, Dapper Dan who prefers to be called Delegate Dan, along with some professionally expert IT assistance, has created an app to allow any registered voter in Montana to express his/her opinion on any bill up for consideration before the Senate. Dan is promising to explicitly and firmly adhere to the majority wish of the voters, regardless what that is, and whether it is in line with his own beliefs, opinion, and preference. The majority rules, no matter what! Lobbyists and special interests lose, no matter what.

Check it out here. https://montanaforsenate.com/

Dan also writes a Substack regularly and goes into detail about his campaign and the app here. https://shumway.substack.com/p/website-and-voting-app-are-live

He has worked for years as a reporter/interviewer for https://www.kla.tv/en and has hundreds of broadcasts under his belt. Here are some samples of his work.

  1. https://www.kla.tv/24318
  2. https://www.kla.tv/Interviews-en/40460
  3. https://www.kla.tv/Interviews-en/40399
  4. https://www.kla.tv/Interviews-en/18165

In addition, Dan is developing a local digital radio station dedicated to the idea of free dissemination of information, i.e., freedom of speech.

    Dan Shumway is a solid, genuinely caring person who is trying to improve his society, not to make himself rich. His regular job is one which most people would recoil or sneer at–cleaning small ponds from algae, slime, and unwanted growth, which people with money are willing to pay for. He sees this political endeavor as one which would replace a verifiably proven corrupt system, controlled by powerful, wealthy oligarchs, with one in which the common, average, everyday citizen has a voice in the administration of the government.

    I don’t always agree with Dan on his political views, but he is my friend and is putting his time and resources where his mouth is. Because of those commitments and sacrifices, I support his efforts in this endeavor.

    Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: A Modern Parable

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

    I was looking, and behold,
    A tree in the midst of the earth,
    And its height was great.
    The tree grew and became strong;
    Its height reached to the heavens,
    And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.
    Its leaves were lovely,
    Its fruit abundant,
    And in it was food for all.
    The beasts of the field found shade under it,
    The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches,
    And all flesh was fed from it.”
    (Daniel 4:10-12)

    Sounds great, right? Such a nice dream to have. Peace, prosperity, and plenty for everyone. “Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies…” But, wait, as the TV commercials blare incessantly, there’s more.

    “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
    He cried aloud and said thus:

    Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
    Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruits.
    Let the beasts get out from under it,
    and the birds from the branches.
    Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth,
    Bound with a band of iron and bronze.”
    (Daniel 4:13-15a)

    Whoa! Wait a minute! What happened to the nice, pleasant picture I was seeing? This is ugly and I don’t like it.

    “In the tender grass of the field,
    Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
    And let him graze with the beasts
    On the grass of the earth.
    Let his heart be changed from that of a man,
    Let him be given the heart of a beast,
    And let seven times pass over him.”
    (Daniel 4:15b-16)

    Him? Who’s him? And what has he done to deserve this? Well, I’m glad you asked.

    “All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying,

    ‘Is not this great Babylon,
    That I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power
    And for the honor of my majesty?    ‘”
    (Daniel 4:28-30)

    And, boom! Just like that, in fact, as the next verse says, “While the word was still in the king’s mouth…”,

    The entire chapter tells the story. You’ll have to read it yourself to get the full report, but, in a nutshell, Nebuchadnezzar apparently went crazy insane and, within an hour, he was driven out of the palace, away from the city and civilization into the open fields where he spent the next seven years without any of the comforts of home, eating grass like an ox, completely senseless. The good part, however, is that after his ordeal, his right mind was restored, he gave credit where it was due, and he returned to his throne and picked up the affairs of the kingdom where he had left off seven years earlier.

    “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
    praise and extol and honor
    the King of heaven, all of
    whose works are truth, and
    His ways justice. And those
    who walk in pride He is
    able to put down.”
    (Daniel 4:37)

    Now, I’m going to take this at face value. I see this as an historical account of an event that actually happened. I’ll leave it up to the scholars, historians, and argumentative skeptics to sort it out as to whether there’s more to the story than is recorded here. However, actual or imaginary, the lesson remains: proud, arrogant men (and women) can be taken down and humbled. This speaks volumes to the current phenomenon known as Donald John Trump, President of the United States, who, like Nebuchadnezzar, cannot resist bragging about himself and lifting himself higher and higher on the pedestal of his own vanity. I fear for him. If the story of Nebuchadnezzar is true and given to us as a lesson and a warning not to get too big for our britches, then The Don is skating on very thin ice.

    When Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind, the world continued on as before with other leaders stepping in to fill his place. This would, of course, happen if Trump was taken out. The continuity of succession guarantees that JD Vance immediately becomes president and the system carries on. However, unfortunately for the rest of us, Americans and the rest of the world, Trump has access to weapons which Nebuchadnezzar could not have even dreamed about and may have the same mentality as Israel does with its Samson Option–if we’re going to lose, we do it bigly, no matter who or what we have to destroy. Suicidal madness is not restricted to “lone wolf” gunmen who shoot up schools, rock concerts, or nightclubs. It might be, just possibly might be, that Trump would resist the humbling process so strongly that nuclear weapons would be unleashed with devastating, world-wide consequences. All to avoid having to admit making a mistake and confessing to a sin of pride.

    On the other hand, perhaps all this is the result of my own fevered imagination, by reading too much into the situation, and by taking too much Scripture on too much faith to mean that it means what it says. For instance:

    “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.” (Psalm 37:35-36)

    “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)1

    Try as much as I can, I am unable to call to mind anyone at present who does not spread himself more than Donald Trump. When it comes to calling attention to himself, he has no equal. In his world, there is only One and He knows it. Reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar, who was also compared to a tree and was cut down to size. See Daniel 4 for the story.2

    The war against Iran which Trump and Netanyahu have unleashed may well become the straw which finally breaks the camel’s back. We would be wise to contemplate the possibility. Selah. Pause. Consider.

    1. See also–Isaiah 14 and Genesis 11 for similar pronouncements ↩︎
    2. https://poorrogersalmanac.com/2025/07/10/officially-confirmed-epstein-didnt-kill-himself/ ↩︎

    Bay of Pigs II?

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    I have written before (here and here) about Donald Trump’s penchant for blowing fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea out of the waters with Hellfire missiles, killing (or attempting to kill) all the men aboard. His #1 assistant in this diabolical practice has been Pete Hegseth, the current Secretary of War, who, on hearing that two of the men aboard one of the boats were still alive and clinging to the wreckage, gave an undisputed totally illegal order to shoot them until they were dead. Which order was dutifully obeyed because: “Just following orders! Sir!”. The rationale given to these extra-judicial killings was that the boats were smuggling drugs into the US and needed to be stopped for the safety of the country. It didn’t matter that there was no evidence of drug running nor any other justification for using lethal violence against the boats. We were just told to trust that Trump was doing the right thing.

    “I say that the boats are running drugs. I say that hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to die if they succeed. I say that the only moral restraint on my behavior is myself. I say, kill them all. Let God sort them out. Who are you going to believe–me or your own damn lying eyes and ears?”

    All’s fair in love and war. Right?

    Which brings us to this. Apparently, a Florida-registered speedboat with ten men in it were intercepted barely a mile offshore of Cuba by a government patrol boat. According to the Cuban Embassy, the crew of the speedboat opened fire on the patrol boat, resulting in a firefight which left four Americans dead and the others wounded to some degree. See here for more information.

    Now, I can’t say with 100% certainty that this actually happened and I am quite confident that, if it did happen, the story has been stretched, manipulated, and distorted to some extent. There are always at least two sides to every argument and no one has an absolute lock on truth. Nevertheless, I have to take it on face value that this event did occur more or less as reported and that the fallout is predictable. Namely, the US government will use it as justification to ramp up its already suffocating hold on Cuba and may trumpet the need for military “intervention” (read that assault) on the island to protect American citizens, even if they were stupid enough to put themselves in harm’s way. After all, consider this immediate response:

    “The dictatorship in #Cuba has just attacked a boat from Florida & murdered those on board. This regime must be relegated to the dust bin of history!” — https://twitter.com/RepCarlos/status/2026737976907067395

    My! How the tables have turned. As you give, you receive. When you blow up fishing boats in international waters without respect for due diligence, just cause, and human life, then you risk getting your own boats being fired upon. With due diligence and for good reason by the Cuban government, I might add, if the event happened as reported.

    ZeroHedge raised an important question.

    “What armed men aboard the Florida-registered speedboat were doing inside Cuban territorial waters remains a very open question at the moment.“

    Well, yes. Exactly. Why did a boatload of armed men venture inside the territorial limits of Cuban water? What was their goal? What did they hope to accomplish? Did they realize the risk they were running? Did they care? Who were these men, anyway, and more importantly, who were they working for?

    It is entirely possible, not likely, but possible, that the ten men on the boat were nothing more than Rambo-type, hot-headed hotshots who were stupid enough to try something like this and got more than they bargained for. After all, there are a lot of incredibly dumb people on this earth who act first out of emotion without ever rationally considering the possible consequences. This is not out of the question, but, as I said, not likely. The most plausible explanation is that they were on the payroll of an unnamed entity which was attempting to smuggle a heavily-armed crew into Cuba to stir up trouble in the hopes of further destabilizing the current government and potentially starting an uprising among the “campesinos nativos”. If that was the case, then it recalls the Bay of Pigs debacle, which became a black mark against the John Kennedy administration forever as an example of official incompetence.

    This episode will probably be stonewalled and any involvement by the US government in it will be denied until the spokespersons are blue in the face from lack of breath, but it won’t put to rest the suspicions. As the saying goes, never believe anything the government tells you until it is explicitly denied. Vehemently explicitly denied. When Donald Trump says that the US absolutely had nothing to do with it and attacks someone else for asking questions, then we can be pretty sure that his fingerprints are all over it. On the other hand, being the type of person he is, he might just come out and admit that he ordered the project and, “What are you gonna’ do about it?”

    Who knows? And who can comprehend what damage might ensue as a consequence? And who will be blamed while the dust is settling?

    The answer to that last question is obvious and will be brought out immediately–“Not I. Look over there!”

    Update to this story: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/foiled-armed-infiltration-cuba-kills-four-aboard-heavily-armed-us-linked-speedboat

    When Johnny Goes Marching Off to War, Hurrah! Hurrah!

    Roger Mitchell7 Comments

    The title for this article is derived from the old song longing hopefully for the safe return of soldiers from the carnage of the American War between the States1 (1861-1865). What is usually not mentioned nor remembered is the fervor and celebration of just a few years earlier with which Johnny marched off to war and his family and friends, both North and South, cheered him on, gave parades in his honor, showered him with adulation, flowers, and kisses. “Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll teach those scoundrels (Yankees, Rebs) something they won’t ever forget! Go get’m, Johnny! We’re behind you all the way.”

    This, as I recall, was the atmosphere in America immediately after 9/11. It seemed that everyone couldn’t wait to go out and kick some a$$ for the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, and, to be perfectly honest, it didn’t really matter whether the actual perpetrators were brought to “justice” or not, as long as someone paid. The administration, George W. Bush presiding, took full advantage of the situation and launched two wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, which were only ended years later, without ever resolving the question of “whodunit?”. Not that it mattered too much, anyway. The American public is driven by emotion rather than common sense and Congress is repeatedly admonished to “Don’t just sit there, do something.”, with the unspoken implication that it is better to do anything, even if it is wrong, than to contemplate their actions, consider the consequences, and make good choices.

    Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, the “day which will last in infamy”, was no different, except that there was no question about who had initiated the attack: Japan, the Rising Sun empire, and America lost no time in ramping up to a wartime footing in a massive spirit of revenge and retaliation, intent only on the destruction of those who dared to slap the face of Uncle Sam. Nothing was held back by the public, no sacrifice was too great, no cost was too much to bear for The Cause of total victory.

    That was then, this is now.

    Today, even as I write this, the tension in the Middle East is at a fever-pitch and rapidly escalating. The US may have already attacked Iran by the time you read this. Donald Trump is ramping up his threats and bullying tactics against Iran, demanding that the government undergo a regime change, that it Cease and Desist from any nuclear program, and that it immediately disarm by getting rid of its long range missiles. Basically, complete and abject surrender on Trump’s terms which, of course, the mullahs who lead Iran have rejected without any equivocation. What is Trump going to do if Iran doesn’t bow and scrape? Sign the order to attack? Or, TACO? We’ll know soon.

    It seems to me (and polls regularly bear this out) that the mood of the country is against starting another war, especially one in the Middle East. People are genuinely tired of the “forever wars” and Trump capitalized on that sentiment when he was on the campaign trail, promising to end them. Political reality reigns supreme, however, as he conveniently forgot what he had promised to the voters only a short time earlier and started aggressively going after other countries, all smaller and weaker than the US. To date, in the first year of his second term, he has literally bombed ten countries, more than any of his predecessors. One of those was Iran at the end of the 12-day war with Israel last summer when he supposedly destroyed (obliterated was the word he used) Iran’s nuclear capabilities completely. I say supposedly, because, if that was the case, then why is there so much concern about Iran’s current nuclear program? Something doesn’t add up here and can be seen for what it is–a bald-faced lie.

    Events like this which have occurred over the years wherein The Powers That Be have run roughshod over the interests of the common people do not build trust within society. Without that trust, institutions fail and when a society’s institutions fail, the society collapses. The ongoing Epstein scandal and the recent Covid scam have created an enormous (and growing) distrust among the populace which will not be reversed if Trump goes to war against Iran and gets the pants beaten off him. The only reason that trust and faith might be restored would be if he achieves complete and total victory immediately, without question, for the whole world to see and understand. Of course, once the victory laps, backslapping, and grandstanding were done, we’d be off to the next conquest, the next enemy which needed to be taken out as a matter of “national security”. Any guesses as to which one that would be? You get three and the first two don’t count, but I’ll give you a hint. It starts with an R, ends in A, and has six letters.

    God help us!

    If he is not immediately successful and Iran closes the strait of Hormuz to shipping, the price of oil will go through the roof, the financial Jenga tower known as derivatives will collapse, the Federal Reserve printing presses will be pushed to the limit resulting in hyper-inflation, and the world-wide system of fiat money will be scrapped in favor of a different one–the Great Reset, which we’ve all heard about. Probably something along this line of thinking will happen, that is, if Trump does not achieve complete and total victory with the first strike. Probably. It might happen if he does succeed. I’m only speculating.

    Or, perhaps that has been the plan all along. Who knows?

    In an article posted on Forum Geopolitica, Scott Ritter had this to say about the situation.

    “A war on Iran will result in a disaster for all parties involved. There is no guarantee of success on the part of the United States and Israel, or failure on the part of Iran. There is a huge risk that this war will result in massive disruption of critical energy production capability in one of the most critical energy production regions in the world, triggering a massive energy security crisis that could collapse regional and global economies.

    So, the key question is why Donald Trump, a man who ran on a platform of peace, willing to risk losing his political base on the eve of critical mid-term elections by betting on the successful execution of a short war with Iran that achieves the regime change outcome desired?

    The simple answer is because he simply has no choice.”

    Ritter goes on to explain why he thinks Trump has no choice and I can’t say that he’s wrong. The extremely high sunk costs of the military buildup almost guarantee that an action of some type will be taken, if for no other reason than to recoup some of the expense incurred. The greater reason, though, is that Trump’s ego, prestige, and reputation will take an enormous hit if he “chickens out” this time. Given the polling numbers on his sinking approval rating, it would likely lead to a loss by the Republican Party to the Democrats in November, virtually ensuring that impeachment hearings would be resurrected, this time with a fairly good chance of “throwing the rascal out”. Of course, if he does initiate the war and loses, the same scenario presents itself. In short, Trump is caught in a lose/lose situation. Heads I lose, tails you win, and there’s not much that he can do about it.

    If Trump wins, he will be insufferable. If he loses, watch out. Either way, the American public will pay the price and my guess is that cheering Johnny as he marches off to war will become a highly unpopular act. As it should. Wars have a nasty habit of biting the hands which feed them.

    1. Technically speaking, not a civil war as the Confederate States were not trying to take over the existing government, but wanted to split from it and set up a separate one. It should more properly be called a secessionist movement which was put down by force. ↩︎

    Honesty, Finally. For the Whole World to See.

    Roger Mitchell2 Comments

    “…there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” — Jesus Christ, Luke 10:26

    In a bitterly ironic way, Trump’s reckless arrogance is to be welcomed. Because he is inadvertently exposing the Western system for what it is – a criminal imperialist regime with absolutely no respect for international law, human life, and peaceful coexistence. He has discarded the Western mask of duplicity and pretense, which at least makes it clear what the Western system is all about. What we see is something barbaric and ugly, like the fascism of former times. — https://strategic-culture.su/news/2026/01/09/trump-turbo-charged-rogue-regime-exposes-pathetic-european-vassals/

    Donald Trump has spilled the beans, knowingly or not. America has finally gone rogue without any trappings of respectability or any effort made to preserve its so-called “sanctity” built up over the decades and centuries about democracy, the rule of law, justice, and liberty. No, that carefully constructed and long maintained edifice artifice has just been exposed for the whole world to see and “our” man in the White House has been very direct and open in proclaiming the message. Frank Zappa’s long-standing prediction has arrived.

    “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”

    This is not entirely a bad thing. There are no longer any reasons for anyone to make excuses for his actions, just call them for what they are–naked, raw power manifestations. No one, except those who are willfully blind, can justify what is happening according to an ethical moral code unless they also share in Trump’s desire for power over others, for the power to determine what is right and wrong, for the power to create their own “values” and to say, with Trump, “We can do whatever we wish.” Jordan Peterson has addressed the motivation this way.

    “This is the elevation of narrow self-will to the highest conceivable place, in the guise of ultimate freedom. (“I can abide by whatever values I choose”–something that almost immediately deteriorates into “I can do whatever I want” or, more accurately, “Whatever impulse grips me rules.”) This is simultaneously the presumption of subjective omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. (“I have the capacity to determine the very definition of right and wrong, valuable and contemptible, good and evil.”)1

    Trump has explicitly stated this before (see here), his sycophantic staff and advisors parrot the same line (see here), and the authority has even been expanded to the police who can now “do whatever the hell they want”. Somewhere, somehow, the man has gotten the idea that because he was elected selected to hold down the cushy chair in the Oval Office, there are no limits on his behavior and that no one can tell him to “stand down”. There are millions of Americans, many of them so-called Christians who ought to know better, who cheer him on and virtually worship him as, if not God Himself, then as representing God because they have themselves embraced a violent religion of power and control. They are subject to the idol they have raised up.

    Unfortunately, this attitude does not guarantee righteous success, but instead drives the already low moral status of the United States even lower. If the President can do anything he wants and get away with it, then, as one of his subjects, I can also act that way and, hopefully, escape any judgment and punishment myself. When Trump acts in an immoral manner as the representative of the people, it does not mean that he is immune to consequences, instead it shows that the moral character of the populace at large is degraded and rotten. These points (“I’m the President. I can do whatever I want.”) and (“If the president is free to act any way he wants, then so am I.”) are symbiotic and feed off each other, making excuses for all sorts of behavior, refusing to take responsibility, and blaming others for the fallout.

    What is to be done by the average person in the US who is appalled by the goings-on?

    1. Recognize that you cannot change Donald Trump nor the way he thinks. This is God’s prerogative, however, you can ask God to work a miracle.
    2. Recognize that you may have such tendencies within yourself and, if so, confess them, ask forgiveness, cleansing, and healing, then change the way you think and act.
    3. Recognize that you do not have the authority nor the power to determine what is right or wrong. That was fixed a long time ago and is immutable. It cannot be changed, adapted, amended, added to, or altered. It can only be obeyed and adhered to, or disobeyed and ignored at your own risk and those who follow after you.
    4. Make a difference for righteousness in your own sphere of influence, your family, church, neighborhood, community.2
    5. Refuse to support the evil which is pervasive throughout this society. Call it out whenever it appears, beginning within your own soul. Eliminate every evil! If this means you have to change your politics to fit your belief structure, then…well? Do I need to draw you a picture?3
    6. Prepare yourself for what is coming4. Other nations have been here before. Where are they now? Why should we expect to receive different treatment?

    As average, everyday Americans, we do not have much influence, hardly any at all, over the machinations of the powers-that-be who own and run the government. That does not let us off the hook. When the shit hits the fan full force, as it will, we are going to be held responsible for the part we played in the shaping of our society. It does no good to claim ignorance nor to say that we are blameless.

    “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him will they ask the more.” — Luke 12: 47-48

    As the common saying in jurisprudence says, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Whether we acted deliberately or ignorantly, we are going to be beaten. Truly, a day of reckoning is due America and, as the society which has been given more than any other in history, the stripes will be proportionate.

    Live not by lies! It may save your skin.

    1. Jordan B. Peterson, We Who Wrestle with God, Penguin Random House, 2024, chapter 2.5 ↩︎
    2. Glen Campbell put it this way. We need to take the message to heart. ↩︎
    3. One of my father’s favorite questions. ↩︎
    4. See Psalms 2. If you listen closely, you can almost hear God laughing uproariously. Or, maybe He has done and is wiping the tears out of His eyes. Either way, not good for our future. ↩︎

    Is Trump Trying to Start a War? Why Would He?

    Roger Mitchell3 Comments

    Remember the Epstein files? How much have you heard about them recently? Where are the millions of “recently discovered” documents which the government has always had in its possession, yet only now acknowledged. What is in them which has not been revealed? Will it be revealed or will we be treated to more of the same old, same old? “Move on. Nothing to see here.” And to make sure that nothing is seen, will they be redacted so heavily that there really is nothing of any importance shown?

    Donald Trump is like a zucchini plant in late summer–the gift which keeps on giving. Those who have experience with zucchinis, whether growing them or having neighbors who grow them, will understand. If you don’t, then I recommend you familiarize yourself and, perhaps, even try your hand at growing some yourself. They are an amazingly prolific vegetable which can outproduce the appetite anyone might have for them. Check out this website for a tip which I was not aware of but plan to implement this spring.

    But…back to Donald. The man is truly an intensely productive machine, a hyper-active over-achiever in many senses who excels at getting things done which he wants done. With respect to that, he has my respect.1 I trail far behind. However, he does so many things that I do not like nor approve of that I cannot keep up with all of them. They simply are ignored, overlooked, forgotten, or put on the back burner until later, which means that they are ignored, overlooked, and forgotten.

    Nevertheless, the big news gets my attention and the big news of the moment is that the US Coast Guard has recently boarded and commandeered an oil tanker in the North Sea between Iceland and England–far, far away from the coast of the US. Ummmm, isn’t the Coast Guard supposed to patrol the American coast and leave the “enforcement of US Law” on the internationally recognized, deep blue high seas to the Navy?

    This comes less than a week after the invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a lightening fast raid on Caracas on January 3, 2026. He has since been transported to a federal court in New York City and indicted on numerous charges, most of them totally ridiculous, but virtually all of which will be upheld, and by which he will be found guilty, flogged in the public square, thrown into prison with Manuel Noriega, tortured until he confesses his sins, and eventually executed by a bullet to the back of the head2, after which his body will be drawn and quartered, then burned to ashes which will be consigned to Davy Jones’ locker alongside the remains of Osama bin Laden, who was officially “buried at sea”, never to be heard from again. [For those who are gullible enough to believe everything they read, know that this prediction is pure sarcastic satire and is meant only to draw attention to the ridiculous claims which the State has made about these, and other, matters.]

    Not to mention that Trump is breathing heavy threats against the Danish “claim” that Greenland belongs to them and that it would be better for everyone all around if the US simply took it over (militarily, if necessary) and made it the 52nd, 53rd, or 54th state, depending on how you count. (Canada, of course, is the 51st.) Or, maybe, he will have compassion on the entire population there by giving them a cool million dollars each of your hard-earned, easily inflated money, so long as they agree to sell the land-locked iceberg to him.3

    It makes my head spin. As Lenin is supposed to have said, “There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.” Or, if you prefer to beat up on Christopher Columbus as the spark which ignited all the wrongs visited on the New World,

    “There are centuries in which nothing happens and years in which centuries pass. Fourteen ninety-two is a year of centuries,”4

    Hoo, boy! What is next? Who the heck knows?

    The more important questions to ask, however, is these. Why is Trump doing all this now? Is he deliberately trying to start a “serious” war? And, probably most important of all, what is he trying to hide by distracting the populace with grandiose, Fourth of July style events? Would his efforts possibly have something to do with the fact that America, the Empire, is on its last legs? The fact that the country is financially broken beyond redemption? The fact that the rest of the world is moving in its own direction which does not coincide with his Israel America First vision? The fact that his poll numbers are plunging deeply and that many of his die-hard followers are starting to question his tactics, policies, promises, and maybe even his sanity? Or, perhaps most importantly, would it have to do with the “soon-to-be released” heavily-redacted files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, which will not die a normal death, and, like the zucchini plant, just keeps on giving. And giving. And giving.

    What is Trump trying to hide and will we ever learn the truth about it?

    In times like these, there is only one place to go for reassurance–the Word of God, specifically Luke 10:26, in the words of Jesus Christ himself.

    “Therefore, do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

    We have a choice. See what is happening around us and be afraid because we cannot see what is going on behind the curtain OR to trust that the dark places, the hidden things, will have the light of truth shone upon them and will be exposed for what they are. This is about as plain as I can make it.

    “Therefore, do not fear them.” Words worth repeating.

    1. Credit where credit is due. Even Adolf Hitler loved his dog. BM, add this to your list. ↩︎
    2. Or given enough rope to hang himself in the manner of Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in spite of guards sleeping next to his cell, video cameras which malfunctioned at the “most inopportune time”, and a slew of other fantastic coincidences which are almost too unbelievable to be believed, but that’s what we’ve been told to believe. [Note: I don’t watch much TV, but I did see this on the Internet, so I know that it’s true.] ↩︎
    3. In mentioning this, Trump has made it clear that he has no compassion for the heavily-burdened citizens of the United States. They are only a cash-cow to be milked for his benefit. ↩︎
    4. Attributed to Mexican poet Homero Aridjis. https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/1011/11101.html ↩︎

    Ok, Mr. Trump. What’s Next? Who’s Next?

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    It’s been a few days since the United States attacked Venezuela in the middle of the night and captured kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, packing them out, and sending them in handcuffs to New York City where they will be charged with, well, something which has a high probability of winning in a court packed with team players. You know, narco-terrorism, gang activity, gun-running, theft of American property, and perhaps even unauthorized intent to interfere in the 2028 presidential election, among others yet to be thought of. But, you know, “justice” has to be and will be served. Criminals simply cannot be allowed to run around loose like that, you know.

    “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” — Melian Dialogue

    I’ve read a lot of widely varying viewpoints on this affair and I still don’t know what is the truth. Probably never will for sure, but that isn’t going to stop me from forming my own opinion. Neither should it prevent you because we can only take what we know, including the obviously blatant lies and propaganda, and make the best decision we can with that information. Since we never have the complete truth, we have to make do with what we have. So, here’s mine.

    I’m increasingly convinced that the whole affair was a staged act of theater, designed to make it appear that America was back, riding high in the saddle after getting bucked off in Iraq and Afghanistan.1 Yeah, we can do whatever we want because we are the only country in the world who could do such a thing! Braggadocio! Bravado! Pump that fist to pump up the standing of those who are calling the shots and not doing really well at solving anything. Not to mention that this episode is a great distraction from the ongoing fracas known as Total Release of the Complete and Minimally Redacted Set of the Epstein Files. Yeah, how much have you heard about that in the last few days and when will it reassert itself as front-page news? If America gets bogged down in a Viet Nam-style war in Venezuela, will we ever hear anything more about it?

    Popular blogger, Simplicius, has fronted the possibility that Trump and Putin actually worked out a deal between them in which the US would agree to withdraw from Ukraine and Putin would look the other way on Venezuela. Whether this is accurate doesn’t matter as much as it adds to the suspicions that the whole thing is about large, muscular states overriding and destroying the sovereignty of smaller weaker ones without any qualms, without any concern as to who gets hurt in the process.

    “As the US was so concerned about the Monroe Doctrine and its own backyard, perhaps the US might also be concerned about developments in Russia’s backyard, as in Ukraine, making it very obvious that they were trying to set ip [sic] some kind of let’s just say: You stay out of Ukraine or you move out of Ukraine, and, you know, we’ll rethink where we are with Venezuela.” – Fiona Hill to Congress, October 14, 2019

    This seems to me to be a good case of strong arm bullying on the cheap without having to sink huge amounts of men, material, and money into the operation. If that is the case AND if it pans out well for Trump, then he has succeeded spectacularly. However, we cannot discount the idea that it will not play the way it was designed and that the aftermath might just be too much to bear. It is almost certain that the real reason for this was to regain control of the massive amounts of crude oil buried there, not to punish small time drug dealers or gang leaders. The question remains as to how the “campesinos” in Venezuela react to the taking of Maduro and the subsequent seizure of property which they might consider their own. If Trump attempts to impose a puppet government for the purpose of streamlining the transfer of that oil to large multinational companies against the popular will of the people, he may find that he has jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

    There are, of course, those niggling, nagging, little things called consequences, many of them as yet unseen.

    • 1. The “international rules-based order” so loudly trumpeted by the West as a defense of its policies and actions, and a denunciation of other nations which refused to “follow the rules”, is dead. Kaput. Rigor mortis setting in. There is no more system, only raw, naked power which is used by those who have the means to exercise it against those who cannot defend themselves.2 This applies as well to the much-vaunted “rule of law” proclaimed proudly as the basis of the supposed republic which Ben Franklin warned would have to be kept or it would disappear. Gone. Gone forever. It will never return in its previous form. From here on out, it is the law of the jungle–“Kill or be killed.”
    • The capture kidnapping and arrest of Nicolas Maduro on specious charges follows the same pattern as set by that in the case of Manuel Noriega in 1989, and will be argued according to the legal doctrine developed at that time. Since the US government never admits wrong-doing and will continue the practice whenever it wants, a precedent has been set which will probably be followed by other nations whenever they can, up to and including the assassination of high government officials, possibly likely even presidents.
    • The US and China have only recently “resolved” their differences over the production and distribution of rare earth elements (REE) which are required in the manufacture of many modern items which we can’t live without–smart phones, hi-tech missiles, data centers, satellites, etc. Will China respond to the loss of oil purchased from Venezuela by clamping down even harder on the REE issue?
    • Will China issue its own National Security Strategy declaring that the entire east coast of Asia is now to be considered as their sphere of influence and woe to the foreign power which might dare to meddle in the sovereign affairs of the nations within it? What if Xi Jin Ping decided one day to change the name of the Taiwan Strait to the China Strait and forbade adversarial powers to enter therein, all while making threatening noises about what would happen if they did?
    • Will foreign backed “terrorist”3 cells be activated within the US? Is that tactic to be reserved until Iran is attacked again? What is to be the defense against those?
    • And, of course, the rock-hard reality that we simply cannot afford another long, drawn-out war even if it is in our own backyard.

    And on, and on, and on…

    This whole thing may blow over with very little damage to show for it, but I have to admit the forebodings I experienced during the Noriega crisis are amplified today. For one thing, at that time, the USSR was on the cusp of collapsing, the vision of America as the only superpower was becoming reality, and the Panama Canal was still widely considered American property. Today? Well, the US is broke, deeply indebted, universally hated, arrogant beyond belief, and led by people who are trying to reclaim her former “glory”4 by repeating the mistakes of the past. There is also the fact that in 1989, the US still had some semblance of respectability around the world, while today it is in ragged tatters.

    At any rate, regardless what happens in the next few months or years, the probability that life, liberty, and happiness will be jeopardized for the average person in America and around the world has just been increased. Our situation is not getting better and this sort of Rambo-type machismo will not make it any better.

    Success breeds confidence which generates hubris which causes overreach which creates mistakes which have consequences which result in disaster which end in downfall.

    1. This brings back memory of the comment George H.W. Bush made after the First Iraq War which he engineered–“It’s a proud day for America. And, by God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all.” ↩︎
    2. Boiled down to its most basic meaning, this is no different than the argument used by those who champion and practice abortion on demand. It is an aggression committed against the least powerful, most defenseless persons among us by those who refuse to act responsibly. ↩︎
    3. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. It all depends on your perspective. However, all terrorists operate according to one principle: the use of violence and force to attain a political end, which means every single government is a terrorist group. ↩︎
    4. I have encapsulated “glory” in quotation marks as a matter of ridicule and contempt. Glory belongs to God alone and He shares with no one. (Isaiah 42:8) Remember this the next time you hear the American flag referred to as “Old Glory”. ↩︎

    Donald Trump: Guilty on All Counts

    Roger Mitchell4 Comments

    The president of the United States is not above the law. He only thinks that he is.

    TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

    Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

    News has just broken that the United States has attacked Venezuela by bombing its capital, Caracas, and captured kidnapped both President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and now have them in custody. This unconstitutional action follows the months-long killing spree on fishermen off the coast of Venezuela, among others, without any attempt made to interdict, board, and search the boats. It was just alleged that they were carrying drugs and, as such, were a threat to the “national interests” of the US.

    Whether or not Maduro was captured kidnapped remains to be seen, but it is quite evident that the actions of Donald Trump and his administration go against the clear meaning of the above-cited section of criminal law and could potentially open them up to prosecution should the Democrats gain control of the Congress in 2026. If the “war”1 is speedily concluded and Trump’s regime change gambit works as planned, then there is no danger of that, but if he has committed the country to another “forever” war which cannot be won, then all bets are off concerning the mid-term election.

    1. Whoever…willfully subjects… Can there be any question that Trump has not willfully acted? After all, he has boasted that, as president, he can do whatever he wants and has constantly said what he wanted to do with Venezuela and Maduro.
    2. …Any person… It is difficult to claim that this does not include even fishermen in small boats.
    3. …in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District…Ah, here we get into the legal mumbo-jumbo of the text. It can and will be claimed that Venezuela is NOT a state, territory, commonwealth, or district of the US and, therefore, this does not apply. However, it was only a few months ago that the White House released its National Security Strategy which openly declared that the entire western hemisphere was the second incarnation of the Monroe Doctrine which assumed sovereignty over the entire area of North, Central, and South America, to the exclusion of any foreign power. Interpreted this way, Venezuela IS a territory and possession of the US Government.
    4. …if bodily injury results… No question about this. See the afore-mentioned fishermen blown out of the water and deliberately murdered. [Update: Up to 40 people on the ground in Venezuela might have been killed. This number will probably fluctuate for some time and may settle at a higher number.]
    5. …if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire… Again, without doubt.
    6. …if death results from the acts committed… See Item #4 above.
    7. …if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap… Trump himself has stated that Nicolas Maduro and his wife were both captured kidnapped and are in the custody of the US.2
    8. …shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death. This does not have to be explained.

    It used to be that presidents, while perhaps condoning or committing criminal acts in secret, would attempt to maintain a squeaky-clean, public image. Those days are also gone. Today, they are out in the open for the whole world to see, hear, and experience. I’m pretty hard on Trump, but I will give him credit for one thing–he says the quiet things out loud. This may be due to his propensity to open his mouth before engaging his brain, but it is a fact that he does not hesitate to proclaim his doings.

    Venezuela has been a major, big-league, supplier of oil to China. What will happen if, all at once, that supply is shut off and denied? The implications of this are almost too frightening to think about, but it is imperative that we (when I say we, I mean you) do think about them because they will have some sort of effect on all of us.

    It’s the end of the world as we know it. But, then, history shows that this is the way it’s always been and people have survived through it all. This time is no different, except for the fact that the “dogs of war” are coming closer and closer to home.

    God help us!

    1. Technically, this is NOT a war as the Congress is the only entity which has the constitutional authority to declare war. Since Congress has NOT declared war against Venezuela (Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada, Iran, etc.), then military adventures of this type become merely “police work” to enforce the will of the president. In the current situation, Congress is, at least, as guilty as the administration because it failed to rein him in during a recent vote. ↩︎
    2. Together with the alleged Ukrainian attempt to assassinate Russian president, Vladimir Putin, this precedent could easily become a slippery slope which puts any single official, regardless of his or her office, at risk of becoming “collateral damage, terminated”. Years ago, protocol demanded that high government officials were not to be physically harmed, but those days are gone. ↩︎

    Looking Ahead to the New Year: Viva 2026!

    Roger Mitchell1 Comment

    Today is January 1, 2026, the beginning of a new year, and the possibility of any number of good things happening. After all, we just finished the season of wishing others a “Merry Christmas”, which connotes peace and good will toward others in a spirit of love, even toward our enemies. Or maybe, just not hating our enemies quite as much as we normally do.

    Or perhaps, even more likely, since Christmas is over for another year and we can put those warm, fuzzy feelings behind us, the next year will be one of Hell breaking out on Planet Earth. There is ample evidence for this extrapolation.

    1. The Ukraine/Russian war which is threatening to engulf all of Europe.
    2. The ongoing Israeli massacre of the Palestinians in Gaza and the destruction of the Middle East.
    3. The next chapter of the Israeli/Iranian war, which might destroy the Middle East.
    4. The potential of the US attacking Venezuela in an effort to force a regime change, so that “we” can get “our” oil back.
    5. The strong suspicion that China is about to assault Taiwan.
    6. The rise of BRICS in opposition to the “international rule of law” as interpreted by the West.
    7. Financial turmoil on a scale never seen before and the recent nearly vertical rise in the price of gold and silver.
    8. The increasing belief that the Day of the Dollar is just about over and that a new system, the Great Reset is imminent.
    9. CBDC’s, digital surveillance, and social conditioning are about to destroy any residual semblance of privacy and freedom, all with the assistance of AI controlled data centers which are going to suck up every last available bit of electricity and fresh water.
    10. COVID. Climate change. The whole Woke monstrosity.
    11. Etc., etc., etc.,…

    Oh, yes, there is good reason to believe that 2026 will not be all sugar, spice, and an extended vacation in a tropical paradise. Why, it’s almost enough to make me want to go to bed, cover my head with a pillow, and never come out again. And yet, and yet…

    “In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33

    For those who have put their hope and faith in Jesus Christ, the Word, and His word, the troubles we face here can be met with courage and fearlessness because we understand that He is watching over His creation, His Church, with the ultimate intention being that it will reflect all the glory which is God’s alone. No matter what happens to us, it is done with His permission and/or blessing. There is nothing which can touch us unless He allows it and even the “bad things” are meant to steer us toward greater humility and trust.

    There are only three ways we can respond to the troubles around us:

    1. Returning evil for evil as the world does. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. What’s in it for me. I’m looking out for #1. Kill them all, let God sort them out. Money, money, money. He who dies with the most toys, wins. Eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow we die.
    2. Self-control. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, including your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Do not retaliate, but forgive. Seek peace with all. Beat your swords into plowshares. Make a positive difference in your own world because you believe in the future.
    3. Disengage. Distance yourself completely from society. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, but especially do nothing to restrain evil. In essence, admit defeat and commit suicide. Because it’s hopeless.

    In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these timeless words.

    “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way…The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity–even under the most difficult circumstances–to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.”

    In everything we experience this next year, we have a choice. Go through it as a willing ambassador of Christ, knowing we are His, or go through it as an animal, forgetting or refusing to admit that we are made in His Image.

    “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…” — 2 Timothy 1:7-8a

    As Christians, we have the power and ability to influence our world for the better. We ought not squander the opportunity. Be blessed as you go out and have a Happy New Year in His Name.

    “Vengeance is Mine, I Will Make You Pay”, says Donald Trump

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.” — Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof

    “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” — Romans 12:17-19 NKJV

    Contrast those sentiments with the words coming out of the mouth of the one who thinks he can do anything because he is the president of the United States.

    “They’ve [Venezuela] treated us badly. I guess now we’re not treating them so good.” — Donald Trump

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1999565449093169515, at about 51 seconds in.

    During the entire history of Christianity from the very beginning 2000 years ago, one of the points of the message has been that retaliatory vengeance, the repaying of evil with evil, is not to be tolerated. Instead, God claims vengeful authority for Himself alone, and any instance where Man is allowed to exercise power in that area of the realm is by designated permission which is constrained by clearly marked parameters and boundaries. In fact, the legal basis for restraining one from taking vengeance goes all the way back to the early days of the Hebrew nation, e.g., among others,

    • Deuteronomy 32:35 “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.”
    • Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

    The amount of ink spilled onto paper concerning the so-called Christian roots of America is voluminous and even today there are those who call America a Christian nation (or at the very least, call for America to return to its Christian beginning). Yet, in all of this, where are the voices of prominent Christians who tell Donald Trump to change his course, to cool down his rhetoric, to take it easy where it concerns his belligerent words and actions?

    Chuck Baldwin comes readily to mind, but there are not a lot of others that I know of.

    I am not surprised by Trump. He is promoting his own religion, one of unilateral power, wealth-gathering, and self-importance which incorporates many aspects of religious worship but cannot rightly be called Christian. The ones I am constantly in amazement of are those who call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ, but who flock to Trump’s banner and idolize him as the modern, visible incarnation of the anointed messiah, despite the clear commands of Scripture. In many circles within American society today, criticizing the man about anything he might have said or done is swiftly met with vituperative condemnation.

    The questions before us are the same as those posed by the prophet Elijah to the people of Israel at Mount Carmel in his head-to-head confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Who is the god you will worship? Whose word is true? What are you going to believe? These, and others like them, have to be answered in the hearts and minds of all of us and it would be best to settle them, once and for all, before fire rains down from heaven…again. This time, it could be nuclear.

    Beating Swords into Plowshares, Montana Style

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    A few days ago, I posted a short article about a bill, HR 6508, introduced into the House of Representatives by Thomas Massie (R-KY), which if passed into law would require the White House to begin proceedings to remove the US from the organization known as NATO. A companion bill, S 2103 has been introduced into the Senate by Mike Lee, R-UT. In addition, the White House has released its National Security Strategy which basically calls for a moderated withdrawal from a hegemonic attempt to control the world into a more manageable position of ruling the Western Hemisphere with an iron fist. Conversely, it could be an admission that the US cannot rule the world due to the rise of significant resistance and must pull in its horns somewhat. It’s all relative, depending on your viewpoint.

    These events, even if they take twenty or thirty years to accomplish, can be seen as positive steps toward a better future for the world, like the first faint glimmer of light breaking through the darkness after a long, dark night. We should be aware, though, that nothing is guaranteed and that international tensions could continue to escalate as modern-day society breaks down into uncontrolled chaos, with the ever-present specter of full-blown nuclear war still only a heartbeat away.

    [Note: I wrote this at the request of an editor at Western Montana News who asked how it could relate to the local area in the case that events of this sort did unfold.]

    I am extremely skeptical about anything which comes out of Washington, regardless of its source (Thomas Massie, excepted) and understand that evil, like the multi-headed hydra of Greek literature, will not be easily dispatched. These things take time to mature and we should not expect to see an immediate end to hostilities even as we hope and believe that world-wide peace will be the eventual result.

    Putting aside our disbeliefs and assuming the best, let’s take a look at what might be long-term effects for Montana and the surrounding regions if, and I stress if, NATO is disbanded and the US does pull back from its long-standing policy of never-ending wars to fill the coffers of the military-industrial complex which Eisenhower warned about long ago. Keep in mind that this is only an exercise of hopeful possibility, not a prediction. Your guess is as good as mine.

    1. NATO is abandoned and disappears. The US and Russia come to an understanding of peaceful co-existence. The European Union, a supra-national organization, disintegrates and reverts once more into a continent of national states, each of which is beset with its own peculiar problems, none of which is capable of exercising massive power outside its borders. In such a scenario, it is possible that the number of nuclear warheads which the US and Russian states control and use as threats against each other might be negotiated down from an insane level to one where the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) policy does not cause nightmares in fearful people. If that were to happen, would the missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base eventually be decommissioned and filled with concrete? It is, according to the premise of this article, at least theoretically possible. If that was the only development which came out of this, it would be a good thing.
    2. Trillion dollar “defense” budgets would become a thing of the past. Without an existential threat constantly looming over our heads, there would be no need to break the bank any longer for the ostensible purpose of keeping the “barbarians” at bay, fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here. Instead of pouring that money into weapons systems to kill and destroy, some of it could be used to rebuild Montana’s deteriorating infrastructure–roads and bridges, schools, hospitals, e.g., among others.
    3. Peace is deflationary. Inflation is necessary to drive the financial engine which waging war requires. Without the “need” to destroy the dollar to protect “national interests”, the printing presses which lubricate the political machine in Washington could be wound down to a more moderate level at the very least. The wages which local Montanans earn would go further and purchase more, enabling a general rise in the standard of living.
    4. Massive numbers of young men and women would no longer be needed to fill the ranks of “cannon fodder” in wars which America has no business involving itself or occupying military bases in foreign countries where they are not needed. Instead, they could become highly productive citizens here, raising future generations in an era where soldiers dying in combat might be an anomaly instead of a fixture.

    I could go on but you get my point. Western Montana (and the world) has much to gain from the cessation of wars, especially those in which the threat of nuclear annihilation always looms just ahead.

    In conclusion, I point to Isaiah 2:4, which says,

    “He [Word of God] shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.“

    If this prophecy is true, then it is inevitable that war will cease to exist. All of us should be working toward that goal whether it comes to pass in our lifetimes or not until far into the future.

    The bronze sculpture “Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares,” was created by Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich, and presented to the United Nations on 4 December 1959 by the Government of the USSR. The sculpture, depicting the figure of a man holding a hammer aloft in one hand and a sword in the other, which he is making into a ploughshare, is meant to symbolize man’s desire to put an end to war, and to convert the means of destruction into creative tools for the benefit of mankind. It is located in the North Garden of the United Nations Headquarters. 1/Oct/2001. UN Photo/Andrea Brizzi. http://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/

    The Narrative is Shifting: Foreign Policy Course Corrections Ahead

    Roger Mitchell3 Comments

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/regenerative-farming-just-went-mainstream-heres-why-it-matters

    Whether you are a “farmer” growing food or not is not important. The underlying message in this article is that significant changes which become known do not usually happen overnight but occur as a result of hard work over a long period of time by dedicated individuals. The author explains the process quite well.

    This can be favorably related to Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) recent bill introduced into the House to require the US to withdraw from NATO. A companion bill, S2152, by Mike Lee (R-UT) can also be seen in this light. Slow, gradual progress is the order of the day, eventually producing enough weight and momentum to push the idea forward to success.

    A society, large or small, rarely changes direction dramatically and sharply as a discontinuous event. Instead, like a supertanker or aircraft carrier, the change of course begins with the unseen turning of a rudder, overlooked by nearly everyone until the new direction becomes obvious.

    The very fact that these two bills, along with the recent release of the National Security Strategy (NSS) by the White House detailing foreign policy changes show that there is some significant movement underway which most people will not see nor recognize until it bursts onto the scene, perhaps in a cataclysmic manner, akin to a dam bursting and the subsequent release of a large amount of water resulting in the destruction of everything downstream caught in its path.

    The system we have lived with and under for decades is giving way and a new one is about to be implemented. It is important to keep in mind that neither of these above-referenced bills are guaranteed passage, however, both add to the weight and pressure building on the existing structure which is trying to maintain the status quo.

    Do not discount the significance of Massie’s bill.

    The Ghost of Jeffrey Epstein Lives!

    Roger Mitchell2 Comments

    When I got up from my late-afternoon nap a little while ago, I pulled up ZeroHedge to see what was going on in the world and was shocked, shocked, absolutely stunned, I tell you to see this article pronouncing that both the House (expected) and the Senate (completely out of character) had approved the release of the Epstein Files, and sent it on to The Donald for his long, drawn-out signature. What really blew my mind, however, were the margins in the votes, 427-1 (House) and unanimous (Senate).

    Naturally, being the sort of person I am, I immediately started ruminating on the meaning of these lop-sided decisions and, being the suspicious, skeptical sort of person I am, latched onto the idea that one of two things had just happened:

    1. The Federal Government, as exemplified in its two august bodies, had just had a “coming to Jesus” moment and, henceforth, would be working for truth, righteousness, and the American Way.
    2. The American people were just snowed…again.

    I have to hand it to Thomas Massie, a republican representative from Kentucky, who along with Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, has been pushing and pushing for months to get this “list” published. Massie, for his efforts, has been subjected to serious “trouble” from the White House, but has emerged victorious. I think. Maybe. We’ll see. No telling what this will lead to. Nevertheless, take your victory lap, Mr. Massie. You have earned it.

    On July 10, 2025, I posted an article, https://poorrogersalmanac.com/2025/07/10/officially-confirmed-epstein-didnt-kill-himself/, which included the paragraphs below.

    “There is one other similarity between JFK and Epstein. The case is closed. Closed. Officially closed. There will be no more investigation, no more fact-finding ventures, no more questioning, no more publicity, no more “conspiracy theorizing”. The administration of Donald Trump and Co. has issued its last report and there will be no release of any files pertaining to the matter. In due time, it will all be forgotten….Except that it won’t be. There is simply too much about this that doesn’t pass the smell test. Anyone with a sense of reason, common sense, and a nose for the truth can discern that we have been lied to…again, this time with vehemence, bigly, as Trump would say.”

    Which, once more, brings up the question: Are we being snowed again? Suspicious minds want to know.

    • While on the campaign trail, Trump vigorously promoted the promise that the files would be released as soon as he became president.
    • In February, 2025, barely a month after Trump took office, his AG Pam Bondi, declared that the “list” was on her desk, impatiently waiting for her review and release.
    • In July, 2025, barely four months later, the White House held their famous (infamous?) press conference during which it was averred, avowed, and aggressively asserted that “there was no there, there”. The List had somehow vanished, the evidence had been mysteriously flushed down the toilet, there were no witnesses to the alleged crimes, the whole thing was a hoax (a Democrat hoax to get Trump, mind you), and on, and on, and on…
    • In July, Massie and Khanna introduced their resolution named the Epstein Files Transparency Act, seeking to gain 218 co-signers which would force the House to take up the measure. Around that time, Trump declared war on Massie, vowing to “primary” him in 2026 with someone more “suitable” and unleashing a virtual river of vicious invective against him.
    • In early August, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girl Friday, was transferred from a high-security prison in Tallahassee, FL, to a low-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, where she has received preferential treatment. Around the same time, it was revealed that Donald Trump had never, ever, done anything wrong with Epstein. Not even once.
    • Initially, Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, resisted the EFTA resolution and refused to bring it up for a vote until it became apparent that it was going to happen, at which time he allowed it. It is noteworthy that Johnson also kept the House in a state of recess for months so as to avoid seating Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who was elected in a special election in August and who had sworn to sign on as the last needed co-sponsor.
    • Claiming “we have nothing to hide”, Trump caved in on Nov. 17 and gave his “blessing” to the vote, which was apparently the last straw on the camel’s back.

    Something here is not right. It stinks to high heaven. Either there was nothing there to begin with OR there is something which TPTB are desperately trying to cover up. Considering that Trump and Team have been bouncing back and forth between two opinions, depending on who they are trying to please, it is not hard to believe that some VERY SERIOUS SHENANIGANS did actually happen, that Epstein had something to do with them, and that it will cause some extreme embarrassment on the part of some VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE should the truth about the whole sordid affair come out. Larry Summers is only the first one to fall.

    Final Answer: Let the truth be told and the chips fall where they will.

    An Afternoon to be Remembered

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    This is not my typical post. I’ll be back. I promise.

    On September 26th, a perfectly beautiful, wonderfully gorgeous day, I had the satisfying experience of hosting a “local gathering” of people where we ate grilled chicken (Le Chef Moi) and varied delectable and delicious potluck dishes brought in by others, washed it down with good beer (some of us, anyway), and expounded our favorite theories about the way the world SHOULD WORK all afternoon. This was brought about, of course, by sticking my neck out and inviting CJ Hopkins and Hugo Fernandez to make a pit stop in their America Tour while they were traveling through.

    The Official Touring Car

    This came about because I cannot resist temptation when it is staring me in the face. It all began when I noticed in CJ’s published itinerary that they had nothing planned for Big Sky Country,

    “Big Sky Country — No idea yet where we’re going to stop. Basically, we have six days to get from Kansas City to Portland, so … Wyoming, Montana, Idaho maybe. Again, if you live in this part of the country, and have suggestions or invitations, please let me know.”

    Just a big, fat void of emptiness, so I jumped at the chance and sent him an email inviting them in for some of my world-famous BBQ’ed chicken and an opportunity to sit for an interview with my good friend, Dan, who is building a digital radio station out of the Bitterroot Valley. Needless to say, almost before the ink had a chance to dry in my email missive, CJ replied that he would be delighted to join us and…well, the rest is history.

    I had invited numerous (80-100 people), friends, neighbors, acquaintances, to participate, and in the end about 25 actually showed up. The ratio is probably typical–invite three times more than you want, although I was hoping for better, but it was what it was. As far as I could tell, everyone had a fantastic time of it, at least no one has yet told me they didn’t, and considering that some decided to stretch the afternoon well into early evening hours, tells me that they were really into the spirit of the day.

    The only fly in the ointment, the thing that really has me upset, is that I didn’t get any photographs of CJ and Hugo. I have no excuse for the lapse except that the thought never entered my mind. That being said, these will have to do, and please read the running commentary as well. This is not Playboy, after all. You don’t come here just for the pictures.

    https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/america-road-trip-project-week-three

    https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/america-road-trip-project-week-two

    https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/america-road-trip-project-week-one

    All in all, an incredibly positive moment. I was blessed to be in the right place at the right time and I will always look back on this event with special fondness. Thank you to CJ and Hugo (I persist in using the Spanish pronunciation of his name), to Dan (see the link above to his interview), and also to everyone else who helped to make this a smashing success. We are better off for it.

    Murder on the High Seas: Coming Soon to a City Near You–A Hypocrisy of the Most Personal Order

    Roger Mitchell2 Comments

    It has only been a few weeks since the cold-blooded murder of eleven crew members on a fishing boat in the Caribbean by the US military machine, headed up by none other than Donald Trump who gave the order, essentially pulling the trigger himself. Between then and now, there have been two other instances in which the same action has been taken, with three men killed in each event, thus bringing the total killed in an extra-judicial action to seventeen persons.

    Supposedly, these men were running drugs from Venezuela into the United States with the intent to destroy American society, but there is no proof that this is the case, and no legal precedent for the action taken to prevent that from happening. Instead, Trump and his henchmen, beginning with Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, simply decided unilaterally that they were going to blow the boats out of the water without ever referring the matter to the Dept. of Justice (I use that term loosely) for criminal prosecution.

    This sort of behavior reminds me of The Mouse’s Tale in Alice in Wonderland. “I’ll be judge, I’ll be jury, said cunning old Fury. I’ll try the whole cause and condemn you to death.”

    The American Experiment has come full circle and now this deadly attitude is being practiced openly without any attempt to hide or excuse it. Judge, jury, executioner. Because we can. Because the president can do anything. No longer is anyone deemed to be innocent until proven guilty and convicted by a jury of his peers (not that this was ever really a valid concept, but at least it presented a moral face). Today, all that is necessary for me, you, or any other person, to be “eliminated” is to cross the path of The Decider and engage his ire. As Donald Trump put it in his own words truthfully spoken, probably among the few truthfully spoken words of his life,

    “He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” Trump said, before breaking from his prepared remarks to add: “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry.”

    Yes, he sure is sorry. A sorry sight, indeed. Knowing how he treats those who oppose him, it would be a good idea to watch your back if you are one of those. And the crowd of adoring, hero-worshipping, fanatical followers who call themselves “Christian” cheered and applauded, hating his (and presumably their own) opponents as well, even though the action goes against every principle taught by Jesus the Christ.

    The hypocrisy of those who claim to be good and against evil is staggering and reeks to high heaven. Or the high seas, whichever is closer. Consider this.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-ups-pressure-control-disputed-waters

    Just a few days earlier, China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time while still undergoing sea trials ahead of expected commissioning later this year. Japan’s military also reported spotting the Fujian near the disputed Senkaku Islands on Sept. 11, sailing with two destroyers.

    Beijing claimed the carrier was en route to the South China Sea for training and scientific tests, insisting the transit was routine and not aimed at anyone. However, the move carried symbolic weight as the CCP asserts its claims over both the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan.

    Around the same time, the U.S. destroyer USS Higgins and the British frigate HMS Richmond transited the Taiwan Strait, prompting sharp warnings from Beijing, which condemned the move as undermining regional stability and deployed naval and air forces to monitor them.

    Washington and London countered that the operation was lawful and routine under international law, stressing that the strait lies beyond the territorial waters of any state and that freedom of navigation must be upheld.

    Did you get that? Freedom of navigation beyond the territorial waters of any state MUST be upheld, that is, as long as it is not Venezuelan fishing crews or Chinese aircraft carriers who are doing the navigating. Donald Trump (who stands in for God and the Deep State) forbid that anyone except “our” national interests be allowed to sail with impunity, whether in the bathtub of the Caribbean or halfway around the world in deep waters near their own homeland. Such shenanigans are not to be tolerated and steps will be taken to enforce “the rule of law”, as we see fit. We, of course, meaning the ones who wield the power in the halls of Washington, D.C.

    International law? Pffffttt! WTF is that?

    Murder, the aggressive, unjustified killing of another person(s), has become accepted as normal in American society. We used to be shocked and outraged at the senseless slaughter of innocents, but have now become inured to it. Murder is increasingly seen as the means to advance and achieve one’s own goals and if that happens to cross over the line of traditional morality, so what? As long as I can get what I want, who cares, even if someone else has to die for it? If I have the power, as Trump does, to determine who shall live and who shall die, then why shouldn’t I be allowed to use it?

    Well, for starters, once this type of thinking becomes pervasive throughout society, then no one is safe. Once murders happen because…(you fill in the blanks), then there is no protection from any unexpected assault, whether it be from a knife (Iryna Zarutska), a rifle (Charlie Kirk), or a Hellfire missile (Venezuelan fishermen). The really sad thing about all this is the immense number of (alleged, supposed) Christians, those who profess faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ on love for others, who wholeheartedly and fervently express their support and adoration of Donald Trump. After all, he is fighting on our behalf and will shortly reconstitute and resurrect America from the absolute mess it became at the hands of decades of liberal, progressive policies orchestrated by unhinged, lunatic, deranged Democrats and Communists!

    Right? Of course, right. Which is the mental attitude fostered and believed by so many who claim to be disciples of the King of Kings, yet cannot fathom their own misguided faith in a system which promotes and encourages chaos, mayhem, and murder. As long as Trump is the Executioner, we are OK with it. He is one of us. God damn the evil Russkies and the transgenders! Revive and defend the moral code according to our own lights and truths, and let us write it on tablets of stone, if that becomes necessary!! Just so that everyone knows who is handing down the decrees from on high.

    We have a problem.

    “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me…” — Exodus 20:5b

    Donald Trump, who can do anything, hates his opponents, especially the One Who rules international law. We have been warned.

    The Wages of Sin is Death–Official or Not

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    In the last few weeks, there have been three high-profile instances of deliberate murder in which those killed had no warning that they were going to die. Life was good, until all at once it was over.

    1. Eleven crew members of a small Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean which was destroyed by a Hellfire missile.
    2. A 23 year old woman, Iryna Zarutska,1 stabbed in the neck repeatedly by a man behind her while riding home from work in Charlotte, NC.
    3. Charlie Kirk, shot in the neck while speaking at a rally at a Utah university.

    Other than the fact that they were completely unexpected, do these murders have anything in common? It could be argued, I suppose, that the boat’s crew members were “known to the State of US” to be violent gang members running drugs, therefore the takeout was justified. It could be argued that Charlie Kirk brought it on himself by opposing the “woke”, progressive, liberal agenda and being extremely vocal about his beliefs. It could be argued that Iryna’s murder was caused by decades of insane policies of refusing to treat criminal cases harshly without any serious consequence for the perps.

    Yet, during his first term in office, Donald Trump gave the order to assassinate an Iranian general2, Qasem Solemani, while he was traveling to a peace conference in Iraq, done without warning solely because it was possible. While Barack Obama was president, numerous persons were simply killed via drone strikes3 because they happened to get on the wrong list, including an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, and his 16 year old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki. How many innocent people have been killed because of the aggressive wars waged by the American State and society? It is safe to assume that they number in the tens of millions and probably most of them were not aware that they were in imminent danger until it was upon them.

    We have a problem and it is not going to be easily solved nor overcome. America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, has always been a practitioner of violence, often deadly. We still are, and there does not seem to be any groundswell of movement on the part of the grassroots population to bring the official killings to an end. Instead, if the Venezuelan State sank one of the US Navy ships in the area, citing defense, this country as a cohesive unit would issue a full-throated roar for vengeance and destruction, regardless of who started the whole mess or whether it was legal or right. We love our violent Hollywood movies and PlayStation video games in which we can vicariously “live” the victorious life. Or die trying, except that we get to come back another day and fight again.

    “Kill them all. Let God sort them out.”

    Why are we shocked when something like Charlie Kirk’s assassination or Iryna Zarutska’s cold-blooded murder occur, but pooh-pooh any notion that the killers were only following the examples set by their own government? Why is murder excused, even lauded and honored, when it is practiced by a government for political purposes, but individual murders cannot be tolerated, even though they might be done for political purposes? Why do we tolerate “black on black” murders which constitute the largest part of the killings in the US and try to justify “black on white” murders as, well, “correcting racial imbalances”? Why do we treat “white on black” murders as worse than any other, especially if a police officer is the one doing the killing?

    Why? Why? Why? These are the hard questions we need to honestly explore and try to answer in order to make some sense of the situation, and the first place to start is with ourselves, in our own innermost being, the one which drives and defines everything we are. Am I a supporter of government led and sponsored wars and extra-judicial “executions”? Do I think it is right for my government to declare war on other countries without cause? Would I join the military and kill some person I never knew simply because someone else told me to? Do I hate my neighbor and wish evil on him? And on, and on, and on…

    We are at this point in history because, as a nation and a people, we have either explicitly abandoned the moral imperatives of God or made light of them, ignoring them when convenient, and/or trying to substitute our own man-made rules which seem right and just to us. Today, and increasingly so in a rapidly disintegrating future, we are (and will) reap the consequences of our actions and behaviors. The only way out is to seek forgiveness for our own sins and change the way we think, which will change the way we act. This is called repentance…and it works. It is the only thing which will work. Everything else is nothing more than a Band-Aid® slapped over a blood-gushing wound.

    More to come…and it ain’t looking good. Murder is murder is murder, and it’s past time to recognize this fact. Time to raise our sights to a higher plane, one where the injunction, “Thou shalt not kill” still holds true.

    1. Notice that Wikipedia does its dead-level best (no pun intended) to mask the fact that the killer was a black male who had 14 convictions on his record and was still walking the streets. ↩︎
    2. To justify this action and call it “lawful”, read this. I do not agree with the conclusion. https://www.jagreporter.af.mil/Post/Article-View-Post/Article/2539536/the-killing-of-qassem-soleimani/ ↩︎
    3. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/holder-weve-droned-4-americans-3-by-accident-oops/ ↩︎

    Jeffrey Epstein or Beating Up on Venezuela

    Roger Mitchell3 Comments

    Donald Trump, America’s peace-loving, peace-making president, is acting presidential again. No, he has not got the war in Ukraine settled after almost nine months of overtures, empty threats, and broken promises, one of which was that he would stop it in twenty-four hours as soon as he took office. Nor has he reined in the Insane Beast of the Middle East, Bibi Netanyahu and the Israeli State, on their wild, murderous rampage through Gaza. Neither has he stopped threatening Iran over its refusal to bow down and worship “the god that be”, that is, the puppet-masters and heavyweight policy-makers of the Western realm.

    Instead, probably with the blessings and direction of his controllers (whoever they might be), he has virtually, unilaterally, declared war on Venezuela, a small, oil-rich country on the northern coast of South America. In fact, on Tuesday, September 2, following Trump’s direct order, a boat was fired upon by the US Navy off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, killing eleven crew members. This was done without warning, without any attempt to stop the vessel, any effort to arrest the crew and bring them to a court in the US where they could be tried and convicted of their crimes against humanity and receive “justice”. Note the quotation marks.

    All on Trump’s say-so. Yes, very presidential, if I may say so myself. In this, at least, he was consistent with his own words, “I’m the president. I can do whatever I want.” Well, now he’s a murderer…on several counts, as are the men and women who colluded with him and those who actually pulled the triggers. Now, in response to Venezuela’s response in which two of its warplanes buzzed a US destroyer, Trump has just issued another threat. “Don’t do that anymore or I will shoot you down.”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-warns-any-venezuelan-plane-threatening-us-ships-will-be-shot-down

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-deploys-f-35s-puerto-rico-airfield-after-pair-venezuelan-jets-buzz-us-warship

    Supposedly, the boat which was fired upon was running drugs from Venezuela to…somewhere, and those drugs were guaranteed to find their way onto the streets of Miami, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, or points between and further afield. Supposedly, the drug runners were members of the “notorious” gang known as Tren de Aragua, vicious rapists and killers all, whose only goal was to degrade and destroy the fine, upstanding citizens of the above-named communities and points between and further afield. Yes, it is certain that, if Trump had not acted “presidentially”, the streets of America would have been thrown into chaos, confusion, degradation, and death, but today the people who live there can sleep peacefully at night, knowing that a heavily-armed SWAT team is not going to smash their front door in and shoot up the place, because there are no drugs inside. What a relief!

    Yeah, we have to fight them over there, so that we don’t have to fight them over here.

    OK, let’s cut to the chase here. This is America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. The land of innate human rights backed up by the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. All of us know this and we repeat it monotonously and mindlessly whenever the government, represented by the president (currently Trump), overrides The Supreme Law of the Land and tramples and abuses the citizenry. But, but, but…that’s not constitutional. That’s not allowed. That’s illegal. OK, tell that to your Congressperson or Senator the next time you see them…if you ever get a chance to see them, which isn’t likely unless they’re in your district stumping for re-election, at which time they will tell you anything to get you off their back AND get your vote in the upcoming election.

    1. Donald Trump, representing the US government, declared the crew members “criminal” and not worthy of life.
    2. Donald Trump, taking matters into his own hands, ordered them killed without recourse to any of the legalities which Make America Great.
    3. The boat was destroyed in international waters, on the high seas. This makes Trump a pirate, a modern-day one, to be sure, but absolutely no different in principle than other pirates throughout the ages.
    4. Trump has, in effect, declared war on Venezuela and its people, some of whom probably are vicious rapists, killers, and drug-runners. However, the highly-revered and worshipped Constitution insists that Congress must declare war and the president is bound by it. Despite this impediment, none of America’s wars since WW2 have been lawfully declared, they just somehow happened, usually because the president and his henchmen decided that they could do anything they wanted…and did, to the detriment of an enormous number of people world-wide, including Americans. Oh, and BTW, Congress which should have stepped in and stopped it, did nothing at all.

    If Trump sends the troops and gunboats into Venezuela to “arrest and neutralize” the drug-runners, especially the top dog, Nicholas Maduro, it is likely to immediately resemble the situation in Viet Nam during the “war” (undeclared) there. Venezuela is an ideal spot for a protracted guerilla war with rough, mountainous terrain, steaming rain forests, huge rivers, and a poverty-stricken population which might conclude they have nothing to lose except their lives in the battle against an invading hegemonic power. Even though the US would quickly gain air superiority and maintain control of the coast with its warships, the place is not suited for tank warfare nor would it be easily overrun by large armies, which the US cannot afford to lose.

    The best that Trump, representing the government, could hope for is that the Maduro regime (don’t you love that word, always used against our enemies, never our friends) would be destabilized and run out of town (or, better yet, into a maximum security prison in El Salvador), giving the US the opportunity to install a puppet government to its own liking, a proxy which would act as it was told to and would speedily sign over Venezuela’s vast mineral rights (oil) to ExxonMobil, Shell, and the like.

    It would be wise, however, to remember that Venezuela’s neighboring country, Colombia, suffered from a decades-long struggle which pitted a weak, centralized government against dedicated opposing guerillas, until they finally were able to come to an agreement and end the fighting. Would Venezuela be any different? Would ExxonMobil or Shell care? Would The Powers That Be who have unleashed Trump and sicced him onto a “crappy little country” which is only fit to be picked up and thrown against a wall? Would Trump himself care?

    What is really going on? I can think of three things without ever breaking a sweat.

    1. Trump and the West have lost the war (excuse me, Special Military Operation) in Ukraine. The Russians have won it. There is no stopping it without submitting to Vlad Putin’s demands, all of which have been known publicly for years.
    2. The war in Gaza (excuse me, Special Military Operation) is going badly for Israel and its constantly attentive, muscular, sycophantic groupie, the US State. Every day that Israel beats up, shoots down, tortures, rapes, and starves innocent people, mainly women and children, is another day in which world opinion increasingly turns against it. Like Ukraine, the war is lost but it cannot be admitted and will not be quit nor surrendered until the bitter end.
    3. Jeffrey Epstein. Ahhhhh! You thought I would never get there, didn’t you? It’s OK, you can exhale now. Yep, good ole Jeff is reaching out from beyond the grave (if he is actually dead which is not certain for sure) and causing havoc, panic, and consternation among the power-brokers who think that they had control of the narrative on this sordid affair. Do you believe that there is no list? Do you believe that Donald Trump is on that list? Do you believe that Ghislaine Maxwell is telling the truth? Do you believe that all the young girls who were supposedly seduced and manipulated willingly cooperated and that there were absolutely no victims among them? Do you believe that Thomas Massie is going to give up on his efforts to expose ALL the records held by the government?

    What is more probable is that Trump and the cronies around, beneath, and over him are scared to death, terrified of being exposed, and doing what they do best to distract the public by creating a diversion, the best diversion, the one most guaranteed to turn the attention of the public away from the issue–war. A war which will accomplish its purpose, meant to take the heat off the current crisis which is threatening severe consequences on people who have acted with impunity for decades, believing like Trump, that they can do whatever they want.

    Psalms 2 tells what happens when kings, rulers, and nations get too big for their britches. It’s not a good place to be.

    The Smell of Blood Money

    Roger MitchellLeave a comment

    Whoohoo! Happy days are here again.

    Europe To Spend $100BN It Doesn’t Have, To Buy Weapons America Doesn’t Have, To Arm Soldiers Ukraine Now Lacks

    This is the headline of an article on ZeroHedge which attempts to explain what happened in Washington yesterday between Donald Trump and the seven dwarves of Europe1 in their discussion of the situation in Ukraine.

    Here’s what Trump had to say after the meeting.

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump
    I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President
    Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron,
    of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister
    Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United
    Kingdom, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,
    Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission, Ursula
    von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in
    the White House, which ended in a further meeting in the Oval
    Office. During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for
    Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various
    European Countries, with a coordination with the United States
    of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of
    PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I
    called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a
    meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin
    and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will
    have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.
    Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been
    going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance,
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve
    Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine. Thank you for
    your attention to this matter!

    Yes, he should be happy and quite proud of himself because, just a few minutes later he said this in response to a question from a reporter.

    “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,”

    Spoken like a true hero and peacemaker, a very compassionate, loving way to make the stakeholders of the military-industrial complex (MIC) extremely happy. And richer than ever. Yes, the sale of weapons is really what counts in this matter. BLM! Bottom Lines Matter! The war in Ukraine can eventually be brought to an end–someday–AFTER we have milked this cash cow for as much as we can get out of it. Did it ever cross his mind that while he’s raking in the dough along with his cronies (partners-in-crime) that average, everyday people in Ukraine are being mercilessly slaughtered?

    The fact of the matter is that Donald (Colonel Bombast) Trump could end the war in Ukraine in one day, just as he promised he would while on the campaign trail. All he would have to do is to declare that the US would no longer write any more checks to Ukraine, it would no longer allow US weapons to be transferred to Ukraine (whether they were given or paid for), it would no longer use its intelligence “services” to coordinate and work with Ukraine, it would immediately drop the sanctions imposed on Russia, and demand that the EU follow in lockstep with his directive.

    Boom! End of war. But he won’t do that. We all heard that, right? “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons.”

    Ain’t it grand?

    1. Starmer (UK), Macron (France), Merz (Germany), Meloni (Italy), Stubb (Finland), Rutte (NATO), and the smallest of them all, Ukraine’s own, Vlad Zelenskiy, plus the fairy godmother, Ursula von der Leyen, the head honcho of the European Commission, who can’t resist the temptation to keep the war going at any cost. ↩︎