The Rise of the Trump Reich

[Bicycle Bill]

I took it upon myself to move the comments following Trump's assault on Venezuela from the "There's Always a Tweet" thread to here so as not to be accused of diluting that thread.

And meanwhile he sends US troops into a FOREIGN, SOVEREIGN nation and kidnaps the president of said country. — or, to quote Trumpty-Dumpty's own words in his post on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, "has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country ... in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement".
(the unnecessary capitalizations of 'country' and 'law enforcement' are Trump's doing, not mine)
Here''s a second take on the matter — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/ ... wtab-en-us

Of special note — to me, anyway — is this paragraph from the article in the Guardian —

In early December, the Trump administration published what it called the “Trump corollary”, which said that the western hemisphere must be controlled by the US politically, economically, commercially and militarily.  As part of the new Trump doctrine, the US military can be used to gain access to energy and mineral resources in the area.

This is the first I'd heard of this so-called "Trump corollary".   Corollary to what?
And regardless of what it might be a corollary to, it sure sounds like an imperialistic manifesto to me.

-"BB"-

[Bicycle Bill]

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[Bicycle Bill]

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[Bicycle Bill]

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[Bicycle Bill]

[Bicycle Bill]

I listened to a few minutes of his press conference this morning - I couldn't stand more than a few minutes and turned it off. He was talking about the Monroe Doctrine as if he had just heard of it (and he probably had - although his fifth grade teacher probably told him about it, little Donny wasn't famous for his attention to detail or he may have been sick that day). Apparently some people are now calling it the Donroe Doctrine.

[Bicycle Bill]

1938 - 1930 — Germany invades Czechoslovakia under orders from Hitler, ostensibly to 1) unite ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia with their homeland (using false claims of mistreatment ass a pretext), and 2) acquire its valuable industrial resources and strategic territory (the Sudetenland).

September 1, 1939 — Germany enters Poland under orders from Hitler, who used a false-flag operation — the Gleiwitz incident — to falsely claim Poland attacked Germany first, providing a pretext for the invasion.

January 2/3, 2026 — The USA enters Venezuela under orders from Trump, who claims he is enforcing a federal indictment against the Venezuelan leader, taking him and his wife as captives and transporting them against their will on board an American warship, bound for who knows where???
     (..... incidentally, isn't that what extradition treaties are all about, so countries don't have to launch military operations "bigger than anything seen since WWII" — Trump's own words — to apprehend a person and bring them to justice?)

Trump further claims that the USA will "run Venezuela" for a period of time that is yet to be determined, and that “We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” describing it as both an economic and stabilization effort.

Sorry, but this is looking more and more like a carbon copy of the rise of the Third Reich.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

I wonder how the Canadians and Greenlanders are feeling today?

[ex-khobar Andy]

. . . or the Taiwanese? I think Trump has just given the green light to China; and possibly other 'reclaiming territory' wars e.g., former Yugoslavia.

[Joe Guy]

. . . or the Taiwanese? I think Trump has just given the green light to China; and possibly other 'reclaiming territory' wars e.g., former Yugoslavia.

Nah.... Trump has it all figured out. He will threaten China into submission with tariffs.

Just watch. Trump is very likely to get the FIFA Peace Prize two years in a row.

[liberty]

Hopefully we’ve learned our lessons, and we won’t be there very long. We can’t change other people’s countries, and we can’t help them establish stability. Once the legitimate president and their government takeover, we should get out. Anything beyond 60 days will require approval from Congress according to the War Powers Act.

[BoSoxGal]

In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.

~ Leo Tolstoy

[Joe Guy]

I'm wondering if this will be part of Trump's plan to promote himself as temporary ruler of Venezuela.....

[Burning Petard]

And congress is just rolling over belly up and useless. Now I remember just how much The Donald appreciates Putin as a role model.

Last nite, before the news rolled in live from Venesuala on the BBC radio, there was a panel of 'experts' from non-USA sources discussing the expected political activity in the USA for this new year of 2026. There was consensus, (differing only in degree) that the GOP was going to rally behind Trump in the off year election and gain even bigger majorities in both houses of Congress. They expected Trump to do something spectacular what would inspire the GOP voters to forget personal economic problems and cheer some other emotional spectacle.

Narco-Terrorist? When have you ever been terrorized by a drug dealer? Maybe if I had been a tourist in Mexico or Columbia, perhaps. But not in the USofA.

So now the experts in the Donald's cabinet are gonna run another country and pay for with their oil. I remember how well that worked out in Iraq.

snailgate.

[Scooter]

[BoSoxGal]

If only . . .

[Bicycle Bill]

New coins commemorating the — let me see ... the SE-MI-QUIN-CEN-TEN-NI-AL (I think that's right!) of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the de facto beginning of the USA are reportedly going into circulation today.   The special coins, which were authorized back in 2021 in anticipation of this year's big 250th anniversary celebration, will feature pilgrims and early presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.   But other coins honoring civil rights figures and suffragettes won't be minted (because in someone's mind, they don't make America seem "GREAT" enough).

There will be a series of specially-designed coins which will feature the dual date of 1776—2026 in the dime, quarter (five different designs over the period), and half-dollar denominations, plus collectible versions of other coins like the American Eagle, Buffalo, and dollar coins with special privy marks, celebrating pivotal moments in American history like the Mayflower Compact and Declaration of Independence.   And in a break with tradition, the U.S. Mint is also considering issuing a $1 coin with the face of the current president, Donald Trump, a move usually shunned as a symbol of monarchy.

But who designated the current Secretary of the Treasury?   Donald J. "Call Me King Donald" Trump, of course.   I just hope they make the Trump dollar coin out of .999 silver, so it can be melted down and remolded into something more useful, like napkin rings or candle snuffers.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

I just hope they make the Trump dollar coin out of .999 silver, so it can be melted down and remolded into something more useful, like napkin rings or candle snuffers.

How about silver bullets? I hear those are good for things that are hard to kill.

[BoSoxGal]

[Scooter]

Someone is hoping that sucking up will get her back in good graces.