When we feel threatened, we instinctively either fight flight or freeze. We are under serious threat of losing our democracy. The table has been set and we are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover. Will we fight back-resisting the takeover, or run from it? I see most democratic politicians freezing! There are isolated cases where progressive politicians are speaking truth to power. We the People must resist or democracy will cease to exist, period, point blank . We can't depend upon the politicians to save the country from tyranny .We must unify, revolt, resist and vote vote vote!!!
There are enough MAGAT people in We the People who want to keep the Don afloat for quite a while. Things are not bad enough yet, for the rest of us, and the basic premise of "Dying of Whiteness" is still operating. Even another Kent State may not move enough voters to want to stop it - because they're into it. If a million people can die of Covid, and the majority of citizens did not know anyone who did, and "We the People" are accepting the BS coming from this regime, why would they care about another few in a Kent State like scenario, or military action against an American population, or even a nuke on a "blue" city. We're being told now that that kind of rabid action may be necessary to rid the US of the "enemies within". Or so we're told, bought and sold! Where's the meteor?
Yes, voting would be the solution, assuming that we get that opportunity, that it is fair, and that it is available to every citizen. If Trump has his way (and I don't see any legal way of stopping him,) I fear we will get none of those.
Trump has admitted that he can't run for president in 2028
Trump has admitted that he will be in power in 2029
Trump has proven that by tearing down the East Wing and building himself a ballroom. He isn't going anywhere. He is the dog that lifted his leg to mark territory.
The 22nd Amendment be damned, just like the 1st, 4t, 9th, and 14th Amendment which he has ignored.
Bannon said they were working on how to keep him in power after 2028. When a person tells you who they are, believe them (Maya D'Angelou)
He has already pulled off a self coup, President is just a title. elections are just a formality. Russia, Hungary, Turkey have elections too.
It doesn't matter the title, King, Chief Executive, President, Leader, Il duce, der fuhrer, King all the same thing.
And here is why he will stay, because he can't leave, neither can his cabinet and supporters, for if there was a change in regime, other than his, they would all go to prison.
The 2026 election, lots of luck, with redistricting, voter suppression laws, voter caging, disenfranchising minorities, armed poll watchers. MAGA election commissions, and Dominion Voting Systems -- the voting machine company at the center of false 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories -- has been sold to a seemingly new election company run by a former Republican election official, who is a friend of Ed Martin. And the attack on mail in voting.
Enter the old trope: When do you know Trump is lying? When his lips move.
I'm still not convinced he is going to be here in 2028. Did you see the video of him and Japan's prime minister, the one where he ambles off after "saluting" the flag, quite unaware that everybody else is 12 feet behind? It wasn't just his rambling, he also moved as if in a trance state. Not my pick for 3 more years. Aa it is, he's little more than a sock puppet now; imagine him in the future.
I've said it before, Trump is only the bubo, MAGA is Yersinia pestis.
Vance is not a malignant narcissistic buffoon .
Who is really steering this ship? They are stroking Trumps ego, letting him get revenge, it is all a distraction.
Here is a clue. Windmills, Venezuela, steam catapults vs magnets. his submission to OPEC (Qatar, UAE, Saudi's), yes I know Venezuela belongs to OPCEC, in fact it is a founding member,, but them wells in the Mideast are running dry, The Arab countries are building alternative economies in preparation for running out of oil/
I can't figure it out, but I see the fingerprints of the oil cabal here, Exxon wants Venezuelan Oil, Exxon has the contract for drilling and transporting Vietnamese oil.
A side fact, Naval pilots would off load, unused ordinance in the Tonkin Gulf. Bombs make excellent seismic detectors, and Important oil fields include Dong Quan D, B10, Hong Long, Hoang Long, Yen Tu, Ham Rong, and Thai Binh. The Song Hong basin is a significant area for oil exploitation in Vietnam.
China: CNOOC has made recent breakthroughs in its part of the Gulf, with exploration in the Weizhou 10-5 South field demonstrating significant oil and gas potential.
Potential: Estimates suggest the Gulf of Tonkin has extensive oil and gas concentrations, with one source claiming potential oil deposits of about 2.29 billion tons and 1,444 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Joint development: China and Vietnam have previously agreed to conduct joint surveys for mutual development of resources within the Gulf.
Exploitation and use of oil and natural gas in Vietnam
Oct 29, 2025 — The North: The oil fields in the Gulf of Tonkin are mainly located in the Hong River sedimentary basin -
, ExxonMobil has a contract with Vietnam, holding a petroleum production-sharing contract (PSC) for blocks 117-119 offshore central Vietnam. The company is also involved in a major gas-to-power project called the Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) field in partnership with the state-owned company PetroVietnam and is studying the feasibility of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant in Hai Phong.
And of course the main obstacle to renewable energy, is Exxon, BP,Shell and the oil cabal
i am reminded of the refrain from The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel)I am leaving, I am leaving but the fighter still remains. Trump may leave on a gurney, but the problem still remains.
IMO Vance is a better tool than Trump, his ego doesn't have to be stroked constantly with flattery and gifts.
MAGA and the billionaires didn't make Trump, they just came together at the right time. Trump found MAGA a useful tool, MAGA found Trump a useful tool, and the plutocrats sat back and poured money into the bucket.
Vance is not a narcissistic buffoon. What he has demonstrated himself to be is a person who is willing to sell his own soul (okay, I don't believe in souls) for power. Trump is indeed a buffoon but he is also very predictable in his buffoonery. Vance, on the other hand, is a snake in very tall grass. And he's intelligent, as is his wife. Intelligent snakes are very dangerous. He's more than capable of running his own show. Admittedly, doing so without Miller's recognizance would put a large target on his back but such has always been one of the risks of power.
Exxon... Exxon circulated an internal memo in 1978 where they laid out quite clearly what was going to happen to the climate https://www.climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/1978-exxon-memo-on-greenhouse-effect-for-exxon-corporation-management-committee/ if you want to check it out in your (giggle) spare time. This was fully a decade before the vast majority of the population had ever heard of it. As it stands, these barbarians are already for the deaths of millions and a level of devastation of the biosphere have not only murdered millions, they have helped create the biggest extinction-level event in 67 million years. I'll supply the wall if you supple the bullets.
And sweet Jeezus, have you seen what Trump has done to the Lincoln bathroom? It's almost blasphemous. My dog licking his ass (the dog's, not Trum[p's) has better taste than him.
Agreed about Vance. I know about the 1978 Exxon study and have mentioned it many times.
I tried to check CNN, WAPO, NYT on Lincoln Bedroom, but they all require me to unblock ads, or allow cookies, and I do neither, however I did see it on youtube. A fucking horror.
The reason he is doing all of this is he is telling us this is his house from now on, and he has confidence that it is. He is going to run for a 3rd term, because he won't need to, There won't be any election in 2028
He doesn't hide anything. He has the police power of the state, and that includes the military, he just pulled another General out of retirement to make him the Chief of Staff. The only reason he appoints Generals is that they are either Christian Extremists and/or loyal to him or the Project 2025 Agenda, which means being loyal to him. He now has generals which will deploy the troops against the citizens, and he gave it away aboard the U.S.S. Gerald Ford in Japan.
He bragged that he would deploy the Army, Navy and Air Force against his domestic enemies, and the mother fuckers applauded.
Not funny. What really bothers me, is the only host on TV that takes him serious and really discusses this is Ali Velshi. Everyone else acts like we have tip toed to the brink, but if just message better, get together and protest, act better and turn out to vote, we will come back from the brink next year
Is it self delusion, wishful thinking, threats of Dachau or careerism.
When push comes to shove, a whole lot of people have done a back flip, fell into line and became a supporter.
The Democrats should have learned, Macchiavelli had the recipe
The old axiom that Dems fall in love and Republicans fall in line is true.
Bad guys win, until confronted with an overpowering countervailing power.
Unfortunately I don't see one on the horizon, or up close and personal.
History is a haunted house, and we keep hearing the same footsteps in new boots. What’s terrifying now isn’t just Trump’s authoritarian rehearsal, it’s how familiar it feels. Adams, Nixon, and Reagan all rehearsed the same scene, but we never learned to speak to their ghosts.
I wrote something today on that very feeling. It's about how Halloween and Día de los Muertos remind us that the dead don’t vanish; they linger, instructing, warning, asking to be heard. Maybe democracy’s last defense isn’t just resistance but remembrance.
He's not really testing the hardware---he's testing the military. And us.
My brother-in-law called my sister after she left him, and told her if she didn't come home, he would kill himself and their son. He said he was going to buy the lots next to their home so he could dig her grave and she could watch from the kitchen window.
This whole nation is in an abusive relationship. Our side of the aisle has figured that out. Maybe this will wake-up some more on the right to the fact that they are in his crosshairs too.
Grandpa bought the lots. My partner and I taught Sis how to use a shotgun.
Thanks for being brave Thom and Company. See you in the streets.
People may be counting on Trump to die in office, thus saving us from having to do anything to stop him from suspending elections and declaring martial law. But even if he did die, the rest of the junta would still be in office, and would likely feel more motivated to carry on with Trump's "mission". So no, there's no easy way out; yes, we must fiercely resist not just Trump, but the entire hateful regime that supports him.
1. U.S. poised to strike military targets in Venezuela in escalation against Maduro regime By Antonio María Delgado Updated October 31, 2025 7:37 AM
“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the source said. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”
"Washington has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million—the largest such bounty ever offered—and currently offers $25 million rewards for the capture of some of his top lieutenants, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is believed to run cartel operations. Another key regime figure facing U.S. drug-trafficking charges is Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López."
2. In an August 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump made a sarcastic remark/quip regarding the possibility of canceling U.S. elections during a time of war. He did not make a serious statement that elections would be canceled in 2026.
3. I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
4. DOD refuses to give evidence why so many have been killed by interdiction. Pentagon and White House officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have declined to share the specific intelligence or legal advice used to justify the strikes as military actions rather than law enforcement operation
Here is why I am disgusted with America and Americans. No short term memory.
Granted Maduro is a tyrant, but the situation made him so.
The Venezuelan problem started when Chavez, sitting on the worlds largest oil reserves, said "bull shit, this oil does not belong to Exxon Mobil, it belongs to Venezuela, and he nationalized it. Immediately Exxon mobil inserted the key into the ignition of the vehicle known as the federal government, and the CIA and DOD went to town trying to overthrow Chavez, financing coup after coup, and when that did'n't work, they tried to sent mercenaries into the country, and Chavez stopped that by overturning a truck on a bridge.
Exxon's response, was to use the money power, that they have, to have the government inflict sanctions and embargoes on Venezuela. This created an problem with the economy and the well to do middle class, soon found themselves,not so well to do, so they cashed out their bank accounts, bought tickets and flew to Mexico, hired Taxis and Buses to transport them to the border.
Trump wants to send them back, because if they are sent back, they will form a cadre of discontent, fleeing the country was a relief valve. These refugees were living large off the back of the indigenous and blacks, they are all whites, BTW.
Check out map for Technate America, and wiki for the Technocracy Movement, you will see the plan Greenland, Canada all the way to Colombia,Ecuador, Suriname (Guyana and French Guiana) and Venezuela. I imagine that the rest of South America will be in the hands of a coalition of fascists like Milei.
The logic for Rubio et al is different than for the neo cons, but they reach the same conclusion. Rubio represents retribution and retaliation. Still fighting Fidel Castro.
The neocons see $$$$. Venezuela has more than 4x the oil than the US.
Trump has $tumbled into this to cut out elections.
Yes Dan, many Americans think Lil Marco is Italian - clueless that the Rubio family left Batista's Cuba 2 years before Castro. He had to work his way through law school because his family were immigrants. His daddy was a bartender. Marco has birthright citizenship as he was born in Miami before his parents were naturalized. Now he supports a party that wants to ban birthright citizenship, and Rubio seems to loathe his ethnic heritage and all Hispanic South and Central American governments.
And I understand that Rubio's parents migrated to Florida before the revolution. If so then part of the class oppressed by the caudillos. I don't think Rubio is ideological, he is like a lot of politicians, his ideology is self aggrandisement.
Politics for many is a career alternative to working, especially for lawyers.
His parents worked in Mafia owned properties -- in Havana and Las Vegas. He grew up in Vegas. After the fall of Batista, his parents returned to Havana for a short period of time.
He, like all Trump Humpers, are sorry mother fuckers, with no sense of dignity, no pride. Trump called him little Marco and didn't Marco talk about Trump's little hands, meaning little penis, Vance likened him to Hitler, and there they are cleaning his bum with their tongues.
So true Mr. Farrar. It seems that as the American empire is in danger in many locals eg. East Asia, because of the rise of China and India, the U.S. is focussing attention on those parts of the erstwhile empire which are closer to home. The Southern continent. Venezuela, with its vast oil reserve, is only the first. Cuba, Nicaragua, Columbia, and probably Brazil are still in Little Rubio's sights.
FWIW, the vast majority of the population (~90%) lives in the Northern Hemisphere. Saying it is the South is Eurocentric (I'm not referring to you here.) The term "west" in this context ignores the reality that everything east of the prime meridian, including virtually all of Europe, lives in the east. This east-west BS is another attempt to paint anything west of the Slavic countries as the West. Not important in and of itself but it is just one more instance of virtue-signaling, as if the countries that started both world wars is somehow noble.
You have an attitude problem. Sure they're assholes. But they're defense mavens and many of them, like Wicker, who is Senate Chair, have objected to Trump/Ukraine previously.
This is something that can help. Rand Paul and 4 other Republicans have just voted against Trump on tariff issues. None of them are on the defense committees, but they are saying the same thing. It goes back to Abe Lincon, then a member of Congress, asking where the US was attacked in the run up to the Mexican war.
Mike Turner, R.Ohio, who used to be chair but was removed by MAGA Mike/Trump, was on TV this morning complaining.
Cabinet members moving into military quarters for bunker protection, while Trump is amassing thousands more troops to "quell civil unrest" in every state, are clear indications that Trump is planning to escalate violence.
It's highly performative, yes, but the expanded executive powers it will lead to are very real, and ominous. I hope the generals and all elected officials-- not just dems, but moderates and republicans outside of MAGA-- are paying attention and talking, in person, among themselves.
When fear becomes the flag, history starts to rhyme. Every tyrant rehearses the same script: crisis, crackdown, control. The crowd cheers, the courts nod, and suddenly the Constitution is a souvenir. Democracy doesn’t die in a coup. It dies in the slow applause of those too tired to care.
My answer to Thom's question is: "It depends." It depends on how 2026 plays out.
It will take a blue wave large enough to refute MAGA lies of election rigging and to withstand the elimination of votes MAGAs assert to have been illegal. Yes, in 2026 there will be Gestapo at all polling places, and casting votes will be as long and tortuous as possible to pressure people to leave before voting or not show up at all. Then there will be a tsunami of court challenges asserting the count was false to delay the heck out of final counts.
Yes, it appears to me, that for the good of most people, and for the planet's sustainability, we have relegated our position to China - and that country will not even have to send bombs or put boots on our ground. As authoritarian as they are, they are no more race supremacist than we, and are more willing to face, and plan for, the future.
Mr. Hartmann. allow me to add that Wilson campaigned on an anti war platform. Then became the biggest supporter of entering WW1 after he was in office. Abraham Lincoln, one of our three finest presidents, jailed newspaper men he did not like. Goldwater was clearly out of touch with reality and wanted, threatened nuclear war. He was probably psychotic. Remember the article in FACT magazine, wherein dozens of psychiatrists across the country diagnosed him as psychotic? The entire world is fortunate that American voters rejected him soundly.
Furthermore, from Truman to Carter, every president threatened to consider "all options" in dealing with foreign affairs. "All options" was diplomatic code for nuclear attack. Jimmy Carter, our most morally straight president, a true Christian, in the best sense of the word, pointedly refused to use the expression.
In Merle miller's book about Truman, PLAIN SPEAKING he claims that Truman said he went to bed with a clear conscience and slept well after ordering the nuclear attacks on Japan. However, in a revealing comment Truman subsequently claimed, according to some who knew him, that if he had known the true nature of the atom bombs and their vast destructive ability; he might have thought twice about dropping them on cities. Some generals advocated dropping the bomb on Mt. Fuji. Some generals resigned from the military because they thought the bomb was dishonorable. It is just possible if Trump goes too far there might be an insurrection at the Pentagon. I received a good education from military men in ROTC at college. They struck me as honest, honorable men.
So, it seems that even some of the best of men, when they possess power, can be almost as dangerous as Goldwater.
This is my fear as well. I will get around to writing about it soon, but last night I addressed the possibility of nuclear war. I remember everything that you mentioned. I also was a Nuclear Chemical and Biological Defense officer on the Fulda Gap at the height of the Cold War. Here is what I wrote. We are stumbling into catastrophe, either political or nuclear.
WOW Mr. Dundas. I remember what we called CBR [Chemical Biological Radiological] attack when I was young. It scared me then. CBN scares me now. Especially, as you say, with such incompetent morons in command.
Last night I watched a 2002 documentary, "The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich."
It shows how Hitler, with the help of Heydrich, created Hitler's private military and was the mastermind of the "Final Solution." At the height and end of his career, he was known as "The Butcher of Prague."
An enemy without (Venezuelan drug smugglers?) enhances the underlying paranoia necessary to be a member of the MAGAverse. That makes them ready to accept that their neighbors are vermin and scum. They're ready to defend democracy no matter how nonexistent the threat: Cult members are always ready to suspend disbelief to bask in the shadow of their leaders.
That Trump is trying to elicit a violent response is all too obvious. Portland, that war-ravaged and burning city, offers a perfect antidote to the asininity of it all: Dress up as 8 foot tall squirrels and frogs, and gather peacefully. At that point, Trump has a few options. 1) He can increase his violent attacks on Democratically-controlled cities and minorities until someone can't take it any more and takes a shot, at which time ALL of the forces nation-wide at his command will be ordered to act; 2) He can gin up some nonevent using AI (it's getting good enough to successfully pull this off; 3) He can stage an attack (think along the lines of the Reichstag)) or simpler still, simultaneously assassinate 3 or 4 of his flunkies, leaving Antifa fliers on the Grassy Knoll. Instant Martial Law, elections unfortunately must be suspended until at the earliest 2032.
Again, this ultimately isn't about Trump, who even now functions more as a buffoon that an actual president, but the people and the ideology behind the throne that unifies and directs them (think Stephen Miller and Project 2025). The guy just doesn't have the smarts to do this all by himself. Or any, of it for that matter.
Hence, regarding what passes for democracy in America . . .
These are not "preventative" measures anymore. Those preventative horses were let out of the barn in November 2024, by a vile Republican coalition of 60% of White voters, 50% of Hispanic voters, and 20% of Black male voters. [These groups made up 67%, 15%, and 4% of ALL voters, respectively. ]
So, Trump was, at bottom, the male-White's candidate. [Or who you vote for when you have an emasculating, dead-end job, you've been told you were supreme, and you cannot persuade a female to give your sorry, incel-self a tumble.]
Note that some 53% of White women chose The Giant Orange Blob's poopy ass. Clearly, the Karens need psychological [Pills? Electroshock? Lobotomies?] help to help them find their self-interest.
Finally, this is a 5-alarm, Do-or-Die rescue of a fast-fading quasi-democracy. Why? Because what happened [a massacre] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, may be coming to your city.
So vote as if Georgie W. and Abey L. were looking over each of your shoulders.
I’m sure there are all sorts of plans to end democracy. That’s why we need to end this regime now.
When we feel threatened, we instinctively either fight flight or freeze. We are under serious threat of losing our democracy. The table has been set and we are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover. Will we fight back-resisting the takeover, or run from it? I see most democratic politicians freezing! There are isolated cases where progressive politicians are speaking truth to power. We the People must resist or democracy will cease to exist, period, point blank . We can't depend upon the politicians to save the country from tyranny .We must unify, revolt, resist and vote vote vote!!!
YES, YES AND YES. An excellent way of describing the democratic "leadership" frozen in fear, save for a few.
There are enough MAGAT people in We the People who want to keep the Don afloat for quite a while. Things are not bad enough yet, for the rest of us, and the basic premise of "Dying of Whiteness" is still operating. Even another Kent State may not move enough voters to want to stop it - because they're into it. If a million people can die of Covid, and the majority of citizens did not know anyone who did, and "We the People" are accepting the BS coming from this regime, why would they care about another few in a Kent State like scenario, or military action against an American population, or even a nuke on a "blue" city. We're being told now that that kind of rabid action may be necessary to rid the US of the "enemies within". Or so we're told, bought and sold! Where's the meteor?
Yes, voting would be the solution, assuming that we get that opportunity, that it is fair, and that it is available to every citizen. If Trump has his way (and I don't see any legal way of stopping him,) I fear we will get none of those.
So exactly what can we do to resist???
Trump has admitted that he can't run for president in 2028
Trump has admitted that he will be in power in 2029
Trump has proven that by tearing down the East Wing and building himself a ballroom. He isn't going anywhere. He is the dog that lifted his leg to mark territory.
The 22nd Amendment be damned, just like the 1st, 4t, 9th, and 14th Amendment which he has ignored.
Bannon said they were working on how to keep him in power after 2028. When a person tells you who they are, believe them (Maya D'Angelou)
He has already pulled off a self coup, President is just a title. elections are just a formality. Russia, Hungary, Turkey have elections too.
It doesn't matter the title, King, Chief Executive, President, Leader, Il duce, der fuhrer, King all the same thing.
And here is why he will stay, because he can't leave, neither can his cabinet and supporters, for if there was a change in regime, other than his, they would all go to prison.
The 2026 election, lots of luck, with redistricting, voter suppression laws, voter caging, disenfranchising minorities, armed poll watchers. MAGA election commissions, and Dominion Voting Systems -- the voting machine company at the center of false 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories -- has been sold to a seemingly new election company run by a former Republican election official, who is a friend of Ed Martin. And the attack on mail in voting.
Enter the old trope: When do you know Trump is lying? When his lips move.
I'm still not convinced he is going to be here in 2028. Did you see the video of him and Japan's prime minister, the one where he ambles off after "saluting" the flag, quite unaware that everybody else is 12 feet behind? It wasn't just his rambling, he also moved as if in a trance state. Not my pick for 3 more years. Aa it is, he's little more than a sock puppet now; imagine him in the future.
Yeh he does that, then bounces back.
I've said it before, Trump is only the bubo, MAGA is Yersinia pestis.
Vance is not a malignant narcissistic buffoon .
Who is really steering this ship? They are stroking Trumps ego, letting him get revenge, it is all a distraction.
Here is a clue. Windmills, Venezuela, steam catapults vs magnets. his submission to OPEC (Qatar, UAE, Saudi's), yes I know Venezuela belongs to OPCEC, in fact it is a founding member,, but them wells in the Mideast are running dry, The Arab countries are building alternative economies in preparation for running out of oil/
I can't figure it out, but I see the fingerprints of the oil cabal here, Exxon wants Venezuelan Oil, Exxon has the contract for drilling and transporting Vietnamese oil.
A side fact, Naval pilots would off load, unused ordinance in the Tonkin Gulf. Bombs make excellent seismic detectors, and Important oil fields include Dong Quan D, B10, Hong Long, Hoang Long, Yen Tu, Ham Rong, and Thai Binh. The Song Hong basin is a significant area for oil exploitation in Vietnam.
China: CNOOC has made recent breakthroughs in its part of the Gulf, with exploration in the Weizhou 10-5 South field demonstrating significant oil and gas potential.
Potential: Estimates suggest the Gulf of Tonkin has extensive oil and gas concentrations, with one source claiming potential oil deposits of about 2.29 billion tons and 1,444 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Joint development: China and Vietnam have previously agreed to conduct joint surveys for mutual development of resources within the Gulf.
Exploitation and use of oil and natural gas in Vietnam
Oct 29, 2025 — The North: The oil fields in the Gulf of Tonkin are mainly located in the Hong River sedimentary basin -
, ExxonMobil has a contract with Vietnam, holding a petroleum production-sharing contract (PSC) for blocks 117-119 offshore central Vietnam. The company is also involved in a major gas-to-power project called the Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) field in partnership with the state-owned company PetroVietnam and is studying the feasibility of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant in Hai Phong.
And of course the main obstacle to renewable energy, is Exxon, BP,Shell and the oil cabal
i am reminded of the refrain from The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel)I am leaving, I am leaving but the fighter still remains. Trump may leave on a gurney, but the problem still remains.
IMO Vance is a better tool than Trump, his ego doesn't have to be stroked constantly with flattery and gifts.
MAGA and the billionaires didn't make Trump, they just came together at the right time. Trump found MAGA a useful tool, MAGA found Trump a useful tool, and the plutocrats sat back and poured money into the bucket.
Vance is not a narcissistic buffoon. What he has demonstrated himself to be is a person who is willing to sell his own soul (okay, I don't believe in souls) for power. Trump is indeed a buffoon but he is also very predictable in his buffoonery. Vance, on the other hand, is a snake in very tall grass. And he's intelligent, as is his wife. Intelligent snakes are very dangerous. He's more than capable of running his own show. Admittedly, doing so without Miller's recognizance would put a large target on his back but such has always been one of the risks of power.
Exxon... Exxon circulated an internal memo in 1978 where they laid out quite clearly what was going to happen to the climate https://www.climatefiles.com/exxonmobil/1978-exxon-memo-on-greenhouse-effect-for-exxon-corporation-management-committee/ if you want to check it out in your (giggle) spare time. This was fully a decade before the vast majority of the population had ever heard of it. As it stands, these barbarians are already for the deaths of millions and a level of devastation of the biosphere have not only murdered millions, they have helped create the biggest extinction-level event in 67 million years. I'll supply the wall if you supple the bullets.
And sweet Jeezus, have you seen what Trump has done to the Lincoln bathroom? It's almost blasphemous. My dog licking his ass (the dog's, not Trum[p's) has better taste than him.
Agreed about Vance. I know about the 1978 Exxon study and have mentioned it many times.
I tried to check CNN, WAPO, NYT on Lincoln Bedroom, but they all require me to unblock ads, or allow cookies, and I do neither, however I did see it on youtube. A fucking horror.
The reason he is doing all of this is he is telling us this is his house from now on, and he has confidence that it is. He is going to run for a 3rd term, because he won't need to, There won't be any election in 2028
He doesn't hide anything. He has the police power of the state, and that includes the military, he just pulled another General out of retirement to make him the Chief of Staff. The only reason he appoints Generals is that they are either Christian Extremists and/or loyal to him or the Project 2025 Agenda, which means being loyal to him. He now has generals which will deploy the troops against the citizens, and he gave it away aboard the U.S.S. Gerald Ford in Japan.
He bragged that he would deploy the Army, Navy and Air Force against his domestic enemies, and the mother fuckers applauded.
Come on, William, Der Fürher is never wrong. And don't bother to make any appointments tomorrow. I hear Dachau is quite lovely in the Fall.
Not funny. What really bothers me, is the only host on TV that takes him serious and really discusses this is Ali Velshi. Everyone else acts like we have tip toed to the brink, but if just message better, get together and protest, act better and turn out to vote, we will come back from the brink next year
Is it self delusion, wishful thinking, threats of Dachau or careerism.
When push comes to shove, a whole lot of people have done a back flip, fell into line and became a supporter.
The Democrats should have learned, Macchiavelli had the recipe
The old axiom that Dems fall in love and Republicans fall in line is true.
Bad guys win, until confronted with an overpowering countervailing power.
Unfortunately I don't see one on the horizon, or up close and personal.
History is a haunted house, and we keep hearing the same footsteps in new boots. What’s terrifying now isn’t just Trump’s authoritarian rehearsal, it’s how familiar it feels. Adams, Nixon, and Reagan all rehearsed the same scene, but we never learned to speak to their ghosts.
I wrote something today on that very feeling. It's about how Halloween and Día de los Muertos remind us that the dead don’t vanish; they linger, instructing, warning, asking to be heard. Maybe democracy’s last defense isn’t just resistance but remembrance.
The Haunted House of History and learning to live with the echoes that built us: https://www.stewonthis.com/p/the-haunted-house-of-history
What to do with a psychopath.....
He's not really testing the hardware---he's testing the military. And us.
My brother-in-law called my sister after she left him, and told her if she didn't come home, he would kill himself and their son. He said he was going to buy the lots next to their home so he could dig her grave and she could watch from the kitchen window.
This whole nation is in an abusive relationship. Our side of the aisle has figured that out. Maybe this will wake-up some more on the right to the fact that they are in his crosshairs too.
Grandpa bought the lots. My partner and I taught Sis how to use a shotgun.
Thanks for being brave Thom and Company. See you in the streets.
I hit "liked" but with the corollary that he's testing all options.
This, is an amazing comment. Truly.
Alis. "He said.................from the kitchen window." What frightening halloween horror story.
It IS Halloween in America, in more ways than one, Professor.
As for psychopaths, here's something new they have learned about their brain structure: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-a-key-biological-difference-between-psychopaths-and-normal-people/
People may be counting on Trump to die in office, thus saving us from having to do anything to stop him from suspending elections and declaring martial law. But even if he did die, the rest of the junta would still be in office, and would likely feel more motivated to carry on with Trump's "mission". So no, there's no easy way out; yes, we must fiercely resist not just Trump, but the entire hateful regime that supports him.
1. U.S. poised to strike military targets in Venezuela in escalation against Maduro regime By Antonio María Delgado Updated October 31, 2025 7:37 AM
“Maduro is about to find himself trapped and might soon discover that he cannot flee the country even if he decided to,” the source said. “What’s worse for him, there is now more than one general willing to capture and hand him over, fully aware that one thing is to talk about death, and another to see it coming.”
"Washington has doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million—the largest such bounty ever offered—and currently offers $25 million rewards for the capture of some of his top lieutenants, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is believed to run cartel operations. Another key regime figure facing U.S. drug-trafficking charges is Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López."
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article312722642.html#storylink=cpy
2. In an August 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump made a sarcastic remark/quip regarding the possibility of canceling U.S. elections during a time of war. He did not make a serious statement that elections would be canceled in 2026.
3. I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/ Visit Congressional
Republicans.https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I continue to be exasperated by the parties and lawyers with cases when justices and judges who have dispositive records of bribery and prejudice are not challenged. At SCOTUS, Roberts opened the door in November, 2023. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
https://blueprint.democrats.org/
4. DOD refuses to give evidence why so many have been killed by interdiction. Pentagon and White House officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have declined to share the specific intelligence or legal advice used to justify the strikes as military actions rather than law enforcement operation
Here is why I am disgusted with America and Americans. No short term memory.
Granted Maduro is a tyrant, but the situation made him so.
The Venezuelan problem started when Chavez, sitting on the worlds largest oil reserves, said "bull shit, this oil does not belong to Exxon Mobil, it belongs to Venezuela, and he nationalized it. Immediately Exxon mobil inserted the key into the ignition of the vehicle known as the federal government, and the CIA and DOD went to town trying to overthrow Chavez, financing coup after coup, and when that did'n't work, they tried to sent mercenaries into the country, and Chavez stopped that by overturning a truck on a bridge.
Exxon's response, was to use the money power, that they have, to have the government inflict sanctions and embargoes on Venezuela. This created an problem with the economy and the well to do middle class, soon found themselves,not so well to do, so they cashed out their bank accounts, bought tickets and flew to Mexico, hired Taxis and Buses to transport them to the border.
Trump wants to send them back, because if they are sent back, they will form a cadre of discontent, fleeing the country was a relief valve. These refugees were living large off the back of the indigenous and blacks, they are all whites, BTW.
Check out map for Technate America, and wiki for the Technocracy Movement, you will see the plan Greenland, Canada all the way to Colombia,Ecuador, Suriname (Guyana and French Guiana) and Venezuela. I imagine that the rest of South America will be in the hands of a coalition of fascists like Milei.
The logic for Rubio et al is different than for the neo cons, but they reach the same conclusion. Rubio represents retribution and retaliation. Still fighting Fidel Castro.
The neocons see $$$$. Venezuela has more than 4x the oil than the US.
Trump has $tumbled into this to cut out elections.
Yes Dan, many Americans think Lil Marco is Italian - clueless that the Rubio family left Batista's Cuba 2 years before Castro. He had to work his way through law school because his family were immigrants. His daddy was a bartender. Marco has birthright citizenship as he was born in Miami before his parents were naturalized. Now he supports a party that wants to ban birthright citizenship, and Rubio seems to loathe his ethnic heritage and all Hispanic South and Central American governments.
And I understand that Rubio's parents migrated to Florida before the revolution. If so then part of the class oppressed by the caudillos. I don't think Rubio is ideological, he is like a lot of politicians, his ideology is self aggrandisement.
Politics for many is a career alternative to working, especially for lawyers.
His parents worked in Mafia owned properties -- in Havana and Las Vegas. He grew up in Vegas. After the fall of Batista, his parents returned to Havana for a short period of time.
His sponsors are:
1, Norman Braman. Miami/Philly car dealer.
2. CANF. Cuban American National Foundation.
He, like all Trump Humpers, are sorry mother fuckers, with no sense of dignity, no pride. Trump called him little Marco and didn't Marco talk about Trump's little hands, meaning little penis, Vance likened him to Hitler, and there they are cleaning his bum with their tongues.
Their oil is just this side of asphalt, poor quality. It takes a lot of energy to extract and refine it. But it's close to the US and its refineries.
Yes Mr. Solomon. It is the same-old-same-old with Rubio. His type will never get over their obsession with Cuba and Nicaragua.
So true Mr. Farrar. It seems that as the American empire is in danger in many locals eg. East Asia, because of the rise of China and India, the U.S. is focussing attention on those parts of the erstwhile empire which are closer to home. The Southern continent. Venezuela, with its vast oil reserve, is only the first. Cuba, Nicaragua, Columbia, and probably Brazil are still in Little Rubio's sights.
How could those Venezuelans be white, they didn't speak American.
Somewhere in the middle of reifying our expansionist vision BRICS is going to say "enough!" I doubt we'll be wise enough to hear it.
LOL. you have a point, you have to speak English to be white in America.
This article is behind a paywall, but worth a read How Trump messed up so bad by warring against BRICS
https://medium.com/wall-street-gradient/how-trump-messed-up-so-bad-by-warring-america-against-brics-2e6d4d11d174
An excerpt
here’s the wild part.
less than 15% of the world lives in the west.
the other 85%?
they live in the global south — what some now call the “global majority.”
and for decades, that majority worked for the minority.
their oil, their crops, their minerals — all priced in dollars.
but now, the script is flipping.
countries in africa, asia, and latin america finally have leverage.
they’ve got the materials.
they’ve got the population.
and through brics, they finally have a platform.
the west built the global system.
but the south built the world
FWIW, the vast majority of the population (~90%) lives in the Northern Hemisphere. Saying it is the South is Eurocentric (I'm not referring to you here.) The term "west" in this context ignores the reality that everything east of the prime meridian, including virtually all of Europe, lives in the east. This east-west BS is another attempt to paint anything west of the Slavic countries as the West. Not important in and of itself but it is just one more instance of virtue-signaling, as if the countries that started both world wars is somehow noble.
Clearly, this situation cries out for more flailing of hands and strongly worded letters - and silencing of voices calling for counter-attack.
Republican House members - Defense appropriations (202) 225-2847
Ken Calvert – Chair
Hal Rogers
Steve Womack
Robert Aderholt
John Carter
Mario Diaz-Balart
Dave Joyce
Jake Ellzey – Vice Chair
Chuck Fleischmann
David Valadao
Sit in thier offices. Joyce and Valadao say they want to talk.
Senate 202) 224-3871, Roger Wicker chair.
Deb Fischer (R - NE)
Tom Cotton (R - AR)
Mike Rounds (R - SD)
Joni Ernst (R - IA)
Dan Sullivan (R - AK)
Kevin Cramer (R - ND)
Rick Scott (R - FL)
Tommy Tuberville (R - AL)
Markwayne Mullin (R - OK)
Ted Budd (R - NC)
Eric Schmitt (R - MO)
Jim Banks (R - IN)
Tim Sheehy (R – MT)
If the question is democracy, this is a list of manifestly disinterested parties.
You have an attitude problem. Sure they're assholes. But they're defense mavens and many of them, like Wicker, who is Senate Chair, have objected to Trump/Ukraine previously.
This is something that can help. Rand Paul and 4 other Republicans have just voted against Trump on tariff issues. None of them are on the defense committees, but they are saying the same thing. It goes back to Abe Lincon, then a member of Congress, asking where the US was attacked in the run up to the Mexican war.
Mike Turner, R.Ohio, who used to be chair but was removed by MAGA Mike/Trump, was on TV this morning complaining.
Reality informs my attitude.
Never up, never in.
Cabinet members moving into military quarters for bunker protection, while Trump is amassing thousands more troops to "quell civil unrest" in every state, are clear indications that Trump is planning to escalate violence.
It's highly performative, yes, but the expanded executive powers it will lead to are very real, and ominous. I hope the generals and all elected officials-- not just dems, but moderates and republicans outside of MAGA-- are paying attention and talking, in person, among themselves.
I can't help wondering if they're really scared of the people, or if this is a hint that something is in the offing.
When fear becomes the flag, history starts to rhyme. Every tyrant rehearses the same script: crisis, crackdown, control. The crowd cheers, the courts nod, and suddenly the Constitution is a souvenir. Democracy doesn’t die in a coup. It dies in the slow applause of those too tired to care.
My answer to Thom's question is: "It depends." It depends on how 2026 plays out.
It will take a blue wave large enough to refute MAGA lies of election rigging and to withstand the elimination of votes MAGAs assert to have been illegal. Yes, in 2026 there will be Gestapo at all polling places, and casting votes will be as long and tortuous as possible to pressure people to leave before voting or not show up at all. Then there will be a tsunami of court challenges asserting the count was false to delay the heck out of final counts.
Yes, it appears to me, that for the good of most people, and for the planet's sustainability, we have relegated our position to China - and that country will not even have to send bombs or put boots on our ground. As authoritarian as they are, they are no more race supremacist than we, and are more willing to face, and plan for, the future.
Mr. Hartmann. allow me to add that Wilson campaigned on an anti war platform. Then became the biggest supporter of entering WW1 after he was in office. Abraham Lincoln, one of our three finest presidents, jailed newspaper men he did not like. Goldwater was clearly out of touch with reality and wanted, threatened nuclear war. He was probably psychotic. Remember the article in FACT magazine, wherein dozens of psychiatrists across the country diagnosed him as psychotic? The entire world is fortunate that American voters rejected him soundly.
Furthermore, from Truman to Carter, every president threatened to consider "all options" in dealing with foreign affairs. "All options" was diplomatic code for nuclear attack. Jimmy Carter, our most morally straight president, a true Christian, in the best sense of the word, pointedly refused to use the expression.
In Merle miller's book about Truman, PLAIN SPEAKING he claims that Truman said he went to bed with a clear conscience and slept well after ordering the nuclear attacks on Japan. However, in a revealing comment Truman subsequently claimed, according to some who knew him, that if he had known the true nature of the atom bombs and their vast destructive ability; he might have thought twice about dropping them on cities. Some generals advocated dropping the bomb on Mt. Fuji. Some generals resigned from the military because they thought the bomb was dishonorable. It is just possible if Trump goes too far there might be an insurrection at the Pentagon. I received a good education from military men in ROTC at college. They struck me as honest, honorable men.
So, it seems that even some of the best of men, when they possess power, can be almost as dangerous as Goldwater.
Thom,
This is my fear as well. I will get around to writing about it soon, but last night I addressed the possibility of nuclear war. I remember everything that you mentioned. I also was a Nuclear Chemical and Biological Defense officer on the Fulda Gap at the height of the Cold War. Here is what I wrote. We are stumbling into catastrophe, either political or nuclear.
https://dundas.substack.com/p/house-of-dynamite-its-not-insanity
All the best and watch your six,
Steve Dundas
WOW Mr. Dundas. I remember what we called CBR [Chemical Biological Radiological] attack when I was young. It scared me then. CBN scares me now. Especially, as you say, with such incompetent morons in command.
I know. To have such incompetent, corrupt and unconcerned people in charge is truly frightening. Thank you for reading Gerald.
Last night I watched a 2002 documentary, "The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich."
It shows how Hitler, with the help of Heydrich, created Hitler's private military and was the mastermind of the "Final Solution." At the height and end of his career, he was known as "The Butcher of Prague."
I believe he was what Stephen Miller is today.
Here is a link to the trailer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DJCBR4MF/ref=atv_hm_hom_c_GGK4dC_64_1?jic=8%7CEgNhbGw%3D
An enemy without (Venezuelan drug smugglers?) enhances the underlying paranoia necessary to be a member of the MAGAverse. That makes them ready to accept that their neighbors are vermin and scum. They're ready to defend democracy no matter how nonexistent the threat: Cult members are always ready to suspend disbelief to bask in the shadow of their leaders.
That Trump is trying to elicit a violent response is all too obvious. Portland, that war-ravaged and burning city, offers a perfect antidote to the asininity of it all: Dress up as 8 foot tall squirrels and frogs, and gather peacefully. At that point, Trump has a few options. 1) He can increase his violent attacks on Democratically-controlled cities and minorities until someone can't take it any more and takes a shot, at which time ALL of the forces nation-wide at his command will be ordered to act; 2) He can gin up some nonevent using AI (it's getting good enough to successfully pull this off; 3) He can stage an attack (think along the lines of the Reichstag)) or simpler still, simultaneously assassinate 3 or 4 of his flunkies, leaving Antifa fliers on the Grassy Knoll. Instant Martial Law, elections unfortunately must be suspended until at the earliest 2032.
Again, this ultimately isn't about Trump, who even now functions more as a buffoon that an actual president, but the people and the ideology behind the throne that unifies and directs them (think Stephen Miller and Project 2025). The guy just doesn't have the smarts to do this all by himself. Or any, of it for that matter.
And yes, I know how bigly his IQ is.
The UPSA [P=Police] train has left the station.
Hence, regarding what passes for democracy in America . . .
These are not "preventative" measures anymore. Those preventative horses were let out of the barn in November 2024, by a vile Republican coalition of 60% of White voters, 50% of Hispanic voters, and 20% of Black male voters. [These groups made up 67%, 15%, and 4% of ALL voters, respectively. ]
So, Trump was, at bottom, the male-White's candidate. [Or who you vote for when you have an emasculating, dead-end job, you've been told you were supreme, and you cannot persuade a female to give your sorry, incel-self a tumble.]
Note that some 53% of White women chose The Giant Orange Blob's poopy ass. Clearly, the Karens need psychological [Pills? Electroshock? Lobotomies?] help to help them find their self-interest.
Finally, this is a 5-alarm, Do-or-Die rescue of a fast-fading quasi-democracy. Why? Because what happened [a massacre] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, may be coming to your city.
So vote as if Georgie W. and Abey L. were looking over each of your shoulders.
Let's Save the Nation from these gd kooks.
Only YOU can STOP totalitarianism.