Saturday, January 10, 2026

Venezuela, Greenland, and Minneapolis/Minnesota

Three big stories are roiling the media today.  None of them are simple and straightforward and all lend themselves to snap judgmental errors.  Guilty as I am to jump in the deep end without trolling the waters first, I will attempt to link some good reference articles and give a short personal take on each story as a lead-in. 

 

It is about 2,800 miles from the coast of Venezuela to the coast of America.  The distance between New York City and San Francisco is about 2,600 miles.  So yes…America certainly has some interest in how affairs are going in Venezuela. 

 

Nation building has historically been a failed exercise for our country.  No matter how corrupt a leader or government might be, when that element is removed without an immediate replacement, the resulting vacuum of authority will be filled…for better or for worse.  If fortune smiles and it turns out for the better, it does not happen overnight.  The transition from dictatorship to some form of democracy can be bloody, tumultuous, and lengthy.  Is the juice worth the squeeze?  Only the people of Venezuela can answer that question.

 

No reasonable person should challenge the fact that America cannot allow our sworn global adversaries…looking at you China, Russia, Iran…to use a nation as nearby as Venezuela for a staging, observational, and operational platform.  This is what Venezuela has become.  That type of threat cannot be tolerated.  Cuba and its communist history can attest to that fact.

 

For that reason…even though we should applaud America’s ouster and capture of Maduro, we must hope and pray that the Trump Administration had a plan in place prior to taking this action that will address the power vacuum they have now created.  And we also pray for the people of Venezuela to have a better future ahead after getting rid of this tyrant.

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/01/03/the-united-states-captures-nicolas-maduro-and-his-wife/#more-239608

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/u-s-captures-venezuelan-leader-nicolas-maduro/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/a-word-from-general-caine.php

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/04/nine-reasons-why-trumps-venezuela-operation-is-great-for-america/

 

https://justthenews.com/government/security/maduros-thuggish-illegal-and-lethal-behavior-chronicled-two-decades-us

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/01/04/operation-absolute-resolve-why-trump-went-off-script-and-why-it-will-not-matter/#more-239644

 

https://reason.com/2026/01/03/trump-should-have-gotten-congressional-authorization-to-strike-venezuela-and-capture-maduro/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/09/the-capture-of-maduro-and-avoiding-another-iraq-nation-building-debacle/

 

https://www.thefp.com/p/mr-president-let-the-venezuelan-people

 

https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-donroe-doctrine-in-action/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/04/trump-ended-venezuelas-dictatorship-in-a-single-night/

 

While we are addressing geography, we should note that the distance from Greenland to America is about 3,000 miles.  There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the strategic importance of Greenland towards global security in general and America’s security specifically is a paramount consideration for any US president.  That strategic importance is increasing on a daily basis and the global dynamic of that element is totally in play among the planet’s nations.  Who wins that game will help determine the future of our world.  The advantage of maintaining the high ground in conflicts is historically established, and the northern hemisphere is certainly the high ground.

 

It is clearly in America’s interest to have significant control over the geographical attributes of Greenland.  How that control and influence is achieved is the question in play here.  I would like to believe that Trump’s bluster about military action to seize that control is simply more of his over-the-top tendency towards deal-making rhetoric.  No matter how the Greenland issue is settled, the primary and sacred principle should be that Greenland’s future is a matter to be decided by Greenland’s citizenry. 

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/09/u-s-has-many-options-on-greenland-now-is-the-time-to-act/

 

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-european-union-greenland/2026/01/06/id/1241060/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/how-to-lose-greenland/

 

https://reason.com/2026/01/06/trump-wants-to-seize-greenland-because-he-doesnt-understand-trade/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/01/the-unnecessary-greenland-crisis/

 

Actions have consequences.  Lord knows that given the chance, I would eliminate many of the stupid actions and words that have emanated from me over the years and rid myself of the bad effects that flowed thereof.  It is a hard truth that we are all accountable for our behavior.  Having said that, there is also little doubt that human compassion and sympathy are appropriate when mistakes…either intended or unintended…have tragic results.  I believe at the end of the day, this is the story that will unfold surrounding the death of the ICE protestor in Minneapolis.

 

This young lady willingly…and perhaps illegally…placed herself in a position of danger.  The ultimate conclusion of that choice cost her life.  All the actions that occurred subsequent to her initial decision to show up at this site and enter uninvited into the fray could have been prevented by the simple action of not going where she should not be.  To me, this is the crux of the matter.  There certainly appears to be sufficient recording…in witnessing/video/audio…of this event to reach a factual conclusion about why it happened, how it happened, and who may or may not be at fault.  But all of that examination and investigation lies at the feet of the young lady who lost her life.  Whether you agree or not with the mission of ICE, these federal agents were doing their job and she had no business inserting herself into their actions.

 

Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, AG Ellison, and their progressive Democrat compatriots are way too enthusiastic about their rush to change the subject in Minnesota from fraud to ICE protests.  Minnesota nice has become Minnesota rotten.  Chickens do find their way home eventually.

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/ice-shooting-roils-minnesota.php#google_vignette

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/01/the-ice-agents-video.php

 

https://justthenews.com/government/security/wedfeds-probing-hundreds-millions-suspected-somali-cash-luggage-leaving

 

https://reason.com/2026/01/08/the-minnesota-fraud-scandal-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/

 

Quick hits on the way out…..

 

Is Iran on the brink? https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/01/the-unrest-in-iran/

 

The arrogance and conceit of progressive liberals is breathtaking.  https://jonathanturley.org/2026/01/02/report-nprs-maher-refused-internal-demands-to-resign-for-the-good-of-public-media-before-loss-of-federal-funding/

 

Education…Education…Education. 

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/06/homeschool-is-in-the-new-education-movement/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/07/six-ways-to-improve-schools/

 

I have often written about how many people in positions of power and influence used the Covid epidemic to expand their own wealth, career, and control.  As bad as their behavior was, I don’t regard them as the worst abuse exhibited during that time.  That dubious award goes to the U.S. Congress generally and to the Biden Administration specifically.  Consider the facts presented in the following article.  Any reasonable person should recognize that the federal aid relief passed in the last days of the Trump Administration was quite adequate to address government’s role in the pandemic.  But then, look what happened when Biden took over the White House and the Democrats took over Congress. 

 

The Republicans wilted and could not find the gumption to oppose the spendthrift shoveling of cash out the doors of our nation’s capitol into the pockets and accounts of Democrats everywhere.  This absurd extravagance of spending with literally no accountability set the stage for the ruinous economic damage our nation realized throughout the Biden Administration.  It now falls to the second Trump Administration to try and get our national economy back on track.  I cautiously believe that is being accomplished.

 

https://www.pgpf.org/article/heres-everything-congress-has-done-to-respond-to-the-coronavirus-so-far/


https://amgreatness.com/2026/01/10/the-democrats-affordability-ploy-to-avoid-accountability/ 


Following this gluttony of spending…as if the Democrats had not wasted a sufficient amount of tax dollars…they followed up with the ridiculously mislabeled Inflation Reduction Act.  This, my friends, was the classic case of continuing to dig the hole deeper rather than laying down the shovel and beginning the climb up and out.  Nobody…and I do mean NOBODY…can spend and tax like Democrats.

 

https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/inflation-reduction-act-may-cost-taxpayers-trillions-by-2050-democrats-report-energy-congress-budget

 

https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/one-year-later-even-president-biden-admits-the-inflation-reduction-act-failed-to-lower-costs-for-americans

 

This is precisely the type of irresponsible and excessive federal spending that leads to the fraud we are now seeing exposed in Minnesota.  Even though both national parties are plenty guilty of this fiscal malfeasance, the Democrats have taken wasteful federal spending to stratospheric levels…and their thirst for more is unquenchable.

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Venezuela, Greenland, and Minneapolis/Minnesota

Three big stories are roiling the media today.   None of them are simple and straightforward and all lend themselves to snap judgmental erro...