Scandalous Virginian Government .

The Virginia Scandal could hurt
the Democrats .

Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam was heading for infamy . Things just started to unravel in a suspicious kind of way that could set the stage for the Virginia state collapse.  You can say it is bad karma , after he waded into the fight over a (1.1)>>controversial abortion bill that one sponsor said could allow women to terminate a pregnancy up until the moment before birth -- with critics saying Northam indicated a child could be killed after birth.   While he endorsed Democratic Del. Kathy Tran’s ultra-permissive abortion bill, which allows for children to be terminated even when the mother is dilating. You’ll have to look even harder to see that the governor also maybe-kinda-sorta endorsed post-birth abortion.The Virginia bill ― which is not likely to pass the state’s Republican-controlled House and has been tabled ― would loosen abortions restrictions there. Currently, late-term abortions are legal in Virginia only under strict circumstances.A United States governor comes out in full support of abortions up to and perhaps beyond the moment of birth, which a majority of Americans have strongly opposed since abortion became legal, and this is the best coverage our press can muster? With a press like this, the most powerful in this country have nothing to fear. The most defenseless, on the other hand, have every reason to be afraid. Now Bad Karma kicked in for Gov. Ralph Northam that jumped way beyond the abortion issue . Race seem to be a problem with Gov. Northam ,  (1.2)>>facing backlash yet again after he referred to slaves as “indentured servants” in a recent interview. Responding to the new wave of backlash, the politician said in a statement to CBS

News that he recently spoke on the matter at an event, and in that instance, referred to the Africans as “enslaved.” He claimed that he changed his terminology upon receiving advice from a historian.    Northam — who is already facing mounting pressure to step down after becoming embroiled in a racist photo scandal — was on CBS This Morning earlier this week when he told host Gayle King that the slaves who came to Virginia from Africa in the 17th century were “indentured servants.” “We are now at the 400-year anniversary – just 90 miles from here in 1619, the first indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores in Old Point Comfort, what we now call Fort Monroe,” he said.  as he deals with the fallout from a racist yearbook photo. The scandal has prompted schools across the country to page through their histories — and re-examine campus culture. Pouring through the University of Virginia's old yearbooks, history professor Kirt von Daacke is uncovering countless examples of blackface and other mockery of minorities. From fraternity parties to demeaning caricatures, it takes various forms. One image he cannot get out of his mind is a mock lynching (1.3)>>from a yearbook published in 1971. The black caucus quickly condemned Northam and called on him to resign after his initial comments about the yearbook photo, but the group has been silent so far on the allegations involving Fairfax and Herring.  They should all resign. I hope they do, and I expect they will. We should expect nothing but the best in characters from leadership positions.
Trouble for the Democrats 2020?
(2)>>The political crisis in Virginia threatens to turn a state that has trended Democratic back into a battleground, a development that could complicate the party's effort to defeat President Donald Trump next year.  (3)>>Three of the state's top Democrats are engulfed in a scandal that has shaken the state government. Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring have admitted wearing blackface as young men in the 1980s. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, meanwhile, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2004, an allegation he denies.The men are resisting calls for their resignation.  The president himself gleefully agreed, predicting in a tweet Thursday that he will reclaim a state he lost by 5 percentage points to Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Democrats at the top are killing the Great State of Virginia,” he tweeted Thursday. “If the three failing pols were Republicans, far stronger action would be taken. Virginia will come back HOME Republican) in 2020!”  (4)>>Trump’s taunt ignores his own history of sexual assault allegations and his contorted relationship with race, including when he insisted after a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that there were “very fine people on both sides” .Virginia’s booming population — particularly around Washington — has given Democrats sweeping gains in recent cycles.  But there are questions about how committed and enthusiastic that growing Democratic electorate would be if Northam, Fairfax and Herring remained in office.AP VoteCast data, analyzing the 2018 midterm electorate, shows that black voters cast about 17 percent of Virginia ballots in November, with about 9 out of 10 of those backing Democratic congressional candidates. (5)>>Women, meanwhile, made up 52 percent of the Virginia electorate and sided with Democrats by a margin of 20 percentage points. If those advantages shrank, while Trump was able to stoke GOP turnout, the state could suddenly return to tossup status. Democrats have expressed fear that the uproar over the governor could jeopardize their chances of taking control of the GOP-dominated Virginia legislature this year. The party made big gains in 2017, in part because of a backlash against President Donald Trump, and has moved to within striking distance of a majority in both houses. At the same time, the Democrats nationally have taken a hard line against misconduct in their ranks because women and minorities are a vital part of their base and they want to be able to criticize Trump's behavior without looking hypocritical. Trump accused Democrats Thursday of political bias, tweeting that "If the three failing pols were Republicans, far stronger action would be taken". The extent of the damage Virginia Democrats suffered from rape and racism scandals will be put to the test next week in a special election for the House of Delegates.But Republicans now think they’ve got a shot, with the Democratic governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general tangled in a bizarre web of controversies.

*********************

NOTES AND COMMENTS: (1.1)>>controversial abortion bill  . Virginia House Bill 2491 would roll back a number of requirements, including a 24-hour waiting period and a mandate that second-trimester abortions take place in a hospital. Always something of a long shot in the Republican-controlled state legislature, the bill may now be doomed by the national firestorm surrounding it.The controversy has centered on a provision concerning third-trimester abortions. Under current Virginia law, in order for a patient to terminate a pregnancy in the third trimester, three doctors must certify that continuing the pregnancy would likely cause the patient’s death or “substantially and irremediably impair” her mental or physical health. The new bill would reduce the number of doctors to one, and remove the “substantially and irremediably” qualifier — abortions would be allowed in cases where a mother’s mental or physical health is threatened, even if the damage might not be irreversible.The bill began inspiring outcry among abortion opponents nationwide after its sponsor, Virginia Delegate Kathy Tran, said in a committee hearing on Monday that it would technically allow abortion until the point of birth, if a doctor agreed it was necessary.(1.2)>>facing backlash. The racist photo from a 1984 yearbook threatens to end Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s political career. The photo shows two people: one in blackface and one wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe. The image generated intense pressure for Northam to resign. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also has admitted that he, too, once wore blackface in the 1980s, offering the latest example of a prominent white person facing harsh criticism for wearing blackface . The "dumb" Democratic governor attempted to apologize in written and video statements , and then, bizarrely, attempted  to retract his admission and his assumption of responsibility. At an afternoon news conference, he implausibly claimed he wasn’t in the offending photo (which contained what he called “blackfacing”) because “I so vividly don’t remember this” and didn’t know where it came from, even though other students chose the photos for their pages.Yet he proceeded to acknowledge that he wore dark shoe polish on his face another time that same year while impersonating Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk in a dance contest — which he won! He allowed, in a rare moment of sense, that others “will find this difficult to believe.” Gov.Northam is refusing to step down despite overwhelming calls for his resignation following the discovery of a racist photo in his medical school yearbook and an admission he appeared in blackface years ago.(1.3)>>from a yearbook published in 1971.  Given social media nowadays, it is amazing that these actions were not known when these guys ran for office. These are such "non-issues" to begin with from so long ago that they never surfaced on social media. They weren't issues during the election and they shouldn't be issues now.      (2)>>The political crisis in Virginia threatens.   What is at stake in the state is more than the future of the three state-level, statewide elected Democrats. Before this cascade of revelations and party chaos, Virginia Democrats were looking at the very real possibility of total state government control and — given that many Southern states were ruled by conservative Democrats before Republican dominance in the region — perhaps the most liberal (or progressive, if you prefer) state government in the post-Reconstruction history of not just Virginia, but the South in general.(3)>>Three of the state's top Democrats are engulfed in a scandal that has shaken the state government.Virginia's increasingly diverse and urban population has fueled Democratic victories for a decade. But Democrats are anxious that the dizzying developments could suddenly halt their progress. The prospect of losing Virginia's 13 electoral votes would spread Democrats thin as they try to win back upper Midwest states that voted for Trump while making a push in GOP -leaning states like Georgia and Arizona.     (4)>>Trump’s taunt ignores his own history . Practically the entire Democratic Party has called on the Governor to resign, and you call that “crickets?” In the meantime you have placed a known sexual predator in the White House. You have no credibility. Donald Trump may not be womanizing right now but he certainly has spent a good portion of his life doing so and makes no excuses about is behavior. It is well documented. His behavior is very well known in celebrity circles. Never mind the fact he let the cat the of the bag, with some of his own openly torrid comments to “certain reporters,” (5)>>Women, meanwhile.2018 midterm campaign has represented the collision of two giant forces in American politics: President Trump and a newly energized cadre of Democratic women. I will be writing on this on my NEXT POST , but More women have become politically active in the wake of the Me Too Movement against sexual assault and harassment. In what many have dubbed a “year of the women,” more than half of the candidates in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program for strong recruits are female. Clearly the majority of the female Democrats are radicalized . Its going to be interesting see how these women will challenge Trump .

The "State" of the UNION?

How TIME FLIES It will be President Trump's second State of the Union address where he will lay out his agenda for his third year in office. The theme of the speech is “choosing greatness,” according to a briefing. The prepared text includes this statement: “Together we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future. "The decision is ours to make.”    (1)>>So far what do the POLLS say???     Personally this speech was a good one , unlike his last State of Union which was divisive . This one Donald Trump pulled the wool over the eye's of the Democrats . The speech address not as much the STATE of the Union  , BUT KEY criticisms of Trump's own (1.2)>>Xenophobia accustions .  It’s something of an irony Trump is choosing to highlight togetherness after the longest government shutdown in American history, in which he amped up divisions over immigration and his campaign promise to build a border wall. Democrats have said they don’t want to negotiate over border security with federal workers’ paychecks in the balance. Trump finally reopened the government, but has been continuing to keep up pressure on building the wall.  After the speech, Stacey Abrams, whose run for Georgia governor galvanized Democrats although it was ultimately unsuccessful, will respond for Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will also issue a response of his own. You can watch the full live stream of the State of the Union above or on the White House YouTube channel.    President Trump is expected to call for unity during his second State of the Unionaddress — but a handful of Democrats aren't planning on listening to the president's pleas Tuesday night, as they don't plan to attend the historic event.Some of his 2020 rivals, such as Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, will also be attending. Many Democrats are trolling Trump with their

specific State of the Union guests — inviting government employees recently impacted by the shutdown, people living in the U.S. affected by the ongoing immigration debate, among others. Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, Schumer (D-N.Y.) forecasted that Trump would exaggerate — if not lie about — his administration's achievements and offer a litany of empty promises. Schumer listed a number of promises Trump made during his last State of the Union, from defeating IS to opening more manufacturing plants in the country, that the minority leader said the president has failed to keep in the months since. (2)>>The president and Democrats spent the hours before his State of the Union address exchanging political fire, making clear that whatever ritualistic calls for across-the-aisle cooperation he would issue later in the evening were unlikely to transform an environment that has turned increasingly toxic.Still stung by his failure to use a partial government

Pelosi's famed defiant Clap.

shutdown to pressure Congress into paying for his border wall, Mr. Trump has hardly been in the mood for collaboration with the other party, anyway. As he and his team have drafted his address in recent days, he has groused about the text, complaining that it is too gentle on Democrats, according to people briefed on the matter. (3)>>HOWEVER the Democrats pulled off  embarrassing themselves , while the newly formed circle of women who won a seat in Congress decided to show their resistance to Donald Trump by wearing white as a sign of solidarity . I must concur that the move was  to honor the legacy of women’s suffrage. It seemed out of line during the State of the Union . While looking at these women during the Union speech  , its much more about women's suffrage.There was a message . It's was more about opposing Trump . While President Donald Trump highlighted the number of women who now have jobs thanks to his administration, the

record number of Democratic women elected to Congress last year rose to their feet and cheered.  The moment during Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night allowed for a rare bipartisan moment, and the president then acknowledged the historic number of women who now serve in Congress, many of whom are Democrats pressing for investigations into his presidency. But it was the record number of women elected to Congress last year — many of whom vehemently oppose him — who stole the show.At first, many congressional Democratic women — many of whom were wearing white as a sign of solidarity and in honor of the suffragists — remained seated. But slowly, as the applause continued, they began to point to themselves, stand, and celebrate. Some pumped their fists in the air. “You weren’t supposed to do that,” Trump quipped, as cameras shot to high-profile new additions to Congress, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).This congressional House class includes not only the most women ever elected to these positions but also a series of historic firsts. Among the House first-term members alone, there are the first Native American women ever elected to Congress, the first Muslim American women, and the youngest women.President Donald Trump went out of his way to acknowledge this Congress’s milestone during his remarks, prompting cheers from the audience.“All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before. Don’t sit yet. You are going to like this,” Trump said, “And exactly one century after the Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before.” (4)>>Resistance has become the motive power of the Democratic Party lead by these women. Every time Trump says anything , there is political fact checking.  The New York Times provided a masterclass in bad faith fact-checking by taking political contentions offered by the president and subjecting them to a supposed impartial test of accuracy. In his speech, Trump called the illegal border crossing “an urgent national crisis.” The New York Times says “this is false.” But Why? Because illegal border crossings have been declining for two decades, they say. Customs and Border Protection agents, they go on to explain, had arrested around 50,000 people trying to illegally cross the southwestern border each of the last three months, which was only half of the arrests they had made in comparable months in the mid-2000s. But the border issue is a real problem if you consider Caravans of thousands of people from Central America trying to crash the border . (5)>>The FACTS here are that the Democrats don't have a logical solution to this issue except by vetting all these people in at the expense of American Taxpayers ?? Trump was offering his rundown on the state of the union, not the Republican Party. It’s true that presidents take credit for all the good things that happen under their watch. Trump is no exception. In this rare case, however, Trump didn’t even take credit for electing the female politicians. In fact, he congratulated them after they broke out into cheers over his comment. Some people have argued that NPR’s piece was providing context to the president’s comment. Perhaps. Still, their nitpicking created the impression that somehow Trump had misled the public. He did not.President (6)>>Trump also mentioned examples of progress made when the parties worked together in the last Congress. He said, “In the last Congress, both parties came together to pass unprecedented legislation to confront the opioid crisis, a sweeping new Farm Bill, historic VA reforms, and after four decades of rejection, we passed VA accountability so we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans.” He then noted Congress’s collaborative effort to pass the First Step Act, which was passed into law on December 21, 2018. He said, “And just weeks ago, both parties united for groundbreaking Criminal Justice Reform.” With one legislative chamber solidly under the control of each party now — Republicans picked up a few seats in the Senate to increase their margin there — there are two scenarios for what could happen in Washington for the next few years. The government could come to complete gridlock, with the Democratic House refusing to consider anything from the Republican Senate, and the Republican Senate refusing to consider anything from the Democratic House. Or, the parties — particularly the party leaders — could recognize the need to find middle ground.  From the president’s point of view, moreover, it’s an opportunity to press the administration’s priorities. Not all of those policies get enacted; in a system of separated institutions sharing powers, that can’t happen. But the first step for getting anything done is to be clear what the administration wants. And that’s complicated. A policy position reflects not just the president’s desires, but the input of the various relevant departments and agencies, along with interest groups, party actors and more. What’s driving a lot of the frustration is that Trump, now more than ever, runs the West Wing as a family business. Donald Trump never mentioned the unprecedented government shutdown nor the Democrats’ newly installed majority in the House of Representatives in his second official State of the Union address Tuesday night, but it sure felt like he talked about everything else. At 82 minutes and with POTUS’ red tie askew, the primetime speech also received some unexpected applause from unexpected areas when white-suited female Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rose for Trump’s comments about the growing role of women in the workforce and in Congress. (7)>>His State of the Union speech was more than passable. It was well-delivered, made splendid points, afforded moments of heartwarming drama in balcony visits and was in many respect nearly the opposite of his State of the Union last year.




NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>So far what do the POLLS say??? A recent poll from The Washington Post and ABC News showed that on a variety of traits — whether the president is a "strong

Donald Trump caught the
Democrats off guard .
This CBS Poll surprised
me as well.

leader," whether he has the right "personality and temperament," whether he "has brought needed change to Washington," whether he is "good at making political deals" — women are about 20 points less likely than men to view the president favorably. And on the question of how Trump has done on "handling issues of special concern to women," 44 percent of men said "excellent" or "good," compared with 23 percent of women. A CNN poll conducted by SRS following President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night found that 59% of viewers had a very positive reaction to the speech, 17% had a somewhat positive reaction and 23% had a negative reaction. (1.2)>>Xenophobia accustions . For this president and his party, xenophobia isn’t an irrational impulse. As a political strategy, it works for them, the larger and long-run consequences for America . Trump’s brand than his “tough on immigrants” approach. His attacks on Mexicans and Mexico helped fuel his rise in 2015, he threatened to shut the government down unless Congress funded his border wall and changed the law to make it easier for him to deport undocumented immigrants.His message has long been that, of all the challenges facing the country . Long run exchange for feeding xenophobic zealots with policy that quenches their hatred for anything immigrant and anybody "foreign," the imminent Trump policy will bludgeon American economic and industrial interests by scaring promising foreign workers away. Instead of coming to the United States, where their spouses cannot work and their very being an affront to a swelling segment of xenophobes, foreign workers will choose to work elsewhere. And in turn, the United States will miss out on the innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and skill that foreign workers bring, by the droves.(2)>>The president and Democrats spent the hours before his State of the Union address exchanging political fire, making clear that whatever ritualistic calls for across-the-aisle cooperation he would issue later in the evening were unlikely to transform an environment that has turned increasingly toxic.  American politics has been clogged with nastiness for 200 years -- It may built  under Bush- Obama era and now it has EXPLODED UNDER TRUMP . The political temperature soared in the three years since Trump announced his candidacy. "Trump bears much of the blame for the current climate," stated John Pitney, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College, adding that the brash billionaire "lives on the dark side" of the rhetorical line. NOW the DEMOCRATS have come in with a vendetta to do the same what the REPUBLICANS did to OBAMA . The Key word : OBSTRUCT , the reaction will be Trump either shutting the Government down again or declare a national emergency .(3)>>HOWEVER the Democrats pulled off  embarrassing themselves . Donald Trump pulled a fast one on the Democrats .  Well they [we]  did not expect that Trump would speak about key issues that seem to align with some of the accusations levied against him. The STRONGEST opposition to Trump are the newly elected women who stood down in white . While I did not see a single male Democrat wearing white , the whole picture of our congress emerged to my eyes . While its been said that the midterms the Democrats took a majority of the house seats , the congressional side of the Democrats looked bleak. Perhaps some Senators boycotted . Its really made me think how much of a circus our Congress really is .  Donald Trump’s presidency has rocked a long-complacent Democratic Party like nothing in recent history. Liberals, with their confidence that the trajectory of the country points in their direction, never had quite as much practice as conservatives in expressing their anger. That’s what makes the “Resistance”—the many marches, the seething hostility at town-hall meetings, the anti-Trump placards shouting at passersby from bungalow windows—a transformational break in the pattern. In the end Congress could be gridlocked. (4)>>Resistance has become the motive power of the Democratic Party lead by these women.   Some of these activists call themselves “the Resistance.” Trump and his allies call them an “angry mob.” Trump’s election and performance in office have clearly pushed independent and Democratic women into action, resulting in record numbers of women running for office, and surges of women involved in local political organizing for the first time. But what about Republican women? Is it possible that Trump—and the Republican politicians who enable him—are not just alienating left-leaning women, but are permanently damaging the GOP’s female ranks, driving some splintering portion of women away for good?(5)>>The FACTS here are that the Democrats don't have a logical solution.       Democrats should also focus more of their attention on a permanent solution for the so-called Dreamers, or DACA recipients, and curbing overzealous immigration enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and going back to treating immigration violations as civil offenses rather than criminal ones. The hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children should be offered a path to citizenship.  Will Democrats ever say yes to immigration reform? They now have an opportunity to do so as President Trump demands funding for additional miles of physical barrier along the southern border.   Democrats should also focus more of their attention on a permanent solution for the so-called Dreamers, or DACA recipients, and curbing overzealous immigration enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and going back to treating immigration violations as civil offenses rather than criminal ones. The hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children should be offered a path to citizenship.  (6)>>Trump also mentioned examples of progress made when the parties worked together .   Democrats took charge of the House of Representatives while Republicans gained seats in the Senate. Voters may want the two parties to work together, but differences of values, unlike differences of interests, are difficult to compromise. People's politics are driven by both interests and values. They sometimes conflict.  Why might bipartisanship be possible today? There are two reasons, and Senate Republicans will be the key to what happens. Basically, two developments are creating political pressure on Senate Republicans to at least consider working with Democrats. The first is that President Trump keeps delving deeper and deeper into politically intolerable territory.  Democrats took charge of the House of Representatives while Republicans gained seats in the Senate. Voters may want the two parties to work together, but differences of values, unlike differences of interests, are difficult to compromise. People's politics are driven by both interests and values. They sometimes conflict. (7)>>His State of the Union speech.  I found a good transcript of the speech Donald Trump gave to Congress . While thing mentioned in this blog summery is way too long to continue . Here is a good transcript that is anointed for fact checking [ go here : https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/05/us/politics/trump-state-of-union-speech-transcript.html  ] 

Onward to Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
is not allowing  any American
meddling . He's right and he smelled
the "sauce".

Venezuela has occupied on and off in our chaotic media press for sometime , in between the Government Shutdown . There are vary serious things going on. The whole social media exploded with anti-American sentiment . While our nation and its leaders are accusing Russia of meddling in our election , and at the same time our nations leaders are drawing plans to overthrow another nation , its leaders by supporting a coup .  During a Monday White House press briefing national security adviser John Bolton was photographed carrying a notepad — presumably as he was fresh out of a national security meeting — and one of the things which appears to be handwritten on the pad is "5,000 troops to Colombia". The contents of the notepad were spotted almost immediately by multiple journalists online after an NBC news release featuring the AP photo was published.  Bolton during the White House presser revealed that President Trump is "leaving open the possibility of a U.S. military intervention to protect (1.1)>>opposition leader Juan Guaidó, members of the nation's assembly and American diplomatic personnel," according to NBC.  (1)>> "The president has made it clear that all options are on the table," Bolton told reporters while holding the yellow notepad. "We also today call on the Venezuelan military and security forces to accept the peaceful, democratic and constitutional transfer of power," Bolton said. But could, as the notepad suggests, this involve plans to send 5,000 American troops to neighboring Colombia, a close US ally in Latin America? The CIA has been plotting with so-called rebels in Venezuela from the early days of the Trump administration. (2)>>Many are are also supporting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro world wide . Trump announced via

John Bolton's infamous note pad
detailing 5,000 troops
to Columbia .

Twitter  that he "officially recognized the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela," thus severing already strained tieswith Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro days after he was sworn into his second term. Maduro officially cut ties with Washington in response, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday in a statement that the U.S. "does not consider former president Maduro to have the legal authority to break diplomatic relations." 

Just where does the United States of America have a right of what ever authority to tell another nation of whom , or what should be its leaders [ whether they are rightfully elected or not] With all the American media hype surrounding Russian meddling in our country . Our nations leaders have the audacity without any moral restraint  , or treaty , or abiding with international law committing the same thing [ nation's leaders -media] of accusing Russia of doing to our country . Now there is talk of a military intervention . (3)>>It

smells of genuine stupidity . Last year, The Trump administration held secret meetings with rebellious military officers from Venezuela over the last year to discuss their plans to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks. Establishing a clandestine channel with coup plotters in Venezuela was a big gamble for Washington, given its long history of covert intervention across Latin America. Many in the region still deeply resent the United States for backing previous rebellions, coups and plots in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil and Chile, and for turning a blind eye to the abuses military regimes committed during the Cold War.The Trump administration on Monday wouldn’t rule out taking military action to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and rolled out crippling sanctions against his regime in its latest effort to pressure him into resigning. National security adviser John Bolton announced the sanctions, which are targeting Venezuela’s state-owned oil company — a potentially earth-shattering economic move that strips Maduro and his increasingly isolated government of its most important source of income along with $7 billion in assets.
Its all about Oil 

With the Venezuela crisis escalating after the US’ provocative intervention against elected leader Nicolas Maduro last week, an honest admission by National Security Advisor John Bolton was overlooked by the media: It’s about oil. Trump’s top adviser, who has been branded the most fervent hawk in the administration, has admitted that Washington is heavily invested in political outcomes in Caracas particularly because of Venezuela’s vast untapped oil reserves. (4)>>Indeed, it just so happens that Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. We’re looking at the oil assets,” Bolton said. “That’s the single most important income stream to the government of Venezuela. We’re looking at what to do to that.”“We’re in conversation with major American companies now,” he continued. “I think we’re trying to get to the same end result here.”“It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela,” Bolton admitted.He acknowledges Oil the single largest stream of income to the Government (thus people) of Venezuela and then says he wants US Corporations to have that revenue stream instead. 80 percent of the shares in all US Corporations are owned by the one percent so we can see who the real master is here. Bolton’s interest in seeing the US economy profit off Venezuela’s plentiful natural resources shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Trump himself has a history of arguing for regime changes in oil-rich countries around the world… but only if US companies benefit. “I’m interested in Libya if we take the oil. If we don’t take the oil, no interest,”he told Fox in 2012 a month after the disastrous US-led NATO intervention which left Libya a failed state. “We’ll help you, but we want 50 percent of your oil,” he said of Libya in another interview. Trump has also advocated a “take the oil” policy for Iraq in the past. In a video posted to Facebook early on Wednesday, Maduro accused the U.S. "empire" of conspiring with right-wing forces both within Venezuela and abroad of conspiring together to seize power, but warned that any attempt to overthrow his government by force could result in yet another overseas civil war instigated at the behest of the Americans.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:
(1.1)>>opposition leader Juan Guaidó.  Juan Guaidó, Only a few months ago, the 35-year-old was an obscure character in a politically marginal far-right group closely associated with gruesome acts of street violence. Even in his own party, Guaidó had been a mid-level figure in the opposition-dominated National Assembly, which is now held under contempt according to Venezuela’s constitution. But after a single phone call from from US Vice President Mike Pence, Guaidó proclaimed himself president of Venezuela. Anointed as the leader of his country by Washington, a previously unknown political bottom-dweller was vaulted onto the international stage as the US-selected leader of the nation with the world’s largest oil reserves.While Guaidó seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, he was, in fact, the product of more than a decade of assiduous grooming by the US government’s elite regime change factories. Alongside a cadre of right-wing student activists, Guaidó was cultivated to undermine Venezuela’s socialist-oriented government, destabilize the country, and one day seize power. Though he has been a minor figure in Venezuelan politics, he had spent years quietly demonstrated his worthiness in Washington’s halls of power.(1)>> "The president has made it clear that all options are on the table," Trump’s vision of toppling Maduro further muddles his already erratic foreign policy, which favors sweeping statements and skirts the consequences of unbalancing the global order. He has proposed withdrawing U.S. troops from Europe, Syria, and South Korea, for instance, but also suggested sending the military into Mexico to hunt down drug traffickers. He has said that America never should have gone into Iraq—but that while we were there, we should have “taken the oil.” He appears to favor allowing Bashar al-Assad to maintain his power, and has hinted that Russia should be forgiven for invading Ukraine, but has reportedly teamed up with Israel to help destabilize Iran with the goal of facilitating regime change in Tehran.(2)>>Many are are also supporting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro .  So far Russia and China , several nations are supporting Maduro [Moscow isn't alone in its support for Maduro — China, Syria, Iran, Turkey] . Russia and China strongly criticized U.S. sanctions placed on Venezuela, with the former pledging to support the beleaguered President Nicolas Maduro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday the sanctions completely undermined confidence in a international financial system that is dominated by the U.S., Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia is an important source of financial support to the Venezuelan government, providing billions of dollars in loans, some as pre-payment for future deliveries of oil.  Russia dispatched two nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers to the country in a further show of support. (3)>>It smells of genuine stupidity .  It seems that the New Cold war has shifted to South America . With Russian support , the whole Idea of sending American troops to overthrow Maduro is nothing but a hesitation on the part of the United  States , perhaps more dangerous if you consider how US relations have sunk . China also voiced its opposition to sanctions, saying the U.S. should bear responsibility for their consequences. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said historical experience showed foreign interference "only makes situations more complicated," Reuters reported. According to polling conducted inside Venezuela, an overwhelming majority of people—from across the nation's political spectrum—would oppose U.S. intervention and disapprove of the economic sanctions that the Trump administration has only increased in recent days. So the stupidity of it excels beyond logic. (4)>>Indeed, it just so happens that Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said in an interview Wednesday that the U.S. just wants to seize Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources and that is the reason behind backing the coup and intervention in the Latin American country.  The new U.S. measures against Venezuela include the freezing of some US$7 billion in assets of the Venezuelan state oil company (PDVSA), in addition to an estimated loss of US$11 billion of exports over the next few years.