Speaking to Fox News this morning, President Trump answers questions about the Delta Force operation that captured Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro is currently aboard the USS Iwo Jima.  WATCH:

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As video of U.S. military operations inside Venezuela began to surface on social media, President Donald Trump has announced that overnight the U.S. military carried out a “large scale strike” against Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro.

[Via Truth Social]

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My grandpa, and later my father, used to say something at particular moments that generally annoyed me but turned out to be entirely accurate, much to my youthful angst… “Well, hang around a one-legged group long enough, and you’re eventually going to end up limping.”

Yup, I learned to hate that lesson because the truth of it was always annoying.

This is perhaps the first time in memory when I look forward to Donald J Trump getting out of the Mar-a-Lago bubble and back to Washington DC.  Good grief, just typing that I can’t believe I’m saying it.  Here’s why:

Having followed and written about the optimal solution approach within the Trump Doctrine, a process that assigns responsibility to regional actors, then exits while providing support but not direct involvement [the delegation metric of high-support/low-direction], perhaps that is unfolding again in the background.  However, it seems like Trump is accepting the annoying Iran monkey problem on our behalf. [REF: How to Make The Monkey Jump]

To be clear in my personal position, charity begins at home.  (1) I don’t want conflict with Iran, nor do I really care about their internal political struggles; most of my day-to-day contacts feel the same. (2) At the same time, yes, I can imagine a scenario where Venezuela represents a threat to our continental objectives and national security, but would prefer to see them isolated from the outside.  Embargo them, stuff them inside an economic confinement zone (if needed), tell them why, then let the internal mess work itself out; most of my day-to-day contacts seem to feel the same.

Granting President Trump the long view of support; I mean, we don’t know what he is aware of; I sure hope all of this Iran stuff has a direct connection to American strategic interests.

Simultaneously, I can certainly see where deconflicting the USA, vis-a-vis Ukraine (literally London and the EU) from friction with Russia, has a strategic interest and factual bearing on the dollar-based trade system.  Attention on the Ukraine vs Russia stuff does have direct, albeit complicated outcomes attached to the economic standing of the average American.  Iran less so.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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Earlier today the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina held a press conference to announce the interception of an ISIS inspired terrorist attack in Mint Hill, North Carolina that was planned to be carried out on New Year’s Eve.  Video and Press Release below:

PRESS RELEASE – CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Mint Hill man that allegedly planned to use knives and hammers to execute a deadly New Year’s Eve attack at a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in support of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has been arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The criminal complaint was filed on December 31, 2025, and was unsealed today after Christian Sturdivant, 18, appeared in federal court in Charlotte.

James C. Barnacle, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.

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At first, I thought this video had to be a spoof because the promoted viewpoint is, well, bizarre for a westerner to say out loud.  Then I realized this guy isn’t joking – he’s deadly serious.

Billionaire Shlomo Kramer says, “I know it’s difficult to hear, but it’s time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it.” When asked what that means, Kramer responds, “I mean that we need to control the platforms, all the social platforms. We need to stack rank the authenticity of every person that expresses themselves online and take control of what they are saying based on that ranking.”

When asked by who? “The government should do that, yes.” WATCH:

Israeli billionaire Shlomo Kramer’s New Year’s resolution is to eliminate America’s First Amendment.

“I know it’s difficult to hear, but it’s time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it.” pic.twitter.com/dOmb7DuLb1

— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) January 2, 2026

This is absurd totalitarian thinking.

Every month it becomes more challenging to push back against these insufferable control agents both inside and outside government.  What Shlomo Kramer is advocating for is digital fascism, where private industry collaborates with government to control the flow of information and speech on the internet.

Get stuffed Mr. Kramer!

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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The need for control is a reaction to fear.  Suddenly, there’s a whole lot of corporate media voices rebranding themselves.  Is the worm turning, or is this just opportunistic positioning? The nature of the irrelevance behind it all has me quite amused.  Example #1 CBS:

Paramount/CBS, along with TikTok, were recently acquired by Larry and David Ellison. [NOTE: I refuse to separate the father and son into individual corporate elements, because that perspective requires a certain level of pretending that I’m incapable of.]  David Ellison recently installed Bari Weiss as CBS News Editor in Chief.  Larry and David are currently working to acquire Warner/CNN.

As the ‘great noticing’ of things continues to manifest, suddenly a lot of voices are trying to distance themselves from their corporate interests and rebranding as independent voices.

The next example is Catherine Herridge, who has a long and very visible career working for corporate media outlets, shaping stories for the corporate interest and doing yeoman’s work selling a controlled and approved narrative.

Now working within the structure of The Los Angeles Times platform, Catherine Herridge wants to share terrible stories about her experiences within the corporate media world.

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