Tag: Coup D’etat

“It Only Happened Once”

Another great thought for the “Can’t Fix Stupid” Files.

Once again it is from a member of Congress, my favorite MORON, Taylor-Green…..

It seems that she wants the country to stop talking about the failed coup of m06 January because it only happened once.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday shared video of herself berating a reporter who asked about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The reporter was NBC’s Scott Wong, who quoted Greene in an article about Jan. 6.

“The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene said, according to Wong. “They are sick and tired of Jan. 6 — it’s over, OK?”

On Sunday, Greene posted video of the brief interview and suggested Wong’s report was misleading.

But the video shared by Greene confirmed that the quote was accurate.

In the video, Greene seems to become upset after Wong asks if Republicans were wrong to boycott the Jan. 6 Committee.

“People are rotting in jail pre-trial because they have been arrested for it,” she says at one point. “Why don’t you go to the jail and visit those people? Everyone is being prosecuted that should be prosecuted. Why don’t you care about things that honestly care about instead of continuing on with this? OK?”

https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/marjorie-taylor-greene-fed-up/

Only happened once?

9/11 only happened once….should we not talk about it any more?

The same for Pearl Harbor…..or the Alamo…..should we just forget it?

Everyday this moron proves just how stupid she real is and yet she can win an election…..what does that say about the people in her district?

She truly proves…..You Can’t Fix Stupid!

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“lego ergo scribo”

Another Insurrectionist Convicted

If you celebrate Easter then I wish you a pleasant and safe day.

After the failed coup of 06 January the participants are finding justice is final.

Another fool that followed the idiocy of Trump and his idiot sycophants had found Lady Justice is not kind to the guilty….

An Ohio man who testified he was “following presidential orders” from Donald Trump when he stormed the US Capitol was convicted Thursday of obstructing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of stealing a coat rack from an office in the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, the AP reports. Jurors deliberated less than three hours before reaching a verdict, rejecting Thompson’s novel defense. He blamed Trump and members of the president’s inner circle for the insurrection and for his own actions. Thompson, who had been free since his arrest, was ordered held pending sentencing on July 20.

Thompson’s jury trial was the third among hundreds of Capitol riot cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. In the first two cases, jurors convicted both defendants of all charges. An exterminator who lost his job during the pandemic, Thompson was the first riot defendant to mount a trial defense blaming Trump and members of his inner circle for the insurrection. Assistant US Attorney William Dreher told jurors that Thompson knew he was breaking the law when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and, in his case, looted the Senate parliamentarian’s office. Thompson’s lawyer “wants you to think you have to choose between President Trump and his client,” the prosecutor said. “You don’t have to choose because this is not President Trump’s trial. This is the trial for Dustin Thompson.”

His defense attorney said Thompson hasn’t avoided taking responsibility. “This shameful chapter in our history is all on TV,” Samuel Shamansky told jurors. But he said Thompson, unemployed and consumed by a steady diet of conspiracy theories, was vulnerable to Trump’s lies about a stolen election. He described Thompson as a “pawn” and Trump as a “gangster” who abused his power to manipulate supporters. US District Judge Reggie Walton barred the defense from calling Trump and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as witnesses. But the judge allowed jurors to hear recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered on Jan. 6, just before the riot. Thompson testified that he joined the mob attack and stole a coat rack and a bourbon from the Senate parliamentarian’s office. “I can’t believe the things that I did,” he said.

Glad to see that ignorance of the law is still not a defense for stupidity.

Then there is a leader of the Proud Boys that wimped out and pleas guilty….

A Proud Boys defendant pleaded guilty Friday to two felonies in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, becoming the first of the group’s leadership to admit guilt and agree to cooperate with the investigation of the organization. Charles Donohoe, who led the North Carolina chapter of the Proud Boys, pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, as well as to assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer. In return, prosecutors dropped the other counts in his indictment, NPR reports. The case is one of the most prominent brought by the Justice Department as a result of its investigation of the riot. Donohoe appeared in federal court in Washington virtually.

Five other senior Proud Boys, including Henry Enrique Tarrio, are charged with conspiracy in the attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s electoral victory and have pleaded not guilty. Donohue’s cooperation could help those prosecutions and cause others to seek similar deals. The 34-year-old faces 20 years in prison on the conspiracy conviction and eight years for assaulting police, though Donohue’s plea deal probably will mean shorter terms, per CBS News. He also will pay $2,000 in restitution for damage to the building.

Before Jan. 6, Donohue posted in a Proud Boys group chat that DC officials were trying to contain the protests to deny former President Donald Trump “the people’s support,” adding, “We can’t let them succeed.” The leaders met at the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, then went to the Capitol, per CNN. Video shows him pushing past police with a crowd, carrying a police riot shield, and going up the steps to the Capitol. “We took it over unarmed,” he messaged other Proud Boys later, court records say.

Personally I say throw the book at the treasonous pricks….give them the max fine and time.

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“lego ergo scribo”

Insurrection Update #25

A quick break from one conflict in Ukraine to an internal conflict here in the US…..

My series on the failed coup has hit some slow times but there are major news stories being generated around 06 January and the insurrection that was attempted….

The ex-president is being shown to have an active part in the violence of that day….

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol says it has evidence that then-President Donald Trump and his campaign “engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States” and illegally attempted to obstruct the counting of electoral votes and certification of the 2020 election results in Congress. The committee made the allegations in a court filing Wednesday that is part of its attempt to persuade a judge to give the committee access to lawyer John Eastman’s emails, CNN reports. Eastman, a right-wing lawyer who was on the campaign team and allegedly involved in the Jan. 6 planning, has been claiming attorney-client privilege and sued to block the release of the emails, Politico reports.

In what is being called a “major” release of its findings and, per the Hill, the “most serious” accusations leveled against Trump so far, the panel submitted excerpts of almost a dozen depositions and laid out Eastman’s alleged efforts to plan a legal strategy justifying then-VP Mike Pence’s overturning of the election results, and his alleged continued pushing of Pence to do so even after the mob of rioters stormed the Capitol. Accused by Pence’s counsel of being to blame for the “siege,” Eastman responded, “The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so the American people can see for themselves what happened.” The committee says Eastman knew he was asking Pence to violate the law, but carried on anyway.

Appears that one insurrectionist took the easy way out…..

A 37-year-old man awaiting sentencing for his role in the Capitol riot has died by suicide—and his family blames “the constant delays in hearings.” Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, resident Matt Perna was due to be sentenced April 1, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. In an obituary, his family said postponements had dragged the case out for more than a year. “Because of this, Matt’s heart broke and his spirit died, and many people are responsible for the pain he endured,” they said, among them “his community (which he loved), his country, and the justice system.” Perna was out on bail and the Mercer County Coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday that he died by suicide at his residence on Friday.

According to the Department of Justice, Perna was arrested on Jan. 19, 2021 and pleaded guilty to all four counts against him—including a felony count obstruction of an official proceeding—as part of a plea agreement on Dec. 17 last year. Prosecutors said Perna spent around 20 minutes inside the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot and posted a video on Facebook later that day, NBC reports. “It’s not over, trust me,” he said. “The purpose of today was to expose Pence as a traitor.” A person who knew Perna contacted the FBI after the agency shared his photo and asked for the public’s help.

In Perna’s obituary, his family said he went to Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 rally to “peacefully stand up for his beliefs.” “Matt’s family stood by him during this devastating ordeal, and are extremely proud of his passion for life and his pursuit of many dreams,” they wrote. “His actions last year are not looked down upon, instead his family is grateful and humbled by his courage.” They said Perna was “ushered in by police” and did not “break, touch, or steal” anything inside the building. A sentencing memo had not been filed in his case, but others who have pleaded guilty to the same felony obstruction count faced recommended sentences of more than two years, WUSA9 reports.

Apparently this is one criminal that will not “take a bullet for freedom”

Proud Boys leader is indicted on conspiracy charges…..

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted the leader of the right-wing Proud Boys on a conspiracy charge stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Justice Department announced.

Enrique Tarrio, 38, was arrested in Miami on a charge of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, a felony that federal prosecutors have brought against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants and carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

Tarrio is being charged alongside five co-defendants affiliated with the Proud Boys who were all indicted early last year and have since pleaded not guilt to an effort to “stop delay and hinder the certification of the electoral college vote.”

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/597325-proud-boys-leader-indicted-on-conspiracy-charge-over-jan-6

Finally!  A major conviction of a moronic insurrectionist…..Guilty of ALL charges…..

Guy Wesley Reffitt was found guilty Tuesday of all five counts against him related to the Capitol riot, reports NBC News. In the first federal trial stemming from the Jan. 6 violence, Reffitt was convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered gun, among other things. He faces serious jail time when sentenced, and the AP sees the guilty verdict as a potential “bellwether” for future riot cases.

  • The charges: He is charged with five counts, including obstruction of Congress, a charge originally meant to criminalize activities like tampering with documents or witnesses—defense lawyers tried to have it dismissed, arguing it was being taken too far, but judges are allowing a jury to decide, for the first time, whether it can apply to cases like this, the New York Times reports. That charge, the most serious, carries a sentence of up to 20 years, WUSA 9 reports. He is charged with four other felonies: two different civil disorder counts, being on restricted ground with a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
  • His kids are key witnesses: Two of the 49-year-old’s children will testify to the fact that he issued death threats should they turn him in, per WUSA 9. The obstruction of justice charge involves threats of physical force, which the 19- and 17-year-old kids will speak about, the station says, adding that recordings they made of him will be introduced as evidence. The 19-year-old is reportedly estranged from his family now.
  • Militia group: Another key witness will be an alleged fellow member of the Three Percenter militia group who authorities say traveled to DC from Texas with Reffitt; the witness was offered immunity in exchange for his testimony.
  • Setting the tone: As the Times explains in its look at the case, this trial will likely “set the tone” for dozens more that are scheduled to happen this year. “For the first time in a courtroom, [prosecutors] will present a broad portrait of the violent chaos that erupted that day and seek to persuade a jury that the pro-Trump mob that Mr. Reffitt is accused of joining struck at the heart of American democracy by disrupting the transition of presidential power.”
  • How long will this take? Jury selection is Monday, with opening arguments and testimony likely starting by Tuesday afternoon. The trial could last a week or longer, depending how long jury deliberations take.
  • Juror bias? Defense lawyers have argued that DC jurors will be biased against Jan. 6 defendants, and as such, judges will be closely watching for signs of bias, the Washington Post reports. “Reffitt’s prospective jurors Monday will be the subjects of a kind of trial-within-a-trial, scrutinized by both parties and the wider public, with potential ramifications for Capitol breach defendants to come.”
  • Jailhouse letter: Last week, Reffitt penned a defiant letter saying he’s ready to “receive the bullet of freedom,” WUSA 9 reports.

About damn time!

Time for these people to face the music that created….all should be put on the ‘no-fly list’…..there should be stiff penalties for their actions….I feel some are getting off too light for the participation.

We have a good news/bad news thing going on with hate groups….

As far as raw counts go, they’re down: In its annual report released Wednesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) said it recorded nearly 300 fewer hate groups in 2021 as compared to the year prior, logging 733, and about 80 fewer anti-government groups, logging 488 of those. But the Hill reports the SPLC made clear that a lower number doesn’t necessarily mean that what these groups espouse is on the wane. “Rather than demonstrating a decline in the power of the far right, the dropping numbers of organized hate and antigovernment groups suggest that the extremist ideas that mobilize them now operate more openly in the political mainstream,” reads the SPLC report.

Indeed, the report notes that most of those arrested over their alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack had no formal ties to right-wing groups. The SPLC report sees a pattern, noting that “the growth of a mainstream reactionary right-wing movement in 2021 is inextricably linked to the powerful racial justice movement that mobilized Americans in 2020.” It highlights similar parallels in US history: the formation of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction, and the “massive resistance” to school desegregation the US witnessed during the civil rights era.

Like I said….good news/bad news…..

There will be more updates as long as there are trials for their part in the 06 January failed coup.

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“lego ergo scribo”

How Stop The Next Coup

This is an issue that we all should be thinking about…..it happened once and there is a good chance it will happen again unless we are prepared to do what is necessary to prevent any success.

For those that are trying to forget the fateful of 06 January…..

American democracy, in particular, is in an increasingly fragile position. The catalyst of Jan. 6, the lie that President Biden did not win the 2020 presidential election, has now become a political litmus test for Republican politicians, who largely refuse to say that Biden won. The lie extends beyond mere rhetoric, too, as a number of Republican-controlled states have consequently passed laws that not only make it harder to vote, but also introduce the possibility of partisan inference in our elections. But perhaps most troubling, given the violence on display last Jan. 6, is the gulf in perception between Democrats and Republicans as to the seriousness of the attack and the sobering reality that more Americans than ever think such violence toward the government can be justified.

This collection of essays and reflections examines where we are as a country one year later, including what has — and hasn’t — changed since the attack on the Capitol.

Reflections On The Insurrection

We all should be thinking about what it will take to stop the next coup attempt.

Most commentary informed by concern about the threat to US democracy focuses on countering voter suppression and strengthening voter rights across the country. For example, in a recent article the New York Times editorial board argued that the Democratic Party should end the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation, and admonished Republican leaders to respect the republic by combatting the extremists in their midst. These arguments are a response to the recent behavior of the Republican Party: following Trump’s insistence that the vote was stolen, the party has spent the last year advancing voter suppression laws and gerrymandering voting districts to ensure Trump’s return to power.

Despite the continuing threat of a conservative overthrow of constitutional democracy in the US, most liberal political commentators continue to cling to democratic majoritarianism. This belief is based on the idea that whomever wins the elections is legitimate and has a political mandate. Yet we do not think that democratic majoritarianism is an effective antidote under the current circumstances. Electing a candidate who has campaigned for violating and perhaps overthrowing the constitutional government of the US is unacceptable—even if they win an election.

Democratic party leaders have shown no inclination to override the filibuster over the last year, and Republicans show few signs of disavowing Trump’s anti-democratic arguments and his sway over the party more broadly. Moreover, even without Republican efforts to suppress voting, elections in the US are structurally weighted to privilege predominantly white, conservative, and rural portions of the country by institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Senate, and the Electoral College.

Rather than replacing these institutions with a more genuinely representative democracy, the country is being pushed ever-deeper into rule by a minority of the electorate. As a result, Trump may very well win the election of 2024 – even without a replay of the January 6 coup.

How to Fight the Next Coup

While the young are laser focused on this social media influencer or that they are slowly losing the country that is around them….but they are too goddamn busy with the console to see what is happening.

We need to explore every avenue of coup suppression….but one.

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“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–25Jan22

There has surfaced a memo/EO that would in effect have started the coup on 06 January 2021…..never before seen by the public…..

Among the records that Donald Trump’s lawyers tried to shield from Jan. 6 investigators are a draft executive order that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines and a document titled “Remarks on National Healing.”

POLITICO has reviewed both documents. The text of the draft executive order is published here for the first time.

The executive order — which also would have appointed a special counsel to probe the 2020 election — was never issued. The remarks are a draft of a speech Trump gave the next day. Together, the two documents point to the wildly divergent perspectives of White House advisers and allies during Trump’s frenetic final weeks in office.

It’s not clear who wrote either document. But the draft executive order is dated Dec. 16, 2020, and is consistent with proposals that lawyer Sidney Powell made to the then-president. On Dec. 18, 2020, Powell, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump administration lawyer Emily Newman, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne met with Trump in the Oval Office.

In that meeting, Powell urged Trump to seize voting machines and to appoint her as a special counsel to investigate the election, according to Axios.

…

The order empowers the defense secretary to “seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under” a U.S. law that relates to preservation of election records. It also cites a lawsuit filed in 2017 against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Additionally, the draft order would have given the defense secretary 60 days to write an assessment of the 2020 election. That suggests it could have been a gambit to keep Trump in power until at least mid-February of 2021.

The full text of the never-issued executive order can be read here.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/21/read-the-never-issued-trump-order-that-would-have-seized-voting-machines-527572

Damn!

That was as close as this country has come to a coup in 200 years.

This is scary and that chance has not dissipated in the year since the attempt.

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“lego ergo scribo”

Insurrection Update #21

This subject is not covered as much as it should be….it should NEVER be ignored for any reason…..I will do my part….

The insurrectionists are losing faith in their orange god…..it is so bad that some are helping with the prosecutions…..

Two key organizers of the main Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C. are coming in from the cold.

Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lynn Lawrence are set to testify next week before the House select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The pair will deliver testimony and turn over documents, including text messages, that indicate the extensive involvement members of Congress and the Trump administration had in planning the House challenge to certifying Biden’s election and rally near the White House where Donald Trump spoke — efforts that ultimately contributed to a massive and violent attack on the Capitol.

Among the documents the couple is providing are conversations they had with staffers and members of Congress as they planned the main rally that took place on the White House Ellipse that day. Stockton described these discussions as largely logistical and focused on planning the members’ participation in objections to the electoral certification on the House floor and various events that were staged to protest against the election. They include Instagram messages Lawrence exchanged with Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) as she tried to get him to speak at the Ellipse rally. Cawthorn, whose office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, ultimately appeared onstage at that event.

Two Jan. 6 Organizers Are Coming Forward and Naming Names: ‘We’re Turning It All Over’

Speaking of pro-Trump idiots…..and their willy nilly approaches…..

Following the 2020 presidential election, attorneys Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne had a common goal: promoting the false and debunked claim that the election had been stolen from then-President Donald Trump. But a year later, journalist Matt Shuham emphasizes in Talking Points Memo, this crowd has become an example of bitter infighting in MAGA World.

“A year ago, they were pro-Trump conspiracy theorists at the top of their game,” Shuham notes. “In early December 2020, Lin Wood and Sidney Powell addressed a packed crowd in Georgia together. Wood modeled a ‘General Flynn’ ballcap and promised to ‘fight like a Flynn,’ a tribute to Powell’s client Michael Flynn, who Wood likened to George Washington. The day prior, Flynn and Wood both endorsed martial law and a national re-vote.”

https://www.alternet.org/2021/12/lin-wood-powell/

To this I say…GREAT!

DC is suing the ‘leaders’ of the 06 January insurrection to recoup the expenses that were made trying to protect the Capitol.

More than two dozen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are being sued by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine in an effort to recover the millions of dollars the city spent to defend the US Capitol during the January 6 attack.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, DC, accuses 31 members of the extremist groups of “conspiring to terrorize the District” on January 6, calling their actions “a coordinated act of domestic terrorism.”
Racine is asking the court to find the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys liable for the millions of dollars officials spent dispatching officers from the Metropolitan Police Department to the Capitol, along with the enormous expense of treating the injured officers and paying for their medical leave in the months after the attack.
 
Another great bit of news….I say sue them for every dime that have…..
 
The saga continues….hopefully the cowards that participated, all of them, will get what is coming to them.
 
More observations to come……
 
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“lego ergo scribo”

Bring The Mercs Home

Recently there was a failed kidnap attempt by some American ex-SF troops……and as usual I had something to say about this botched action…..https://lobotero.com/2020/05/04/venezuela-trumps-bay-of-pigs/

This is what the rest of the world woke up to in the news……

Venezuela’s government has said it foiled a marine incursion by “terrorist mercenaries” who attempted to enter the country on speedboats from neighbouring Colombia, adding security forces killed eight of the fighters.

The group landed early on Sunday on a beach in the port city of La Guaira, about 20 miles (32km) from the capital Caracas, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said in a televised address.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/venezuela-killed-foiled-invasion-sea-200503162349161.html

And as normal the SecState is distancing himself from this situation…declaring that it was not a US plan….

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday distanced the Trump administration from what Venezuela has characterized as a coup attempt reportedly orchestrated by a former Green Beret, and he called into question Nicolas Maduro’s claim to have two Americans in custody.

“There was no U.S. government direct involvement in this operation,” Pompeo told reporters Wednesday morning at the State Department. “If we had been involved, it would have gone differently.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/secretary-of-state-mike-pompeo-distances-us-from-botched-venezuela-raid/ar-BB13H4xB

But yet Pompeo has stated that he will do everything to get these men back…..why make such a deal out of it if they were not under the direction of the US?

US officials continue to try to distance themselves from the failed incursion into Venezuela, which led to the arrests of several people, including two Americans. Venezuela has blamed the US, while President Trump denied any knowledge of it.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is certainly adding to speculation that this is a US plot, saying that the US will “use every tool” to get the Americans back. He says this is a responsibility, but it only seems to be so if this was a foiled American plot.

Pompeo went on to add further to this speculation, saying that he will not share further information about who financed and drove the plot at this time. Further, the State Department accused Venezuela’s President Maduro of using this to deflect from trouble at home.

With those involved portraying this as a US-driven coup plot, the administration seems to be acting exactly how one would expect them to act if that was the case. The US has repeatedly tried to impose regime change in Venezuela, and this seems to be just the latest failed bid.

(antiwar.com)

A failed coup/kidnapping…..just what I would expect from an incompetent admin is an incompetent situation….probably tried to succeed with bargain basement mercs.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Regime Change By The Book

Have you been watching the antics of the US foreign policy in trying to force regime change in Venezuela?

So far three (3) attempts and three (3) failures…makes one think that it is all so much manure that the Trump Boyz are spreading.

The US has a history of attempted regime change…some successful and others were a disaster for the people to the targeted country…..

Since my typing is slow and labored these days….I will turn you over to more academic writers….for now…….

The United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) did not go to war with each other between 1945 and 1991. Instead, both superpowers sought to wield global power and influence by manipulating smaller nations. They did this in many ways: through diplomacy, treaties and alliances; by providing aid or trade deals; by supporting friendly political groups or leaders; and by supplying arms, military equipment and training. The US and USSR also exerted pressure on ‘unfriendly’ foreign governments. In extreme cases, American and Soviet agents worked to change or overthrow these governments. In Europe, the Soviets installed socialist regimes loyal to Moscow, while elsewhere the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) orchestrated or supported coups that displaced socialist or left-leaning governments. These interventions often brought about disruption, conflict and significant human suffering. During the Cold War, several democratically-elected leaders were replaced with puppet governments, military juntas or dictators who were authoritarian, violent and corrupt.

https://alphahistory.com/coldwar/coups-proxy-wars/
 
Now that so many of the US attempts at regime change have gone terribly wrong…the US Special Forces has written a book on the proper way to go about regime change and/or coup……(Let is write there is now a how to book on regime change)…
US Special Operations Command can now be said to have literally written the book on US-imposed regime change, with the book “Support to Resistance: Strategic Purpose and Effectiveness” released this week by their official school.

The official study covers 47 distinct cases of US special forces trying to intervene in various countries from 1941-2003. It did not include some of the more famous US-backed coups, as the study said they did not involve “legitimate resistance movements.“

This meant a few pages covering each incident, attempts to sort them into various categories, and determinations if they were successful or failures. Overwhelmingly, they determined their own interventions were successful.

Apparently anticipating the problems in years to come, the study also addressed mounting unrest across the Middle East in its early portion, and waved this away by arguing that it was generally the fault of the Soviet Union, and would’ve happened no matter what the US did.
 
(antiwar.com)
Okay right about here I need to say…WTF?
 
To begin with there have been a couple of “how to” books over the years and most are in my library…….maybe if “leaders” would read more they would not have to waste time and money writing a book that is already in print….several to be exact……
 
Form ten years ago…..”How To Stage A Military Coup’ by David Hebditch and Ken Connor….from Skyhorse Publishing….
 
Then from an older book…..from 1968….”Coup D’Etat–A Practical Handbook” by Edward Luttwak from Harvard University Press…
 
Maybe if they read more then their feeble attempts at regime change would be more successful.
 
Just Saying!

How Many “Wag The Dog” Can We Shoulder?

The US is thumping its chest over Iran (for some reason) and the Neocons that are Trump’s gang are still thumping their chests over Venezuela….

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to comment on whether the administration would consult Congress before invading Venezuela, saying “I don’t want to speak to that.”

Pompeo shunned all questions about the role of Congress in a potential Venezuelan war, saying he is confident that President Trump has sufficient authority that whatever he decides will be legal.

This is a serious question constitutionally. Lawmakers note that the power to declare war lies exclusively with Congress. Fresh off of the veto of the Yemen War challenge, there is reason to question if the law matches up to the practical reality of US war-making anymore.

Pompeo would just insist that the US-imposed regime change in Venezuela is an inevitability, with or without the invasion. Though he has talked up the willingness to launch such an invasion, the administration seems to prefer to be vague about the specifics.

That’s likely because Congress may feel that, if war is imminent, they have a pressing need to pass legislation on the war, potentially complicating a unilateral attack. The administration reportedly has split on the matter of starting a war, though either way they seem securely on the side of Congress not being involved in that conversation.

(antiwar.com)

Why is this a big question?

Well after 3 failed attempts to steal the country for the US Guido (not his real name) is considering asking the US to do the unspeakable……INVADE!

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has confirmed that he is considering asking the United States to invade Venezuela to install him in power. He says this is one of several options under consideration now.

Guaido is keen to see Maduro forcibly removed from power so he can replace him, and after last week’s failed US-backed coup, he is looking for a new avenue to pursue, despite arguing that he’s not “defeated” entirely.

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov issued his own statement on Sunday, calling on the US to abandon its campaign to overthrow Maduro at any rate, saying it was an “irresponsible” plan. Lavrov will be in Finland on Monday, and is expected to meet with Mike Pompeo while there.

The US has for months committed to supporting Guaido, and officials have long threatened an invasion to make it happen. Though not everyone in the US is on board with a war, some in the administration maintain that the US is determined to oust Maduro by any method, and seem to be running out of ideas for a US-imposed regime change that doesn’t involve conquering the country.

(antiwar.com)

Another point…..no matter which MSM outlet you prefer…just listen to the coverage…they are acting as the PR agents for INVASION…..not one is actually reporting the news instead are driving the news.

Why do I say this?

Continuing to try to adjust the narrative of US meddling in Venezuelan, officials have settled on a new course of action in the past few days: flat out lying. Officials, and parts of the US media, are now referring to Juan Guaido as the “duly elected president of Venezuela.”

In reality, Guaido was not duly elected as president, nor indeed did he ever participate in a Venezuelan general election for president. He was elected to parliament in 2015, and has risen to a position of substantial power within parliament, in no small part because of US support.

Then in January the Trump Administration started pushing Guaido to try to take the country over. The legal pretext was that the constitution allows the head of parliament to be an “interim president” if the president-elect doesn’t show up for his inauguration.

President Maduro was actually inaugurated on January 10, after being elected. He held the inauguration in front of the Supreme Court instead of the Assembly building however, which led some to claim it didn’t count. The US wanted to see Guaido replace Maduro, however, so they insisted that this was fine, and Guaido is president now.

While the US recognizing Guaido’s on-paper takeover as legitimate was a fairly cynical move, calling him duly elected president is an absolute lie. It’s not even clear where this lie started, though it is clearly spreading.

(antiwar.com)

Guido is not legally elected at anything……but the MSM will continue to spread the admin approved propaganda until they get the conflict they want…..and we average Americans will pay the price not the d/bags in DC and the Pentagon.

In conclusion….Pompeo is a clown!  He contradicts himself in interviews and says he has no idea what the prez has said…..he is SecState it is job to know what gthed prez has to say on foreign policy.

This is what we get when amateurs run the country.

It’s Venezuela, Right?

Big news! Well not so big right now because our Dear Leader is about to go to Vietnam and meet with Lil Kim of North Korea…..but the battle in Venezuela rages on.

Trump’s “axis of evil” is working full time to bring down the government of Maduro and establish a compliant puppet like Guaido……

The US-sponsored coup in Venezuela, still ongoing as I write, is the latest chapter in the long and bloody history of US imperialism in Latin America. This basic fact, understood by most across the left of the political spectrum – including even the chattering liberal class which acknowledges this truth only with the passage of time and never in the moment – must undergird any analysis of the situation in Venezuela today. That is to say, the country is being targeted by the Yanqui Empire.

This point is, or at least should be, indisputable irrespective of one’s opinions of Venezuelan President Maduro, the Socialist Party (PSUV), or the progress of the Bolivarian Revolution. Imperialism, and its neocolonial manifestation in the 21st Century, is there to pick clean the bones of the Bolivarian dream and return Venezuela to the role of subservient asset, an oil-soaked proxy state ruled by a right-wing satrap eager to please the colonial lords of capital.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/30/trumps-coup-in-venezuela-the-full-story/

The US has a long history of wanting regime changes…..

Since 1995, the U.S. has been involved in twelve more regime change operations—Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, Nicaragua. Venezuela makes it thirteen. Judging from the miserable U.S. record at coercing change in other countries’ governments, U.S. interference in Venezuela threatens to turn a crisis into a catastrophe.

The U.S. government has been opposed to Venezuela’s socialist revolution since Hugo Chavez was first elected in 1998, and it supported the unsuccessful 2002 coup. Chavez was well loved by poor and working class Venezuelans for his extraordinary array of social programs that lifted millions out of poverty. Between 1996 and 2010, the level of extreme poverty plummeted from 40 percent to 7 percent. The government also substantially improved healthcare and education, cutting infant mortality by half, reducing the malnutrition rate from 21% to 5%, and eliminating illiteracy.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/02/19/us-brinksmanship-venezuela-dangerous

What of the Dems? So far only Tulsi has come out with a strong statement….all others have been weak kneed including Bernie……

When Trump announced his support for the unfolding coup in Venezuela, Bernie Sanders remained silent for 24 hours.  This matters because coups are made or broken in the first moments or hours; a day during a coup can feel like a month or more.

With each hour Bernie’s silence roared louder.  So much was hanging in the balance with Trump at home and abroad, to the point where a finger could tip the scales—  yet Bernie refused to lift his.

Among the many Democratic Party candidates running for President, only Tulsi Gabbard made an unequivocal statement condemning the coup, while leftist darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez limited her criticism to a retweet.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/29/bernie-and-the-dems-flunk-trumps-test-on-venezuelas-coup/

Once again the US claims to speak for the people of Venezuela……but I ask…who gave them that permission?

This is a situation that needs watching…I can only say think 2003 and Iraq…..

Once again the media is NO help…they, all the MSM, is just regurgitating the standard BS from the government…….

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/18/trump-pushing-regime-change-venezuela-critics-warn-news-outlets-failing-us-viewers

As it is today with all the back and forth there are basically two Venezuelas…..

The first is the Latin American nation which is currently wracked internally by ruinous socio-economic policymaking, and damaged externally by a long-term US sanctions regime. It long profited from an oil industry that Hugo Chavez’s United Socialist Party nationalised in the late 1990s, consuming its revenues in the name of the poor. But its reliance on oil was painfully exposed by the sharp drop in oil prices in 2014. The government compensated for the shortfall by increasingly taking out overseas loans, and, when the loans stopped, printing money so fast that inflation recently hit 1.3million percent.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/02/12/a-tale-of-two-venezuelas/

I refuse to stand by and allow this to go forward without my dissent……granted a small voice but a voice nonetheless.