Remove an illegitimate ruler, a ruthless dictator, from power in a neighboring sovereign country. No easy task, but it was carried out with extraordinary skill and professionalism by United States military personnel–a surgical extraction–without the loss of a single American life, and with minimal damage to citizens of the target country, Venezuela. The action has been praised by several regional governments, and by citizens and supporters of the Opposition party that had won election in 2024, but had been denied the right to govern by the ruling regime. Ousted by a loss in the election, but maintained in power by force, Nicholas Maduro, was ruling Venezuela illegitimately. That criminal status was underscored by a multimillion-dollar reward for his capture by the first Trump Administration, followed by the Biden Administration, and continued under Trump 2.0.

The winner of the 2024 election and subsequent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Corina Machado, pursued by the usurper regime, had to flee the country, as did many of her compatriots. Previous contacts with the Trump Administration had indicated that the latter would welcome her return to assume her rightful position as the elected head of state. But following the successful operation that resulted in the capture and removal of Maduro, it appears that the Trump Administration has lost interest in Machado and the Venezuelan opposition movement. Rather, it has declared that it would collaborate with the government of Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, “if she does the right thing.” According to President Trump, the popular, democratic, election-winning Ms. Machado will no longer do. “She doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Clearly, reestablishing democracy and legitimate governance is not a priority of this administration. That should come as no surprise. The President has always been a transactional player. The deal is what matters to him, and the deal in Venezuela is oil. The former dictator, Hugo Chavez, had nationalized the country’s oil industry and expropriated the property of U. S. oil companies. The latter, in fact, had created Venezuela’s oil sector. And now, according to Trump, “we will run Venezuela.” That means working with the same illegitimate regime that has been ruling the country under Nicholas Maduro.

So much for Trump’s “America First” policy and his repeated campaign promises to stay out of foreign entanglements, especially military actions to effect regime change. We are now going to “run Venezuela”, and while we’re at it, we might consider going after Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and how about this: taking possession of Greenland. Taking Greenland! Property of the Kingdom of Denmark, our NATO ally. Good Lord! Destroy NATO in one fell swoop, and with it the longest stretch of global stability–eighty years of keeping the peace since the end of World War Two. Trump’s policy advisor, deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, the likely influence behind these ideas, announces the intention to use our power to rule the Western Hemisphere, including control of the Arctic approaches by grabbing Greenland. Such naked imperialism would simply mean that we are handing China and Russia the playbook so they can emulate us in their own zones of influence. That’s not a wise strategy, nor is it intelligent foreign policy trade-craft. “O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.”

Goodness, gracious, I thought Trump told us that we would look after our own country’s needs and avoid dangerous adventurism abroad. I guess the promises during the election campaign were meant only as suggestions to gain the approval of the America First crowd. The MAGA spin doctors have been working overtime to normalize this issue. Other issues like the turmoil in our domestic sphere have gotten their own special pro-Administration interpretation.

To be fair, there is a good case to be made for removing Maduro and obtaining compensation for the looting of American oil resources. The goal is legitimate; the means by which it was achieved might not be. The U. S. launching of a military operation against a South American neighbor will be challenged. International law has to be respected even though Venezuela’s criminal regime has pursued several provocative policies including the courting of our powerful global adversaries, providing them oil as well as a strategic outpost right on America’s doorstep. There are compelling reasons for acting against the Venezuelan dictatorship, especially being so close to our shores. Precedent goes back to the Monroe Doctrine (with a cute play on words giving us the Donroe Doctrine). But all the same, the Administration has engaged in saying one thing, then doing the opposite. They are not the first to spin their actions, but they have taken that conduct to a whole new level.

The first full year of the Second Trump Administration has played out in ways that bedevil any rational attempt to explain policy. Policy? Policies? What policies? Certainly nothing coherent or enhanced by objectivity and vision for the long-term health of the nation. The only throughline is Donald Trump’s whim at any given moment. The deal maker wants this or that when he wants it. And the Constitution, the law, the Judiciary, the Congress, and anyone who disagrees with him be damned.

The Trump Administration’s balance sheet is mixed. Some achievements have been successful: closing the porous southern border, for example. But ICE operations to arrest and deport illegal immigrants have been excessively aggressive, and in too many instances have targeted peaceful working residents, who pose no threat to the community, or even American citizens. This is still supposed to be America, the land that most of our ancestors came to as immigrants. Yes, over the past few decades, too many have come illegally. But they are illegal, not inhuman. There is no reason to harass them unmercifully or to deny them due process of law. The law and the Constitution seem to have little effect on Trump and company. No one objects to removal of criminal offenders and “the worst of the worst,” but what we have seen does no credit to the government or to those who turn a blind eye to injustice. Moreover, the economy will not benefit from the loss of so many of those who have been working in the unpleasant jobs that very few other Americans will accept.

Economists warned the government about levying tariffs across the board. Some tariffs had to be walked back right away because of the economic blowback, and others have caused problems already, such as in the agriculture and construction sectors. More are going to feel the squeeze in the future. Most expert opinion declared the tariff policy a bad idea, even if some surgically targeted tariffs could be useful when applied to support specific foreign policy objectives. Well-thought-out policy, however, is not a regular characteristic of this Administration.

Not simply abroad, but also at home, the President has deployed the military to make America great again. He has sent National Guard troops into American cities. He claims that crime is out of control in cities led by Democratic politicians, a claim in defiance of crime statistics for most of those areas–most report that crime rates are down from previous years. But Trump asserts that the Guard is there to support local law enforcement. In most cases, the latter have declared that they have no need of National Guard assistance. No matter. Trump says that urban crime where Democrats are in power requires a military response.

During the 2024 election campaign, Trump and his supporters insisted that they would release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files. That case, they claimed, had failed to disclose all of the malefactors and their wicked deeds. Yet that presumably urgent legal matter has since gone silent, as the Department of Justice and the Administration apparently have decided against fulfilling their campaign slogans. You can draw your own conclusions.

Support Trump, if you choose, that is your right. Disagree with him, if you choose, that is your right, too. Although, if you disagree, you should not, as an American citizen, have to face slander and punishment. But in these unbelievably perverse times, a United States Senator–retired Navy veteran who flew numerous combat missions in the Persian Gulf wars, and later a renowned astronaut–has been threatened with recall to active duty for the purpose of being tried by court martial. For what? For reminding the military that they have a duty to refuse to obey an illegal order. Everyone currently serving and who has served in the military understands that duty. The current Secretary of Defense (or of War, if you so choose) emphatically stated the very same thing on television only a few short years ago. But Secretary Pete Hegseth, a Republican, chooses to attack Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, for making the same point. He threatens him with court martial to reduce him in rank and to reduce his retirement compensation. As an American, a politically Independent voter, and a veteran myself, I consider this an outrage–a cowardly play by a petty man so lacking in fitness for the position he holds that he has made the once-venerable Pentagon into a laughing stock. Virtually no one on the Republican side in Congress has had the courage to stand up even for the sake of their institution, the First Branch of Government, to denounce such despicable overreach. Mark Kelly is a man of honor and integrity, whose long years of service to this nation have exemplified the courage and character that we all respect. The same cannot be said of his detractors.

But vindictive legal action against political opponents is a hallmark of the Trump Administration. And it is carried out by sycophants who lack integrity, honor, and character. Such unsavory people can be found in both parties, certainly, but this Administration revels in retribution, carries it out with relish, and proudly brags about it.

A few days ago we passed the fifth anniversary of the insurrection of January 6, 2021, a violent attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. When he took office in 2025, Donald Trump pardoned nearly all of the participants, including the most violent ones. A textbook case of criminal behavior and illegality, yet Pete Hegseth wants to charge Senator Mark Kelly with sedition for reiterating what Hegseth himself said–that the military must refuse illegal orders. Remember that at the Nuremberg Trials, Nazi military leaders and subordinates sought to excuse their murderous actions by claiming that they were “only following orders.” In the U. S. military, such a claim is no defense for carrying out illegal or criminal orders. I have no doubt Hegseth will attempt to spin the context to somehow arrive at something resembling a charge. Unless the JAG officers at the Pentagon are complete idiots, such a charge and any other attempt to discredit and demote Mark Kelly should be dismissed. But given the degree of hypocrisy at the highest levels of our government today, I wouldn’t put it past them to get creative in finding some way to dishonor a true American hero. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. The truth is there for anyone to observe. I salute retired Navy Captain Mark Kelly, currently United States Senator from Arizona, and offer him my profound respect.

The United States of America will survive even an immoral, self-serving, narcissistic despot and his pitiful brood of ass-kissing tools as well as his diehard worshipers. The real world is changing rapidly, and our country requires rational, well-educated and creative innovators to meet the challenges ahead. I believe that brilliant young Americans of all backgrounds will rally to the cause of their nation in the fierce global competition that has arisen. America’s future progress demands flexibility, adroit problem-solving, and scientific thinkers. Narrow minds and rigid ideologues need not apply.

Tighten your seat belts, America, and let’s get started. Welcome to 2026!