Do You Know What Day This Is? Why Is Teddy Roosevelt Smiling? ‘Donroe Doctrine.’ Maduros Arraigned. French First Lady: Not a Man. More
As you might recall, today is January 6.
Alas, celebrations of the favorite holiday of Democrats are muted this year.
Politico is disappointed, needless to say, decrying the public’s lack of interest in the day—after all, it’s the fifth anniversary of the Capitol Riots, which were worse than Pearl Harbor (in reality, a bad idea but not anywhere near an insurrection).
The lessons the left-leaning outlet takes from what it calls President Trump’s “erasure” of the once glorious day reflect a worldview drenched in ideology and unreality:
Five years ago today, Donald Trump and a mob of his supporters urged Congress to do what voters and courts would not: Allow him to rule over a country whose people had rejected him.
The old order changeth: People today are instead celebrating the fall of a dictator and the return of American military power. Rich Lowry has a great little piece on the Trump administration’s recent actions in Venezuela, headlined “Teddy Roosevelt Would Be Proud.” Lowry writes:
It’s not difficult to find analogues for Donald Trump’s incursion into Venezuela — because they are littered throughout 20th-century American history. …
Trump’s vision of U.S. companies revitalizing the Venezuelan oil industry and everyone getting rich, including the Venezuelans, is very much in the American tradition.
In the context of the vindications of the Monroe Doctrine in the past, it must be said that the Maduro regime was a provocation that never would have been tolerated this long.A communist government that spread this much disorder in the region and in the U.S. via mass migration, that relied on frank criminality, that allied with our enemies, and that wrecked a once-thriving country would have been given the boot years ago.
TR is not the only late great President who’s probably smiling. Hello there, James Monroe. Hugh Hewitt explains the “Donroe Doctrine” that figured heavily in the decision to take action in Venezuela:
The “Donroe Doctrine” seems pretty simple to me: If you kill Americans, Donald Trump will strike back and try — usually successfully — to kill you. If you threaten Americans, he will nullify the threat. ISIS in Syria, Hamas in Gaza, Iran and Venezuela have all gotten that message in the first year of the second Trump term. So have all the other various combatant countries that Team Trump have talked into cease-fires or peace deals.
Fallen dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores Maduro were arraigned in federal court in Manhattan yesterday. The New York Post has a profile of the couple, suggesting that Cilia was the brains of the operation
A one-time confidante of the late Hugo Chávez, Flores was nicknamed both Latin Lady Macbeth (referring to her ambition behind the scenes) and First Warrior. Flores apparently likes to refer to herself as a “combatant.”
Like her husband, she pleaded not guilty to all charges against her, which also include cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns, on Monday.
Flores is accused of accepting massive bribes from drug dealers to smooth cartel routes, and her nephews (dubbed “narcophews”) were previously arrested in the US for cocaine trafficking.
In court, Maduro described himself as “a decent man” and the kidnapped president of his country. Quicker-witted Cilia said she had been roughed up by the Americans and demanded medical attention. Looks like a job for Saiontz & Kirk?
Lanny Davis from the Clinton administration warns Democrats against the reflexive “hate Trump” response to Venezuela:
So, my advice to fellow Democrats: Let’s be careful about following the instinct to immediately oppose anything Trump does. At least be ready to explain the difference between the Noriega and Maduro operations.
Another piece of advice for Democrats: Read the Maduro indictment first before commenting on the case.
New York’s intrepid socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani called President Trump pronto to register opposition to the Venezuela situation. The Wall Street Journal’s observant Bill McGurn noticed something mighty interesting about Mamdani’s alacrity:
There are legitimate questions the Trump administration will have to answer about this intervention and what’s to follow. But for Mr. Mamdani and his Democratic Socialists, Mr. Trump’s intervention represents an existential crisis. It raises a fundamental question: Is their socialism really all that different from Mr. Maduro’s?
The Democratic Socialists’ website puts it this way: “Our vision pushes further than historic social democracy and leaves behind authoritarian visions of socialism in the dustbin of history.”
More Venezuela: The Wall Street Journal this morning has an editorial headlined “The ‘International Law’ Illusion in Venezuela.” “Rogue regimes now use it as a shield to protect their own lawbreaking,” according to the tease. From Greenland’s Icy Mountains: Top Trump aide Stephen Miller asserted yesterday that the U.S. has a right to Greenland. Honestly, what to make of this?
Ms. Must was stopped in her tracks by a New York Times headline: “Venezuela Braces for Economic Collapse from U.S. Blockade.” The economy of Venezuela collapsed long ago, under two socialist dictators, and U.S. help offers the only hope for Venezuela’s economic survival. Fixing the oil industry will be essential.
The Maduros aren’t the only—uh—leaders to whom we bid farewell today. Alex Berenson takes note of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who dropped his bid for reelection, leaving a spot that has attracted the interest of Senator Amy Klobuchar:
Walz was always an absurd figure, a wannabe war hero who dodged service in Iraq.
He was Harris’s white male equivalent, a mediocrity picked to run for national office because of his race and gender. His refusal to call out Minnesota’s National Guard quickly during the 2020 George Floyd riots encouraged widespread looting and arson.
Still, the speed of his collapse is stunning, and proof of the confluence of three powerful political and media trends.
The trends are: anger over unchecked immigration, realizations about outright waste and fraud in welfare programs, and the rise of X as an outlet for citizen journalism. I’ve noticed members of the legacy press try to get by with describing citizen journalist Nick Shirley, who scooped the heck out of them, as “an influencer!”
David Strom of Hot Air says that Klobuchar’s connections with the Somali community, the center of the massive frauds, should be scrutinized.
News Flash (and I do mean flash): Apparently, if you say you aren’t a guy, you can sexually harass women: 130 Democrats have signed an amicus brief supporting such a young man. Fox has the back story:
Two West Virginia high school students and their families have come forward with alleged details of their experience with a local transgender athlete who is a plaintiff in a lawsuit that will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court this month.
The trans athlete’s lawsuit initially sought to ensure the athlete, a biological male, could compete on middle and high school girls’ sports teams in West Virginia. The trans athlete is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and more than 130 congressional Democrats have signed an amicus brief in support of the trans athlete for the Supreme Court review.
Meanwhile, a young boy who prefers to be called “Julia” has been arrested for allegedly breaking into Vice President J.D. Vance’s Ohio residence. He is the son of wealthy Democratic donors. French First Lady Brigitte Macron, meanwhile, also doesn’t want to be called a male—but she has good reason. From today’s weirdest story:
Ten people were found guilty in France on Monday of cyberbullying first lady Brigitte Macron by posting false claims online that accused her of being transgender.
Delphine Jegousse, 51, also known as Amandine Roy, was sentenced to six months in prison, while eight other defendants were given suspended sentences of four to eight months. All were ordered to attend cyberbullying awareness training, and to pay 10,000 euros (about $11,675) in damages to Macron for their “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments.
“Repeated publications have had cumulative harmful effects,” the Paris court ruled, via The Associated Press.
The rumors were given traction, apparently, by a similarly far-fetched allegation by pundit Candace Owens.
Since we began this with January 6th, I want to acknowledge a more enduring holiday and wish you a happy Epiphany.
