Wag the Dog in Venezuela

Source: CounterPunch
by Mel Gurtov

“Analysis of why countries go to war sometimes argues that leaders are motivated by problems at home. They attack another country to divert attention from an economic crisis, an unlawful act, or — as in the Robert De Niro movie, Wag the Dog — a sex scandal. … as Pres. Trump considers what to do with his Caribbean armada and Venezuela’s ‘narco-terrorist’ leader, Nicolas Maduro, we may be witness to another wag-the-dog event: US military pressure on Venezuela that could lead to a direct attack if Maduro doesn’t step down. The case for Trump to be highly motivated to act out of self-interest is strong.” (11/21/25)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/21/wag-the-dog-in-venezuela/

Of Speeches and Statecraft

Source: The Realist Review
by James W Carden

“The speeches of John Fitzgerald Kennedy comprise a core component of the Kennedy lore. His inaugural address, with its demand to ‘ask not,’ is perhaps the best known of any presidential inaugural address—ranking alongside Lincoln’s second and FDR’s first. And while the artistry of Kennedy’s inaugural is not in question, the speech has overshadowed more thoughtful efforts by the 35th President to lay out his vision for a more peaceful world. Only eight months into his presidency, Kennedy showed that he was breaking with the Cold War consensus of the prior 15 years. That autumn, in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Kennedy unveiled his program for a ‘general and complete disarmament.'” (11/22/25)

https://therealistreview.substack.com/p/of-speeches-and-statecraft

Losing access — and losing hope. Congress must protect non-intoxicating hemp

Source: The Hill
by Nicole Hemmenway

“I am one of the millions of Americans who live with chronic pain — it burns, shoots, and sears through my body every single day. I have spent decades trying nearly every treatment modern medicine offers, but one of the few options that has worked for me — and millions of other Americans — has been hemp products. They are non-intoxicating, rigorously tested, and they enable me to function. They help me walk, sleep, show up for my family and lead an organization. Simply live. But now, because of a secretive, backroom deal, Congress is taking them away for no apparent reason. … The bill to reopen the government caps intoxicating THC content in any hemp product at 0.4 milligrams per container — an arbitrary limit that will most likely end the hemp industry. This provision won’t just eliminate hemp products — it will eliminate hope for millions.” (11/22/25)

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5617536-chronic-pain-hemp-congress/

Ukraine “peace plan” distracts from the real issue: Why Russia’s desperate to keep fighting

Source: New York Post
by Andrew Chakhoyan

“Say what you will about President Trump’s methods, but his wish to end Russia’s war is genuine. The problem is Moscow doesn’t want peace in Ukraine, it wants Ukraine in pieces. A panicking Vladimir Putin dispatched Kirill Dmitriev with a ‘peace plan’ so absurd it would shame a mid-level propagandist. Every time the White House offers an olive branch, the Kremlin torches it and commits more heinous war crimes. Washington floated a leaders’ summit in October, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wiped his shoes with it, demanding Ukraine stop resisting and the West ignore kidnapped kids and beheaded prisoners. Well, Trump pulled the plug on Budapest, signaling he might punish the Kremlin, and a panicking Vladimir Putin dispatched Kirill Dmitriev with a ‘peace plan’ so absurd it would shame a mid-level propagandist.” (11/22/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/opinion/the-ukraine-peace-plan-distracts-from-the-real-issue-why-russias-desperate-to-keep-fighting/

Lindsey Graham’s Metadata Meltdown

Source: International Guild of Professional Anarchists
by Alexander Snitker

“In the never-ending slapstick of the American empire, few characters commit harder to the bit than Senator Lindsey Graham. For decades, the South Carolina warhawk has sold you the surveillance state like it was freedom’s best friend, a little ‘necessary sacrifice’ so Daddy Government can keep you safe. Now that the same machinery has scraped his phone records, he’s shrieking about tyranny, separation of powers, and Watergate-level scandal, clutching the Constitution like a prop he just found backstage. What changed? Nothing about the system. Only the target.” (11/21/25)

https://alexandersnitker.substack.com/p/lindsey-grahams-metadata-meltdown

Enemy Within: The Greatest Danger to Liberty

Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin

‘Tyranny can now enter our country.’ Benjamin Rush dropped that warning in 1778 at the height of the War for Independence. But he wasn’t talking about Redcoats. Recognizing the nature of power and humanity, he was giving us a timeless warning about ‘ourselves’ and our own ‘great men.’ The Founders knew the score. History is littered with power-hungry rulers who use deception. They stage false flags. They manufacture crises or exploit real ones. The worst of them pretend to love liberty just to destroy it. In the end, it all leads to tyranny, and the greatest threat is from within.” (11/21/25)

https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2025/11/21/enemy-within-the-greatest-danger-to-liberty/

Eugene V. Debs, Defender of American Liberty

Source: Common Dreams
by Jeffrey C Isaac

“On November 22, 1895, Eugene V. Debs was released from Woodstock Jail, where he had been imprisoned for six months for his leadership of the 1894 Pullman strike. Later that day, before a large crowd of supporters at Battery D in Chicago, he spoke on the topic of ‘Liberty’. Debs was a great orator, and ‘Liberty’ is a brilliant speech, powerfully evoking both ‘the spirit of liberty’ as heralded by the Declaration of Independence, and the promise of a freedom yet to be redeemed by American workers in thrall to plutocratic government. As Nick Salvatore noted in his classic biography, Eugene V. Debs, Citizen and Socialist, this speech marked an important moment in the evolution of Debs from a radically republican labor activist to the country’s leading socialist.” (11/22/25)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/eugene-v-debs-speech-on-liberty

The US National-Security State’s Assassination of JFK

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“Tomorrow, November 22, marks the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. national-security establishment’s assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Yes, I know, there are still Americans who buy into the official ‘conspiracy-theory’ line and the official lone-nut theory of the assassination, but I most definitely am not one of them. For me, there is no doubt whatsoever that this was a regime-change operation based on protecting ‘national security’ from a president whose policies, they were convinced, posed a grave threat to ‘national security.'” (11/21/25)

https://www.fff.org/2025/11/21/the-u-s-national-security-states-assassination-of-jfk/

John Oliver Is Right About Felony Murder

Source: Independent Institute
by Sam Jenson

“Felony murder ‘allows anyone who is accused of committing a violent felony to be charged with murder if the commission of that felony results in the death of someone.’ Under felony murder, prosecutors do not have to prove that a defendant had the intent to kill or was materially involved in the killing. Originally derived from English common law, the United States is the only country that still employs the felony murder rule, despite the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries having prohibited it in the mid-20th century. This outdated form of punishment disproportionately impacts young people and minorities, fails to enhance public safety, and does not align with reasonable principles of justice. The felony murder rule has been misapplied for too long and it is time for this practice to end.” (11/21/25)

https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/21/john-oliver-right-about-felony-murder/