Source: The Intercept
by Nick Turse
“The U.S. had attacked a sovereign nation with which it was not at war and did so without congressional authorization; kidnapped its leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and rendered them to the United States; announced plans to ‘run’ that country as a de facto colony; and threatened further attacks and military occupation unless the acting president does America’s bidding. ‘We’re in charge,’ Trump said of Venezuela on Sunday night, speaking to reporters on Air Force One. ‘We’re going to run everything.’ Reflecting on the operation, dubbed Absolute Resolve, a senior defense official called America a ‘rogue state’ and pronounced dead the liberal rules-based geopolitical order which U.S. administrations, of both parties, have championed since World War II.” (01/05/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/01/05/trump-venezuela-war/
Source: In These Times
by Kathryn Joyce
“The West Shore school board policy committee meeting came to a halt almost as soon as it began. As a board member started going over the agenda on July 17, 2025, local parent Danielle Gross rose to object to a last-minute addition she said hadn’t been on the district’s website the day before. By posting notice of the proposal so close to the meeting, charged Gross, who is also a partner at a communications and advocacy firm that works on state education policy, the board had violated Pennsylvania’s open meetings law, failing to provide the public at least 24 hours’ notice about a topic ‘this board knows is of great concern for many community members interested in the rights of our LGBTQ students.’ The committee chair, relentlessly banging her gavel, adjourned the meeting to a nonpublic ‘executive session.'” (01/06/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/anti-lgbtq-policies-taking-root-in-local-school-districts-trans-gay-right-wing
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of United States President Donald Trump is planning to meet with executives from US oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production after US forces abducted its leader, Nicolas Maduro, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing unnamed sources. The meetings are crucial to the administration’s hopes of getting top US oil companies back into the South American nation after its government, nearly two decades ago, took control of US-led energy operations there, the Reuters news agency report said on Monday. The three biggest US oil companies – Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron – have not yet had any conversations with the Trump administration about Maduro’s ouster, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter, contradicting Trump’s statements over the weekend that he had already held meetings with ‘all’ the US oil companies, both before and since Maduro was abducted.” (01/05/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/1/5/trump-administration-sets-meetings-with-oil-companies-on-venezuela-report
Source: Show-Me Institute
“ACA Subsidies, Parks Policy, and Open Enrollment in Missouri.” (01/05/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/health-care/aca-subsidies-parks-policy-and-open-enrollment-in-missouri/
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley
“Massive fraud in Minnesota, allegedly running into the billions, has caught the attention of California Rep. Kevin Kiley, who proclaims the Golden State ‘the fraud capital of America.’ First on his list is $32 billion in unemployment fraud, which took place under Harvard Law alum Julie Su, former head of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), which oversees the state Employment Development Department (EDD). On Su’s watch, the Golden State became an open door for fraudsters nationwide. … Now, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has tapped Julie Su as ‘deputy mayor for economic justice,’ a newly created position.” (01/05/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/05/minnesota-california-fraud/
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“At least 14 journalists and media employees, including 13 members of international media organisations, were [abducted] in Caracas on Monday, according to the union representing Venezuelan reporters. Thirteen of those [abducted] were later released, one of whom was deported. … Five of the [abducted] journalists had been covering the opening session of the National Assembly, where they were banned from recording, transmitting the event live, or taking photos. Others were [abducted] by military intelligence officers and taken to the National Guard command post in the Assembly building, according to the union. Their phones were confiscated and thoroughly searched, the union said, including contacts, conversations, voice notes, Instagram accounts, emails, and documents.” (01/06/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/06/venezuela-detains-journalists-after-nicolas-maduros-captured
Source: Notablog
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“Back in July 2016, when I predicted that Donald Trump would win his first campaign for the White House, I wrote skeptically about the coming ‘Trump Revolution.’ I was encouraged by only one thing: That Trump might foster a less interventionist foreign policy than, say, Hillary Clinton. He was belatedly critical of the Iraq War and when questioned by Bill O’Reilly about how Russia had interfered in U.S. elections, he replied correctly: ‘You think our country’s so innocent?’ Indeed, the United States government has been responsible for toppling more governments abroad (both covertly and overtly) than perhaps any other government in the history of the world. Unfortunately, not even in his first term did Trump live up to the ‘promise’ of a revolution in foreign policy.” (01/04/26)
https://notablog.net/2026/01/04/you-think-our-countrys-so-innocent/
Source: Reason
“What Does It Mean To ‘Run’ Venezuela?” (01/05/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/01/05/what-does-it-mean-to-run-venezuela/
Source: USA Today
“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced on Jan. 5 that its board voted to dissolve the nearly 60-year-old organization, attributing the decision to a lack of federal funding and ‘sustained political attacks.’ Such factors ‘made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended,’ according to a news release announcing the vote. … Congress voted in July to claw back $1.1 billion that had been earmarked for public broadcasting over the next two years, prompting the corporation to announce the following month that it was starting an ‘orderly wind-down of its operations.'” (01/05/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/05/corporation-public-broadcasting-dissolved/88036028007/
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders
“Mindwar creates false binaries. I don’t know who coined the phrase ‘rugged individualism,’ but surely there is something gentle in respecting the person and property of every individual. No doubt, there is a ruggedness to making one’s way in the world without government goodies and nationalized industries, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Nowadays, the phrase is almost always used sardonically. I also don’t see how communitarianism ever got associated with what government authorities ought to do, but community is not something that state officials can compel.” (01/05/26)
https://underthrow.substack.com/p/gentle-individualism-rugged-communitarianism
