Trump Elected: The True MAGA Era Begins, Now What?

[rognaill]

it seems rather unrealistic for it to be stopped by a mere administration taking them on - and who exactly is it they would taking on (in a fair fight they might inflict a couple of dents, maybe)?

I think that enough of the connective tissues have been mapped that there will present an opportunity to disconnect the global pods of evil from each other. This in turn would seem to be a time to maintain that disconnection by grace, so that it is still within free-will that humans chose to wake up or remain distracted.

yet it would probably take a great comet to finish them off

Not so sure that would remove the reverse polarity of the nature of our human interactions. Ying/yang, self balancing but on one hemisphere you have more mass where on the other hemisphere you have less mass. The other part of that sphere is not a vacuum but that reverse polarity filling the voids with it's mass. Seems like architecturally that is how this planet is wired.

precursors

Precursors = ingredients

the narrative "deadly chemicals killing Americans" when the truth is that they are killing themselves.

With?

 

[mabar]

With?

Opiods, statins, vaccines, to name a few. Brought you by the legal pharm mafia.

 

[SOTTREADER]

Opiods, statins, vaccines, to name a few. Brought you by the legal pharm mafia.

You forgot too many McDonalds

 

[Joe]

The actual problem people see is that this was made into a military operation at all, setting a dangerous precedent. Plus, the stated goal of fighting Venezuelan drug cartels is most likely a lie - the real reason seems to be the US wish to control Venezuela's oil.

Pretty much. Trump's attack on the "drug boat" was, IMO, a show of force that has little to do with drugs and everything to do with trying to cow Venezuela (and by implication other LA countries) into staying aligned (or realigning) with the US.

The US sees Venezuela as its "back yard" in much the same way Russia sees Ukraine as its back yard. Ukraine convinced Trump that the US is no longer able to wage and sustain foreign interventions thousands of miles from home.

Back in 2016, Trump decided on a policy of "strategic isolationism". He just didn't really know how to go about it at the time.

Eight years later, he has settled on a plan and is attempting to put it into action, partly based on his own vision of how to "MAGA" and partly due to his new-found understanding of the reality of peer competitors (Russia, China, India) able to stand their ground against US threats.

In this context, for Trump's strategic isolationism to have any chance of forestalling a drastic collapse of American global power, he must focus on America's 'near abroad': countries that the US has at least a reasonable chance of bringing to heel (by various means available to them) due to their geographic proximity.

 

[Puma]

the narrative "deadly chemicals killing Americans" when the truth is that they are killing themselves.
With?

Here is Grok's summary of Americans' favorite poisons.

Regional Summaries of Use by State

Estimates are for ages 12+ unless specified. High-use states often overlap with legalization (marijuana) or economic stressors (opioids/stimulants). Overdose notes indicate harm levels.

Northeast

Lower overall illicit drug use (avg. 20-22%) but higher alcohol/tobacco. Marijuana use 18-22%; opioid misuse 2-4%. SUD rates 10-12%.

Connecticut: Marijuana 20.5% (CI: 18.2-23.0); cocaine 2.1%; meth 0.7%; opioid misuse 3.2%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.5%. Overdose rate: 33.4/100,000 (opioids dominant).
Maine: Marijuana 22.1%; cocaine 2.5%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 4.1%; illicit SUD 3.8%; alcohol SUD 6.2%. High overdose (35.2; fentanyl up).
Massachusetts: Marijuana 21.3%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 0.8%; opioid misuse 3.0%; illicit SUD 3.1%; alcohol SUD 5.4%. Overdose: 30.1 (stimulants rising).
New Hampshire: Marijuana 20.8%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 0.9%; opioid misuse 3.8%; illicit SUD 3.5%; alcohol SUD 6.0%. Overdose: 28.7 (opioids 75%).
New Jersey: Marijuana 19.7%; cocaine 1.9%; meth 0.6%; opioid misuse 2.8%; illicit SUD 2.9%; alcohol SUD 5.2%. Lowest regional overdose (22.5).
New York: Marijuana 20.4%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 0.8%; opioid misuse 3.5%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.7%. Overdose: 29.8 (cocaine/opioids polysubstance).
Pennsylvania: Marijuana 21.0%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 4.0%; illicit SUD 3.6%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. High overdose (42.5; Appalachia influence).
Rhode Island: Marijuana 21.5%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 0.7%; opioid misuse 3.4%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.6%. Overdose: 32.1.
Vermont: Marijuana 22.3%; cocaine 2.6%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 4.2%; illicit SUD 3.9%; alcohol SUD 6.1%. Overdose: 34.8 (fentanyl high).

Midwest

Moderate marijuana (18-23%); higher meth in rural areas. Opioid misuse 3-5%; SUD 11-13%.
Illinois: Marijuana 20.2%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 0.8%; opioid misuse 3.1%; illicit SUD 3.0%; alcohol SUD 5.3%. Overdose: 28.4.

Indiana: Marijuana 19.8%; cocaine 1.9%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 3.9%; illicit SUD 3.4%; alcohol SUD 5.8%. Overdose: 32.7 (decline from 2022).
Iowa: Marijuana 18.5%; cocaine 1.7%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 3.5%; illicit SUD 3.1%; alcohol SUD 5.7%. Low overdose (15.2).
Kansas: Marijuana 19.0%; cocaine 1.8%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 3.6%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. Overdose: 18.9 (significant drop).
Michigan: Marijuana 21.2%; cocaine 2.1%; meth 0.9%; opioid misuse 3.7%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.6%. Overdose: 31.5.
Minnesota: Marijuana 20.1%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 3.2%; illicit SUD 3.1%; alcohol SUD 5.4%. Overdose: 22.3.
Missouri: Marijuana 20.6%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 1.3%; opioid misuse 4.0%; illicit SUD 3.5%; alcohol SUD 6.0%. Overdose: 35.6.
Nebraska: Marijuana 18.2%; cocaine 1.6%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 3.0%; illicit SUD 2.8%; alcohol SUD 5.2%. Lowest overdose (9.0).
North Dakota: Marijuana 19.5%; cocaine 1.9%; meth 1.4%; opioid misuse 3.4%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.8%. Overdose: 16.7.
Ohio: Marijuana 20.9%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 4.5%; illicit SUD 3.9%; alcohol SUD 6.3%. High overdose (38.4; opioids 80%).
South Dakota: Marijuana 18.8%; cocaine 1.8%; meth 1.5%; opioid misuse 3.3%; illicit SUD 3.0%; alcohol SUD 5.5%. Overdose: 11.2 (low but meth rising).
Wisconsin: Marijuana 20.3%; cocaine 2.1%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 3.6%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.7%. Overdose: 28.2.

South

Higher opioid misuse (3-6%) and SUD (12-15%); marijuana 19-24%. Alcohol SUD elevated in some.

Alabama: Marijuana 20.7%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 4.2%; illicit SUD 3.7%; alcohol SUD 6.1%. Overdose: 36.8 (increase).
Arkansas: Marijuana 21.4%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 1.3%; opioid misuse 4.5%; illicit SUD 3.9%; alcohol SUD 6.4%. Overdose: 37.2.
Delaware: Marijuana 21.0%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 0.9%; opioid misuse 3.8%; illicit SUD 3.4%; alcohol SUD 5.8%. Overdose: 40.1.
Florida: Marijuana 20.5%; cocaine 2.5%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 3.9%; illicit SUD 3.5%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. Overdose: 32.9 (decline).
Georgia: Marijuana 21.1%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 0.8%; opioid misuse 3.4%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.6%. Overdose: 30.5.
Kentucky: Marijuana 20.8%; cocaine 2.1%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 5.1%; illicit SUD 4.2%; alcohol SUD 6.5%. Very high overdose (50.2; opioids dominant).
Louisiana: Marijuana 22.0%; cocaine 2.6%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 4.3%; illicit SUD 3.8%; alcohol SUD 6.2%. Overdose: 42.7 (fentanyl high).
Maryland: Marijuana 21.6%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 0.7%; opioid misuse 3.7%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.7%. Overdose: 39.3.
Mississippi: Marijuana 19.9%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 4.0%; illicit SUD 3.5%; alcohol SUD 6.0%. Overdose: 33.5.
North Carolina: Marijuana 21.2%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 4.1%; illicit SUD 3.6%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. Overdose: 34.8 (sharp decline).
Oklahoma: Marijuana 20.4%; cocaine 2.1%; meth 1.4%; opioid misuse 4.6%; illicit SUD 4.0%; alcohol SUD 6.3%. Overdose: 36.2.
South Carolina: Marijuana 21.3%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 1.0%; opioid misuse 4.2%; illicit SUD 3.7%; alcohol SUD 6.1%. Overdose: 38.9.
Tennessee: Marijuana 20.9%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 4.8%; illicit SUD 4.1%; alcohol SUD 6.4%. High overdose (46.5).
Texas: Marijuana 19.6%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 3.3%; illicit SUD 3.0%; alcohol SUD 5.4%. Overdose: 25.6.
Virginia: Marijuana 20.7%; cocaine 2.1%; meth 0.9%; opioid misuse 3.6%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.5%. Overdose: 30.2.
West Virginia: Marijuana 21.5%; cocaine 2.5%; meth 1.3%; opioid misuse 5.5%; illicit SUD 4.5%; alcohol SUD 6.7%. Highest overdose (81.9; opioids 85%).

West

Highest marijuana (22-26% due to legalization); meth 1-2%; opioid misuse 3-5%. SUD 12-14%.
Alaska: Marijuana 23.1%; cocaine 2.7%; meth 1.6%; opioid misuse 4.0%; illicit SUD 3.8%; alcohol SUD 6.2%. Overdose: 28.5 (increase).
Arizona: Marijuana 22.4%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 1.5%; opioid misuse 3.8%; illicit SUD 3.5%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. Overdose: 35.1.
California: Marijuana 24.2%; cocaine 2.6%; meth 1.4%; opioid misuse 3.5%; illicit SUD 3.4%; alcohol SUD 5.8%. Overdose: 29.8 (stimulants high).
Colorado: Marijuana 25.1%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 1.2%; opioid misuse 3.2%; illicit SUD 3.2%; alcohol SUD 5.6%. Overdose: 27.4.
Hawaii: Marijuana 22.8%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 1.1%; opioid misuse 3.0%; illicit SUD 2.9%; alcohol SUD 5.3%. Overdose: 20.5 (lowest West).
Idaho: Marijuana 20.1%; cocaine 1.9%; meth 1.5%; opioid misuse 3.7%; illicit SUD 3.3%; alcohol SUD 5.7%. Overdose: 22.1.
Montana: Marijuana 22.6%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 1.7%; opioid misuse 4.1%; illicit SUD 3.7%; alcohol SUD 6.0%. Overdose: 25.3.
Nevada: Marijuana 23.5%; cocaine 2.5%; meth 1.6%; opioid misuse 4.2%; illicit SUD 3.9%; alcohol SUD 6.1%. Overdose: 40.5 (increase).
New Mexico: Marijuana 23.0%; cocaine 2.3%; meth 1.4%; opioid misuse 4.5%; illicit SUD 4.0%; alcohol SUD 6.3%. Overdose: 48.7 (fentanyl surge).
Oregon: Marijuana 24.8%; cocaine 2.4%; meth 1.8%; opioid misuse 4.0%; illicit SUD 3.8%; alcohol SUD 6.0%. Overdose: 39.2 (increase; meth high).
Utah: Marijuana 19.8%; cocaine 1.8%; meth 1.3%; opioid misuse 3.4%; illicit SUD 3.1%; alcohol SUD 5.5%. Overdose: 25.6.
Washington: Marijuana 23.7%; cocaine 2.2%; meth 1.5%; opioid misuse 3.9%; illicit SUD 3.6%; alcohol SUD 5.8%. Overdose: 32.4 (increase).
Wyoming: Marijuana 21.0%; cocaine 2.0%; meth 1.6%; opioid misuse 3.8%; illicit SUD 3.4%; alcohol SUD 5.9%. Overdose: 22.8.

Trends and Insights

Marijuana: Highest in legalized states (e.g., Colorado 25.1%, Oregon 24.8%); lowest in South/Midwest (e.g., South Dakota 18.8%). Past-month use among youth (12-17) is 10-15% higher in West.
Opioids/Stimulants: Misuse highest in Appalachia/South (e.g., West Virginia 5.5%, Kentucky 5.1%); correlates with overdoses (e.g., WV's 81.9 rate, 85% opioid-involved). Meth use elevated in West/Midwest (1.5-1.8%).
Alcohol/Tobacco: More uniform, but SUD higher in rural states (e.g., West Virginia 6.7%). Youth binge drinking (12-20) 20-25% in Northeast/South.
Disparities: Rates 2-3x higher for males; peak SUD at ages 18-25. Racial/ethnic variations: Higher illicit SUD among multiracial (5-7%) vs. Asian (1-2%).

Treatment: Nationally, 23.6% needing SUD treatment received it; lower in high-use states (e.g., 18-20% in South). Overdose declines in 2023 tied to naloxone access and fentanyl supply shifts.

TOP 10 cities in the US with the highest drug consumption (mapping of an addicted country)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1963607843598184529

 

[Beau]

In this context, for Trump's strategic isolationism to have any chance of forestalling a drastic collapse of American global power, he must focus on America's 'near abroad': countries that the US has at least a reasonable chance of bringing to heel (by various means available to them) due to their geographic proximity.

And if Vance is indeed going to be the next prez in 2028, we can expect more of the same.

 

[Ben]

Ben your sentence reminds me Ilhan Omar's sentence when she was talking about 9/11 ie: "...some people did something..."

It reminds you of it. Are you also suggesting that my meaning was similar? Because obviously it's not. We don't know the details. There is one connection though, 9/11 was a pack of lies pretext for military action and so are 'Venezuelan drug cartels'.

This was a military operation and rarely does any military (any military globally) disclose how they obtain tactical information when conducting military operations. That is the inherent posture of military planning as one strike does not win anything long term but typically an iterative step to a larger plan.

A military operation against civilians. Near a different country, one in which regime change has been an objective spanning multiple US administrations.

I wonder if the sentiment/reaction would be the same if the narrative shifted and instead of a boat full of "drugs" was instead "cluster bombs". Which both result in the same outcome, random loss of life.

It would be different. Cluster bombs and drugs are different. Especially when the use of military force is concerned.

 

[mabar]

I suppose they also believe they won the war in Vietnam, very much in line with what Vance says in the post above. Have they seen the film, or did they just get the idea of victory? What a dense film, showing the worst that the US armed forces can be, and seems they are proud of it.

 

[JEEP]

Not a fan of the Trump/Vance, Dept. of War, Might makes Right policy punctuated with profanity. Undignified and well below the level of stature one would expect of our top Executive branch office holders. But then, if you're going to engage in lawlessness, particularly while also continually ranting about all the lawlessness of the previous administrations, spouting profanity fits the bill.

Just like Yemen being the only country to take a stand against Israel's genocide of the Palestinians, Rand Paul is the lone Senator to criticize the Venezuela boat attack:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1963382824880259393

The above appeared in an article on ZeroHedge with this interesting tidbit in the last paragraph:

Other Venezuelan officials have downplayed the US strike on the boat, claiming that the video Trump released purporting to show the bombing may have been a fake, AI-made video.

A fake AI-made video? Have to say, the thought never occurred to me. Is there any actual proof other than the vid that the boat was blown to smithereens?

This remark by Maduro caught my attention: “We defend our seas, our skies, and our land." Has a familiar ring to it . . .

EDIT: Just to add, it's my understanding the source ingredients for fentanyl are coming from China. Are we going to bomb their boats now?

 

[JEEP]

The above appeared in an article on ZeroHedge

From the comments:

Judge Napolitano having an interview with former CIA guys. They think this is a scam created by Trump.

 

[rognaill]

It reminds you of it. Are you also suggesting that my meaning was similar? Because obviously it's not.

No sorry I was just making an observation of the similar structure, absolutely not the meaning. Apologies for that.

 

[luc]

What's worse is that many Americans believe the narrative "deadly chemicals killing Americans" when the truth is that they are killing themselves. They are consumers, they are the market, they are the demand. It's a principle of capitalism: producers would not manufacture "deadly chemicals" if there were no consumers willing to buy them.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in Mexico and is associated with frequent consumption of soft drinks. According to data from the Mexican Institute for Economic Competitiveness (IMCO), Coca-Cola accounts for 64.8% of total sales in the country's soft drink market. (Mexico is the second largest consumer of Coca-Cola in the world with 19.5 billion liters, and annual sales revenue represents about $14.53 billion)

Who is forcing Mexicans to drink Coca-Cola or another soft drink?

Imagine that one day the Mexican government declares that Coca-Cola is killing Mexicans and decides to ban its sale in Mexico. Undoubtedly, the US Chamber of Commerce or trade authority would protest, citing international laws and trade agreements or tariff increase in the best-case scenario, but it wouldn't be long before US demanded regime change.​

I can understand your dislike for the US bully, but surely this is a big stretch. Nothing wrong with trying to keep hard drugs out of your country. (Whether that's what's actually happening is a separate issue.)

 

[axj]

Nothing wrong with trying to keep hard drugs out of your country.

Well, for one thing it doesn't seem to work at all. Wouldn't the opposite approach of legalizing hard drugs and basically leaving it up to the self-responsibility of each citizen be a better approach? It could also put the cartels out of business (and probably reduce the CIA black budgets considerably).

 

[luc]

And if Vance is indeed going to be the next prez in 2028, we can expect more of the same.

View attachment 111738

This is very interesting and I see this sort of talk as another sign of the times that the "postwar liberal order" is coming to an end. By this I mean the liberal concepts of "human rights", "war crimes", "international courts", "illegal to annex territory" etc. that were established after WWII with the idea to "stop all wars" and so on. As we know, this always was a sham, and basically just a US power play that gave them carte blanche to use these things as a cudgel to dominate and destroy other countries, while preventing them to do anything of the sort themselves. As we know, all these "noble" concepts have done nothing to stop wars and cruelty, except insofar as the US made sure only those wars were waged that are in their interests. The renaming of the Western "departments of war" into the Orwellian "departments of Defense" is another such move away from the postwar order - interesting that the US just reverted back to "department of War".

It was always inevitable that things would eventually go back to the "natural state" without that veneer of toothless and hypocritical legalism, aka the "rules-based international order". If you think about it, yes we all used the language of human rights etc. to express our indignation about various things, but this language is abstract and almost cute when talking about some of the atrocities taking place; we can express our morality more directly, not to mention in terms of psychopathy and spirituality.

Now what this all means remains to be seen, the disappearance of this pseudo-moralistic veneer and the associated pax Americana can certainly unleash a lot of chaos, raw power plays and pre-WWII rhetoric that people aren't used to anymore. Interesting times to be sure.

 

[SOTTREADER]

Some thoughts on the drug trade and blaming other countries:

• The demand for illicit drugs needs to be appropriately addressed
• A huge portion of the demand is not driven by people who are entirely addicted to drugs to the point they become homeless, but rather, people with economic purchasing power who use drugs recreationally. For example, I'm pretty sure cocaine use in Wall Street is rampant, and the demand for party drugs increases exponentially during "music festival" season. Rock n roll anyone? (Drugs and music/entertainment industry are heavily intertwined - Heath ledger anyone?)
• The CIA as far as I know, is heavily involved in all these nonsense, and the proceeds from the drug business is used to fund black projects

So the framing of the actions by Trump like "nothing wrong with trying to keep hard drugs out of your country" I think doesn't bring into the equation the other key factors such as "demand" and the involvement of other actors within the US government who are primary actors in this area for their own agendas (which Trump may not even be aware of).

I think it's complicated - I'm not sure how it gets resolved. All I know is bombing the cartels in Mexico, Columbia or wherever won't stop drugs flowing into the US when there's billions upon billions of dollars worth of consumer demand within the US. I mean, the whole operation is global, we got actors even in Europe like the Italian mafia that are heavily involved in this whole thing.