United States Becomes United Fruit

In the early 1900's, the United Fruit Company installed a president in Honduras, and the phrase Banana Republic came into fruition. We now have a president in the United States who is telling the Western Hemisphere what the new rules are.

Apparently, all natural resources are ours for the taking. Considering Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax, those indigenous people in the Amazon better move out of the way. The new White House ballroom wants a mahogany ceiling.

My pro Trump readers at Molovinsky On Allentown are in an uproar. They tell me that my sources are leftist propaganda, while they have a direct line to the truth. Their Trump is the best thing that has happened to America since baseball and hot dogs.

General Trump

From the photos released from the Situation Room at Mar-a- Lago, you would have thought that Trump was directing the invasion of Normandy in 1944. At any rate, he's quite taken with his new chops as Commander-In-Chief.

Less than a day later, he's talking that we need Greenland, and Cuba was told that they're next. He is braying about a Don-roe Doctrine. Here's a man who already had four star delusions of grandeur, being toasted by his appointed and anointed sycophants.

Although we will certainly profit from pilfering Venezuela's oil, his aggression will not play well on the world stage. Although we may have the most powerful military in the world, our long term economy is dependent on international stability. 

the SOON meme shown above was posted by the wife of Trump Homeland Security advisor Stephen Miller.

A Congressional Test

Trump just came off a big weekend with the Venezuela snatching of Maduro. MAGA and the Republican hierarchy are basking in a perceived accomplishment. While momentous for the American oil industry, time will weight the real results for everyone else, including the Venezuelans.

Meanwhile, last week Trump had vetoed a Colorado clean water bill for political reasons. Trump claimed people are leaving Colorado anyway, because one politician is bad and another is scum. Only in Trump's mind is that relevant to a veto. The bill had passed both houses of Congress unanimously.

When the Venezuelan chest beating subsides, and the slur against congressional leaks is considered along with the Colorado veto, we'll see what Congress is made of. If there was ever a veto which demanded an override, it is the Colorado Clean Water Act. With Republican incumbents facing the midterms, and the veto so egregious, I think that the Republicans will have to finally assert themselves.

Colorado National Monument Park

Trading Bananas For Oil

A century ago we managed Central and South America for bananas and rubber. Trump has now decided that he and the oil industry can have Venezuela. For months we heard pretenses about drugs, but at Saturday's press conference Trump wasn't hiding his cards, we're there for the oil.

When Trump and Hegseth bragged on about the military operation, you might have thought that they had extracted Putin from the Kremlin. Caracas isn't Moscow or Peking, but China has invested in Venezuelan oil production, over a $billion. While Hegseth and Rubio fell over each other praising their boss, they would be better serving their country gauging world reaction, which doesn't share their pride.

We also heard that Congress couldn't be trusted to be in the loop, they leak too much. If congress has been passive about Trump's unilateral decisions, now is the time to speak out. Perhaps Fetterman is correct wearing sweatshirts, at least you can't call him an empty suit.

In 1912 we were satisfied with bananas

An Identity Crisis In 2026

Yesterday, I claimed that I was going to become more fashionable, but little did I know that I was only a few hours away from an identity crisis. 

Long time readers of this blog have been recently accusing me of TDS. Seems like my questioning of Trump, and especially his cabinet picks, didn't resonate well with them. I always labeled myself as an independent, so this new criticism of me was almost complimentary. In addition to the blog, I'm also an administrator of a Facebook group. A member there accused me of pushing my rightwing politics when I posted a link to the Amanda Seyfried post. He said my explanation that she was an Allentonian was a BS excuse, and he left the group. So by noon, I was a liberal here, and a Trumper there...But, it got more confusing. I commented on a national site, and a reader stated that I was a Democratic Socialist, using a fake Russian sounding name for emphasis. Who am I?

Meanwhile, back here in the blogosphere, I was again changing the name of my other blog back to its original title. I'm always annoyed by the verification process all the offices use now. I get an email that I have a message from LVHN. I go to their site, and I have to get another email with a verification number to read the message. The message is wishing me a calm year...We'll see.

A Progressive Fashion

New York new Mayor Mamdani is taking the oath of office in an abandoned Manhattan subway station. New Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel is taking his at a public housing development. 

My New Year's resolution is to be more fashionable. For progressives like Mamdani and Siegel, there's always a new cause. This year it is affordable housing. I remember before I first started blogging, some Allentown non-profit did a building on 10th Street. Until they were done, it cost about $500k a unit, and that was thirty years ago! I was thinking at the time that for the same cost, they could have bought all those people a condo in a resort. Reilly's new affordable apartments construction at the old Morning Call site is framed out of wood, why not use cardboard?

Anywho, I will be more fashionable for 2026. New clothing and a new hair style is on the way. If you see an old man who looks like me, he just got my old clothing.