Operation: Massive Distractstein

Alright, kids, let's get a couple of things straight. First of all, Happy New Year. I sincerely wish everyone well in 2026, known I believe, in the Chinese calendar as the "Year of the Colossal Clusterf**k."

Saturday, the 3rd, was the legal deadline for the Department of Justice to submit to Congress a written justification for any documents from the Epstein files that the department had redacted or withheld. I have not heard as of the 4th, that the deadline was met; in fact, I dare you to find any Epstein story today. That is not a coincidence.

While you're looking, try to find a story about former special prosecutor Jack Smith's testimony to Congress about Trump's guilt in subverting the 2022 election, the January 6th riot, and the classified documents case. It was just a couple of weeks ago. Again, we are all onto something else.

Let me also say for the record that Nicolas Maduro was and is a thug that Venezuela is well rid of. And while we are on the record, the US military is simply magnificent at this kind of thing, no matter what the motivation. I know that despite their heroics, the President almost fell asleep standing up at the press conference where he slurringly announced it, but they are simply the best anyway.

But, understand, this was never about the drug boats and such. Those boats were probably smuggling, but it was either cocaine or marijuana, and not for the US. Fentanyl is our biggest problem, and it comes from Mexico, carried mostly by Americans. And while Trump says we'll "have to do something about Mexico" the country isn't ready for something that big, and by the way, blatantly illegal. But then again, when has that ever been a problem?

If he gave a damn about drugs, he wouldn't have pardoned convicted drug dealer Juan Orlando Hernández, the former President of Honduras, and proud resident of cell block D. Well, he was until our anti-drug President let him go.

I mean, hey, birthright citizen Marco Rubio says Cuba may be next, having been a burr under his saddle since his folks emigrated in the mid-1950's even before Castro took over.

No, this is about oil and Venezuela has a lot of it. And while the only President we have says they stole oil from the US, that isn't true. I know, me too. Knock me over with a feather. Venezuela began moving toward nationalizing its oil resources in the 80's during the Reagan administration and later completed the nationalization in 2007 during Bush II.

That was under Hugo Chavez, who was the reigning heavy in our western hemispheric community theatre production of that laugh riot, "Whose Ass Do We Kick Next?"

Of course, other countries have nationalized their oil and mineral reserves, as is their right under international law. Remember international law? I know, how quaint.

Key Examples of Nationalization:

• Mexico (1938): Established Pemex as a state monopoly after expropriating foreign companies.
• Iran (1951): Nationalized its oil industry, leading to significant international disputes.
• Iraq (1961): Began nationalizing foreign oil concessions.
• Brazil (1953): Created Petrobras, a state-owned enterprise.
• Saudi Arabia (1980): Fully nationalized Aramco, creating Saudi Aramco.
• Russia: Consolidated energy assets under state control, exemplified by Rosneft.
• Venezuela: Has seen swings towards state control, with PDVSA as the national oil company, notes Real Instituto Elcano.
• Norway (1972): Established Statoil (now Equinor) with majority state ownership, controlling licensing and development.
• Kazakhstan: Formed KazMunaiGas, consolidating state energy assets. 

Now, when you nationalize, the country involved is supposed to pay compensation to private firms for their infrastructure investment. When Venezuela seized U.S. oil company assets, it offered compensation to the affected companies. Chevron agreed to strike a deal with the Venezuelan government. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips did not, so the government moved their operations and assets to state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Legal battles ensued. The ALSO, an international arbitration tribunal, awarded ExxonMobil $1.6 billion in 2014 and ConocoPhillips nearly $9 billion in 2019. Venezuela's dispute with ExxonMobil was ongoing as of 2025. An attempt by Venezuela to annul the $9 billion award to ConocoPhillips failed in January 2025 when the World Bank body upheld the 2019 decision, and the country had yet to pay.

But nowhere did anyone say the oil itself belonged to anyone but Venezuela.

Well, now it's ours. There is a long history of this going back to the Spanish-American War, and all the interventions that followed. Much of that is simply referred to as "The Banana Wars" and, yes, the United Fruit Company played a major role in determining US foreign policy. My outlaw colleague, Jim Moore, has more this week on that era of American interference in the affairs of our neighbors.

But, let me add one thing to that particular subject. I wrote about this man awhile back...

Smedley Butler was a Marine Corps officer for thirty-four years and, by the time of his death in 1940, was the most decorated Marine in American history. Butler earned two Medals of Honor in small wars, during combat in Mexico and Haiti, and also fought in the Philippines, China, Central America, and France.

He was also the man chosen by a sinister cabal of wealthy business types, including Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress and builder of, yes, Mar-a-Lago, for a huge and traitorous undertaking I wrote about awhile back.

Wealthy businessmen and financiers plotted to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt in what became known as the Business Plot or Wall Street Putsch, involving a plan to install a fascist-style government led by retired Marine General Butler, who then promptly spilled the beans and exposed the conspiracy to Congress in 1934, though many plotters denied it, and the media was skeptical. The plot, involving figures from the American Liberty League, aimed to counter FDR's New Deal policies.

If they'd done their homework, they would have known Butler wasn't the guy they wanted. First of all, he was a Marine and a patriot, and secondly, he wrote "War is a Racket" in 1935, claiming the wars he fought were at the behest of business interests stateside. Butler characterized these interventions as forays to allow the entry of oil, banking, and sugar conglomerates into foreign markets. 

Well, here we are again. And this will have a couple of predictable results.

Firstly, big oil execs are buying plane tickets as we speak to head for Caracas and lay claim to that big pool of black gold.

Secondly, there will be a Trump cut in the proceeds by some mechanism.

Thirdly, Congress, populated by gelatinous invertebrates, will make the UN look like a bunch of rugged, sinewy stalwarts as they quietly cede all power to He Who Must Be Obeyed.

Fourthly, yeah, the UN will bluster and write a stern letter to the Times in response.

Fifthly, Putin and Xi are slapping their foreheads in disbelief as the roads to conquest in Ukraine and Taiwan are now cleared of any pesky American moral arguments.

And, sixthly, Epstein who?

Stop asking. Look over here at, uh, yeah, Greenland.