Alan Zweibel

Because China doesn't it, we shouldn't too? You've just outed yourself as a Socialist, comrade. For shame.

As long as there's huge amounts of money to be made there is no stopping it. Crack addicts and such still have to find the cash to pay for the drugs. There will be a lot less crime if it takes a lot less cash to support an addiction. The problem now is that if just one locale decriminalizes drugs, then that attracts addict from elsewhere. And while you cite the harms caused by decriminalization, they are as nothing compared to what the drug trade has done to entire nations. And your solution? Armed invasion. Magical thinking much?

No. He didn't refuse to submit to questioning. He refused to answer questions. Whether that was some or all, we don't know given that apparently they are being kept confidential. Until we know what those questions were, it's foolish to pass judgement. Especially given Jim Jordan's sorry record.

We may all be members of the human race and some of us members of the middle class. But that's different from being members of something named that's not really a thing but is being pushed by the adminstration as though it was? Like ending Saddam's reign? I remember how the exiles from Iraq promised a new era of a liberalized Iraq. How did that turn out? Of course Machado is going to tell the US what it wants to hear. She may even believe it. But what is to stop the drug cartels from continuing to use Venezuela from continuing with trans-shipment of cocaine? They got lots of money.

I guess we could try to create a police state, Orwe just decriminalize them and devote the money saved to helping people. Oddly enough, it seems that GLP-1 pharmaceuticals, the peptide weight loss drugs, also dampen the cravings for drugs and alcohol. So there's that.

It doesn't have an organizational structure but it has members? How does that work? Is that like antifa, another something that doesn't have an organizational structure but has members? And what is the solution to putting an end to this corruption? Does Trump plan to occupy the country? Accordiing to counterinsurgeny experts what is needed to occupy a defeated country is 1 soldier to every 40 residents.. That would come to about 750,000 soldiers. To be fair, some say only 1 to 50. So a mere 600,000.

And if Venezuela is, in fact, a narco state, what's going to stop it from remaining a narco state? How many boots on the ground is the Trump administration going to keep there? How long will it take to "purge the country of criminals" Do you believe that despite all the cash that cartels can shower on government officials, the alleged huge drug trade in Venezuela will be seriously subdued ? How does that happen?

When Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, unveiled the company’s Superintelligence Lab in June, he named 11 artificial intelligence researchers who were joining his ambitious effort to build a machine more powerful than the human brain. All 11 were immigrants educated in other countries. Seven were born in China, according to a memo viewed by The New York Times. Although many American executives, government officials and pundits have spent months painting China as the enemy of America’s rapid push into A.I., much of the groundbreaking research emerging from the United States is driven by Chinese talent. https://archive.ph/lsESd And not just in AI.In the sciences in general, Immigrants way outperform native born Americans. Without them, where would America's lead in innovation be? Good thing the immigration service is doing to foreigners what DEI did to certain minorities.

How many Democrats sent Epstein a birthday card of a frontal sketch of a nude woman with these words: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret." https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796

So just basic decency and politeness have now been reclassified as "political correctness"?

And given that the USA has higher GDP per capita than all these other nations, that only makes it worse.

So, you think campaign contribution are some kind of sexual abuse? Either you have some very strange notions about sex or you are badly confused.

Even if your criticism is valid, the administration abruptly cut funding. So that made a transition impossible.

"Online influencer Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist who has millions of young male followers, was facing allegations of sex trafficking women in three countries when he and his brother left their home in Romania to visit the United States. “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back,” Tate posted on X before the trip in February — one of many times he has sung the president’s praises to his fans. But when the Tate brothers arrived by private plane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they immediately found themselves in the crosshairs of law enforcement once more, as Customs and Border Protection officials seized their electronic devices." https://www.propublica.org/article/andrew-tate-investigation-dhs-paul-ingrassia Trump Official With a ‘Nazi Streak’ Intervened to Help Andrew Tate: Report Ingrassia’s past incendiary commentary includes supporting Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, urging Trump to “declare martial law” after losing the 2020 election in order to illegally stay in power, and pushing an unsupported birther attack claiming Nikki Haley was constitutionally ineligible to be president — as well as vociferously defending the Tates, both in his public commentary and by acting as their attorney. Trump initially appointed Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel, but Ingrassia withdrew after his past racist text messages were leaked, including one where he described himself as having a “Nazi streak.” Less than a month later, however, the president kept Ingrassia in his role as DHS special liaison and expanded his role to deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration. https://www.mediaite.com/crime/trump-official-with-a-nazi-streak-intervened-to-help-andrew-tate-report/ Maybe the idea behind this was 2 negatives = 1 positive?

Well, that makes it OK, then?

The difference is I offer reasons before rendering a verdict. You just skip the first part. And that's because you've got nothing.

If that's the case, then why aren't they saying so? Maybe because it doesn't jibe with America First?

Dud.

I thought your comments couldn't get any sadder or emptier. I was wrong.

Grenada and Panama are small. The US has a long established presence in Panama. And who authorized you to speak for members of the Marine Corp? You think that they or the Army troops who might replace them want to be an army of occupation? Maybe they're mostly people who supported Trump on the strength of America First? The rest of your comments sounds like wishful thinking.

"People who know what they are talking about dont need others to think for them. But that matters not to you, propaganda spewer." Even people who know what they are talking about don't just make empty assertions and expect others to believe them. Especially when they have no way of proving it. "Why would anyone care to even discuss the matter with you? Boom, there goes another" My comment about not caring whether or not you have participated in a drug investigation had a point: no way of knowing whether or not it's true and even if it is true, so what? I'll go with certified expertise. Your reply was just a stupid insult. As for "Boom". Awarding yourself points is just sad. Dont need to make up stories, if we want it, we will just take it. Like all the countries we colonize and rule with a murderous violent fist, right? Last time I heard that kind of talk, the target was Iraq. How'd that work out?

For the sake of argument let's say that Venezuela is the major shipper of cocaine to Europe. Why should America be using its military assets to be defending Europe from this scourge? Since it's a European problem, let them deal with it. And if they don't want to, let them suffer the consequences.

Which is why I cited experts. And I have no idea whether or not you've ever particiipated in a drug investigation. And I don't care. What I do know is that you've offered nothing in the way of evidence.

Those are charges. Not convictions. And it's instructive to see how the word terrorism has changed its meaning to accommodate drug trafficking. No doubt that the people running Venezuela are really bad people. And no doubt some cocaine is shipped from Venezuela. But what has that got to do with the inordinate attention focused on Venezuela? Obviously the cocaine charges are pretextual.

Experts in crime, drugs and Venezuela say the South American country plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the U.S. "The reality is that while Maduro’s government is an authoritarian corrupt regime, drug trafficking from Venezuela is relatively minor compared to other countries in the region such as Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico," said David Smilde, a Tulane University sociologist who studies violence in Venezuela. Phil Gunson, senior analyst for the Andes Region at International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution think tank, said the Trump administration has conflated several situations to reach the conclusion that a cartel runs Venezuela in order to justify U.S. military action. https://www.politifact.com/article/2025/sep/22/Trump-Venezuela-boat-strikes-drugs-trafficking/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Ecuador plagued by 'narco-bananas' trafficking As the world's leading exporter of both bananas and cocaine, the Andean country − with its poorly equipped and vulnerable ports − has become a logistical hub between producers in Colombia and Peru and consumers, particularly in Europe. https://archive.ph/RZwnJ#selection-1845.0-1849.240 Despite Ecuador not producing the drug, 70% of the world's cocaine now flows through its ports, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa says. It is smuggled into the country from neighbouring Colombia and Peru – the world's two largest producers of cocaine. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0w4e4e00jo