Dems Do U-Turn on Maduro

Back in the last year of the first Trump Administration Democrats said the President wasn't doing enough to punish Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) complained that "he hasn't brought an end to the Maduro regime. The Maduro regime is more powerful today and more entrenched today than it was when the President began his term."

In 2019, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) complained "the people of Venezuela deserve better than this. We can't allow this President's short attention span to stop us from delivering on our promise to help the Venezuelan people rebuild their country."

In his last days in office, President Biden announced a $25 million bounty on Nicolás Maduro for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

Well, this past week, acting on orders from President Trump, US military personnel went to Venezuela, captured Maduro, and brought him back to the US for trial. Schumer went on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and complained "this capture is reckless and the American people are in fear of what's going to happen here next."

Durbin complained "I recognize that Maduro is a bad person, but I disagree with President Trump's use of US military forces without Congressional approval. This matter should have been debated and only gone forward after a vote in both Houses of Congress. I am aware that following such a procedure would have destroyed the element of surprise that enabled the mission to be carried out without any US fatalities or loss of equipment, but such is the price of democracy."

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris complained "this isn't what President Biden wanted to happen when he announced the bounty. Trump's action was both unlawful and unwise. Trump put troops' lives at risk, spent billions, destabilized Venezuela, had no exit plan, and provided no benefits for Americans."

A Democrat who approves of Trump's actions on Maduro anonymously explained that "we can't publicly side with the President without ending our careers. The socialist majority of our Party will ruthlessly purge us from all our positions on Congressional committees, cut off our campaign funds from the DNC, and primary us."

Trump countered Democrat complaints, saying "their guy, President Biden, put up the bounty for arresting Maduro. I fulfilled it. We got our man. All our troops came home. Oil that previously was going to fund our enemies will now be sold to help lower fuel prices and help rebuild the infrastructure Maduros' policies wrecked. What more justification do I need?"

Schumer argued "the bounty was meant only for information, not action. Trump didn't provide information. He just went out and brought the guy back. This is the kind of unilateral action a fascist would take. I think voters will understand that and vote in a Democrat majority in both Houses of Congress this Fall so we can put a stop to Trump's abuse of power."

2,000 Feds Surge into Minnesota

In response to the crimes being committed in Minnesota by immigrants, the Trump administration has ordered 2,000 federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to conduct a 30-day crackdown in the Twin Cities area.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif) said "while Gov. Walz and I might very well end up as rival contenders for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president, this intrusion on state sovereignty is unwarranted. Tim is a man of character, strength, and compassion. The fact that he has suspended his bid for reelection so he can focus on finding and prosecuting the daycare fraud proves that Minnesota and America are better off thanks to his lifelong public service."

Walz expressed his gratitude for "Gov. Newsom's kind words, but I urge folks not to worry about me. I'm going to do alright after I leave office at the end of my current term. The 5% cut I was awarded for smoothing the way forward for the Somali daycare operators has turned out to be a far bigger return that I ever could've imagined. I could use the money to buy fancy cars, a big house, or send remittances to Somali like some of the daycare operators have. Or, I could bankroll my campaign to beat out Gov. Newsom for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president."

In related news, the Hampton Inn, a Hilton-affiliated hotel, warned that it "will not permit ICE or DHS agents to stay at our property." Hilton responded stating, "we have been in direct contact with the hotel and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies." Later, a reporter posing as a DHS employee was denied a room at the Hampton Inn.

Minneapolis Protest Turns Deadly

In Minneapolis a woman trying to resist ICE law-enforcement activity ended up being shot to death. Renee Good used her car to block traffic in both directions of a street in the enforcement zone. ICE agents made several attempts to get her to exit her car so she could be arrested for obstruction. Her wife Rebecca Brown Good exited the vehicle. As Rebecca yelled "drive baby, drive," Renee put her foot on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward toward an ICE officer. He fired his pistol at the driver. The car veered past and sideswiped him rather than hitting him head-on. Renee died of her wounds.

Mayor Jacob Frey (D) demanded that ICE "get the F*** of of this city. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite. If you weren't here no one would've died trying to resist you."

Gov. Tim Walz called for calm and threatened to "call up the Minnesota National Guard. We're ready to go to war with the federal government if that's what it takes to repel this ICE invasion. We see that ICE is real brave confronting unarmed civilians. Let's see how they do against armed troops."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said "what we saw is a murder, and murders in cold blood need to be prosecuted. It was nothing like the heroic shooting of Ashli Babbit by US Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd during the January 6, 2021 Trump instigated insurrection. Byrd was awarded a medal for that. The ICE officer who shot Ms. Good will never get a medal for his deadly deed."

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif) said "we cannot have a lawless agency continue in this country the way they are. There needs to be accountability."

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) condemned ICE's actions as "unconscionable and reprehensible. This is not law enforcement. It is state violence. It is simply indefensible, and ICE must be held accountable. That must include a full, comprehensive investigation and legal action against the agency."

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem had a different interpretation of the incident, saying "Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey's assertion that this city is safe isn't accurate. Homicides are up 50% since Walz and Frey took office. Walz oversaw the release of 470 violent criminals back onto the street. He refuses to hand over 680 illegal alien criminals for deportation. That's why we are here in force. It's clear that the individual who was shot was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations."

"We've seen over 100 instances of vehicles being used to ram ICE vehicles and officers in just this past year," Noem added. "In fact, the officer involved in today's shooting was dragged a hundred yards by a 'protester's' vehicle last June and had to be hospitalized. This time his injury was less serious. He was treated at a hospital and released. Look, protests with words and signs are protected freedom of speech. But Ms. Good had been stalking ICE officers for hours before this final confrontation. Blocking traffic to interfere with law-enforcement is a felony. She was given multiple opportunities to comply with the officers' instruction to get out of her vehicle. It was her refusal and subsequent aggressive act that led to this tragic outcome."

Walz challenged Noem's reasoning saying "ICE has no expertise in preventing or investigating homicides. All they did here was increase the death tally by one. Neither does ICE have any expertise in dealing with fraud, which has seen the largest surge of any category of crime in our state in American history. Now that I've become aware of the fraud I have canceled my run for a third term so I can devote my full-time effort on combating and punishung this fraud."

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that "with regard to this fraud we will NOT let the incompetence and recalcitrance of Governor Walz stop law enforcement from holding the fraudsters accountable. We are providing training to Minnesota law enforcement on how to utilize financial data such as suspicious activity reports to better combat these fraud schemes. We will deploy all tools to bring an end to this egregious, unchecked fraud and hold perpetrators to account. Considering how many Minnesota government employees have provided evidence that Governor Walz enabled and protected the fraudsters he should expect to be prosecuted and go to prison for his role."

Daycare Fraud Uncovered in State of Washington

In Washington, the State Auditor's Office has found evidence that millions of dollars have been improperly disbursed to federally subsidized daycare centers. Over payments between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025 occurred due to missing attendance records and over-billed hours and days.

Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA) called the overspent amounts "trifling compared to what has gone on in Minnesota" and asserted "we should be focusing on the much greater threat posed to this country by President Trump. His insistence on deporting undocumented immigrants and his abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro exposes his racism for all to see. The real criminals are the white men who back Trump's misrule. These are the people the FBI ought to be investigating, prosecuting and convicting for hogging more than their fair share of the nation's wealth."

Trump said "I agree with her assessment that the state's over payment problem seems a lot smaller than what appears to be the case in Minnesota. That's why we've sent 2,000 federal law enforcement personnel there now. As more fraud is uncovered in other states we'll be taking the steps we deem appropriate and necessary to apprehend the criminals, protect the citizens, and recover the stolen money."

In related news, Washington has the third highest prices for gasoline of the 50 US states. Joe Nguy?n, Director of the state's Department of Commerce, lamented "our drivers have paid a very high taxes for what has turned out to be a miniscule return. We thought we were going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7,500,000 metric tons. Instead, we only reduced these emissions by 78,000 tons--that's barely 1% of our goal. The only sure method of hitting our target for greenhouse gas emission reductions seems to be for the entire world to revert back to a hunter-gather lifestyle. However, this would require a 99% decrease in the global population and force a very hard life on the 1% who survive."

RFK Ends Payment in Advance for Daycare

Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, jr. announced a reversal of a Biden Administration rule that required federal agencies "to pay daycare providers in advance based on child enrollment. We have seen that the key result of the Biden policy was to enable widespread fraud. Our new rule requires that payments only be provided for verified attendance."

Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn) called this change "mistaken. The previous policies enabled penniless Somali refugees to establish highly profitable businesses by submitting the names of prospective attendees. Many parents enrolled their children in more than one daycare center as a matter of convenience. HHS' new rule will decimate the revenues of all federally-funded daycare operations in our state and inconvenience the hundreds of families enrolled. This will drive thousands of daycare facilities into bankruptcy in our state alone."

HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill said "paying providers upfront based on paper enrollment instead of actual attendance invites abuse. In Minnesota, we've seen credible and widespread allegations of fraudulent daycare providers who were not caring for children at all. The reforms we are enacting will make fraud harder to perpetrate."

Walz argued "I would contend that the damage done by this rule change will easily exceed the damage done by any fraud that might have occurred under the old rule. Lack of adequate funding under the new rule will retard kids' intellectual development. This is much worse than losing a few bucks to fraud."