Smedley Butler's Warning and Continuity of Empire

Air Date: 1/3/2026

Imperialism is best thought of as a "Wealth Pump," extracting wealth from one country and depositing it in another. Venezuela has wealth and wealth is the only thing Trump cares about, his willingness to break his promise of being the peace president and go along with traditional Republican hawks is not a complicated mystery.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: 'Clearly B.S.': Dem Rep. Slams Hegseth's Explanation for Boat Strikes - MS NOW Reports - Air Date 12-30-25

KP 2: Trump Admits Venezuela Attacks Are All About Their Oil - The Majority Report W/ Sam Seder - Air Date 12-18-25

KP 3: What's Behind Trump's Christmas Strikes on Nigeria? Anti-Christian Genocide or Appeasing MAGA Base? - Democracy Now ! - Air Date 12-29-25

KP 4: Trump, Venezuela, and the New Cold War with China | Pinch Point - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 11-27-25

KP 5: "Trump Has Appointed Himself Judge, Jury, and Executioner" - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 12-12-25

KP 6: Venezuela to Trump's 'Total Blockade': You Will Never Colonize Us - The Socialist Program with Brian Becker - Air Date 12-17-25

(00:48:15) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the structure of imperialism

DEEPER DIVES

(01:02:10) SECTION A: DRUG WAR BS

A1: Bonus - Venezuela, the Drug War, and U.S. Power in the Caribbean with Aileen Teague - American Prestige - Air Date 12-28-25

A2: US Strikes Against Venezuela: Trump "Wants the Oil" as Grassroots Resist "Economic Asphyxiation" - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-31-25

A3: New Regime-Change War Dropped with Ken Klippenstein & Wajahat Ali - The Bitchuation Room - Air Date 9-5-25

A4: US Uses Drug Trafficking as Pretence to Force Regime Change in Venezuela - FRANCE 24 English - Air Date 10-16-25

A5: Collateral Damage - Airborne Imperialism: The Tragic Deaths of Veronica and Charity Bowers - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 12-26-25

(01:41:05) SECTION B: THE MONROE DOCTRINE 2.0

B1: 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for Anti-Maduro Leader María Corina Machado "Opposite of Peace": Greg Grandin - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-10-25

B2: Trump's Piracy in the Caribbean - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 12-23-25

B3: Why Do Horrible People Keep Winning Nobel Peace Prizes? - Overzealots - Air Date 11-15-25

B4: USA Is the Worst Pirate on Earth: Trump Boasts of Stealing Venezuela's Oil - Geopolitical Economy Report - Air Date 12-26-25

B5: Exposing Trump's Latin America Policy and Why It Will Fail with Richard Wolff - The Socialist Program with Brian Becker - Air Date 12-17-25

(02:20:52) SECTION C: NIGERIA BOMBING

C1: Inside Nigeria's Bombed Border Communities - Focus on Africa - Air Date 12-29-25

C2: Breaking Down US Strikes on ISIS in Nigeria and the Complicated Conflict There - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 12-26-25

(02:37:40) SECTION D: WAR WITH VENEZUELA

D1: Trump's Regime Change Operation Ramps Up with Blockade of Venezuelan Oil - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-17-25

D2: They Finally Admitted Its All Fake - Chris Norlund - Air Date 12-29-25

D3: Loose Lips Trump Blabs About Covert Venezuela Mission; Appears To Be Making It Up As He Goes - The Briefing with Jen Psaki - Air Date 12-30-25

D4: Venezuela? I Hardly Knew Ya - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 12-12-25

D5: Why a US Ground Invasion of Venezuela Would Be a Disaster | About That - CBC News - Air Date 12-19-25

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Composite graphic showing Trump looking proudly at strikes on a small alleged "drug runner" boat while the corner of the image is flipped up revealing his arm grabbing barrels of Venezuelan oil.

Credit: Internal composite design, Elements from Pixabay | Pixabay License | Unclassified boat image from U.S. D.O.D. shared on social media.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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