The stunningly successful snatch and grab of Venezuelan “President” Nicolas Maduro is as much a pie in the face to Democrats as it is a tribute to the professionalism of the U.S. military.
It is particularly embarrassing to the inept Biden administration for its shameful and humiliating retreat from Afghanistan, an event that will forever stain every member of that befuddled presidency that put the U.S. military in such an untenable situation.
Democrats today are frantically screeching that they should have been informed of the Venezuelan operation ahead of time. That would have been tantamount to flying a U.S. aircraft over Caracas towing a banner saying “Here we come” with the date and time.
Not long ago Democrat Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer was ridiculing President Trump for inaction against Maduro, then yesterday the flummoxed old hypocrite was protesting Trump’s arrest of him.
Other than the fact that the highly successful operation had Trump’s stamp of approval Democrats may be equally upset because their drugs keep disappearing into the ocean and their dealer is now in jail. The way Democrats are now disparaging Trump’s actions it would appear they were discussing jihadists, except they are generally far more respectful when referring to people who want to behead Americans.
The U.S. military mission’s astonishing success was due to the skill and professionalism of the military and its ability to maintain secrecy. That success is in large part attributable to the coordination and skills of CIA Director John Ratcliffe and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Daniel “Raizin” Caine. Informing a single Democrat ahead of time would have thrown a proverbial monkey wrench into the operation and cost American lives.
The entire operation involving hundreds of aircraft, numerous soldiers, sailors and marines took less than 45 minutes. The fact that Maduro’s residence was on a highly fortified military base made it all the more spectacular.
The only thing missing was Richard Wagner’s musical score “Flight of the Valkyries” featured in “Apocalypse Now” as the Blackhawk helicopters swooped in silhouetted by the glow of U.S. bomb blasts taking out Venezuelan air defenses. The U.S. didn’t lose a single soldier or one piece of equipment.
It is evident that the U.S. military had excellent intelligence from local sources. The logistics of coordinating so many air and naval assets was possible because the military under Secretary Pete Hegseth has been given a new focus on its mission, including the weeding out of dissenters and sexually confused recruits from the ranks. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” have been drummed out of the corps in humiliation.
The looks on the soldiers faces when briefed on their mission was probably similar to the approving looks of those in Tom Clancy’s “A Clear and Present Danger” thriller when they learned of their mission to wage warfare on the drug dealers in Colombia.
Isn’t it coincidental that those well-funded leftist folks ordered to condemn the military’s success popped up simultaneously nationwide? The Media Research Center reported that the same professionally printed protest signs appeared at demonstrations across the United States, all protesting the arrest of Maduro. “Someone paid the protesters and had the signs printed, then were shipped from coast to coast. It is a speedy, orchestrated operation with the money to do that,” says West coast pundit Steve Maikowski.
The Maduro operation was a major blow to the thugs, dictators, and drug lords in the southern hemisphere and elsewhere who are now nervously glancing over their shoulders while double checking the security locks on their doors each night.
One of the biggest losers is Cuba, whose only export appeared to be its once vaunted security forces that were guarding Maduro when the U.S. military unexpectedly dropped in on him. Their once feared reputation is now as full of holes as the dead Cubans guarding the startled dictator when Delta Force grabbed him as he scrambled to enter a “safe room.”
The socialist heads of state in Columbia, Mexico, Honduras, Cuba, and Iran, all have backup plans to take their stolen loot and flee to Moscow and take up residence with their exiled Syrian pal Bashar al-Assad where they will compete to determine how much borscht and vodka they can consume.
Maybe New York’s commie Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who condemned the success, could invite them all to stay at the once luxurious Roosevelt Hotel that hosted scores of illegal aliens courtesy of that city’s tax payers. They could hang out together and bask in Mamdani’s “warmth of collectivism” and reminisce over the loss of their “rugged individualism.”
(The above column also appeared in the national Bix Pac Review Thursday, January 8 https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/01/08/maduro-snatch-grab-a-pie-in-face-to-democrats-1614681/)
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An Unanswered Question: Over the years many folks living in Democratic societies have asked: “If socialistic civilizations are such generous and productive environments, then why aren’t people flocking to them instead of vice versa?”
Why aren’t people from South Korea clamoring to cross their northern border. Why aren’t people in Caribbean countries building rafts and risking their lives to flee to Cuba? Why are there walls with armed guards around Communist and socialist countries to keep their citizens locked in?
A less harsh microcosm of these totalitarian states exists in the U.S. in states like California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Instead of using guard dogs and guns governors and mayors in those economically crippled states wield tax policies against their residents to fund pet give-a-way projects.
As a result, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).revealed that their taxpayers are fed up and they’re leaving in droves, not vice versa.
While many socialistic politicians like Zohran Mamdani claim that tax-and-spend policies are what Americans want, the reality is that, year after year, there is steady movement from high-tax states to more fiscally responsible ones, said Andrew Wilford, Director of NTUF’s Interstate Commerce Initiative and author of the report.
In a nutshell the only people not leaving are the freeloaders. The ones leaving are those paying the bills and the few arriving are those with their hands out. It’s an economically unsustainable condition.
States gaining new residents most frequently are:
- Florida (every 2 minutes and 9 seconds)
- Texas (2 minutes, 53 seconds)
- North Carolina (6 minutes, 21 seconds)
- South Carolina (7 minutes, 30 seconds)
- Tennessee (8 minutes, 42 seconds).
Conversely, California loses residents even more rapidly than Florida gains them—with another former Golden Stater finding greener pastures every 1 minute and 44 seconds.
States with residents leaving the fastest are:
- California (every 1 minute and 44 seconds)
- New York (every 2 minutes and 23 seconds)
- Illinois (6 minutes, 4 seconds)
- Massachusetts (11 minutes, 38 seconds)
- New Jersey (14 minutes, 14 seconds).
“Interstate movement is proof that Americans want lower taxes and limited government, and you can measure it with your watch,” Wilford said.
For the full report go to: https://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/interstate-migration-in-minutes-how-fast-are-taxpayers-leaving-or-entering-each-state
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Meanwhile Back At The Ranch: Once again Fernandina Beach City Commissioner Darron Ayscue publicly proved that he is the only rationale person seated at the dais this past Tuesday, January 6, when he was the lone elected official to say “NO!” to paid parking in a 4-1 vote on the controversial issue.
Ayscue, who announced his reelection intentions just a few days earlier, explained his vote saying: “”I don’t believe this commission is doing the will of the citizens. I don’t believe that at all.”
I, and many like me, believe that Darron is 100 percent accurate in his comment and that, with the exception of Ayscue, this Commission is comprised of tone-deaf nitwits and blowhards that only like sitting in elevated overstuffed leather chairs sneering down in defiance at their angry constituents.
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What The ____? A handful of local left-wing whackos calling themselves Unified-Nassau, popped up Sunday, January 4 to wander aimlessly around downtown to protest what they say is President Trump’s “violation of the U.S. Constitution and international law in the attack of Venezuela, a sovereign nation.”
Some guy named Michael Kersten, who says he is a Unified-Nassau spokesperson, said, “This is not America First, this is imperialism. If the United States can afford to start new wars, surely the United States can afford to help U.S. citizens have affordable health insurance.”
Hey Michael, North Korea and Cuba are beckoning to you.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
― Margaret Thatcher
Good news: economics has been solved. All you need is a stopwatch and a migration chart, and—presto—you’ve proven Americans hate taxes and love “limited government.”
Yes, people are leaving states like California and New York. This is shocking only if you’ve somehow missed the part where housing costs are astronomical. When a modest apartment costs more than a house in another state, people don’t need an ideological epiphany to move—they need a place they can afford.
Treating migration as a political vote is convenient but lazy. People move for jobs, family, weather, retirement, and remote work. Pretending millions of Americans are fleeing in protest of marginal tax rates is less analysis and more fantasy role-play.
The funniest part is calling high-tax states “unsustainable” while they continue to dominate GDP, innovation, patents, venture capital, and high-wage job creation. If this is failure, it’s an odd one.
And the “freeloaders” line? A classic. High earners benefit enormously from public universities, infrastructure, courts, research funding, and educated workforces—then turn around and accuse everyone else of having their hand out. Bold strategy.
Low-tax states don’t eliminate costs; they just hide them in sales taxes, property taxes, fees, and federal subsidies. Lower income taxes aren’t magic—just like paid parking, they’re a shift in who pays.
People move to cheaper, warmer places. That’s not a referendum on socialism. It’s a housing market. But sure—keep timing it with a stopwatch.
Of course, the real reason the U.S. military pulled off a complex operation is because they’ve kicked out all the “dissenters” and “sexually confused recruits.” Forget decades of intelligence, strategy, and technology—what we really needed was to make sure everyone fits into the same narrow, right-wing box. That’s the secret to military success, right?
Clearly, getting rid of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is the key to success. I mean, who cares about diverse perspectives and backgrounds when you can just have a homogenous force that thinks exactly the same? That’s the kind of innovation we need.
And let’s not forget the “humiliation” of DEI programs. Apparently, giving everyone a fair shot is exactly what’s been holding us back. The military’s new focus on crushing free thought and stifling disagreement is definitely going to make us a global superpower. Who needs diverse ideas when you can just march in lockstep, right?
The Democrats have been invaded by Progressive Socialists that have no clear leader to guide the party or its Socialist mentality. The Republicans have a leader who is transparent and achieves exactly what he sets out to do. We The People wanted a closed border, Criminal aliens arrested and sent back home, federal law enforcement that enforces the laws, and a military that is supported, provided with the tools that they needed and achieve the goals of each mission. I support our President 100%. I support ICE and Border Patrol 100%. I support federal, state, and local law enforcement who are doing the job they swore to do. Nassau County has a sheriff that has shown over the years that his department is very competent and capable and enforce the laws of Nassau County and The State of Florida and I could not be more prouder of our Sheriff and his team that are doing exactly what they were asked to do. The only wish is for the Fernandina Police Department to one day have a leader that is as competent as the Sheriff and for the City Council to work for the people and not for their personal agendas. If this could be the achieved someday, the NE Florida Corner would be the gem of The Free State of Florida.
Know many of those UI’s were bused up from Duval
Another brilliant post, Dave. The idea that our beloved, hardworking commission is not “doing the will of the citizens” is of course outrageous! Word on the street is that after paid parking is resolved and taxpayers and tourists alike are relieved of their downtown loose change (excuse me, dollars), development will be financed, permitted, commenced on the exciting new Poynter Plaza Resort and multi-story Paid Parking Garage. It’s an exciting time to be alive. BTW, I’m still waiting for my parking meters at the front of my house.
Good column!
Once again, an imposter is using my name to post a comment without my permission. The post by “Harry Heinke” on January 9 is from an imposter too cowardly to use his/her own name or handle.
The post attributed to D. Boelkes was posted by somebody else using that name. Identify theft with potential reputational damages? Interesting thought, I think I will pursue.
The posts that Chris and Harry raised concerns about were meant as political satire. They were not written by Chris’ wife or Harry, and should not be attributed to either of them or their political organizations.
My behavior was immature, and it doesn’t reflect my true belief that we should be working together and having respectful conversations about our differences — not stirring things up or derailing Dave’s discussions. I truly regret the mistake and offer a very sincere apology to EVERYONE. I promise this won’t happen again.