Jonathan M. Winer

Intelligence First. War Second. What Justified the U.S. Attack on Iran, and What Comes Next? The Steady State | by Jonathan M. Winer

open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...

Making Libya investable again - Middle East Institute

#Libya has a lot of oil and currently a lot of IOC interest. But it still needs to take steps to sustain more than exploratory investments, whatever agreements may be announced now. mei.edu/publication/...

After the Capture | Washington Spectator Having removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela through military force, the United States is now the decisive external actor shaping Venezuela’s near-term political and economic trajectory.

washingtonspectator.org/after-the-ca...

Venezuela After Maduro: Six Questions That Matter Now The Steady State : by Jonathan M. Winer

open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...

Why Are We in Venezuela? | Washington Spectator On December 15, 2025, Donald Trump issued the latest in a series of unprecedented executive orders, designating the narcotic drug fentanyl—used daily as an anesthetic in hospitals throughout the…

washingtonspectator.org/why-are-we-i...

The systemic risk has only just begun to accumulate. But accumulate it will. Not looking forward to the day the Treasury and/or the Fed decide to bail out the guilty and justify it as necessary to protect the innocent.

date inscribed Presented by the artist through the American Federation of Arts 1969

Black on Maroon
https://botfrens.com/collections/25/contents/1124123

“A thug and a sick man.” Breaking from House Republicans who subpoenaed Jack Smith for a private interview about Trump prosecutions, Trump said Smith should appear in public hearing. “I’d rather see him testify publicly,” Trump said of Smith, after attacking him as a “thug” & “a sick man.”

Market Volatility Underscores Epic Buildup of Global Risk

Market Volatility Underscores Epic Buildup of Global Risk www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b... "Critics warn that a small group of tech companies, including Nvidia, are essentially buying and selling to each other in circular deals that inflate their actual value." (Same thing with crypto. Massively.)

Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Tosses Criminal Charges Against James Comey and Letitia James

# NYT reporting on #Comey indictment dismissal incorrect on analysis of statute
of limitations. Because first indictment is void, not defective, statute of limitations has run & case cannot lawfully be revived no matter what DoJ may claim. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11... Case law is clear.

Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...

I do not see any legal basis for these operations would make them lawful.
The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away

stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains....

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive...

One of the characteristics of a totalitarian regime with a personality cult is that the leader makes no distinction between what is his privately and what belongs to the state. They are one and the same thing.

Criminalizing the Opposition | Washington Spectator When those in power bend the machinery of justice to their will, they rarely stop with their personal enemies. In 2025, Donald Trump began repurposing the powers of the federal government to hobble…

washingtonspectator.org/criminalizin...

Project 2025 and the Purge of American Diplomacy: The Blitzkrieg Against State The Steady State | by Jonathan M. Winer October 9, 2025

open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...

This kind of prepation of the public for how to manage what may be coming is of huge importance. The situation in Philadelphia is especially fraught because it is already so partisan. All but one GOP member of PA house earlier voted to impeach this Dem DA for not doing Philadelphia crime their way.

Seven deadly Sins
Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin.
Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine.

Something to reflect on in this period.

His language is absolutist, grievance-laden, & punitive. The very existence of an authority beyond himself provokes him to try to destroy it. He will “never submit or yield,” urging his legions to find glory in rebellion and vengeance. Of course I am describing Satan in Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died...
And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast...

YouTube video by LeonardCohenVEVO Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (Official Audio)

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...

Unnoticed Whistle-Blower Document Alarms Justice Department Veterans

Not an accident and not a
surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

Its a strategic decision by this Administration inder this president to behave this way. And there os likely to be far worse to come. washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

This isn't accidental - its part of an intentional policy of intimidation by an unaccountable Presidency. And they are just getting started.
washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

They've only just begun. Here's my take on what they're planning: washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...

First Amendment forbids govt role in curtailing speech on basis of content. Settled law. Heritage can do whatever it wants but feds cannot lawfully follow them. When they do, up to SCOTUS to stop it. Yes, I know.

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

Exactly the people who need to take action. Precisely because too many people now live in justifiable fear. And there is much more of that likely to come. washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

These are exactly the critical people who have some power to resist authoritarian rule. washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...

The Icemen Cometh | Washington Spectator On July 9, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping legislative package that dramatically expanded the operational scope and funding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…

washingtonspectator.org/the-icemen-c...