The ends do not justify the means.

Claiming to defend itself from “narco-terrorism,” the U.S. has, in the past four months, blown to smithereens 35 small boats, murdering 115 Venezuelans in cold blood.

It’s obvious now that this was all for show. This was Trump’s depraved, corrupt administration, throwing out red meat for its MAGA base – and quietly preparing to invade Venezuela.

I do not know how our President and his enabling gang of thugs are able to sleep at night.

It’s not about drugs, of course.

It’s about oil — greed, money, and power.

The destruction of 35 small boats; the invasion of Venezuela; the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Adela Flores; the seizure of Venezuela’s government and – of course — the OIL… ALL of these actions were illegal, immoral, and unethical.

Yes, of course Maduro is a corrupt tyrant who deserved to be deposed, as is President Donald Trump – as are many other corrupt tyrants in countries across the globe.

But until last week, no other tyrant was sitting on so much oil.

Venezuela is ranked #1 with 303 billion barrels of oil reserves in the ground. Saudi Arabia is #2 with 267 billion barrels and Iran is #3 with 208 billion barrels. The United States, prior to our recent invasion of Venezuela, came in a distant #9 at 55 billion barrels.

There’s more oil in Venezuela than anywhere on the planet.

And the United States – Trump’s family and friends – are now in control of that oil. (Google Paul Singer and Citgo, for starters.)

So…what are we going to do about it?

We can scream into the wind and pound on our keyboards (which I’m doing at this very moment) but we can, and MUST, also take positive action that really, truly moves us forward toward a better world.

Yes, absolutely we must demand that Congress do its job and hold President Trump accountable.

Impeachment would be too kind a fate for him, but is likely the only legal, moral, and ethical path forward.

We absolutely must hold ourselves to higher standards and not sink to the level of those we oppose. (Remember when we descend into the gutter to fight with pigs, the pigs have fun and we get dirty.)

And we must resist provocative actions that simply add fuel to the fire.

Beyond pressing on Congress, what can we do to make a difference TODAY?

Openly, loudly, and publicly rejecting the values and actions of the Trump Administration at a local level is an obvious critical starting point.

Imagine if our Governor and the Mayors in every County joined together to condemn Trump’s action, reject foreign oil and fossil fuels, and pledge increased support for solar, wind, and other non-fossil fuel alternatives.

We MUST insist our local elected leaders speak out and take a stand — before Trump takes military action against Columbia, occupies Greenland, bombs Nigeria again, or joins with Israel’s Netanyahu to take over Iran.

Looking the other way, heads down and mouths shut, is just appeasement by another name.

A universal truth of policy and politics: When a majority of elected leaders want something to happen, it absolutely can and will become a reality.

Assuming for the moment they’re not cancelled by Trump, the all-important mid-term elections are rapidly approaching.

We need fighters, not appeasers.

This is the answer, my friends. We must, at this particular moment, pour all of our time and energy into identifying, supporting, and electing new leaders at all levels — State, County, and Federal – leaders who share our core values, our sense of urgency, and who are willing to speak out and fight to restore our democracy.

This is where our energy and actions must remain focused.

Overthrowing Trump, his authoritarian regime, and his enablers — the corporatists, the corrupt, AND the complacent — at the ballot box in 2026 is the answer.

Gary Hooser
Former Hawai’i State Senator/Majority Leader
Former Kaua`i County Council Member
Just a regular guy trying my best to make the world a better place