The month is incomplete without the innate rantings of Ilhan Omar. Like a good meal requiring dessert, the month feels empty without “someone serving up something.” Ilhan Omar is a child playing “bakery” in the dirt pile. Where nothing is edible and she ends up covered in mud. Yet, out she goes to whip up more crap pies. And her supporters eat them up. Unfortunately, her comments about America being responsible for the Venezuelan crises aren’t palatable.

Again, Really?

Ilhan Omar is superbly consistent in alternating her comments between vitriolic and trite platitudes. Her first months in office have given us verbal gems of anti-semitism, presumed divided loyalties for US legislatures towards Israel, the now infamous “some people did something” reference to 9/11, and lamenting the loss of art in a burning Catholic Cathedral. Her banal tweet about the Easter Sri Lanka attack by Muslim terrorist left much unsaid, “No person of any faith should be fearful in their house of worship.” Really? That’s the best you can do?

Entitlement Abounds

Similar to other aristocratic types, Ilhan feels entitled to say whatever she wants. She doesn’t apologize, but diverts the criticism of her speech to the color of her skin. Implying that what she said is acceptable if she were anything but a Black Muslim Female.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, in defense of Ilhan, sums it up like this on CNN,

“I say hands off, hands off of the women of color that serve in the United States Congress. Not only do we look differently but we serve and we fight differently. But it also means that we talk differently. It’s also that we are allowed to be angry in this country.”

Aristocrat’s see themselves above reproach, and have no qualms about using whatever card they have to buy their way out of uncomfortable situations. Ilhan Omar reflexively pulls out the one that is Black.

Ilhan is a study in Millennial Immigrant entitlement. She comfortably wears her arrogance beside the chip on her shoulder. Unlike immigrants who feel blessed to have the opportunities America affords them, Ilhan appears to feel she deserves them. An added bonus, she’s entitled to use her religion and immigrant status to tell Americans how things need to change. Millennials are the same all over the world. Having done little substantive, they are experts on how to do everything better.

It’s Socialism, Stupid

Her comments regarding the situation in Venezuela are laughable. She states that the current situation is the fault of US foreign policy and intervention in the failed Socialist country. Few people disagree that the US has wielded some influence over the South American country. But to lay the current crisis at the doorstep of American foreign policy is ignorant. The current crisis in Venezuela can be laid directly at the feet of the Socialist policies of Hugo Chavez. A member of the House Foreign Relations committee should know this as part of their job.

But not Ilhan. Nope, her tweet earlier this year implied that it was Trump’s foreign policy plan for a coup.

A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the dire issues they face. Trump's efforts to install a far right opposition will only incite violence and further destabilize the region. We must support Mexico, Uruguay & the Vatican's efforts to facilitate a peaceful dialogue.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 25, 2019

She forgot to add a couple other countries to that list on the bottom. Russia, China, and Cuba. All very interested in “peaceful dialogue.” Maybe while she has access to foreign affairs records she can pull some from the 80’s and the Cold War. If that’s too much work she can rent “Red Dawn”, the original with Patrick Swayze. I remember watching it in the theater and wondering how the Russians came up from South America. Now I know.

Hungry for Socialism

Our Congresswomen are selling the “new” Socialism. Meanwhile, in Venezuela they are hungry because of Socialism. A fact Nikki Haley was quick to point out in response to Ilhan’s attempted smack down of American support for the recognized President Juan Guidao and the civilian unrest.

.@IlhanMN the avg Venezuelan adult has lost 24 lbs. Babies have no medicine. Families have to walk miles in the heat to get the only meal they may have that day. All bc of the corrupt Maduro regime. Your comments are so far from the truth. Cuba and Russia appreciate your support. https://t.co/o1ADtlwrtN

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) May 1, 2019

At this point, Venezuelans need change. They want it. Most people are staving, but food and necessary items are available to those who can afford it with US dollars. The AP reports about “Dollar Markets” where everything from fine wine to cheese is available,

Prices at the dollar stores are exorbitant for those living on a bolivar-based salaries. The minimum wage is around $10 per month, and at least 80 percent of the population skips at least one meal per day.”

So who is shopping at these stores? The AP continues,

Meanwhile, some $1.1 billion in annual remittances have turned into a lifeline for civil servants, retirees and salaried professionals who want to avoid waiting in long lines or scouring supermarkets in search of what they need.”

The white collar class is reliant upon remittances from benefactors outside the country to send them USD. Imagine what the working poor and impoverished are doing. We don’t have to, because Nikki Haley pointed it out. They are starving. Socialism destroyed one of the strongest emerging economies in the world.

Socialism is the Failure. Why Can’t Ilhan Admit it?

Even the NYT opinion section runs articles about the ill effects of Socialism. It is buried in the back, under an ad for the new AOC comic book. But it’s there. This January 2019 piece touches back on what Hugo Chavez’ supporters said about his awesome venture into “new” Socialism.

… how the Venezuelan regime’s admirers used to speak of “21st century socialism,” as it was dubbed by Hugo Chávez. The late Venezuelan president, said Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, “showed us there is a different and a better way of doing things. It’s called socialism, it’s called social justice, and it’s something that Venezuela has made a big step toward.” Noam Chomsky was similarly enthusiastic when he praised Chávez in 2009. “What’s so exciting about at last visiting Venezuela,” the linguist said, is that “I can see how a better world is being created and can speak to the person who’s inspired it.”

Wow, those thoughts didn’t age well. But the key phrase that pops out, “social justice.” It’s bantered about on the left, and especially by the Fab Four Freshmen. Ilhan included this SJ platform on her election website,

• Abolish ICE, and end all inhumane deportation and detention programs
• Oppose all efforts to further militarize our border and any attempt to expand the border wall along the southern border
• Protect Sanctuary Cities and Counties by preventing Trump’s administration from withholding federal funding
• Fight back against the criminalization of immigration and crossing the border
• ~ Ilhan Omar campaign website November 14, 2018

A Bigger Piece of the Pie

Socialism doesn’t work. The Cold War is re-emerging and Russia, along with China, are taking advantage of every opportunity to flex against the USA.  Including, using Venezuela as a proxy and pit-stop for action against the USA. Not only is it a matter of future economic development and enhancing their global presence, but a way to bolster an economic system they want to spread.

The Cold War is back in the Caribbean, but this not your father’s Cold War. While many of the actors are the same, the roles and motivations have changed. China has filled the void left by the Soviet Union as the main challenger to U.S. hegemony. Beijing’s goals are defined less in ideological terms and are more economic in nature. Russia is seeking to regain some of its influence and Cuba remains a factor, playing a role in keeping a repressive regime in place in Venezuela as well being a target of renewed U.S. pressure for regime change.”

~ Scott B. MacDonald  /  April 22, 2019 Global Americans

It will be nice when our elected representatives recognize that the world is not straightforward, and that not everyone plays by the same rules. Undermining our foreign objectives not only hurts the USA, but helps those who are opposed to them. This is the lesson Ilhan Omar should have taken with her when she fled war ravaged Somalia. Diplomacy is a very important tool in the kit. But it is useless without the backing of economic or military enforcement. To pretend otherwise is naive to the point of dangerous.

Featured Image: Lorie Shaull License:Free Use Wikimedia Commons Image Cropped: 400×400

Edit: The original text cited the Chinese as part of the invasion force in the move “Red Dawn.” An astute reader pointed out that the Chinese were in fact fighting with the Americans. Good catch GWB, and Thank You. If you haven’t seen the original, I highly suggest it. ~ NC