Darrell Castle discusses the raid in Venezuela, the capture or arrest of Nichalas Maduro and his wife and whether it was beneficial to anyone.

TRUMP’S VERSION OF THE MONROE DOCTRINE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 9th day of January in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be discussing the raid in Venezuela and the capture or arrest as the DOJ calls it of Nichalas Maduro and his wife and their criminal prosecution by US Federal authorities in the federal district court of New York. Did it benefit anyone, was it right or wrong, was it legal or illegal.

Yes, folks 2026 has barely started and it has already been quite a year. Was the capture of Maduro an indication by the administration that one year of his term is complete and now the gloves come off. I certainly think that was one of the many intentions of the raid, but not the most significant by any means. What then was the real intent or reason for the raid. The truthful answer to that question is, I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We look at it and we see the results short term but what was in his mind only he knows for sure.

Let’s look first at the legality of the raid. In my opinion it was clearly legal if US law is the judge. The 1973 War Powers Resolution allows the president to deploy military forces; however, he chooses without prior approval of congress if he decides its in the national security interest of the United States. Its’s more than a little hypocritical for any Democrat with a microphone to scream illegal because they could always repeal the War Powers Act but they don’t/ Why not, because they use it too, and they want it available.

When Hillary Clinton rejoiced at the death of Muammar Gaddafi who was killed in a US bombing attack while apparently asleep in his bed, was that illegal. What about when George Bush sent American forces into Iraq and eventually hanged Saddam Hussein, was that illegal. In fact, Trump should be thanked by Maduro and his supporters in congress because he could have sent a cruise missile through his window but instead he arrested him. The DOJ insists this was a law enforcement action whereby a wanted fugitive was arrested in a foreign country.

So, the question is, what do you mean by illegal. Clearly it does not violate US law so perhaps you mean it violates your sense of consciousness or morality. Well, most of what the US government does violates my sense of morality but that is not the judge.  I guess the argument then is that it violates international law. My answer is that international law is a nebulous concept that doesn’t even exist anymore. International law was invented at Nuremburg as a way to justify dealing with Nazi war criminals when there was little real evidence of the crimes with which they were charged. In other words, it began and ended at Nuremburg.

OK then, did anything good come out of the raid. Yes, lots of things, starting with the way the raid was conducted. This was perhaps the greatest and most successful special forces raid in history. Conducted in a foreign capital with very few known casualties. As I said he could have just put a warhead on Maduro’s forehead but he didn’t so in that sense the rule of law is intact. To carry that thought forward, the President has this very elite force the best of the best and he is committed to using them to accomplish his foreign policy rather than mobilizing vast armies with coalition partners at a cost of hundreds of billions.

Everyone around the world took notice and the countries you would expect voiced their disapproval, but at the same time they know he is not bluffing and when he warns that he will act it is prudent to pay attention. It was a demonstration of what the US military can do especially when you consider that Venezuela supposedly had the latest version of Russian and Chinese anti-air defense system. It was Trump’s version of, we are still here and we are still the best so pay attention.

The other benefit that it is hard to argue against is that Maduro is a very bad man and Venezuela will be better off without him. There was an election in 2024 which was won by Edmundo Gonzalez but Maduro used his military to hold on to the most addictive thing in the world, power. He was so bad as a leader that 20% of the Venezuelan population left the country. I personally know many Venezuelan people some of whom live here in America and some in Venezuela and they are happy he is gone. The pro Maduro crowds of young white liberals marching through the streets of New York are really anti-Trump not pro Maduro. I guess one can justify supporting a vicious dictator if it means hurting Trump.

The crowds of Venezuelan people rejoicing in the streets of Caracas are far more important than those in New York. Sometimes I think the people in such demonstrations have lost touch with reality. Certainly, they have lost touch with the needs of ordinary people if they ever had touch with them. It reminds me of when Trump sent the National Guard into the most crime ridden cities to help slow violent crime. Washington DC was the first but my city of Memphis was also included. The people in New York marching against the deployment were probably the same as the pro Maduro crowd but in the streets it was different.

I talked to many people in my law office who live out there with reality and that reality is constant fear of violent crime. People told me in no uncertain terms that they were glad to see the Guard on the streets and they felt safer walking or going shopping. The people of the cities worry about whether their kids will be killed in a drive by, and so they are glad for protection. So, Maduro was a very bad man who caused many to leave their country and many more were starving. Yes, he was a leader who lived in palatial luxury while his people starved.

Venezuela has one of the largest deposits of petroleum in the world but the people have no gas. We learned after Maduro’s capture that the infrastructure of pumping and getting oil to market was in such a poor state that it could take ten years to fully bring it up to speed. Venezuela has all this wealth under its soil and under its ocean but no one cared enough for the people to exploit it for their benefit. Will the American oil companies that are competing for Venezuelan oil use it for the people’s benefit. Well, that is a good question but I believe that while trump is president they will.

Right now, Venezuela is left in a highly volatile and uncertain phase of its history. Who will lead after Maduro. Delci Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president is in charge as I record this. She talked tough but only for a moment and then she saw the light and started saying something like I will be glad to cooperate with the Americans and I am just glad to be here. That is of course another point and that is that he did leave her in power and let natural progression take its course.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said that she would like to see Gomzalez given power because he won the election in 2024 but Trump seems committed to let the laws of succession take their course. So, the next several months are very uncertain and many questions remain. Will Roddriguez accommodate US pressure and demands, defy them, or perhaps some hard line socialist from Maduro’s old party, The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, will try to seize power. One thing should be obvious though and that is that the US military will be used if it becomes necessary so the leaders of that country obviously know that.

So, the President is reimposing the Monroe Doctrine to protect US interests in this hemisphere. When President Monroe announced his doctrine in 1823 or 24 it was to be a two-way street. To the European colonists he said stay out of our hemisphere and we will stay out of yours. Spain had colonies so it was primarily directed at them and it eventually took the Spanish-American War to get Spain out of the Caribbean. It would be hard to argue that the US has stayed out of European affairs since the US has fought two World Wars and currently has bases and troops all over Europe. In addition, the US has China surrounded by bases and carrier battle groups so two-way street, no not yet.

Perhaps it indicates a return to the old Monroe doctrine whereby the US watches its own back yard and lets others do the same. I for one would be happy if that were the policy. In regard to that thought Trump has repeatedly referred to the Venezuelan oil deposits as “our oil. “Is he bringing a Machiavellian concept of might makes right to the table with that expression. No, he is referring to the contracts US companies had with the Venezuelan government before Hugo Chavez took power in 1998. One of Chavez’s first acts was to nationalize the oil industry thus stealing all the oil, at least from an American point of view.

So, Trump is referring back to the pre-Chavez days and saying by contract that oil is ours and you should thank me instead of criticizing me for enforcing contracts and the rule of law. None of that had anything to do with Nicholas Maduro of course since it happened long before he took power. Chavez named Maduro as his successor from his death bed in 2010. Venezuela is supposed to have free elections but if you know the history of that region you know that often free elections are in name only.

You’ve probably noticed that I have spent very little time on the topic of drug interdiction. That’s because the whole concept is ridiculous and had very little to do with US military action. Slowing the flow of narcotics into the US was at best a side benefit but it made for good theater. Interestingly, Bibi Netanyahu made his fifth visit to the Trump White House just before this happened. Bibi has been complaining for some time that Venezuela was allowing Iran to train its terrorists there and he wanted something done about it. So, was it an Israeli operation? I don’t know since knowing is virtually impossible but I will wager it didn’t hurt.

Finally, folks, from all this talk you might get the impression that I am in favor of this attack but no I’m afraid not. America first to me means that we have enough problems at home to last all of our lifetimes and I think the American people are about sick of Foreign policy. Rather than empire building or the imperialism of Pax Americana our concerns are or should be here at home. I reject these grandiose schemes in favor of home and family the way it should be. Let us raise our children in peace and prosperity and keep the price of ground beef modest.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle ushers in 2026 by talking about the world as he sees it today along with some year-end thoughts about the past, the present, and the unknown future.

Transcription/Notes

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is the 2nd day of January in the year of our Lord 2026. In this Castle Report I will be talking about the world as I see it today along with some year-end thoughts about the past, the present, and the unknown future.

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” Those are the words of the Prince of Peace whose birth we just celebrated, and his words have been the bed rock of Western Civilization for over 2000 years. The decorations, gifts, and celebrations are just one of our connections to a Christian culture that has held Western Civilization together throughout its history. My thanks once again for Dr, Ron Paul’s recent Liberty Report where he so eloquently sets these concepts out.

Somehow it all seems different now. The mayor of New York City has been sworn in on the Quran rather than the bible. The nation itself with debt having surpassed $38 trillion Continues its enforcement of the Wolfowitz Doctrine which is part of the project for a new American century. Paul Wolfowitz put his name on a policy that still seems to drive the American government even under the America first president. Simply put, that doctrine says that American hegemony will dominate the world and no competitor which threatens that policy will be allowed to rise. The U.S. military will be used to destroy any competition.

In practical terms, it means that the U.S. government will continue to use its military to bankrupt the country while exporting misery and suffering to others in pursuit of a global military empire on the framework of ancient Rome. My argument for you today is that this policy places the U.S. government in direct opposition to the title of this Castle Report. This year marked the first time the Defense budget item has surpassed the $1 trillion mark. Congress was so enthusiastic about it that they voted more money than the president asked for.

The $1 trillion doesn’t include interest on the defense related debt, veteran’s affairs such as hospitals and lifetime care for the wounded and components of other agencies and departments with items related to defense so it is much larger than the published amount. Those who are responsible for such things probably still have a chance to save the economy if they did the responsible thing but instead they repeatedly do the opposite of the right thing.

President Eisenhower was the last president to recognize what was happening and to refuse its allure. He also warned President Kennedy who tried to heed the warning but he died for those efforts. I paraphrase President Eisenhower’s famous speech from 1953 entitled “The Chance for Peace” each of these dollars spent on military offense and the maintenance of the US global empire rather than on defense of our own nation is taken from the mouths of the hungry and off the backs of hardworking American families.”

The new National Security Strategy document recently released by the Trump administration has set off a firestorm among those who favor warfare to solve every perceived problem. The document seems to be a reversal of the foreign policy doctrine that has existed since the end of World War ll. That policy included the formation of NATO with the US as the unofficial guarantor of military security. The US would accept responsibility for the defense of Western Europe and ensure that the Soviet Union was held intact. In return the US would have reserve currency status and would through that status control the world’s economy.

Reserve currency status ensured that the US would have the means through the accumulation of debt to fund its military in all circumstances. This was also a recognition by Europe that it was free to devote virtually all of its resources to rebuilding and to the welfare projects that would keep its citizens comfortable and thereby avoid revolution. The new strategy document seems to refute that policy and it appears to place Europe in some responsibility for its own defense.

The Europeans don’t like the policy shift at all but they are at least verbally adjusting to it. They came up with a way to obtain loans of up to $100 billion for Ukraine to continue the war to the last Ukrainian. The last few years have seen them trying to provoke a new war with Russia and this new policy might have a chilling effect on that desire. The US also included $800 million in the defense bill for Ukraine.

Joan and I were talking about all this over breakfast the other day and she pointed out that people are starting to see fraud despite media refusal to discuss it. Some of those things like the fraud of the Somali community in Minnesota and the election fraud in Georgia now freely admitted are obvious. We also have the American people seeing their standard of living eaten away by inflation and an economy declining because it’s burdened by debt. People are becoming aware of all this more and more as they see their country committed to the defense and foreign policy of a country far away.

The people have come to realize that if they express criticism of that country’s foreign policy the argument requires them to defend a charge of antisemitism instead of the policy. The same is true of the billions of fraud in Minnesota because the Governor of that state said that criticism was white supremacy so the argument is a defense of that charge instead of the fraud. Joan’s position is that people are not ignorant despite media’s refusal to report and investigate they are aware of what is going on.

My response to her was yes, you are right but that puts us in the most dangerous position possibly ever. People see rampant crime and theft by government and they see government saying America first but its foreign policy seems to put another country’s interest first, and that creates a dangerous, revolutionary atmosphere. I’m afraid that people are becoming aware that one of the founding principles which helped make America great is being erased and that principle is the empowerment of the individual over the power of the collective to demand obedience and compliance. In the American culture the individual counts and I’m afraid many are losing sight of that. The individual can take a stand against injustice without fear of reprisal from government.

When governors have no argument against fraud except those who uncover it and point it out are white supremacists, and when senators have no response to pointing out the foreign policy faults of another country except to accuse those who object of antisemitism it means thee government officials have lost the argument because they have nothing to say. The real problem happens when government loses the argument as it has currently, which makes fraud and waste obvious to anyone. People try to change the system through voting but they see that it does not change very much. The worst frustration is that the dangerous revolutionary civil war tension is created when people see it, understand it, but nothing is ever done.

They see fraud costing billions and they know that is just the tip of the iceberg. They see their money taken by the IRS to fund the wars in favor of other nations. They see fraud at every level and yet they are struggling to get by and they cannot get by without accumulating debt, which becomes unpayable. They know the difference between their debt and government debt is that they actually have to answer for theirs.

 Some of the things which have changed the lifestyles of the American people since the end of the covid confinement are really startling for the American families. Since covid, gas for utilities up 48.8%, car maintenance and repair 48.8%, car insurance 56.1%, coffee 46.1%, electricity 40.4%, meat 38.1%, used cars 33.6% bread 29,4%, milk 24.1%. I could go on and on with these numbers but just ask yourself if your income since covid has increased by anything close to these numbers.

So, we can see the elements of an explosion building and smoldering. Couple this to the knowledge people have that they must send their children to schools which are run by people who hate them. Their children will be indoctrinated by teachers who hate them so their children will become like those who hate them and look to people who have caused the problem for the answer thus the inauguration of the mayor of our greatest city on the Quran. I know what you must be thinking, it’s not everyone of them and there are some officials who really do care.

Yes, I know about those people, but the truth is that the ones who claim to care make some angry speech to that effect and then go on about their business as if nothing happened. That is the demoralizing truth that we face here in the first month of 2026.

In conclusion, whether we know it or not, we are all beneficiaries of the religion created by the one who is the author of the title of this Castle Report. The moral doctrine created by that religion has curbed power and defended the weak and helpless for over 2000 years. When you lay aside those moral principle you have power unleashed, enforced through force, and not limited by anything, to paraphrase Lenin.

Finally, folks, as we start 2026 I close with another quote from President Eisenhower or at least I paraphrase him,” the people of the world are so desperate for peace that sooner or later the governments will have to step aside and let them have it.”

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle discusses President Trump’s 28 point proposed peace plan along with a few words about the other war, the one in the Middle East.

Transcription / Notes:

PEACE IN UKRAINE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 5th day of December in the year of our Lord 2025. Although the title of this Castle Report is peace, my beat is war today and as usual there is no shortage of war to talk about. Specifically, I will be discussing President Trump’s 28 point proposed peace plan along with a few words about the other war, the one in the Middle East.

Yes, President Trump is proposing peace in Ukraine. Perhaps he wants to turn his attention to other wars and potential wars or maybe he feels bad about campaigning that he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours with just a few phone calls. I will be telling you what I propose the U.S. do in Ukraine and the Middle East but before we get to that listen to this important information.

I am currently in the last month of my 46-year legal career which ends with the end of December. I still find it hard to say the word retirement but I guess that’s what is happening to me. The profession of law has been great for me over the years. I worked hard to respect the profession and it returned the affection, but it doesn’t give its favors, one has to earn them. The law allowed me the opportunity to earn a good life and I am very grateful for that. No top-down collectivized system told me what my life would be, instead I was free to chart my own course and achieve all that my ability could achieve. Having said all that, this is a very stressful and very busy month for me so this will be the last Castle Report for this year. I will join you again on the first Friday in January God willing. I plan to continue telling you each week what is wrong with the world and what I think the solutions should be.

The President of the United States has proposed a 28-point plan to end the Ukraine war so let’s take a look at that plan and compare it to what my version of a peace plan would look like. President Trump promised he would end the war 24 hours after he was elected. That was a little unrealistic as time has confirmed, but nevertheless it could have ended rather quickly. War means intervention by the United States and the best antidote to intervention is obviously non-intervention.

No threats, no sanctions no weapons, no intelligence, no coordination, no missiles fired deep into Russia, and no need for elaborate peace plans. The real fix is much simpler than all that, just come home and mind your own business which is $38 trillion of debt. The President must know that intervention by the U.S. started the whole thing and this plan, though well meaning, is just more of that intervention. The U.S. has had its hands in this mess from the get-go and any plan has to consider that.

The Orange Revolution in the early 2000s began it and the Maidan Revolution in 2014 completed the process from which conflict the U.S. apparently thought would result in a NATO military presence on the very border of Russia. Unless we come to understand the origin of this conflict it’s hard to see how we can help resolve it. The two so-called revolutions that I mentioned were attempts to manipulate Ukraine into a hostile relationship with Russia from which Ukraine had no possibility of victory even with U.S. and NATO help. Looking back at the 2014 coup we see two U.S. senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham actually present in the capital of Ukraine demanding publicly that the people of that country overthrow their duly elected government and replace it with one more favorably inclined toward the U.S.

Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokesperson for many presidents, including Joe Biden, was caught on one of those open mic telephone calls planning who would run the post-coup government. She took cookies to the protesters and bragged that we achieved it all with only $5 billion. So, as a result of this intervention, the U.S. is left trying to manage a problem that it created in the first place. Hundreds of thousands of dead and hundreds of billions of U.S. money expended and apparently all for nothing.

No, actually it was not a war for nothing, so what was it for. A recent report tells us at least the main purpose. While the U.S. is $38 trillion in debt and Europe is trying to manage its decline under the weight of spiraling crime, collapsing birth rates and demographic destruction some in Europe and the U.S. are doing quite well. The global arms industry without which the bloody struggles in Ukraine and the Middle East would not be possible are enjoying record profits.

The world’s biggest weapons manufacturers posted an all-time record $679 billion in revenue in 2024. The globalists and neo-cons or whatever you choose to call them live to fuel these companies and make them happy. A report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports what we already knew and that is that while the middle classes and poor are decaying rapidly, arms makers are thriving as never before. The U.S. companies lead the world of course with 39 companies making $334 billion.

European companies are working hard to keep up the 26 largest enjoyed a 13 Percent increase in sales. Sweden’s powerful Saab led the way with a 24 percent jump in profits. One other company, a Czech based company, though smaller than Saab was given the lead in feeding the Ukraine meat grinder and its revenue increased 200 percent. Israel didn’t want to lose out so its companies which send weapons to conflicts all over the world increased profits by 16 percent.

The SIPRI Report concludes that the arms giants are “capitalizing” on high demand. Therefore, they and the politicians they bribe have zero incentive to make peace. In World War two the situation was different because literally everyone including the President of the U.S. had sons or other relatives in the conflict but now the cannon fodder role is left for others.

 Russia’s situation has seemed dire politically and economically at times, but not for Russian arms makers. Combined, their increase in 2024 was 23 percent. One might reasonably conclude that this whole war thing taken in its entirety is a conspiracy to destroy as many people as possible in order to make record profits. The people of the West may fear walking the streets of their cities but they never have to fear for the health of their “defense firms” because they are on the job.

For the first time ever, several Middle East companies have cracked the top 100. The deal is so sweet everyone gets in on it. These companies anxiously search the world for rare earth metals to keep the killing going as long as possible. Could that have anything to do with all the talk and deal making about the Chinese controlling the rare earth market. Back in the Middle East Dubai’s Edge Group made $4.7 billion much of it through drone and missile technology which they sell worldwide. For the first time Turkey’s defense sector took in $31 billion combined. So, when we discuss peace and whether this or that plan will work we have to keep in mind that war is by far the most profitable racket on earth and the global elites who pontificate about climate change and moral values are the same ones who profit from the bloodshed.

 We should at least mention Just a few of the points in the President’s 28-point plan. 1. Ukraine’s sovereignty will be confirmed. 2. A full and comprehensive non-aggression agreement will be concluded between Russia, Ukraine, and Europe and all “ambiguities” of the past 30 years are hereby resolved. 5. Ukraine will receive “reliable” security guarantees. 7. Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join Nato and Nato agrees to include language in its charter that it will not accept Ukraine as a member.

8. Nato agrees to not deploy troops in Ukraine. 10. The U.S. will receive “compensation” for its guarantee. If Ukraine invades Russia it will lose the guarantee. If Russia invades Ukraine there will be a decisive, coordinated military response and all sanctions will be reimposed. If Ukraine, without cause, launches a missile at Moscow, the security guarantee will be dissolved.  11, Ukraine retains the right to EU membership. 12. A global package for the reconstruction of Ukraine will be prepared. The World Bank will develop the funds for this effort. 13. Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy. Sanctions will be gradually lifted. 17. The U.S. and Russia will reimpose arms control treaties including Start-1.

21. Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk will be recognized, including by the U.S., as Russian.   24. A humanitarian committee will be established to resolve humanitarian issues including exchange of all prisoners and bodies. 25. Ukraine will hold elections 100 days after the treaty is signed. 28. After the agreement is signed a ceasefire will immediately go into effect and all parties will withdraw to agreed upon lines.

So, one thing that comes immediately to mind is that there are a lot of ambiguous terms in the agreement that will have to be defined and resolved. Right now, nobody seems to like it. Warhawk, Lindsey Graham hates it so it has that going for it. Zelensky hates it because there are a few Ukrainian people still alive and there are more profits to be made if he could just persuade Trump to give him more money. Russia seems at least willing to talk about implementation so despite the fact that it is perhaps not the best solution it is a solution so I pray that it works.

Finally, folks, I pray that the U.S. will not bend to the will of Netanyahu and Zelensky, and their lobbyists in the U.S.. Come home close down much of the wasteful foreign “defense” spending. Mind our own business, reduce the deficit and defend America and its people. That’s my peace plan.

At Least that’ the way I see it,

Until January 2nd or thereabouts folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle talks about the economy in general as well as the United States economy specifically, and why American families are struggling financially.

Transcription / Notes

IT’S THE ECONOMY

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 21st day of November in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about the economy in general as well as the United States economy specifically. You probably remember when Democrat policy advisor James Carville told then candidate Bill Clinton, “it’s the economy stupid.” He was correct and the advice is still correct today.

 Remember that next week is Thanksgiving so there will be no Castle Report. I will join you again on Friday December 5.

Carville was a very effective political operative in those days and was apparently able to convince Mr. Clinton that the people who would elect him or his opponent cared more about their standard of living than they did about any foreign policy issue. They should have cared more about donating their children to the foreign policy whims of whoever was in office but when push comes to shove everyone has to eat. A family of four, and those relationships used to exist, is acutely aware of what food and gasoline cost.

I’m a layperson in economics in the sense that I’m not trained in economics but I do have a family with the same economic needs as everyone else. Most importantly I have been a bankruptcy attorney for 46 years which has kept me in the forefront of the economic needs of ordinary people. Tens of thousands of people and businesses have told me about their struggles in cities all over the country and I have helped them find a way through their economic troubles.

With all that said let’s look at some of the economic facts that trouble the country right now. When I say, as I do from time to time, that an economic catastrophe is coming with the only question being when it will arrive, why do I believe that. Not much makes sense these days since America is the hottest economy attracting trillions in capital but inflation is still present and it seems that almost weekly another major corporation announces layoffs or store closings. Last week the fast-food chain, Wendy’s, announced that it would be closing 400 restaurants. Amazon announced that it would be replacing about 30,000 employees with robots.

The economy depends on federal spending and that is now completely out of control. My fear is that so many irreversible commitments have been made that the federal government is not capable of living within its means and if true that would signal eventual disaster. Fiscal year 2025, which ended on September 30 of this year posted a deficit of $1.8 trillion. Deficit means that the government spent $1.8 trillion more than it received in revenue. It’s simple if you think about it from the standpoint of your family. Suppose you make $75 thousand per year but you spend $100 thousand and you do that year after year. You know what is going to happen eventually and that means you will be in my office to consult about bankruptcy.

You can keep the plates in the air for a while by borrowing, pay day loans and the like, and by using one credit card to pay another until there is no more credit limit left on any cards. You can last for a while by just making interest payments on the cards but then you can’t even do that. This problem gets worse and worse until it becomes unfixable and bankruptcy results. That is exactly what the federal government is doing to manage its spending. One of the major warning signs of impending trouble that economists always warn us about is when interest becomes the biggest item in the budget.

It doesn’t exceed medical expenses or social security yet but this year, ominously, interest was higher than the massive defense budget. Just as you do with your credit cards the government has to borrow just to pay the interest. In other words, the government is paying debt by incurring more debt which drives the debt and next year’s payments even higher. This all means that annual interest, which now exceeds 20% of tax revenue will continue to increase. The debt is purchased primarily by foreign governments, central banks, large corporations, commercial banks and individual investors. Recently, in an ominous trend, those foreigners have been net sellers of U.S. debt.

That means that the financing of the debt falls to domestic investors meaning you and me. People individually, through retirement accounts or through purchase of some investment fund, finance government debt with their savings. It is necessary that individual Americans do well because they have to save to invest in U.S. debt. Unfortunately, this year net savings is on track to be less than $1trillion, the lowest figure in many years while the deficit is on track to be roughly $2 trillion.

This all means there are not enough foreign buyers and not enough domestic savers to finance the debt so the only option is for the banking system, i.e., the Federal Reserve, to create the money to pay for the excessive spending. I say excessive because if you spend more than you make with no plan to pay it, I call that excessive. When you get yourself into that cycle you have to stop, to reverse course before it is too late. It’s almost like alcoholism or some other addiction. You can stop for a while, but then it’s too late and you can’t stop on your own.

Inflation is the result when money is created and pumped into the economy without any corresponding increase in production. Energy, it is estimated, is about 50% of the cost of producing everything. When you make energy decisions on a national level that cut back available energy and add to the costs, everything increases in price across the economy. When politicians of one party or another decide to put on their virtue signaling act by refusing to allow domestic production it costs everyone. Everything families use, food, fuel, autos, and clothes for individuals cost more and the products necessary for business from machinery to microchips increase as well.

There is no corresponding increase in wages for people so their standard of living is diminished. If a person usually pays $2.75 per gallon for gas and uses 20 gallons per week that is $55 per week so if it goes to $3.00 he just took a $5.00 reduction in his standard of living. People see this happening and they circle the wagons by cutting back on spending. When people reduce spending huge corporations such as Walmart and Amazon cut back as well which means jobs are lost and the process gets worse and worse. Lay-offs are becoming common and technology such as AI along with robotics makes reducing the workforce easier to do.

As I said earlier, Amazon has announced plans to replace 30,000 workers with robots. Those machines never have sick days, they take no vacations, they do not get pregnant, and they don’t worry about retirement.  Bad policies from the federal government and most policies are bad, make our lives more complicated and more expensive. For example, Obamacare was called The Affordable Care Act but it has made the cost of healthcare much higher and the cost of insurance is skyrocketing.

There are several indicators that can be followed to track the status of the economy. The first and most obvious is shipping records. The giant container ships that you see pictures of and view on television represent the health of the population economically. Timber is another indicator and prices are lower this year. That’s good for consumers because it means things made from timber are also lower but it also bodes ill for the overall health of the economy. Lower demand for timber means lower demand for new houses. Builders aren’t building as much and that means the housing market is slow.

 Not many are looking to build a new home because they can’t afford it. Instead, people who have low-interest rate mortgages are sitting tight which means fewer homes on the market and higher prices. The young suffer because they don’t have a lower interest rate loan and houses are rising so they can’t afford to move out of their apartment to have a family. Most people who start a family want a place with a yard for their kids to play in, I know I did when my daughter was born. High home prices mean that for the first time in U.S. history, the average age of first-time home buyers is above 40.

The president sees all this as well as I do and he is very conscious of the fact that his tariffs have added to the cost of everything whether he admits it or not. A tariff is a charge whether we call it a tax or not, it is a fee we charge foreigners for the privilege of having access to the American market. The result when it ripples through the economy is more money burning a hole in the government’s pocket and higher prices for individuals. The president sees that and he hears the crying so he comes up with a plan to send $2000 to each American below a certain income. I’m opposed to it for many reasons but the primary one is that it will fuel more inflation and make everything cost more and be self-defeating. Who wouldn’t want an extra $2000 he hasn’t earned but in the long run it will not help. My local newspaper, which is owned by the USA Today group and therefore is an almost exact copy of the New York Times, except the sports coverage is not as good, said in an article I received last Wednesday that the cost of it “could be $600 million” while the tariffs have brought in only $300 million.

So, the cost could be this or that but I assume everything in the article is slanted and a lie so you can’t depend on it for information. Instead, the paper should say, look folks, this country is $38 trillion in debt and on track to spend $2 trillion more than it takes in so to have some chance to avoid a catastrophe use the money to at least reduce the deficit.

Finally, folks, is there any way to restore the system and avoid what I have called a looming catastrophe? Sure there is, just see the results Javier Milieu has achieved in Argentina in only two years. Cut spending and stop only tying excessive spending to fraud. Just say we can’t afford it anymore. Close overseas bases and stop fighting other people’s wars. Come home and mind your own business. Wasteful programs, and that is almost all of them, will have to go. So that is the obvious formula but will we attempt it, no I’m certain we will not.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until December 5th folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle talks about an interview of a British veteran that was conducted on Good Morning Great Britain on Veteran’s Day earlier this week and the “viral” result of his comments.

Transcription / Notes

ALEC PENSTONE WAS RIGHT

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 14th day of November in the year of our Lord 2025. Last Tuesday the 11th was Veterans Day here in America or what they still call Armistice Day in Great Britain. I will be talking about that by using an interview of a British veteran named Alec Penstone that was given on British television and the “viral” result of his comments.

Mr. Penstone was selected as the veteran to be interviewed and to represent all British veterans on the British television show Good Morning Britain. His interview was live and obviously intended to convey to the British public that the TV show, its hosts, and the network in general are just as patriotic and honoring of veterans as the general public. In other words, they intended to traffic from his honor and his willingness to serve in a time when service required great sacrifice.

Mr. Penstone, now 100 years old served in the British navy on Arctic Convoy duty. The convoys carried goods from Great Britain and America around the Arctic route to Russia. Without those convoys Russia might have been defeated and knocked out of the war and the 3 million men, 3000 tanks, and 4000 aircraft committed by the Nazis to the defeat of Russia could have been used on the Western front to oppose the D-day landings so it was vital service.

Yes, it was vital but also very dangerous because ships were hunted by German submarines and surface raiders. Being hit by a German torpedo or naval gunfire was certain death in a freezing Arctic ocean but men like Mr. Penstone were there and willing to endure the conditions to prevail. I tell of his exploits to show you that the man was and is a genuine war hero and not just someone sitting in an office drinking coffee while others were out in the mud and blood.

So, the hosts of the show sought to bask in the honor and dignity of the man and I suppose absorb some of it onto themselves but it just didn’t go according to script. The question was ‘what are your thoughts on Remembrance Day and what does it mean for the country”. The old sailor responded like this.

“I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones. All the hundreds of my friends, everybody else who gave their lives. For what? The country of today. No, I’m sorry the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result that it is now.”

The female host taken aback by the man’s honesty said, “Oh Alec, I’m sorry you feel like that” Perhaps Alec has some mental illness or a touch of dementia, after all he is 100 years old. The male host decided to give him a chance to explain his answer. “What do you mean by that, though? “Maybe this would, give the man a chance to denounce all those British people who have been protesting the fact that Great Britain, the country he fought for, is no longer British. If that is what they expected, he left them disappointed. “What we fought for was our freedom. We find that even now, it’s a darn sight worse than when I fought for it.” Yes, that was his answer and the hosts were a little unprepared for it. I’m going to use a little poetic license and say that he fought so that Western Civilization might endure and he, with tears in his eyes, knows that it has not.

The host in conclusion of the interview said, “it’s our job now, isn’t it, to make it the country that you fought for.” I will answer Mr. Penstone and say no that isn’t your job because your job is to make it the opposite of the country he fought for. I don’t think you want this to be a Christian nation with traditions and people who defended that concept against Vikings, Romans, and Nazis, but that is why he fought. Well, I have put my words in the mouth of this Centenarian war hero who fought Nazi Germany to preserve his country’s freedom so I will give an account of why I think he is correct.

Mr. Jefferson said in his declaration that when you make such charges you must explain them. “A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” I will, then, give some reasons why I think freedom here in America is not what it was and certainly not what it was intended to be.

When people see what is happening in America they know something is wrong and since they have experienced nothing but the globalist-dominated propaganda of what amounts to public education they are driven to grasp at a charismatic leader who promises relief through ideas as dumb as socialism. It works like this, they see that 90% of all wealth and that might be a low estimate, is controlled by 10% of the people and again those numbers are probably a little low but that is what the economists tell us.

The young are propagandized but that doesn’t mean they are stupid. The charismatic leader tells them we can just make everything free for you and we can make the 10% or less pay for it. The young suddenly realize that although they hardly have any of the wealth, they have more than 50% of the votes and that gives them the power to attempt the looting. There is an old adage in economics that says money goes where it is treated the best. So, anyone who has any money that will be looted by the charismatic leader flees to safer ground. They see the storm troopers on the horizon and they flee before it is too late.

In America, minorities have rights that can’t legally be taken by the majority. The majority looks around and concludes that it can arrange things to discriminate against any people that it wants too. That’s what all the redistricting of congressional districts have been about for the last 60 or so years and what the drive for equity and egalitarianism has been about. It’s all a globalist scheme to mold humanity into an amorphous mess that is easily controlled by charismatic leaders chosen and funded by them. It can’t and won’t work but it is also the opposite of the freedom that Mr. Penstone fought for. That is freedom of the individual to work, study, and achieve to limits of one’s own merits not to have a person’s status in life dictated by a centralized control mechanism.

I could give examples of places socialism has been tried and failed all day long but there is no time for that. I will just say that the new mayor of New York City is sometimes called a communist but he is not because that utopian dream is not achievable. Lenin and Stalin tried to achieve it but they only got to an advanced form of socialism. Yes, Stalinism is just the advanced state of socialism.

Let me move on now to other destroyers of the American dream. They are destroyers of the individual and national freedom that Mr. Penstone fought for. They are examples of the surrender of independence upon which concept America was founded. Yes since World War ll at least, if not before, America has gradually come to be controlled by some type of globalist conglomerate. How else could you explain what I am about to describe.

The U.S, plans to build a military base in Israel at an estimated cost of about half a billion dollars. That is the prebuilding estimate and of course the actual cost will escalate because it always does. I could stop there and tell you that this idea is perhaps the most stupid idea ever conceived by the minds of people totally controlled by globalists. I need, however, to describe what seems to be happening and of course I still hold out hope that it won’t happen but it is under way as I speak.

The base will be located in Israel along the Gaza Strip and will house several thousand American troops whose mission task is to maintain the ceasefire in the region. It is the result of a negotiated agreement between the U.S. and Israel. I have to stop and ask what in the world is going on here. I just can’t understand how and why American parents are supposed to send their children in harm’s way because it’s in some other country’s best interest. This seems like absolute madness to me and is proof positive that the president and through him the entire administration is totally under the control and domination of a foreign country and its advocates here in the U.S.

Wait a minute though doesn’t that violate every principle that this country was founded on and that hundreds of thousands have died to protect. Yes it does folks but we are doing it anyway. My guess is that there won’t be too many peeps from congress about this on either side of the isle. Why, well obviously, they are controlled by the same lobby representing the same country that seems to have the president’s full support. They line up at the microphone to compete and debate who is the most pro-Israel among them. Woe to any member who fails this test because he or she will be quickly out of office or at best pushed into a no influence corner of the room.

Let’s take a moment to take the 10,000-foot view of this as they say and by the way this base is supposed to house 10,000 troops. So, to summarize, decades of American support, American money, American blood going all the way back to 1948. Washington has destroyed at least 5 countries in the region so now it is being tasked with the cost of rebuilding and rehabilitating the region and all its people from ordinary people to insane terrorists.

I’m going out on a limb here I know but I’m going to say that when all those Maga voters voted in the last presidential election they thought they were voting for America first. They voted for what was in America’s best interest not the best interest of another country. This is complete madness and I can’t think of another word for it. I am in a state of disbelief coupled with sadness and topped off with extreme anger so I guess that makes me an extremist.

Finally, folks, do you think that if the nation channeled all this energy, all this brainpower, all this money, and all the lives spent fighting for the interest of some people on the other side of the world it would do some good in New York City, Memphis, Los Angeles, and in fact all 50 states. I think so and I therefore conclude and submit to you that Alec Penstone is right.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle talks about the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, the NYC mayoral election held last Tuesday, and how a self-described socialist won the election.

Transcription / Notes

THE MARINE CORPS LIVES FOREVER

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 7th day of November in the year of our Lord 2025. Next Monday the 10th of November is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States Marine Corps, an organization that I served with for four years more than 50 years ago. The title comes from a belief drummed into our heads back then, Marines live and they die but the Marine Corps lives forever.

I am not going to spend this entire report taking you down memory lane because there are just too many bad things to talk about. This Report that I do each week is in a way a journey through the sewers of the world. People often ask me why don’t you ever talk about any good news and my answer is, because I just don’t see any. Often, good news is in the eye of the beholder and it depends, to quote an old saying, on whose ox is being gored. The point is though that someone’s ox is always being gored and politics seems to be the art of making it the other guy’s ox.

I wonder if other people with military experience remember it the same way I do. I remember mostly the pleasant times of friendships with my buddies, of sitting in bars with them all over the world. When I served in the Marine Corps the number of Lieutenants was very small so you could walk into a military bar anywhere in the world and odds are you would see someone you knew. We all had the same thing in common and that gave us purpose and camaraderie. That’s what I remember most of the time and I forget the moments of sheer terror and extreme boredom that went along with it.

I take great pride in my Marine Corps service and in its 250-year existence. I guess its one of those, you had to be there kind of things, but this 250th reminds us that next 4th of July will be the 250th anniversary of the United States. That’s right the Marine Corps existed before the country a fact that was pounded into us by our leaders in the early days. Those are some of the things I remember as I look back over more than 50 years but now it’s time to move back into the real world of today.

  Sometimes even the real world doesn’t seem real or we might say that can’t be real and with AI you never know for sure. We try one fantasy and when it fails we try another. We use one imaginary problem to escape from a different problem that perhaps was not a fantasy but was caused by reliance on a fantasy. For example, last Tuesday New Yorkers tried to escape from one of those fantasies by embracing an even more toxic fantasy. Time will show the results but if history is any indicator the results will be horrendous. That is the result history has given each and every time populations have tried to indulge in the New York fantasy. Yes, the people of New York elected a self-described socialist as their mayor. The race was not very close and Republican Curtis Sliwa did not get enough votes to deny the second-place candidate the race, but Andrew Cuomo lost despite spending more than $65 million. He did not have the message and New Yorkers apparently are tired of the same old corrupt politicians so they voted for a new George Sorus funded candidate.  Yes, George, it seems, owns a lot of American politicians.

I obviously don’t know the mind of each individual New York voter but apparently Mamdani found his appeal among the young and that generation, the one coming behind my daughter voted him into office. That generation knows they are struggling and they know that what they were promised turned out to be a fantasy that could not deliver anything but promises. Go to college using debt to obtain a meaningless 4-year degree and have a pretty good middle class job which doesn’t provide nearly enough to live in this new credit-based economy, especially in an expensive Democrat city.

These young people know that the average age of first-time home buyers is now 38 years old and that is the generation ahead of them not their generation. So, they are struggling and the promises they have relied on, the promises that gave their parents a good life are just not there for them. No matter what happens with interest rates, and despite the efforts of the federal government to stimulate the economy with more debt it just gets worse because debt is the economy and debt is toxic. They turn to a man who is basically foreign to all those promises because he comes from a different place and he is backed and funded from different sources that, in my carefully researched opinion are intentionally destructive.

He has a different answer for them and his solution is very simple. Why has no one before him thought that these problems could be alleviated by just making some things free. City run grocery stores should solve the high cost of food, right. What about the cost of running perhaps the world’s biggest public transportation system, and the cost of using public transportation. Pretty simple, just make it free along with free childcare and we can reduce rent with a rent stabilization freeze. Now, we know from experience that rental real property will not be maintained or upgraded because landlords can’t raise rent to cover it, but oh well.

 How do we pay for all of it. Well, that is simple too we just take the money from the rich and give it to the poor so that makes the new mayor a kind of modern-day Robin Hood. There are problems out there in this economy that will be solved one way or another. If they are not solved through some type of action, they will solve themselves in some version of collapse. The fantasy of everything free will not solve the problems I am talking about because this economy is based on credit and debt and that is getting out of hand. Everything free is the opposite of the correct solution which is to pay down debt or at least do something to stop or even slow down its increase.

I don’t see any evidence of that solution being tried in fact it just gets worse and worse. Delinquencies in debt are rising rapidly, in auto, credit card, and student loan debt. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, delinquencies hit a record $18.4 trillion in the 2nd quarter of 2025. The national debt hit $38 trillion which causes strain across the economy as service on all that debt puts downward pressure on our standard of living. So, those are a few of the problems that confront the general government and now confront the people of New York City.

The new mayor makes it very clear that he wants to be a national figure by declaring war on Donald Trump and by making his successful campaign about Trump. He seems to have convinced his supporters that there is a vast pool of money and they are not getting their share and that is because of greed. If the people who control the vast pool of money were not so greedy and so selfish then they would release the money so the New York voters could have their financial problems relieved by getting things they used to pay for free. All this greed seems to make the new mayor very angry and he finally revealed that anger in his victory speech.

He seems to be an egalitarian as well, this mayor, because he intends to cancel New York’s school programs for gifted students. So, the gifted students will join all the others at the bottom so we can’t have meritocracy whereby a young person is able to achieve all that a free society allows. Instead, your gifted child will be confined with all the non-gifted ones hopefully in the middle, but more likely at the bottom. If that is your message, Mr. or Ms. politician, apparently those at the bottom and in the middle will support you in large numbers.

There is a possibility that this socialist victory in New York City will turn out to be a positive for Republicans nationwide. The new mayor sees himself as a national figure as I said and that might not be such a bad thing. The Democrat victories which seem so significant are concentrated along the coasts and in the large Democrat cities. In other words, this self-described socialist mayor obviously made significant inroads with his audience and his message resonated with them. On the other hand, it’s the same audience and doesn’t indicate any new trend. This new mayor then, is the new face of the Democrat Party and we will see how that plays outside the coastal Democrat strongholds.

The elite of the current Democrat Party don’t want this socialist as their new face, but he claims it anyway so they spend time distancing themselves from him after he won. The Republicans should learn from this because the message is that people are concerned about bread-and-butter issues, literally. Sometimes the elite in Washington seem unable to relate to ordinary people who care more about the cost of ground beef than what new missile the Chinese are testing. The government shutdown which is interfering with food stamps is a good example. People are dependent on them and can’t seem to live without them since most of their lives have been spent eating food courtesy of other taxpayers.

I’m just saying that the current officers of our government in Washington have not taken advantage of what the Democrats have done. My message might be, they admit they have forced this government shutdown to obtain political leverage so they get their leverage and you don’t get food. The people on the other side of the politics of the new mayor need to understand that there are legitimate reasons why people voted for him and those reasons should be addressed. It’s not much different from when Trump was elected and instead of asking why, and what are the voters concerned about, Democrats developed only one message. Trump is bad, he’s a racist, he’s a fascist and other than that we have nothing to say. So, the millions who voted for him have no concerns worthy of being addressed just like our new mayor. If Republicans want to succeed perhaps they should find someone capable of addressing and refuting his policies.

Finally, folks are the voters who elected Donald Trump irredeemable fascists whose views are not worthy of consideration. Are the voters who elected Mamdani crazy Neo-Marxists who represent a coming insane generation and are therefore too crazy to hold serious opinions. No to each question, but I do predict the election of the new mayor will end in socialist disaster and the slide into the abyss of our once greatest city will accelerate. However, the future looks bright for real estate agents in Florida and Texas.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle speaks to the best and worst of times as a good description of our times, today.

Transcription / Notes

THE BEST AND WORST OF TIMES

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 31st day of October in the year of our Lord 2025. Yes, this is Halloween day, a traditional spooky, bad news day, but I have decided to use this spooky day and borrow a bit from the classic novel written by Charles Dickens entitled “A Tale of Two Cities”.  Mr. Dickens opened his novel with “It Was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times” and that is a pretty good description of our times, today.

Dickens wrote those words in 1859 as the title and opening of his novel which was set in London and Paris during the French Revolution. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.” That sounds so much like today because the more things change the more they stay the same and as we all know technology constantly changes but human nature does not. The setting of Dickens’ novel was an age of radical opposites that faced each other much like today, but today they are not cities but political divisions.

Here in present-day America, we have opposing forces and contrasting views everywhere you look. In New York City, for example, there seems to be a very good possibility that the people of that once great city will elect a man named Zohran Mamdani as mayor in the upcoming election. The man is often described as a communist as well as an Islamic fundamentalist at the same time. Those two terms are, of course, contradictory because communism was founded and still is based on atheism while Islam is obviously based on a belief in God.

He does seem to have some radical ideas based on economic theories which have been failures everywhere they have been tried. He is not the first to suggest that public transportation be free without any corresponding explanation of where he would get the money to pay for it. See folks, nothing government does is ever free because someone always pays and the politicians want the people to give them the authority to decide who they will steal the money from. I suppose that is true democracy whereby the mob is empowered to loot anyone not voting with the majority. Once again it proves the wisdom of the founders who believed in individual rather than collective rights.

Just wind the clock back a century or so and you will find the words of Thomas Paine who wrote a revolutionary pamphlet called Common Sense. One article or series of articles in the pamphlet was called The Crises. He began that section with the words, “These Are the Times That Try Men’s Souls” and that phrase seems more appropriate today than ever. That phrase is especially true here on Halloween Day as many vitally important things hang in the balance such as NYC and whether that city will ever be great again or whether it will continue its slide into the abyss.

So, Mr. Mamdani is an example of the worst of times. The best of times is an amazing contrast whereby the people of Argentina, after decades of socialist experiments, which left that once powerhouse of an economy in a state of collapse decided to change course. What could be more wonderful than the joy of seeing voters reject the allure of socialism for the second time. Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has led his party to a landslide victory in the elections held last Sunday. Radical spending cuts and free-market reforms defined the two years of his presidency and the people of Argentina have endorsed his efforts and decided to continue the road to recovery. That’s the very good news from Argentina.

The bad news or at least I have decided to see it as bad news is that Donald Trump agreed to extend a $40 billion loan to Argentina which has defaulted three times since the year 2000. Never mind the chances of repayment, the president told the Argentine people that the money would only be coming if Milei was reelected which as I said, he was. Does that sound like an open bribe, yes it does, but at least it is open for anyone to see and at least the money is for Argentine trade with the U.S. It is not a Joe Biden kind of bribe whereby he and Hunter get the money personally.

So why is the bribe a bad thing. Well, for one thing this is a bailout and the American people voted for America first which means no bailouts. They especially did not vote for a bailout of a foreign country which might involve lower prices for their soybeans, beef etc. Oh well, we move on, and anyway, encouraging free markets, especially in this hemisphere, is not such a bad thing.

 Milei, in office for a little less than two years, has reduced inflation by 90% and cut the budget by 100%. Argentina is no longer in the desert as Mr. Milei described its condition when he took office. The nation has climbed out of its permanent recession and now has the fastest growing economy in the Americas. GDP growth is more than twice that of the U.S. Real wages have tripled and poverty has been cut by 40%. So, why is the $40 billion necessary? That’s a very good question.

In the meantime, the president is on a trip to the Far East where he has made trade deals with five countries that will bring, reportedly trillions in trade and hopefully more work for Americans. He stopped in Malaysia to sign a peace deal he helped negotiate between Cambodia and Thailand. He also met Japan’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi who is a lot closer to Mr. Trump on how she views the world than most Asian leaders. The trade deal with Japan, worth billions for the U.S, includes rare earth minerals thus reducing the U.S. dependence on China.

In a gesture of friendship and trust, Prime Minister Takaichi donated 250 Japanese cherry trees to help with President Trump’s beautification of Washington efforts. She mentioned in her glowing speech that Japanese fireworks will be used in D.C. as part of the July 4th celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. thus the 250 trees. She and the president watched part of the world series game together and that was I believe the 3rd game which went 18 innings won by the Dodgers which has many Japanese players.

She knew that Trump and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were close friends. Unfortunately, Mr. Abe is now deceased so she gave Trump his putter as a gesture of goodwill and she told him Shinzo would have wanted him to have it. Trump obviously appreciated the touching nature of the gift and expressed sadness at Mr. Abe’s death, and he said he accepted the gift on behalf of the United States. So, these nations, once enemies in a long and bitter war which ended in a nuclear explosion are now good friends so I’m going to put that down as some of the very best of times.

The bad times always seem to happen at the same time, and this time they were on the other side of the world. Despite the peace agreement brokered by President Trump the Israeli Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu apparently used the cover of Trump in the Far East to attack Gaza with American fighter jets and American bombs. The Israelis accused Hamas of killing one Israeli soldier so the attacks reportedly killed 104 people according to the Gaza Health Ministry which of course is run by Hamas. The Israeli attacks came after Israel accused Hamas of shooting an Israeli soldier which caused Mr. Netanyahu to order an “immediate and powerful” attack on the rubble already destroyed by powerful Israeli attacks over the last two years. The health ministry announced that 46 of the dead were children and 20 were women. This area of the world is a difficult to impossible place to find peace, and good times are hard to come by.

 The problem or at least part of the problem, seems to be that both sides in this dispute feel religiously entitled to all the land in the region and neither will be satisfied with anything less than the total departure of the other side. This might be a good time for the U.S. to stop its involvement including furnishing the weapons for the attacks. Such a policy shift would indeed be the best of times for America.

Continuing our examination of the worst of times the U.S. proxy war against Russia seems to be on the verge of expanding into Eastern Europe and other NATO member states. President Trump has made some policy changes taking a harder line against Russia in any possible peace negotiations and that is reportedly due to the influence of Marco Rubio who seems to be very good at the job of Secretary of State but who also may have more than a little neocon in him. U.S. sanctions on Russian oil haven’t worked that well, but now they have intensified and seem to be having their effect, and some of the drone attacks inside Russia have been against Russian oil and oil storage facilities.

Some of the European countries seem to be at odds with the European Union’s position with regard to Russia. Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania are three which have expressed such reservations. You probably remember that Joan and I founded and run a Christian Mission/Orphanage in Romania for orphaned children, mostly but not all Gypsies. I tell you that to explain that I pay particular attention to any news concerning Romania because it could affect our mission which is home to about 50 kids who have no other home to go to.

So, on the good news front the U.S. just announced that it plans to withdraw 800 U.S. soldiers stationed in Romania, as part of a broader restructuring of its forces in Europe. One thousand troops as well as aircraft, drones and other assets will remain in Romania. The U.S. Army 3rd infantry division took over command of U.S. forces in Romania replacing the 1st Armored Division. Perhaps that decision is a recognition of my theory that the tank is an anachronism on today’s battlefield.

IN light of our theme of the best of times and the worst of times here are a few things to close with. In the past two and one-third months ending October 15th the U.S. national debt increased by more than one trillion dollars. In light of the debt which now exceeds 38 trillion why is the U.S. continuing to fight and underwrite Israel’s wars or anyone else’s for that matter. How can the U.S. afford to loan anyone anything or bomb any one except in a dire act of self-defense. All the sanctions on Russia and China as well as other countries which do business with them accomplish not much but make more enemies and higher prices.

Finally, folks, I could go on with this best of times and worst of times analysis all day but instead let me close with some thoughts from George Washington. He and the other founders were of European ancestry and he saw and knew their political systems. He said we Americans should leverage our relative isolation and disentangle ourselves from the conflicts and eternal hatreds of the old world. We should focus on trade with everyone and prosperity for all. No entangling alliances because they just make us beholden and put us in the middle of wars that should be none of our business. That sounds like pretty good advice to me.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle talks about the military actions taken by president Trump against the nation of Venezuela as well as some other South American and Latin American nations. Is stopping drug trafficking and importation of narcotics into the United States all there is to it?

Transcription / Notes

A NEW MONROE DOCTRINE

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 24th day of October in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about the military actions taken by President Trump against the nation of Venezuela as well as some other South and Latin American nations. I argue that there is more involved in these actions than an effort to stop drug trafficking and also assert that countering the import of narcotics into the United States is at best a side benefit of the action against those countries.

The original Monroe Doctrine has been the policy of the United States for a little over 200 years, but it has been more or less abandoned in recent years. Is Donald Trump trying to reassert that doctrine with his military efforts in the Western Hemisphere, I think he is and I will make my case today. First, let’s look at the Monroe Doctrine and what it was originally intended to be.

It was first formulated or at least spoken of by President James Monroe in 1823 during his state of the union address to congress. He laid out before congress a foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. Essentially, he just told the Europeans, and at the time Spain was the primary nation, that we will leave you alone in Europe and not interfere in your affairs and in return this hemisphere is off limits to you. Intervention in the affairs of nations in this hemisphere by foreign powers would potentially be treated as a hostile act against the United States. This doctrine was the grand foreign policy strategy during the 19th century.

The Spanish American War at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th was the capstone or high-water mark of that policy when the United States removed Spain from its last two remaining colonies in this hemisphere. The 20th century brought with it two world wars and an America victorious and willing to intervene anywhere and at anytime it wanted to. Instead of non-intervention in European affairs the U.S. now has in the neighborhood of 750 military bases on foreign soil all over the world.

The doctrine has been argued about and debated since the Spanish American War, but now everything is different and far more dangerous because of nuclear weapons and the reality that one mistake by one psychopathic leader could unleash a worldwide catastrophe. We also have a new war called the war on drugs that has been raging since President Nixon proclaimed it in the early 1970’s. That war has been fought, lost and fought again since then by almost every president since Nixon. Every president at least pays lip service to stopping the scourge of drugs coming into the United States. It seems that each time one drug is somewhat controlled a new, even worse one takes its place. Cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic opioids for example.

Unlike other presidents Trump seems to be approaching the problem as an actual war rather than using war as a turn of phrase. He has stated that the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels he has designated as terrorist organizations. The Trump administration delivered that notice to congress after a strike on an alleged drug boat from Venezuela. There have been several strikes since then all against supposed drug boats. The scene is usually a high-speed boat carrying several people speeding across the Caribbean when a drone unleashes a hellfire missile and the boat and all its contents disappears.

Designating a group as a terrorist organization is more than just saying we don’t like those people. It deprives that group of many of the niceties of American law such as due process of law and its proponents argue that it permits the non-judicial killing of members of that group. You may recall that President Obama used it when he used to analyze and revise his kill list each Tuesday morning. He used it to kill an American citizen named Anwar al Awlaki somewhere in I believe North Africa, perhaps Somalia. He took a lot of heat for killing an American citizen without any due process but he just said he’s a member of Isis, a designated terrorist organization.

So, that’s how it works, if you are a member of an organization designated as terrorist you are fair game. That’s why designating Antifa as terrorist is so significant and why a few of the group’s members have apparently fled the country. So, an actual shooting war is being conducted against the drug cartels who are of course terrorists. The President of the United States has not limited his invectives to the cartels but has extended the attacks to include the leaders of other countries, at least with words.

The Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has accused President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela of heading up one of the world’s most notorious drug trafficking operations. She said his involvement in the drug trade is a direct threat to the national security of the United States. “He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security. Therefore, we’ve doubled his reward to $50 million.” Yes, the United States has officially, through its chief lawyer, its attorney general, put a reward on the life of the leader of a foreign country.

It has long been rumored or suspected that the drug cartels pay the leaders of South and Latin American countries in drugs such as cocaine instead of cash. That policy, if true, converts the leaders into drug traffickers because they must deliver the drugs to the end users in the United States, thus the drug boats. The administration said its report to congress was required by the National Defense Authorization Act after the U.S. conducts a military attack. The terrorist designation includes several known cartels such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, and El Salvador’s MS-13. The report said the drugs smuggled by these organizations kill tens of thousands of Americans each year and constitute an “armed attack” against U.S. citizens.

The U.S. forces remain positioned to carry out operations as necessary to prevent further deaths or injuries to American citizens by eliminating the threat posed by these terrorist designated organizations. So, in furtherance of that goal the United States has positioned a very powerful array of its armed forces in the Caribbean including many warships. Keep in mind that these ships are not Coast Guard cutters, but navy warships and on those ships and otherwise deployed are some 11,000 U.S. military personnel.

The president also announced that he has authorized the CIA to conduct operations inside Venezuela. That is in addition to eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, several B-52 strategic bombers and fighter jets. This display of military power is supposedly due to drug smuggling and illegal immigration into the United States. When I hear that I raise an eyebrow because it makes no sense to me. There is an economic term called ROI which is return on investment and I don’t see how this investment can be returned if that is the only reason.

Recently the admiral who commanded the Central Command or SOUTHCOM, admiral Alvin Holsey resigned from his position. Perhaps he had doubts about the legality of what he was ordered to do but the reason for his resignation is publicly unknown. The term resignation used by an officer of general rank is very significant because such officers simply do not resign, it just isn’t done. If he wanted to leave the service he would instead announce his retirement and if the navy was not in desperate need of his service his retirement would be approved.

A serving officer has no right to resign without approval. The military in which he serves could reject his resignation but the navy did not do that and his resignation, effective December 1st I believe, was quickly accepted. The whole process that transpired is very revealing but of what no one is saying. I know one thing and that is that his leaving his position was apparently welcomed by the navy. So, what in the world is going on down there. Let’s take a look at some possibilities.

I personally don’t think for a minute that this military display with all its threats is for the purpose of fighting a drug war. That part of it, if anything, is simply a side benefit. No, this is a reimposition of the Monroe Doctrine and this time it is not directed at Europe but China. President Trump is telling China, the Western Hemisphere is ours, we control it, so stay away. Maduro in Venezuela, and Gustavo Petro in Columbia are on notice that the U.S. is not going to permit China to continue dominating the economies and militaries in those countries. To Trump apparently that may require enacting regime change by force in those countries.

 There is an island just off the coast of Venezuela called Marguerita Island known colloquially as terror island because it is a training base for Middle East terror groups. I first heard of what was allegedly happening on that island from a report by Glen Beck who reported it on his podcast. Yes, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are alive and well allegedly, off the coast of Venezuela. These people are apparently trained, equipped and sent back to the Middle East to lead and conduct terror campaigns, and of course, some are transported into the U.S. If that were all it would be plenty but as usual it gets worse. Venezuela in particular but Columbia also are two countries with one of the largest deposits of petroleum and other valuable minerals on earth. Right now, the benefit of all that oil, rare earth minerals, etc. is going to China and Trump wants to see that change.

Using his usual method of negotiating he offers them the carrot and the stick. The stick is a $50 million bounty on their leader as well as ships full of U.S. Marines on their near shore and the CIA doing what it does in their cities. The carrot is that all of this display of what we can do to you goes away if you just do two things that are obviously in your best interest. Stop training terrorists and sell us your oil and minerals. In return your people will no longer live in poverty, your medical system will no longer be non-existent and your leaders will be a friend of the U.S. instead of having bounties on their heads.

Tensions are escalating and apparently none of these leaders will back down until it’s too late. The U.S. appears to be on the verge of air strikes inside Venezuela. Perhaps full-scale war can still be averted but we will have to wait and see folks. As you are painfully aware I’m opposed to non-defensive, regime change wars.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell talks about the peace agreement or ceasefire orchestrated by President Trump to end the slaughter in Gaza and return the hostages to their families.

Transcription / Notes

DAY OF REJOICING

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 17th day of October in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about the peace agreement or ceasefire if you prefer, orchestrated by President Trump to end the slaughter in Gaza and return the hostages to their families.

Yes, it was a glorious day anticipated for two years and on the day they arrived 65,000 people gathered in Hostage Square to welcome them home. Many did not survive but for those who did it was indeed an emotional and glorious day. Imagine the joy of seeing your loved one who survived two years of captivity underground in the tunnels of Gaza. For two years you didn’t know whether he was alive or dead and what suffering he might be enduring.

The peace might not hold and it might be just a temporary pause in the slaughter but the hostages are home and for that moment it was glorious. Everybody around the world celebrated and called Donald Trump a hero. When Trump spoke to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, one of the speakers referred to him as a giant of Jewish history. Everybody celebrated except of course the ceasefire protestors in America. It seems that what they had been screaming about for two years was somehow not enough. I suspect that they see their only policy which is, Trump is bad, slipping away. If they had no policy at all that would be good because the more policies your politicians have the poorer you are. No policy is usually the best policy. 

Can’t you just let yourself be happy for one moment because these hostages are free. For more that 730 days since October 7, 2023, when Hamas kidnapped about 250 people from Israel, they endured a terrible ordeal, and finally about 20 of them were released. In total, 120 made it home alive and 130 did not survive the ordeal. The scene of their return reminded me of the films about when the survivors of the Holocaust stepped off the trains and entered freedom.

These dates the dates of the start of the war and the end, carry significance in the Jewish calendar but I don’t pretend to understand it, and I wonder if Hamas understands it. For the hostages after years of captivity, starvation, physical abuse, and torture, hidden away in oxygen deprived tunnels their conditions reminiscent of those described by the Psalmist in Psalm 107: 10-14.

 “Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. So, he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and he broke away their chains.”

So, there is or was peace if only for a moment but it was a sweet smell at last. How did it happen when so many had tried but no one had succeeded at this level. I can see several differences between Trump’s approach and all the others, but let’s let Victor Davis Hanson speak about it for a moment. I’m paraphrasing him but for one thing, Trump approaches negotiations from a position of strength rather than weakness. Remember the one hostage who said than when Trump was elected they started treating them better. No more spitting on them and forcing them to dig their own graves because they were obviously afraid of him. Trump was very successful in cutting off the money supply to Hamas and the other Iranian proxy terrorist armies. His sanctions on Iranian oil were squeezing the country’s ability to make war and supply the proxy armies.

His attack on the Iranian nuclear enrichment sites destroyed or at least set back the Iranian efforts at building a nuclear weapon and that took away the threat that Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders had screamed about for 46 years. He supplied Israel with the weapons and the permission to attack and destroy the three Iranian proxy armies. Hamas, The Houthis, and Hezbollah, were all reduced to ineffectiveness by the relentless Israeli attacks. The American attack on Iran demonstrated a military capability that was so incredible that people on both sides had to take notice.

Israel destroyed Iran’s antiair capability and embarrassed that nation before the world which respects and understands only strength. He was clever enough to notice that there is no great Arab or Palestinian leader such as Arafat to always hamstring negotiations. Instead, he assembled a coalition of Arab countries to act for the Arab/Palestinian cause. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, primarily Qatar. These countries all have the ability, the money, and the manpower to rebuild Gaza. Mr. Hanson makes sense and gives a little clarity to something very unclear but here are some of my own observations.

Trump’s approach, unclear to me and I guess to both sides came to the forefront when it had to. You can say many things about that man but if you are honest you have to admit that he is quite a negotiator and like a good trial lawyer he knows that negotiations have to be set up in advance and strength has to be demonstrated in order to achieve success.  For his entire time in office, he has been building the appearance of a very strong country, second to none. He sent Hegseth to publicly admonish the general officer corps and let the world know that he expected a warrior class to lead in the military.

He used the carrot and stick approach in dealing with friend and foe alike. Who knows what passed in private conversations with Netanyahu and I have been very critical of his seeming control of Trump which he publicly bragged about. When Netanyahu attacked Qatar, an American ally with American weapons he was infuriated and humiliated and he didn’t just let it pass. Bibi had to call from the oval office and say he regretted the decision. He calmed the fears of the Qataris by forming a mutual defense agreement with Qatar pledging American support if they were attacked. He wouldn’t have had to do that if Bibi was a little more rational.

When the Saudis expressed apprehension about Israel’s nuclear weapons and apparently told him that every country in the Middle East was being held hostage by Israeli nukes and Bibi’s irrationality he took action to calm them. He arranged, with American blessing, a deal between the Saudis and Pakistan, a nuclear armed country, in which they pledged to come to each other’s aid if attacked.

 Perhaps most importantly he doesn’t seem to hold grudges and doesn’t want to “bring democracy” to countries which have never had it and don’t want it. He respects their culture and traditions and treats them accordingly. When he attacked Iran’s nuclear sites he said he now wants to make Iran great again. He holds out the carrot by offering a way for the nations of the Middle East to have prosperity if they have peace, and he tries to convince them to put aside thousands of years of generational hatred for prosperity which comes through peace, not war.

The leaders of Middle East countries, because of the actions and attitudes I just mentioned, now see America differently. Whether completely true or not America is the global leader in AI, robotics, crypto and other next generation technologies and therefore, America and its chief executive need to be accommodated. To wrap up this section on how he did it, he left them with no alternative. There is no alternative to the bombed out starving rubble that is Gaza. There are a lot of crazy people over there but apparently enough sane ones to make some difference.

This peace may be only temporary or perhaps it will require more war to enforce it, but for that one day at least, there was rejoicing. Both sides appeared to violate the agreement as soon as it was signed. Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who approached their lines after signing. The Palestinians were told not to approach military positions but it is unclear whether these five were Hamas fighters or just starving Palestinians. The agreement requires Hamas to disarm and stop fighting. It does not permit Hamas to occupy and run Gaza.

Somehow in all the rubble the Hamas units found new uniforms which look clean and in good military grade condition. They, at this point, have asserted control where Israeli units have pulled back. They have rounded up people said to have collaborated with the Israelis and publicly executed them by shooting them in the back of the head while being forced to kneel. The scene reminded me of all those black and white videos of the Nazis doing the same thing to Jews. Hamas, despite agreeing to disarm, seems to think it can reassert control over Gaza and continue stealing U.N. aid and charging starving people for food, but Trump says if that is what they think then they have another think coming.

Journalists in Gaza report that Hamas is moving rapidly to reassert control. Hamas has brought upon the people of Gaza nothing but brutality and death but once again they respect only strength and brute power. According to Reuters they have killed more than 30 people in battles with rival forces after signing. I guess there is more than one group which would like to have control of the rubble and the world aid coming in. The public executions of supposed collaborators is an obvious attempt to terrorize already terrorized civilians.

Trump was not amused by Hamas’ refusal to abide by the agreement they signed or at least a spokesman signed for them. “Well, they’re going to disarm because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. I don’t have to explain that to you, but if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. They know I’m not playing games. OK.”

He went on to say that he spoke to Hamas and said you’re going to disarm right. They said yes sir we are going to disarm, that’s what they told me so they will disarm or we will disarm them. Got it.

It’s just as hard to predict how the war hawks here in America will react to peace as it is Hamas. There appears to be nothing a good war hawk hates more than peace. Chief war hawk Lindsey Graham said that Israel is planning another invasion of Gaza.

Finally, Folks, to that I say that Israel is still a sovereign country but if it does anything to foul this peace deal so painstakingly built it will do it without American tax dollars, American equipment, and American support, at least I hope so, anyway.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.

Darrell Castle talks about the second anniversary of the attacks by Hamas against the nation of Israel and its people on October 7, 2023. What is going on in the Middle East, especially in Gaza today and is all the mass trauma a reaction to October 7th or is there more to it than that?

Transcription / Notes

THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE HAMAS ATTACKS

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 10th day of October in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about the 2nd anniversary of the attacks by Hamas against the nation of Israel and its people on October 7, 2023. What is going on in the Middle East especially in Gaza today. Is all the mass trauma a reaction to October 7 or is there a lot more to it than that. This was recorded too late for the settlement in Gaza but I don’t think that changes my report.

The question I have and will explore in this report is this, is the nation of Israel and especially its leader, Bibi Netanyahu, as bad as they are portrayed in virtually all media today. For example, here is a quote from Paul Craig Roberts just to get us started.

“Today the world faces an even more absurd situation. Israel, a tiny country with no resources except American money and protection, has Western foreign policy, and apparently also Russia’s, in its tiny hands. For a quarter century Americans have fought to destroy Arab nations for the sake of expanding Greater Israel. American soldiers were told by their lying government that they were dying and being permanently disabled to protect America from a non-existent Muslim terrorism, when in fact they were dying for Greater Israel.”

Do you think that statement is true, and if you do why do you think so. Is your belief in whether it’s a true or false statement just based on how you view the world or how you think the world should be or is it backed by evidence or even personal experience. There are reasons to accept it as true that were not clear to me before the war in Gaza but have been made clear as a result of international condemnation for the way Netanyahu has conducted that war. In regard to Israel controlling American foreign policy, that seems to be a reality. It should trouble or even enrage any American to think that a country of 9 million controls the military and state department of this country of 330 million. That statement is especially true when you consider the spying on America, and other less than friendly actions against Israel’s only friend in this world.

Tucker Carlson has been the prime mover in bringing that situation to the attention of the American people. Tucker points out certain things about the behavior of the United States and that of Israel and asks why. There are usually no good answers to his questions, which presents even more questions but now it seems that there may be changes happening.

“I think the good news is that the government of Israel, in particular, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has pushed it too far. And he did that in part by running around telling people what he thought was true, apparently, I control Donald Trump. I control the United States Congress. I control the United States. He said that to political allies. And opponents in his country said it to foreign heads of state. I control these people. Don’t you worry.”

That quote from Tucker is a true statement in that Mr. Netanyahu actually said that out loud to other people. I’ve seen the videos of him saying it which he apparently didn’t know was being filmed. He also said that If the Israeli people kicked him out of office his replacement likely would not have that level of control. I just don’t understand why Donald Trump would put up with it. Blackmail, bribery or some other form of extortion. I don’t think Donald Trump needs the money so it has to be something more sinister than raw greed.

Apparently, the statement about control was too much even for Trump, who has been loyal all the way to Bibi. In response he said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank and his proposed peace plan does not include Israeli occupation of Gaza. We’ll see what happens with regard to the West Bank and the peace proposal as Trump talks to different people because he has been known to change his mind.

Leadership in the U.S. military apparently has a hard time accepting Israelis in their command structure. The people out there on the front lines of battle are our sons and daughters and putting their lives on the line for an ungrateful foreign country doesn’t sit well with me or them. Here’s another true story exposed by Tucker that occurred during the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran that culminated in a U.S. attack.

IDF officers were at the Pentagon during the war. They enraged American officers by just barging into meetings, giving orders, making demands, and nobody did anything about it. They apparently did the same thing with the Secretary of Defense’s office during the Iraq war. Netanyahu defends his actions by calling anyone who disagrees antisemitic. The term he has grown fond of is “Woke Reich” I suppose to paint anyone who criticizes his policies as a Nazi. Tucker has been relentless and very courageous in his efforts to portray Israel accurately. He doesn’t use any harsh language or call anyone names he just gives known facts that hardly anyone wants to talk about.

For example, he is willing to point out to the American people several actions Israel has taken that no nation with any self-respect should put up with and certainly not from a foreign nation that could not exist without the assistance of the U.S. For one thing the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, a U.S. ship in international waters strafed and bombed by Israeli fighter jets supplied to Israel by the American taxpayers. Despite the attacks on an unarmed ship the Liberty and its crew in the finest tradition of the U.S. Navy refused to die. Not content to kill many U.S. sailors on the ship they strafed and machined survivors in the water.

Why would this ally do such a terrible thing. It was apparently to blame the attack on Egypt thus drawing the U.S. into their six-day war. No list would be complete without the tremendous amount of Israeli spying on the U.S. military and technology companies. He, that is Tucker, accuses Israel of selling U.S. secrets and technology to China. Despite all this and much more U.S. politicians demonstrate continued slavish loyalty to Israel. A quote by Nikki Haley who I believe was in the Republican primaries at the time comes to mind. She said, and I’m paraphrasing, Israel doesn’t need the U.S. the U.S. needs Israel. I, along with Tucker, ask in what world could that statement possibly be true.

The murder of Charlie Kirk, a close friend of Tucker’s, apparently caused him along with Charlie, to start asking if the things assumed about Israel are really true. I don’t know maybe it was Tucker who influenced Charlie rather than the other way around. That would make sense in a weird way, Tucker talks to Charlie and speaks at his conferences about Israel and what is happening in Gaza. Charlie’s audience was predominantly College and high school age people and virtually none of those people support Israel in Gaza.

So, Tucker points out that there are very serious problems and serious Christian issues with Israel and Gaza and Charlie listens to him. Charlie refuses to toe the line and take the money any longer and that was the thing that got him killed. Even though Charlie was a grown man and a very intelligent one who could speak for himself, I would not want that on my conscience. Am I saying that Israel or Bibi Netanyahu killed Charlie Kirk, no but there is an amazing series of coincidences involving Israel’s demands and Charlie’s turning down reportedly $150 million.

One other thing and that is Bibi’s going public and on video calling for various social media sites to censor American citizens. I heard him tell people on video to approach Elon Musk about his site X. He’s not an enemy Bibi said, he’s a friend so he can be convinced by mutual acquaintances. Convinced of what or to do what and the answer is to censor Americans and do the bidding of Bibi Netanyahu and post his propaganda on X.

This information puts Tucker Carlson in a very unique position at this point in history. The information he presents should infuriate the American people and that, of course, is the reason he is doing it. So, there is the human costs of fighting wars for the benefit of Israel. The thousands of American dead, the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of non-American dead, the permanently disabled requiring lifetime care which brings up the cost is terms of money.

The U.S. gives to Israel as a free gift $3.8 billion per year to do with as it sees fit. I point out that the U.S. has a $37 trillion debt. Do we give money to any other country without any say in what that country does with the money. That’s not even what galls me so much. Speaking of gall what about using that money to buy the U.S. Congress and Senate. Members of congress tell me that each member of the house and senate has his or her own AIPAC lobbyist assigned. In case you don’t know that is the American Israeli political action committee. So, they buy us and they use our own money to do it. Pretty smart any way you look at it. If that were all it would be plenty but as usual it gets worse. Since the date that we remember as October 7, 2023, the U.S. has given Israel about $30 billion for its wars in Gaza, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon among others. That’s more per year than Israel’s annual defense budget prior to that year.

But Bibi doesn’t have to worry about his budget. He doesn’t have to worry about replacing used up military equipment or maintenance on his F-35 stealth jets because he has the U.S, which as he puts it, he controls. There are U.S. troops on the ground in Israel right now manning two THAAD missile batteries which are designed as anti-missile defense weapons.

In conclusion, although not mentioned in the peace proposal, Blackrock, the gigantic American hedge fund is funding several companies which support Israel. The report is from Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories. Gaza apparently has one of the world’s largest gas deposits off its coast and Trump is no dummy when it comes to the use of natural resources. Israel has virtually no resources so could it be that Gaza will provide the funds for its own development into fabulous new cities envisaged in Trump’s proposal.

Finally, folks, in Exodus we are told that the Lord God through Moses, his servant, said to Pharaoh, let my people go. When Pharaoh refused 10 plagues were sent on him. When he still refused despite all previous plagues God said let my people go or I will strike your first born dead,. Pharaoh again refused and suffered the consequences. I wonder if God could once again sending plagues to punish, but this time with role reversal. I don’t know, but perhaps the theologians could shed some light.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.