My friends, it has been one of those days — and maybe you’ve felt it too. The kind of day where everything meets resistance, where the noise never stops, and where serious issues demand serious attention whether it’s convenient or not.
Today, I want to focus on two stories that reveal something deeper about the moment we’re living in.
First, Venezuela. President Trump has announced a total and complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers tied to the Maduro regime, making it clear that the United States will no longer tolerate narco-terrorism, criminal enterprises, and hostile regimes operating with impunity. This is not about starting a war. It’s about enforcing sanctions that already exist — because sanctions that aren’t enforced are meaningless.
Maduro’s regime survives almost entirely on oil revenue. Cut that lifeline, and you apply real pressure without sending American troops overseas. Reasonable people can debate the risks, the legal nuances, and the humanitarian concerns. But let’s be clear about the alternative: pretending the problem doesn’t exist while hostile actors fund criminal networks that directly harm the United States.
The second issue hits much closer to home — and with it comes it’s own set of dangers.
A new report shows that federal government spending per person has increased nearly 10,000% over the past century. Not ten percent. Not one hundred percent. Ten thousand percent. Since the Woodrow Wilson era, Washington has built a system where nearly two-thirds of federal spending goes to entitlement programs, while interest on the national debt now rivals what we spend on national defense.
That should stop all of us in our tracks.
Sanctions that aren’t enforced are meaningless — and spending that isn’t restrained is destructive.
This isn’t a problem that can be solved with slogans or campaign talking points. It’s the result of decades of politicians choosing comfort over courage — shaking hands, kissing babies, and kicking the can down the road while the bill grows larger for our children and grandchildren.
You don’t have to hate Trump to worry about executive overreach. And you don’t have to love big government to recognize real threats abroad. What we do need is honesty — about socialism, about spending, and about the consequences of refusing to act.
That’s why we talk about these things here. Not to stir panic. Not to play tribal games. But to tell the truth.
Conservative, not bitter.
Todd
🎧 Listen to today’s Toddcast here.
Key Highlights from Today’s Toddcast
🛢️ Trump enforces sanctions with real consequences
⚖️ Blockades can be lawful pressure, not automatic war
🌎 Socialism’s failures aren’t theoretical — they’re lived
💸 Government spending has exploded beyond accountability
📉 Interest on the debt now rivals national defense
🧮 Entitlements drive the crisis politicians won’t touch
🧠 Nuance matters more than tribal outrage
🛑 Sanctions without enforcement are meaningless
🏛️ Washington avoids hard choices while the bill grows
🔍 Truth requires confronting uncomfortable facts
Listen here.
Quote of the Day
The chief cause of problems is solutions.
Todd Talk: When Empathy Becomes a Weapon Against Western Civilization
My friends, Elon Musk recently posted on X that empathy has been weaponized to destroy Western civilization.
Empathy, at its core, means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes — trying to understand how they feel. There is nothing wrong with that.
However, empathy should never require us to shut off our brains. It should not replace logic, reason, or even self-interest. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening today.
Everything is about feelings. Feeling guilty for being American. Feeling guilty for success. Feeling guilty for the blessings and privileges we may have.
Yes, we should be grateful. We should be mindful. We should be empathetic toward people who struggle or live under difficult circumstances.
But empathy that blinds us — that demands we ignore reality or sacrifice our own civilization — isn’t virtue.
It’s self-destruction dressed up as compassion.
