The Laughing Outdoorsman

01/04/2026

WAS THE CAPTURE OF MADURO LEGAL?

Which side are you on?

Some say yes. Some say absolutely not.
Here’s why this moment matters...

The Case For Legality
Nicolás Maduro has long been indicted by the U.S. on narco-terrorism charges. The U.S. has argued for years that Maduro is not a legitimate president, but a dictator tied to criminal networks. Supporters point to precedent:

Manuel Noriega was a sitting head of state
He was captured by U.S. forces (1989), removed from power, and tried in U.S. courts. From this view, criminal leaders don’t get sovereign immunity. This wasn't an act of war. It was exercising an arrest warring for a criminal.

The Case Against Legality
Maduro was still recognized as Venezuela’s president by many BRICS countries. Capturing a sitting head of state without UN authorization challenges international law. Critics argue this crosses from law enforcement into regime change by force.

What one side calls “arrest,” the other calls kidnapping

The Real Issue

This isn’t just about Maduro. Its clearly about oil as well as China.

It’s also about who gets to decide legitimacy:
The U.S. and its allies: dictator, terrorist, criminal.

Venezuela and its allies: lawfully elected president.

That exact tension existed with Noriega — and the U.S. acted anyway.

01/04/2026

Who ready to go ?

01/04/2026

A story as old as time, haha

A buck stepped out at about 4:10pm. There was still good light. The wind was steady and low. The lane was clear. It felt like enough daylight to let a man believe.

He was not a big deer. He was solid. A clean nine-point. Tall through the chest. Heavy in the shoulders. The kind of deer you shoot without apology. Also the kind you decide you do not have to. The hunter raised the binoculars and counted. He counted again.

“Nine,” he said.

The buck stood quartering away and chewed. He looked calm. He looked slow. He looked as though nothing in the world mattered. The hunter lowered the glasses.
“Another year,” he said. “He’s close.”

The buck took a few steps and stopped. He turned his head. This is the part the hunter still remembers.

“He stopped and looked right at me.”

Then the buck turned and angled toward the property line. The hunter watched him go. He felt settled. He felt patient. He felt like a man who had done the right thing. The shot came. It was not close and it was not far, but was close enough.

The hunter did not move. He kept the binoculars up.
“Probably missed,” he said.

He waited. Then he heard a four-wheeler start. He lowered the glasses.

“Could be checking cameras,” he said.

A little later he saw orange moving through the timber.
He watched without speaking. After a while he said, “Good deer.”

He climbed down at dark and walked out slow. There was no hurry. At the truck his neighbor pulled in.
The neighbor was smiling.

“Man,” he said, “I can’t believe that deer walked right to me.”

The hunter nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. “I saw him earlier.” The neighbor looked pleased.

“I figured someone else might’ve been watching him.”

The hunter thought for a moment. "He’s one I’ve been keeping an eye on,” he said.

The neighbor looked back toward the deer. "He was a solid nine.”

The hunter nodded. "He would’ve been something next year.”

The neighbor laughed. “Well,” he said, “I wasn’t going to let him walk.”

That night the hunter posted on Facebook. "Passed a nice young buck today. Letting them grow."

The post got a few likes. One man wrote, "Good discipline." Another wrote, "That’s how you do it."

The neighbor posted a picture of a damn fine 9 point he tagged earlier that day shortly after 4:10pm.

01/03/2026

Love this stuff. Probably my favorite coffee. Dripfish Coffee

12/25/2025

Do these actually work?

12/25/2025

Only one sure sure fire way to do it haha!

09/04/2025

Pretty accurate, haha.

Which one are you?

09/04/2025

Been there!

I'd not be telling the truth if I'd say this never happened to me. Gotta keep that head on a swivel!

08/18/2025

So true

We feel this...so hard.

08/15/2025

Put the phone down!

Deer numbers just aren't the same as they used to be.

08/02/2025

Love that smell!

True story. This scent is in my truck all year.

07/19/2025

Haha, more than I want to deal with while deer hunting.

This appears on your trail cam on the private property you have permission to hunt....how you handling it?