Growing Mass Protests in Iran, Calls for the End of the Islamic Republic and Return of the King

The largest protests in Iran in three years have been taking place the last six days, growing and spreading geographically and in terms of the backgrounds of the protestors. What started as protests about hyperinflation and the historic collapse of the Iranian rial by shopkeepers at bazaars, has turned into a rebellion against oppression by the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran, as women, students and others join in scores of cities across Iran. The regime is responding with deadly force against peaceful protests, as it always does. But the Iranian people are not being intimidated this time and have even taken over some facilities operated by paramilitary security forces used by the ruling mullahs to suppress dissent violently. Demonstrators notably are calling for the end of the regime, death to the Ayatollah who is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and they are widely calling for the return of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the Shah (King) and the restoration of the ancient Peacock Throne. Pahlavi’s father, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown in 1979 in the Islamic Revolution and he and his family fled into exile, first in America, which was the excuse Iranians gave for taking the United States Embassy staff hostage, then Panama. The Shah died the next year. The Crown Prince has led the opposition among Iran’s allies and promises to establish a constitutional monarchy and representative government. Like the Shah, who was an ally of the U.S., the Crown Prince is pro-American and also pro-Israel. Iran, which foments Islamic rebellion, particularly among fellow Shi’ites, is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism, backing terrorists and militants in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and elsewhere, and launching attacks around the Islamic world and even beyond, such as against Jews in Argentina. The Islamic Republic is an ally of Russia and is part of what I refer to as the Axis of Rogues. Iran has been sending materiel to Russia durings its aggression against Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies should encourage the Iranian people to rise up against their oppressors and offer the promise of peaceful relations with a free Iran, just as they have with Syria, Iran’s and Russia’s ally whose tyrannical Assad regime was overthrown a little over a year ago, instead of letting the Iranians protest without any international encouragemen, as in 2009. The opportunity not only for a free Iran, but to reduce terrorism and increase peace in the world must not be missed.

Happy New Year, 2026!

I wish you all a good new year! As we continue to experience challenging times for equality, liberty and representative government, may we continue to have faith in our Creator and ask for His blessings for America and the world. And may we continue to be grateful for and confident in the Constitution the Founding Fathers of the United States gave us with is limited and divided government that has served as necessary checks against the centralization of power in a would-be autocrat, especially as the celebration begins for the 250th anniversary of American Independence this year. Thank you for visiting my blog. Please continue to visit regularly for news and analysis, as it is ever important to keep informed and to learn of actions to be taken to defend freedom.

Foreign Digest: Russia, Germany and Nigeria

Russia and Germany: The leading far-right anti-migrant pro-Russian party in Germany allegedly provided intelligence to the Russian Federation. The neo-Nazi party that is backed by Trumpist Americans was accused by the German Federal Government, which is led by a center-right coalition. Nigeria: The United States struck Islamic State targets in Nigeria, with the cooperation of the Nigerian Government. The Islamic State split from al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America that killed nearly 3,000 people, which was the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Islamist terrorists have been kidnapping and killing Christians and others in Nigeria, including at places of worship. Nigeria thus becomes a new battlefield in the ongoing Global War on Terrorism, along with Syria and Somalia currently, which was launched after the September 11 Attacks against the Taliban who ruled in Afghanistan and gave safe harbor to al-Qaeda, as well as other places where they had affiliates, or later against the Islamic State and its affiliates.

Merry Christmas, 2025!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, reign over America and the whole world!

Foreign Digest: West Africa, Iraq and Syria

West Africa: There was a military coup recently in Guinea-Bissau after a closely contested presidential election. The military takeover in the coup-plagued former Portuguese colony was just the latest in the last few years in West Africa, after a wave of military coups in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since 2021. As I had posted, the coups in Mali and Niger overthrew pro-Western elected governments in the former French colonies that the United States and its Western allies, especially France, were helping against Islamist terrorists. The coup leaders in Mali and Niger, in addition to having anti-colonial views toward the French, were dissatisfied with the governments’ actions against the Islamists and turned away from the West and toward Kremlin-backed Russian mercenaries. Terrorist attacks have increased, however. One encouraging development was that a military coup was thwarted in the region in Benin by the elected government. The Economic Community of West African States, which has condemned all the coups and called for returns to elective representative government, is supporting Benin. Iraq and Syria: The United States had conducted joint raids against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with the Iraq and Syrian Governments. After an attack last week by IS against American forces that killed two U.S. servicemen and a American translator in Syria, the U.S. and Jordan struck several dozen IS targets in Syria. The Syrian Government’s cooperation with the U.S. against IS is a significant change in Syrian policy from the Baathist Assad tyranny that ruled the Arab State for five decades until last December. The U.S. recently lifted sanctions against Syria. The IS broke away from al-Qaeda, the Sunni Islamist terrorist organization responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack ever, the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America that killed 3,000 people. The new Syrian Government is led by former Islamist guerillas wthat had been affiliated with al-Qaeda, but, backed by Turkey, brought down the Assad regime, despite support for it from Iran, Hezbollah (the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization backed by Iran) and the Russian Federation, after a 14-year multi-lateral Civil War. But the Syrian leadership, which had ruled a Syrian Province during the Civil War, has renounced terrorism and opposes Syria being used as a base by terrorists to threaten other States, is implementing a policy of tolerance for religious and ethnic minorities, and is transitioning to a constitutional parliamentary republic, as I have posted, and wants peace with its neighbors, including even Israel. AsI have also posted, Syria is also destroying the production infrastructure for captagon, the synthetic narcotic that had been causing addiction problems for for the people residing in neighboring Arab States. The overthrow of the two Baathist regimes of Iraq in 2003 and Syria last year have been critical victories for the U.S. and its allies in the War on Terrorism, launched after September 11, that continue to help counter the threat from Islamist terrorism. The U.S. maintains a small troop presence in Iraq and Syria against al-Qaeda and IS, and has continued to fight the al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia.

American Semiquincentennial Series Coin Designs

The United States Mint unveiled its designs for the American Semiquincentennial Series Coins to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American Independence next year: https://wwwusmint.gov/news/media-kit/semi-q-resources#half-dollar Although only the nickel, dime and quarter are being minted currently for general circulation, the set, which will bear the dates 1776 ~2026, will include a one-cent coin and a half dollar in both uncirculated and proof sets. The set will focus on the American Revolution, American independence, the founding of the United States under the Constitutional union, and in liberty. Other than the “SemiQ” date, the penny and nickel designs will remain the same. Liberty will appear on the obverse of the “Emerging Liberty” Dime, with an eagle on the reverse and the inscription “LIBERTY OVER TYRANNY.” As I have posted, the Founders eschewed images on coins of themselves or other individuals – in deliberate contrast to the Roman Emperors, who put their own images on coins to promote public favor – and instead favored the Roman goddess of Liberty on obverses and eagles or other devices on the reverses. There will be five designs for the quarter dollar, issued in a series. The Mayflower Compact Quarter will feature a design of a Pilgrim couple on the obverse, with the Mayflower on the reverse and “MAYFLOWER COMPACT” as an inscription. The Revolutionary War Quarter features a bust of George Washington on the obverse and a Revolutionary War soldier at the Valley Forge Encampment and “REVOLUTIONARY WAR” on the reverse. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, appears on the obverse of the Declaration of Independence Quarter, which features a ringing Liberty Bell on the Reverse, with the inscription “DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.” The Father of the Constitution, James Madison, appears on the obverse of the U.S. Constitution Quarter, with Independence Hall and the inscription “U.S. CONSTITUTION.” It will be the first time Madison is featured on a regular-issue circulating coin. On the Gettysburg Address Quarter, an image of Abraham Lincoln appears on the obverse, and clasping hands with the inscription “A NEW NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY” on the reverse. The Enduring Liberty Half Dollar features an image of the Statue of Liberty on the obverse and a torch being passed from Liberty to the hand of another person on the reverse, with the inscription ‘KNOWLEDGE IS THE ONLY GUARDIAN OF TRUE LIBERTY.” The Revolutionary War soldier on the reverse of the Revolutionary War Quarter, the Liberty Bell on the reverse of the Declaration of Independence Quarter and Independence Hall on the reverse of the U.S. Constitution Quarter are all evocative of the reverses on the Bicentennial Series Quarter, Dollar and Half Dollar coins, respectively. There was no announcement from the Mint about any change to Dollar coins. The regular designs will return in 2027. The SemiQ designs are fitting, educational and inspiring. In addition to inspiring appreciation for American independence, liberty, federal union, and representative government, it is hoped that the designs, like the Bicentennial Series, will encourage coin collecting.

Federal Indictments for Russian Cyberattacks and Sabotage on America

A federal indictment was issued last week against the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency, for cyberattacks and sabotage in America. The United States proved probable cause that the Russian Federation penetrated an airport in Missouri, and compromised drinking water and storage facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and a meat packing plant in California and an oil and gas company in Colorado. The Texas attack caused an overflow of water. The Russian cyberattack against the meat packing plant in California caused meat spoilage and an ammonia leak. An oil and gas company in Colorado was attacked by the Russians, causing a depletion of its chemical supplies by injecting them into oil wells. Russia has been carrying out a cyberattack and sabotage campaign against Europe, especially since its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in 2022. Since 2014, the year Russia first committed aggression against Ukraine, the Russians have been engaged in political and election interference in both Europe and America through cyberattacks, bribery or illegal campaign contributions, sabotage, attacks on diplomats, as well as assassinations against Russian dissidents in exile. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, who has ruled for 25 years in one capacity or another, is a former Soviet intelligence agent who is trying to restore the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. Russia invaded the former Soviet Republics of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 and has kept troops in a breakaway part of Moldova against that former Soviet Republic’s wishes, despite Russian recognition of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and other former Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Remember, Americans: Pearl Harbor Proved Isolationism’s Folly

Americans today observe Pearl Harbor Day, the 84th anniversary of the “day that will live in infamy,” when the fascist Japanese Empire suddenly attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack on December 7, 1941 thrust Americans into war against Japan and the rest of its fascist Axis allies, as part of the Second World War that had begun in September 1939, with the Axis Nazi German and Soviet invasion of Poland. Pearl Harbor Day also was a watershed in American politics, as it ended the isolationist movement that either sympathized with the Axis, or at least, in the name of being pacifist, opposed any meaningful policies to resist the advance of totalitarian imperialism. The folly of the isolationist slogan that “our oceans will protect us” was disproven and the movement was destroyed by the Japanese bombs at Pearl Harbor, along with the ships, aircraft and thousands of military personnel and civilians who were killed. During the Cold War, a remnant of isolationists or Communist sympathizers on the left and even some isolationists on the far right opposed meaningful measures to contain the Soviet Union and International Communism, foolishly again placing their trust in the oceans while the Soviets developed nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. After the fall of Soviet Communism, which was achieved by not adopting isolationist policies, a second Pearl Harbor-scale attack occurred on September 11, 2001, when Islamist terrorists hijacked civilian aircraft and crashed them into New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, killed even more people than at Pearl Harbor. And once again, isolationists on the far left and far right were proven foolish by the attacks the showed how oceans and even military and economic might afford little protection against such an evil and determined foe. But isolationists opposed the Global War on Terrorism and demanded an end to the wars that the Islamist enemy has been willing to engage in endlessly. Each time America or its allies and interests are threatened, the isolationists present an argument that superficially appears patriotic: that lives and treasure would be spared by not becoming involved in wars. But it is one that is either influenced by sympathy for the enemy or naivety at best. Furthermore, isolationism is based on the hope that foreign States would be equally or more powerful than the U.S. to defend their own interests, instead of in support for and confidence in American might and leadership. Isolationists would look the other way, instead of proactively defending abroad against threats that would eventually threaten the American homeland. They would focus in American economic well-being while our trading partners were attacked and invaded, millions would be internally displaced or become international refugees, and the freedom of Americans to travel abroad to engage in commerce, study, religious pilgrimage, or any other valid purpose would be curtailed, all while a cloud of uncertainty would hang over the global economy that is ever-increasingly linked. Yet today – once again – isolationists on the far left and especially on the far right oppose any meaningful measures to stop the imperialism of the Russian Federation, led by a former Soviet intelligence agent who is trying to restore the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. The Russians have invaded the former Soviet Republics of Georgia and Ukraine and stationed troops in Moldova against its will, while engaging in machinations abroad, such as cyberattacks, election interference, sabotage and assassinations. They have thus attacked U.S. allies and Americans and even the American homeland itself, while Russia possesses the most nuclear warheads in the world and the missiles to strike every part of the American homeland. Just as every other time when the U.S. has been threatened, most Americans disagreed with the isolationists, although less decisively in regard to the major battles of the War on Terrorism, but at least not to the opposition to terrorism overall, but never has a presidential administration been guided by isolationists or collaborationists until now, which makes the current threat especially grave. The American people must continue to demand that Congress act to continue to defend U.S. interests, maintain American influence and exercise responsible world leadership to stop Russian aggression and defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States, foreign and American.

Foreign Digest: Russia, Georgia, Botswana, Brazil and Peru

Russia: The former leader in Wales of the anti-migrant pro-Russian Reform UK Party and European Parliament Member was convicted of accepting a Russian bribe. This evidence is the latest proof of Russian interference in the politics of the United Kingdom, as well as throughout Europe and in America, especially since Russia began invading Ukraine in 2014. Another example recently revealed that many of the most-followed Trumpist accounts on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), including some with tens of thousands of followers, are based abroad, including in multiple continents, even though they typically pose as Americans. About half of such accounts have been estimated to be either of Russian origin or Russian troll farms abroad. The Russian accounts spread propaganda and disinformation, and are especially associated with anti-vaccination disinformation. Russian accounts, in addition to promoting Kremlin policies, amplify Trumpists and their misleading or false statements, as well as conspiracy theories, and foment division, doubt in the integrity of elections or in the truth. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to restore the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. Georgia: Georgians marked one year of daily peaceful protests against the pro-Russian and increasingly authoritarian Government of Georgia on November 28. There were protests in the capital and in other major cities across the former Soviet Republic in the southern Caucuses region. Georgians are demanding the release of political prisoners who were arrested for peaceful protests, and for membership in the European Union. Georgia’s Government reneged on a promise to pursue membership. Botswana: Botswana recently completed the first peaceful transfer of power since independence from the United Kingdom in 196 . The southern African State has been an oasis of peace, stability, elective representative government and liberty. But unlike neighboring States where one party has ruled through authoritarian means or rigged elections, Botswanans had elected one party for decades, which yielded power upon defeat and the certification of the votes. Botswana is now even more of a good example to other States in the Dark Continent. Brazil: Former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced last week to prison to serve out his 27-year sentence for attempting to overturn the presidential election three years ago, after he had recently attempted to escape. Peru: The former center-left Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was convicted of conspiracy for trying to dissolve Congress and rule by decree to avoid impeachment for a corruption scandal, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He had been impeached and removed from office in 2022 for “moral incapacity” for corruption, after taking office the year before. Castillo is the fourth former Peruvian President in a little over a year and the fifth in recent decades across the political spectrum to be sentenced to prison for corruption or oppression, while others have been forced from office for corruption, such as Castillo’s center-left successor, whom I posted about a few months ago.

17th Blog Anniversary and Pageview Report

Today is the seventeenth anniversary of the launch of this blog. Thank you for following or commenting, or for your offline expressions of appreciation, which encourage me to continue to post. It coincides with the date for the annual report of pageviews, as tracked by the blog host, Blogger. Although the tracking is less specific than StatCounter’s, Blogger tracks far more pageviews. There are usually between hundreds to thousands of daily pageviews of this blog from around the world, especially outside America. Please continue to visit this blog regularly to keep up matters of interest to conservatives, especially for this particularly challenging time for the defenders of liberty and the rule of law in America.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2025!

In the tradition of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and in celebration of the federal holiday of Thanksgiving established by President George Washington, we Americans give thanks today to God for the blessings He has given us. We are grateful to the Europeans who colonized the Americas and for their friendship with the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims survive the harsh winter in the New World by teaching them agricultural practices for native plants that produced a bountiful harvest. In giving thanks publicly and in a civic manner through federal and state holidays, Americans acknowledge that their liberty comes not from man, but from God, as expressed in the American Creed in the Declaration of Independence. And like the Pilgrims and their Native American friends, we give thanks for the individual blessings we each enjoy. This year, we Americans should give thanks particularly not only for the military servicemen, intelligence and security agents, and emergency responders who keep us safe, but for the United States Constitution that formed the Union of States and safeguards our freedom and rights, and for the state Constitutions that similarly guarantee liberty. Americans should be especially grateful for federalism, the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary, and the rule of law, and for those federal and state officials who keep their oaths not to any man, but to the federal Constitution. May God continue to bless America and every American citizen, national and permanent resident (especially those aspiring to citizenship), as well as the refugees who believe in the American Creed who are seeking asylum from persecution, and each of the American States and territories!

Former Vice President of the United States Richard B. Cheney, in Memoriam

Former Vice President of the Unted States Richard Bruce Cheney, a staunch conservative Republican with a long career of public service, died November 3 at the age of 84 in Northern Virginia. He was born in Lincoln Nebraska on January 30, 1941. His family later moved to Wyoming, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Wyoming. Cheney then began serving in various roles in the administrations of Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford: in the Office of Economic Opportunity, from 1969 to 1970, as White House Staff Assistant in 1971, as Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council, from 1971 to 1973, as Deputy Assistant to the President, from 1974 to 1975, rising to Chief of Staff to President Gerald R. Ford, from 1975 to 1976. He then managed Ford’s reelection campaign in 1976 that almost came all the way back from being well behind in the polls. Cheney was elected U.S. Representative from Wyoming in 1978 and was re-elected four times, serving from 1979 to 1989. He held leadership positions as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, 1981 to 1987, Chairman of the House Republican Conference in 1987, and House Minority Whip the following year. Meanwhile, he was an early supporter of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential candidacy and supported Reagan’s defense and foreign policies while serving in Congress. Cheney was appointed Secretary of Defense by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 and served until the end of the Bush Administration in 1993. He was Defense Secretary during the overthrow of Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989, the 1991 Liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi aggression in 1990, and the intervention in the Somali Civil War in 1991. Secretary Cheney implemented post-Cold War military reductions, but with the provision of necessary new weapons systems. He supported the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a bulwark of European and American security versus Russia. Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush asked Cheney to lead the search for a vice-presidential nominee and general election running mate. Bush then recommended Cheney, who was nominated at the Republican National Convention in 2000. Cheney was elected Vice President of the United States and renominated four years later, serving from 2001 to 2009, becoming the only person ever from the Mountain West to be elected either Vice President or President, loyally supporting Bush’s conservative policies and providing wise counsel during the War on Terrorism. Throughout his career, he was a strong advocate for conservative policies, particularly in defense and foreign policy. Although Cheney supported the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the principled conservative characterized Russian interference in American politics and particularly on behalf of Trump’s candidacy as an “act of war.” Cheney publicly broke with Trump after Trump’s attempted insurrection on January 6, 2021, after the incumbent refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, which he lost. He backed his daughter, Rep. Lynn Cheney of Wyoming, in her criticisms of Trump and especially her participation in the House Committee that investigated the January 6th Insurrection. May Cheney’s legacy of public service and integrity inspire principled conservatives and Republicans and all Americans.

Conservative Analysis of the 2025 General Election Results in Pennsylvania and across America

Now that the election results for the 2025 General Election are being certified, a conservative analysis can be made. Republican Party leader Donald Trump and his populist non-conservative Trumpist policies of protectionism, nativism, isolationism and authoritarianism provoked a voter rebuke against the GOP in Pennsylvania and across the American Union. In the Keystone State, Republicans failed in their main goal of opposing the retention for another ten-year term for three Democratic Supreme Court Justices, based on the Justices’ upholding of Pennsylvania’s reasonable public health restrictions during the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic. The Trumpist Pennsylvania GOP was attempting to gain control of the state’s highest court by creating vacancies on the State’s highest court, but the results were not even close. As I had posted before the election, a campaign against the Democratic Justices for liberal opinions might have been justified, but not for an anti-public health reason. Pennsylvanians nearly always retain judges. Similarly, they usually vote in favor of referendums, which the State’s Republicans took advantage of in the 2021 Primary Election to get Pennsylvanians to vote in favor of weakening the Governor’s emergency powers, based on their opposition to reasonable public health policies. The GOP’s failure in the 2025 judicial retention vote suggests their anti-public health policy was not as popular as they thought the 2021 Primary vote in favor of the referendums suggested. There were also two other statewide judicial offices on the ballot, in which Democrats held seats on lower appellate courts. There were significant Republican losses in Counties and municipal elections across the Keystone State. In other States, Trump and his supporters backed a liberal Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City over a conservative Republican. An socialist Democratic candidate was instead elected. Republicans were not only unsuccessful in capturing control of the office of Governor in New Jersey, but lost control of the Governor’s office in Virginia. There were heavy GOP losses in other statewide, legislative and municipal offices across America. Every candidate endorsed by Republican Party leader Donald Trump lost election. Among those candidates were several Trumpists who denied Trump’s loss of the 2020 election, despite the lack of evidence for their claim. The Trump Administration’s protectionist tariffs and harsh anti-migrant policies, violations of the rule of law both at home and abroad, and the federal government shutdown weighed heavily against the Grand Old Party. Voters particularly blamed Trump for the increase of prices from tariffs and labor shortages exacerbated by the targeting of working immigrants without criminal records while Trump focused on aiding Argentina and punishing Brazil for business or personal reasons, and on his White House renovations. They also blamed the GOP leader for the budget impasse, while reacting negatively to his policies of retribution while rewarding political supporters and business associates through is pardon power. Although the 2025 General Election was an off-year election, it is often a harbinger of further losses for the party holding the presidency in the mid-term elections the following year. A return to conservatism and away from Trumpism is needed for the Republican Party to avoid a devastating loss in the 2026 mid-term elections, when every seat in the United States House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be on the ballot.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Has Issued an Extraordinary Rebuke of the Trump Administration’s Anti-Migrant Policies

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the organization that includes all the Catholic Bishops in America, issued an extraordinary and unprecedented rebuke of the policies of a sitting President of the United States. The body of over 200 Bishops, in whose Dioceses reside tens of millions of Catholics – the largest Christian denomination in America – voted nearly unanimously for a statement criticizing the immigration polices of the Trump Administration. In their statement and a video that featured readings of the statement by Bishops, including conservative ones, they observed profiling, the creation of a climate of fear, and dehumanizing and violent language. The USCCB, particularly cited a loss of access to pastoral care by migrants and refugees caused by the Trump policies, as well as the policy of arrests at churches, and hospitals and schools. The Catholic Church operates many hospitals and schools across America. The conference of American Bishops noted the loss of legal status of some refugees, meaning that their legal permission to stay in America had been taken away. The USCCB urged comprehensive immigration reform in the statement that considers both security and the scriptural and moral obligation to fellow human beings, which they said are not contradictory goals. Trumpists responded with their usual whataboutism, complaining that the Bishops had not made such a statement against the abortion policies of previous Administrations, as if to imply the Bishops were partisan or ideological, but the Bishops had repeatedly and consistently expressed a pro-life message. Trumpists also made their typical cynical ad hominem arguments against the Bishops, falsely claiming that these shepherds were concerned primarily for the loss of money, and not for the spiritual, moral and material wellbeing of their flocks. As I have posted, the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church and other religious and secular non-profit organizations had been contracted by the U.S. to provide for the needs of migrants, particularly for integrating refugees, but the Trump Administration cut off the funding, even declining to pay for services already rendered. But the Catholics and other Christians were motivated to provide for the refugees in the first place for religious reasons and the payments were not for profit. Thus, the Trump Administration’s policies decrease religious freedom in multiple ways, by diminishing the ability of churches and religious organizations in carrying out their spiritual vocations to care materially for those in need, by denying pastoral care to migrants, and by intimidating migrants from attending religious services at places of worship without fear of being arrested, even if they are refugees legally permitted to stay. It is necessary for all Americans to continue to speak out against the un-Christian, un-American and non-conservative anti-migrant policies of the Trump Administration, and to encourage Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

2025 General Elections in Pennsylvania and Other American States

Tuesday, November 4 is General Election Day in Pennsylvania and in some of the other States of the American Union. On the ballot in the Keystone State, where polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, are statewide judicial offices, county and municipal, offices, as well as the offices of school director, magisterial district judge, and constable. Two States, New Jersey and Virginia, are electing Governors and legislators, while there are important contests elsewhere, including a redistricting ballot question in California, among others. Pennsylvanians will choose whether to retain three State Supreme Court Justices. State voters almost always vote to retain judges, but the state Republicans are campaigning against retention, to gain control of Pennsylvania’s highest court. But their justification is not conservative, and therefore, disqualifying, as they are complaining that the Justices had approved the State’s emergency public health policy of imposing reasonable restrictions because of the deadly Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic. Protecting people from contagious illness and death through reasonably limited and temporary restrictions is morally responsible and consistent with conservative beliefs about past outbreaks of contagion, such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Ebola, when they favored quarantines and restrictions on the freedom of travel, respectively, for example. Governments across America and the globe from right to left imposed similar restrictions, based upon advice from scientists and public health officials, as I have posted, starting in Italy, where the Trumpist right-wing parties first demanded closures. I have further observed that although the extraordinary restrictions were implemented by governments were late, insufficient and poorly enforced, and prematurely lifted, they did prevent many cases and deaths. But, as I posted, Donald Trump politicized the pandemic by denying and minimizing the threat, doubting and undermining public health policy and suggesting unproven and dangerous cures because of his concern about the economy. His concern was both because of his family business and his reelection and thus his protection from federal prosecution for crimes. Many of Trump’s supporters similarly doubted the public health officials, whom they baselessly thought were liberal engaged in some kind of political conspiracy, or presumptuously rejected science in favor of faith-healing, or held libertarian views such as that there is some right to spread disease during a pandemic of a deadly illness with no cure at the time, which combined to cause the contagion to spread and thus more illnesses, including long-term symptoms, and deaths. More Republicans died than Democrats because of the rejection of public health policy and vaccine hesitancy that I have also been posting about. Trumpism is a populist mix of protectionism, nativism and isolationism, none of which are conservative principles, as I often note. But the rejection of reasonable public health is another example, among others, of Trump’s lack of conservative principles and the abandonment by his supporters’ who claim to be conservatives of their own principles, or at least their exposure for also having lacked them in the first place, although it is noteworthy that some of his far-right supporters admit they oppose conservatism. Despite public support from Pennsylvanians for the Commonwealth’s public health policy during the pandemic, the Republicans successfully campaigned for referendums in the low-turnout 2021 Primary Election that limited executive power to respond to such emergencies, as the public tends to vote for referendums, unless there is organized opposition, which there was none. The Pennsylvania GOP took the vote as a validation for their opposition to reasonable public health policy. This time, however, there is some opposition to their campaign against the judicial retentions, as the Trumpist state Republicans would again take a No vote as validation for their opposition to reasonable public health policy. Therefore, although it would benefit conservatism to reject retention of the liberal Democratic Justices, doing so for the wrong reason would undermine the conservative movement. A vote of neither Yes, nor No would thus be justified for non-Trumpist conservatives, just as I advise every election not to vote either for liberal Democratic or Trumpist Republican candidates on the ballot and instead write in the names of better candidates or skip the race, as it is necessary to continue to try to restore the GOP to its center-right core, instead of acquiescing to Trumpism by trying to justify one’s vote as “the lesser of two evils,” or justifying a vote for Democrats, unless they are centrist or pro-life, as an emergency option for principled conservatives to force the Republicans to turn back to their own beliefs. Non-Trumpist conservatives or moderates should consider seeking office, whether as Republicans, non-partisan or third party candidates, or even as Democrats, instead of accepting the absence of the names of principled conservatives on the general election ballot.

Trump’s Demolition of the White House East Wing Is Symbolic of His Autocracy

The Trump Administration ordered the complete demolition of the East Wing of the White House, including the colonnaded breezeway connecting the addition to the Executive Mansion. It also uprooted historic trees and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, to make room for a ballroom, after recently having cemented over the Rose Garden for use as a patio. The East Wing was a 1942 Neo-Classical addition, matching the Federal Style of the White House. It has served various purposes over the years, from a swimming pool for then-President Franklin Roosevelt, who was afflicted with paralysis, to offices and an entrance for visitors and public tours. The demolition was conducted without proper authorization and review by the required agencies for the proposed plans. It appears also that none of the historic architectural details were salvaged, as is typical for the demolition of a historic property, especially one designated as historic like the East Wing, and especially when the building was in excellent condition and its features thus were salvageable. Such architectural details, which are highly sought, like doors, windows, moldings, columns, flooring, etc., which were constructed in materials not usually used in modern construction, could either have been incorporated into the proposed structure, as is typical when replacing a historic property, or other federal buildings, or sold. Therefore, the demolition is not only disrespectful of American history and tradition, but fiscally wasteful. Many observers across the political spectrum viewed the demolition of the East Wing as yet another symbol of Donald Trump's disrespect for America, like his gilding of the Oval Office I had posted about, but because of the violation of the standard process, as also exemplary of his autocracy. Thus, Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and Oval Office gilding, like the proposed Trump coin and arch I also posted about, are visible signs of the trend away from the Republican restraint of the Chief Executive and deference to Congress, the Constitution and the law, and toward the imperialism and authoritarianism of the Caesars. Trump is symbolically demolishing the American experiment and supplanting it with unchecked autocratic excess. It is time for Legislative and Judicial Branches to do more to exercise their powers as co-equal Branches of Government to restrain Trump and his Administration in defense of the constitutional principle of the Separation of Powers, and the rule of law.

Foreign Digest: Slovakia, Peru, Bolivia, Iraq, Belarus and Georgia

Slovakia: The European Union’s main center-left parliamentary group, the Party of European Socialists, expelled the ruling left-wing party of Slovakia for violating its principles. The populist Prime Minister of Slovakia is pro-Russian and undermines the rule of law. Slovakia is an ally of the United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but is a weak link in the chain of defense against Russian aggression. Peru: The center-left President of Peru was impeached and removed from office for “moral incapacity” for corruption, in votes by the national assembly from across the political spectrum earlier this month. After a series of corruption allegations and a violent response against protestors, she had lost support from her own party. The Peruvian President had taken office after the impeachment of her predecessor for corruption. The President of Congress has acceded to the presidency—the seventh person to hold the office since a center-right President’s term ended in 2018. Bolivia: The presidential run-off between two conservatives was held in Bolivia last week. A conservative was elected, after 20 years of Socialist election wins. The Socialists had led, except for a brief interruption after the increasingly authoritarian President fled the capital after a popular uprising when he sought a fourth term, despite a two-term limit. The Senator who was elected, was referred to by the liberal professional media as a “centrist,” but he is center-right and pro-free market. The election result in Bolivia is a major blow to the left-wing revolution fomented across Latin America by the late Socialist dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who was elected in 2004 and became increasingly authoritarian. Iraq: As per an agreement with the Iraqi Government, the United States is keeping a presence of several hundred advisors in parts of Iraq beyond northern Iraq, to continue to coordinate with Iraq versus Islamist terrorists in Syria, such as al-Qaeda and its offshoot, the Islamic State. Belarus and Georgia: Two imprisoned journalists, one Belarusian and the other Georgian, won the Andrei Sakharov prize, the European Parliament’s human rights prize. Andrej Poczobut of Belarus, was arrested in 2021 and convicted for covering protests against the authoritarian regime of the pro-Russian Belarusian dictator and the dictatorship’s violent response, and has been held under inhuman conditions. Mzia Amaglobeli of Georgia, was arrested early this year and convicted for her reaction against state violence in a protest against the increasingly authoritarian pro-Russian Georgian Government. Both arrests have been condemned by media outlets, human rights organizations and the opposition.

The New Caesarism: The Proposed Trump Coin and Arch Would Symbolize an Imperial Presidency

The Trump Administration is proposing a coin featuring the image of the current holder of the office of the presidency while Donald Trump is proposing a public-private partnership to build a commemorative arch in Washington for the 250th anniversary of American Independence that the real estate tycoon admits would be partly a monument to himself. The coin and arch would be tangible examples of the autocratic Trump’s Caesarism, as both are examples of practices of the Roman Emperors that were eschewed by the American Founding Fathers in favor of symbols of the Roman Republic. I had posted recently about Trump’s symbolic rejection of the Republican vales of the Founders in his gilding of the Oval Office, but the Trump coin and arch would be more than symbolic. An image of an incumbent president on a general circulation coin minted by the United States would be unprecedented. The only coin ever minted to bear the image of a sitting president was a joint image of the incumbent and another figure on a commemorative coin (i.e. not a general circulation coin, but one minted for collectors) for the Sesquicentennial in 1926. As I have posted previously, the Founders did not want the images of any living person, on coins. The Roman Emperors had used coins bearing their own images, or those of their family, to promote themselves as a form of state propaganda. The first U.S. coins minted thus featured images of the Roman allegorical figure of Liberty on their obverses, with eagles or wreaths on the reverses. Other devices were featured in the later Nineteenth Century, but it was not until 1893 when even a commemorative coin was struck for the 400th Anniversary of Columbus’ Discovery of the New World, and not until 1909 when the Lincoln Cent was first minted on the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s death that any images of real individuals appeared on any American coins. Federal law later forbade the minting of coins with the incumbent president’s image. Even commemorative coins do not feature the incumbent Chief Executive’s image, as there is a five-year waiting period until after a former president’s death. Congress would have to vote for an exception. The Trump Administration would be using the coin minted with public money to promote Trump’s popular image for political purposes or in the interest of Trump’s private businesses. In a similar way, the Roman Caesars would construct commemorative arches that bore the Emperors’ names in honor of their military conquests. An arch commemorating American independence, or those who died in the Revolutionary War or all the wars since independence would be appropriate, but not one that would be at least partly in honor of an incumbent president or associated with him as much or even more than those it would be ostensibly intended to honor. Otherwise, a president would be tempted to use public dollars to construct monuments to himself to promote himself politically, perhaps in a way that is not appropriate. The National Monuments Commission would by law have to approve any such plan, but if the autocratic Trump engages in his typical practice of stacking such bodies by dismissing the current members, or ignoring such legal safeguards altogether, and the supine Congress and overly deferential Supreme Court allow him to get away with it, then Trump would thereby crown himself the American Caesar. The Republican virtues of executive restraint, the separation of powers, the rule of law, and representative governance would have been violated and cast aside in favor of an imperial presidency and all the dangers it poses.

Measles Outbreak Update

There have been 1,600 cases of measles in the ongoing outbreak in America, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control, with 44 individual outbreaks in 41 States. The case total is the worst in 30 years, since measles was declared eliminated in America in 2000. In 90% of these cases, the patients were unvaccinated. Vaccines are the effective and safe way to prevent measles, which can be debilitating (e.g. causes deafness) or fatal. But vaccine hesitancy as dropped the vaccination rate in America for children, who are the most vulnerable, below the 95% needed for herd immunity to protect those who are immune compromised, as I have been posting. And as I have been posting, anti-vax ideology from the far-left and the far-right, based on misinformation, as well as Russian-promoted vaccine disinformation, as well as libertarian opposition to public health policies like requiring immunization for school attendance have caused a decrease in vaccination and an increase in preventable contagious diseases in Europe and America.

Keep the Purpose of the Columbus Day Holiday as A Rejection of Nativism, Xenophobia and Bigotry

Recognizing Columbus’ True Discovery Is No Slight against Indigenous Americans The federal and state holiday of Columbus Day has significance for all Americans because the European discovery of the Americas, which rejoined the two hemispheres of the world that had been separated since the Ice Age, led to the independence of most of the Americas, including the States of the American Union, and the freedoms that most inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere enjoy. But it also has particular significance well beyond the Italian-American community or American Catholics, as the current controversy over the holiday seems to imply. Columbus Day is not any slight against Indigenous Americans, but is a celebration of the contribution of all immigrants. A misunderstanding of the word discovery (“to uncover”) causes some people to believe that credit for a discovering anything belongs only to those who were first to discover anything and thus by crediting the Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus, the Indigenous Americans are somehow being slighted. Through his great navigational skills, Columbus, who had correctly theorized there was a large, inhabited landmass nearer to Europe than anyone else knew, lifted the cover that was the Atlantic Ocean and permanently reunited the two halves of the globe. He is also unquestionably credited with discovered a western and oceanic route to the Americas, among other scientific discoveries for which he is credited. Origin of the Columbus Day Holiday against Nativism, Xenophobia and Bigotry Because of nativism, xenophobia and racial and religious bigotry, the Ku Klux Klan particularly opposed the wave of mass immigration to America in the second half of the Nineteenth Century from Southern and Eastern Europeans (Catholic and Orthodox Christians) and Jews. Because of their hatred, American nativists began to promote the legend of the Viking discovery of the Americas before Columbus to minimize the essential role of the Southern European Catholic in American history. Though the Vikings deserve credit for discovering Greenland, at least, they did establish a permanent connection between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres like Columbus did. An Irish-American Catholic Priest with a ministry for immigrants led the effort that culminated in the foundation of the Columbus Day holiday as a recognition of the contribution of all immigrants to America, not only those who were white, northern European and Protestant. Thus, renaming the holiday for the Indigenous Americans takes away the appropriate purpose of Columbus Day, while Thanksgiving is the holiday to thank God for his bounty and the contributions of Indigenous Americans. Therefore, it is right to keep the holiday name of Columbus Day to credit the one who made the discovery and to honor the contributions of all immigrants, not only those of a certain race, ethnicity or religion. Nativist Trumpism Risks Tainting the Holiday, Instead of Recalling its True Meaning As I have posted, any conservative accomplishments of Donald Trump, which could have been achieved by a principled conservative Republican President, are tainted by his poor character and populism. And sometimes, one may do the right thing for the wrong reason. His promotion of Columbus Day amidst his nativist, inhumane, un-Christian and un-American policies against immigrants and refugees is contradictory to the intent of the holiday, which he seems to be attempting to use as a basis for his broader policy views, while the nativism, xenophobia and bigotry of many Trumpists is all-too familiar. Because Trump and his supporters thereby risk tainting the holiday as based upon bigotry and hatred against non-Europeans or non-Christians, it is especially necessary and timely to recall the true purpose of Columbus Day as a celebration of the contribution of immigrants and of love for fellow human beings who seek liberty in our land. May the Columbus Day holiday instead serve clearly again as intended as a rejection of nativism and xenophobia.

2024 Freedom House Report: 19th Straight Year of the Decline of Freedom Globally

Freedom House’s 2024 Annual Report observes a decline in freedom around the world for the 19th consecutive year. The report observed a decline in freedom in nearly twice as many States than those that registered increases. Widespread armed conflicts and threats from non-state actors contributed to the decline, along with increased repression, including those States that hold elections, and increased election violence around the world. Terrorism and Russian mercenaries have decreased liberty in the Sahel after military coups overthrow elected governments in Malli, Burkina Faso and Niger, while organized crime affects some Latin American States and Haiti. As in El Salvador, some States, like Ecuador violate basic rights against criminal gangs. Undermining free elections, the rule of law (including persecution of lawyers, particularly in Russia and Belarus) by persecuting opposition leaders and critics, the independence of the judiciary and the freedoms of the press and assembly were the typical tools of oppressors. Populist leaders were often able to use public support to erode constitutional safeguards. The Freedom House report particularly cited decreased liberty in El Salvador by its populist right-wing President who has remained in office beyond the constitutional term limit, while Tunisia’s President has usurped the constitution to exercise authoritarian control. The elected parliament under Kuwait’s constitutional monarchy has been undermined by a retraction of power by the Emir, while Thailand’s pro-monarchy party also either removed from office or banned opposition parties. In contrast, Bhutan has transitioned from an absolute to a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. The overthrow of the Baathist Assad regime in Syria, popular uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have increased freedom and elections in Senegal has restored the West African State to the status of free. Freedom House noted the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in Botswana, long a free and peaceful State, which is also a first in Southern Africa. In Eastern Europe, the election defeat of Poland’s illiberal authoritarian Government by a centrist coalition was noted, as was increased authoritarianism in Serbia and corruption in Slovakia. Freedom House reported corruption as undermining freedom in various States around the world. The current lack of American leadership for freedom and its poor example of undermining safeguards is damaging the Free World’s efforts to reverse the global decline of freedom. Because increased global freedom leads to more peace, security and prosperity, the United States and supporters of liberty around the world should make it a priority to increase freedom globally.

Foreign Digest: Syria, Sudan and Hungary

Syria: Elections were held in Syria last week for the first time since the overthrow of the Baathist dictatorship of Bashar Assad. The vote — the first free elections in Syrian history — were for a popular assembly to draft laws and a new constitution. Electoral colleges were appointed in each participating province (except in the provinces inhabited primarily by Kurdish and Druse because of divisions with the provisional Syrian government). Popular elections were impossible because of the displacement of millions of Syrians from the Syrian Civil War and lost records. The war began in 2011 as a popular uprising against the Assad tyranny and claimed over half a million lives and displaced around a quarter of the population of 20 million, causing the largest refugee surge in Europe since the Second World War. The Assad family, of the minority Alawite Shi’ite sect, had ruled Syria since 1970. They were backed in the war by Iran, Hezbollah (the Lebanese terrorist organization) and Russia. Each religious and ethnic group, as well as women, were represented in the Electoral Colleges. The diversity was reflected in the election of women and minorities in the assembly for the religiously and ethnically diverse Arab State. Sudan: The International Criminal Court convicted a senior Janjaweed militia leader for crimes against humanity in Sudan in 2003 to 2004, including destruction, rapes, and killings. He had surrendered in Central African Republic in 2020. The war began in 2003 in the western Darfur Province as an insurgency by ethnic groups against the oppressive Arab-led Government. It killed 300,000 people. Sudan’s Islamist tyrant was overthrown in 2019 and detained, but has not been turned over to the ICC for trial. The new civil war since 2023 between the Janjaweed’s paramilitary successors and the Sudanese military has disrupted Sudan’s political transition and killed 40,000 people in the African State. Hungary: The European Parliament last week rejected Hungary’s request to revoke immunity to center-right Hungarian Member of the European Parliament Peter Magyar from charges based on political persecution, and a leftist Italian MEP who had been imprisoned in Hungary for 16 months until last year on “terrorism” accusations stemming from a protest. Magyar had served in the Hungarian Government, but broke away because of its corruption and now leads the conservative opposition party that is leading the polls in next April’s parliamentary elections against the authoritarian anti-migrant pro-Russian far-right ruling party of Viktor Orban. Orban, whom the EU describes as an “autocrat” and has withheld funds to Hungary for authoritarianism and corruption, is the darling of American Trumpists. Orban’s party left the center-right European People’s Party, a European parliamentary group, after violating its principles. The vote of the EPP were decisive. Hungary, a former Communist and Soviet satellite State in Eastern Euorope is an ally of the United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but has opposed aid to Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression.

The Pro-Europeans Defeated the Pro-Russians in the Moldovan Parliamentary Elections

The ruling pro-European party won the most votes and seats in the Moldovan parliamentary elections over the pro-Russian party, despite the heavy Russian interference I had posted about last week. The pro-Europeans nearly won a majority of votes, besting the pro-Russian party by a more than 2:1 margin. The ruling party won a majority of seats in Moldova’s Parliament, thereby avoiding the necessity of forming a coalition government with smaller parties. There were bomb threats not only in Moldova, but Romania, Italy, Spain and America where the Moldovan diaspora was voting, just like when the Russians made bomb threats during the 2024 United States elections. A breakaway part of the former Soviet Republic is populated by Russian speakers and occupied by Russian troops against Moldova’s will. The Russian Federation, which invaded the former Soviet Republics of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, as ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin, the Russian tyrant, is trying to restore the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. As I have been posting, Russia uses many methods to engage in political interference in European States and America, among various other machinations. Moldova is a candidate for joining the European Union, which was a major issue in the campaign, as membership would reduce Russian influence. Moldova, like Romania earlier this year, now provides a model for defending against Russian interference. Moldova exposed Russian interference, conducted hundreds of raids and scores of arrests, and banned two Russian-financed political parties. Moreover, Moldova and its ruling party framed the election as a choice between being under Russian influence versus independence and alignment with Europe.

Foreign Digest: Russian and Serbian Interference in Moldova and Montenegro

Moldova: Moldova has reported heavy Russian interference in the Moldovan parliamentary elections this week and has conducted hundreds of searches and scores of arrests. Russia’s interference includes cyberattacks, fake news, influencing polls, bribing voters in the Moldovan diaspora, intimidation, and even training to cause riots. Moldovans and Romanians were trained in Moldova and Serbia. Orthodox Serbia is a traditional ally of Russia. The Serbian opposition validated the Moldovan accusations about training Moldovans and Romanians to riot against the Moldovan government on election day, and Serbia did arrest two Serbs for conducting the training. The Russian interference in Moldova also included paying Orthodox Priests to preach against the West. Russia’s interference is an attempt to disrupt Moldova’s accession to the European Union. The fake news is disinformation aimed against the West and the EU and in favor of cultural and religious ties with Russia. Moldova is a former Soviet Republic. Russian troops occupy a breakaway territory populated by Russian-speakers. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is a former Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to restore the Soviet Union. Montenegro: Montenegro’s only fact-checking platform cites disinformation from Russia and neighboring Serbia as attempting to undermine the former Yugoslav Republic’s integration with the European Union, versus being oriented toward Russia. Serbia had dominated Yugoslavia under Communist rule, until its breakup began in 1991, which led to several wars as the Communist Serbian dictator fomented Serb nationalism, both in Serbia and the other former Yugoslav Republics that became independent. The German Federal Information Office also identified Serbia as the reginal hub for disinformation and misleading information.

Foreign Digest: India, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and Russia

India: The Indian Maoists announced last week that they are giving up armed struggle, after a recent government offensive, thereby ending the “Naxalite” rebellion, which began in 1967 and claimed 12,000 lives. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) will enter into dialogue with the Indian Government. Iran: The United Nations Security Council rejected a resolution last week that would have extended the delay since 2015 on the reimposition of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran for advancing its nuclear weapons program. The sanctions will be reimposed later this month, absent any agreement. Cuba: There have often been spontaneous protests by Cubans against the frequent and lengthy electricity blackouts in the failed socialist State and for liberty. As usual, however, the Communist Cuban dictatorship does not tolerate the freedom to assemble peacefully and arrests protestors. Cuba’s energy crisis has been worsening, with often most of the Caribbean island plunged into the dark. Venezuela: An international U.N. Mission sent to Venezuela has reported state repression by the South American State’s Socialist dictatorship. It observes the absence of an independent judiciary and the rule of law, which allows arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and torture, and then gives impunity to those who commit such acts. Thus, the report determines the state repression is a “crime against humanity.” The Mission’s report calls for international action to restore human rights and justice for victims. Syria: United States forces killed a terrorist leader of the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria a few days ago. The Islamic State is an offshoot of al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist organization responsible for killing nearly 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America, among many other attacks around the Islamic world and beyond. The U.S. led an international mission since 2015 against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as it had globally against al-Qaeda since 2001 in the War on Terrorism, which succeeded in taking away all of the organization’s territory in Syria and Iraq and killing its leader, who had claimed a caliphate. Some American forces have remained in Syria in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces since the fall of Syria’s tyrannical Assad regime, with the acceptance by the new Syrian Government, and in Iraq in support of the Iraqi Government. In both cases, the U.S. helps protect its ethnic Kurdish allies. Several of al-Qaeda’s affiliates around the Islamic world switched allegiance to the more brutal Islamic State. Despite suffering many hard blows, both organizations remain a threat to America and the world. Russia: The Trump Administration has announced that is cutting back U.S. support for the defense of the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia against Russian aggression, even after recent Russian incursions onto the territory of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the Russo-Ukrainian War. NATO is the defensive alliance led by the United States that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression against its members since 1949. The Baltic States are NATO members. Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin is an ex-Soviet intelligence officer intent on restoring the Soviet Union and Russian Empire. The Baltic States were the first Soviet Republics to gain independence from the Soviet Union. Russia has invaded the former Soviet Republics of Georgia and Ukraine and kept troops in a breakaway part of the former Soviet Republic of Moldova, while trying to maintain its dominance over other former Soviet Republics and satellite states. Russia had successfully backed the isolationist Trump’s presidential candidacies in 2016 and 2024, as I have posted. The real estate tycoon had done a considerable amount of business with Russians, which, as I have also posted, he falsely denied continuing to do during his first campaign.