Foreign Digest: China, Iran, Russia, Sudan, Italy and Austria

China

            There have continued to be mass protests in Hong Kong, the special administrative territory of Communist China, against violations of the city-state’s autonomy and freedom, despite Peking’s promise to guarantee them when Hong Kong reverted from British rule in 1997.  The demonstrators have been successful in blocking a proposed extradition law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, which could have been used against dissidents, but are standing for other demands for liberty.

Iran

There were more protests in Iran, despite the bloodiest crackdown by the Islamist theocratic tyranny since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Russia

            The opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s organization was raided and he was detained by the tyrannical Russian Federation regime of Vladimir Putin, in advance of its planned expose of corruption.  Navalny has been arrested many teams as Putin does not tolerate the freedom to assemble peacefully.  Critics, journalists and opposition leaders are routinely prosecuted, driven into exile or murdered.

Sudan

            Freedom of religion for Christians has been returning to Sudan under the transitional military-civilian government, which includes a Christian, that replaced the longtime Islamist tyrant.  They were able to celebrate Christmas openly for the first time in decades.

Italy

            Italy approved its budget that avoided a sales tax increase.  The budget does not raise other taxes, but relies on cracking down on tax cheating.

Austria

           Three months after the parliamentary elections, Austria will have a new government, as the ruling center-right party that won the most seats in Parliament has formed a coalition with the Greens.  The center-right had been governing in a coalition with the far-right, but the latter party’s leader was forced to resign after being caught in a video soliciting Russian campaign contributions; his party then withdrew from the Government, necessitating new elections.

Merry Christmas

           I wish you all a Merry Christmas!  May you be filled this Feast of the Nativity of Jesus with Light, Hope and Peace.

Foreign Digest: Turkey, Algeria, Germany, Bolivia, India, Belarus and Afghanistan

Turkey          

            There were hundreds of more arrests in Turkey that were blamed by the Islamist dictatorship on the failed 2016 military coup.  Tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested and many others fired as the regime uses the coup as an excuse to increase its authoritarianism to maintain its hold on power.

Algeria

            The incoming President of Algeria has pledged to implement a presidential term limit of two terms.  He was recently elected despite a boycott by the democratic opposition that had forced the resignation earlier this year of the longtime President who had become authoritarian.         

Germany

            The German Parliament approved a resolution to ban activities by Hezbollah, the Iranian-sponsored Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization and calling upon the European Union to list it as a terrorist organization.

Bolivia

            An arrest warrant has been issued for the former Chavist President of Bolivia by the new interim government for sedition and terrorism.  The increasingly authoritarian President had fled Bolivia after his government made dubious claims that he had been reelected to a fourth term, despite a constitutional term limit of two terms.

India

            There have been protests against the Hindu nationalist Indian Government’s new law that provides for asylum for non-Muslims fleeing persecution from Muslim areas through citizenship registration by creed.

Belarus

            There were protests against encroachment on the independence of the former Soviet Republic of Belarus from the Russian Federation, as Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin tries to force a union of Russian and Belarus.  The Belorussian dictator usually does not tolerate the freedom of assembly, but allowed the protests as a signal to Russia, with which Belarus has close ties, that it is leveraging its independence for energy concessions, which Russia declines to grant in order to force a union.

Afghanistan

           Presidential elections were conducted in Afghanistan today.  The incumbent President won a majority.  Afghanistan continues to fight an insurgency by the Taliban, who were overthrown in 2002 by an American-led coalition because they had harbored the al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists who had been responsible for the September 11 Terrorist Attacks.  The United States continues to lead an international coalition assisting Afghanistan in defeating the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

European Union Digest: Italy, Greece, Russia and the United Kingdom

Italy and Greece

            The United Nations Secretary General praised Italy last week for its migrant rescues that have saved tens of thousands of lives, but said that the Italy and Greece have not been financially supported adequately for their efforts by the European Union.

Russia

            The European Parliament blamed the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact for contributing to the Second World War in a resolution last week.  Because of the pact, the Soviets conquered the Baltic States and, after the German invasion of Poland from the West, the Soviet Union invaded Russia from the East.  Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, who reacted angrily to the resolution, has been trying to minimize the role of the Nazi-Soviet pact.  He regards the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 to have been a disaster and has been attempting to rehabilitate the Soviet image and to reconstitute the Soviet empire.

           Meanwhile, the United States has imposed economic sanctions on the Europeans because of their acceptance of natural gas through a new Russian pipeline.  Russia uses its supply of energy as political leverage.  Russia’s resources benefit its oligarchs, not its people.

United Kingdom

           The withdrawal bill for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union was approved preliminarily by the House of Commons last week.  It must also be approved by the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament.  The deal commits the UK to leave the EU by the end of January and to conclude a free trade deal by the end of 2020, without any delays, meaning that the lack of a deal could leave the British without any trade relations with the EU.  The deal follows the elections that gave a majority to the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was elected on a mandate to complete the withdrawal approved by voters in June of 2016 to leave the EU.

Conservatives Won the British Parliamentary Elections; the UK is to Leave the EU

           The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, won a majority in the British parliamentary elections Thursday.  Their election was a mandate for the deal he negotiated for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union to regain its sovereignty by early next year, which would fulfill the referendum of June 2016 to leave, as opposed to departing in a disorderly manner without a deal.  

           A deal for the UK to leave the UK had failed to pass Parliament while the coalition Government the Conservatives led with the unionists of Northern Ireland had lost its majority.  Johnson and the Tories will now be able to govern without a coalition.  The unionists had been an obstacle to a deal particularly over the Irish border.    

The main center-left opposition party, led by a far-left leader, took heavy losses, while the liberal Scottish separatist party made gains and is expected to demand another referendum on independence, as Scotland is pro-EU.  The United Kingdom Independence Party, which was formed to advocate leaving the EU, won no seats in Parliament, as its issue was advocated by the Conservatives.

After leaving the EU, the UK would be able to establish bilateral trade relations with non-EU members. Leaving the EU would open the door for a trade agreement between the UK and the United States, its ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Foreign Digest: Algeria, Sudan and Protests around the World

Algeria

            Algeria conducted presidential elections last week, the first after the resignation of the longtime President earlier this year.  Although there were no reports of significant irregularities, the opposition had boycotted the election between candidates close to the previous regime.

Sudan

            The longtime Islamist tyrant of Sudan who was overthrown earlier this year has been sentenced to prison for corruption and money laundering.  A military/civilian transitional government will lead Sudan to elections within three years.

Protesters

            The “Person of the Year” Time magazine chose as the one who affected the news the most in 2019 was a Swedish environmental advocate, who, other than raising awareness, has admitted not to having accomplished anything substantial.  Around the world this year, however, peaceful protesters, often in mass demonstrations, have been able not only to raise awareness about corruption or authoritarianism, but to effect major changes, of which I have posted about many.  

As mentioned above, protesters in Algeria succeeded in preventing the longtime president from seeking another term and in resigning, and in Sudan in overthrowing the Islamist tyrant.  The authoritarian Chavist President of Bolivia was forced from power by protests after claiming to have won a fourth term, despite a two-term constitutional limit.  The Prime Minister of Lebanon resigned after mass demonstrations.  The President of Chile made concessions in the face of protests, as did the Peking-backed territorial government of Hong Kong, which withdrew a proposed extradition law.  Peaceful protesters in Venezuela, Russia and Iran, among other States around the globe, gave witness to repression. 

May such popular efforts be fruitful in advancing liberty in the years to come.

Foreign Digest Updates: Iran, Venezuela, China and Ethiopia

Iran

The protests in Iran were more deadly than originally known, with at least hundreds killed by the Islamic Republic.  There were thousands of arrests of peaceful protesters.

Venezuela

            Two democratic opposition members of Venezuela’s assembly who were among those who had taken refuge in the Italian embassy from the Socialist tyranny have gone into exile in Italy.  The leader of the assembly, Juan Guaido, invoked a constitutional provision to declare himself interim president after the Socialist tyrant had supplanted the opposition-led assembly.

China

            There have been continued mass protests in Hong Kong, the territory of China against the Communist government’s violations of the city-state’s autonomy and liberty it had promised.  The protests have been met with violence and arrest by the Peking-dominated territorial government.  Hong Kong’s territorial government had withdrawn its proposed extradition law that could have been used against dissidents to extradite them to mainland China.  Pro-democracy candidates had won the elections last month for the territorial assembly. 

Ethiopia

           The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful negotiation of the end of the war between his State and Eritrea last year.  The border dispute had lasted twenty years and claimed tens of thousands of lives.  The Premier has somewhat liberalized Ethiopia.

Eleventh Anniversary of My Blog; Blogger Pageview Report

           As it the eleventh anniversary of my blog, I take the opportunity to thank all of you who visit it and to give a brief report on the pageviews as tracked by the blog host, Blogger.

            Blogger has been tracking far more pageviews than StatCounter, but with much less specificity.  There continue to be 1-2,000 pageviews per month.  The United States and Europe are the two main sources of visits, with South Korea also being one of the leading origins.  There were visits from every major part of the inhabited world.  Unlike StatCounter, which has been tracking more visits landing on the blog homepage than on posts, Blogger has been tracking multiple visits to every post.

            I plan to continue to post at a similar pace as I have been because stating the truth and defending liberty and representative government is all the more essential during this rise of authoritarianism.

           Again, thank you for visiting, following, and commenting offline.

Happy Thanksgiving; Be Grateful to God and Native Americans

           Happy Thanksgiving.  As we Americans express our gratitude to God for His blessings, we recall the first celebration of this harvest feast in the early Seventeenth Century, shared with the Native Americans in appreciation for their teaching the English settlers of the Plymouth colony about raising local crops, which was the first fruit of the bounty of America. 

            I think of how there were always good relations with the Natives of Pennsylvania, the Lenape or “Delaware” tribe, with no genocide of any kind or treaty violations.  The only hostilities with Native Americans in Penn’s Woods occurred when another tribe invaded Lenape territory from New York and kidnapped or killed settlers along the frontier of the Blue Mountain in the mid Eighteenth Century, and also during the American Revolution, most infamously when Native allies of the British slaughtered settlers in the Wyoming Valley Massacre.  Although there are no federal or state reservations for the Lenape in the Commonwealth, they have maintained their presence around the Northeastern States, including with state reservations in other States, as well as their heritage.

           As I have noted previously, Columbus Day is appropriate for celebrating the binding of the two Hemispheres together through the Discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, whereas Thanksgiving is the time to thank God and to be particularly grateful for the friendship of the Native Americans and their many contributions to America.

Common Misunderstandings about Impeachment

There are several common misunderstandings about the impeachment and removal from office provisions of the United States Constitution.  This post corrects them with a brief general explanation of impeachment.

The House of Representatives has the power to impeach (bring forth charges for removal from office) the President, all civil officers and judges and the Vice President for “high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” which means maladministration, not necessarily actual crimes, because impeachment is a political, not a criminal process.  Upon impeachment, the Senate then hears cases of impeachment and votes to convict or acquit.  An official is removed from office by conviction.

What is impeachable is the prerogative of the House of Representatives and what is removable from office is that of the Senate.  The original intent of the Framers of the Constitution was that impeachment would be for maladministration, not policy differences.  Policy and popularity are, therefore, irrelevant.  A precedent has been established over the centuries for impeachment in the cases of Presidents and federal judges.  Although no President has been convicted, one was forced to resign to avoid impeachment and several judges from the early days of the Republic up to recent years have been removed from office.

Impeachment by the House and removal from office by the Senate, often referred collectively as “impeachment,” is neither a coup d’etat or overthrow of the government, nor does it overturn a popular election or violate the will of the American people.  A coup is a violent overthrow of the government.  Impeachment of a President is not even a non-violent overthrow of government because the Vice President, who is usually of the same party as the President, would accede to the office of President of his removal, not a member of the opposition party.  But even if it did lead to a change in control of the faction in government, impeachment is a constitutional process that defends the Constitution and the rule of law from violations and abuses of office, thereby defending independence, liberty and representative government and deterring maladministration.  It enforces the Constitution against threats, not undermines it.

           

            Removal from office is not a punishment, as the official is not in jeopardy of life or liberty.  The only punishment that can be considered after removal by the Senate is a permanent ban on serving in office.  But because service is a privilege, not a freedom or right, a ban on service is not akin to a criminal punishment or civil penalty. 

           Impeachment and removal of a president does not overturn a popular election because the election for President is not a popular election, as the President is elected by the Electoral College, not the people who elect the Electors.  Impeachment of president does not overturn the will of the people because the presidential election is not necessarily reflective of the will of the people, as Electors can be appointed directly by State Legislatures or elected to be free to exercise their best judgment in good conscience, as intended by the Framers of the Constitution.

Foreign Digest Updates: China, Iran, Syria and Bolivia

China

            There have continued to be protests and mass arrests in Hong Kong, the special territory of China that Peking promised would remain autonomous and free when it reverted from British rule in 1997.  Communist China has been encroaching on the city-state’s liberty, which has led to the protests.  The mass demonstrations have been successful in blocking a proposed law to allow extradition to the mainland, which could have been used against dissidents.   The United States Congress has declared its support for the freedom of Hong Kong, but authoritarian-loving Donald Trump has sent mixed signals. 

The pro-autonomy candidates have won the elections for the legislature today, which is dominated by the Peking-appointed government.  There was a record high turnout.  Previous democratic winners were blocked from taking their seats because of their objections to the oath of office that requires loyalty to Communist China.

Iran and Syria

            The protests across the Islamic Republic of Iran have been met by the Islamist tyrannical government with mass arrests and many deaths.  The theocratic regime has blocked the Internet.  Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.  It foments Islamic revolution across the Arab world and backs the Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad in that country’s civil war.  A recent massive Israeli raid in Syria hit Iranian and Syrian targets because of their support for Lebanese Shi’ite terrorists Hezbollah.

Bolivia

           The interim President of Bolivia has promulgated a law for presidential elections in January after the resignation earlier this month of the previous President, an increasingly-authoritarian Chavist whose Government made dubious claims that he had been re-elected to a fourth term, despite a constitutional two-term limit.

Foreign Digest: Bolivia, Venezuela, China, Iran, Russia and Ukraine

Bolivia and Venezuela

            After the authoritarian Chavist (inspired by Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chavez) President of Bolivia resigned and fled the country, he has been fomenting a counter-revolution against the Bolivian people, which has turned deadly.  His government had made dubious claims that he had won a fourth term, despite a constitutional two-term limit. 

            The interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, has called for a mass protest, one year after invoking a constitutional provision to declare himself president.  The tyrannical Chavist Socialist Venezuelan President had supplanted the national legislature after the democratic opposition had won a supermajority with his own loyalist assembly.  Guido, the leader of the original assembly, is recognized as the legitimate President by the United States and many Latin American and European States.

China

Mass protests continue in Hong Kong, the special territory of China, which are being met with violent deadly repression by the Peking-backed territorial government.  Communist China had promised the city-state autonomy and freedom when it reverted from British rule in 1997, but has increasingly reneged on those promises.  The territorial government of Hong Kong rescinded a proposed law to extradite residents to mainland China, which could have been used as a tool to crush dissent.  The proposal sparked the recent protests, but other demands have not been met as the people of Hong Kong fear the loss of their freedom, citing Chinese repression of Buddhist Tibet and Muslim Xinjiang. 

Iran

            The most widespread protests in a decade have broken out in Iran against the Islamist regime, which has responded with lethal force, killing at least one protester.  The tyrannical Iranian theocracy is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.  It is currently backing rebels in Yemen, the Syrian Assad regime, and Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists, among others.

Russia and Ukraine

           A Dutch-led international inquiry has found more evidence of coordination between the Russian Federation, led by tyrant Vladimir Putin, and Russian-backed ethnic Russian separatists, in the shoot-down of a Malaysian civilian airliner that originated from the Netherlands over Ukraine in 2014.  Russia denies responsibility, using a variety of conspiracy theories to shield itself from blame.  Just as Putin blames Ukraine for the shoot-down that he is responsible for, he blames Ukraine for his interference in the 2016 United States Presidential election that helped elect Donald Trump, despite overt propaganda and disinformation from state-owned Russian media and all the conclusive proof from American and other intelligence agencies and other cybersecurity experts to the contrary.  Russia invaded the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine in 2014, seizing part of its territory, despite treaties recognizing Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Switch Veterans’ and Memorial Days

           I wish all the American veterans a Happy Veterans’ Day, in gratitude for their service to keep the United States independent, safe and free. 

            As I have noted every Memorial Day, I have been concerned that Memorial Day, which is intended to be a day of mourning for those who died in service to the United States, has become too celebratory, observed informally as the “unofficial start of summer” and typified by picnics and the opening of public pools.  I have lamented the wishes of “Happy Memorial Day” and the like.  Veterans’ Day, observed on the anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War, instead of celebrating the sacrifices and achievements of living veterans, has become more somber.  As it is observed in mid-autumn and often as a mid-week holiday instead of the legally required three-day weekend for Memorial Day, November 11 is less inviting of the kind of celebrations that are typical of Memorial Day.  As the last Monday in May is not an historical anniversary, it is as fitting a day as any to thank veterans for their service.  And as a day in late spring, it would better allow for veterans parades in most American cities than the current date for the observation of Veterans’ Day.

Therefore, I propose to switch the two federal and state holidays, celebrating Veterans’ Day on the last Monday in May and Memorial Day on November 11, so that the former will be less somber and the latter less celebratory.

Either way, it is a good practice to thank veterans any day, but especially on the holiday of Veterans’ Day, and to remember those who sacrificed their lives, especially on Memorial Day.

Update: The Chavist Bolivian President Has Resigned

           The Chavist President of Bolivia has resigned and fled the capital after mass protests against the questionable election results announced by his election tribunal declared him the winner of a fourth term, despite a constitutional two-term limit.  The Bolivian people had rejected a referendum in 2016 to end presidential term limits, but the court loyal to the President allowed him to serve another term.  The leaders of the tribunal are among those who have been arrested.  Inspired by Venezuelan Socialist dictator Hugo Chavez, who was elected and then became tyrannical, the left-wing anti-American Bolivian President had become increasingly authoritarian.

           May Bolivia enjoy peace, liberty and representative government based upon free and fair elections.

Foreign Digest: United Kingdom and Bolivia Updates; Warnings from Pope Francis and Lech Welesa

United Kingdom

            The Conservative British Government called for elections in December to break the impasse over the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, after the referendum in favor of leaving was approved in June of 2016.  At the request of the UK, the departure deadline was extended by the EU from then end of October to the end of January after the British Parliament was unable to reach a majority on the withdrawal agreement the minority Government had re-worked with the EU and after Parliament had already rejected leaving the EU without any deal.  Opposition from the junior coalition partner, the Northern Irish unionists, was pivotal in the rejection.  The attainment of a Conservative majority in favor of the deal would break the impasse.

Bolivia

            The President of Bolivia announced today that the presidential election will be re-voted by the end of the term on January 22 and that he may not be a candidate, after protests continued against the dubious election results announced late last month by the Government of the Chavist President of his re-election to a fourth term.  The Bolivian Constitution establishes a two-term limit and the people rejected a referendum to amend the constitution to repeal term limits, but he was allowed by his appointed judges to be elected to a third term and to seek a fourth.  The left-wing President has become increasingly authoritarian, in the mold of Socialist Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.  The protests have been met with violence from the Government. 

Pope Francis and Lech Welesa

           Two European leaders gave warnings last week that were related about current politics, Pope Francis and former Polish opposition leader under Communism and later President of Poland, Lech Welesa.  Pope Francis warned against xenophobia and nationalism.  Welesa warned against populism and demagoguery.  

Conservative Analysis of the Pennsylvania Election Reform of 2019

A major election reform was approved by the Republican-led Pennsylvania General Assembly and signed into law by the Democratic Governor late last month.  As a bipartisan compromise in which the major parties try to use the law to advantage themselves, it is of mixed result in terms of representative government, but is overall a good reform.

The reform bans the straight-party ballot option, whereby a box can be checked or a button pushed to vote for all of a party’s nominees at once instead of choosing each individually, making yesterday’s General Election the last to allow this option.  Only eight other States in the American Union have such an option.  It is more representative for candidates to earn individual votes through the serious consideration of electors instead of through excessive partisanship, or the encouragement of laziness and ignorance.  Democrats, who are more reliant on the straight party option in areas with less educated or responsible voters, opposed this reform that was insisted upon by Republicans.

Other reforms include the extension of the voter registration deadline from 30 to 15 days before the election and the deadline to return absentee ballots to 8:00 PM on Election Day, instead of 5:00 PM the Friday before, which was the earliest deadline in the American Union.  These reforms were not controversial. 

The election reform bill also allows no-excuse absentee ballots, instead of for disability or absence from the municipality, which, although it would make voting more convenient for some, will make it easier than it already is for voters to be unduly influenced by others, especially considering that Pennsylvania is one of the States that permit the mentally incapacitated to vote, or to vote under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Therefore, unlike the other parts of the election reform, this measure, which was advanced by Democrats, weakens representative government.

            Opening primary elections to participation to all voters, or at least those who are registered non-partisan, which was an idea that had some support in the Legislature, was not part of the election reform.  Although party members should choose their own candidates, because primary elections are funded by the taxpayers, instead of by the parties themselves, some Pennsylvania voters argued they should have a choice in whose names appear on the ballot, as nominations are often effectively determinative of the general election outcome.  A better idea would be not to have names printed on the ballot at all, as was the practice in the early Republic.  The parties, especially the major parties, who have given themselves easier ballot access requirements through legislation, would thus not have the force of law to advantage themselves, and the taxpayers would not be funding their (major) party primaries.  There has also been no effort to expand voter identification requirements beyond first-time voters to prevent voter impersonation.  Reform for federal and state legislative redistricting is being addressed separately.

The election reform law also authorizes the borrowing of $90 million for helping Pennsylvania’s 67 Counties to upgrade their voting machines to ones that are less vulnerable to hacking by having paper backup and being auditable, as per federal recommendation because of Russian hacking into state and some county election systems in 2016.  As I had noted after its passage, the budget approved earlier this year authorizes the spending, but specific legislation is necessary to effectuate the fiscal blueprint.  The Commonwealth has received $14 billion in federal funds for the upgrade, as the hacking is a foreign attack on the United States.  Counties in Pennsylvania are responsible for conducting elections.  Some Counties have already upgraded to the new voting machines, but the upgrade would have been financially burdensome for poorer counties. 

There are many other election reforms Pennsylvania should consider, but the elimination of the straight party option was necessary and improving election security was essential.

Conservative Analysis of the 2019 Pennsylvania General Election

           The 2019 Pennsylvania General Election confirmed recent political trends in the Keystone State. 

In a close statewide election, there was a split between the two major parties for two seats on the state Superior Court.  Democrats continue to dominate elections in urban areas of Pennsylvania and Republicans in rural ones.  Several flips of party control in County leadership contests confirm the trend in the Philadelphia suburbs towards Democrats and in the Pittsburgh suburbs toward Republicans.  Opposition to Donald Trump increased Democratic turnout especially in the Southeast.

There were some notable victories for non-major party candidates.  After Republicans defeated a non-Trumpist incumbent Philadelphia City Councilman and nominated a Trumpist candidate, a leftwing third party candidate won the at-large minority seat.  A Democrat-turned independent was elected Mayor of Scranton, running on an anti-corruption platform.

The 2019 election was the last in Pennsylvania using the straight-party ballot option, as has been prohibited by the new election reform approved by the Republican-led General Assembly and recently signed into law by the Democratic Governor.  The reform authorizes borrowing to help Counties upgrade to new voting machines that are less vulnerable to hacking, as per federal recommendation because of Russian hacking into state and some county election systems in 2016.  Some Counties have upgraded to the machines.  My County, Berks, used them for the first time yesterday.  I shall analyze the reform in more detail in my next post.

The proposed constitutional amendment for victims’ rights was favored by Pennsylvania voters by a million votes, a nearly two-to-one margin, even though a Commonwealth Court judge had issued a ruling prohibiting the certification of the results because of a dispute about the constitutionality of the amendment’s scope and because of the adequacy of the explanation of the amendment on the ballot.  Nonetheless, the vote total indicates strong support for guarantee victims’ rights, which are safeguarded in law, but trumped by constitutional protections for the accused.

Pennsylvania will likely continue to be a competitive state for the two major parties and will be especially contested in the 2020 election for presidential and vice presidential Electors.

The 2019 Pennsylvania General Election

           Tuesday, November 5 is General Election Day in Pennsylvania.  There are state judicial, county, magisterial district judge, constable, municipal and school district offices on the ballot, as well as a statewide ballot question.  This municipal election is of great significance because these offices affect people most directly and in many ways. 

            There are two State Superior Court seats being contested.  As the appellate court for all criminal and most civil cases, the Superior Court is of critical importance, especially because the State Supreme Court hears relatively few cases, thus making the Superior Court the court of final judgment in most appeals.  There is a Superior Court Judge on the ballot for retention for another ten years, as are two Commonwealth Court Judges.  That court hears all cases in which the Commonwealth is a party.

            Pennsylvania’s Counties elect their Councils or Commissions.  Magisterial District Judges and Constables in some districts will be chosen.  The Commonwealth’s municipalities (cities, boroughs and townships) will elect officials.  In each of the state’s school districts, except Philadelphia, voters will choose school directors to serve on school boards.

            There are conservative and pro-life candidates on the ballot for many of these offices who are not necessarily Trumpist.

            Pennsylvanians will be able to cast ballots on a constitutional referendum to amend the Commonwealth’s Constitution to include a bill of rights for crime victims, such as notification rights, the right to provide an impact statement and to seek restitution.  These rights are codified in law, but not in the Constitution.  Having them as part of the Constitution would better guarantee these rights.  The proposed rights do not effectively take away any rights of the accused, despite what opponents are arguing.  A legal challenge to the scope of the amendment and to the adequacy of the explanation that appears on the ballot has led to a Commonwealth Court-imposed injunction whereby the votes will be tallied, but not be effective.  Nevertheless, a strong vote in favor would signify support for constitutional protection for the rights of crime victims.

            In some counties, voters will be using new voting machines that were upgraded to prevent better against hacking, as per federal recommendation because of Russian hacking of state election systems in 2016.  The machines have paper backup to ensure a vote was cast and to allow the results to be audited.  Other counties will be making the transition by the 2020 election, when certain election reforms that were enacted last week will also go into effect. 

           Votes in lower-turnout municipal elections count for more proportionally than when there is a higher turnout, such as when there are federal elections.  The polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM.  Make your plans today to vote on Tuesday.

Abolish Daylight Saving Time to Decrease Crime

           The evidence that Daylight Saving Time is harmful to society keeps mounting.

           In addition to all the reasons I have observed before, such as the expense, the increase in accidents and damage to health, another reason to abolish Daylight Saving Time is the increase in violent crime in the Fall after the clocks are turned back an hour which causes the darkness to seem to appear an hour earlier, according to the latest academic study to add to the growing body of evidence of the negative affects of the useless practice.  There are more robberies, for example, under cover of dark, after clocks are turned back to Standard Time at the end of Daylight Saving Time.

           See my post from March of 2011 Abolish Daylight Saving Time: https://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2011/03/abolish-daylight-savings-time.html and my post from March of this year, Abolish Daylight Saving Time in Pennsylvania: https://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2019/03/abolish-daylight-savings-time-in.html.

Foreign Digest: China, Bolivia and Canada

China: Hong Kong protests; extradition bill withdrawal 

            Mass protests have been continuing in Hong Kong, the special territory of China, against Peking’s violations of city-state’s autonomy and freedom, which Communist China had promised to respect when Hong Kong reverted from British rule in 1997.  As I have been posting about, the demonstrations began five months ago when the Peking-dominated territorial legislature proposed a law that would allow extradition to mainland China, the Hong Kong legislature had announced that it was not considering the bill, but this week announced it has withdrawn it, thereby meeting one of the key demands of the protestors. 

Bolivia: unconstitutional fourth presidential term

The far-left President of Bolivia held onto power for a fourth term through a dubious election result this week and allegations by the opposition of irregularities, despite a constitutional provision for term limits and a rejection of a referendum to repeal the provision.  There were protests against the President for unconstitutionally holding onto power, which, in a tactic typical to authoritarians, he denounced as a coup attempt.  Chavist (inspired by late Venezuelan Socialist dictator Hugo Chavez) elected leaders in Latin America, as the Bolivian President is, typically try to extend their tenure beyond constitutional term limits as they consolidate more power while rigging elections.  Thus, elected leaders become dictators with a democratic pretense.

Canada: Liberal losses in the parliamentary elections

            The center-right Conservatives won a plurality of the votes in the Canadian parliamentary elections this week, narrowly edging the ruling center-left Liberals, who were weighed down by the Prime Minister’s ethical lapses.  The ruling party lost a significant share of the votes in coming in second, losing more than two dozen seats and falling short of a majority. 

            Although Canada has been prosperous and fiscally sound for two decades of alternating Conservative and Liberal rule, the ruling party’s unfavorable policies on fossil fuels cost them seats in western provinces that produce oil and gas and that have been suffering economically since the price of oil had dropped.  Quebec’s separatist party made gains at the expense of the Liberals.  

The Liberals, with the largest number of total seats, will attempt to form a coalition government with the main left-wing party, the third largest in votes and seats, as together the two parties would have a majority.  The ruling party and its Premier, who will likely head the next government, will, therefore, be pulled further to the left in its policies.

Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is a strong ally of the United States, although the Prime Minister upon taking office four years ago withdrew Canadian forces from Iraq that were part of the American-led coalition against the “Islamic State,” an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Islamist terrorists that had proclaimed a caliphate and threatened the West.

Common Current Misunderstandings of the Constitution: “Well-regulated,” Impeaching Congress Members and Senate Gerrymandering

           There are several new misunderstandings of the United States Constitution currently circulating, some of which have even been promoted by elected federal officials, in addition to the usual ones I have posted about before.

One of them is that the phrase “well-regulated militia” in the Second Amendment means having a lot of regulations.  It does mean anything about regulations, in the sense the word is currently used.  It refers to a regular military, with military discipline, a chain of command, uniforms, drilling and the like, as opposed to an irregular force, like guerrillas.

Members of Congress cannot be impeached, contrary to public calls, including from Donald Trump, that some of them be impeached.  Impeachment is only for the President, executive officers, judges and the Vice President.  Each chamber of Congress may expel members, however.

Another widespread misunderstanding is that gerrymandering has something to do with United States Senate elections.  Gerrymandering has nothing to do with them.  Senators are elected state-wide, not by any district that can be drawn to any advantage for an incumbent or political party.  Therefore such drawing of districts for the House of Representatives is irrelevant. 

Similarly, gerrymandering has almost nothing to do with the Electoral College, as is sometimes claimed.  Presidential and vice presidential Electors in 48 States and the District of Columbia are elected at large, not by district.  Maine, which has only two House districts, and Nebraska, which has only three, elect two Electors at large and one from each House district.  In other words, only 5 Electors out of 538 are elected by House district in districts that are not currently gerrymandered.  

Happy Columbus Day; Unfair Criticism from the Left of Celebrating the Discovery Disproves the Alternate Discovery Theory from the Nationalist Right

           I wish everyone a Happy Columbus Day, as I do every year, as we celebrate the permanent joining of two hemispheres by Christopher Columbus, the Genoese sailor working for Spain who made landfall in the New World on October 12, 1492, which is observed with a federal and state holiday on the nearest Monday.

            Based on his observations, Columbus had theorized correctly that there was a continent inhabited by Asiatic people much closer to Europe than generally believed, the fact that his theory led him to believe the continent was Asia and the world thus smaller notwithstanding.  The Admiral of the Ocean Seas was able to join the two worlds because of his exceptional navigational skills that enabled him to know how far he was from Europe and how far north or south, which allowed him to return to home port and then return to the Western Hemisphere three more times and pointing others in the right direction in the meantime.  Therefore, unlike any previous discoveries of the New World, Columbus’ Discovery of the New World effected a permanent bridging of the two worlds.  His discovery was thus literally a true one, as it removed the cover of the Atlantic Ocean that had separated the two hemispheres.  Crediting Columbus for the Discovery does not detract from any earlier discoveries, including that of the Native Americans who crossed the land bridge from Asia in prehistoric times, as critics of the celebration of the Discovery erroneously believe because of not understanding the meaning of the word. 

            Columbus brought Christianity, Judeo-Christian ideas about equality and freedom and modern science to the New World from the Old World, as the peoples of the two worlds encountered and learned from each other and, in many cases, befriended and exchanged in commerce with each other. 

            In any exchange of people, there are always negative consequences because of human nature, along with the positive.  Those opposed to the celebration of Columbus Day emphasize the negative and ignore the positive or fail to recognize it entirely.  One of their major criticisms of the Discovery is the spread of contagious diseases because of the lack of immunity, especially of Native Americans.  But just as Native Americans would have been credited with the Discovery of the Old World had they sailed to Europe or Africa, the spread of contagious diseased would have been blamed on them through no fault of their own, just as it was no fault of Columbus and his crew and the later visitors from the Old World to the New.  The critics believe, as in regard to uncontacted people today, that there should be no Evangelization, no introduction to Western ideas or of modern technology to such fellow human beings, and, indeed, no friendship between them and the rest of humanity. 

            I had posted last year about how the celebration of Columbus Day was initiated at the turn of the Twentieth Century in order to counter the theory promoted by the Ku Klux Klan’s that the Vikings had discovered the New World before Columbus, which was based on their bigotry against Southern Europeans and Catholics.  Columbus Day was intended to recognize the contribution of immigrant peoples to America.  Although the Vikings had reached Greenland, which is geographically part of the continent of North America and the Western Hemisphere, it is uncertain how far, if at all, they had reached in the New World, while their contact with North America was of limited duration, preceded the settling of Greenland by the Inuit, and had become legendary before anyone ever tried to reach the Western Hemisphere again.  If they had reached as far into North America as legend and Viking theorists suggest, they would have contacted Inuit and Native Americans, among whom there would likely have been oral history, which there is not, and there certainly would have been the spread to the New World of contagious diseases for which the natives had no immunity.  As the Native Americans had developed no immunity by Columbus’ discovery, the spreading of disease from the Spanish discoverers and conquistadors, therefore, disproves the more extravagant claims of the Viking discovery. 

Thus, the unfair criticism from the Left against celebrating the Discovery that it lead to death from disease forms the basis for disproving the alternate theory of discovery by Northern Europeans from the white nationalist right. 

May Columbus Day be celebrated for the watershed event in human history that it was and may the peoples of the world who are descended from the same African ancestors continue to rediscover each other to their mutual benefit.  

Donald Trump’s Disastrous Betrayal of Syrian Kurds Helps Assad, Iran, Russia and Islamist Terrorists

           Donald Trump, who won the United States presidential election through fraud, including interference from Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin, withdrew American military forces from the Kurdish-held parts of Syria, abandoning the U.S. allies in the fight against the “Islamic State” and other Islamist terrorists, to the advantage of the terrorists and Syria’s Assad regime, Russia and Iran, to permit Islamist Turkey to invade northern Syria to slaughter the Kurds.

Some Kurds in Turkey are Marxist terrorists, but not the ones in Syria who are part of an American-backed coalition of non-Islamic forces, including Christians, opposed to Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, who is backed by Iran and Russia.  The U.S. leads an international coalition of mostly Western and Arab states against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists.  Turkey wants to destroy the Kurds.  Iran, the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism, uses Syria as a conduit to terrorists it sponsors.  Russia maintains a Mediterranean base in Syria and wants to counter American influence.

Only fifty American troops had advised the Kurdish forces and deterred Syria and Turkey, as part of a force of only 1,000 U.S. servicemen.  Trump’s excuses for doing Putin’s bidding about the sacrifice of American blood and treasure are not credible, as the U.S. was taking few casualties and spending little money, and his declaration that the war was “senseless” is false, as the Americans had, with their Syrian and international coalition allies, destroyed the physical “caliphate” declared by the Islamic State, formerly “Al-Qaeda in Iraq.”  The IS had kidnapped and killed Americans and threatened to conquer many lands, including Rome and Washington.  It has affiliates around the world.  The American withdrawal encourages enemies to continue to fight until Americans become weary, even if few casualties are inflicted.  Contrary to Trump’s boast of “ending” the war, his needless withdrawal only shifts the battlefield elsewhere as the IS rises again.

The Kurds had lost over 10,000 fighters against the IS and were responsible for holding thousands of IS fighters and detaining their families.  The Trump Administration had even convinced the Kurds to let their guard down along the border with Turkey before allowing the Turkish invasion.  The Islamist dictator of Turkey, where Trump has business interests, convinced Trump to withdraw.

Turkey is expanding its invasion beyond where it had promised.  Turkish-backed Syrian Arab forces have begun committing atrocities against Kurds and assassinating Kurdish politicians, and Russia, as it had targeted in areas controlled by other non-Islamist Syrian rebels during the Syrian Civil War, bombed a hospital.  Some of the IS fighters have escaped.  The betrayal of the loyal Kurdish allies of the U.S. destroys American credibility.  The Kurds had to surrender to Assad and Russia to save themselves from Turkey.  

There have been bipartisan expressions of disapproval among members of the U.S. Congress, where a plan for sanctions on Turkey is developing, among other legislation being considered to blunt the effect of Trump’s disastrous decision.  Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and thus a U.S. ally, but the relationship has been strained by the Islamist authoritarian Turkish President and his purchase of Russian missiles.  Several European States, including several members of NATO, have imposed sanctions on Turkey.  Some of them who are members of the European Union have called for the EU to impose its own sanctions.  Despite these worthy efforts that must be pursued, Trump’s withdrawal is even more disastrous and far-reaching than his predecessor, Barack Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq or unfreezing of funds to Iran.

Foreign Digest: Tunisia and Ethiopia

Tunisia

            The presidential run-off election was held a week after parliamentary elections in Tunisia, a semi-presidential state.  A conservative populist was elected President of the young Arab representative republic.  The main moderately Islamist party again won a plurality of seats in the Tunisian Parliament, but lost a quarter of their number, leaving them with less than half of the total needed for a majority.  Secular parties from the left to right won most of the rest of the seats, with a center-left party coming in second.  Another coalition government will have to be formed.

Ethiopia 

           The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia for initiating a peace deal with neighboring Eritrea, with which it had been at war for a decade over a border dispute.

A Proposed Constitutional Amendment on the Selection of Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor Would Violate the Separation of Powers

           A proposed constitutional amendment to the process of choosing Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor is based on a misunderstanding of the federal process that it is inspired by as a model, and, therefore, draws a false parallel to it.  It thus would violate the Separation of Powers by constitutionally discouraging the Lieutenant Governor, whose office is primarily legislative, from being a check on the Governor, as intended by the Framers of the Commonwealth’s Constitution, by effectively making the holder of the office a deputy governor. 

In addition, the proposed amendment to Pennsylvania’s Constitution would recognize political parties under the Commonwealth’s Constitution and mandate a constitutional role for them, thereby making them agents of the state and thus possibly subjecting them to relevant rules for public officials and meetings, while subordinating the parties to their gubernatorial nominees. 

The proposed constitutional amendment is intended to eliminate the possibility of disagreement between the Governor and Lieutenant Governor by giving the gubernatorial nominee of political parties a constitutional role in choosing a running mate.  Governors and Lieutenant Governors are elected on the same ballot under the Pennsylvania Constitution.  Gubernatorial candidates in primary elections are free to suggest a preference for a running mate among candidate for the nomination for Lieutenant Governor, but most do not, leaving the decision out of humility or deference to the party’s primary election voters.  The proposal amendment is intended to remedy the supposed problem of disagreements between the two officeholders by taking the federal model for choosing presidential and vice presidential tickets.  However, there are differences both in the way parties select their nominees for President and Vice President and the way they are elected to office to the way parties would select their nominee for Lieutenant Governor and the way the federal officeholders are elected versus the state officeholders, beyond the superficial similarity of their names appearing on ballots together in the General Election.

The proposed amendment empowers the gubernatorial nominee to select the party’s nominee for Lieutenant Governor, with the approval of the state party, but presidential nominees do not select their party’s vice presidential nominees.  Despite the recent practice of presidential nominees suggesting their own running mates, the actual nomination for the party’s nomination for Vice President is made by the party’s Convention Delegates.  The presidential nominee is free to decline to suggest a vice presidential nominee, while the party is free at its convention to select a different nominee.  The proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution would mandate a party’s gubernatorial nominee to make the nomination and the state party, which would be under constitutional and political pressure to acquiesce to its gubernatorial nominee’s choice, would not be free to nominate a different candidate.

The federal model for the election of the President and Vice President is not applicable to the state model of the election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, despite the appearance of their names on the same General Election ballot.  The President and Vice President are not elected together in a popular election, but are elected by the Electoral College in separate ballots for each office.  Furthermore, if the Electors do not reach a majority, the President and Vice President are elected by separate chambers of Congress.  The House of Representatives elects the President and the Senate the Vice President.  The reason the offices are elected separately is because of the principle of the Separation of Powers.  The President is the Chief Executive, the head of the Executive Branch while the Vice President’s only constitutional duty is as the President of the Senate, which is upper chamber of the legislature.  As such, the Vice President is strictly one of the leaders of the Legislative Branch, the current practice notwithstanding of Vice Presidents acting as deputy presidents.  The Branches were intended by the Framers of the Constitution to check and balance each other.  The Vice President was not envisioned as a sycophant to the President, but as a check on the President. 

Similarly, the Pennsylvania Constitution grants only two powers to the Lieutenant Governor: the legislative role of presiding over the Senate and the quasi-executive role of serving as the Chairman of the Board of Pardons, the current practice of Lieutenant Governors serving as deputy governors notwithstanding.  As such, the Lieutenant Governor is, as one of the leaders of the Legislative Branch, intended to serves as a check on the Governor, who is the head of the Executive Branch, not as a sycophant to the Chief Executive.  

It would not have been reasonable for the federal or state Framers of their respective Constitutions to have created an office whereby the occupant is not expected to exercise independent judgment in the best interests of the government and the people, but instead to serve only the Chief Executive.  If the Framers wanted some kind of a deputy chief executive, they would not have given the legislative power to preside over the upper chamber of the legislature to that officeholder.  They could have given an affirmative tie-breaking vote to the Chief Executive without any need for creating a President of the Senate subordinate to the Chief Executive.

The proposed constitutional amendment would expressly recognize political parties for the first time in the Commonwealth’s Constitution.  It not only legitimizes them constitutionally, but establishes them as agents of the state who are mandated to perform a constitutional role.  As such, the party officials and their meetings could be subject to the same state laws that govern public officials and their deliberations and meetings.  Moreover, the amendment would constitutionally subordinate the party to its gubernatorial nominee because it can only accept or reject its gubernatorial nominee’s choice, which it would be under pressure to accept, without the ability to make alternate nominations.  It is neither appropriate for the Constitution to elevate parties or to interfere with them internally.  It is worth considering that the amendment is being proposed and voted on by Legislators who are all members of major political parties.  It was the influence of parties that has turned the offices of Vice President and the Lieutenant Governor into something not intended by the Framers, which the proposed amendment would exacerbate. 

It is also unclear if write in votes of different candidates for Lieutenant Governor would be allowed under this proposed constitutional amendment. 

The proposed amendment not only violates the principle of the Separation of Powers, but does nothing to address an even more flagrant violation of that doctrine inherent in the Pennsylvania Constitution in the succession clause, whereby the President pro tempore of the Senate can act not only as Lieutenant Governor, but also as Governor.  

There are other ways to remedy the supposed problem than this proposed constitutional amendment is intended to address, such as by making the Lieutenant Governor a deputy governor and stripping the Lieutenant Governor of the role of President of the Senate, or by electing the President of the Senate separately in order to guarantee better that the officeholder would be a constitutional check on the Chief Executive in keeping with the principle of the Separation of Powers.

Mumps Outbreak in Pennsylvania

There is an outbreak of the mumps in Pennsylvania, in addition to other American States, and in addition to the widespread measles outbreak across the Union. The outbreak is in the Lehigh Valley.

Anti-vaccination conspiracy theories from the far left to the far right, backed by disinformation from the regime of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, as well as anti-government-mandated vaccination libertarian beliefs, have led to a decrease in vaccinations and, therefore, in immunity, from these and other contagious diseases that had become rare on United States soil.  

Foreign Digest: War on Terrorism, Afghanistan, Egypt, Hong Kong and Austria

War on Terrorism

One of the Islamist Hezbollah terrorists responsible for the hijacking of a TWA flight in 1985 was arrested in Greece late this month.  The flight from Egypt to the United States was hijacked after takeoff in Greece and held for 17 days.  The passengers were mostly Americans, with the remainder Europeans.  The Lebanese Iranian-backed Shi'ite terrorists killed an American serviceman.  Other hijackers had been arrested over the years.  

Afghanistan

            Afghans voted over the weekend in presidential elections, despite deadly attacks by the Taliban, the Islamists who led a de facto government that harbored the al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the September 11 Terrorist Attacks on the United States in 2001, until an American-led coalition removed them from power within months.  Afghanistan is governed by a unity government.  The U.S. and its allies have continued to train and support Afghan forces against the Taliban and other Islamists to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe harbor again for Islamist terrorists.

Egypt

            There were protests last week against the authoritarianism of the President of Egypt.  There were mass arrests of protestors.

Hong Kong

            Protests have continued in Hong Kong on a weekly basis.  Citizens of the territory are protesting against violations of the city state’s autonomy and freedom by Communist China after Peking had promised to maintain a separate system for Hong Kong when it reverted from British rule in 1997.  There have continued to be arrests.  There were sympathetic protests in the Republic of China on Taiwan and elsewhere.  One of the opposition leaders announced he will seek one of the elected seats on the Hong Kong legislature, which is dominated by Peking.

Austria

           The center-right won a plurality in the parliamentary elections in Austria today, vanquishing the far-right party it had governed with until May, when their coalition government broke up after a video revealed the acceptance by the Vice-Chancellor, who led the junior coalition far-right party, of campaign contributions from the Russian Federation.  After the Vice Chancellor resigned and the far-right party left the Government, the center-right-led government was left without a parliamentary majority.  A center-left technocratic government won the confidence vote in Parliament.  The far-right party had also faired poorly in the European elections in May.  The center-left came in a distant second and the far-right third, which was a significant drop from its previous result three years ago.

Foreign Digest: Italy, Sudan, China, Russia and Tunisia

Italy

            The new government of Italy won the required confidence votes in Parliament last week.  The anti-establishment populists will lead a coalition with the center-left, after their previous junior partner, the far-right Trumpist anti-immigrant pro-Russian League Party, had tried to scupper the last executive to take advantage of favorable polls.  The main center-right parties have thus been left marginalized.  The new Italian Government will try to avoid a sales tax increase, cut taxes by cracking down on tax cheating, implement anti-corruption reforms and work out an arrangement with the European Union, of which Italy is a member, in regard to migrants, but will move leftward on spending and other issues.  Italy is a strong ally of the United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and in the War on Terrorism.

Sudan

            The new transitional government of Sudan was sworn into office last week, consisting of both the military leaders who overthrew the longtime Islamist tyrant and civilian democratic opposition members, with some vacant positions remaining.  They will lead Sudan for a little over three years until elections are held.

China

            Protests have continued in Hong Kong, the special territory of China, against the Peking-appointed local government because of violations of its autonomy and freedom by Communist China, which it had pledged to respect when the former British reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.  There have been acts of violence and arrests of protestors.  The demonstrators succeeded in getting Hong Kong’s government to withdraw a proposed extradition law that could have been used as a tool to extradite dissidents to the mainland for political purposes, but they are concerned about further encroachments on their self-rule and liberty, which have increased in recent years.

Russia

            There were mass arrests of the democratic opposition across many Russian Federation cities last week.  The opposition has been barred from competing in elections by tyrant Vladimir Putin, who does not tolerate free and fair elections, so it turned to the strategy of supporting officially tolerated candidates not from the dictator’s party, namely Communists and ultra-nationalists, in Moscow municipal elections.  Some of these extremist party candidates, who are tolerated to make Putin seem like a moderate choice, unexpectedly won local elections last year.  Earlier this month, by supporting such candidates, the opposition nearly deprived the ruling party of its majority in Moscow’s council and embarrassed Putin, who tries to create an image of being all-powerful, who retaliated with his typical tactic of phony investigations.  Many opposition leaders, journalists, critics and whistleblowers have been exiled, imprisoned or murdered, even abroad, by the ex-Soviet intelligence officer’s henchmen

Tunisia

           The first round of presidential elections are being held today in Tunisia for only the second time under its new constitution and its transition from dictatorship in 2011, when the authoritarian President was deposed, to representative government in 2014.  Parliamentary elections will be held October 6 at the same time as the expected presidential runoff.  There are a broad range of candidates, from Islamists to secularists on the center-right to the left, in this crucial test of Tunisian democracy, the crowning achievement of the Arab Spring.  A secular center-left party leads the ruling coalition government.

Eighteenth Anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks; Defeat the Taliban to Prevent Another

           On this eighteenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia and over the skies of Pennsylvania, we Americans remember the nearly three thousand people who were massacred by Islamist al-Qaeda terrorists. 

We recall the heroism of the civilians who resisted the hijackers on Flight 93 and the bravery of the first responders, many of whom sacrificed their lives or were seriously injured.  We also think of the rescue-workers who died or who are still suffering from exposure to the unhealthy air over the rubble of the Twin Towers.

It is also appropriate to thank the many public policy-making officials, military servicemen, intelligence agents, federal and state law enforcement officers and civilians who have contributed to the success of the United States and its allies in the Global War on Terrorism that has prevented another September 11-scale attack.

Although reduced, the threat of al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorists and militant jihadis around the world to Americans and others remains, especially from smaller-scale attacks.  Since the U.S. and its allies, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, overthrew the Taliban de facto Afghan regime that had provided safe haven to al-Qaeda, which had plotted the attacks from Afghanistan, the Taliban has tried to regain power.  Backed by the American-led coalition, Afghanistan has tried to keep the Taliban from power to prevent it from becoming a safe haven again for Islamist terrorists.  The U.S. and its allies have withdrawn a significant number of their forces from the theater of operations as they have trained and supported Afghans, but the Taliban have gained significant territory and have attempted to make Americans and their allies weary by occasionally killing their soldiers in order to encourage opposition to the War on Terrorism.  As a result of this global Islamist strategy, isolationism on both the far left and especially on the “nationalist” far right has increased, which encourages more killings of Americans by Islamists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, especially in places where strategic military victory is unlikely.  Before September 11, al-Qaeda had cited U.S. withdrawals from Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia because of popular opposition, not military defeat, as examples encouraging this Islamist strategy. 

The political pressure to “end” the war in Afghanistan, as opposed to continuing to fight the Islamists to prevent them from being able to launch more attacks on the U.S. homeland, let alone of winning the war by defeating them decisively, led former U.S. President Barack Obama to begin negotiations with the Taliban, even though the Afghan Islamists had been state sponsors of terrorism.  His successor, Donald Trump, has continued the negotiations, without regard to the allied Afghan government, to surrender much of Afghanistan to the Taliban, which could allow al-Qaeda and other Islamists based there to become a greater threat not only to Americans abroad and U.S. interests, but once again to the American homeland.  It would further encourage Islamists who have been waging a war of conquest for 14 centuries that they have more resolve than the most powerful non-Muslim States and that the Islamist strategy of terrorism and guerilla attacks to kill soldiers, regardless of any strategic gains, to defeat military even great powers, which suggests that their violent jihad (Islamic holy war) is divinely-favored.  And it would discourage non-Islamist Muslims from allying with the United States and its allies.

To reduce the threat of Islamism and prevent another September 11-scale attack and to reduce or eliminate all terrorist and other violent jihadist attacks, it is necessary instead to defeat Islamists militarily, including the Taliban, especially in a decisive manner.