International Observers’ Report on the 2024 General Election in America

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Europe sends election observers to America, as per reciprocal agreements between the United States and foreign States. The 2024 General Election across America “demonstrated the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions,” followed “a well-run process” and proceeded in a generally “peaceful and orderly atmosphere,” the OECD’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said in its initial report released the day after. But the vote “was marked by disinformation and instances of violence, including harsh and intolerant language against women and immigrants by one candidate,” the delegation warned, while “claims by Mr. Trump of widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 elections, dismissed by state and federal courts, have eroded public trust in democratic processes.” The OECD’s International Election Observer Mission observers went on to observe “incidents of election violence, including . . . threats of violence or aggressive behavior targeting voters, including minorities, election administrators, officials, campaigners, and media representatives.” The leader of the mission, a historian, noted a decline in civility and return to the harsh and violent politics typical before the early Twentieth Century. The harsher, more violent and more personal rhetoric not only polarizes society extremely, but “that polarization is something which makes ordinary governing very difficult in most countries if it happens," he said. I note how this polarization, which is exacerbated by campaign marketing messages that foster fear and anger about the other side to justify support for their candidates and to increase turnout of their own base of voters, instead of trying to persuade voters to their side through reason. This polarization makes voters vulnerable to the populism, demagoguery and foreign interference in the form of disinformation that I have noted have been influencing recent elections in America.

Update on Syria: Drug Production; U.S. and Israel Strikes against Terrorists

Drug Production: The United States recently sanctioned some Syrians for the production and trafficking of the drug captagon, an illicit amphetamine-like drug, most of the production of which is in Syria, mostly by the Syrian regime itself. Captagon abuse props up the regime of tyrant Bashar Assad with billions of dollars’ worth of drug sales and funds militants and terrorists. There is also some production in Lebanon, after it had moved to a Hezbollah stronghold there from Europe after it had been banned, after having been developed for health purposes. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization that has been defending the Assad regime in the Syrian Civil War, is complicit in the trafficking of the drug. Captagon is a threat to stability in neighboring Jordan, where it and other drugs are smuggled across the border from Syria. Jordan deploys a third of its army there in anti-smuggling operations. There was a Jordanian airstrikes on Syria several months ago, supported by American arms and training. Saudi Arabia and Iraq also have implemented policies against the drug. Syria was readmitted to the Arab League last year and Jordan and other Arab States diplomatically recognized the Assad regime, in exchange for a promise to crack down on the drug, which Syria has broken. Western Europe is a major market for captagon. U.S. and Israeli Strikes on Terrorists: The United States struck Islamist terrorists in Syria again recently. It has continued to strike against the Islamic State, the offshoot of al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America, the deadliest in history, as well as against Iranian-backed terrorists. Meanwhile, Israel also continues to strike Iranian-backed terrorists based in Syria, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Measles Cases Rise 20% Globally as Vaccination Rates Have Dropped

The number of cases of measles globally increased 20% worldwide from 2022 to 2023 to over 10 million with over 100,000 deaths, while the number of countries with cases rose from 36 to 57, with an increase in every region of the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Vaccine use declined from 86% in 2019 to 83% last year, with represents a slight recovery from pandemic-era lows. Around three million lives per year were saved in the prior two decades of increased global immunization rates that had drastically reduced the number of cases and deaths globally. The pandemic and certain security challenges in some countries are factors, as is vaccine hesitancy because of baseless fears about vaccine safety. I had posted earlier this month about the rise of pertussis in America because of the rise of vaccine hesitancy in America. Vaccine hesitancy has increased in America, as it has in Europe, because of debunked conspiracy theories on the far left and far right about vaccine safety and effectiveness that are contrary to abundant scientific studies, libertarian opposition to vaccine mandates, and Russian disinformation about vaccines to weaken America and Europe, where there have also been outbreaks of contagious and deadly diseases that are preventable with safe and effective vaccines. Donald Trump, whose campaign was again helped by Russian interference, has announced his intention to nominate a leftwing, pro-abortion anti-vax Democrat, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who believes in various conspiracy theories, as Secretary of Health and Human Services. American conservatives should defend public health and support moral responsibility by asking their Senators to oppose this nomination.

Center Right Account Launched on Bluesky

I have launched a social media account on Bluesky, the social media platform created by the same creator of Twitter (now "X," which was taken over by a Trumpist emerging oligarch), called The Center Right: https://bsky.app/profile/thecenterright.bsky.social. It will be the new social media home of the center right, versus both lliberalism and far right Trumpism (protectionism, nativism, isolationism and authoritarianism). The center right stands for equality, liberty, representative government and the Constitution and for traditional conservative principles, such as the free market, free trade, fiscal conservatism, virtue, a strong defense and American leadership in the world. The center right must stand on its own and can no longer rely only on trying to work within the Republican Party or on the liberal Democrats. It must form its own organizations, factions or even political party, while working with anyone to advance conservative goals.

Foreign Digest: Moldova and Georgia

Moldova: The pro-Western President of Moldova was reelected over the pro-Russian Socialist candidate in the presidential runoff election November 3. Moldova is a former Soviet Republic in which the Russian Federation stations troops against Moldova’s wishes along the border with Ukraine in a secessionist Russian-speaking area. Moldovans had approved a referendum last month to join the European Union, as I had posted. Like most Georgians and Ukrainians, they prefer integration with the West, instead of being forced into the orbit of Russia. Georgia: There were mass protests last week by Georgians against the Russian-influenced election last month, in which the pro-Russian Government claims reelection amidst widespread claims of fraud. The pro-Western President also claimed the results were fraudulent. A coalition of centrist and center-left pro-European opposition parties vows not to recognize the illegitimate results and will not take its seats in Parliament. A pro-Western and anti-Russian center-right coalition of parties is asking Western governments not to recognize the result. The opposition in general is advocating for a new election under international supervision and an investigation of last month’s election. The Russian Federation had invaded the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2008, seizing two breakaway territories and establishing puppet-states that claimed independence that are only recognized by Russia and a handful of its allies. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, is trying to restore the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire.

Pertussis Cases Have Quintupled in America

The number of pertussis cases across America has increased five-fold over last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. I had posted in September that the cases in Pennsylvania in particular had increased tenfold over the previous period. Pertussis, also known as “whooping cough,” is a deadly virus that had nearly been eradicated in America by widespread vaccination, but, like measles and other preventable diseases, has increased around the world, including in Europe and America because of increased vaccine hesitancy. Vaccines are safe and effective, having prevented countless cases, hospitalizations and deaths from various contagious diseases with little serious side effects, according to numerous scientific studies, but unscientific disbelief about their safety and opposition to vaccine mandates has spread among the far left, the far right and libertarians, amplified by Russian disinformation. Because not everyone’s immune system responds to vaccines, it is vital that enough other people are vaccinated to protect the few who cannot be, a concept known as “herd immunity.” Therefore, it is a Christian and conservative belief that vaccination is a moral duty of every citizen who can be vaccinated to protect everyone else, especially those who cannot be vaccinated.

Initial Conservative Thoughts on the 2024 General Election across the American Union

There were few consolations for true (non-Trumpist) conservatives in the 2024 General Election across America, between the Trumpification of the Republican Party and the center-right again having abandoned the field to the liberal Democrats to force a binary choice against the demagogic, dishonest, corrupt, disloyal, authoritarian and cruel Donald Trump and Trumpism (protectionism, isolationism, nativisim). I shall soon express thoughts in another post on how the center right must stand on its own henceforth, as it does successfully in many States around the world, but this post will be about the few consolations from the initial election results. As usual, I only post about decisive results before all the results have been certified, as the votes continue to be counted and, in the case of the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, though the expected results are not in doubt, the election will not have taken place yet until the Electoral College votes next month. In the federal elections, among only a few others, there were two center-right candidates who have been elected in significant contests. Representative Dan Newhouse of Washington defeated a Trumpist Republican challenger and John Curtis of Utah was elected to the Senate to succeed Mitt Romney. Newhouse and Republican Representative Dan Valadao of California, who was also reelected, both had voted in favor of the second impeachment of Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and inciting insurrectionists to attack the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to thwart the certification of the results based on Trump’s lies. Curtis neither endorsed, nor was endorsed by Trump. Two Democratic candidates who were prominent in Trump’s first impeachment for extorting Ukraine to smear his opponent with a baseless criminal investigation by holding up military aid to defend it against Russia under Vladimir Putin, the tyrannical ex-Soviet intelligence officer trying to restore the Soviet Union, were elected. One, the Ukrainian-born National Security anti-Putin officer who blew the whistle on Trump and who was backed by anti-Trump conservatives, was elected to the U.S. House from Maryland and the other, an impeachment manager whom the Trumpist Republican-majority had censored, to the Senate from California. Although they are Democrats, their defeat by Trumpist Republicans would have been interpreted as some kind of repudiation, instead of a validation. It was a small blow to Putin, who otherwise was successful again in backing Trump with propaganda and disinformation that has shifted public opinion since he began his “active measures campaign” in 2014 to promote his imperialist policy, divide Americans, undermine confidence in elections and the truth and to back Trump, who has been more favorable to Putin than even his liberal Democratic opponents. Additionally, there were myriad deceptions by Trump and his supporters that fraudulently swayed voters on every issue, such as the successful Russian interference on behalf of Trump in the 2016 Election, the validity of Trump’s 2020 Election loss, and about his criminal and civil cases, his opponents, migrants, inflation, etc. The Trumpists’ allegations of fraud against them in this election were obviously rebutted by the vote totals in their favor that will be certified by election officials and that their opponents have conceded. On referendums, the results were mostly unsuccessful for conservatives, despite the Republicans’ overall success. Marijuana legalization failed in Florida, South Dakota and North Dakota, and a pro-abortion referendum failed in Florida, unlike in four other States, but the successes in the Sunshine State were only because of a 60% threshold for approval. I shall post about any other significant results as the vote-counting is completed and on some problems in the elections identified by international observers, as well as my thoughts on the direction forward against both the left and the Trumpist far right.

Additional Conservative Thoughts on the 2024 United States Presidential Election

I posted yesterday about the many Republicans and conservatives opposing the United States presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, and how Trump’s poor character disqualifies him from office and how his narcissism, misogyny, cruelty, corruption, authoritarianism, and disloyalty affected his term in office and would again if he were reelected. These posts were only the latest of my posts about the dangers of Trump and Trumpism (a populist mix of protectionism, isolationism and nativism) and of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, the ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is continuing to interfere in the American election to support Trump, divide Americans and undermine confidence in the truth and in elections. But because there are many other thoughts worthy of consideration, this post will be a catchall for a few of the most relevant. One additional item I did not include in my lengthy post yesterday about Trump’s character is how his self-interest in his reelection, for reasons of ego, business interest and fear of prosecution for crimes, caused him to fail to address adequately the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic and even to minimize it, which caused millions more Americans to become ill, hospitalized or die, with many more still suffering its long-term effects, than would have otherwise. His attitude encouraged skepticism of science-based public health policy and vaccine hesitancy, which has continued to cause harmful effects. Another thought about character is how this election pits a career prosecutor against a convicted felon, which is yet another example of what I have been posting about how Trumpist Republicans and “conservatives” have forfeited character, which is the most fundamental matter, as a political campaign issue. They keep trying to cast aspersion on Democrats and liberals while claiming Trump’s poor character is irrelevant to the highest trust in the land. Although both major party tickets include vice presidential nominees with military service, in contrast to Trump having dodged the draft through fraud, the Republican nominee denigrated his own service and that of his fellow servicemembers by falsely claiming his combat service was based on lies, which is an example of ignorant and foolish Trumpist isolationism. As I have noted, the Liberation of Iraq overthrew a brutal tyrant who was a serial aggressor and sponsor of terrorism who was violating the ceasefire and United Nations resolutions against Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. As a result of the service of our troops and those of our allies, Iraq is no longer a conventional, WMD or terrorist threat, but an ally in the War on Terrorism, as thousands of chemical weapons were found and destroyed, as well as the banned chemicals to make more, and the terrorists were defeated in what became a critical battlefield of the War. In contrast, Trump legitimized the Islamist Taliban militia who had harbored al-Qaeda (the Islamist terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America that killed a record 3,000 people), undermined our ally, the Afghan Government, and signed a deal with the terrorists that hamstrung his successor that led to a disastrous withdrawal from and abandonment of Afghanistan. The current Administration has otherwise continued the fight against various terrorists, while Trump has ignored foreign threats from dictators he admires and wants to make deals with to appease, which would only encourage their aggressiveness more. It is this last point that is most worth concluding this post about. Trump, whose business in America had been bolstered disproportionately by Russians and who had tried for decades to do open hotels in Russia, accepted Russian interference on his behalf and then denied it, against the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies, the Republican Special Counsel and the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee, even though some of the Russian interference was overt (the propaganda from Russian state-controlled media outlets in America) because he could not admit that his election was illegitimate and owed to a hostile foreign dictator. In addition to Trump being unable ever to criticize Putin because the tycoon admires Putin and wants to do business with him, he delayed sanctions on Russia, implemented them only at the deadline, and withheld military aid to Ukraine while Russian-backed separatists made gains. And after leaving office, his opposition to critically needed military aid to Ukraine caused its delay for months while the American ally was under full-scale Russian aggression. Moreover, Trump’s denial of Russian interference, which helps Russia’s goal of hiding its efforts, allows it to continue to interfere on behalf of Trump’s candidacy and thus to violate American independence. American voters should reject the interference of hostile foreign powers like Putin and exercise a free choice of leaders who are loyal to America and its ideals of equality, liberty and representative government.

The 2024 General Election in Pennsylvania and across America

The 2024 General Election in Pennsylvania and across America will be held on Tuesday, November 5. On the ballot are the federal offices of presidential Electors, each of the seats for the United States House of Representatives, and a third of the seats of the Senate, as well as many State offices, including Governor in some States and other statewide offices, legislative offices and other offices. In Pennsylvania, the office of Governor is not on the ballot, but the statewide offices of Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor General, as well as every seat in the House of Representatives and half the seats in the Senate. In some of these contests, there are non-Trumpist Republican candidates who believe in the GOP’s conservative principles and not the populist mix of protectionism, isolationism, nativisim, authoritarianism, cruelty and corruption of Trumpism. In one unusual race, non-Trumpist Republican incumbent U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse of Washington is facing a general election challenge from a Trumpist Republican candidate endorsed by Donald Trump. Conservative voters should consider voting for Newhouse and other non-Trumpist Republican or independent or third-party candidates on the ballot versus liberal Democrats. If there are no such true center-right candidates’ names on the ballot, or if the Democratic nominees are not acceptably moderate or at least pro-life, then write in the names of qualified Republican or conservative candidates, instead of accepting any Trumpist as worthy of votes, especially any who have failed to oppose Trump publicly. As I have posted, Trump and Trumpism are a cancer on the conservative movement and a mortal threat to the Republican Party. The only way to save the movement and the party that is its vehicle is to purge Trump and Trumpism completely, instead of accepting and thus encouraging the binary choices of unacceptable candidates that the major political parties try to force on the electorate. Voting for the “lesser of two evils” is voting for evil, instead of exercising the choice to vote for good. In addition to elective offices, there are ballot questions of interest to conservatives across the Union.

Donald Trump Fails the Most Important Test: Character

The most important test for any candidate for elective office is character, and the higher the level of trust in the office, the more important good character is. As I have observed firsthand in my service as both an elected and appointed policymaker, only those of good character can be trusted to put the interest of the people above their own. Most conservatives in America have abandoned this principle, along with nearly every other conservative principle, but there are many of us who continue to stand for good character as essential. Donald Trump’s poor character is the root of his lack of understanding of the Constitution and what truly makes America great, and his general lack of principles. His character deficit resulted in bad practices and policies in his four years in the presidency and will cause even worse consequences if he were returned to office, without him having subordinates around him loyal to the Constitution over him, with broad immunity from criminal prosecution granted by the Supreme Court, and without again facing accountability from the voters because of the two-term limit. That Trump dodged the military draft through fraud during the Cold War is sufficiently disqualifying alone because it demonstrates that when America needed him to serve, he failed to do his duty because of cowardice, a lack of patriotism, and selfishness. But the litany of other examples of his lack of good character proves this example not to be in isolation and that Trump is untrustworthy, which is why he could not even pass the lowest level of federal security clearance. He denigrated prisoners of war and minimized the suffering of soldiers and veterans from post-traumatic stress disorder. In office, Trump used the military as political props and sent them on political assignments. After lying during his 2016 that he was not continuing to do business with Russia, and then asking for and accepting election interference from that hostile foreign power on his behalf, and amplifying Russian propaganda and disinformation, he acted in ways favorable to Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, including trying to extort Ukraine to smear his leading political opponent with a baseless allegation by holding up defensive aid against Russia. Trump held up military aid against Russian aggression last year and favors appeasement of Russia, with which he has long had business interests. In addition to influencing his foreign policy, his financial self-interest was proven when his foundation was terminated because of fraud and his business found liable for fraud, and his inauguration committee forced to reimburse the public for overcharging. In office, his greed caused him to charge the Secret Service, which was only one example of constitutionally prohibited domestic emoluments, and even overcharge them, for protecting him. Trump violated the marriage vows he made with each of his three wives, which is why it was predictable that he would be unable to keep his oath of office, which he did by violating the Emoluments Clause and trying to overturn the legitimate results of an election to stay in power. In addition to adultery, he operated a strip club, denigrated women who pledge to practice chastity, boasted of sexual assault, and was found liable for sexual assault and defamation of the victim. Trump’s misogyny, along with his authoritarianism, has undermined the pro-life cause, instead of promoting it based on love and freedom. His authoritarianism violated the freedom of refugees seeking asylum from persecution, diminished the right of the public to know what financial conflicts of interest he had and what foreign influence there was on him in terms of debts or income (i.e. constitutionally prohibited foreign emoluments), and had a chilling effect on the freedom of expression by business leaders, among other violations of liberty. Trump’s authoritarian proclivities and fondness for foreign dictators increased oppression around the world as the United States forfeited its leadership for freedom and instead became a model of authoritarianism. The bigotry he exhibited as a businessman has led him to cruelty toward refugees and demagoguery against migrants. Trump’s narcissism leaves him vulnerable to flattery and influence, including by foreigners, as well as to sycophancy by subordinates, instead of encouraging honest advice. Together with his financial self-interest and fear of being held accountable for his crimes, Trump’s narcissism precluded him from being able to accept his loss of the 2020 presidential election and to promote lies and conspiracy theories that he had won, much as he lies and spreads falsehoods on many subjects. He not only refuses to disclose publicly his tax returns, but his health records and to submit to a thorough cognitive evaluation. In addition to his civil liabilities, Trump’s poor character has been proven by his convicted of election fraud for using campaign expenses to hide adultery from the public, the recommendation of the Special Counsel for impeachment for obstruction of justice of his probe into Russian election interference, his impeachment by the House of Representatives twice, his indictment in federal and state courts for trying to overturn the election, and his indictment for stealing federal records (including classified top-secret documents). In office, he pardoned criminals based on their political support of him, and has promised to pardon those complicit in the bloody January 6th Insurrection he incited, while he again refuses to accept the true result of the election if it were not favorable to him and his ego and personal self-interest. Trump’s character proves he is unable to place America’s interests above his own. He is unworthy to command anyone, let alone to serve as Commander in Chief. Trump is unworthy of any trust, let alone the highest trust in the land.

Republicans and Conservatives Unite Against Donald Trump and Trumpism

Millions of Republicans and conservatives, including many prominent leaders, opposed Donald Trump’s candidacy for President of the United States in 2016 and 2020, but the list is growing for the 2024 presidential election, including several senior officials from his own Administration and his own-recommended Vice President. Because the list of prominent anti-Trump Republicans and conservatives would be far too long for a post, this post is primarily about those who have been the most active in opposing Trump’s 2024 candidacy and Trumpism (a populist mix of protectionism, isolationism and nativism, none of which are conservative). There are dozens of prominent Republicans and conservatives who have endorsed and who are campaigning for the Democratic presidential and vice presidential ticket. A Republicans for Harris committee was formed from among prominent former Republican members of Congress or congressional staff and former Trump Administration staff, several of whom spoke at the Democratic National Convention. The Democratic presidential nominee has promised to appoint a Republican to her cabinet if she were elected, restoring a custom of appointing a member of the opposite major political party that had ended with Trump. There was an open letter written by a conservative Republican former federal judge and signed by 11 Republican lawyers who served in senior positions in Republican presidential administrations against Trump’s reelection. They write that he threatens representative government and the rule of law, express particular concern about the threat from the plans by his supporters to replace career public servants with those loyal only to Trump, and that he is “unfit, dangerous and detached from reality.” An open letter was signed by 238 anti-Trump Republican ex-staffers of the administration or campaign President Geroge W. Bush, and the offices or campaigns of the late Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, joined by 5 former staff members from President George H.W. Bush, which was up from 150 in 2020. They cited exit polling from battleground States that proved that conservative and Republican voters were responsible for the loss by the GOP and Trump-Pence Electors in the 2020 General Election. The anti-Trump signers wrote that Trump had led an insurrection based on his lies to try to overturn the election and would jeopardize representative government while he kowtows to Russia’s tyrant, Vladimir Putin, while turning his back on allies. Over 100 ex-Republican members of Congress and security officials from the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump Administrations signed an open letter opposing Trump’s election. The security officials said, "We firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump. As President, he promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests, and betrayed our values, democracy, and this country's founding documents.” “By inciting the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and defending those who committed it, he has violated his oath of office and brought danger to our country,” they write, before quoting Trump’s conservative former Vice President, Mike Pence, who has said that "anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.” Trump’s candidacy is opposed by former Republican Vice President Richard Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, former U.S. Representative and House Republican Caucus Chairman Liz Cheney. The former conservative U.S. Representative, Defense Secretary and Vice President said that “there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump.” Including Cheney, every previous living Republican presidential or vice-presidential nominee is not voting for the Republican or Trump Electors. Former President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan, and former Vice President Mike Pence do not support Trump’s candidacy. Some of them are among the growing group who had supported Trump previously, such as former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez under President George W. Bush, Former Republican U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Pat Toomey and the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, who are not supporting him this election. These prominent Republicans and conservatives are either voting for the Democratic Electors or writing in the names of other Republicans. By opposing Trump and Trumpism, these patriots are thus continuing to stand for the conservative and GOP principles of good character, equality, liberty, representative government, the rule of law, free trade, a strong defense, and American leadership in the world.

Conservative Thoughts on Whether Donald Trump is Fascist or Fascistic

There has been a renewed reasonable debate about whether Donald Trump is a fascist, after more than one of the senior Generals who served under him has labelled him as such. There is certainly a reasonable basis for the label and for a concern about the threat to liberty and representative government Trump and Trumpism poses. The main aspect of fascism Trump shares is his authoritarianism. He not only lacks any understanding or respect for constitutional principles and the rule of law, but admires foreign dictators and tyrants across the political spectrum. Other fascist aspects manifested by Trump are his ostensible hyper-patriotism, militarism (although he is isolationist and in favor of appeasing aggression, such as Russian aggression against Ukraine), and bigotry against various non-Whites. Another trait that is characteristic of fascist leaders is his populism —to the point of scapegoating and demagoguery. But the word I think may be more fitting for Trump than fascist is fascistic. The reason is not to minimize his dangerous proclivities, but because otherwise it would give him too much intellectual credit. As his conservative former National Security Advisor observes, Trump lacks the education and intellect to read about or understand fascism fully, let alone to accept it and to be able to articulate any coherent ideology. In a similar way, I would not say for certain that Trump is racist, despite his bigotry and belief in racial and ethnic stereotypes, because he lacks the understanding of the pseudoscientific theory of racism. Moreover, his narcissism prevails, as he effusively praises anyone who praises him and harshly criticizes anyone who criticizes him, no matter their racial or ethnic background. This narcissism is a trait that makes him vulnerable to manipulation through flattery and encourages him to seek only sycophants in subordinates, instead of honest advisors. What is more important to recognize about whether Trump is literally a fascist or not, is the clear threat he poses to liberty and representative government because of his lack of education and intellect, his bigotry, his authoritarianism and admiration for foreign authoritarians, and his general lack of principles.

Donald Trump Is Not Pro-Life

Although Donald Trump is moderately anti-abortion, he is not pro-innocent life. I have posted about how he weakened the pro-life language and policies of the 2024 Republican Platform and his favorability of allowing States to choose not to protect the right to life. But I have also noted his broader anti-innocent life positions and policies. He sent refugees fleeing for their lives to their deaths by deporting them and condemned others to being murdered by foreigners because he blocked them from being able to flee tyranny and terrorism. Trump even pardoned a war criminal who had murdered innocent civilians, and he praised the policy of the former Filipino President of encouraging murder, which included innocent victims. I have also observed how his policies have sometimes shown careless disregard for innocent human life, such as how his Muslim travel ban barred entry by organ donors, that he deported immigrants who faced death as a result, and that his minimization of the threat of the deadly Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic cost many lives. Pope Francis recently identified Trump as not pro-innocent life because of how the Republican presidential nominee wants to kill refugees. The leading liberal pro-life group, Democrats for Life, makes the same argument that I have been making that not only is Trump not pro-life, but that he undermines the pro-life movement. I have posted how he taints the pro-life movement with his misogyny, instead of it being seen as about love of every human being, and authoritarianism, instead of being seen as about freedom. They note the legal arguments in the courts were the focus, which, although necessary, were emphasized more than convincing women to keep their babies. As with conservatism in general, the pro-life movement would be best served by jettisoning Trump and renewing its commitment to love and liberty as the foundation of its advocacy for the right to life.

Russian Interference in Pennsylvania to Help Elect Donald Trump Again

The United States intelligence community found that a video circulated widely on the Internet that purports to show the destruction of ballots cast for the presidential Electors for Donald Trump being destroyed and those of his Democratic opponent being accepted for counting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The fake video is the latest in a series generated by the Russians to help Trump, divide Americans and undermine confidence in elections. Others smeared the Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees. The Philadelphia suburban County of Bucks is the largest swing (i.e. between Republicans or Democrats) County in the largest swing State in the American Union. I had posted recently about various Russian efforts to interfere in American politics and the 2024 presidential elections, particularly again to help elect Trump, as the successfully Russians did in 2016 and again tried to in 2020, including setting up a purported rightwing Trumpist media outlet that fed stories to journalists who were duped by obvious pro-Russian content and who had failed to question the sources of the outlet’s funding. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, a former Soviet intelligence officer, often interferes in Western politics and elections to promote its image and nefarious policies and undermine the image of those who oppose its aggression and other machinations, sow division to weaken the West, and to undermine confidence in elections and in the truth. The Bucks County example shows how sophisticated the Russians have been at micro-targeting their message that some on the far right, like on the far left, are more than willing to believe.

Foreign Digest: Moldova, Venezuela, Austria and Georgia

Moldova: The pro-European Union membership referendum won in Moldova last weekend. The pro-Western President leads the presidential election, but is short of a majority and will face a runoff in November, as expected. The European Union cited an unprecedented degree of Russian interference in the vote in the former Soviet Republic against both the referendum and the President. Russia has long maintained troops in a breakaway part of the former Soviet Republic inhabited by Russian speakers on the border with Ukraine. Austria: A far-right party won 29% of the vote in the Austrian parliamentary elections earlier late last month. Because no other party, including the main conservative (center-right) party, was willing to enter into a coalition government with the far-right, the President has given a mandate to the leader of the conservatives, the current Chancellor whose party earned the second-highest total of votes, to form a government. The developments in Austria are like what I posted about recently in France, where a center-right-led Government blocked both the far right and the far left from power. The election defeat by conservatives of the far-right in Poland was the first example of a resurgent center-right versus the anti-migrant, authoritarian and often pro-Russian far-right. Venezuela: The conservative Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, and the presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the Sakharov Award. The prestigious award was named after the Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident. The former ambassador Gonzalez won the most votes in the Venezuelan presidential elections in July, but the ruling Socialist dictatorship declared itself the winner, despite the abundant documentary evidence to the contrary from the precincts, in results that have not gained widespread international acceptance. Venezuela’s Socialists have ruled the South American State for 25 years, after winning an election and then becoming increasingly authoritarian, persecuting the opposition and not permitting freedom of expression or free and fair elections. Millions of Venezuelans have fled in the largest mass exodus in history. Georgia: The increasingly authoritarian and pro-Russian ruling party claimed victory in Georgia’s parliamentary elections yesterday, but several groups of European election observers, including from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have cited hatred, intimidation and pressure, and a lack of impartiality of election officials in undermining confidence in the results. The Georgian opposition maintains the election results are being stolen. The opposition and the pro-Western President and have cited Russian interference and vote buying, while the ruling party parroted Russian propaganda and disinformation. Russia had invaded the former Soviet Republic in 2008, seizing territory and setting up puppet states, and then encroaching further onto Georgian territory and refusing to leave. The Georgian Constitution requires Georgia to pursue membership in the European Union, a goal which the Georgian Government claims to support, but which it undermines with authoritarianism, particularly the Russian-style “foreign agents” law that criminalizes media and organizations that accept foreign funding. The EU has expressed skepticism of the election results. Georgia’s Constitution also requires pursuit of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the defensive pact led by the United States. Most Georgians prefer to be integrated into Europe, instead of under Russian dominance.

Common Media Errors, That WMD Were Not Found in Iraq, the Trump Campaign Did Not Collude with the Russians, and Refugees Enter America Illegally

There are three factual matters or sets of matters that the professional American media consistently reports erroneously, or at least misleadingly, which I shall address in this, my 1,500th post, in chronological order. Thousands of Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction Found in Iraq: The first is that no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) were found in Iraq after its liberation from the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by an international coalition led by the United States, or at least that the ones that were found were not a threat. This error is false and would have been irrelevant anyway because Baathist Iraq was under United Nations resolutions to account for its weapons, which the Security Council found unanimously it had violated, thus enabling its tyrant to threaten his neighbors and American troops. The chemical WMDs the United Nations inspectors knew about and described as a “small but significant” amount of WMDs were found, plus other chemical WMDS that were not known, for a total of thousands of chemical WMDs. Although no “stockpiles” of such weapons were found, they were scattered amidst conventional weapons thus making Iraq in a sense more dangerous than thought, not less. Although no new WMDs were found, these chemical WMDs continued to be dangerous enough to sicken American and coalition troops who handled them for disposal. In addition, tons of U.N.-banned chemicals to make more chemical WMDs were found. A related media error in regard to Baathist Iraq was that the Liberation of Iraq was unrelated to the War on Terrorism because of a lack of an alliance between Iraq an al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America that sparked the War on Terrorism. Although Iraq was not complicit in the attacks, it sponsored other terrorists, harboring and financing them, including some who had targeted and killed Americans. Moreover, two of al-Qaeda’s motivations were opposition to the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia, who were present to defend the Kingdom against an invasion by serial aggressor Iraq, and the U.S.-led economic embargo against Iraq. Al-Qaeda and other terrorists recognized Iraq as a battlefield in the War on Terrorism, where they were defeated. The conventional and WMD threat from a brutal tyrant with a history of aggression and its nexus with terrorism made Iraq a serious regional threat. Today, Iraq is an ally of the U.S. in the War on Terrorism. The Special Counsel Found Collusion Between the 2016 Trump Campaign and a Russian Cutout: The second media error is that U.S. Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, a Republican former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, found that there was no “collusion” between Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential Campaign and Russia, or at least that he did not find evidence of collusion. This media error is misleading because it absolves Russia of its complicity with its cutout, which it chose to mask its direct complicity, as well minimizes the much broader Russian election interference by focusing only on direct conspiracy. The Special Counsel explained that collusion was not a word used in federal criminal law and that he was charged only with investigating crimes. Because he did not use that word, Trump and his supporters claimed exoneration and the media’s repetition of the lack of finding of “collusion” is misleading. The Special Counsel found there was no criminal conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and Russian agents, but found there was coordination with the Russian’s cutout, Wikileaks, to whom the Russians had given the information they had stolen, knowing it would be published. Wikileaks, which is operated by an Australian, published the information the Russians had stolen. The Trump campaign they coordinated its campaign messaging with advanced knowledge from Wikileaks as to what it would publish. Thus, the Russians and Trump had thus colluded in the common parlance meaning of the word, if not the federal criminal statutory meaning. Moreover, the Special Counsel found that this interference was only one part of Russia’s “sweeping and systematic” attempt to influence American politics and the presidential elections, including by backing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 in both the Republican Primaries and the General Election. Several Russians were charged by grand juries because of the Special Counsel’s prosecution. In one of many examples of Russian interference and the Trump campaign’s willingness to accept it, Trump had publicly invited the Russians to steal certain information from his opponent, which they began to do minutes afterward. Furthermore, the Special Counsel found that Trump, his henchman and the Russians had obstructed his criminal probe, for which he recommended Congress impeach Trump. Special Counsel Mueller’s report was validated by the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee. Refugees Do Not Enter America Illegally: The media often refer to undocumented migrants, particularly refugees claiming asylum, as having entered America illegally. Refugees are not only permitted by United States law to set foot on American soil to claim asylum from persecution, but are required to claim it on American soil, which they are permitted to reach wherever they can when fleeing for their lives or liberty. Refugees do not have visas and passports because they are fleeing dictatorships (some of which fear a loss of their population if they granted such documents), war, terrorism, crime or disasters. If an immigration judge rules that undocumented migrants’ fear of persecution is credible, then they did not enter illegally, but legally and are legally permitted to remain on American soil. It should be noted that U.S. immigration law has been so restrictive, that asylum is the main legal pathway to entering America, as the restrictiveness incentivizes irregular migration, both legal and illegal.

Foreign Digest: Germany, Italy, Bolivia, Cuba and Moldova

Germany: A former East German secret policeman was convicted in Germany for murdering a Pole who was fleeing the Communist Soviet satellite State in 1974, the first homicide conviction for a former secret policeman. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Italy: The rightwing Italian Parliament approved a law to make surrogate motherhood a universal crime, meaning that it would be illegal for Italians to obtain one abroad or to have one obtained abroad be recognized legally. Surrogacy was already illegal domestically in Italy, as is the law in many other Western European States. The rightwing Italian Government had proposed making the ban universal, which its allies in the national legislature approved, thereby making Italy’s surrogacy prohibition the strictest in the West. The Catholic Bishop of Rome (the Pope), the Italian Bishops Conference, Italian pro-life organizations and an international convention of doctors have decried the practice as commoditizing and thus objectifying women, in a practice described as “womb-renting.” Concerns have also been raised about the anti-family aspect of surrogacy, especially as a loophole around the ban on adoptions for homosexual couples, although the practice is committed 90% of the time by heterosexual couples. Italy has been trying to increase natality to reverse a drop of its birth rate that, along with the Covid19 pandemic and outmigration by university graduates, has caused the population to decline, despite an increase in migrants and a higher birth rate among migrants and their descendants. Bolivia: Former Bolivian President Janine Anez was cleared of criminal charges for a coup d’etat by a Bolivian Court last week for having ascended to the presidency in 2019 after the leftwing President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, was forced from power by a popular uprising after seeking an unconstitutional fourth term. The increasingly authoritarian leftist had completed a third term, even though the Bolivian Constitution allows only two and a referendum to eliminate the two-term limit was defeated. The conservative Anez, who was succeeded by a leftist ally of Morales who was elected to office in 2020, remains jailed on other political charges, however. The current President and Morales have split as Morales has been seeking to return to power. Cuba: The total collapse of the Cuban electricity grid since Friday has led to protests today on the Communist-ruled Caribbean island-state. Cuba’s Communists have ruled brutally since 1959 and have been intolerant of freedom of expression, including the freedom of speech and of peaceful assembly, which makes mass protests like today’s uncommon. Moldova: Moldovans have been voting today in presidential elections and on a referendum for a constitutional amendment to include adhesion to the European Union expressly in Moldova’s Constitution. In the presidential election, the pro-Western President is being challenged by a pro-Russian Socialist and other candidates. If no one reaches majority of the vote, as second vote will be held on November 3, as expected. There is a significant Russian-speaking minority in the former Soviet Republic, especially in breakaway Transnistria, next to the border with Ukraine, where Russian stations troops, against Moldova’s wishes. Moldova accuses Russia of interference in its affairs. It has arrested hundreds for vote buying.

Celebrate Columbus Day for Spreading Christianity and Western Civilization to the New World

As I do every year, I post on Columbus Day (October 12, the anniversary of the Discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492 on behalf of Spain) or on the legal federal and state holiday that commemorate the discovery and explain why it is worthy to celebrate the greatest event in human history. I have explained that Columbus’ scientific discovery of a western an oceanic route to the New World from the Old World, which was based on his keen observations that led him to theorize correctly that a large land mass inhabited by Asiatic people existed much closer to Europe than thought, among other scientific discoveries he made, meet the definition of a discovery (an uncovering), even though others had arrived first, namely the Indigenous Americans who came across the land bridge from Asia during the Ice Age. I have noted how Columbus’ great navigational skills, unlike the discoveries by other Europeans before him of the Americas, bridged the two worlds permanently by lifting the cover of the Atlantic Ocean that had hidden the two Hemispheres of the world from each other for millions of years. I have observed how some nativist bigots in America, like the Ku Klux Klan, who hate Southern Europeans and Catholics, had sought to minimize the achievement of Columbus by promoting the Leif Ericson legend and that Columbus Day was thus intended as a day to appreciate the contributions of immigrants and refugees to America. But this year, with a controversy among Latin American leaders about the legacy of Columbus, I note the Genoese navigator brought Christianity and Western European Civilization to the Western Hemisphere. Although some of the Indigenous Americans had already been civilized and had remarkable accomplishments, and others not civilized, they all lacked knowledge of God and the Judeo-Christian beliefs of a rational universe created by God and of equality among all human beings created in His likeness. These beliefs were developed through Western Civilization, which itself was influenced by Greco-Roman civilization, forming the basis for modern science, liberty and representative government, among other contributions to mankind. These beliefs led Columbus and the Spanish to save Indigenous American tribes from victimization by other Indigenous tribes from the most vicious cannibalism or massive human sacrifice ever known in the world by abolishing these atrocious practices, among other terrible practices in the Americas before European contact, including slavery and genocide. Despite atrocities and abuses committed by some of the Western Europeans themselves against some of the Indigenous Americans, the contributions of Christianity and Western Civilization ought not to be minimized and cannot reasonably be dismissed based particularly upon multiculturalist ideas that themselves were brought from the West. It is worthy to appreciate the cultures of Indigenous Peoples, but not necessary or appropriate to acknowledge their contributions by exaggerating their accomplishments or ignoring their culture’s faults, or by denigrating the Faith and the cultural contributions of Westerners, no matter the human faults of the purveyors of Christianity and Western Civilization, as many on the Left do who do not appreciate Christianity or Western Civilization. To celebrate Columbus Day is not only to celebrate the rejoining of the two Hemispheres and the reuniting of the separated members of the human family who inhabited them, but nothing less than to celebrate the spread of the Good News of Christ and the ideals and benefits of Western Civilization, which has brought great improvements to the entire world.

Foreign Digest: Venezuela, Nicaragua, Hungary, Georgia, Gaza and Syria

Venezuela: The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a conservative former legislator who was barred from public office by the Socialist dictatorship, won the Vaclav Havel award. The award is named for the Czech playwright who was a dissident under Communism during the Cold War. Meanwhile, the Carter Center published its analysis of the results of the presidential election in June, in which it found that the candidate Machado backed, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a center-right former diplomat, was elected by a 2:1 margin of votes. The Center and United Nations observers were the only international observers allowed in the South American State during the elections for a six-year term. Both have condemned the election as failing to meet the standards for being free and fair. The Carter Center’s results match the documentation from most precincts in Venezuela that proved a decisive win for Gonzalez, but the pro-regime electoral commission declined to publish the results and the regime-favoring supreme court upheld its decision. Gonzalez has been driven into exile and Machado into hiding as the Socialists, who took power 25 years ago through elections and have become increasingly authoritarian, persecute the opposition and have been violently breaking up peaceful protests. Nicaragua: United Nations report found that political detainees in Nicaragua have been tortured in various ways by the Marxist Sandinista regime of longtime dictator Daniel Ortega. Dozens of political prisoners remain incarcerated after over a hundred were sent into exile. The Sandinistas seized power militarily in 1979 and ruled tyrannically under Ortega until they were forced by a counterrevolution backed by the United States and other international pressure to allow elections in 1990, which they lost. Ortega was elected President of Nicaragua in 2007 with a promise not to become dictatorial again, but he has broken that promise by persecuting opposition candidates, repressing non-governmental organizations, and using violence against peaceful protestors. Hungary: The European Union’s European Commission has recently referred EU member Hungary to the EU’s Court of Justice for the 2023 Hungarian “sovereignty” law that targets individuals or organizations that receive foreign funding. The EU President has expressed concern about Hungary’s deepening ties with the imperialist Russian Federation and Communist China, which create a risk to the EU’s security. Hungary was denied funds by the EU, which has labeled the Hungarian President, who rules by decree, an “elected autocrat.” A United States Republican Senate delegation to Hungary last week expressed similar concern about the Hungarian Government’s backsliding from liberty and representative government and its close relations with Russia and China. The delegation’s exhortations to the Hungarian President to change his policies reflect the Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s condemnation of Hungary’s drift toward autocracy and toward enemies of the West, which is contrary to American interests. The Majority Leader has strongly criticized the isolationist and “nationalist” Trumpist wing of the GOP versus Reagan Republicanism, which favored U.S. global leadership to defend American security, independence, and freedom. Georgia: There will be parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26. The increasingly pro-Russian and illiberal ruling party is competing versus the pro-European pro-freedom opposition. Most Georgians favor their State joining the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the defensive pact led by the U.S. Georgia has applied for membership in both organizations and enshrined joining them in its constitution. The ruling party says it also favors membership, but its support for a Russian-style “foreign agents” law has alienated it from the West and the EU. The Russian Federation invaded the former Soviet Republic in the South Caucuses in 2008, seizing two breakaway territories in which it set up puppet governments that declared their independence that is only recognized by Russia and a handful of its allies. Russian forces then encroached further onto Georgian territory, instead of withdrawing. Gaza and Syria: The United States led a joint operation with Iraq and Jordan that was conducted in Gaza to free an Iraqi Yazidi who had been kidnapped 10 years ago as an 11-year-old girl by Islamic State terrorists. She had been held in captivity ever since, until her captor was recently killed in the ongoing war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists that rule the self-governing territory and use it as a base for attacks on Israel. She was able to signal for help, but remained trapped in Gaza. The Islamic State, the off-shoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, killed thousands of Yazidis, who have a different faith from Islam, and kidnapped thousands of others, many of whom were sold into sexual slavery or recruited as child soldiers. Although a few thousand Yazidis have been freed or rescued, thousands more remain unaccounted for, with most of them presumed dead. The I.S. had taken over large swathes of Syria and northern Iraq and declared a caliphate, until an American led international coalition was invited by Iraq in 2014 to destroy the Islamists, which was successful in killing its leader and deprive it of all its territory, but pockets remain and there are I.S. affiliates around the Islamic world. Meanwhile, the U.S. conducted more airstrikes against Islamist State targets in Syria.

Rise of Pertussis Cases in America, Especially in Pennsylvania

Federal and state officials have been reporting in increase in cases of pertussis “whooping cough” cases in America since the end of restrictions against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid19). The rise of the contagious, debilitating and even deadly disease, which affects children and older adults the most, is particularly acute in Pennsylvania, where the number of cases has increased more than tenfold (from around 200 to 2,000) over last year. Respiratory illnesses decreased during the physical distancing and mask-wearing of the Covid19 Pandemic, but have gradually returned to pre-pandemic levels, or even higher. The increase in vaccine hesitancy is a contributing factor for some contagious diseases, as I have posted about in regard to measles and other preventable diseases that had nearly been eradicated in America and Europe, but that now have been circulating in greater numbers. There is increased hesitancy to vaccinate because of unscientific ideological beliefs from the far left to the far right and among libertarians about the safety of vaccines, which have been proved to be far safer than the diseases they prevent or at least mitigate the severity of and are the most effective defense against those diseases. Vaccines have eradicated the deadly disease of smallpox and have nearly eradicated the debilitating disease of polio, for example. Disinformation about vaccines has been effectively spread by the Russian Federation to weaken the West in a form of biological warfare. Because not everyone can be vaccinated because of various immunity problems, those who cannot be vaccinated rely on “herd immunity” from the vast majority of those who do. When the proportion of a population that is vaccinated decreases below a certain threshold, the contagious disease starts to spread again. It is consistent with conservative principles to be responsible for not only our own health as individuals, but that of our families and communities.

Foreign Digest: Venezuela, Georgia, France and Iraq

Venezuela: A United Nations mission reported a climate of terror and the use of torture by the Socialist Venezuelan dictatorship. The European Union recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia, a center-right former diplomatic who obtained a large majority of the votes in the elections two months ago. As I have posted, the Socialist regime declared the dictator the winner and refused to publish the precinct tallies, many of which the opposition had obtained copies of. The United States and a growing number of States around Latin America and the West have recognized Gonzales as the victor, and other States are at least not recognizing the dictator’s re-election. There were protests yesterday in more than 460 cities in Venezuela and around the world to mark two months from the election Georgia: The United States and European allies have imposed sanctions on the leaders of Georgia who are responsible for the Russian-modeled “foreign agents” law I have posted about that can be used as a tool against dissent, as in the Russian Federation. Georgia, a former Soviet Republic in the Caucuses, was invaded by Russia in 2008. Russia set up two puppet states in breakaway areas and encroached further on Georgian territory. The current Georgian Government has moved closer to Russia, despite its official goal of joining the European Union. France: The President of France appointed a Gaullist conservative former cabinet minister and diplomat as Prime Minister earlier this month. The members of the new Premier’s Cabinet are mostly centrists (especially from the party of the powerful President), some on the center-right (including three members of the Prime Minister’s Republican Party, the main conservative party) and one minister from the center-left. The centrist President of the Fifth Republic, who rules through his Prime Minister, has two years remaining in his term. The Head of State had called snap parliamentary elections for July, in which the far-right nationalists made gains, but the center, the left and the center-right surpassed early expectations and blocked the nationalists from winning a majority of votes and seats. The French President thus succeeded in keeping the extreme far right and far left from power. France’s new center-right Prime Minister will have to be approved by the French Parliament by winning a vote of confidence. Iraq: Iraq and the United States negotiated an agreement whereby the remaining American troops will withdraw by 2025, except for some bases. The U.S. forces were invited by Iraq in 2014 to combat the Islamic State terrorist organization, the successor to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which later broke with al-Qaeda and declared its own caliphate in northern Iraq and Syria after U.S.-led Coalition forces had withdrawn after remaining to support the Iraqi Government after the Liberation of Iraq in 2003 from the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. The international coalition led by the U.S. stripped the Islamic State of all its territory, although some militants remain in the region, and there are IS affiliates around the Islamic World. The 2,500 Americans in Iraq serve in more of an advisory than combat role, although they conduct joint raids with the Iraqis, as I recently posted. The U.S. troops also have engaged with Iranian-backed militias in both Iraq and Syria. Because the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq prefers that the American troops remain, the U.S. will maintain some bases in that area to support the Kurds against the Islamist militants.

Latest Developments and Revelations on Russian Interference in American Politics and Elections

I had posted last week about the latest Russian Federation interference in American politics and elections, including once again in favor of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. Since then, there have been additional developments and revelations in Russia’s broader “active measures” campaign that provide more insight about how Russia conducts its campaign, about which I provide additional conservative analysis in this post. Leftists Who Spread Russian Propaganda Convicted of Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Russian Agents: Four left-wing activists for Blacks, including the founder of the African People’s Socialist Party, were convicted in federal court in Florida of conspiring to act as unregistered Russian agents. I had posted about their charges. The Floridians knowingly accepted money from the Russian Federation government to spread pro-Russian and anti-American views from 2015-2022, including about the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and even local election interference. Two Russian intelligence officers were indicted, but remain at large and were not tried in abstentia. Russia interferes in American politics to promote views favorable to itself, divide Americans, undermine their belief in their ideals, undermine their belief in the truth and in elections, and to support candidates favorable to it or oppose candidates unfavorable to it. It engages in these “active measures” both overtly through propaganda and disinformation from Russian state-controlled media and covertly through posing as media outlets or journalists, impersonating Americans on the Internet, or working through witting or unwitting Americans on the far left or the isolationist far right. Russian State-Controlled Media Outlet Acts as an Intelligence Agency: The United States imposed sanctions on the parent companies of a particular Russian state-controlled media outlet that not only openly publicizes Russian propaganda to destabilize countries and influence elections around the world, but acts as a covert cyber intelligence entity, instead of only as a media outlet. It even conducts fundraising for materiel for Russian troops in Ukraine. Russia uses a web of front companies to hide the media outlet as the source behind other outlets, not only to get around bans of the company by Western European States, but also to conceal its Russian source in America and around the globe. The U.S. did not ban Russian state-controlled media outlets, but required they register as foreign media outlets. Russian tactics are typically creating fake news outlets or hiring professional journalists and feeding them with content to promote, or even bribing journalists to promote Russian propaganda and disinformation. For example, I had posted earlier this month about a Trumpist right-wing media outlet in America through which the Russians spent $10 million to promote disinformation and propaganda, which led to criminal charges against Russians. The Trumpist “conservative” journalists claim they did not realize that the source of the funding of the content they were promoting was the Russian Federation, even though it matched Russian propaganda, perhaps because Trumpists and Russians share beliefs and amplify each other. It is shocking to many true conservatives that Trumpists and other isolationists or “America First” nationalists, agree with or even admire Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who intends to restore the Soviet Union, or at least deny or minimize or acquiesce to his interference in American politics that undermines American independence, sovereignty and self-determination. That they participate in a hostile foreign power’s “active measures” campaign by promoting his views in the same way that leftists like the ones convicted in Florida do because they share similar views, proves they are neither the patriots, nor the conservatives they pretend to be. It should cause them to reconsider their views and to prove their American loyalty by completely rejecting Putin and his interference in American politics and elections.

Foreign Digest: Venezuela, Russia and Iran

Venezuela: The Venezuelan Socialist dictatorship deliberately drove the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a conservative former diplomat, into exile with their campaign of repression and persecution, their siege of the Argentine Embassy and their revocation of Brazil’s management of Argentina’s diplomatic and consular affairs. They coordinated the safe passage of Gonzalez to Spain through a Socialist former Spanish Prime Minister. The lower house of the Spanish Parliament recognized Gonzalez as the President-elect of Venezuela. There has been growing international pressure for the Socialists to cede power or at least to publicize the details of their claimed election victory in July for another 6-year term, while the opposition has proof from the precincts that prove it had won a resounding victory after 25 years of Socialist rule. The Socialists were elected and then became increasingly authoritarian and have kept power by not tolerating free and fair elections. The United States mediated a deal between the regime and the opposition for free and fair elections, which the Socialists violated. The U.S., which recognizes Gonzales as President-elect of the South American State has re-imposed sanctions and has also imposed sanctions on Venezuelan Supreme Court officials who put their loyalty to the dictator above the Venezuelan Constitution. Russia: The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner condemned the Russian Federation’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that routinely plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness and cold. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, seizing part of its territory and backing Russian-speaking separatists, before launching a full-scale invasion in 2022, despite Russian recognition of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Russian aggression against the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine is part of the goal of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, to restore the Soviet Union. Iran: United States and the European Union imposed more sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran for supplying missiles to Russia. Iran, the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism, foments revolution around the Islamic world, particularly among fellow Shi’ites. It is part of what I refer to as the “Axis of Rogues,” like Communist North Koea, which also supplies Russia with missiles.

The 23rd Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America

Today, we commemorate those who were killed or injured 23 years ago today in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America, which were the deadliest acts of terrorism in world history. Islamist al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon (the U.S. Defense Department) in Virginia while another jet that crashed into Pennsylvania after the passengers attempted to take back control from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people were massacred in the attacks. Al-Qaeda was based in Afghanistan, where they had been provided safe haven by the Islamist Taliban regime that ruled most of the Central Asian State at the time until they were overthrown by the U.S., its Afghan and other allies in 2002 for refusing to turn over the terrorist organization to justice in what became the first battle in the ongoing War on Terrorism. The U.S. captured the mastermind of the attacks and others responsible for its planning. The Secretary of Defense rejected a plea deal this summer by the September 11 mastermind of the and two fellow al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists who were subject to a United States military tribunal at the American base at Guantanamo, Cuba. They offered to plead guilty, in exchange for life imprisonment and not the death penalty, after the Biden Administration had rejected the terrorists’ preconditions. But although some surviving family members wanted the closure that the plea would have brought after 23 years, the deal was not popular, as it precluded the death penalty. A trial would be difficult because of evidentiary rules and a reluctance by the Government to reveal intelligence sources and methods. Nonetheless, the plea offer provides a degree of proof of the responsibility of al-Qaeda for the attacks. Al-Qaeda’s leaders have been killed, as have many members and many othered captured, but the Sunni terrorist organization and their offshoot, the Islamic State, remain a global threat and continue to engage in violent jihad, as they had before September 11, but they have not been able to commit any attack close to its scale. After the disastrous premature Trump-Biden withdrawal of a relatively small force of American troops in an advisory role from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have returned to power and again provide a haven to the terrorists who remain loyal to the Taliban mullah. The U.S. and allies continue to fight against Islamist terrorists in certain parts of the Islamic world, while improved intelligence sharing, law enforcement and financial control methods have continued to be used effectively against the enemy. But vigilance against all terrorists and hostile militants remains essential.

A Russian State Pro-Trump Media Campaign Is Exposed as the Latest Interference in American Politics and Elections

The United States criminally charged Russian employees of state-backed media with money laundering and violating a federal requirement for foreign agents to register as part of a conspiracy to disseminate propaganda through pro-Trump right-wing media to divide Americans, oppose American resistance to Russian aggression against Ukraine, and influence the American elections in favor of Donald Trump. The Russian state influence campaign was conducted while hiding its hostile foreign power funding source. Ten million dollars was furnished to the Trumpist media outlet that employed influencers popular on social media and had the Republican National Committee Chairman, Lara Trump, who is Donald’s daughter in law, and prominent Republican candidates for office as guests. The Trumpist outlet folded after the announcement of the charges. A Russian-American 2016 Trump campaign advisor was also charged with working on behalf of the sanctioned Russian state media company and accepting a million dollars in laundered money, as well as for other work on behalf of sanctioned Russian oligarchs. Along with the charges from the U.S. Justice Department, the Departments of State and Treasury imposed visa restrictions and sanctions on numerous individuals and entities, respectively, in a joint response to election interference by the Russian Federation. Treasury also sanctioned Russian intelligence officers for cyber hacking, stealing and releasing stolen information. The U.S. also seized many Internet domains used by the Russians. The revelations that the Russians were behind the pro-Trump media campaign highlight how the isolationist Trump and his supporters and the Russians amplify each other’s talking points. As I have posted, Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, the ex-Soviet intelligence officer trying to restore the Soviet Union, backed Trump in the Republican presidential primaries and general elections in 2016 and 2020 and is doing so again, despite its denials, according to U.S. intelligence officials. The real estate tycoon Trump defrauded the voters in 2016 by falsely claiming that he was no longer conducting business with the Russians. He solicited Russian interference on his behalf in the general election, which his campaign then accepted and coordinated its messaging with the release of information stolen by the Russians and released through their cut-out Wikileaks, while the campaign benefited from a “sweeping and systematic” Russian active measures campaign on Trump’s behalf, in the words of the Republican special counsel, which were validated by the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as by the charges and sanctions against some of the Russians by the Trump Administration itself. As President, Trump declined to criticize Putin, publicly cast doubt on the intelligence agency findings that Putin had backed him, obstructed the special counsel’s probe, and acted on the hostile foreign power’s behalf when he could. Since leaving office, Trump has opposed defensive aid for Ukraine against Russian aggression. He and his supporters have denied, minimized or accepted interference in American politics by a hostile foreign power, but now that the success of the Russians is being copied by other hostile foreign powers, they are starting to be affected by the compromise of American independence they supported when it was expedient to them.