The 2026 Russian Parliamentary Elections: Pre-Determined by Vladimir Putin

    The results of the 2026 Russian Parliamentary Elections last week were a foregone conclusion under tyrant Vladimir Putin, the ex-Soviet intelligence officer who has ruled the Russian Federation since 1999.  Putin’s party won a majority of the votes and seats as elections in Russia are not free and fair.  Basic freedoms are hardly tolerated and only parties that are not sharply critical of Putin are permitted to participate in the elections.  Opposition leaders, human rights advocates, critics, journalists, whistleblowers and anyone Putin feels threatened by are persecuted, imprisoned, driven into exile or murdered, either in Russia or abroad.  “Systemic opposition” parties that allow the Kremlin to make it appear as if Russia has competitive elections among multiple parties win votes and seats in the Russian Parliament, but never enough to threaten the regime.  Indeed, the two largest, the Communists and the ultra-nationalists serve the purpose of making Putin seem moderate by contrast.  There are smaller center-left and center-right parties, as well as other parties across the spectrum or single-issue parties, but they collectively only win a few seats, if any.  The main center-right systemic opposition party did gain in votes and seats, but it is regarded by the Russian opposition, which is mostly on the center right, as a spoiler.  

    Although opposition parties sometimes win local elections, there are no free and fair national elections in Russia and there will not be any as long as Czar Putin rules.

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America

     

    Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks by al-Qaeda Islamists on America that killed nearly 3,000 people.  We Americans pause on September 11, as I always post on this date, to remember the victims of the massacre, and to give thanks to the many who have helped prevent another attack on such a scale for a quarter century. 

      As I have posted, the September 11 attacks sparked the Global War on Terrorism, which although the name of the war has long fallen out of use, continues sporadically against al-Qaeda or its offshoot, the Islamic State, or other Islamist terrorists, on battlefields around the Islamic world, in addition to various other successful anti-terror methods that are still in use.  The first battlefield was Afghanistan because its de facto regime led by the Islamist Taliban militia had provided safe haven for al-Qaeda’s leadership that had planned the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia with hijacked civilian airliners, another of which was forced down by passengers in Pennsylvania.  The United States led an international coalition, joined by Afghan allies, to overthrow the Taliban, which fell by 2002, and against al-Qaeda, whose leadership was annihilated. 

    The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after a premature American withdrawal (the disastrous Trump-Biden withdrawal that I have posted about), but al-Qaeda, though still a threat in its various forms and global affiliates, has been seriously weakened and Afghanistan has not again become a safe haven for terrorists with a global reach.  The international community, which does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, would not allow Afghanistan to become again a threat to the world.  Because the lack of U.S. or allied military and intelligence organizational presence in Afghanistan hampers the ability to detect any reconstitution of al-Qaeda in the Central Asian State, continued vigilance is necessary.

    There continues to be armed resistance in various forms to the Taliban across Afghanistan, which the international community ought to support, at least morally, if not materially, and at least privately, if not officially.  The resistance, which favors a return to constitutional representative government and liberty for all, is growing in size and reach, while the Taliban have lost their only ally, Pakistan.  Although the overthrow of the repressive Taliban might be difficult to achieve, it would at least help weaken the Islamist militia to prevent them from becoming a regional threat, and represent a greater consistency in American foreign policy to stand for freedom and against Islamist rule.  But the rapid fall of the terrorist-sponsoring Baathist Assad regime of Syria in December 2024 suggests, even the most repressive dictatorships can suddenly collapse.  A second overthrow of the Taliban regime, whose leading Mullah al-Qaeda has sworn its personal loyalty to, would be another major victory in the War on Terrorism.

Blog and Personal Notes

    

    Blog Note: I was finally able to work around the glitch the last few years that prevented line-spacing and indentation in my posts to this blog.  It also prevented the insertion of hyperlinks.  I shall endeavor to update the previous posts the last few years for which the proper typesetting was precluded.  I apologize for any difficulty in reading those posts, which I tried to minimize in various ways.

    Thank you for visiting my blog.  Please continue to visit it regularly. 

    Personal Note: Meanwhile, I have completed my contributions to the history book for the 275th anniversary of my County.  I shall provide an update when it is published.

Extreme Nationalist Serbia and Ethnic Serbs Treat a War Criminal as a Hero

    Ratko Mladic, the ethnic Serb general known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” responsible for the policy of “ethnic cleansing,” for which he was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, died in prison last week.  The concerns I have posted about Serbian nationalism were validated by the treatment by him by ethnic Serbs in Bosnia and other States that became independent from Yugoslavia and by Serbia as a national hero. Serbia gave the war criminal a state funeral, ethnic Serbs outside Serbia praised him, and many thousands of Serbs paid respects to Mladic at his funeral. 

    Serbia, the dominant republic within the former Yugoslavia, was responsible for the bloody wars that resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia into each of its parts.  Serbia, which is Slavic and Orthodox, was led by a Communist dictator who fomented Serbian nationalism and hatred toward other ethnicities and religions to try to remain in power after the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1991, which caused independence movements across Yugoslavia to break away from Belgrade’s dominance.  Serbia fomented ethnic Serb minorities in the other parts of Yugoslavia, such as in Bosnia, where Bosnian Serb leaders, through Mladic, attacked ethnic Croats, who are Slavic and Catholic, and Bosniaks, who are Slavic and Muslim, in a bloody civil war from 1992 to 1995.  Mladic was arrested in 2011, convicted in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and sentenced to life imprisonment.  Bosnia is divided into two main entities, one Serb and the other Croat and Bosniak.  

    Serbia, which has historically been friendly with Russia, continues to encourage ethnic divisions in Bosnia and Kosovo, where Albanians are the majority and Serbs a minority.  Serbia should not be allowed to join the European Union until it rejects extreme nationalism, accepts responsibility for its crimes, and clearly opposes Russian aggression and imperialism.

The Right-Wing Italian Government Has Set an Endurance Record

    Italian Prime Miniser Giorgia Meloni became the longest-serving premier in the history of the Italian Republic, which was formed in 1946, having served four years.  No Italian government has completed a five-year term.  But the significance of the record is exaggerated by the professional media, as is the usual reporting about Italy’s “instability” because hers is the 68th Government in its 80-year history.  Although Italy, which has always had a multi-party elective parliamentary system, has had many “governments,” which mean executives (i.e. administrations), it was stable in the sense that every government from 1946 to 1982 was led by the Christian Democratic Party, with only the coalitions with other parties changing.  The party returned to power later in the 1980s.  Often during their tenure as Prime Ministers, the same person has continued in office, with only a cabinet reshuffle.  Thus, some Premiers have served longer than Meloni consecutively, and others even longer when adding together their separate stints in office. 

    Meloni has tried to prove her party has rejected its neo-fascist past, but some party member or another regularly undermines her efforts.  She has led Italy’s most right-wing government in its republican history, with a relatively stable coalition between her right-wing party, the far-right Trumpist anti-migrant and pro-Russian League Party, and the center-right Forza Italia (Go Italy) party, which holds pro-European and American views and is conservative in the mold of Thatcher and Reagan. The opposition, which ranges from the center to the far left, is relatively divided.  Neither Meloni's coalition, nor the main center-left bloc of parties receive popular majority support, just as neither won a majority of votes or seats in the parliamentary elections, as her coalition benefited from a bonus awarded to the leading coalition.  Meloni’s government has enacted fiscal and other reforms required by the European Union to receive funds, reduced spending, kept taxes down, increased employment, cracked down on petty crimes, advocated for reforms of the EU, and backed Ukraine.  But without making any major reforms, Italy’s economic growth has been slow.  Meloni has violated human rights with her anti-migrant policies while Italy continues to suffer population loss.  She tried to parlay her similar views to Donald Trump and their personal friendship to benefit Italian-American relations, but her effort has ended in failure because Trump demands complete agreement on every issue.  

    Despite differences within her coalition, and an upstart neo-fascist party rising in the polls that is even more anti-migrant and openly pro-Russian, Meloni will probably continue to serve until her term ends while the opposition is unable to unite to gain majority support, which is more the reason for her stability than her mixed record.  Her government is proposing to amend the election law to favor her coalition in the parliamentary elections next year, which signals a lack of popularity and confidence in their chances. 

Foreign Digest: North Korea, Iran, Russia and Ukraine

North Korea: Donald Trump drastically reduced annual military exercises with South Korea, in part as punishment for the United States ally’s choice not to provide support against the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The exercises are critical for defense of South Korea against Communist North Korean aggression.  But what is worse even that Trump would compromise global security for a policy difference with an ally, is that he stated clearly that he was giving in to North Korean objections to the exercises as threatening and provocative, and that he is also influenced by personal overtures and flattery by its tyrannical regime.  Thus, unreasonable demands by dictators and their psychological influence determine American foreign policy and security under Trump, just as his own pecuniary considerations do, as foreign States conduct business with him, instead of what is in the best interest of the United States and global security.  Trump’s foreign policy is devoid of any moral principles, but is instead transactional, as if the U.S. has no interests.  Communist North Korea has sent thousands of troops in support of Russian aggression against Ukraine, among other support.  The Hermit Kingdom invaded its southern neighbor in 1950 and has attacked it from time to time ever since.  The U.S. led a successful United Nations mission to defend South Korea from North Korean and Communist Chinese aggression and has defended South Korea, which is an ally and major trading partner. 

Iran: Like some of his predecessors, Trump has continued to allow Iran to delay the destruction of its nuclear and missile program by making diplomatic offers.  The Islamic Republic, a theocratic tyranny, is the world's worst state sponsor of terrorism. 

Ukraine: Ukraine struck an Iranian military transport ship in the Caspian Sea last month.  The Islamic Republic has been supplying Russia militarily during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.  The Russian Federation invaded the former Soviet Republic in 2014, seizing Crimea, then fully in 2022, in violation of international law and Russian recognition of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as I have posted. Last week, the Russians engaged in a double-tap strike on a civilian target, to add to their myriad war crimes.  A double-tap strike is a second attack on a site, after first responders and other rescuers have arrived.  And as I have also posted, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China, along with handful of their allies, are what I call the Axis of Rogues.

Update: Two Dead in the Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak

    In my last post, I provided an update on Pennsylvania’s latest measles outbreak. Since then, two deaths have been reported, which are the first in America this year. Both were of people who were unvaccinated. The deaths from measles are the first reported in Pennsylvania in 35 years.

Update on the Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak

    The number of cases in the latest measles outbreak in Pennsylvania continues to grow. I noted in my July 12 post that the number of cases had exceeded 100. Now, the total number in two separate outbreaks in the State for the year had grown to nearly 380 by the end of last week, with a rapid increase recently, versus 16 for all of last year. Health officials believe the true number of cases is much higher. The start of the new school year will likely accelerate the spread. 

     Measles, a virus which was the leading cause of childhood deafness, can cause organ failure and even death, is the most contagious disease. It can be prevented by a safe and effective vaccine. Over half of Pennsylvania’s cases are in Lancaster County, which has a relatively low vaccination rate. It is the home to the largest concentration of Anabaptists, who tend not to vaccinate. All of the State’s cases are of unvaccinated people. Of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildrend, only 93% are vaccinated, which is short of the 95% needed to prevent spread. Other States in America are also continuing to experience measles outbreaks. 

    As I have posted, vaccine hesitancy has increased in recent years because of unfounded concerns about vaccine safety, spread by conspiracy theories on the far left and far right, exacerbated by libertarian opposition to vaccine mandates even for schoolchildren, and amplified by Russian disinformation.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time: The Wrong Solution for the Problem

    A bill to place America on Daylight Saving Time permanently has passed the United States House of Representatives with bipartisan support and the support of Donald Trump. But the proposal has attracted bipartisan opposition in the Senate, especially from northern States. 

    Congress is right to resolve the problem of having to change the clocks twice a year by switching back and forth from Daylight Saving Time, and the problems it causes, but it is the wrong solution. Springing ahead and falling back annually are unpopular. Not only are they inconvenient and commercially costly, but the loss of an hour of sleep when switching from Standard to Daylight Saving Time causes accidents and impairs physical and mental health, as I have posted. But permanently switching to Daylight Saving Time, instead of remaining permanently on Standard Time, as Hawaii and Arizona already do, would cause its own set of problems. It would be dark for an hour longer in the mornings in the wintertime, which is dangerous for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, and especially for schoolchildren walking to bus stops or school. 

    But the main problem, as I have posted, is that moving the time zone an hour back would adversely affect sleep because it would misalign our circadian rhythm, the body’s natural cycle that relies on sunlight cues for its wake response. Therefore, it would cause accidents and physical and mental health problems, such as exacerbating seasonal affect disorder. We can learn from history not to repeat this mistake. The U.S. switched to permanent Daylight Saving Time in 1974 to try to save energy during the oil crisis. The move at first was popular because of the extra hour of daylight in the afternoon, but soon became unpopular because of the safety problems for parents taking their children to school and schoolchildren walking to school. Congress repealed the law soon after. Switching permanently to Daylight Saving Time thus proved the law of unintended consequences. 

    Most of the rest of the world does not have any daylight saving time, and the international trend among those foreign States that do has been to eliminate it. Instead of permanent Daylight Saving Time, I urge Congress to consider the optimal solution for the problem it is rightly trying to solve: switch permanently to Standard Time.

Foreign Digest: Ukraine and Nicaragua

Ukraine: Ukraine formed a coalition with nine European States to defend against ballistic missiles. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden signed an agreement with Ukraine. The former Soviet Republic has been under Russian invasion since 2014. Ukraine has skillfully been developing defenses against Russia that it has increasingly been making available to friendly States. It had also negotiated security deals for drone and missile defense with several Arab States to defend against attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran which has targeted them during the terrorist-sponsoring theocracy's war with Israel and the United States, as I had posted. Iran is complicit in the Russian aggression against Ukraine, supplying the Russian Federation with missiles. 

Nicaragua: Nicaragua’s Marxist Sandinista dictatorship broke off diplomatic relations with Italy after the Italian Republic criticized the Central American State’s refusal to extradite a convicted Red Brigades militant who was part of the gang who kidnapped and murdered former Prime Minister and Christian Democratic Party leader Aldo Moro in 1978. The Communist Red Brigades terrorized Italy from the 1960s to 80s during the “Years of Lead,” when the Southern European State was plagued by political violence. As I have posted, Nicaragua has become increasingly authoritarian since electing former dictator Daniel Ortega, who had promised to respect liberty, but who has instead violently suppressed dissent, repressed all independent organizations, and prevented free and fair elections.

Follow Up on The Birthday of the United States of America versus Independence Day

    I write to follow up on my post from June 21, The Birthday of the United States of America versus Independence Day, in which I observed that many Americans have been referring to Independence Day as the “birthday” or “anniversary” “of the United States” or some similar expression, even though the U.S. was not formed until thirteen years later in 1789. 

    It is part of an overall pattern that stood out this year, of references to the birthday or anniversary of “the country,” or “nation,” even though America is neither a nation, nor a nation-state, but a union of States, none of which are nation-states, and not a country. These examples are part of a pattern of references to the birthday or anniversary or founding of “America,” as if the declaration of the independence of the thirteen British American Colonies was about the formation of some kind of political entity, instead of simply the change of status of the former Colonies as independent sovereign States. The Second Continental Congress, which had approved the resolution declaring the independence of the Colonies from the United Kingdom, some of which had already declared their independence, was no more a central government than before the declaration, or than the First Continental Congress in 1774, or the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. The States were only loosely tied together through the Congress, which was an interstate organization, much like the international organizations of today. It is only in some general sense that 1776 marked the beginning of “America” in the sense of American independence, i.e. of the several American States. 

    Americans today, as I noted, seem to view their origin through the lens of the federal Union of States formed by the Constitution. Furthermore, they wrongly regard States as administrative provinces of some superstate, instead of as the sovereign entities they are, albeit ones that have loaned some of their powers to the Union of States, known as the United States. The widespread ignorance of the basic meaning of independence and the purpose of the American Revolution, which was for equality, liberty and representative government, leaves Americans vulnerable to the threats to independence and freedom today. I urge Americans to learn more about the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution.

Pope Leo XIV Is Awarded the Medal of Freedom for His Teaching on Freedom and Migrants

    The American-born Pope Leo XIV accepted the Medal of Freedom that is awarded annually by the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before Independence Day. The Bishop of Rome acknowledged through an online ceremony the promise of freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence that 250 years ago explained the separation of the original Thirteen British Colonies in America from the United Kingdom and their declaration of independence as sovereign States. 

    Leo, a United States citizen descended from immigrants from several countries who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago Illinois, observed how liberty attracted people from around the world to America, whom Americans welcomed out of love for freedom, and who contributed to America. Leo, like his predecessor Francis, whose parents had emigrated from Italy to Argentina, has spoken out against the xenophobia prevalent in Europe and America that prejudges every migrant as a threat, including refugees fleeing persecution, war, terrorism, or disaster. The American Pontiff, instead of visiting the land of his birth for its semi-quincentennial of independence, at the anti-migrant Trump Administration’s invitation, visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, off the southern coast of Sicily, which is a hotspot for refugees and immigrants from nearby North Africa and beyond to emphasize pointedly his consistent teaching on the dignity of all human beings and the Christian duty to love and welcome refugees.

Over 100 cases of Measles in Pennsylvania's Latest Outbreak

    In the latest outbreak of measles in Pennsylvania, the total number of cases has exceeded 100. The outbreak is amongst the unvaccinated and is centered in Lancaster County. The County is the heart of “Pennsylvania Dutch (German) Country,” including the Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonite, etc.) who tend not to vaccinate, just like the outbreak in Texas over a year ago had spread from a Mennonite community from Mexico. That outbreak sickened well over a thousand Americans (not only Mennonites) across several States and killed two children. 

    As I have posted, measles, the most contagious disease, is a virus that was the leading cause of deafness and that can be deadly, but is preventable by safe and effective vaccines. It was eradicated across America by the early 2000s, but increased vaccine hesitancy has decreased the herd immunity necessary to prevent contagion from spreading, just as with other preventable diseases, especially because not everyone has a sufficient immune system to allow vaccination to be effective. Therefore, measles has been spreading in America and Europe. Far-left, far-right and extreme libertarian conspiracy theories, amplified by Russian disinformation, have contributed to vaccine hesitancy, despite numerous clinical studies disproving the alleged dangers of vaccination. 

    The rare risks of vaccination are far outweighed by the harms of the diseases they prevent or lessen the severity of. Americans should follow vaccine recommendations to prevent and eradicate preventable diseases like measles, mumps, diptheria, etc. to protect themselves and their children, in addition to helping to keep those who are immune compromised safe from dangerous illness.

Underappreciated Founding Fathers

    Americans usually understand at least some of the most significant contributions to American independence and its ideals of equality, liberty and representative republican government of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall. They might know only a little or at least have only heard of Patrick Henry, George Mason and John Jay, but Americans hardly know some of the most significant Founding Fathers who ought to be better known and appreciated, not only for their patriotism during the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War, but for their significant lasting contributions to the American Revolution and its ideals, and to the republican federal Union of States. I have listed in this post the most underappreciated Founders and their most significant and enduring contributions to America. 

Patrick Henry of Virginia: Famous for his speech against George II in the Virginia assembly, he was also the leader of the anti-Federalists, whose concerns about the proposed Constitution led to the adoption of the Bill of Rights 

George Mason of Virginia: He was another key anti-Federalist and author of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights and its state Constitution, both of which became the basis for Madison's federal Bill of Rights, which became the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. 

John Jay of New York: Together with Madison and Hamilton, he was the author of Federalist Papers that explained the proposed Constitution and responded to objections against it, which greatly influenced the ratification of the federal charter. Jay contributed diplomatically to the independence of the federal union with the treaty named for him that removed British troops from American soil and settled other matters. He helped establish important judicial precedents as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. 

Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: His resolution declaring the Thirteen original British Colonies Independent sovereign States was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, thereby establishing American independence, based, as the Declaration of Independence explained two days later, on equality, liberty, and consent of the governed through their representatives, and their right to take up arms to defend their freedom. 

Charles Carroll of Maryland: The only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, his principled arguments not only against British tyranny, but for religious liberty against the established church that repressed freedom, even in Maryland. His proposal for Maryland's State Constitution of an electoral college, based on the College of Cardinals that elects the Bishop of Rome, for the election of the State Senate, became the inspiration at the federal Constitutional Convention for the Electoral College that elects the President and Vice President. 

Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania: As President of the Second Continental Congress in 1784, he persuaded enough of the members who had returned home after the Revolutionary War had ended, to return to Philadelphia to ratify the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the peace treaty he signed as the presiding officer of the assembly that legally ended the war, in which the British recognized American Independence and the sovereignty of the American States over the territory that extended to the Mississippi River. 

Edmund Randolph of Virginia: At the Constitutional Convention that was intended to strengthen the Articles of Confederation that had weakly united the States, he proposed an entirely new plan of union, which, together with other proposals, led the Delegates to consider only the formation of the Union of States under a new Constitution, instead of modifying the Articles of Confederation. Although he first opposed the Constitution, the proposed Bill of Rights encouarged him to support the document, which was a key development in its ratification. 

James Wilson of Pennsylvania: He had argued against British Parliamentary authority over the unrepresented Colonies. As a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention, advocated successfully for the power of the people through a popularly elected legislature and against an executive appointed by Congress, as well as for each State to ratify the Constitution by an elected convention of delegates; Wilson also insisted on a single chief executive, proposed the Electoral College to give the power to the people (through their State Legislatures or by electing Electors) to choose the President, and the three-fifths rule that drastically reduced the representation of slave States in the House of Representatives; his draft of the Constitution became the basis of the final draft. He persuaded his state convention to ratify the document in a speech that was more influential in America than the Federalist Papers. 

Roger Sherman of Connecticut: His compromise at the Constitutional Convention between Randolph’s Virginia Plan of Union and the New Jersey Plan of Union balanced the interests of large and small States by establishing a lower chamber of the federal Legislature based on population and an upper chamber based on the equal representation of States. 

Charles Pinckney of South Carolina: He contributed numerous provisions to the Constitution as a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention. 

Gouverneur Morris of New York and Pennsylvania: The Constitutional Convention Delegate who spoke the most often, he chaired the Committee on Style at the Constitutional Convention that finalized its draft and authored its Preamble. “The Penman of the Constitution” gave an impassioned speech at the Convention answering Randolph’s ojbections. There are other Founding Fathers who also made significant contributions to America in the Revolutionary period and the early Federal period. These men and those I have listed also influenced their States greatly during that critical period. Americans would benefit from better knowledge and appreciation of the Founding Fathers, at least of the above-listed figures, and of the Patriots and Founding generation overall. May the Founders continue to inspire Americans to cherish and defend their independence and liberty.

The 250th Anniversary of American Independence and Liberty amidst Challenges to Both

    Two Hundred Fifty years ago today, on July 2, 1776 in Philadelphia’s State House (now “Independence Hall”) the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring the thirteen British Colonies represented at the body to be sovereign States independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As they later explained in the Declaration of Independence, they were no longer loyal to the British Crown because King George II had violated their God-given rights and because the British had treated them unequally by imposing taxes and laws over them while denying them representation in Parliament. The American States, which later formed a federal union based on a republican representative government called the United States of America, have enjoyed a quarter century of independence and liberty. 

    But it would be misleading to celebrate the anniversary while ignoring the serious challenges that undermine our enjoyment of freedom. As I have posted, our independence is challenged by foreign influence in American politics, both in terms of propaganda and disinformation to various methods of election interference, that have produced election results that have been tolerated, as well as by commercial temptations from foreign governments. And the principles of equality, liberty and representative government have been under threat not only from the Left, but increasingly from the far Right, both of which have been backed by hostile foreign powers, as I have also posted. There have been some limits of and public resistance to the slide toward authoritarianism, but not as much as needed at this critical moment in history. 

    

    May Americans rediscover the causes of the American Revolution and consider the meaning of independence, and be inspired to defend their freedom. May new Patriots, in the “Spirit of 1776,” rise up to stand for independence and liberty.

Foreign Digest: Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Peru, and Colombia

Ukraine: The United States, Canada, the European Union, several individual European States and Japan imposed sanctions recently on Russia for kidnapping and indoctrinating Ukrainian children, one of many war crimes being committed by the Russian Federation during its aggression against Ukraine since 2014. The International Criminal Court also issued warrants for the arrest of Russians for their role in this crime against humanity. 

Armenia: The ruling party of Albania won a majority of votes and seats in the Armenian parliamentary elections earlier this month, defeating a pro-Russian party, despite, despite heavy Russian interference on the latter’s behalf. Armenia is a former Soviet Republic in the Caucasus that has been moving out of Moscow's orbit, while Russian tyrant Vladmir Putin, a former Soviet intelligence officer, has been attempting to restore the Soviet Union. Despite the 2023 takeover of an ethnic Armenian part (Nagorno-Karabakh) of the neighboring former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan that had been backed by Armenia, and the subsequent exodus of most of its residents to Armenia, Armenians supported their Prime Minister, who has expressed disappointment with the failure of Russian peacekeeping troops to prevent the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has turned toward Europe and the West, after withdrawing from the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States that had been formed by the former Soviet Republics after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Moldova: The lower house of the Romanian Parliament voted to enter into negotiations with Moldova for reunification, which is supported by Moldova’s President. Moldova is a former Soviet Republic in which Russian troops have been occupying an area along the Moldovan border with Ukraine populated by ethnic Russians. Moldovans speak Romanian. Romania, a former Soviet satellite state, is an ally of the United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

Peru: The right-wing populist daughter of a former President narrowly defeated the far-left candidate in the Peruvian presidential runoff election June 7 for a four-year term. The leftist is alleging fraud, but international observers did not find any. Former Congressman Keiko Fujimori was a presidential candidate three times before. Her late father, Alberto Fujimori was President of Peru from 1990 to 2000, when he implemented market reforms, reduced inflation and was especially successful against the Maoist terrorists Shining Path. But his violations of human rights and corruption led to his prosecution. The conservative late Nobel Prize-winning Mario Vargas Llosa had opposed her first candidacies, but did support her in the previous runoff. As I have observed previously, candidates in Latin America on the right tend more than in America and Europe to be far-right populist and authoritarian, instead of center right. Also, as I have posted, Peru has suffered a series of presidential impeachments and prosecutions for corruption. There had been presidential and parliamentary elections in April, in which no presidential candidate won a majority of votes, thereby necessitating the required runoff. 

Colombia: A populist far-right candidate won the Colombian presidential runoff election last week, defeating a leftist, socialist and communist coalition backed by the incumbent leftist President. Presidents of Colombia are constitutionally limited to one four-year term. The election for years ago was an exception to the usual election of a conservative. The current President has attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate an end to the guerilla war with the last Marxist narco-terrorist insurgents. Conservative Presidents had successfully defeated the larger groups. as the right-wing candidate promised to do. Colombia has been an ally of the United States, but relations were strained under the leftist President. The defeat of the leftist coalition in Colombia is the latest blow to the Left in Latin America, after its ascendancy began in 2000 in Venezuela with the election of the Socialists, who became authoritarian to hold onto power, and who encouraged socialist candidates in Latin America. In recent years, as I have posted, leftwing candidates have not fared as well as before, because of poor economic performance, authoritarianism and corruption.

Personal and Blog Notes, June 2026

Personal Notes: I regret having been unable to post as frequently as usual the last several weeks. In addition to an Internet outage and other disruptions, I had been recruited as a historian in late April to help write the history of my county, Berks County, for its 275th anniversary next year, which is an official part of the America 250 celebrations. The publication deadline recently passed. Like other Counties in the original 13 States, Berks contributed to the cause of the American Revolution in various ways. There were prominent patriots, soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War, and foundries that supplied cannon and shot for the Continental Army. I wrote particularly about the change of architectural and furniture style from Georgian to Federal because of American independence. 

    But one subject I was privileged to write about in particular was one of the Founding Fathers, James Wilson, a Pennsylvanian who had begun his practice as a lawyer in my home city of Reading, our county seat, and became one of only six men to sign both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and was among the first Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. He is among the most underappreciated Founders, but Wilson's argument against the authority of the British Parliament over the unrepresented Colonies in America, and his emphasis on the sovereignty of the people and insistence on a single chief executive who is independently elected, made him one of the most influential. Together with his ally James Madison, Wilson was one of the two most brilliant political philosophers at the Constitutional Convention, having received a classic education in his native Scotland before emigrating to Pennsylvania and reading law under Founding Father John Dickinson. His draft of the Constitution became the basis of the final draft, and his speech at the Pennsylvania ratification convention became more influential to the cause of ratification than the Federalist Papers. Wilson also wrote the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution, the Bill of Rights of which influenced each of the subsequent Constitutions of the Commonwealth.

    As I have posted, studying the American founding by reading about the American Revolution or visiting historic sites is a good way to enkindle enthusiasm for the semi-quincentennial of American independence amidst the threat of authoritarianism, both internationally and domestically, and by the Caesarism of Donald Trump, and to be inspired to defend the vital principles of equality, liberty and representative government. Once the book is published and my contributions to the website posted, I shall post an update. 

Blog Notes: Meanwhile, I take this opportunity to note that the technical glitch that has prevented indentation and line-spacing the last few years, among other problems, continues. Also, remember to visit my account on Bluesky, the Center Right (@thecenterright.bsky.social). Thank you for visiting my blog, or for following or commenting. Please visit regularly to keep informed.

The Birthday of the United States of America versus Independence Day

It is fitting that today, on the birthday of the United States of America, that I post a follow-up to my previous post celebrating Flag Day in the context of the approaching 250th anniversary of American Independence. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth State to ratify the Constitution, thereby putting it into effect as a Union of States, as the minimal required number of state ratifications of the original 13 States, all of which would ratify the document by 1791. I have posted before that Independence Day is not the “birthday of the United States,” as it is sometimes popularly called, because the U.S. was not established until 1788, and the Constitution was not implemented until the following year. But in this post, it is appropriate also to explain particularly why Independence Day is the date of American independence, and not that of the formation of the American Union, as July 2, 1776 was the date the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring the independence of the 13 former British Colonies in America from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Crown. The explanation of the vote that the Congress approved, called the “Declaration of Independence,” was dated July 4, 1776, which later became the date celebrated. Because the English Colonies had long been founded and settled by the English and others, July 2 or 4 is not the birthday of “America,” as it is commonly called, and not only because it is the name for the entire Western Hemisphere. Furthermore, some of the Colonies had already individually declared their independence before July 2. The dates we celebrate are instead the dates of the independence of each of the Colonies and thus their foundations as sovereign, independent States. The concept that they became a continental union of “America,” which did not occur until twelve years later, is an error based upon subsequent history that has distorted modern perspective. What is being celebrated on Independence Day is strictly independence — not anything else — except the principles that led to it and that were articulated in the Declaration, namely equality, liberty and representative government. The Americans declared independence when it became clear that the British Monarch would not treat them as subjects equal to his British subjects and began to oppress them and deprive them of their God-given freedoms and rights. Even when they began the Revolutionary War in 1775, the Americans did not necessarily have independence as their goal, but the actions of King George II validated their cause and left them no other recourse but to separate themselves permanently to protect their liberty. On July 2 or 4 of every year, and especially as we approach the semi-quincentenntial, we should celebrate American independence and save the celebration of the United States of America instead for today’s date.

Happy Flag Day, 2026!

Today is Flag Day, the start of the 250th year since the approval by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 of the “Stars and Stripes” as the American flag during the Revolutionary War. As I have posted, the day has been overshadowed in recent years by the celebration of the Juneteenth federal and state holiday. Although I am not necessarily arguing for a return of Flag Day as a federal and state holiday, I do urge sufficient recognition of the day for the public to consider its significance. They should recall the context of the flag and the symbolism of its design. This year’s Flag Day is being celebrated in the context of the year-long celebrations of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. I had posted about the United States Mint’s semi-quincentennial coin designs, but not about any other commemorations. There has been decreased enthusiasm among Americans about the upcoming “America 250” Independence Day celebration because Donald Trump has been presiding over some of federal commemorations. The authoritarianism of Trump, his congressional enablers, and their supporters that has undermined key American principles, such as the separation of powers, the rule of law, due process of law, the independence of the judiciary, and States’ rights, in addition to Trump’s Caesarism, have dampened enthusiasm. But Flag Day reminds us that just at the flag belongs to all Americans, the American Revolution does not belong to one man or even to one party or movement, but is for all Americans and, because it is based upon universal rights, it is also for all humanity. Americans should be reminded of the fundamental Revolutionary principles that are currently being challenged by ignorance, indifference and even contempt, not only from the far left, but also from the Trumpist far right, and amplified by hostile foreign powers. By discussing and contemplating the American Revolution, Americans, including those Trumpists who ought to know better, should particularly be reminded that liberty is the birthright of all men, not a privilege only of citizens. Therefore, I urge Americans to read the most important documents of the Revolution, such as the Declaration of Independence and other important texts, the most significant writings of the Founding Fathers, or histories written by trusted authors about the Revolution and the Founders. I also encourage them to visit historic sites, particularly those associated with the Revolution and the Founders. At this time when liberty and representative government are especially under assault, may the Spirit of 1776 be rekindled anew among Americans.

Memorial Day during Wartime Reminds of the Need for Vigilance

As we ought to do on every Memorial Day, we honor with gratitude those who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States in wartime for the blessings of our security and liberty. This Memorial Day, we also recall those who recently died in service during the current, though mostly paused, Iranian War. The minor war is the latest in a series of direct clashes with the Islamic Republic of Iran since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 brought to power a Shi’ite Muslim theoracy committed to spreading Islamist revolution by any means, including throug state sponsorship of terrorism. Iran has engaged in a proxy war with the U.S. through its support of terrorists and guerillas that have attacked Americans. Regardless of the lack of fitness of the current Commander in Chief, who had dodged the draft through fraud; his failure to plan for contingencies like the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz; his lack of clear and consistent policy principles to form the basis of negotiation demands; his repetition of others’ errors in allowing the Iranians to buy time by extendig negotiations and cease-fires; and his inadequate briefing of Congress, the sacrifice of our troops who gave their lives or who have been injured or who are currently risking their safety to confront the Iranian menace should no less be appreciated. The current service of our troops in this conflict, like the sporadic engagements elsehwere in the War on Terrorism against Sunni Islamist terrorists, such as al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on American that killed a record 3,000 people, and their offshoot, the Islamic States, remind us of the need for eternal vigilance. Even though the U.S. is a superpower, there are threats of various kind from around the world from evil forces who recognize America is a force for good that is an obstacle to their designs. May God bless America and keep it safe and free, and may we remain ever grateful to those who sacrificed their lives.