The 2019 Pennsylvania General Election

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abolish Daylight Saving Time to Decrease Crime

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

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

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

Foreign Digest: China, Bolivia and Canada

China: Hong Kong protests; extradition bill withdrawal 

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

Bolivia: unconstitutional fourth presidential term

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

Canada: Liberal losses in the parliamentary elections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Foreign Digest: Tunisia and Ethiopia

Tunisia

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

Ethiopia 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mumps Outbreak in Pennsylvania

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

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

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

War on Terrorism

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

Afghanistan

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

Egypt

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

Hong Kong

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

Austria

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

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

Italy

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

Sudan

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

China

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

Russia

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

Tunisia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Foreign Digest Updates: United Kingdom, Italy and Zimbabwe

United Kingdom

            The new Conservative Government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost its parliamentary majority, although not its right to govern, and its first parliamentary votes.  Of particular significance were the votes in Parliament to prohibit leaving the European Union without a deal and to oppose the Government’s call for early elections.  The deadline for leaving the EU is the end of October.  The main obstacle is the border situation between the British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  The Conservatives rule in coalition with a Northern Irish Unionist party that opposes the temporary arrangement for the Irish border negotiated between the EU and the United Kingdom that Parliament has thrice rejected, although the last time by significantly fewer votes.  The EU has repeated that it will not renegotiate the deal, although it is willing to clarify details.  A significant group of Tories, include some senior members, voted against the Government and were expelled from the Conservative Party.  New elections may be the way to break the impasse and avoid leaving the EU without a deal.

Italy

            The new Italian Government was sworn in yesterday, led by the same Prime Minister as the previous one.  The difference is that the junior partner is the main center-left party, instead of the far-right Trumpist xenophobic pro-Russian League party, with the premier’s anti-establishment populists continuing as the senior partner.  The Parliament will vote its confidence early next week.  The new executive will be able to avoid a major sales tax increase and pass a budget.  Italy will be more pro-European Union, where it will take a leading role, and maintain its international obligations for refugees.  Anti-corruption measures will be a major focus of the new Government.  The high-speed rail between Turin, Italy and Lyon, France, is more likely to be built. 

The far-right party had attempted to capitalize on favorable polls to force a cabinet reshuffle or new elections.  Instead, they are out of power, the Italian Republic will move leftward, especially in regard to spending and the environment, and the center-right is marginalized. 

Italy is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and strong ally of the United States. 

Zimbabwe

           The former longtime Marxist-oriented tyrant of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has died at age 95.  He took power after the former Rhodesia’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1980 and intended to rule for life until he was finally deposed by the military, led by his own party, in 2017 because of corruption.  Mugabe repressed Zimbabweans, led his country to economic ruin with the worst-ever hyperinflation in history and stole farms owned by whites.  He is hailed by the Left as being an opponent of imperialism because Rhodesia had been led by a white minority government, but his record of misrule and human rights violations, especially against the black majority, is undeniable.  Today’s one-party state nature of Zimbabwe is his legacy.

Foreign Digest Updates: China and Italy

China

            The Peking-approved government of the territory of Hong Kong announced that it was withdrawing a proposed law to extradite citizens of the city-state to mainland China, after three months of massive protests.  The law could have been used against dissidents.  Despite its promises when Hong Kong reverted from British rule in 1997, Communist China has been encroaching on the territory’s autonomy and freedom.

Italy

            The ruling anti-establishment populists and the main center-left party have reached an agreement on a program and list of ministers to form a government for the Republic of Italy, which both parties have approved.  The outgoing Prime Minister will present the list to the President tomorrow and be sworn in to head the new executive once the list is approved.  The Parliament would vote its confidence in the premier on Friday. 

            The government crisis was precipitated last month by the junior member of the ruling coalition, which had governed for 14 months.  The far-right Trumpist pro-Russian anti-migrant party sought to capitalize on polls suggesting it had a plurality of support, either by forcing a cabinet reshuffle or early elections in which it could have become the more dominant party, especially if it had run as a bloc with the center-right parties, as it did in the last parliamentary election and as it does in regional and municipal elections.  Instead, the far-right will be out of power because of the unexpected alliance of the two erstwhile foes, while Italy will move leftward and the center-right will remain marginalized. 

           The bond market reacted favorably to the end of the crisis, which should allow Italy to avoid a large sales tax increase and to pass a budget.

Foreign Digest Updates: Russia, China, Venezuela, Sudan and Syria

Russia

            Donald Trump, who was elected presidency of the United States through Russian interference on his behalf, tried to convince the rest of the Group of Seven industrialized States last week to re-admit the Russian Federation to their organization, but they declined.  Russia had been excluded because, under tyrant Vladimir Putin, it invaded Ukraine in 2014 and annexed part of it, in violation of its treaty with the former Soviet Republic recognizing its sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Putin, an ex-KGB (Soviet intelligence) officer who laments the breakup of the Soviet Union, continues to support rebels in Eastern Ukraine. 

           

            There was a mass protest in Russia yesterday by the democratic opposition against the lack of free and fair elections.  Although the regime does not usually tolerate the freedom to assemble peacefully, there were no arrests.

China

            There have continued to be massive protests in Hong Kong against violations of its autonomy and liberty by Communist China, despite Peking’s promise to respect the city-state’s freedom when it reverted from British rule in 1997.  There have been violations of the freedom to assemble peacefully.

Venezuela

Juan Guaido, the leader of the Venezuelan national assembly who invoked a constitutional provision to declare himself interim president, named a cabinet last week.  He had already appointed diplomats and other officials.  Several dozen States, including the United States and many Latin American and Western States recognize him over the Socialist dictator who had supplanted the national assembly with another body.

Sudan

            The transitional government of Sudan has begun the prosecution of the former longtime Islamist tyrant it overthrew in April.

Syria

           There has been an increase in Israeli attacks recently in Syria on Hezbollah, in response to threats and rockets fired from the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization.  Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, a state sponsor of terrorism, is a conduit for Iranian support for Hezbollah, which is backing him in the Syrian Civil War, together with Russia.

Italian News Update: The Prime Minister Has a Presidential Mandate to Form a Government

The President of Italy gave a mandate yesterday to the outgoing Prime Minister of the ruling anti-establishment populist party to explore the formation of a new coalition government with the main center-left party, after reaching a deal with them for the premier to head an executive.  The premier will return to the President in a few days with a list of ministers and then seek the required vote of confidence from the Parliament.

The government crisis was caused by the resignation of the Prime Minister, after the announcement by the Trumpist anti-migrant pro-Putin far-right League party, with which the premier’s party was in a coalition government, that it would offer a vote of no confidence in him.

A new government would end the crisis that leads to uncertainty and causes investors to lose confidence in Italian government bonds.  It would avoid a sales tax increase and allow the passage of a budget.  The accord reached between the parties, which are the two with the most parliamentary seats, would increase spending for welfare, infrastructure and for the poorer South, emphasize environmental protection, crack down on tax evasion and complete an anti-corruption platform.  The accord would end the far-right party’s harsh anti-migrant policy, such as blocking ports to the rescue ships of non-government organizations.

The League had tried to capitalize on polls suggesting it had a large plurality of support by bringing down the Government to force either a cabinet reshuffle with a greater share of the ministers of the executive, or new elections, in which it could possibly have gained a majority of seats in the Parliament with an alliance with the center right parties.  Instead, the far right party, which has marginalized the free-market center-right, will be out of power while Italy moves leftward and the center-right will remain in opposition.  

Italian News Update: The Populist Prime Minister Has Resigned

           The Prime Minster of Italy today announced his resignation after a premiership of 15 months, after the far-right anti-migrant Trumpist League party, the junior partner in the government coalition, announced earlier this month that it would offer a no-confidence no motion.  The motion against the anti-establishment populist party-led Government would likely have been blocked by the ruling party and the main center-left party, but the uncertainty had nevertheless triggered a government crisis.

            The Prime Minister blasted the League party leader, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, for triggering the crisis for trying to capitalize in a surge in the polls, using the anti-establishment populists’ opposition to the high-speed rail line from Turin to Lyon, France and for greater autonomy for the Regions as pretexts.  He warned the crisis will increase the interest Italy must offer on bonds because of the uncertainty it creates, weaken the Italian Republic in negotiations with the European Union, necessitate reopening the budget and make it more likely that Italy could not avoid an increase in the sales tax.  The Prime Minister criticized the far-right leader for using religious symbols as he cracked down on immigration and for refusing to answer questions in Parliament about the attempt by the Russian Federation to finance his party through secret energy profits.  The League is xenophobic, but supports Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin and aligns itself with other far-right international leaders, whom Putin usually supports. 

           With the collapse of Italy’s first all-populist Government, the President of the Republic, if he accepts the premier’s resignation, will decide whether to give the Prime Minister a second mandate to try to form a new government between the two parties, or allow talks between the ruling anti-establishment party and the center-left to try to overcome their considerable differences to form a government.  Otherwise, there will be early elections in the fall.  The premier would remain as a caretaker in the interim.  

Foreign Digest Updates: Russia and China, Venezuela, Sudan and Italy

Russia and China

            Mass protests continue in the Russian Federation and in Hong Kong, the territory of Communist China.  Russians are demonstrating against the lack of free and fair elections and against corruption.  Citizens of the former British colony of Hong Kong are protesting the encroachment by Peking of the autonomy and freedom of the city-state that China had promised after reversion from the United Kingdom in 1997.  Both Russia and China have violated the freedom of peaceful assembly with mass arrests of protesters and with violence.

Venezuela  

           The Socialist dictatorship ended the talks earlier this month with the democratic opposition that were being mediated by Norway.  The leader of the opposition of the elected national assembly had invoked the constitution to declare himself interim president and has been recognized by dozens of countries, including the United States, several Latin American and Western States.  

Sudan

            The Sudanese military government and the democratic opposition yesterday signed the agreement for a transitional government leading to elections that they had reached earlier this month.

Italy

           The Italian Senate rejected the motion by the ruling far-right anti-migrant pro-Vladimir Putin party of no-confidence in the Prime Minister last week, with the center-left joining the anti-establishment populists who lead the governing coalition.  The two main center-right parties voted for no-confidence.  Therefore, the 15-month government continues.  The Trumpist far-right populist party, which is the junior partner in the Government coalition, had cited disagreement with the anti-establishment populists, but polls have suggested a plurality of support for the far-right, leading to the strategic decision to try to capitalize on the surge in popularity with snap elections.  Either the two ruling parties will have to establish a new executive with a new agreement, or the center-left party and the anti-establishment populists, who had left-of-center positions prior to pairing up with the far-right party, will have to overcome their considerable differences.  The populists oppose the endemic corruption and they have gone along with the xenophobic policies of their coalition partners.

Foreign Digest: United Kingdom and Italy

United Kingdom

            The Conservatives chose a new leader lat last month, Boris Johnson, who subsequently became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He leads a coalition government with a minimal majority together with a conservative unionist party in Northern Ireland.  Johnson promises the UK will leave the European Union by the deadline of the end of October, with or without any deal.  The largest sticking point is the indefinite arrangement for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the EU, in terms of passports and customs.  An open border between the British province and the free Irish state was an essential component of the 1997 peace deal that ended the Troubles.  The new premier is demanding a renegotiated agreement with the EU, which has stated that it will not modify the deal it has offered, although there may be clarifications.  The deal was thrice rejected by the British Parliament under the previous Prime Minister, although by a much smaller number of votes the last time.  Contingency plans for trade and customs will have to be made by the UK and EU if the British leave without a deal.

Italy

           The junior Italian government coalition party, the League, announced Friday that it plans a no-confidence motion in the lower house of the Parliament against the Prime Minister.  The far-right anti-migrant party claims disagreements with its support for the proposed high-speed rail line from Turin to Lyon, France, on greater regional autonomy and other issues with the anti-establishment populists who have led the Government for 14 months.  However, snap elections, which could be scheduled for October, would be strategically advantageous to the League because it is currently much higher than its coalition partner or any other party in the polls, as was reflected in the European Union elections in May.  Early elections could also precede the results of an investigation of Russian attempts to offer tens of millions of dollars worth of energy resources to the pro-Vladimir Putin party and the latter’s willingness to accept them, which the “nationalist” party’s leader refuses to submit to questions about in Parliament.

Update: Massive Protests for Freedom in Russia and Hong Kong (China)

           There continue to massive protests in the Russian Federation and Hong Kong, the special territory of Communist China, and mass arrests of peaceful protesters by authorities.  Both regimes have been using violence and the threat of violence.

Russians are demonstrating against the lack of free of fair elections and against the corruption of the tyrannical regime of ex-KGB (the Soviet intelligence agency) officer Vladimir Putin. 

Residents of Hong Kong have been taking to the streets against the loss of autonomy for the former British territory, which China promised to respect, along with liberty, when it reverted from the rule by the United Kingdom in 1997.  However, Peking has been increasingly encroaching on Kong Kong’s self-rule. 

The United States has not spoken up for freedom of assembly for Russians and Chinese, under Donald Trump, the pretender to the American presidency, as much as it has had a consistent foreign policy of promoting human rights, as he was elected in part through “sweeping and systemic” Russian interference and he has international conflicts of interests that he refuses to reveal.

Foreign Digest: Russia and China, Mozambique and Sudan

Update, Russia and China: violence against peaceful protesters

            There have continued to be protests in both the Russian Federation and Communist China in favor of freedom, with both governments reacting with violence against peaceful demonstrators. 

Russians have been taking to the streets to protest the lack of free and fair elections after tyrant and kleptocrat Vladimir Putin’s regime barred many candidates from standing for election, and to oppose corruption.  As the ex-KGB officer does not tolerate the freedom to assemble peacefully, force has been used against Russians to break up the protests and there have been massive arrests, including the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was also poisoned, which happens commonly to regime critics.  Protests have become more frequent in Russia since last year as the opposition has exposed government corruption amidst economic hardship for ordinary Russians as the regime has continued to become increasingly authoritarian.

In the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, residents of the city-state have continued their protests against the violations of their autonomy by Peking, which had promised self-rule and liberty to the former British territory when it reverted to mainland China in 1997.  Communist regime thugs violently attacked protesteors, as police have used force to break up the demonstrations.  The protesters have succeeded in blocking a proposed law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, which could have been used as a tool against dissidents.

Mozambique: peace accord between the government and rebels

            A peace accord was signed last week between the Marxist government of Mozambique and the rebels who have been fighting intermittently since the Cold War to share political power.

Update, Sudan: agreement for transition to civilian rule

           An agreement was reached late last week between the Sudanese military rulers and the democratic opposition that established the details of the transition from military rule to civilian rule over the next 39 months until democratic elections.  The agreement was necessary after the military overthrew the longtime Islamist tyrant earlier this year.  An earlier deal had collapsed after a violent response by the military against opposition protesters.  

Conservative Analysis of the 2020 Pennsylvania Budget and the Voting Machine Upgrade Funding

The Republican-majority General Assembly approved a $34 billion budget for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolfe, a liberal Democrat, for the fiscal year 2020 that began this month.

The spending increased 6% over last year, most significantly because of increases for education.  Because the budget includes a surplus, $300 million was allocated to the rainy day fund, although the Commonwealth’s debt increased to $1.3 billion.  

There was no tax increase, despite Wolf’s perennial plea for additional taxes on the natural gas industry.  The Legislature also rejected the Governor’s plan to raise the minimum wage.  However there was no pension reform or privatization of alcohol that could have saved the state billions of dollars and the General Assembly also rejected Wolf’s plan to impose a fee on municipalities that rely on State Police for free instead of funding their own police.

The budget does not appropriate funds for upgrading voting machines to those that are less vulnerable to hacking by allowing for a paper backup, as recommended by federal security agencies, after the Russian Federation the hacked election offices of all fifty States in 2016 and also some Counties.  The Governor was instead authorized by the budget to float $90 million, in addition to $14.5 million in federal money, to assist Pennsylvania’s Counties, which are responsible for conducting elections.  The Commonwealth has taken other cybersecurity measures.

Foreign Digest: Greece, European Union, Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine and Hong Kong

Greece

            The new center-right Greek Government had campaigned on closer ties with the European Union and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  It recognized Juan Guaido last week as the interim President of Venezuela.

European Union

            The German Center-right Defense Minister was elected President of the European Commission last week.  The Italian center-right former President of Parliament was chosen as the head of the European Commission for Constitutional Affairs.  As I noted in my last post, a center-left Italian replaced him as parliamentary head and as I had posted earlier in May in my post Pro-Europeans, Center Right Won a Plurality of the Votes, Despite Gains by the Far-Right, https://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2019/05/pro-europeans-center-right-won-european.html, the center-right won a plurality of the votes, despite gains by the “nationalist” far-right, with a large majority for pro-European Union parties from the center-right to the center-left.

The EU voted to require members to apply sanctions to Venezuela and to recognize Guaido as interim President. 

Venezuela

            Norway has been hosting mediation between the Socialist dictatorship and interim President Juan Guaido in Barbados.  The latter, who is the leader of the democratic opposition, had invoked a constitutional provision as leader of the national assembly to declare himself president because of the lack of free and fair elections and because the regime had supplanted the assembly with another body that was less representative.

Russia

            There was a protest last week against the lack of free and fair elections.  The authoritarian and kleptocratic regime of Vladimir Putin declares candidates it opposes to be ineligible for election.  As usual, there were arrests because the freedom to assemble peacefully is not tolerated by the tyrant.

Ukraine

            The party of the new Ukrainian President has won the parliamentary elections yesterday with a plurality of votes, but a majority of seats.  It won four times as many votes as the pro-Russian party.  The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in 2014, seizing Crimea in violation of its treaty with Ukraine to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the former Soviet Republic, and foments a rebellion by Russian-speakers in Eastern Ukraine.

Hong Kong

           Protests have continued in Hong Kong against the Peking-backed legislature of Hong Kong that has been helping the Chinese Communists to erode the autonomy of the former British territory that China had promised to let keep its autonomy and freedom when the territory reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.  The protests had forced the withdrawal of a proposed law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, a tool that could have been used to stifle dissent, but the people of Hong Kong continue to defend their autonomy and freedom from encroachment from Peking.  

Foreign Digest Updates: Sudan, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Italy and Greece

Sudan

            The military-led Sudanese government reached an agreement last week with the democratic opposition to rotate power over the next four years.  The agreement came after authorities had violently cracked down on protests, which led to the undoing of a previous agreement.  The military had seized power from the longtime Islamist tyrant.

Venezuela

            Protests continue in Venezuela after a United Nations human rights body found that rights have been eroded by the Socialist dictatorship. 

Hong Kong

            Massive protests have continued in Hong Kong against the violations of autonomy and freedom by the Communist Chinese Government, in violation of Peking’s agreement with the United Kingdom after the British returned the special administrative territory to Chinese rule in 1997.  The protestors had succeeded in delaying the Hong Kong legislature’s consideration of a law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, a tool that could have been used to intimidate legitimate political dissent.

Italy

            The populist Italian Government avoided an infraction penalty last week from the European Union for exceeding its budget deficit limit by parliamentary passage of a 7-billion dollar adjustment that was helped by fewer applications for the Government’s expanded welfare program and increase pension benefits than expected.  The Italian Republic has one of the largest sovereign debts in the world, both in absolute terms and in terms of a share of the gross domestic product.  It is recovering from a brief and mild recession, but only slowly, and only recently has returned to its pre-debt crisis economic level.  The Government claims its policies are intended to increase economic growth.  Tax cuts are being planned.

Greece

           The center-right won the Greek parliamentary elections today, defeating the far-left party that had governed with a right-wing anti-European Union pro-Russian (i.e. pro-tyrant and oligarch Vladimir Putin) party.  The far-left had suffered a loss in the European parliamentary elections last month.  The conservatives will return to power for the first time in four years with a majority.  The main center-left party, once the main rival to the center-right, came in a distant third, with other far-left parties and a traditionalist right wing party among those obtaining seats.  Greece has been recovering from a depression after its 2015 debt crisis.  The Hellenic Republic had one of the worst sovereign debt burdens in the world before the European Union bailed it out in exchange for massive budget cuts.  

May Americans Reassert Their Independence by Deterring Foreign Political Interference

            Happy Independence Day.  As I noted in 2017, it is imperative for Americans to renew their declaration of independence by implementing effective countermeasures to thwart and deter foreign interference in United States politics.

            The Report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that the Russian Federation, led by authoritarian and kleptocrat Vladimir Putin, had engaged in a “sweeping and systematic” attack on American politics, starting in 2014.  This report detailed only a part of the Kremlin’s active measures campaign, as the Special Counsel was focused only on prosecuting crimes.  U.S. intelligence agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee, security experts and investigative reporters have been gradually uncovering the breadth of the Russian attack that violated the sovereignty and self-determination of Americans and which was effective at undermining confidence in elections and in the truth, dividing Americans against each other and turning many Americans into Russian agents by amplifying propaganda and disinformation or even by organizing or participating in rallies.  The attacks first set the stage for pro-Putin presidential candidates and then were conducted in support of the Russian tyrant’s preferred candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations and ultimately in support of the GOP nominee.  All of these intelligence and security entities warn that the attacks by the Kremlin continue, as similar Russian attacks have been occurring against European States.  They also observe attempts by other hostile foreign attackers and note additional vulnerabilities.  These experts have provided many recommendations for countermeasures.

            One recommendation from U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Homeland Security is for election machines that provide voter-verifiable paper backup to deter hacking by rendering it ineffective at altering the results of voting machines.  The Kremlin active measures campaign included hacking into state and even voting systems and voter rolls.  Although it is not known that any changes were made to voter registrations or if any votes were altered, the attack exposed vulnerabilities and undermined confidence in elections.  Pennsylvania’s Governor has de-certified those voting machines that are vulnerable to hacking and the Commonwealth has appropriated a limited amount of funding to the 67 Counties responsible for conducting elections, many of which are financially unable to bear the additional burden.  The Republicans in the General Assembly, where they are in the majority in both chambers, oppose the Governor’s plan.  The Senate voted to delay its implementation.  Pennsylvania remains one of the few States in the Union, and the largest “battleground” state not to have converted to machines that deter hacking by providing paper backup.

As both federal and state elections are vulnerable and as the matter concerns an attack on the United States by a hostile foreign power, federal funds to help Pennsylvania convert to the voting machines that deter hacking are essential.  I call upon the U.S. to provide adequate funding to States to protect elections from foreign interference and to defend representative government. 

Elections should be the free choice of Americans, not foreign powers, especially hostile authoritarian ones, if the United States of America is to maintain its independence.  May God Bless America.