Author: Daria Novak

Asymmetric tactics may be what Putin next pulls from his bag of tricks. The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Jeff Kruse, says that Russia “may be learning dangerous lessons from its space mischief,” according to Patrick Tucker of Defense One. During an Aspen Institute talk on Wednesday, Kruse suggested that the West is not standing up strongly to Russia’s increasingly aggressive activities in space and that it must be taught a lesson. A lack of financial and technical resources has not stopped Putin with moving forward with his military space plans.

“Russia [is] actively targeting, through electronic warfare, the lower orbit domain, and, you know, having minimal repercussions… We need to make sure we understand what lessons Russia might be drawing from that. And then how do we want to change the environment so that we understand essentially that there may be repercussions with respect to that?” according to Kruse.

Even more disconcerting is that Russia’s weak performance in its war in Ukraine may force Putin to turn his attention to targeting US and global space communications and navigation assets. Kruse points out that “Their lack of potential superiority drives…asymmetric issues.”

At the same meeting, Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of the US Space Command pointed out that in response to the increased threat potential from Moscow, the Pentagon is making additional efforts to ensure all US satellites are able to withstand attacks. He described recent Pentagon efforts to make sure that its satellites can withstand attacks and pointed out that the United States’ newest generations of GPS satellites have greater capabilities to withstand intrusions and that “Now we fly with something called M-CODE, which is available to military users. It’s a military-specific satellite that improves our anti-jam capability.”

China, according to Whiting, is a very different type of threat in space. While Russia is targeting space with weapons that could eliminate the satellites of multiple nations, China’s military Space Force is relying on space to build a stronger force to confront the United States in the Pacific. He says that “In the last six years, they’ve tripled the number of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites they have on orbit,” Whiting added that China is flying “hundreds and hundreds of satellites—again, purpose-built and designed to find, fix, track, target and, yes, potentially engage us and allied forces across the Indo-Pacific.” Russia is not, however, stopping its attempt to play a more dominant role in militarizing space.

Key Russian Roscosmos executives, according to Pavel Luzin of the Eurasia Daily Monitor, have signed and approved a schedule for deployment of a new Russian orbital station with the next decade. The Kremlin’s target date remains questionable given its expanding problems with a lack of personnel and shortages of scientific, technological, industrial and financial resources. Mounting problems, according to Luzin, may still lead to an indefinite pause in Russia’s military manned space program. Right now it remains a key link to Putin’s designs on the West. The aim of the new space station, according to Moscow, is to survey its Arctic regions, notes Luzin. The key problems for Putin remain financial and technical planning due to the war in Ukraine using scarce resources that might force Moscow to move forward without a permanent crew to carry out tasks. “Understanding Russia’s desire to develop indiscriminate counterspace weapons, including a nuclear anti-satellite capability, means recognizing that one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s top goals has always been to weaken the stature and influence of the United States,” according to Clayton Swope and Makena Young of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Space is not a level playing field between the United States and Russia. Moscow views its use differently. The West should be concerned that Putin is either developing or possesses many different counterspace weapons. Given Russia’s economic isolation from the West, Washington has few options to pressure Russia to be more responsible to shut down its military space program.

Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.

If President Biden thinks allowing up to 8,500 people into the country in a single day is “the toughest border enforcement in history,” we can only imagine what he considers an open border.

But the question soon arose – why was this “border bill” even necessary?  Couldn’t the President close the border by Executive Action?

Not according to Joe Biden. “Well, I suggested that,’ Biden told Univision’s Enrique Acevedo when asked about a potential executive order on immigration and border security. ‘We’re examining whether or not I have that power,’ he added…’There’s no guarantee that I have that power all by myself without legislation. And some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court. But we’re trying to work that, work through that right now,’ he said of the current state of potential executive action.”

Apparently, someone must have informed President Biden that he continues to have the power to issue an Executive Order regarding the border crisis.  Or did he really forget that he issued an Executive Order on the day of his inauguration that eliminated the border control measures former President Donald Trump had put in place – by Executive Order?

On June 4, 2024 Biden issued “A Proclamation on Securing the Border,” in which the President admitted that “encounter levels [between Border Patrol and illegal immigrants] increased toward the end of 2023, and December 2023 saw the highest level of encounters between ports of entry in history, as increasing numbers of people migrated through the Western Hemisphere.” 

Who does President Biden blame for this crisis?   “The current situation is…the direct result of the Congress’s failure to update an immigration and asylum system that is simply broken – and not equipped to meet current needs…[t]he Congress’s failure to deliver meaningful policy reforms and adequate funding, despite repeated requests that they do so, is a core cause of this problem.”.  

Just how will this new Executive Order address this problem?  Under Section 1, “[t]he entry of any noncitizen into the United States across the southern border is hereby suspended and limited, subject to section 3 of this proclamation.”  However, under Section 3, the suspension does not apply to a vast group of exceptions, including “any unaccompanied child…any noncitizen who is determined to be a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons… noncitizens who arrive in the United States at a southwest land border port of entry pursuant to a process the Secretary of Homeland Security determines is appropriate to allow for the safe and orderly entry of noncitizens into the United States…any noncitizen who is permitted to enter by the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through a CBP immigration officer, based on the totality of the circumstances, including consideration of significant law enforcement, officer and public safety, urgent humanitarian, and public health interests at the time of the entry or encounter that warranted permitting the noncitizen to enter…any noncitizen who is permitted to enter by the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through a CBP immigration officer, due to operational considerations at the time of the entry or encounter that warranted permitting the noncitizen to enter.”

Those are some pretty broad categories, aren’t they?  Notice also this provision of the Proclamation, which is similar to the bill which failed to pass in Congress: “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall monitor the number of daily encounters and…the suspension and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation shall apply…immediately after the Secretary has made a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more…unaccompanied children…shall not be included in calculating the number of encounters.”

In other words, unaccompanied minors, and a variety of other exceptions are exempt from the ban on entry into the United States by illegal aliens; and the Secretary of Homeland Security (that’s Alejandro “the border is secure” Mayorkas) decides he can close the border after 7 days in a row of an average of 2,500 illegal entries (that’s at least 17,500 people, excluding the categories listed above, per week).

Notice further that Secretary Mayorkas has the discretion to act after making a “finding of fact.”  Suppose the Secretary doesn’t make such a finding?  Suppose everyone who enters during a particular week are either unaccompanied children, or people who fit into one or the other of the broad categories of exemptions?

In essence, then, this Executive Order is an end run around Congress – yet another effort to use the emergency powers of the Executive branch of government to seize power and allow illegal immigrants admission into our country, while claiming to restrict their entry.

Of course, there were the usual complaints from immigration activists. For instance, “Amy Fischer, the Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that Biden’s actions ‘set a dangerous international precedent…It’s deeply disappointing to see President Biden so hellbent on dismantling human rights for people seeking asylum and implementing policies that are plainly illegal under international and refugee law,’ Fischer said.”   Further, the American Civil Liberties Union announced their intention to file a lawsuit against implementation of the order. “’The Biden administration just announced an executive order that will severely restrict people’s legal right to seek asylum, putting tens of thousands of lives at risk,’ the organization posted on the social platform X. ‘This action takes the same approach as the Trump administration’s asylum ban. We will be challenging this order in court,’ it added.” 

Seems there is something for both sides to hate about this Executive action.  But what all Americans should be concerned about is the cavalier approach the Biden Administration takes to the separation of powers mandated by the US Constitution.  Rather than work with Congress to reform immigration law, and enforce border security, the President has fallen back on his oldest habit – using the border crisis to give more power and discretion to his Homeland Security Secretary.

Biden also makes use of another old habit – he lies to us about what he is really do.

Judge John Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in NYC

Photos: Pixabay

Since President Biden was inaugurated in January of 2021, the Southern Border of the United States has been effectively thrown wide open.  According to the House Committee on Homeland Security, “[i]n February 2024, the Biden administration officially surpassed a shocking nine million border crossings nationwide, not including the more than 1.8 million gotaways…[c]ompared to February 2021, nationwide border encounters have increased more than 120 percent, including an 87-percent increase just at the Southwest border. These numbers further establish that Secretary Mayorkas has refused to secure our border, instead opting to incentivize illegal crossings and endanger the lives of Americans. Since February 2021, encounters at ports of entry have increased over 500 percent.” Southwest border [alone].”  Even more disturbing, “[i]n February 2024, 11 more individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlistwere stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry. Since FY21, 351 of these individuals have been caught crossing our Southwest border illegally.”

And are these illegal border crossers suddenly following the law once they settle into our country?

 According to The Heritage Foundation, “[a] 2021 Department of Justice report revealed that 64% of federal arrests in 2018 involved noncitizens, despite them comprising only 7% of the population at that time. While the Biden administration fails to provide continuous updates on illegal alien crime data, Texas’ Department of Public Safety maintains a running database of such incidents. Other states should follow suit. Several chilling examples underscore the urgency of the situation. Alexis Saborit, an illegal alien from Cuba with a history of violence, beheaded his girlfriend with a machete in July 2021. In April of [2023], Francisco Oropeza, deported four times in the last 14 years, was accused of gunning down five Honduran immigrants in Cleveland, Texas—including an innocent 8-year-old. In February, Bryan Marquez, who had deportation orders but was still in the United States, brutally murdered his roommate by beating him. He was charged with first-degree murder. In January, Jose Hernandez faced five counts of indecency with a minor after allegedly sexually assaulting a young child multiple times. And in March of last year, Jean Macean, an illegal alien who posed as an unaccompanied minor, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder after allegedly murdering a Daytona Beach couple.” 

Obviously, from a law enforcement standpoint alone, illegal immigration is an enormous problem.  And like any problem of this magnitude, Congress proposed a solution.

Or did they?

In May of 2023, the House passed the “Secure the Border Act” (HR-2)  which was described as “a bill House Republicans passed last year that would reinstate Trump-era immigration policies such as the construction of the border wall.”    Yet, in the hands of the Senate, the bill was transformed into a form unacceptable to the House Republicans who had passed the original bill.  As described by the American Immigration Council,  “[o]verall, the bill represents a serious attempt to acknowledge, and solve, some of the key problems with current border and asylum policy…[h]owever, its positive steps in this direction are smothered by a new ’emergency authority’ that repeats mistakes made by the Trump and Biden administrations.”

This “Border Emergency Authority…would enable the administration to summarily deport migrants who enter between ports of entry without permitting them to apply for asylum.  The new emergency authority could be activated if border ‘encounters’ reach a daily average of 4,000 over a period of seven days and would become mandatory once border encounters reach over 5,000 over a period of seven days or 8,500 over a single calendar day.” Significantly, “the bill defines ‘encounters’ to exclude apprehensions of unaccompanied migrant children.”

Further, the Senate bill “gives the federal government significant discretion over exactly when to implement this new emergency summary-deportation process and does not require it to be publicly announced…[c]rucially, the emergency authority does not ‘close’ or ‘shut down’ the border. It does not prevent unauthorized migration entirely…[f]urthermore, the bill requires the government to allow people to seek asylum at ports of entry even during a border emergency and requires the government to maintain capacity for 1,400 daily entries in this manner…”

In other words, the Senate twisted the House Republican bill to allow for thousands of illegal aliens to gain entry into the United States on a daily basis, and give discretion to Homeland Security as to when to close the border without notice to the American public.

Predictably enough, “[t]he U.S. Senate failed in {May of this year] to advance a border security bill…[t]he Senate bill failed to advance on a 43-50 procedural vote.”  Also predictably, “President Joe Biden in a statement said Senate Republicans ‘put partisan politics ahead of our country’s national security…Congressional Republicans do not care about securing the border or fixing America’s broken immigration system,’ he said. ‘If they did, they would have voted for the toughest border enforcement in history.’” 

Judge John Wilson’s (ret.) article concludes tomorrow

This year marks the 229^th anniversary of the “Shot heard around the world,” the battle at Lexington and Concord that started the American Revolution.

 A small group of American colonists, disturbed that their rights were being slowly but surely eroded, heroically assembled to oppose oppression. They had gathered personal arms and whatever else they had, to stand against what was then the mightiest military force on the planet. They faced odds far greater than those endured by Ukraine today.

That war was successfully concluded, but the fight goes on.

King George has been replaced by home-grown opponents of the freedoms our forefathers won. Many of the issues facing this year’s voters would be familiar to those in 1775.

The colonists were furious at the attempt by the English to impose unfair taxes. As Americans file and pay their excessive taxes this month, they have to wonder whether King George is smiling at the irony.

The distant government in London ignored the needs of its American subjects, placing its philosophy of central power over individual rights and the ability of local communities to address their own needs.

Sound familiar?

The specifics are fascinating. The King wanted to disarm Americans, just as the left, the Biden Administration in particular, seeks to abolish Second Amendment rights.

Expressions of disagreement with London were considered treasonous and punishable.  Today, with disturbing regularity, those opposing progressive policies find themselves censored on social media, ostracized in Hollywood, and silenced in academia, and even, in some cases, visited by the FBI.

Bit by bit, the foundational American concept of free speech has been eroded.  

 Universities silence moderate and conservative voices.

 Senator Schumer (D-NY) actually introduced legislation to limit the First Amendment’s application to some political speech. (The measure was, fortunately, defeated.) Numerous campaign regulations limit the ability of the citizenry to openly support candidates without first jumping through bureaucratic hoops.

Some elected officials are not shy about their goals. Rep.
Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) boldly announced that he would “love to be able to regulate the content of speech” He particularly spoke about restricting Fox News. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (D-NY) threatened Donald Trump Jr. with a subpoena merely for questioning her economic views.

The underlying principle behind the American Revolution that began on that April day so long ago was that individuals had inherent rights that came not from government but from God (or, if one prefers a different term, nature.)

Even a Supreme Court Justice has expressed a lack of respect for the central principle behind the entire structure of American government and law. During the confirmation hearings of Obama Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, Sen. Tom Coburn had a stern exchange in which he pushed her to state her belief in inherent rights.  She evaded answering.

The concept of “inherent rights” is what elevates the American concept of rights above all others. The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were designed to enshrine the concept that the citizenry, not the government, were sovereign. It limits the powers of government, not the freedoms of the people.

Almost the entire Bill of Rights has been under attack. Attacks on the First and Second Amendments are well known. But consider the overriding of the 4^th Amendment right to privacy. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments, which provides that those rights not specifically given to the federal government belong to the people or the states, is a measure that the left almost universally ignores.

 The American revolution was won in 1781, but it can be lost in 2024. The fight this century is at the ballot box, not on a battlefield. Today’s Progressives would prefer the rule of George III, not George Washington.  

Statement of the NATO-Ukraine Council issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Washington, D.C. 11th July 2024

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the NATO-Ukraine Council, met today during this historic NATO Summit. For more than two years of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and ten years since Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and initial military intervention in the Donbas, the people of Ukraine have been heroically defending their nation, their land, and our shared values. We solemnly pay tribute to the lives lost, and we deplore the human suffering and destruction caused by Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression. Russia has failed in its efforts to undermine Ukraine’s statehood and break the resolve of the Ukrainian people. The men and women of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the people of Ukraine continue to inspire the world with their bravery and determination. Ukraine stands strong as a sovereign, independent, and democratic nation. 2. Russia bears full responsibility for this war, a blatant violation of international law including the UN Charter, for which it must be held fully accountable. We condemn all those who are facilitating Russia’s war and amplifying Russia’s disinformation campaigns. Russia’s war against Ukraine has shattered peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and has had a profound impact on the safety, security, and welfare of billions of people around the world. Russia has not shown any genuine openness to a just and lasting peace. Allies welcome and support President Zelenskyy’s continuous commitment to advance a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace through his Peace Formula and the Peace Summit process, including the important first Summit in Switzerland. 3. Russia is responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians and has caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.  We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s horrific attacks on the Ukrainian people, including on hospitals, on 8 July.We welcome the announced commitments to provide Ukraine with additional air defence systems and other military capabilities, as Allies increase their support to meet Ukraine’s needs and help protect its people, cities, and infrastructure from Russia’s appalling attacks. NATO will support and advise onthe design and implementation of an integrated air and missile defence architecture for Ukraine, to enable the most efficient use of Ukraine’s air and missile defence capabilities and support its transition to full interoperability with NATO. 4. A strong, independent, and democratic Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders is vital for the stability and security of the Euro-Atlantic area. Ukraine’s fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity directly contributes to Euro-Atlantic security.Allies and partners continue to step up vital political, military, financial, economic, and humanitarian assistance as Ukraine exercises its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. Allies also continue to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience by helping sustain its energy infrastructure, providing critical energy supplies, and enabling the transit of goods and grain. Allies remain as resolute as ever in supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes for Ukraine to prevail. 5. We welcome the launch of the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), which will coordinate the provision of military training and equipment for Ukraine by Allies and partners and will provide logistical support. It will ensure enhanced, predictable, and coherent security assistance to Ukraine for the long term, bolstering the support Allies and partners provide to Ukraine. NSATU, which will operate in Allied states, will strengthen our ongoing cooperation to transform Ukraine’s defence and security forces, so that Ukraine is more capable of defending itself now and deterring any further Russian aggression in the future. 6. Ukraine requires long-term support. Allies are determined to support Ukraine in building a force capable of defeating Russian aggression. We welcome Allies’ pledge of long-term security assistance for the provision of military equipment, assistance, and training for Ukraine. We also welcome that, to that end, Allies intend to provide a minimum baseline funding of €40 billion within the next year, and to provide sustainable levels of security assistance for Ukraine to prevail. 7. As we continue to intensify our cooperation and strengthen Ukraine’s political integration with NATO, the Alliance is reinforcing the NATO Representation to Ukraine (NRU), and the Secretary General has decided to appoint a NATO Senior Representative to head the NRU and to act as a focal point for NATO’s engagement with Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv. 8. We have made significant progress in our ongoing cooperation, including through the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine, to strengthen and rebuild the Ukrainian security and defence sector, support Ukraine’s deterrence and defence in the long term, and transition Ukraine to full interoperability with NATO. To that end: We have jointly developed initial NATO Interoperability Requirements, making full use of NATO-related defence planning processes and tools, to inform and support Ukraine’s security and defence sector reforms and enable the long-term interoperability of our forces. We are working together to bring Ukraine’s defence procurement in line with Euro-Atlantic best practices through the Strategic Defence Procurement Review. We will work together to identify and apply lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine, including on resilience, in the newly established Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC) in Poland. As a joint NATO-Ukraine structure, JATEC will serve as animportantpillar of practical cooperation and increase Ukraine’s interoperability with NATO.We are launching new joint activities to support Ukraine’s self-defence through the first NATO-Ukraine Innovation Cooperation Roadmap.NATO will continue to support Ukraine’s self-defence with urgently needed non-lethal equipment and supplies through the CAP, and we welcome partner contributions. 9. With these long-term commitments, we are building on the work we have done together in the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) to advance Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, including Ukraine’s strategic goal of NATO membership. Since establishing the NUC at the Vilnius Summit, we have been working and taking decisions together, as equals, on a broad range of issues, including interoperability, energy security and infrastructure, innovation, cyber defence, defence industry, countering disinformation, and resilience. The NUC has also proven to be an effective crisis consultation mechanism. 10. Allies fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements and decide its own future, free from outside interference.  Ukraine’s future is in NATO.  Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance.  Allies welcome the concrete progress Ukraine has made since the Vilnius Summit on its required democratic, economic, and security reforms.  As Ukraine continues this vital work, Allies will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.  Allies reaffirm that they will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met.  The Summit decisions by NATO and the NATO-Ukraine Council, combined with Allies’ ongoing work, constitute a bridge to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.  Allies will continue to support Ukraine’s progress on interoperability as well as additional democratic and security sector reforms, which NATO Foreign Ministers will continue to assess through the adapted Annual National Programme. 11. We welcome the bilateral long-term security commitments Allies and partners have agreed with Ukraine based on the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine launched in Vilnius. They are mutually reinforcing and are a testament to the shared and unwavering commitment to a free, independent, democratic, and sovereign Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders, capable of defending itself and deterring future aggression. These commitments, together with the decisions taken at this Summit, provide for sustained, enduring support to Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and support Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

Federal agencies should not interfere with elections. But in 2020, some did just that by attempting to propagate false stories (“Russian collusion”) and by pressuring media outlets to suppress information embarrassing to the Biden campaign. The House Judiciary Committee probed this issue. “On July 17, 2023, the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government conducted a transcribed interview of Laura Dehmlow, the Section Chief of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF). During her transcribed interview, Dehmlow revealed that the same FBI personnel who were warning social media companies about a potential Russian “hack and leak” operation in the run-up to the 2020 election knew that the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden was not Russian disinformation. After the New York Post broke a story based on the contents of the laptop about Biden family influence peddling, the FBI made the institutional decision to refuse to answer direct questions from social media companies about the laptop’s authenticity—despite months of constant information sharing up to that time. Put simply, after the FBI conditioned social media companies to believe that the laptop was the product of a hack-and-dump operation, the Bureau stopped its information sharing, allowing social media companies to conclude that the New York Post story was Russian disinformation…The FBI’s failure to alert social-media companies that the Hunter Biden laptop was real, and not mere Russian disinformation, is particularly troubling. The FBI had the laptop in their possession since December 2019 and had warned social-media companies to look for a “hack and dump” operation by the Russians prior to the 2020 election. Even after Facebook specifically asked whether the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation, Dehmlow of the FBI refused to comment, resulting in the social-media companies’ suppression of the story. As a result, millions of U.S. citizens did not hear the story prior to the November 3, 2020 election.”

National pollingreveals that “ A whopping 79 percent of Americans suggest President Donald Trump likely would have won reelection if voters had known the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop—that it was real and not ‘Russian disinformation,’ as intelligence officials aligned with Joe Biden falsely led the public to believe….”

It is clear that federal manipulation of the media altered the results of the 2020 election, and that Trump’s claim about an unfair election is supported by facts.

The final allegation is that Trump incited the use of violence at the Capitol on January 6.  The case remains pending. The Senate has already acquitted him of the charges. There is no specific language by the former president urging violence at the Capitol. But consider the argument that his words could be misinterpreted by some as urging illegal actions.  Under that questionable theory, many elected officials could also be charged, indeed, with far greater and more specific evidence, of inciting violence. Many encouraged and supported the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots which burned buildings, looted stores, assaulted innocents, invaded police stations, and attacked federal court houses. Indeed, some connected to the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris provided financial support for the perpetrators. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer threatened Supreme Court Justices in the aftermath of the Dobbs case, and, indeed, there were instances of threatening actions taken against several members. Several members of Congress have supported the antisemitic, illegal actions taken on university campuses and city streets throughout the nation. There is neither a precedent nor a legal argument for convicting Trump of the January 6 matter.

A careful review of the claims that Trump is a “Threat to Democracy” Indicate that the charge is without legal or precedential merit.

The main thrust of the Biden re-election campaign has been that there is a “Threat to Democracy” emanating from Donald Trump.  There are five main threads to that charge.

The first charge is that he agrees with U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states have the right to set their own laws on abortion. The second is that his party favors voter ID and up-to-date voter registration rolls. The third is Trump’s insistence that federal agencies should not use their authority or influence to pressure media outlets, whether in print, over the airwaves, or on the internet, to restrict stories unfavorable to Democratic candidates or causes. The fourth is that he states that the 2020 election was not fair. The fifth is that he incited the January 6 incident at the Capitol.

Abiding with the U.S. Supreme Court should not be considered a political stance, even if one disagrees with it. It is the foundation of a government ruled by laws, not men. A secondary but related issue is that pundits have attempted to paint Trump as being wholly against all abortion. He has stated in a Truth Social post that ““Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights…My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state.” The former president has also declined to endorse a national abortion ban. Therefore, the charge that his position on abortion is a “Threat to Democracy” is without merit.

Ensuring that only voters registered in the correct district is a vital part of providing fair elections.  The non-partisan National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) points out the importance of this practice: “Voter registration lists-lists of eligible voters-form the foundation for nearly everything in election administration, and they are always changing as new registrants are added and existing registrants move or otherwise become ineligible…Accurate registration…Protects against fraud by ensuring only eligible electors can cast a ballot, Informs Election Day planning by helping accurately budget for ballots, voting machines, polling places and poll workers, Minimizes wait times at the polls, Simplifies postelection procedures by reducing the number of provisional ballots cast…Keeping voter registration rolls accurate and current is an important part of holding efficient and secure elections. The benefits of having accurate registration lists include: Protecting against fraud by ensuring only eligible electors can cast a ballot, Informing Election Day planning by helping accurately budget for ballots, voting machines, polling places and poll workers, Minimizing wait times at the polls, Simplifying postelection procedures by reducing the number of provisional ballots cast.’

The charge that requiring voter ID suppresses or discourages voting has been repeatedly disproven.  This was outlined in 2021 when then-ranking member Rep. Bryan Steil of the House Committee on House Administration Election Subcommittee addressed the issue: “It is absolutely critical we work to find ways to ensure our elections are free, fair, and secure. Photo ID is one simple, commonsense way that we can assure that every legal vote is counted and only legal votes are counted. Thirty-six states currently require some form of ID to vote. In 2020, we saw more people cast their vote than in any other presidential election in history. In fact, voter turnout increased in every state, including some of the sharpest increases occurring in states that require an ID to vote. And further dispelling this myth that voter ID laws deter voting, voter turnout increased among all race groups in 2020…it’s clear voter ID does not deter people from legally voting. The data just doesn’t support it. Common sense doesn’t support it.”

The article concludes tomorrow

Photo: Pixabay

The largest economic engine in Europe is sick. Is the German barometer for global economic stability in trouble?  The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is reporting that economic growth in Europe is projected to hit 3.1 percent this year. Germany, with the largest economy in Europe, is falling behind other states and expected to end the year with only a 0.2 percent growth rate. In May the German Council of Economic Experts cut its forecasts. At the same time commercial bankruptcies in Germany hit a 10 year high. These factors could cement Germany’s position as the state with the lowest level of growth of all the OECD countries, according to Dr. Rainer Zitelmann, a German economist and author of more than 25 books, including “The Power of Capitalism.” Only 16 months ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave an interview in which he compared the German economy to that of the Post-WWII economic miracle. Today, that vision is challenged by many who view Berlin’s problems as continuing into 2025, with the European Commission now projecting a GDP increase in Germany of only 1.0%.

This week Scholz repeated his optimistic prediction to parliament despite the experts’ predictions for 2024 and 2025. “Because of big investments in climate protection, Germany will achieve growth rates for some time which we last saw in the 1950s and 1960s,” said Scholz. Although German stocks are doing well, denying its real economic position, compared to other European states, does not change the facts.

Germany is in the worst position for business since the end of the 1990’s. Previously, “Under the leadership of Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder, significant market economy reforms were implemented, the labor market was liberalized, and the top tax rate was reduced from 53 to 42 percent. These changes were the foundation for Germany’s economic success story in the last 20 years and Angela Merkel benefited from Schröder’s reforms,” according to a recent Associated Press story. That is not the case today.

Dawood Nazirizadeh, author of “Mastering the Art of German Business,” says there are four areas of particular challenge for Germany this year: the energy crisis and its ripple effects, digitalization and technological innovation, demographic shifts and the skilled labor market, and finally, the global economic climate and export dependencies. 

With more than a decade and a half of rule without reform under former Chancellor Merkel, Germany’s energy industry moved closer to a planned economy under the pretext of fighting climate change. It shuttered its nuclear plant, banned fracking, and increased its importation of liquid natural gas (LNG) from the United States. German dependence on Russian gas increased as did energy prices. By 2025 projections for its “energy transition” are expected to exceed 1.2 trillion Euros (USD$1.3 trillion).

“For the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, it is clear that the EU economy needs more room to breathe. Otherwise, any further discussion of increasing the global competitiveness of the European Union will be reduced to absurdity,” says Matthias Kock, a senior policy advisor at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. 

A report by the European Commission recently said that “the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East represent significant risk factors for the global economy [including Germany]. In addition to the danger of energy prices rising again, the future direction of monetary and fiscal policy could be uncertain.” 

“The energy shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest collapse in German living standards since the second world war and a downturn in economic output comparable to the 2008 financial crisis” a stark assessment has found, according to Patrick Wintour writing in The Guardian. Two former economic advisers to the German government reinforced the report adding that wages in the country slumped further in 2022 than in any year since 1950.

Today the German populace is so worried about their economic future that only 20% think the government should do more to help Ukraine’s war effort. A RAND report analyzing the economic impact of the Russian invasion says that “In some ways, rebuilding Ukraine may be more financially difficult than conducting the war itself. The country has already suffered levels of damage not seen in Europe since World War II, and it took 20 to 30 years for Germany and the United Kingdom to rebuild after the war.” 

German industrial policy counted on its large purchases of Russian energy to curb Moscow’s bad behavior. It appears to have failed and now Germany is paying the price for its “deindustrialization” policy. The rest of the world will also be impacted by German economic planning in the coming years. 

The geopolitical risks to the energy and climate security of Germany have markedly increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A recent Friedrich Naumann Foundation report argues that “German businesses were one of the most vocal prophets of an impending geoeconomic Armageddon for Europe, disorienting and delaying EU and Germany’s strategic policy response. The decade-long delay in responding to Russia’s aggressive authoritarianism led to a painful tradeoff for Germany.” Today, that tradeoff has global implications for the world.
Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.