Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

Venezuela

The United States continues to support Interim President Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly, and the Venezuelan people in their struggle to restore democracy in their country. From December 7 to 12, the Venezuelan people will have the opportunity to voice their opinion of the illegitimate Maduro regime through the Consulta Popular, or People’s Vote. The “Consulta” is being held under the authority of the legitimate National Assembly and in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution. It provides a platform for Venezuelans, including those forced to flee abroad under threat of persecution, torture, or death, to demand free and fair presidential and legislative elections. It is an opportunity to voice their support for a transition to democracy in Venezuela and reject the regime’s fraudulent legislative elections.

The Venezuelan electoral process has been reduced to a farce by the Maduro dictatorship. In the face of tremendous repression, the Consulta Popular is giving the Venezuelan people a voice. While the “Consulta” will not end the humanitarian, political, and economic crises caused by Maduro, it is a courageous step to fairly and transparently give a voice to the suffering of the Venezuelan people and establish momentum towards truly free and fair elections for president and the National Assembly.

The democratically elected National Assembly and the voice of the Venezuelan people are the only things standing in the way of authoritarianism in Venezuela. The international community can best support democracy in Venezuela by uniting behind the Venezuelan people as they raise their voices to demand an end to the brutal Maduro dictatorship and a return to democracy.

Slovenia

Today, the United States and Slovenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation (NCMOU), which improves our cooperation on energy security and strengthens our diplomatic and economic relationship.

Dr. Christopher Ford, who is performing the duties of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, signed for the United States, and Mr. Jernej Vrtovec, Minister of Infrastructure, signed for Slovenia. The United States and Slovenia have been partners in civil nuclear energy since 1975, when construction began on the Westinghouse nuclear power plant at Krsko that has been supplying clean energy to the region since 1983.

Besides that, there are many http://www.devensec.com/cialis-4593.html discount cialis prices men who do not have such health issues can go for this treatment. One absorbed discount pharmacy viagra http://www.devensec.com/news/Quarterly_Project_Updates_October_2018.pdf in the body, substituentsprovide spongy erection tissue in the penis with a sudden gush of blood. This informal diagnostic test is called a “Poor devensec.com brand viagra from canada Man’s Tilt Table test” can help confirm suspicions of POTS Syndrome. It is an inability http://www.devensec.com/forms/Building_Permit_2016.pdf cialis vs viagra to achieve and maintain an erection during performance.

Nuclear Cooperation MOUs are diplomatic mechanisms that strengthen and expand strategic ties between the United States and a partner country by providing a framework for cooperation on civil nuclear issues and for engagement between experts from government, industry, national laboratories, and academic institutions.

European Union

The United States welcomes the European Union’s adoption of its global human rights sanctions framework. Today, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, we note that this groundbreaking accomplishment will further protect human rights worldwide.

The EU’s new measures give its member states a powerful tool to promote accountability for human rights abuse on a global scale. The new authorities will complement the ongoing efforts of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to sanction human rights abusers, further enhancing our already strong partnership geared toward protecting human rights and deterring future abuse globally. Europe will have a steadfast partner in the United States on this program, and we encourage the EU to adopt its first designations as soon as possible.

The United States will continue to seek out additional allies and partners to use all the tools at our disposal to deny human rights abusers the benefit of access to the U.S. and international financial systems.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Why the Electoral College is Vital

Proposals for radical alterations in the way Americans vote are dangerous concepts that would have dramatic consequences for the nation and its Constitution. Some, such as ranked choice voting, are an unblushing bid to prop up fringe, leftist candidates. Others. if adopted, would essentially disunite the nation and overturn its Constitution. As they consistently have after each election loss, Democrat spokespeople have flooded the airwaves with complaints about the Electoral College. Why, they ask, can’t we have a “popular vote,” and let it be done with. Since the Electoral College process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution, it would be necessary to pass a Constitutional amendment to change this system. The National Archives notes that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject. The answer is as simple as the name of the country: The United States of America. The incredibly successful nation created almost two and a half centuries ago was a union of separate states. Fresh off of dealing with a monarch, it was intentionally set up that way to both prevent the possibility of having an all-powerful dictator, and to prevent larger states from bullying smaller ones. Abolishing the electoral college would essentially disenfranchise smaller states from having any say in the presidency. Indeed, even less populated areas of large states would lose influence. A collection of large cities, (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Jacksonville, etc.) would decide the outcome in who gets the White House. Considering how badly many of those urban centers are run, that would not bode well for the future of the country! Beyond the practical policy implications, it would alienate the populations of those not living in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, who would, for the most part, be reduced to bystanders in the race for the only nationally-elected position. A Heritage study analyzed the concept of a “National Popular Vote” (NPV) this way: “The National Popular Vote (NPV) plan is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to replace the Electoral College. Imbued with the ideals of this nation’s Founders, the Electoral College has proved itself to be both effective in providing orderly elections for President and resilient in allowing a stable transfer of power of the leadership of the world’s greatest democracy. Therefore, while it would be a mistake to replace the Electoral College, replacing this system with the NPV would be a disaster. The NPV would devalue the minority interests that the Founders sought to protect, create electoral administrative problems, encourage voter fraud, and radicalize the U.S. political system. It also would likely violate the U.S. Constitution’s Compact Clause while directly contravening the Founders’ view of federalism and a representative republic. In an age of perceived political dysfunction, effective policies already in place—especially successful policies established by this nation’s Founders, such as the Electoral College—should be preserved.” Trent England, writing for the National Conference of State Legislatures outlined key reasons for the institution: “At the Constitutional Convention, the primary concern of delegates opposed to direct election was that big states would dominate presidential politics. By using a two-step election process, the Electoral College prevents one region, or a handful of major metropolitan areas, from controlling the White House. Support must be geographically distributed around the country in order to win enough states to capture an electoral vote majority. This was particularly important after the Civil War. The nation remained divided, and Democrats became dominant in the south. A combination of intense popularity with some voters and violent suppression of others allowed Democrats to receive the most popular votes in 1876 and 1888 even though they lost the Electoral College and thus those elections.” Eliminating the Electoral College would be a disaster for the United States/