Trump has made the US part of the new “Axis of Evil”

From The Dean's Report by Dean Obeidallah:.

“We used to fight the Axis of Evil. Now we’ve joined them.”

Those were the words written on social media Monday by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. What prompted that comment was the news that the United States was only one of 16 other countries that opposed a United Nation’s resolution condemning Russia for attacking Ukraine on the 3rd anniversary of the war.

This European-backed U.N. General Assembly resolution—supported by 93 nations—simply noted that “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability.” The resolution also called for an end to the war and demanded that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

But Trump refused to agree to that. Instead the convicted felon had the U.S. protect Putin by joining with North Korea, Israel, Russia, Hungary, Belarus, Syria and a few other nations to oppose it. Thanks to Trump we are now part of a group of nations led by people who reject international law—unless it serves their purposes.

The Dean's Report by Dean Obeidallah is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to Paid

Republicans have a chance to transform the Pa. Supreme Court this year!

From Spotlight, PA:

Control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is on the ballot this year, with three Democratic justices up for retention elections.

These yes-or-no elections are normally sleepy and almost never result in a justice being forced off the court. But Republican operatives, who have chafed at the Democratic-majority court’s decisions for a decade, say that with a flip within reach, they’re getting ready for an expensive political fight.

Judges on all three of Pennsylvania’s statewide appellate courts — the Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts — are elected in partisan, statewide elections and serve 10-year terms.

…

GOP seeks ‘decade-long impact’

Combined with the increased politicization the judiciary has seen during the Trump era, this handful of usually obscure, low-turnout elections is set to attract major attention and funding from both parties, according to political operatives.

Republicans in particular see it as a huge opportunity.

“This has been circled on my calendar for a long time,” veteran GOP political consultant Christopher Nicholas told Spotlight PA.

Open elections for seats on Pennsylvania appeals courts have increasingly become expensive affairs, attracting millions of dollars from trial lawyers, labor unions, business interests, and megadonors within and outside the state.

Retention elections so far have been unaffected by this trend. But nine months out, that appears to be on track to change.

In a recent memo, the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national group that helps finance state races, highlighted Pennsylvania’s retention elections, noting those justices would oversee state and federal electoral maps during the next redistricting cycle.

The high court routinely intervenes to commission a congressional map if Pennsylvania’s legislature and governor deadlock, and it almost invariably steps in to choose a nonelected tiebreaker that draws state legislative maps.

“That’s why the RSLC’s [Judicial Fairness Initiative] is already committed to spending seven-figures in 2025 and raising even more resources is necessary to win and could make a decade-long impact,” the memo said.

One GOP activist, Scott Presler, said that he has already hired 23 staffers in the state and expects to add more to register voters and raise awareness on the retention races. Presler is among Trump’s most vocal supporters in the commonwealth.

Making China Great Again

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on the dismantling of USAID:

Let me explain why the total destruction of USAID…matters so much. China—where Musk makes his money—wants USAID destroyed. So does Russia. Trump and Musk are doing the bidding of Beijing and Moscow. Why? The U.S. is in full retreat from the world… The immediate consequences of this are cataclysmic. Malnourished babies who depend on U.S. aid will die. Anti-terrorism programs will shut down and our most deadly enemies will get stronger. Diseases that threaten the U.S. will go unabated and reach our shores faster. And China will fill the void. As developing countries will now ONLY be able to rely on China for help, they will cut more deals with Beijing to give them control of ports, critical mineral deposits, etc. U.S. power will shrink. U.S. jobs will be lost.