DV Journal

“I consider it necessary to take a long-overdue decision: To immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.” With that statement on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted the balance of power in eastern Europe by re-drawing the map of Ukraine through brute force. As of late Monday night, he had reportedly ordered Russian military forces into these regions of eastern Ukraine.

Putin’s actions drew mixed messages from the Biden White House, with some talk that Russia’s move may not spark a massive backlash the way a traditional invasion would. Meanwhile, some Delaware Valley political figures did respond to Putin’s provocative actions.

“The grave predictions of our intelligence community are coming to fruition,” tweeted Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.). “Putin is violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Together, our nation, NATO Allies, and EU partners will hold him accountable.”

And while Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) didn’t release any reactions on Monday. However, a week earlier the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, Environment, and Cyber joined other House GOP leaders to announce the  Never Yielding Europe’s Territory (NYET) Act.

“As we have done before with other rogue powers, it is time for the United States to send a clear message: if Russia insists on threatening the sovereignty of another state and jeopardizing global security, there will be severe economic consequences and sweeping sanctions,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “Congress must act now to ensure that the United States continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine by providing our Ukrainian partners with the aid and resources they need to uphold their territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

“Joe Biden’s weakness and incompetence have set the world ablaze, from Kabul and Kyiv to our southern border,” the Army veteran of the first Gulf War said. “We must return to strong America First policies and leadership that made us more respected abroad and more secure at home. I served in the military because I love our country. I’m running for the U.S. Senate to serve again.”

One of his GOP primary competitors made her point during Monday night’s debate. “Biden has no plans whatsoever,” said Kathy Barnette from Huntingdon Valley. “He’s playing whack-a-mole, whoever pops their head up, he ends up hitting it at the moment. That is not how you lead the greatest nation that’s ever existed in the world, and yet that is where we find ourselves right now. We have two different strategies that need to be employed. We’re talking about Russia potentially entering into Ukraine and being given the green light for them to enter in and do a little bit of damage. And then we have China with Taiwan. China is about to do a Hong Kong on Taiwan.”

And Republican candidate for the Fifth Congressional District, Former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer (EOD) David Galluch, released this statement:

“Today, Vladimir Putin gave a speech that exacerbated the Ukraine crisis, indicating Russia’s pending recognition of two separatist eastern Ukrainian regions. This is a naked power grab and revision of European borders – and the United States appears powerless to act.

America has been on the retreat for more than a year. Given that Ukraine has already suffered cyberattacks and significant economic damage at the hands of Russia, the United States should have already implemented severe sanctions against Putin and the Russian regime.

The unfortunate truth is Vladimir Putin was allowed to control events and the narrative from the very beginning. Sanctioning Russia and signaling our resolve to deny Putin a free hand is more important now than ever. With a Russian military buildup only miles from the Ukrainian border, the time for action has already passed. However, it is not too late to take immediate and urgent
steps in an effort to de-escalate this situation.”

And Christian Nascimento, a Republican running for the Fourth District Congressional seat said, “Vladimir Putin recognizing the independence of breakaway countries is political theater and a transparent pretext to justifying the invasion of the Ukraine.

“Putin intends to upend the post-cold war global order and attempt to bring us back to the days of the USSR. Putin only understands strength, so the US must lead a global response, which should include arms and support to Ukraine, as well as economic sanctions on Russia while they continue to destabilize the region and beyond.”

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Convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal received a $1,400 taxpayer-funded check thanks to President Joe Biden’s COVID relief bill, Delaware Valley Journal has learned.

State corrections officials confirmed the payment to Abu-Jamal, the former WHYY radio journalist who was convicted of the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

He’s among the most high-profile prisoners in the Keystone State to receive a payout, much to the chagrin of those who have opposed his release over the years.

George Bochetto, an attorney for Faulkner’s widow Maureen, told DVJournal the payments to convicted felons like Abu-Jamal are “insanity.” He called out Sen. Bob Casey (D) for casting the vote that killed an amendment that would have nixed the payouts to incarcerated felons like Abu-Jamal.

During the debate over the American Rescue Plan Act — Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID bill passed on a straight party-line vote — a GOP-backed amendment denying COVID dollars to criminals in prison was defeated in a 49-50 vote. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey voted for the amendment, while Casey and the entire Democratic caucus voted against it. A single Democrat’s “yes” vote would have moved the ban forward.

Neither senator responded to repeated requests for comment.

“Whoever authorized the mailings of those checks out should be shot,” said Bochetto, who recently announced he was joining a crowded field of GOP candidates seeking to replace the retiring Toomey. “To send murderers $1,400 in prison is both a complete utter and waste of money, and it sends the absolute wrong message.”

The 2021 relief checks to prisoners became a national story last week when news broke that Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had received a payment. Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to allow them to seize the funds as restitution to victims of the 2013 terrorist attack. The judge had yet to rule as of Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bochetto said he expects Faulker’s widow to be “outraged” when informed her husband’s killer had received a government handout.

“What’s he supposed to buy – a color TV set for his cell?” Bochetto said. “Why should he be doing it at my expense?”

Opponents of the Biden relief bill argued at the time it was too big and spent too much money on non-COVID-related items. Popular at the time it passed, the massive spending bill is now being blamed for contributing to the inflation currently plaguing the economy. Even Biden has acknowledged his spending plan is part of the problem.

But money going to terrorist bombers and convicted cop killers is, for some, beyond the pale.

“On what planet could someone justify sending a taxpayer-funded check to the man who killed and wounded hundreds of Americans in a terrorist attack?” demanded the National Republican Senatorial Committee in a statement.

Abu-Jamal has been described by The New York Times as “perhaps the world’s best-known death-row inmate,’” and his case has become a cause celebre among progressives and social-justice activists. While some claim he’s wrongly convicted, his conviction has been upheld by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Abu-Jamal’s death sentence, however, was vacated by the District Court in 2001 over questions about jury instructions during the sentencing phase.

“I think that Toomey got it right, and I think Casey got it totally wrong,” Bochetto said about the vote on the payments. “It’s an insult to every taxpayer. I don’t want my taxes going to cop killers sitting in prison.”

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On the latest episode of the Delaware Valley Journal podcast, Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre) called the Democrats’ passage of the $1.75 trillion social spending “Build Back Better” bill “tone deaf” and a boon for the Pennsylvania GOP.

“I think the Democrats in D.C. are tone deaf,” Corman said. “They looked at the results of Virginia and said, ‘Well, we’re just not doing enough. That’s why we lost in Virginia,’ and nothing (is) further from the truth. Is what happened to Virginia? What happened…in New Jersey? It wasn’t that they weren’t progressive enough. It’s that they were too far progressive.”

The bill, which the Congressional Budget Office projected will add roughly $250 billion to the federal debt, passed the House on a party-line vote with one exception: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) voted no. It now goes to the Senate where major changes are expected.

Corman says she believes the ideological extremism of this bill, which mixes social welfare spending and green energy subsidies, will help Republicans next year.

“All the polls are showing in the generic ballots, Republicans are nine, ten points up. If you’re Josh Shapiro, you’re gotta be pulling your hair out, thinking ‘What the heck happened?’

“Ever since this progressive movement has taken over the Democratic Party, you’ve seen Republicans do very well at the polls. Even in 2020, when President Trump lost, Republicans won nationwide. I can tell you from our own state Senate and state House races in Pennsylvania, we won almost every close race there was.

“Republicans are going to win next year,” Corman added.  “I’m confident of that.”