Rabbeinu Bachya (Kad HaKemach Mezuza) This that there is a widespread practice not to marry except when the moon is full there is no prohibition in this custom since it is serves merely as a sign that the marriage should be good and successful. This is similar to our custom on the night of Rosh HaShanna. This is also like the custom of appointing kings next to a spring as a good sign that his kingdom be viable for a long time. Anyone who views the custom of marrying at the full moon as anything other than more than a sign of success for the marriage makes it into darchei Emori
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Kennedy Center changed board rules months before vote to add Trump’s name
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/12/31/kennedy-center-board-trustees-bylaws/
The Kennedy Center adopted bylaws earlier this year that limited voting to presidentially appointed trustees, a move that preceded a unanimous decision this month by board members installed by President Donald Trump to add his name to the center.
The current bylaws, obtained by The Washington Post, were revised in May to specify that board members designated by Congress — known as ex officio members — could not vote or count toward a quorum. Legal experts say the move may conflict with the institution’s charter.
Trump took over the Kennedy Center in February, purging its board of members he had not appointed. The months that followed saw struggling ticket sales and programming changes that began to align the arts complex with the Trump administration’s broader cultural aims, culminating with the annual Kennedy Center Honors hosted by the president.
The Trump Economy: Three Years of Volatile Continuity
https://www.cato.org/regulation/summer-2020/trump-economy-three-years-volatile-continuity
During the first three years of Trump’s presidency, the economy expanded, unemployment and poverty fell, wages increased, taxes were cut, the stock market moved upward, and some reforms of federal regulation were introduced. So far so good.
The “Trump economy” is thus a misnomer. Like any other president, Donald Trump is only partly responsible for what has gone well and gone wrong during his years in office and in the years to come. A president can do more damage to an economy than help it. And three years is a short time to evaluate the consequences of complex policy packages. All these caveats must be kept in mind.
Overall, the poverty and unemployment picture improved slowly from 2009 to 2019, with no radical break when the occupant of the White House changed. The Obama economy and the Trump economy seem to be the same economy. This observation applies to many other measures of American prosperity.
Trump inherits a labor market at full employment. Can he keep it there?
Defying fears of a pandemic-driven Great Depression and bucking Federal Reserve interest rate hikes as well, the U.S. job market closed out the Biden era at the cusp of full employment, if not beyond it, with steady job gains, growing wages, and enough momentum to possibly rekindle fears of overheating.
Trump’s Bad Economy Is Even Worse Than It Looks
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-bad-economy-is-even-worse
But here’s the thing: As bad as the unemployment situation looks right now, last week the chairman of the Federal Reserve said that he thinks the real numbers are actually worse. . . .
Chofetz Chaim, Chazon Ish & Rav Kook
The Chofetz Chaim had a dream of making aliyah. He tried a number of times - but he wasn't successful. Toward the end of his life, there were again rumors that he was going to move to Israel. In fact someone came to the Chazon Ish and reported that he had inside information that the Chofetz Chaim would soon be landing in Yaffo. The Chazon Ish looked up from his gemora and said simply:
"It isn't true. The Chofetz Chaim will never come to Israel." He continued, "I don't say this because I am a navi with ruach hakodesh. It is simple logic. Everyone knows that there is a very close relationship between the Chofetz Chaim and Rav Kook. If the Chofetz Chaim came to Israel then they would visit each other. This would cause strong upset in certain circles. As a consequence of this backlash - the Mishna Berura would be abandoned and thrown in the trash. It is clear that G-d does not want this happen to the Mishna Berura. Consequently it is impossible that the Chofetz Chaim will be coming to Israel."====================
Regarding the Chofetz Chaim's attitude to Rav Kook. The following letter was written 3 years after the dedication of Hebrew University by the Chofetz Chaim's son-in law. It has been alleged that the Chofetz Chaim expressed contempt for Rav Kook as the result of the dedication. It is clear from this letter that the Chofetz Chaim had a very high opinion of Rav Kook even after the incident.
Rael Levinsohn suggested the following links to translations:
letter-from-the-son-in-law-of-the-Chofetz-Chaim-to-Rav-Kook-1928/
Rav-Kooks-relationship-with-giants-of-his-time/
the-view-of-the-Chazon-Ish-on-Rav-Kook-another-perspective/
The-relationship-between-Rav Kook-and-the-Chofetz-Chaim-part-2/
update-on-Rav Kook-letter/
history-of-the-Rav-Kook-Rav-Sonnenfeld-dispute-and-its-relevance-for-modern-times-part-1/
history-of-the-Rav-Kook-Rav-Sonnenfeld-dispute-and-its-relevance-for-modern-times-part-2/
Hamas still has 60,000 Kalashnikovs
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420151
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a new security assessment during a meeting with US President Donald Trump, according to which Hamas is holding approximately 60,000 Kalashnikov rifles in Gaza.
According to Channel 13 correspondent Moriah Asraf, Netanyahu conveyed a clear message to the American administration: without gathering the arms from the Gaza Strip, there is no room for considering the civil rehabilitation of the enclave.
The figure was gathered specifically ahead of the trip by IDF intelligence and the Shin Bet. “Without collecting these weapons, it is impossible to move on to the next stages,” was the central message conveyed to the Americans.
Idolatry Wisdom and Prophesy
Rav Tzadok (Poked Ikkarim page 51) When the Anshei Kenesses Hagadolah nullified the lust for idolatry it also ceased for the non-Jews. Thus our Sages stated that non Jews outside of Israel were not actual idolators but were simply keeping the customs of their ancestors and they also lost understanding and their wisdom was corrupted which was dependent on their desire and attatchment to idolatry. Similarly prophesy diminished. Correspondingly the Oral Torah developed and grew during the Greek rule.
IDF Reserve Officer: 'We're supporting an enemy army inside Israel'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420140
Following the extensive military exercise conducted by the PA, which included seizures of towns and the use of RPG launchers, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi warns that the PA will soon turn on Israel.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently concluded a three-day military exercise that has drawn renewed scrutiny in Israel. According to multiple reports, the drill included simulated raids, the takeover of towns by commando units, and the use of RPG launchers and advanced military equipment. The developments were discussed on Arutz Sheva-Israel National News with Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, who warned that the exercise highlights a growing and dangerous trend.
Avivi cautioned that Israel is effectively fostering “an enemy army within the State of Israel,” calling the situation “very serious.” Recalling his own experience as a deputy brigade commander during violent clashes in the mid-1990s, shortly after the PA was established, Avivi said that weapons transferred to Palestinian forces were later used in heavy attacks in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. “We already saw the potential back in 1996,” he said, noting that Israeli casualties were sustained during those confrontations.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Contradicting Tanach
Radak (Shmuel 1 28:24) The act of necromancy is nonsense, lies, and ridiculous…the story of Samuel and Saul never was real, and Samuel never rose from his grave. The woman did it all through trickery…" This is the commentary of the gaon Rav Shmuel the son of Chofni, and he said this even though it can be implied from the words of the sages in the Gemara that the woman truly did revive Samuel. He did not accept what was written there, for there are those who use reason to deny it.”
Today is the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420116
On Asarah B’Tevet in the year 3336, Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylonia, laid siege to Yerushalayim, marking the beginning of the events that led to the destruction of the First Temple, the exile of the People of Israel from their land and soon after, the last vestiges of self rule for those who remained. The story is recounted at the end of the Book of Kings, Chap. 25:
To commemorate the tragic day when the siege began, the Nevi’im (Prophets)[1] instituted the ta’anit tzibbur (communal fast day) of Asarah B’Tevet.
The Israeli Chief Rabbinate ruled that the Tenth of Tevet be considered Holocaust Martyr's Day, the general memorial day, Yom Hakadish Hakllali, for those who perished in the Holocaust but whose yahrzeit is unknown. Relatives may recite the kaddish prayer for them on this day and it is customary for the synagogue service to include the "El Malei Rachamim" prayer, said at funerals, on yahrzeits and on the days when Yizkor is said, in memory of all the victims.
Angels and religion
Yoma (19b) There was a Sadducee who had arranged the incense without, and then brought it inside. As he left he was exceedingly glad. On his coming out his father met him and said to him: My son, although we are Sadducees, we are afraid of the Pharisees. He replied: All my life was I aggrieved because of this scriptural verse: For I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover. I would say: When shall the opportunity come to my hand so that I might fulfil it. Now that such opportunity has come to my hand, should I not have fulfilled it? It is reported that it took only a few days until he died and was thrown on the dungheap and worms came forth from his nose. Some say: He was smitten as he came out of the Holy of Holies. For R. Hiyya taught: Some sort of a noise was heard in the Temple Court, for an angel had come and struck him down on his face to the ground and his brethren the priests came in and they found the trace as of a calf's foot on his shoulder, as it is written: And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot.
Religious Medical Research
I'm reading "Religion and Medicine: A History of the Encounter Between Humanity's Two Greatest Institutions" by Jeff Levin, Stephen G. Post and wanted to share this quote with you.
."In 1988 an unusual study appeared in the Southern Medical Journal. San Francisco cardiologist Randolph C. Byrd published results of a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of distant intercessory prayer for hospitalized patients in the coronary care unit at San Francisco General Hospital.1 Between 1982 and 1983, 393 cardiac patients were randomly assigned by computer-generated list to either a treatment or control group, the former receiving prayer from Christian groups outside the hospital. Each patient received prayer from three to seven intercessors. Blinding meant that neither doctors and nurses nor patients, nor even Byrd, knew what group each patient was assigned to, and intercessors received only the first name of a respective patient and his or her diagnosis. Pray-ers included born-again Christians and religious Roman Catholics active in a church or fellowship. What was the result? According to Byrd’s analyses, prayer worked. At follow-up, analyses showed that prayed-for patients had significantly less congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and cardiopulmonary arrest; required fewer antibiotics and diuretics and less intubation/ventilator assistance; and received a lower severity score based on a measure of the course of their postentry hospital stay.2 In the acknowledgments at the end of his paper, Byrd humbly added the following: “In addition, I thank God for responding to the many prayers made on behalf of the patients.”3 Publication of Byrd’s study created a firestorm of comment and critique.4 Fallout included denunciations from secular skeptics5 and devout Christians6 alike. But there was also an emerging apologetics from secular physicians and proponents of a more welcoming role for spirituality in healthcare.7 Notably, the response from readers of the SMJ was mostly positive, with one exception—a letter to the editor accusing the journal of an “attempt to return medicine to the Dark Ages” by publishing a study that sought “to undermine reason.”8"
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"Tefillin and cardiovascular function. A controlled study of twenty Jewish men, conducted at the University of Cincinnati, found that use of tefillin (nonocclusive leather straps attached to the arm during morning prayer, also known as phylacteries) appeared to have an ischemic preconditioning effect.173 Long-term daily use among Orthodox Jews was associated with an anti-inflammatory response (decreased levels of circulating cytokines and attenuated monocyte chemotaxis and adhesion), while acute use in both religious and nonreligious Jews was associated with improved vascular function (greater brachial artery diameter and flow volume) after thirty minutes of use. I must admit that I am not sure what to make of these results, but as a practicing Jew I find the possible implications fascinating and encouraging."
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/6RXdNdN
--------------
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Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter: Rav Tzadok "defends" their perversions of the Torah
update: I just modified the title of the post because some people were mistakenly taking it literally.
=========================
As noted many times, the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter is a blatant perversion of halacha. In addition it is based on lies. I have also asked many times for someone to defend not only the creation of this phony heter but also the refusal to tell the couple to separate from an adulterous relationship.
=========================
As noted many times, the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter is a blatant perversion of halacha. In addition it is based on lies. I have also asked many times for someone to defend not only the creation of this phony heter but also the refusal to tell the couple to separate from an adulterous relationship.
However much to my astonishment this Shabbos I was shown a clear justification for their action. Rav Tzadok is talking about a tzadik or gadol and clearly had the Kaminetsky's and Rav Greenblatt in mind when he wrote the following words. [As a side point - this Rav Tzadok was used to justify R Berland's purported sexual perversions by his son-in-law. Rav Tzadok seems to think that a real tzadik can violate any halacha and it is not considered a sin]..
Rav Tzakok HaCohen (Tzedkas HaTzadik #198 page 76): ... David violated the halacha without any justification - but just because he wanted to. And he relied simply on the fact that because he wanted to violate the halacha that this was truly G-d's Will and thus no sin was done in the violation. And this was even though there was absolutely no reason to justify it because Will is not dependent on reasons...
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I am not aware of any non-Chassidic writings that state such a thing - so it might be a problem for Litvaks such as the Kaminetsky's and R Greenblatt to rely on this heter. But maybe one of their defenders can send me a non-Chassidic source that gedolim can violate the Torah anytime they want - because it is G-d's Will.
5 takeaways as MTG unloads to NYT Magazine, dishing scathing criticism of Trump
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/takeaways-mtg-unloads-nyt-magazine-dishing-scathing-criticism-trump
Outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated to the New York Times Magazine that President Donald Trump, lacks "faith" and does not reciprocate loyalty.
She also said that she disapproves of "MAGA Mar-a-Lago sexualization," and indicated that she expects the U.S. to engage in "more war" as the president seeks to maintain his grip on power.
Greene, a once ardent Trump supporter who had a dramatic falling out with the GOP juggernaut this year, is dishing out scathing criticism of the president she once lauded.
Wall Street Journal: Latest stolen election conspiracy theory ‘nonsense’
“Elections are supposed to run by the book, and Fulton County’s blunder is bad for public confidence,” the Journal wrote. “Yet so are Mr. Trump’s constantly shifting claims that the 2020 election was stolen, with every irregularity claimed as supposedly proving history’s biggest fraud.”
Trump, the Journal wrote, will likely “never admit his 2020 claims were partisan nonsense.”
Monday, December 29, 2025
Pascal's Wager
I'm reading "The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans" by Bill Hammack Ph.D. and wanted to share this quote with you.
"Pascal gathered his scratch paper notes to create his great work PensĆ©es (“Thoughts”), in which he proposed his famous “wager.”8 He wrote, “Either God is or he is not. But to which view shall we incline?” He assigned probabilities to God’s existence or onexistence: “a coin toss is being spun which will come down heads or tails.” It is, he implied, a fifty-fifty shot, although he later admitted that the probability of God’s existence might be smaller. He assigned utility and value to the outcome of believing or not believing—a yet more sophisticated version of the plus-and-minus system of the ÄÅ”ipu. Following the prevailing Christian beliefs of seventeenth-century France, to believe in an existing God granted an eternity in paradise after death, while disbelief damned one to hell. Belief in a nonexistent God, however, only compelled one to live according to religious standards based on a misconception with no eternal reward. Disbelief in a nonexistent God gave one more freedom in life while being left to the same fate after death as the believer. Following the ÄÅ”ipu’s model, belief in an existing God provided essentially ultimate, infinite benefit, and disbelief in God provided infinite loss. If God didn’t exist, belief provided finite loss, while disbelief provided finite benefit. Given the stats, the best one can get from belief is eternal bliss, whereas the best disbelief offers is a marginally better life on earth. The worst one suffers from belief, on the other hand, is a life inconvenienced by religion, while with disbelief comes the possibility of eternal damnation. So Pascal concluded that a risk analysis compels belief in God. Although the theology, even logic, of Pascal’s wager has been debated for centuries, he shows us a turning point in probability theory: the idea that the mathematics of games of chance can be applied to a wide swath of life, that probabilities can be developed into an art of conjecture, a way to think about future events with some enumerated degree of confidence that we can use to make informed decisions to mitigate risks and solve problems."
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--------------
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Recognized by the rabbinate, Orthodox converts trapped in legal limbo over Israeli citizenship
https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-881417
Orthodox converts in Israel – fully recognized by the Chief Rabbinate – are living in legal and social limbo, denied citizenship, as they face systemic bureaucracy and discrimination at the Interior Ministry, despite a lifetime of religious observance.
In response to why the Interior Ministry rejects the aliyah applications of recognized converts, a spokesperson for the ministry's Population and Immigration Authority told the Post:
"There is a difference between the act of registering a marriage based on halachic considerations and the definition of a Jew for the purposes of the Law of Return, because these are two different laws with different criteria. A marriage certificate is a 'public document' that indicates a marriage and on the basis of which one is registered in the Population Registry as married. The certificate is valid for this registration only. However, the certificate does not constitute proof for the purpose of religion and nationality details and, therefore, is not evidence for checking eligibility for return."
Petah Tikva declared 'red city' for measles outbreak, six-month-old children to be vaccinated
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-881644
Petah Tikva has been designated a red city due to a rise in measles cases in recent weeks, the Health Ministry announced on Monday.
As part of the declaration, residents are asked to bring their children for an additional vaccine dose starting at six months of age, which will not count toward the routine vaccination schedule. When the children reach one year of age, they will receive another dose of the vaccine, in accordance with updated guidelines.
Sunday, December 28, 2025
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Joe Rogan Rails Against Trump’s ‘Crazy’ White House Plaques
Rogan repeatedly described the plaques as "crazy" and said that historians should be writing these kinds of plaques, rather than the current president.
He said that somebody "needs to tell him like, ‘Hey, this is not good. You can’t do that, because other people could do that too, and then the White House stops being the White House,’ and it becomes whoever is in its house, where he could just go crazy and say everybody else is a crook."
Friday, December 26, 2025
U.S. clean coal program fails to deliver on promised smog cuts
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-coal-pollution/
U.S. taxpayers have spent billions of dollars subsidizing chemically treated refined coal, but a Reuters analysis of EPA data shows that the power plants burning it often pump out more smog, not less.
Champions of coal say the superabundant fossil fuel can be made environmentally friendlier by refining it with chemicals – a “clean coal” technology backed by a billion dollars in U.S. government tax subsidies annually.
But refined coal has a dirty secret. It regularly fails to deliver on its environmental promises, as electric giant Duke Energy Corp found.
Trump’s Inner Circle Sees Russia as an El Dorado for Business, but Pitfalls Abound
For Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s billionaire envoys working on a deal to end the Ukraine war, Russia is a land of vast natural resources and rich business opportunities.
Welcoming it back into the world economy will make money for American investors and stabilize Moscow’s relationships with Ukraine and Europe, according to their public comments and people familiar with their thinking.
Trump says violence in Nigeria targets Christians. The reality is more nuanced
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/25/africa/trump-nigeria-attacks-on-christians-explainer-intl-hnk
After months of warning that the US could take military action to stop violence against Christians in Nigeria, President Donald Trump announced on Christmas Day that he had done just that – delivering a strike on Islamic State terrorists in the country’s northwest.
US Africa Command said it conducted the strikes in Sokoto state, which borders Niger to the north, “in coordination with Nigerian authorities.” AFRICOM’s initial assessment is that “multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in the ISIS camps,” according to a news release.
The US strike could “disrupt ISIS operations in the short term, but the long-term issues that surround violence in Nigeria are extremely complex,” said CNN military analyst and retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, pointing to the economic factors at play.
Alarming survey among British Jews finds 96% feel threatened
https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/12/21/alarming-survey-among-british-jews-finds-96-feel-threatened/
A new survey conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British non-governmental organisation, paints a bleak picture of the future facing Britain's Jewish community. The results echo a question that has become widespread among Jews across Europe since October 7: whether they, and their children, have a future on a continent undergoing profound change.
The survey finds that more than half of British Jews, 51%, say they do not see a long-term future for themselves in the UK, while fewer than a quarter, 23%, believe they do. Nearly half, 45%, say they do not feel welcome in Britain, compared with fewer than one-third, 32%, who say they do. A clear majority, 61%, report that they have considered leaving the UK over the past two years. Most cite the surge in antisemitism since October 7, 2023, as the main reason, while nearly half also point to broader anti-Jewish prejudice in society and antisemitism within political parties.
Hamas Is Loving Its Revival
The Trump team has come to treat the Gaza terrorists with deference.
Is U.S. policy legitimizing Hamas? That’s the question to ask nearly three months after the October cease-fire, as the terrorists show no sign of disarming. Instead Hamas negotiates with White House envoys and regional powers as it settles in for the long haul.
Hamas has made a mockery of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan, but the Administration dignifies Hamas as a continuing negotiating partner. Egypt works with Hamas on the list of Palestinian technocrats Cairo will propose to govern Gaza. Whoever ultimately agrees to send peacekeepers will first be sure to reach an understanding with Hamas to avoid conflict—by respecting the terrorist group’s boundaries.
Qatar is not a mediator, but an enemy of Israel
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/419935
A new research by Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCSFA) revealed the extent of Qatar's deep and ongoing involvement in advancing a jihadist mindset among the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
The research stressed that, "Qatar is not a neutral mediator but rather a state that provided Hamas with political sanctuary, financial lifelines, ideological reinforcement, and global reach. Through hosting Hamas leadership, sustaining aid flows that bolstered Hamas governance, and supporting clerical networks that sanctified violence and genocide, Qatar enabled Hamas’s transformation into a heavily armed, ideologically driven organization capable of carrying out the October 7 attack and seeking to expand its terror campaign beyond the region."
Trump Says US Struck ISIS in Nigeria in ‘Powerful’ Attack on Christmas
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-us-struck-isis-nigeria-christmas-attack-11270712
President Donald Trump said the United States launched airstrikes against ISIS militants in northwest Nigeria on Christmas, describing the operation as a decisive blow against extremists he accused of targeting Christian communities.
A Department of Defense official told Newsweek on Thursday: "The Department of War worked with the government of Nigeria to carry out these strikes. These strikes were approved by the government of Nigeria.”
Do frum self-help books contain ancient Torah wisdom - or pop psychology?
Conclusion - Update 8/16/13 It is apparent from the comments to this post is that there is no such thing as Torah Psychology or Torah Therapy that was given at Sinai. There are psychological insights which are found in our Tradition which can be used in therapy - but they don't constitue a program of therapy. A psychology or therapy based primarily or exclusive on Torah sources might be desirable - but it doesn't exist at present and it clearly is not part of our Tradition from Sinai.
Lawrence Kelemen's parenting guide, To Kindle a Soul, for example, claims in the subtitle to contain "ancient wisdom." "At the foot of a mountain in the Sinai desert, the Creator of the universe directly revealed His profound wisdom to approximately three million people .... Those present received ... a comprehensive guide for raising great human beings." The book attempts to describe "this ancient, Torah approach to education" which is "more comprehensive and effective ... than any of the schools of child psychology I studied at university." Kelemen describes the "significant" differences between these supposedly "ancient traditions" and the practices of contemporary parents.""Yet Kelemen's parenting approach fits neatly within late twentieth century American parenting discourse, and it differs significantly from that of pre-modern Jewish sources. Kelemen combines an American religious-right critique of supposedly decadent American family life with a child-centered parenting approach advocated by endless American mass-market parenting guides in the 1990s. Criticism of American materialism and permissiveness; advocacy of limiting the mother's time at work; polemics against spanking; emphasis on good nutrition, proper sleep time, and bedtime routine; concerns about the adverse impact of television viewing; claims to provide a "system" for raising moral children; and advocacy of "quality-time" for empathy and close communication between parents and children, all characterized American experts' suggestions to worried middle-class parents at the end of the twentieth century. Even Kelemen's claim that his approach derives from the Bible follows the pattern of American religious parenting guides. Indeed, the book's unstated assumptions - that parenting is a full-time endeavor, and that parents should actively monitor their children's moment by-moment lives - typify experts' advice and popular assumptions in America during the so-called "century of the child."Not only does Kelemen's approach match that of contemporary parenting experts, but it differs from traditional Jewish sources on the topic. While a complete history of Jewish approaches to children and family has yet to be written, it is enough in this context to note that traditional Jewish literature speaks of childhood and parenting in spotty and unsystematic ways, scattered in works focused on other topics. This reflects a historical past in which families were considerably less child centered than they are today, and parents learned how to parent more by imitation, instinct, face-to-face conversation, and osmosis than from the written word of experts. Pre-modern Jews did not write parenting manuals since they assumed that knowing how to parent was an intuitive or natural thing.
Take the example of Kelemen's approach to corporal punishment and spanking. This is a particularly important example because traditional sources do say quite a bit on the topic, and what they do say clashes rather dramatically with the approach of contemporary Haredi parenting literature. Kelemen polemicizes against corporal punishment of children, and even harsh verbal reprimands. Instead - reflecting both contemporary notions of individual autonomy and the voluntary nature of modern religious commitments, which make it difficult to coerce people into religious conformity - he insists that parents should calmly explain to their children what is proper and improper. Parents should then serve as living role models of the proper, hoping thereby to help children come to their own appreciation of and identification with the parents' values.[...]
Thursday, December 25, 2025
Trump Tells Kid Coal Is Beautiful, Touts Election Wins in Christmas Calls
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-kid-coal-beautiful-election-wins-christmas-calls-11269533
Responding to a child calling from North Carolina who asked Trump if Santa would be angry if he did not find any cookies when he got to their home, Trump said: "I think he won’t get mad, but he’ll be very disappointed. Santa tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side, do you know what cherubic means? He’s a little on the heavy side."
He encouraged the child to leave some cookies, adding: "I think Santa has a serious appetite."
The same call has gone viral on social media after Trump told the eight-year-old girl that she sounded "so beautiful and cute." He also added that the child sounded "so smart."
DOJ says it has found more than a million additional Epstein documents
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/24/doj-epstein-documents-new-files-00706387
The Justice Department on Wednesday said it had uncovered more than a million documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and will need more time to fulfill the release of files ordered by Congress.
In a post to X, the Justice Department said it received the documents from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI — but it may take “a few more weeks” before they can be processed and released to the public in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), co-sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, appeared unimpressed with the Justice Department’s announcement Wednesday.
“Today the DOJ claims the Epstein-Maxwell file exceeds 1.7 million documents. And they still expect you to believe this involves only two guilty people,” Massie posted on X.
Khanna pointed out that six months before the bipartisan legislation passed, the Justice Department was saying the case was closed.
Candace Owens urges audience read antisemitic book, asserts Jews controlled slave trade
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-881052
Political commentator Candace Owens urged her audience to read a 19th-century antisemitic book and accused Jews of orchestrating the transatlantic slave trade and racial conflict between Caucasian and African Americans during her YouTube show over the weekend.
The episode focused on Owens’ grievances with conservative pundit and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, who had criticized her in his Thursday speech at the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) AmericaFest conference.
Owens railed against Shapiro for the circumstances of her 2024 dismissal from the Daily Wire under allegations of antisemitism and tensions with the editor emeritus.
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
UN spends approximately $100 million in funding to target Israel yearly, new report shows
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-881170
The United Nations spends roughly $100 million per year on reports, debates, special mechanisms, and communication activities dedicated almost exclusively to singling out Israel, the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN said.
Israeli officials said that what has been exposed regarding the UN’s allocation of budgetary funds is not a call to defund humanitarian aid or silence legitimate criticism. Instead, this is meant to put an end to a system that has normalized discrimination, rewarded bias, and wasted vast sums of the public’s money.
Gaetz claims Israeli operation behind prostitution, underage sex allegations
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-881114
“Anti-semitism used to mean somebody who didn’t like Jews. Now it just means somebody Jews don’t like," Gaetz said in the episode.
Former congressman Matt Gaetz asserted Tuesday that allegations of prostitution and sexual relations with an underage girl were part of an Israeli operation to extort him because of his isolationist foreign policy.
During an interview on The Tucker Carlson Show, Gaetz denied that he had committed statutory rape, engaged in commercial sex, and used illicit drugs as alleged in a 2024 House Ethics Committee report, and that the supposed foreign influence operation was evidently fake due to not being given an opportunity to question witnesses and review records in a proper forum.
"It was an op to silence me, and Israel was involved, and I hate to say that," Gaetz told Carlson.
Supreme Court won’t allow National Guard deployment to Chicago in major loss for Trump
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5661555-supreme-court-blocks-trump-guard/
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled President Trump may not deploy the National Guard to the Chicago area for now amid his push for military troops to patrol the streets of Democratic-led cities, a major loss for the president at the high court.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer had argued that the statute Trump invoked to call up the troops was lawful and consistent with a “long historical tradition” tracing back to President George Washington’s response to the Whiskey Rebellion.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the unsigned order reads.
The court explained that to justify calling up the National Guard, a president must be unable to execute laws with the regular forces of the U.S. military.
That would require “exceptional” circumstances because of the Posse Comitatus Act, a centuries-old law that generally bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement.
Right-wing antisemitism must be confronted before it dominates Republican Party - editorial
Right-wing antisemitism must be confronted before it dominates Republican Party - editorial
The Republican Party has not become antisemitic. Its base remains solidly pro-Israel. Its elected officials reject Jew-hatred outright. But antisemitism does not need majorities to thrive.
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Banned ‘60 Minutes’ Episode Leaked Online: Watch Here
A 60 Minutes report that was pulled by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss on Sunday has now become widely available on social media after a Canadian outlet reportedly posted it online.
The segment features interviews with Venezuelans deported by President Donald Trump's administration to El Salvador's notorious maximum security prison, CECOT.
How the Yiddish-speaking Jews of Europe had themselves a merry little Nittel Nacht
In his new book, “Christmas in Yiddish Tradition: The Untold Story,” Jordan Chad explores the folklore of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Central and Eastern Europe from the Middle Ages through the Modern period. The study reveals that Christmas was surprisingly one of European Jews’ favorite days of the year, and how Christmas traditions were once transmitted in Yiddish — a language non-Jews didn’t often speak.
The sole remnant of the Jewish observance of Christmas Eve, as it was marked in Europe, is found among the largest Yiddish-speaking community. Hasidic men still vacate the study halls on December 24 and make merry. Those who aren’t up for the fun use the time to catch up on sleep, errands, or housework.
comment
Chasidic men are not "making merry" on nittel nacht - they are deliberately wasting time, by not learning Torah, so as not to allow any merit to accrue to the world on this night. That at least is the official story. I'm sure that the children - or at least most of them - enjoyed the break from the beis medrash nonetheless.
The Donald J. Trump Center for Everything
Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.
President Trump’s desire to have his name on everything, preferably in gold, is well-known, and at first we thought the addition of his name to the John F. Kennedy center for the arts in Washington, D.C., was ignorable as familiar Trumpian news. But there is the matter of the law.
Under 20 U.S.C. § 76i(a), Congress in 1964 established the Kennedy Center as “a building to be designated as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” The title of the building isn’t a casual naming of the kind that happens when philanthropists donate to a museum and are honored with a wing named after them. The name is enshrined in statute as a memorial to the assassinated President.
Monday, December 22, 2025
‘60 Minutes’ correspondent says CBS’s Bari Weiss abruptly pulled segment on Trump deportations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/12/21/cbs-news-bari-weiss-intervention/
CBS News abruptly pulled an investigative “60 Minutes” segment on the Trump administration’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison after the Trump administration refused to grant an interview, according to a correspondent who shared her concerns in an email obtained by The Washington Post.
The decision came directly from the network’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, according to an internal email sent to producers from the segment’s correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi, who called the decision tantamount to handing the White House a “kill switch.”
NY yeshiva sued over 'sexual abuse'
https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/ny-yeshiva-sued-over-sexual-abuse
A Brooklyn yeshiva and its head administrator are being sued for $10 million over alleged sexual abuse by a rabbi who taught there for several decades. The lawsuit is the fifth to be filed against Yeshiva Torah Temimah and administrator Lipa Margulies alleging sexual abuse by Rabbi Yudi Kolko. Kolko was arrested for a second time in September for allegedly molesting a boy at the yeshiva, and then released on bail. He was previously charged with four counts of sexual abuse, including two felony counts, and with endangering the welfare of a child. The latest case involves the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, identified as John Doe No. 6, who was enrolled at Torah Temimah between the ages of 11 and 13. Lawyers say he was sexually abused by Kolko on a number of occasions at several locations, including inside the rabbi's car, and at the yeshiva in his office at the yeshiva and in the basement. According to the lawsuit, John Doe says that often, when Kolko would press himself up against him in a sexual manner, he would ask, "Does it hurt?" Attorneys Adam Horowitz and Michael Dowd allege that Margulies knew of allegations that Rabbi Kolko was sexually abusing boys at Torah Temimah years before John Doe No. 6 was a student there. "Despite the fact that Rabbi Margulies knew of allegations that Rabbi Kolko was sexually abusing children and was unfit to be a Rabbi or teacher at Torah Temimah, he took no action to protect the young male students at his school and continued to give Rabbi Kolko unfettered access to young children," the lawyers said in a press release. The alleged abuse dates back to the 1980s, and the lawsuit claims Margulies engaged in "tactics of intimidation, threats and coercion and misrepresentations" over years with the "intent of squelching any complaints." "In this case, our contention is that there were countless instances of notice to Rabbi Margulies about the conduct of Kolko," Dowd said. "His response has been threatening people who made complaints." Such cases could be compared to recent allegations against the Catholic Church, said Jeffrey Herman, a lawyer involved in previous lawsuits filed against the yeshiva. "It's similar in the sense of an insular community where these things, unfortunately, allegations that have been around for a long time, never made it to the judicial court system outside the community," Herman said. What was different in the yeshiva case, according to Herman, was the lack of an "institutional" cover-up. "This is one yeshiva, which has no connection to other Jewish institutions," he said. The attorney for Yeshiva Torah Temimah, Avraham Moskowitz, told The Jerusalem Post he had not yet been served with the lawsuit. In the past, Moskowitz has denied all allegations against the yeshiva. Regarding an earlier lawsuit in 2006, Moskowitz told JTA that the yeshiva "adamantly denies the allegations in the complaints and is sure that when the cases are over, the yeshiva will be vindicated."
‘The Wire’ Actor James Ransone Dies by Suicide at 46: What We Know
In 2021, Ransone publicly revealed he was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, posting a detailed account on Instagram describing abuse he experienced from his former tutor in Phoenix, Maryland, in 1992, the Post reports. In his statement, Ransone described how the abuse led to what he called a lifetime of shame and embarrassment, contributing to struggles with alcoholism and heroin addiction.
CBS postpones ‘60 Minutes’ segment on migrant inmates from El Salvador’s CECOT prison
CBS pulled a “60 Minutes” segment on Venezuelan migrants who were sent to El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison, CECOT, just hours before its scheduled Sunday broadcast time.
The episode, which was scheduled to air at 7:30 ET on Sunday, was set to show correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi interviewing recently released deportees who experienced “brutal and torturous” conditions at the hellhole prison, according to an earlier description on its Paramount Plus website.
A CBS News spokesperson said in an email to Reuters that the segment “needed additional reporting.”
However, in a Sunday email sent to fellow correspondents, Alfonsi blasted the decision to postpone the segment, alleging Weiss had “spiked our story,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Alfonsi added that the choice to delay the airtime was political, not a journalistic judgement, according to the email reviewed by the outlet.
Two lawmakers seek to find Bondi in contempt over Epstein files
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) said Sunday that they will seek to find Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress for not releasing more documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
More than 20 files that the Justice Department initially posted were later deleted without explanation from the agency’s website, according to a Post analysis of the files.
“The administration has struggled for months and months with something that they initially ginned up, and then sort of tried to tamp down,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “So any evidence or any kind of indication that there’s not a full reveal on this, this will just plague them for months and months more. So my suggestion would be: Give up all the information.”
Tucker Carlson named ‘Antisemite of the Year’ by prominent Jewish organization after alarming interviews
“By an overwhelming vote margin, Tucker Carlson has been named StopAntisemitism’s 2025 Antisemite of the Year,” StopAntisemitism founder and executive director Liora Rez told The Post.
Elise Stefanik Gets the Trump Treatment
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/elise-stefanik-gets-the-trump-treatment-af599479?mod=hp_opin_pos_4
Being an opponent of President Trump is fraught, but being his friend can also be perilous. Witness New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a rising GOP star who thought she had Mr. Trump’s support to run for Governor until she didn’t.
Ms. Stefanik announced her run for Albany shortly after the November election. But on Friday she left the race, despite having raised $12 million, and says she also won’t run for re-election in her upstate district. It’s hard to blame her after her rough treatment by the President.
’60 Minutes’ Faces Backlash For Pulling Trump El Salvador Prison Segment
https://www.newsweek.com/cbs-60-minutes-backlash-pulling-trump-el-salvador-prison-11252176
CBS program 60 Minutes is under fire after posting a notice that a segment on its episode set to air Sunday had been pulled - one featuring interviews with prisoners sent from the U.S. to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.
Democratic political commentator Marco Foster wrote on X: "This is the now deleted teaser for the 60 Minutes report that was supposed to air tonight on the CECOT torture prison in El Salvador that Donald Trump sent hundreds of migrants to. CBS is officially a mouthpiece for the Trump administration thanks to Bari Weiss."
Sunday, December 21, 2025
We are in a religious war
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/we-are-in-a-religious-war/
Just like in the time of the Hasmoneans, today too—whether in Sydney, Australia, on the Temple Mount, or in the October 7 massacre—acceptance of us comes with a condition: that we Hellenize, or rather, Islamize. This is the demand of Iran and its proxies, and also of the Palestinian Authority, which continues to reject recognizing Israel as the Jewish state.
At Turning Point’s annual gathering, young conservatives fret about the future
Many young voters say they plan to express their dissatisfaction by sitting out the next election. While that sentiment is strongest among independents, apathy is more pronounced among Republicans than Democrats. Only half of young people who voted for Trump in 2024 said they definitely plan to vote in 2026, compared to 66 percent of Kamala Harris’ young voters.
Divisions remain, though, over whether Trump should attempt to win over the generation with more targeted policies. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro delivered a different message to young people on Thursday: “Get off your ass and go do the thing.”
“Finish high school, get a job, get married, have kids, go to church. Those are all in your control,” he said from a studio at AmericaFest. “You pretending those things are not in your control is grievance culture BS.”
Tucker Carlson inflames a raging battle for MAGA’s future
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/20/tucker-carlson-maga-trump-fuentes-antisemitism/
Tucker Carlson had some concerns. So he called President Donald Trump.
The right-wing podcaster and provocateur wanted to understand why the U.S. was attacking alleged drug smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela and he warned against pursuing regime change there — a prospect that has alarmed the more isolationist “America First” Republicans in Trump’s movement.
The conversations last weekend, which Carlson recalled in an interview, show how the Fox News castoff is at the center of some of the most heated disputes in MAGA — over foreign policy, antisemitism and conspiracy theories, among other topics heightening tensions in the movement. As the right wrestles with what it should stand for and against in the coming years, Carlson is a divisive and influential figure with an audience — on social media, among MAGA commentators and inside the White House.
Turning Point Embraces MAGA Debate on Night Two of AmericaFest
https://www.newsweek.com/turning-point-embraces-maga-debate-on-night-two-of-americafest-11247849
In contrast, Bannon—a critic of the H1-B visa program—utilized his speech to embrace the “America First” platform, denouncing “Israel First” conservatives like Jewish commentator Ben Shapiro, whom he labeled a “cancer.” Bannon followed these statements in saying conservatives must continue winning because “We have to Christianize this country.”
As Bannon focused on Israel and America First—indirectly defending Carlson who’s taken flak for conducting an interview with far-right Holocaust skeptic Nick Fuentes—Ramaswamy denounced Fuentes by name. He centered his speech on combating what he described as the “online right” who push the idea of “Heritage Americans,” those who can trace their lineage to Colonial America, as being the “true Americans.”
Some may see this debate as evidence of the MAGA coalition ripping itself apart, and that could be the case. However, it could also be true that conservatives have found an effective forum to litigate their internal issues that could lessen the amount of time spent on such discussions as the calendar nears 2028. Either way, Turning Point appears to be positioning itself as the premier forum for discussion in the Republican Party, and that’s a win for Erika Kirk.
Trump says Venezuela stole U.S. oil, land and assets. Here’s the history.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/20/venezuela-oil-nationalization-expropriation/
President Donald Trump said this week that the expropriation of American oil company assets justified a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers arriving and leaving Venezuela in defiance of U.S. sanctions. The blockade will remain, he wrote on Truth Social, until the South American nation returns “to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
“They’re not going to do that again,” Trump told reporters. “We had a lot of oil there. As you know they threw our companies out, and we want it back.”
But U.S. companies never owned oil or land in Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven reserves of crude, and officials didn’t kick them out of the country.
“Trump’s claim that Venezuela has stolen oil and land from the U.S. is baseless,” said Francisco RodrĆguez, a Venezuelan economist at the University of Denver.
16 Epstein files, including photo of Trump, disappear from DOJ website: Report
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5658618-doj-redactions-epstein-files/
At least 16 files on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) webpage containing files on Jeffrey Epstein, including a photo featuring two pictures of President Trump, were found to have disappeared from the department’s website as of Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
One photo of the desk included two pictures inside an open drawer that featured Trump. The first printed picture shows Trump surrounded by a group of women in bathing suits. The second partially covered photo shows Trump with first lady Melania Trump, Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000.
“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee stated in a post on the social platform X. “[Attorney General Pam Bondi] is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
Saturday, December 20, 2025
DOJ’s Epstein disclosure draws fire for website glitches, missing documents, redactions
The Department of Justice's efforts to release all of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking cases by the legal deadline fell short of expectations on Friday, resulting in complaints ranging from technological glitches to excessive redactions and missing documents.
The most common criticism, however, focused on what critics described as an incomplete release and extensive redactions. The DOJ has said it was required to redact information that could identify victims or minors.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., highlighted the statutory language of the Epstein Files Transparency Act on X.
"Unfortunately, today’s document release by @AGPamBondi and @DAGToddBlanche grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that @realDonaldTrump signed just 30 days ago," Massie wrote.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a co-sponsor of the legislation, said he and Massie were "exploring all options," including potential contempt proceedings or other actions against DOJ officials.
"It is an incomplete release with too many redactions," Khanna said.
Israeli Gefen Bitton in critical condition after confronting Bondi Beach terrorist
Thirty-year-old Israeli Gefen Bitton has been identified as one of the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack. Bitton was shot three times and is fighting for his life after he rushed to confront one of the shooters in the antisemitic Hanukkah attack.
Bitton, an Israeli national who, according to Australian media, has worked in Australia for the past three years as a garage door technician, appears in dramatic footage from Sunday’s attack alongside Ahmed Al Ahmed, who wrestled a weapon from one of the two gunmen and aimed it back at the attacker, Sajid Akram.
MAGA civil war over Israel erupts into the open at Turning Point USA conference
Shapiro attacks conservative leaders for not calling out conspiracy theorists; Bannon: Shapiro a ‘cancer’ who wants US to put Israel’s interests first; Kelly: Rift revolves around Israel
5 initial takeaways from DOJ’s release of Epstein documents
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5657940-epstein-justice-department-document-dump/
While Trump may have appeared sparingly in the Epstein documents, Clinton showed up in several photographs made public on Friday.
A spokesperson for Clinton said in response that the former president was among those who “knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light.”
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever,” Clinton spokesperson Angel UreƱa said in a statement. “So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
While Friday’s release featured thousands upon thousands of documents, it was not the entirety of the DOJ’s materials pertaining to Epstein.
That prompted criticism from Democrats in particular who argued the administration was not in compliance with the law.
Friday, December 19, 2025
‘Don’s best friend’: How Epstein and Trump bonded over the pursuit of women
To shed light on their friendship, the Times interviewed more than 30 former Epstein employees, victims of his abuse and others who crossed paths with the two men over the years. The Times also obtained new documents that illuminate their relationship and scoured court documents and other public records.
Minneapolis police chief criticizes ICE after officer drags woman through street
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5655923-minneapolis-police-brian-ohara-ice/?tbref=hp
Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara criticized federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this week after an attempted arrest on Monday led to a chaotic scene in which an officer dragged a woman through the street as agents fended off protesters.
Video of the incident shows an agent kneeling on a woman’s back as she lies face down in the snow. Onlookers descended on the scene, yelling at ICE agents to release the woman, saying she’s pregnant and couldn’t breathe, according to The Associated Press.
An agent later dragged her by the arm, as she lay on her back, through the street toward a vehicle. Observers continued to yell, and the agent released her, the AP reported.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Five Falsehoods From Trump’s Year-End Address
https://www.newsweek.com/five-falsehoods-from-trumps-year-end-address-11231600
President Donald Trump opened his national address Wednesday night with a familiar phrase, one he’s used since returning to office nearly a year ago: “I inherited a mess.”
In a speech that moved rapidly from economic claims to immigration, energy, housing, health care and crime, Trump painted a sweeping picture of national revival under his leadership and offered a long list of promises and boasts
Instead of outlining new policy in detail, Trump leaned heavily on declarative claims about prices, border security, the job market and his own election results. He described a country that had been “absolutely dead” before his return, and one that is now, he said, “the hottest anywhere in the world.”
Inflation: Trump Says It’s Over, But Prices Are Still Rising
Gas Prices: No State Has Reached the $1.99 Trump Claimed
Investment: Trump Touts $18 Trillion, but Only $9.6 Trillion Is Logged
Not all of Trump’s claims during his national address were false. Several had a basis in real data, though many were overstated.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
New York Stands at a Crossroads: The Fight Over Legalized Killing
https://vinnews.com/2025/12/15/new-york-stands-at-a-crossroads-the-fight-over-legalized-killing/
The bill is called the “Medical Aid in Dying” act. The name itself is a masterpiece of political dishonesty. “Aid” suggests help. “Dying” suggests something inevitable. But strip away the euphemisms and you find the truth: this is a law that would put poison in the hands of vulnerable people, with almost no way to take it back, and call the killing “medicine.”
Hochul agrees to sign Medical Aid in Dying bill
https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2025/12/hochul-agrees-sign-medical-aid-dying-bill/410219/
After months of negotiations over a controversial measure that would permit doctors to help some terminally ill patients end their lives, sources told City & State that Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce a deal to sign it on Wednesday.
‘Extremely demoralizing’: Republicans respond to the bombastic Wiles interview
White House aides and allies on Tuesday rushed to publicly defend Susie Wiles after a jaw-dropping interview in Vanity Fair had her pointedly criticizing the president and many in the Cabinet.
Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2)
Throughout the first year of Donald Trump’s second administration, Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple has interviewed Wiles amid each moment of crisis. This insider’s account joins a portfolio of portraits for an unflinching, up-close look at power—and peril.
Sen. Chris Murphy after boat strike briefing: There’s ‘no fentanyl’ and ‘no legal justification’
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5651822-trump-administration-strikes-questioned/
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Tuesday’s classified briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirms the Trump administration has no legal or national security justification for the strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Murphy said in a video on the social platform X that the two Cabinet officials admitted to lawmakers that the accused drug-trafficking vessels are believed to be smuggling cocaine, not fentanyl. He also said Rubio and Hegseth said intelligence suggested the boats were going to Europe, not the U.S., contradicting the administration’s public justification for the strikes.
6 takeaways from Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles’ unvarnished interviews
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/16/politics/takeaways-susie-wiles-interview
The money quote from the interview might be Wiles saying that Trump – a known teetotaler – has an “alcoholic’s personality.”
(Wiles denied those quotes to The New York Times, but the Times says Vanity Fair played its tape of Wiles saying these things.)
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Rav Yitzchok Abadi zt”l – A Light That Illuminated Generations
https://vinnews.com/2025/12/16/rav-yitzchok-abadi-ztl-a-light-that-illuminated-generations/
Rav Yitzchok Abadi zt”l was not simply a rav—he was an embodiment of what Torah greatness looks like when combined with brilliance, courage, humility and unwavering dedication to truth.
MAGA leaders warn Trump the base is checking out. Will he listen?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/15/trump-base-maga-midterm-voters/
Savanah Hernandez, a conservative commentator who serves as a Turning Point USA contributor, described the second Trump term so far as “underwhelming,” while crediting Trump with making positive, lasting changes to the conservative movement.
“All we’ve really seen is punchy tweets, cool video edits, but really no follow-through on any of the promises,” she said of the messaging coming from the White House.
“And if he listened to his base and he was connected to us, even just through social media, you would see that the average person is still struggling to buy groceries, that the housing crisis is still on the mind of everybody, that inflation is still a really big issue, and when Americans see billions of dollars going overseas to any country, it really feels like a betrayal when we’re struggling here at home,” Hernandez said.