Saturday, September 24, 2022

Convicted sex offender Eliezer Berland allowed to fly to Uman

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-716637

Thursday’s court ruling granting him the right to travel was especially shocking because Berland has fled Israel in the past to avoid law enforcement. It took years to catch him and eventually extradite him back to Israel in order to face justice.

The court did require Berland to post a NIS 650,000 guarantee, of which NIS 200,000 is cash.

דרמה בגבול רומניה: האוקראינים חסמו את כניסת הרב אליעזר ברלנד למדינה

 https://www.kikar.co.il/hasidism/428045

מנהיג קהילת 'שובו בנים' קיבל אישור מיוחד לצאת מגבול ישראל, חרף ההרשעות שיש כנגדו. בליל שישי, הוא ניסה להיכנס יחד עם חסידיו לאוקראינה, אך הוא נחסם על ידי חיילי צבא אוקראינה 

Annulling Vows on Erev Rosh HaShanah

 https://torah.org/learning/integrity-wrongturns/?printversion=1

Since women cannot be part of the beis din for hataras nedarim, should they do hataras nedarim for themselves altogether? Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach would not require women to do hataras nedarim on erev Rosh HaShanah, but would rather have them rely on the annulment that is done during Kol Nidrei, at the beginning of the Yom Kippur services (Halichos Shlomo 1: 10).

In order for the hataras nedarim of Kol Nidrei to be effective, a person must be present in shul and say the words together with the chazan (Mishnah Berurah 619: 2). If a woman’s hectic routine does not allow her to be in shul, her husband can act as an agent to terminate her vows (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 234: 56). Even though one normally cannot appoint a shaliach to cancel a neder, based on the principle “ishto kegufo” (a man’s wife is like himself), a special exception is made (Shach, ibid., 70).

Party Switcher Data Doesn’t Lie, but It’s Easy to Misinterpret: Alarm & Optimism in Key States

 https://themessinagroup.com/alarm-optimism-in-key-states-for-party-switchers/

So, has there been a notable rightward shift post-2020?

Based solely on party switching, no, I don’t think the data point to a dramatic shift, and I think the AP’s claim that “More than 1 million voters switch to GOP in warning for Dems” is flawed.

Based on the data, the Democratic Party continues to lead total voter registration by a wide margin, but the system — the Senate and the Electoral College — favors Republicans.

Looking within states, the trends vary depending on the local political and cultural context. There is cause for alarm in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. But there’s also hope: states like Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Colorado may trend bluer over time if current trends continue.

So, should Democrats be worried about the fall? Of course, but not because of a relatively small number of party switchers.

Voters switch lopsidedly to GOP, in warning for Dems

 https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-covid-health-presidential-e50db07385831e67f866ec45402be8b9

A political shift is beginning to take hold across the U.S. as tens of thousands of suburban voters who helped fuel the Democratic Party’s gains in recent years are becoming Republicans.

Across 31 states, about two-thirds of voters who have switched their official party registrations in the past year have switched to the Republican Party, according to voter registration data analyzed by The Associated Press. The phenomenon is playing out in virtually every region of the country — Democratic and Republican states along with cities and small towns — in the period since President Joe Biden replaced former President Donald Trump.

Nowhere is the shift more pronounced — and dangerous for Democrats — than in the suburbs. Over the last year, far more people are switching to the GOP across suburban counties from Denver to Pittsburgh. Republicans also gained ground in counties around medium-size cities such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Des Moines, Iowa.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Evil has power -Ramchal

 Derech HaShem (Part 3) Regarding sorcery: And so in this way, just as He brought about a way for man to acquire emanation, understanding and the holy spirit in a supernatural way beyond the physical; so too was it necessary to bring about the opposite of this great good, such that man could bring down darkness, murkiness and a spirit of impurity in a supernatural way. And this is the matter of the impurities of sorcery and the seeking out of the dead from which the Torah distanced us. And its content is the bringing down of the influences of impurity and pollution by the mentioning of words under given conditions - which is really the greatest distancing from Him, may He be blessed, and truly the opposite of cleaving to Him. And the thing is brought down from those forces of evil that we mentioned in Part I, Chapter 5 (On the Spiritual Realm 8), upon which He, may He be blessed, decreed names through which given levels of impurity would be brought down in a supernatural way. Accordingly, supernatural acts can be done through them, like the acts of the Egyptian magicians and others, according to what is placed into their hand to act within the limits that were placed upon them. Likewise can they do acts like this through demons, according to what is given to them within the specific limits governing them. And so - within the measure allowed by their ability to act - the Master blessed be He, decreed that they push away the appointees over nature that preserve the matters of the world in their natural state and all of the angels that bring influences according to the arranged order. And about them, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Chullin 7b), "Keshafim (Sorcery)? It is [an acronym for] makhchishin pamalya shel ma'alah (they diminish the heavenly entourage)." However that is only within that measure and no more. And even within that measure, it is yet possible that they be pushed off by a force more powerful than them, and that their action be prevented by His decree, may He be blessed. And about this they said, "There is none like Him, and even in the case osorcery." And they explained that this is for [a person] who has great merit, such that they will save him and push off those who want to do bad to him, from the Heavens. And this is what is written, "Rabbi Ḥannina is different, because his merit is great." 

Arizona’s Blake Masters’ claim of open borders and Democratic amnesty plans

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/may/16/blake-masters/factchecking-arizonas-blake-masters-claim-open-bor/

On the day that the murder of 10 people in Buffalo, New York, led to an online racist tract that spoke of people of color replacing white people, Arizona U.S. Senate Republican candidate Blake Masters tweeted his opposition to what he described as Democratic immigration policies.

"The Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty tens of millions of illegal aliens — that’s their electoral strategy," tweeted Masters May 14.

Acosta to DeSantis: Don’t use kids to ‘own the libs’

Tribe Predicts Whether AG Merrick Garland Will Indict Trump

Trump Could Now Lose Everything Including His Freedom

Thursday, September 22, 2022

What you need to know about the complex legal challenges to Ron DeSantis’s migrant flights

 https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3654803-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-complex-legal-challenges-to-ron-desantiss-migrant-flights/

But the flights have elicited uproar on the left and among immigration advocates. Some of the migrants have filed a class-action suit against DeSantis, other Democratic politicians have implied he has committed crimes, and even a Texas sheriff has gotten involved. 

DeSantis appears adamant that there will be more flights. 

Here are the main legal issues. 

Trump Wanted to Bus Murderers to Democrat Cities—Former DHS Chief of Staff

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-wanted-bus-murderers-democrat-cities-former-dhs-chief-staff-1744773

"In January and February of 2019, Donald Trump directed us to go and take immigrants from the border and quote, 'bus and dump them into Democratic cities and blue states.'"

But Trump was "much more specific," Taylor added.

"He wanted us to identify the murderers, the rapists, and the criminals and in particular, make sure we did not incarcerate them, and we put them in those cities."

Appeals court allows DOJ to resume review of classified records in Trump case

 https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3654893-appeals-court-allows-doj-to-resume-review-of-classified-records-in-trump-case/

A three-judge appeals court panel on Wednesday granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to continue its review of classified documents seized in an FBI search as part of an investigation of former President Trump’s potential mishandling of the information.

The judges, two of whom were appointed by Trump and one of whom was appointed by former President Obama, also indicated in their opinion that there appeared to be no evidence that Trump declassified the documents while he was still president and that his legal team “resisted” in providing any evidence that he did so using officials channels.

They also questioned why Trump would “have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.”

Trump claims presidents can declassify documents ‘even by thinking about it’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3655062-trump-claims-presidents-can-declassify-documents-even-by-thinking-about-it/

“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by thinking about it.”

“There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president. You make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified,” Trump added. “I declassified everything.”