Friday, August 5, 2022

Dick Cheney brands Trump a 'coward' in TV ad

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/357663

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney blasts former President Donald Trump in a new video ad for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) which was released on Thursday.

The former Vice President brand Trump a “coward” and a “threat to our republic” in the video, released weeks before voters go to the polls.

“In our nation’s 2460year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,” Dick Cheney says in the one-minute ad, titled “He Knows It”, according to The Hill.

Sunday Night Havdalah

 https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/9993

In Maariv on Motza’ei Shabbos-Tisha B’Av, we recite “Attah Chonantanu” to allow the performing of melachah (or by simply saying “Hamavdil Bein Kodesh L’Chol” once it is Tzeis Hakochavim at the conclusion of Shabbos). There is no bracha of Besamim at all - as that is considered hana’ah (benefit or pleasure), which we minimize on Tisha B’Av. It is also not recited on Motza’ei Tzom, when the fast ends on Sunday night, as at that point it is no longer directly after Shabbos.

A Democratic bill negotiated between Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer would "increase taxes on millions of Americans across every income bracket."

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/aug/03/adam-laxalt/gop-claim-tax-hikes-democratic-bill-doesnt-factor-/

• An analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation found that every income group would lose ground from the bill’s tax changes, although by a modest amount — approximately 1%.

• However, this analysis didn’t factor in subsidies for energy efficiency and clean energy, the continuation of expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and lower drug prices because of Medicare negotiations. Independent experts expect these benefits to cancel out, or reverse, any negative tax impacts.

• The only actual tax increases in the bill are levied directly on very large corporations and high-earning money managers. This means that any impact on ordinary Americans would come from secondary effects, which are difficult to measure.

Trump’s TV stars pose problems for the GOP

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3588823-the-memo-trumps-tv-stars-pose-problems-for-the-gop/

Trump “believes in the power of TV,” Zelizer said. “I do think at some level Trump believes that there’s no-one as powerful in American culture as The Celebrity.”

But, he added, “the reality is that politics isn’t television and many TV people can fall apart quickly entering the political arena.”

Did we all believe a myth about depression?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62286093

A study showing depression isn't caused by low levels of the "happy hormone" serotonin has become one of the most widely shared medical articles.

Josh Hawley's Speech Rejecting Sweden, Finland's NATO Bids Goes Viral

 https://www.newsweek.com/josh-hawley-speech-sweden-finland-nato-membership-viral-video-russia-1730765

The Senate voted 95-1 on Wednesday to ratify the Scandinavian countries' bid for membership. Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, was the sole "no" vote.

Hawley delivered a speech in the chamber, explaining his opposition to NATO expansion. A snippet from his comments, posted on Twitter, has been watched more than 775,000 times in less than 24 hours.

Greeting strangers at night

Sanhedrin (44a) Rabbi Yoḥanan say: It is prohibited for a person to greet another whom he does not recognize at night, as we are concerned that perhaps the one he doesn’t recognize is a demon?

‘We’re all human’: Rabbis, commanders defend officer who raped 70-year-old cleaner

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/were-all-human-rabbis-commanders-defend-officer-who-raped-70-year-old-cleaner/

Court records show support for officer Priel Klimi, 33, sentenced last week; rabbi casts doubt on his guilt, saying he’d managed to withstand ‘greater temptations’

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Fight him, shun him ... embrace him? Mastriano's relationship with GOP leaders mirrors Trump's rise.

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/04/mastriano-trump-gop-leaders-00049879

In an election season in which inflation and high gas prices have given most Republicans an edge, Mastriano has spent the past few weeks under fire for his ties to a far-right social media platform. He had an account this year on Gab, the site where Robert Bowers made violent antisemitic comments before the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Mastriano also told Gab CEO Andrew Torba in an interview, “Thank God for what you’ve done,” and paid the site $5,000 for “consulting” services.

Alex Jones Defamation Trial: Key Takeaways on Sandy Hook, Infowars and More

 https://www.newsweek.com/alex-jones-defamation-trial-key-takeaways-sandy-hook-infowars-more-1730679

During the same episode, Jones also suggested that Judge Maya Guerra Gamble and attorneys for the Lewis family were "demonically possessed" and claimed that they were adherents to "the new world order."

"It's demonic," said Jones. "They all act demonically possessed. The judge, the lawyers. It's surreal to be around them. And it makes you feel sorry for them because these people are committed to occult ideology of the new world order."

Mark Bankston, a lawyer for the family, played an additional clip of Jones blasting the jury in court on Wednesday. In the video clip, which Bankston said aired last Friday, Jones accused the jury of being full of people who "don't know what planet they're on."

Herschel Walker, Science Talker | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)