Thursday, December 22, 2022

‘Openly Gay’ Rep.-Elect George Santos Didn’t Disclose Divorce With Woman

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/openly-gay-rep-elect-george-santos-didnt-disclose-divorce-with-woman

“I am openly gay, have never had an issue with my sexual identity in the past decade, and I can tell you and assure you, I will always be an advocate for LGBTQ folks,” Santos told USA Today in October, responding to criticism about his support for Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bill” signed into law this year by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Incoming congressman’s claims his grandparents fled the Holocaust contradicted by genealogy records

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/21/politics/george-santos-geneaology/index.html#:~:text=Claims%20by%20incoming%20Republican%20Rep,records%20on%20Jewish%20refugees%20and

Claims by incoming Republican Rep. George Santos that his grandparents “survived the Holocaust” as Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium who changed their surname to survive are contradicted by sources reviewed by CNN’s KFile including family trees compiled by genealogy websites, records on Jewish refugees and interviews with multiple genealogists.

Tucker Carlson's greatest fear

 https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/tucker-carlson-president-highland-park-comments-disqualify-rcna37317

Fox News star Tucker Carlson is the right’s avatar of grievance, the conductor of its orchestral whine about America’s tumble into cultural decadence, its principal hero in a fairy-tale battle against the dark magic of the Very Woke. There has been talk about him running for president, but that would be a demotion from where he is now, widely recognized as “the most powerful conservative in America.”

Right-Wingers Attack Mike Lindell After New DeSantis Conspiracy Theory

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-wingers-attack-mike-lindell-after-ron-desantis-victory-conspiracy-theory?ref=home

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has enjoyed the loyal support of MAGA world and conservative circles over the past two years as he’s pushed to overturn the 2020 election results.

But, in recent days, conservative pundits have begun turning on the pillow maven over a new conspiracy theory that involves auditing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 victory in Florida.

Specifically, right-wing blowback against Lindell began emerging after he announced his plans to audit DeSantis’ victory in Miami-Dade County.

Tucker Carlson Bizarrely Accuses Ukraine’s Zelensky of Dressing Like a ‘Strip Club’ Manager

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-bizarrely-accuses-ukraines-zelensky-of-dressing-like-a-strip-club-manager

Tucker Carlson is outraged by the way Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dressed during his historic trip to the U.S. on Wednesday, likening his appearance to that of a strip club manager. After Zelensky met with President Biden at the White House and addressed a joint session of Congress, Carlson took issue with his signature combat fatigues in the opening minutes of Tucker Carlson Tonight. “As far as we know, no one’s ever addressed the United States Congress in a sweatshirt before, but they love him much more than they love you,” Carlson said, adding: “[T]he president of Ukraine arrived at the White House dressed like the manager of a strip club and started to demand money. Amazingly, no one threw him out. Instead, they did whatever he wanted.” His comments came after Donald Trump Jr. sparked backlash on Wednesday by calling the Ukrainian leader a “welfare queen.”

Tucker Carlson Has A Total Meltdown About Zelenskyy's Speech To Congress

 https://news.yahoo.com/tucker-carlson-total-meltdown-zelenskyys-050830365.html

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson went on a bizarre tirade against Volodymyr Zelenskyy, complaining that the Ukrainian president was “dressed like the manager of a strip club” when he addressed Congress on Wednesday.

In a historic in-person appeal to a rare joint session of Congress, Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for helping his country fight back against the Russian invasion. As Ukraine enters a brutal winter, Zelenskyy, dressed in battle fatigues, highlighted the importance of U.S. aid to the country’s ongoing resistance.

Carlson was concerned with the wartime leader’s choice of outfit.

Israel's most right-wing government agreed under Benjamin Netanyahu

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63942616

A new government seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history has been agreed, sealing Benjamin Netanyahu's return to power.

Mr Netanyahu, who won elections in November, is set to serve an historic sixth term as prime minster.

His coalition contains far-right parties, including one whose leader was once convicted of anti-Arab racism.

Palestinians fear the new government will also strengthen Israel's hold on the occupied West Bank.

"I have managed [to form a government]," Mr Netanyahu tweeted, just minutes before a midnight local time (22:00 GMT) deadline set by the Israeli President, Isaac Herzog.

Five things we’ve learned through the release of Trump’s tax records

 https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3783613-five-things-weve-learned-through-the-release-of-trumps-tax-records/

The IRS has a mandatory audit program for sitting presidents, but didn’t audit Trump until more than two years after he assumed the presidency. Trump filed two tax returns in 2017 and one in 2018, but only received his first audit while he was in office in 2019.

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Scam PAC operator uncovered by CNN’s KFile pleads guilty in federal court

 Scam PAC operator uncovered by CNN’s KFile pleads guilty in federal court

The guilty plea ends the saga of Tunstall’s scam political action committees, which he first began operating in 2016 under the names of Liberty Action Group, ostensibly a group supporting then-candidate Donald Trump, and Progressive Priorities PAC – a group supporting both Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and later opposing Trump’s presidency.

Trump Rages Over Hunter Biden's Laptop After Criminal Referral

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-rages-hunter-biden-laptop-criminal-referral-1768537

Trump, who has long been critical of the 2020 presidential election, added that Biden would have lost "millions of votes" over his son's laptop. Trump is currently seeking a rematch against Biden and announced his 2024 presidential bid in November.

He continued to post about the "Deep State" and the "Unselect Committee," which he wrote is "trying to make the case that I didn't really believe I won the Election." He claimed the Twitter files proved his unfounded election fraud claims as "100% RIGHT!"

"I never thought, for even a moment, that the Presidential Election of 2020 was not Rigged & Stolen, and my conviction became even stronger as time went by. Now, with all of the massive evidence that has come to light, including recently with the FBI suppression of Election changing information, I was 100% RIGHT!" he wrote.

Lauren Boebert zings Marjorie Taylor Greene over ‘Jewish space lasers’

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-725429

The two have also been at odds over Greene’s embrace of white nationalist groups, with Boebert getting into a shouting match with her colleague earlier this year over Greene’s appearance at an event organized by prominent antisemite Nick Fuentes. Another Republican member of Congress, Paul Gosar, also appeared at the Fuentes event.

Inside the Republican Civil War: Factions, Battles Explained

 https://www.newsweek.com/inside-republican-civil-war-factions-battles-explained-1768539

Although intra-party feuds are not new, Republican strategist Jay Townsend said the current civil war is "a symptom of a policy-phobic party held together by visceral hatred of Democrats."

Townsend told Newsweek that while the current Republican Party knows what it is they disagree with, they are unable to articulate what they are for. "It is the reason McCarthy can't unite his caucus. It is the reason for unrest at the RNC. It is the reason MAGA stalwarts are shooting at the Senate leader," he said.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Small but proud: Meet Taiwan’s growing Jewish community

 https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/ryx15z7ui

“I want the world to know that there’s a Jewish community that cares not just about Taiwan, but about the Jews in the U.S. and Israel…anything to do with Judaism and education. My goal is to put the Jewish Community Center of Taiwan on the map.”

The Miracle of the Oil and the History of Chanuka

https://www.etzion.org.il/en/holidays/chanuka/miracle-oil-and-history-chanuka

Scholars have been greatly puzzled by the question of why the miracle of the oil is not mentioned in any sources earlier than the Gemara Shabbat, which was compiled some four hundred years after the miracle occurred. Many offer the answer mentioned earlier - that the miracle of the oil pales next to the miracle of the victory and the rededication of the Temple; after all, "Ten miracles occurred in the Temple daily." Even the Second Book of Hasmoneans mentions supernatural miracles related to the Chanuka victory. It was only in exile, when the light of the miraculous victory had dimmed, and only after the destruction of the Temple, when the light of the rededication of the Temple was similarly extinguished - that the miracle of the oil assumed new significance, as I explained above.