In August, the Hebrew-language Besheva outlet reported a national-religious school in Givat Shmuel, a majority-religious, conservative suburb of Tel Aviv, had supported an eight-year-old female student in her “transition” and had allowed her to be addressed as a male and wear boys’ clothing on campus, including a yarmulke, or skullcap, and tzitit (ritual fringes worn by Jews), for more than three years.
Monday, January 2, 2023
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Infallibility?
Rambam (Letter on Astrology): I know of course that it is possible to search and find isolated opinions of some sages in the Talmud and Medrashim whose views contradict what I have said. ... These statements should not trouble you because one doesn’t simply discard a clearly established halacha and revert back to the initial analysis. Similarly it is not appropriate to discard a well validated principle and simply rely on a minority opinion of the sages instead. That is because the sage is not infallible and might have erred by overlooking some important facts or hints when he stated his views.
Astrology is harmful
Rambam (Letter on Astrology) The reason that we lost our kingdom and the Temple was destroyed and we arrived at our present condition is the result of our ancestors sinning. This is because they found many astrology books which are essentially avoda zara…and they thought they were magnificent science which would be very helpful. Consequently they did not study warfare and military strategies but thought that astrology alone would save them. That is why the prophets described them as fools and idiots…
Rep.-elect George Santos faces scrutiny over campaign filings his team blames as 'database error':
According to FEC filings, the Santos campaign recorded 37 expenditures between April 2021 and February 2022 that totaled $199.99, one cent below the threshold for federal law requiring receipts.
Among the expenses were rooms at Florida hotels, supply runs to Staples and Target, airline flights and meals at various restaurants.
"If they did provide an amending filing to the FEC to change it, and if the FEC agrees that it was a database error, the FEC would have already changed the website," Ravel said.
Ezra Sheinberg: I paid my debt
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365242
Upon leaving the prison with a smiling, Sheinberg was asked if he had anything to say to the victims, and replied: "May they be well. I have paid my debt." Regarding providing compensation to the victims, he said: "They sued in a civil court. They will hopefully receive it."
Saturday, December 31, 2022
'West using Ukraine to destroy Russia' - Putin
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-726278
In a nine-minute message - the longest New Year's address of his two-decade rule - Putin accused the West of lying to Russia and of provoking Moscow to launch what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Sketchy George Santos burned campaign cash on hotels, meals — and ducked reporting mandate
The election season spending spree included:
$12,386 on Hyatt hotels from West Palm Beach, Fla., to El Paso, Texas.
$14,000 at pricey Queens restaurant Il Bacco.
More than $38,000 crisscrossing the country on Delta Airlines, with which the campaign made 123 separate transactions covering airfare and baggage fees since the start of 2021.
The 34-year-old’s campaign also covered five stays at the Garden City Hotel in his Nassau County-based district — costing nearly $3,000 on top of the almost $11,000 more spent on renting an apartment for “staff.”
“The sheer volume of travel is very unusual for congressional candidates,” Daniel Weiner, a former Federal Elections Commission lawyer who now works at the NYU School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice, told The Post Friday about Santos’ campaign spending habits.
Six GOP House Members Who Need to Resign for Anti-Semitism Before Ilhan Omar
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/15/ilhan-omar-aipac-republicans-anti-semitism/
Trump wants Ilhan Omar to resign from Congress over purportedly anti-Semitic remarks. Why hasn’t Trump asked for these six Republicans to resign, too?
Trump Issues 'Dangerous' Warning After Tax Returns Released
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-issues-dangerous-warning-after-tax-returns-released-1770396
In a statement sent to Newsweek, Trump warned that House Democrats "should have never" publicized the tax records—some of the most privately held documents in the nation—and that the U.S. Supreme Court "should have never approved it."
"It's going to lead to horrible things for so many people," Trump said. "The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street!"
Trump’s Taxes Are the Best Case Yet for Putting Him in Prison
Perhaps most glaring in the tax returns is that they include 26 Trump businesses—or imaginary businesses—with zero revenue and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax deductions for expenses.
Unless Trump can produce records showing the expenses are real and meet other standards to be deductible, that’s fraud. That Trump did it 26 times as a candidate and as president is powerful evidence that he qualifies for prosecution by the federal government and New York State for criminal tax fraud.
Full List of Trump's Foreign Bank Accounts
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-trumps-foreign-bank-accounts-1770459
In 2016, Trump held accounts in China, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Saint Martin, according to CNN. He again listed the first three the following year, and only the U.K. in 2018 and 2020.
Trump's Tax Shenanigans Show Need for Real Reforms
Despite bragging that he's "very rich," former President Donald Trump paid little or nothing in federal income taxes, year after year after year. The IRS never audited Trump as president, in contrast to its own rules, though it audited every other president from Jimmy Carter to Joe Biden.
Trump's low tax payments illustrate his willingness to break the law. But there's a bigger problem. The law itself is rigged in favor of the wealthy and against the rest of us. While Trump likely acted illegally at times, much of his tax avoidance was perfectly legal.
Congress should unite around a basic principle that Republican, Democratic, and independent voters support: the wealthiest, whether they are presidents, CEOs, or just rich heirs, should pay their fair share. Using Trump's tax maneuvering as a guidebook could make the tax code much fairer for all of us.