Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Scarborough mocks GOP lawmaker over ‘missing’ Biden informant
“What do you and [special counsel John] Durham, like, do you guys have tea parties every weekend? That talk about how you can destroy your reputation and your career … Durham tried this, remember? He chased conspiracy theories to try to prove that the FBI was corrupt and rigged the 2016 election, he made a fool of himself time and time and time again,” Scarborough said. “And now we have lost informants, in fact, the informant, that this entire charade was built on.”
Republicans Rush to Defend Trump After Durham Report: 'Outrageous'
https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-rush-defend-trump-after-durham-report-outrageous-1800485
Dozens of Trump's allies and prominent GOP figures on Monday referred to him as a "crime victim" and urged him to sue the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI for "violating the Constitutional protections" of the former president, who is seeking the 2024 Republican nomination.
Durham's newly released report on his investigation into whether Trump and Russia conspired to influence the 2016 election dealt a blow to the FBI. The report found that the bureau had no "actual evidence of collusions" when it initiated Crossfire Hurricane. Durham was appointed in October 2019 after Trump pressed former Attorney General William Barr to investigate the FBI probe.
Uncovered Beverages
https://www.kof-k.org/articles/040208030446W-33%20Uncovered%20Beverages.pdf
In the time of Chazal there was a concern that one should not drink water,1 wine, milk,2 and honey3 that was left uncovered because of a snake whose venom might have gotten into the drink and it will cause the person danger. Today, snakes are not commonly found and therefore, most of klal yisroel are not concerned for this halacha (except for Kiddush, see below).4 However, there are some poskim who says that even today one should be careful with this.5 Some say even for those who are lenient, if the beverage was left uncovered all night one should be stringent.6 The Gr’a7 and the Chazzon Ish, among other gedolim, were stringent with this. It is said that the Chazzon Ish was concerned about leaving yogurt uncovered as well.9 Some say if one is careful with uncovered beverages he will not have foreign thoughts while davening.
Shulchan Aruch (YD 116:1) Exposed beverages were forbidden by the rabbis because they feared that snakes would have drunk from them, and left behind venom. But now when snakes are not found amongst us, it is permitted.
The Gemara (Avoda Zara 30a) discusses the laws of giluy (beverages left uncovered). Chazal forbade drinking certain beverages that were left uncovered, due to concerns that venomous creatures, such as snakes or scorpions, might drink from the beverage and leave behind some of their venom. Tosfos (Avoda Zara 35a: Chada) writes that in the countries where we live, this concern does not exist, and beverages left uncovered may be drunk. Ordinarily, once Chazal issue a gezeira (decree), the gezeira remains in force even if the reasoning no longer applies. This case is different since the original gezeira was only enacted for places where snakes were common. Accordingly, Shulchan Aruch (YD 116:1) rules that one may drink a beverage that was left uncovered. However, the Pischei Teshuva (116:1) writes that the position of the Vilna Gaon and the Shelah Hakadosh is not to leave drinks unattended. The commentaries to the Maaseh Rav explain that the Vilna Gaon held that there are secondary reasons for Rabbinic decrees that apply even when the primary reason is no longer relevant. Common practice is to follow the position of the Shulchan Aruch, though some adhere to the more stringent opinion.
Curing through Avoda Zara
Yerushalmi (Shabbos 14:4) One heals with anything except pagan worship, uncovering nakednesses, and spilling blood. Rebbi Phineas asked: So far if he said, bring me leaves from pagan worship, and he brought him. If he said to him bring me leaves unspecified and he brought him from pagan worship? Let us hear from the following: Rebbi Jonah had a fever attack. They brought him from the penis of Dori and he drank. They brought to Rebbi Aḥa and he did not drink. Rebbi Mana said, if my father Rebbi Jonah had known from where it was, he would not have drunk. ....It happened that Eleazar ben Dama was bitten by a snake and Jacob from Kefar-Sama came to heal him in the name of Jesus ben Pandera, but Rebbi Ismael prevented him. He told him, I shall bring a proof that he can heal me. He could not bring proof before he died. Rebbi Ismael said to him, you are blessed, ben Dama, that you left this world in peace and did not tear down the fences of the Sages
Russia seeks to build a village for conservative Americans
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-743125
"The reason is the inculcation of radical values: Today they have 70 genders, and it's unknown what will happen next. Many normal people emigrate, including [those] considering Russia, but they face huge bureaucratic problems of Russian migration legislation," he said.
He added that the desire to move to Russia is particularly strong amongst traditional Catholics who "very strongly believe in the prophecy that Russia will remain the only Christian country in the world."
Rudy Giuliani accused of sexual harassment by ex-employee
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65606131
Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani is being sued for sexual harassment by a former employee.
Noelle Dunphy alleges in the $10m (£8m) civil case that he coerced her into sex acts and launched into "alcohol-drenched" and racist rants at work.
Republicans try to distract from the Trump and Santos debacle with a Biden nothingburger
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/republicans-trump-santos-biden-investigation-b2336567.html
But despite House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s proclamation that his committee “will not pursue witch hunts, or string the American people along for years with false promises of evidence that is beyond circumstantial evidence,” they failed to produce any hard evidence during the press conference, and many reporters seemed incredulous that the chairman would waste time with such flimsy evidence. In doing so, Mr Comer seemed to break one of the cardinal rules of politics, especially when feeding something to reporters: he over-promised and he under-delivered.
MTG Confirms Nearly ALL the GOP’s Biden Corruption Informants Are ‘Missing’
The GOP has lost contact with nearly all of the “whistleblowers” in their ongoing investigation into Joe Biden, Marjorie Taylor Greene confirmed Monday. According to the Georgia Republican, most of their informants are missing in action—except for one. “That whistleblower is very safe,” Greene told Steve Bannon on his War Room podcast. “But he does fear for his life, and rightfully so.” While Greene claims to be in touch with that one witness, the same can’t be said for up to nine others.
GOP watches as Trump’s problems with suburban women go on display
Suburban women voters have also largely turned their backs on Republicans since the former president was elected in 2016. According to CBS News exit polling from 2018, 53 percent of suburban women voters said they voted for Democrats in 2018, up from 47 percent in 2014 and 51 percent in 2016. In 2020, Biden won 54 percent of suburban voters in general, according to the Pew Research Center. And in last year’s midterm elections, suburban voters, including women in this group, helped deliver major victories to Democrats in key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia, with many of Trump’s endorsed candidates facing defeat.
“I know Biden’s poll numbers are not great, but at the end of the day, when you’re really looking at whatever we watch in this campaign, if it is Donald Trump, it may not be a vote for Joe Biden, but a vote just to please make it stop with Donald Trump,” Walsh said.
Monday, May 15, 2023
Prosecutor ends probe of FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation with harsh criticism, but no new charges
https://apnews.com/article/durham-trump-russia-probe-7e84f94ca9cf7905cbc5eddc108575b3
A special prosecutor has ended his four-year investigation into possible FBI misconduct in its probe of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign with withering criticism of the bureau but a meager court record that fell far short of the former president’s prediction he would uncover the “crime of the century.”
"Crime of Century" probe ends without success
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/15/politics/john-durham-report-fbi-trump-released/index.html
The special counsel, however, did not recommend any new charges against individuals or “wholesale changes” about how the FBI handles politically charged investigations, despite strongly criticizing the agency’s behavior.
Durham’s findings that the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign should not have happened are at odds with a previous Justice Department inspector general investigation into the FBI’s Russia probe, which identified problems with the investigation but concluded in December 2019 there was sufficient justification to open the inquiry.
Eric Trump Threatens Lawsuit Against Rachel Maddow
https://www.thedailybeast.com/eric-trump-threatens-lawsuit-against-rachel-maddow
Eric Trump is threatening to sue Rachel Maddow after the MSNBC host merely pointed out that he and his wife, Lara, are scheduled to speak at a Trump National Doral event in Miami this weekend—along with anti-semites. “I can’t really believe they are going ahead with it,” Maddow said during her Monday night show in between playing clips of Scott McKay and Charlie Ward, who are set to appear at the ReAwaken America tour. In response, Trump posted on Twitter Tuesday night that Maddow is “walking a fine line” because his family is actually “the most pro-Israel family in American political history,” citing in part how Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and their children are Jewish.