Friday, November 15, 2024

What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz's nomination for attorney general

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/republicans-matt-gaetzs-nomination-attorney-general-115867785

JOHN BOLTON, former U.N. ambassador and national security adviser:

“It must be the worst nomination for a Cabinet secretary in American history. I think this is something that falls well outside the scope of deference that should be given to a president in nominating members of the senior team. Gaetz is not only totally incompetent for this job, he doesn’t have the character. He is a person of moral turpitude.”

Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments

 https://forward.com/fast-forward/674875/trump-ag-matt-gaetz-antisemitic/

Rep. Max Miller, a Jewish Republican from Ohio, also blasted the nomination. “Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the Senate,” Miller said, adding that Gaetz is “a reckless pick” with “a zero percent shot.”

Israel to Trump: It would be ‘better’ to stay in the Paris Agreement

 https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-us-donald-trump-gideon-behar-better-to-stay-in-paris-agreement-climate-cop29-war-gaza/

One of Donald Trump’s closest international allies has advised him against withdrawing from the Paris global climate pact that America signed in 2015.

Asked whether Israel supported the U.S. president-elect’s plan to leave the Paris Agreement, Israel’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability Gideon Behar said: “The more people that will remain … is better.” 

What White Christians Have Wrought

 https://time.com/7174260/white-christianity-trump-election-essay/

Over the last decade, many white Christians have not just selfishly supported a dangerous, narcissistic man who promised to restore their waning influence; they have now willingly blessed the advent of a new American fascism that threatens our democratic future. They are principally responsible for Trump’s rise and return to power—and for everything that is coming for all of us in its wake.

CEASEFIRE FOR ARMS? Trump Promises to Remove All Arms Restrictions if Israel Agrees to a Ceasefire in Lebanon Before Inauguration Day

 https://matzav.com/ceasefire-for-arms-trump-promises-to-remove-all-arms-restrictions-if-israel-agrees-to-a-ceasefire-in-lebanon-before-inauguration-day-report/

According to a new report from Channel 12 News on Thursday, US President-elect Donald Trump’s associates have promised Israel that all delays and restrictions on arms to Israel will be removed on his first day in office, provided Israel achieves a ceasefire in Lebanon by the time Trump takes office on inauguration day.

Trump to universities: Stamp out antisemitism or lose accreditation

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-829167

To “defeat antisemitism and defend Jewish citizens in America,” Trump said he would inform every college president that if they do not “end antisemitic propaganda,” they would lose accreditation and federal support.

“We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers, and we’re not going to do it – certainly on American soil,” he said.

Vaccines, Flouride and More: RFK Jr.’s Wildest Public Health Ideas

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/vaccines-flouride-and-more-rfk-jrs-wildest-public-health-ideas/

Kennedy is a notorious vaccine skeptic, and serves as the chairman of Children’s Health Defense, one of the leading anti-vaccine nonprofit groups in the country.

He notably led the charge to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from vaccines. The CDC and multiple studies have found no link between the compound and the development of autism.

“There is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site,” the CDC states. The preservative was already removed from childhood vaccines by 2001, and was never present in the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the agency.

Putting RFK Jr. in charge of health breaks the first rule of medicine

 https://nypost.com/2024/11/14/opinion/putting-rfk-jr-in-charge-of-health-breaks-the-first-rule-of-medicine/

Donald Trump won on promises to fix the economy, the border and soaring global disorder; his team needs to focus on delivering change on those fronts — not spend energy either having to defend crackpot theories or trying to control RFK Jr.’s mouth. 

Thursday, November 14, 2024

McCarthy says Gaetz won’t get confirmed: ‘Everyone knows that’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4990312-kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-feud-donald-trump-cabinet/

Asked for his response to Trump’s Cabinet picks so far, McCarthy told Bloomberg Television in an interview, “I think the choices are very good, except one.”

“Look, Gaetz won’t get confirmed,” he continued. “Everybody knows that.”

McCarthy, a loyal Trump ally while serving in the House, was asked why the former president would bother tapping Gaetz if he knew the Florida Republican couldn’t get confirmed.

CIA Official Arrested for Intelligence Leak on Israeli Plans to Strike Iran

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/cia-official-arrested-for-intelligence-leak-on-israeli-plans-to-strike-iran-24efaa24?mod=hp_lead_pos10

The leaked reports assessed Israel’s planning for a possible Iran attack, including the types of aircraft and munitions its military could use. They also described Israeli air-force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles, believed to be in preparation for aerial strikes inside Iran. One of the reports says the U.S. hadn’t seen any sign an attack would involve nuclear weapons, a capability Israel is known to possess but doesn’t publicly confirm it 

Trump Yuden rein Appointments

 With all the "Jewish Pride in the election of Trump - one glaring problem has been ignore - none of his selections are Jewish

Typically the Ambassador to Israel is a Jew as David Friedman was , This time Trump picked a loyalist Baptist minister instead of Friedman. Huckabee is pro Israel but he also believes as a good Christian that a great battle will take place at the end of days and All the Jews will either be killed or will convert.

In sum. Trump seems to be going with the White Christian Nation thing. 

Marriage Skills Handbook - Guest Post by Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

 The low divorce rate of the frum community used to be a badge of pride.

 By this point, we all know more than a few divorced people in our own communities – sometimes folks who have been divorced multiple times, or within months of being married. It is painful to see.

 What happened?

 No doubt the problem is complex, and there are many explanations that could be given. I’m not a sociologist; I’m a marriage counselor. So I’m not going to try to tackle the reasons for this shift in our society or what can be done on a communal level to address it. I’m just going to offer you something to protect your own marriage.

 It’s communication.

 No chiddushim there; we’ve all heard that buzzword before. I’m just coming to provide some practical, actionable steps to actually doing it.

 Enter The Couples Communication Handbook: The Skills You Never Learned for the Marriage You Always Wanted. I wrote this book based on my decade-plus of experience working with couples to help improve, repair, and save marriages. I think it’s got a lot to offer folks regardless of how they’re feeling about their marriage right now (unless you feel like the communication in your marriage is as good as it could possibly ever be – if that’s you, let me know).

In truth, there aren’t many chiddushim in here either. It’s a lot of ideas that have existed already, put together in a way that is digestible and easy to read, with maybe a few twists of my own.

 I should note that this is not a Torah book; it’s for general audiences, but it is perfectly clean and acceptable for the frum community. (There is a very brief section discussing talking about sex, which does not get any more graphic than this sentence you just read.)

 If you feel like you could use a boost in your communication and connection with your spouse, I think you’ll get a lot out of this book.

 על ידי שלום שבין איש לאשתו יהיה עזר לאדם ליחד הדודים למעלה

-- Ben Yehoyada, Berachos 28b

Trump Sends Shockwaves Through Washington With Gaetz Pick

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-sends-shockwaves-through-washington-with-gaetz-pick-c1a7f468?mod=hp_lead_pos1

Most of Trump’s picks indicates he wants a firm grip on his nominees and that he values loyalty, a quality prized by all presidents but one that he has put a particular premium on. Gaetz’s selection also has the benefit of exciting the president-elect’s MAGA base.

Trump’s AG pick called ADL ‘racist,’ invited Holocaust denier to State of the Union

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trumps-ag-pick-called-adl-racist-invited-holocaust-denier-to-state-of-the-union/

This past spring, Gaetz, alongside Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, opposed a bill that would codify an official definition of antisemitism because it classified the view that Jews killed Jesus — which Gaetz endorsed — as antisemitic.

“The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!” Gaetz wrote on X, adding, “The Bible is clear. There is no myth or controversy on this.”