Republicans choke on defense of Trump's pardon of Jan. 6 rioters. Could it be shame?

Trump Pardons Ross Ulbricht After Urging Death Penalty For Drug Dealers

 https://www.newsweek.com/president-donald-trump-pardon-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-drugs-libertarian-2018764

In a move that has sparked debate, President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who had been serving two life sentences plus 40 years for enabling the illegal trade of drugs and other illicit goods. People using his site traded in bitcoin to avoid detection.

Ulbricht, known by the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts," operated Silk Road between 2011 and 2013, facilitating more than $200 million in transactions for illegal drugs, hacking services, and counterfeit documents. He was arrested in 2013 and convicted in 2015 of multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering. His website relied on the anonymity of the Tor network and the burgeoning cryptocurrency market to allow massive drug deals.

In November 2022, while announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, Trump called for the execution of drug dealers.

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said that drug dealers were executed in China, Singapore and other countries, and it was the only option to tackle the drugs issue in the U.S.

Maaser Time

Igros Moshe (EH IV 26.4 page 55) Concerning the view of Chasam Sofer regarding Rabbi Akiva state that Loving others as yourself is a major principle of the Torah and mitzvos. He says it is specifically said in regard to this world. But we know that Rabbi Akiva also said that your life takes precedence of that of others?. This is truly astounding. It is clear that in regard to Torah learning, his learning takes precedent as is stated in Kiddushin (29b) that it takes priority in relation to one’s son so surely the Torah learning of others. That is how the Rambam rules. There is also a hierarchy for tzedaka. It is obvious that in Torah learning he takes precedent over others much more than in regards to tzedaka. Furthermore regarding tzedaka this is specifically that bread for him comes before that of others. But if he lacks meat while the other lacks bread, he sacrifices his meat so the other can have bread. Similarly he takes precedent if they are poor and he also is to receive meat. However in regards to Torah, it is clear that a person who knows one gemora or even many, his learning of other gemoras still takes priority over other’s learning even that which he already mastered. Also in regards to matters of this world there is no prohibition but rather it is optional if there is no actual danger to life. In contrast regarding Torah, it is prohibited to give the learning of others priority over himself. However I ruled that every Torah scholar, even though he needs it for himself and is a great scholar to devote some time to teach others, even if this if this distracts from his own Torah study. I brought a proof from the gemora about Rav Preida. who taught a student who had great difficukty understanding and required repeating each lesson 400 times. Obviously during that time it would have been more productive for his own learning. He received great reward for this in that he lived 400 years, and also his generation brought the merit to the future world. It would seem that doing this is prohibited since his learning is more important. It is reasonable to explain that this was the giving of a tenth of his time as maaser. Similarly he could add until a fifth. The amount requires additional thought. Regarding mitzvos, if he and the others need to fulfil a mitzva and it is possible for only one person to do the mitzva, obviously if he gives it to the others than he will end up transgressing the mitzva. Consequently I don’t understand the Chasam Sofer and this requires further thought. There is also the problem of two people dying of thirst and one has a bottle of water. Rabbi Akiva does not say that it needs to be given to save the other person or even shared and they both die. We see that Rabbi Akiva does not mean that they are all equal but rather he takes precedent to save himself.

At Trump inauguration event in Jerusalem, adulation meets undercurrent of unease

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-trump-inauguration-event-in-jerusalem-adulation-meets-undercurrent-of-unease/

But even among Trump’s most fervent fans, an undercurrent of unease could be detected. Lately Trump has focused his energies, when it comes to the region, on securing a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. That effort has caused consternation some on the Israeli right, including many of the Trump admirers who showed up Monday. Multiple attendees said they felt he rushed into the deal, in which Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, some of them convicted murderers, for hostages held by Hamas.

“I felt a bit like he didn’t really care too much,” Cohn said. “What would have happened if he would have waited another week or two weeks? I want Hamas to be totally defeated and now it seems like they have the upper hand, and can unleash thousands of terrorists on Israel.”

Hamas emerges from Gaza’s tunnels, showing it never lost control

 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-838225

Hamas has impressive control over every aspect of Gaza, from local media to hospitals and schools. It will galvanize all of this to help portray this as a victory for the group.

Hamas appears to be emerging from tunnels and rubble in Gaza to show that it never lost control of most of the area despite fifteen months of war. While Hamas suffered many blows from the IDF, it was able to recruit new members, and it even kept trucks and vans ready to return to the streets and show its presence.

Donald and Melania Trump launch a pair of meme coins ahead of inauguration, raising serious ethics concerns

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/tech/meme-coins-donald-melania-trump-intl-hnk/index.html

Now, Trump will not only preside over how the federal government will regulate crypto, he can personally cash in on the outcome.

“I believe it is very dangerous to have the people who are supposed to oversee regulating financial instruments investing in them at the same time,” Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, told CNN. “There’s no precedent for a head of state to launch a personal cryptocurrency.”

Painter, the top ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush Administration, said the launch of the meme coins just hours before inauguration raises “serious ethical questions about conflicts of interest.”

“The coin’s value could be influenced by his actions or policies once in office, particularly as Trump has said he will be more crypto-friendly, which will likely further inflate the coin’s value at least temporarily,” Painter said.

Did Trump Raise Prescription Drug Prices?

 https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-trump-raise-prescription-drug-prices-2018607

Geoffrey Joyce, the director of Health Policy at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, told Newsweek that the $2 Medicare drug list model that emerged due to Biden's order might have had a "modest impact" on costs, while it was "hard to assess the magnitude" of impacts for the other two CMS proposals.

However, Joyce suggested that Trump's decision to quickly reverse Biden's order and potentially block any associated lowering of prescription drug costs was at odds with the president promising to lower drug prices while campaigning for a second term.

"The irony of this is that Trump campaigned on lowering drug prices yet does this on day 1 or 2?" Joyce said in an email. "I'm afraid it's only the beginning of seemingly inconsistent and/or incoherent health policies."

Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message on Tuesday that Trump's decision "could have significant implications for the average American."

"While the immediate impact depends on how pharmaceutical companies respond, this move potentially opens the door for drug prices to rise," Agranoff said. "Biden's order aimed to rein in costs by promoting price transparency and competition, which are critical for making life-saving medications affordable."

"Without those measures, companies could have more flexibility to set higher prices," he added. "For many Americans, particularly those on fixed incomes or without comprehensive insurance, this change may lead to increased financial strain and limit access to essential medications."

Review of COLLAPSE How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005) by Jared Diamond

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358786359_Diamond_2_a_ReviewEssay_on_COLLAPSE_How_Societies_Choose_to_Fail_or_Succeed_2005_by_Jared_Diamond_C_H_J_Spencer_22Feb2022_6000_words_10_pages

This is a big book (560-pages), not quite as famous, as the author's better-known Pulitzer prize-winning non-fiction book (Guns, Germs and Steel) that successfully answered the question why Eurasian peoples conquered or displaced Native Americans (North and South), Australians and Africans. Now, the author tries to understand why some civilizations collapsed while others persist through similar challenges. His sub-title implies that humans are sometimes responsible for the results. The author connects his stories to troubling scenes from today: in Rwanda, China, Australia and Montana. He analyzes the mistakes that devastated Easter Island building impressive monuments to themselves while ignoring deforestation. Diamond's impressive science reclaims from past disasters, the lessons urgently needed similar meltdowns of our own civilization. There is a strong hint here that shows how our whole earth is now treating our environment the same way that many failed societies treated their own contexts in the past. Here, for the first time in history, humanity is faced with global ecological collapse. Diamond takes us on fascinating tour of past regional civilizations similarly threatened. Now, Collapse provides us with insights into how to avoid the grim fate of those past societies that failed to meet their environmental challenges.

Influence of super rich on Donald Trump threatens democracy, say Patriotic Millionaires

 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/22/influence-of-super-rich-on-donald-trump-threatens-democracy-say-patriotic-millionaires

“The super rich are buying themselves more wealth and more power while the rest of the world is living in economic fear,” said the activist and co-founder of taxmenow, Marlene Engelhorn, an heiress whose wealth comes from the medical technology company Boehringer Mannheim.

Clemency for Oath Keepers, Proud Boys fuels extremism threat, experts say

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/01/21/pardons-proud-boys-oath-keepers/

Two-thirds of Americans opposed pardons for people convicted of crimes in the riot, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted in early December, although strong majorities of Republicans (60 percent) and Trump voters (69 percent) approved of them.

The GOP’s stunning response to Trump pardoning those who assaulted police

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/21/republican-reaction-jan-6-violent-offenders-trump-pardon/

In sum, Republicans are all over the map on the pardons. But that so few seem eager to even express disapproval of pardoning so many people who assaulted police — and some are even aligning themselves with a decision that a poll recently showed three-quarters of Americans oppose — is a watershed moment in our politics.

Key GOP Senators Rebuke Trump Over His Jan. 6 Pardons

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/key-gop-senators-rebuke-president-trump-over-jan-6-pardons/

The small faction of dissenters included former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who pointed to Vice President JD Vance’s remarks earlier this month that violent criminals “obviously” should not be pardoned.

“Well, I think I agree with the vice president,” McConnell told Semafor.

Hegseth Routinely Passed Out From Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/pete-hegseth-affidavit-witness-drunk-passing-out-e216ca85?mod=trending_now_news_1

Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, regularly abused alcohol to the point that he passed out at family gatherings, and once needed to be dragged out of a strip club while in uniform, according to an ex-relative’s account of his behavior that was given to U.S. lawmakers and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7e0jve875o

Sentencing Ulbricht - who has two college degrees - District Judge Katherine Forrest said he was "no better a person than any other drug dealer".

She said the site had been his "carefully planned life's work".

The judge noted the lengthy sentence also acted as a message to copycats that there would be "very serious consequences".

"I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity," Ulbricht said at his sentencing in May 2015.