Scientists Lay Into Trump’s ‘Disturbing’ Decision to Remove Public Health Data

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/scientists-lay-into-trumps-disturbing-decision-to-remove-public-health-data/

As a result, health websites like those run by the CDC and the National Institute of Health took down pages about HIV, AIDS, and COVID-19. This included guidance on topics such as how doctors should treat sexually transmitted diseases and vaccinate adults.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America similarly described the move to take down HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from federal health websites as a “deeply concerning” move that “creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks.”

“This is especially important as diseases such as HIV, mpox, sexually transmitted infections and other illnesses threaten public health and impact the entire population,” IDSA President Tina Tan and Chair Colleen Kelley said in a statement.

Republicans hold their breath as Trump ignites trade war with Canada, Mexico and China: ‘Tariffs are simply taxes’

 https://nypost.com/2025/02/02/us-news/republicans-hold-their-breath-as-trump-ignites-trade-war-with-canada-mexico-and-china-tariffs-are-simply-taxes/

Since at least the Reagan era, Republicans have generally been proponents of free trade, but that started to shift under Trump. Very few Republican pols want to cross Trump right now.

Perhaps his most vocal GOP critic on tariffs inside Congress is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

“Tariffs are simply taxes,” Paul vented on X. “We won the last election by complaining about Democrats’ policies, which gave us high prices. Tariff lovers will be forced to explain the persistence of high prices.”

Trump Hits Out at Murdoch’s Mouthpiece for Calling Tariffs ‘Dumbest Trade War’

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hits-out-at-murdochs-mouthpiece-for-calling-tariffs-dumbest-trade-war/

The editorial board, often viewed as a mouthpiece of owner Rupert Murdoch, has condemned many of Trump’s policies since he took office last month. It said Trump’s pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters sent “a rotten message from a president about political violence done on his behalf” and called his decision to strip his political enemies of their security details part of “some vindictive whim.”

While it has defended some of Trump’s decisions, its critical tone has put the traditionally conservative newspaper’s editorial board on the same plane as the more liberal voices of The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Paul Gigot, the editor of the Journal‘s editorial pages, told the Associated Press last week: “We are covering Trump like we do every president, and that means supporting his decisions when they warrant it, and criticizing them when that is deserved. It’s no more complicated than that.”

Have U.S. Taxpayers Sent Over $200B to Ukraine? - more lies

 https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-have-us-taxpayers-sent-200-billion-ukraine-1796322

This figure has been repeated by a number of right-leaning politicians and public figures in the past two months including Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ), former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, and former Republican candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake.

In total, Congress has allocated $113 billion in a combination of mostly military, government, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since last year, according to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.

This strongly suggests that the U.S. has not spent anywhere close to $200 billion. Furthermore, Newsweek has so far been unable to find any statement from the presidential office of Ukraine which supports that higher number—the office has been contacted via email for comment.

André Frank, Project Lead for the Ukraine Support Tracker, told Newsweek that the $200 billion claim was "wrong" and suspected it may have been a misinterpretation of the tracker's data, perhaps by using information from a since-updated database.

In any case, there is no evidence to support the notion that the U.S. has spent $200 billion, with expert research indicating that total direct spending has not even reached the $100 billion mark, let alone double that number.

Trump launches a baffling trade war against Canada and Mexico

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/02/trump-tariffs-baffling-trade-war/

Trump knows the United States has more leverage over its neighbors than they do over his country. But exploiting that position of strength could cause a historic rupture. “The U.S. willingness to ignore its treaty obligations, even with friends, won’t make other countries eager to do deals,” noted the right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial board. “Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions. But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history.”

GOP applauds Trump tariffs as trade war looms

 https://www.axios.com/2025/02/02/trump-tariffs-republicans-applaud-trade-war

As trade war fears circulate, lawmakers are manning their posts: Democrats are warning prices will skyrocket — while Republicans say the potential discomfort will be worth it in the end.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that if "prices go up, it's because of other people's reactions to America's laws."

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) characterized Trump's tariffs as a border tool, telling NBC's Kristen Welker they "are meant to bring Canada and Mexico the table for the fentanyl that is streaming into our communities."

His fellow Virginian, Sen. Tim Kaine (D), said Trump's first-term tariffs were "a tax on Virginia consumers," predicting Americans will see "higher prices for energy, higher prices for groceries."

Kaine said he was struck by what he saw as the "irony" of Trump's executive order declaring an "energy emergency" followed by 10% tariffs on Canadian energy.

"The emergency is self-created," Kaine said.

Jordan reportedly warns it could extradite Sbarro bombing mastermind to US for trial

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-reportedly-warns-it-could-extradite-sbarro-bombing-mastermind-to-us-for-trial/

In reversal, Amman said to give Hamas one day to find Ahlam Tamimi another home or it will send her stateside, where she is wanted over 2001 attack that killed 16, including 2 Americans

Trump rips ‘always wrong’ Wall Street Journal for criticizing his tariffs

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5121945-trump-rips-always-wrong-wall-street-journal-for-criticizing-his-tariffs/?tbref=hp

President Trump on Sunday ripped The Wall Street Journal for criticizing his recent tariffs.

“The ‘Tariff Lobby,’ headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,” said the president on his Truth Social platform.

A Saturday op-ed from the Journal’s editorial board criticized Trump’s tariff plan and predicted a declining trend in trade and manufacturing capability in the wake of signed sanctions. 

“Mr. Trump sometimes sounds as if the U.S. shouldn’t import anything at all, that America can be a perfectly closed economy making everything at home. This is called autarky, and it isn’t the world we live in, or one that we should want to live in, as Mr. Trump may soon find out,” said the op-ed.

Musk Spews Crazy Claims After Seizing Federal Payment System

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/musk-spews-crazy-claims-after-seizing-federal-payment-system/

Elon Musk took aim at a pair of federal agencies Sunday, shortly after his Department of Government Efficiency team received access to the massive system that manages government payments.

Specifically, Musk targeted the U.S. Treasury Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), alleging with little evidence that both were “breaking the law” by approving “fraudulent” payments.

“Career Treasury officials are breaking the law every hour of every day by approving payments that are fraudulent or do not match the funding laws passed by Congress,” Musk wrote on X Sunday. “This needs to stop NOW!”

To back up his claim, Musk shared a summation of a relevant statute compiled by Grok, an artificial intelligence service run by his social media app, X.

The explosive claims come just hours after the billionaire and his DOGE team were reportedly granted full access to a federal payment system by President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.

The Dumbest Trade War Fallout Begins

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-trump-tariff-fallout-begins-canada-mexico-vow-retaliation-economic-uncertainty-da522b44?mod=hp_opin_pos_0

President Trump conceded Sunday that there may be “some pain” from his sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but they will eventually lead to a new “GOLDEN AGE.” Nice of him to promise a glorious future because the pain is already unfolding, and the tariffs won’t even take effect until Tuesday.

We appreciate Mr. Trump’s attention, though we’re anti-tariff and not lobbyists. But bad policy has damaging consequences, whether or not Mr. Trump chooses to admit it. Mr. Trump can’t repeal the laws of economics any more than Joe Biden could on inflation.

Trump’s tariffs are a $1.4 trillion gamble with the economy and prices

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/02/business/trump-economy-tariff-mexico-canada-china/index.html

The Wall Street Journal went a step further, publishing a scathing op-ed on Saturday titled: “The Dumbest Trade War in History.”

The op-ed argued that Trump’s justification for an “economic assault” on Canada and Mexico “makes no sense” and warned the strategy could end in disaster.

With tariffs signed, Trump warns of ‘pain’ to come for Americans

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/02/politics/us-tariffs-americans-pay-imports/index.html

A day after signing steep new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, President Donald Trump acknowledged what economists, members of Congress and even some of his own aides — in their previous lives — have been saying all along: Americans may find themselves paying the costs.

“THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA! WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump posted, in all capital letters, on his Truth Social platform.

“WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID,” Trump wrote. “WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE — AND THE RESULTS WILL BE SPECTACULAR!!!”

In Plane Crash Aftermath, A Familiar Trump Returns: Blamer-in-Chief

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-plane-crash-blame-2023677

Republican strategist Matt Klink told Newsweek on Thursday that Trump's response to the plane crash in Washington "missed the mark."

"Instead of simply stating that he didn't yet have all the information to decide what caused the crash, he injected politics into an already highly emotional situation," Klink said.

He continued, "The President needs to realize that the election is over, and while he wants to smash the status quo, which people who voted for him support, at this particular moment, Americans were looking for reassurance from the commander-in-chief that he and his new team, which isn't even complete, would get to the bottom of what caused the crash and enact changes to make sure that events like the crash are rare."

Ignore reality is Secret of Existence?!

SANHEDRIN 92a says we learn from the halacha that a Cohen does not increase light in house with suspected tzaros that in general we are better off by not being too concerned  with reality

However  many other sources teach the opposite 

וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר לְעוֹלָם הָוֵי קָבֵל וְקַיָּים אָמַר רַבִּי זֵירָא אַף אֲנַן נָמֵי תְּנֵינָא בַּיִת אָפֵל אֵין פּוֹתְחִין לוֹ חַלּוֹנוֹת לִרְאוֹת נִגְעוֹ שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ

And Rabbi Elazar says: Forever be in the dark, i.e., anonymous, and you will continue to exist. Rabbi Zeira says: We learn a similar idea in a mishna as well (Nega’im 2:3): In a dark house, one does not open windows to illuminate it in order to see whether or not its blemish is leprosy, and the house retains the presumptive status of ritual purity. Those matters that are obscured are allowed to continue. The Gemara affirms: Conclude from that mishna that this is so.

https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.92a.