Trump Toys With the Supreme Court

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-supreme-court-john-roberts-james-boasberg-95419a99?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

Taunting John Roberts is a lousy strategy to persuade the Justices.

President Trump downplayed Chief Justice John Roberts’s statement Tuesday in defense of the judiciary, but the President had better be careful. The White House strategy of bashing judges and jamming the Supreme Court could backfire in spectacular fashion.

Guessing the thinking at the High Court is a fraught exercise. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Chief Justice in his nearly two decades at the Court it’s that he hates being dragged into political fights. He prizes the reputation of the Court as a neutral arbiter of the law and protector of the Constitution.

For Vladimir Putin, Russia’s position in the world is personal. Here’s what he really wants

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/22/europe/russia-putin-ultimate-goals-ukraine-intl-cmd/index.html

US President Donald Trump said he thinks Vladimir Putin wants peace. Ukraine and its European allies don’t believe he does, while the Russian leader himself said he wants peace but then refused to sign up to it when presented with the option.

What Putin really wants, though, is much, much bigger.

The Russian president has made no secret of the fact that he believes Ukraine should not exist as an independent state and he has repeatedly said he wants NATO to shrink back to its Cold War-era size.

But more than anything, he wants to see a new global order — and he wants Russia to play the starring role in it.

Holocaust remembrance pages removed in Pentagon’s DEI purge

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405702

In a February 26 memo titled “digital content refresh”, Pentagon leadership was directed to “remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).” More than 24,000 articles could potentially be removed, according to a database obtained by CNN.

Also caught in the net of the anti-DEI purge are articles focused on race, gender and LGBTQ experiences, as well as others on topics such as cancer awareness, suicide prevention and sexual assault. An article on Jackie Robinson, who served in the military and is widely admired for breaking baseball’s color line, was removed and has been reinstated.

Also removed was an article on Bea Arthur, the Jewish “Golden Girls” star who served in the Marines during World War II.

Beyond Saks’ story, at least two more pages documenting Holocaust remembrance were also removed. One page, titled “A Cadet’s Perspective: Holocaust Days of Remembrance,” described a cadet’s experience visiting concentration camps a decade ago and the ways they informed his experience in the US Air Force Academy.

Another page stripped from the Pentagon’s platforms commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Week and told readers to not forget the importance of religious diversity:

In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot — who referred to DEI initiatives as “Woke cultural Marxism” — said pages that had inadvertently been removed would be reinstated but did not detail if or when the Holocaust-related articles would go back up.

Inside Trump’s Lightning-Fast Deportation of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran Prison

 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/inside-trumps-lightning-fast-deportation-of-venezuelans-to-a-salvadoran-prison-4ac3f408?mod=hp_lead_pos9

Planes of migrants were in the air just hours after the president invoked wartime authority. Families say innocent people were swept up in the rush.

Musk Set to Receive Top-Secret Briefing on U.S. War Plans for China

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/musk-to-receive-top-secret-briefing-on-u-s-war-plans-for-china-922eafdf?mod=hp_lead_pos1

The Trump adviser is expected to get a look at the Pentagon blueprint despite his companies’ financial stakes in China and defense contracts

Elon Musk is scheduled to receive a briefing Friday on the U.S. military’s top-secret war plans for China, according to two U.S. officials, giving the wealthy businessman and presidential adviser insight into one of the Pentagon’s most closely guarded operational blueprints.

Elon Musk Threatens Pentagon Leakers After China War Story

 https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-threatens-pentagon-leakers-after-china-war-story-2048345

Elon Musk threatened Pentagon staff who leaked what he called "false information" to the New York Times over a story saying he will receive a briefing about highly sensitive American military plans for any potential war with China.

But The Wall Street Journal also later reported that Musk would receive a "top secret" briefing on American tactics and planning for war with China, among other issues to be discussed. The Journal, like the NYT, cited anonymous U.S. officials.

Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute focused on defense strategy, told the Times: "Musk at a war-planning briefing? Giving the CEO of one defense company unique access seems like this could be grounds for a contract protest and is a real conflict of interest."

Trump’s Migrant Gang Members Appear to Be Anything But

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-migrant-gang-members-appear-to-be-anything-but/

“Officers and agents well versed in gang activity in general and TdA in particular reviewed the information gathered on each alien, identifying TdA members based upon information such as previous criminal convictions… surveillance… evidence that the alien had committed crimes in coordination with known members of TdA… and admission of TdA membership by the alien.”

Cerna adds, “ICE did not simply rely on social media posts, photographs of the alien displaying gang-related hand gestures, or tattoos alone.”

But, unless there is something it is not saying, ICE seems to have done exactly that in the case of at least two deportees without criminal records or apparent gang ties. Both men do have tattoos, but they also have written statements from the particular tattoo artists attesting that the designs have nothing to do with any gang. Both also followed all the legal procedures for seeking asylum, registering with the Customs and Border Protection app, CPB One, in Mexico and presenting themselves at the assigned point of entry at the U.S. border at the designated date and time.

Was Nevudchaznezar Greater Than Dovid?

Sanhedrin (92b)  Rabbi Yitzḥak says: Molten gold should be poured into the mouth of that wicked person Nebuchadnezzar . The reason is that if an angel had not come and struck him on his mouth to prevent him from continuing his praise, he would have sought to overshadow all the songs and praises that David recited in the book of Psalms. 

Rashi (Saqnhedrin 932b)לגנות - שהיה מסדר שבחות נאות יותר מדוד ואילו אמרן הקב"ה היה נוטה אחריהן יותר מאחרי השירות שעשה דוד:

He would have composed praises that were nicer than that of Dovid. If he said them than G-d would be inclined to favor them more than the songs of Dovid.

Boasberg says Trump administration ‘evaded’ deadline for deportation flight info

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5206108-trump-administration-venezuelan-deportation-flights/

A federal judge on Thursday said the Trump administration’s response to his request for more information on Venezuelan deportation flights was “woefully insufficient” and “evaded” obligations to show they complied with an earlier court ruling.

In a new order, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the Justice Department refused to meet his Thursday deadline to hand over the flight information and instead submitted a declaration from an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official informing that “Cabinet Secretaries are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”

The order came after Boasberg ordered the government to privately provide more details about the flights in a sealed filing, saying he was once again rebuffed by the government.

“The Government again evaded its obligations,” Boasberg wrote, noting that the filing from the ICE official included the same information about the flights.

He ordered the Trump administration to provide an update from someone directly involved in the discussions by Friday.

By Tuesday, officials must explain in writing why they did not violate the court’s orders blocking Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

Beit Shemesh mayor attacked, car vandalized and flipped by haredi extremists

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-846796

Greenberg's vehicle was smashed, vandalized and then flipped but he and his family were evacuated from the scene, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

Haredi extremists attack Beit Shemesh mayor and his family, overturn his car

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-extremists-attack-beit-shemesh-mayor-and-his-family-overturn-his-car/

Ultra-Orthodox extremists late Wednesday attacked Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg and his family, overturning the mayor’s car and injuring his 19-year-old son.

In a statement, the municipality said that Greenberg, a member of the Haredi Degel Hatorah party, “was attacked by extremists while leaving a family celebration.”

“His vehicle was smashed and vandalized, but the mayor and his family were rescued from the scene. The mayor’s son required medical treatment. Mayor Greenberg trusts the Israel Police to bring the lawbreakers to justice,” his office said.

Video from the scene showed black-clad Hasidic Jews rocking the vehicle back and forth while someone screamed in the background.

Greatest sin?

 I have been reviewing the latest concerns - suicide adultery poverty shidduchim, chillul hahem, chillul Shabbos, idolatry, murder, stealing and the obvious question is why are certain sins and problems ignored? 

It was recently suggested that the unwillingness to protest blatant problems has a clear answer - my blog and its questioning of the judgment of gedolim and other fundamental violations of how a true Jew is to behave.  There are people who will not complain about serious Torah violations if I am. It is inappropriate for them to obey G-d as long as I  have been supportive. 

Cabinet fires Shin Bet chief; PM claims lack of trust in Bar, who calls move invalid

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-fires-shin-bet-chief-pm-claims-lack-of-trust-in-bar-who-calls-move-invalid/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously in the early hours of Friday morning to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the premier’s office announced.

Bar’s final day will be April 10, with the government moving up his dismissal after initially scheduling it for April 20, though Netanyahu’s office said Bar could be gone before then if ministers approve a permanent replacement.

The move marked the first time in Israeli history that the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency.

Behind the Curtain: Trump's mind control

 https://www.axios.com/2025/03/20/trump-support-republican-concerns-silent

Most GOP lawmakers dutifully defend things they might ridicule if they were done by a Democrat or weaker Republican.

They see no upside — or good reason — to oppose him because Trump, Musk and others would torch them publicly and on social media, and almost certainly threaten a primary challenge.

The bottom line: Politics is all about incentives. And every Republican incentive is to back Trump — and make sure he and MAGA media know it.