The folly of winners

Prof Halberstam has an interesting insight regarding the Vietmam War. This was a waste on many levels so why did the government run by the "best and the brightest" keep fighting and expanding what was clearly a losing endeavor. He says the these men were super achievers and they couldn't conceive that they were making a mistake since they were always successful and never failed. So they simply kept doing what they had planned with increased effort.

This applies in the spiritual realm also. The Baal Shem notes that Jesus and Adam are together in Hell because both thought they were god like and thus infallible.  As we see also with the Spies anf Korach. 

Wisdom comes from experiencing and learning from failure. One who is always very successful at some point stops thinking he might be making a mistake and ends up doing something really stupid. Pride comes before the fall. 

The GOP’s Big Fold

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/03/congressional-republicans-cave-megabill-big-beautiful-00439956

Congressional Republicans are making a habit of taking bold, theatrical stands before meekly capitulating in the face of political pressure — particularly from President Donald Trump.

Detention of senior Bnei Brak public figure extended on sexual assault allegations

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/crime-in-israel/article-859785

The Petah Tikva Magistrate Court extended until next Thursday the detention of a man said to be a senior figure in the Shomrim organization in Bnei Brak by eight days, on suspicion of dozens of rapes of children and adults over serveral years. He was apprehended by Israel Police at Ben-Gurion Airport late Wednesday night.

Trump’s Lawfare Against the Free Press

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-lawfare-media-kristi-noem-cnn-iceblock-cbs-paramount-2ce75c5e?mod=hp_opin_pos_2

President Trump has taunted the media for years, and some of his jibes are deserved given the groupthink in most newsrooms. What’s happening now, though, is different: The President is using government to intimidate news outlets that publish stories he doesn’t like. It’s a low move in a free country with a free press.

Trump Stiffs Ukraine on Arms

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-ukraine-weapons-russia-elbridge-colby-vladimir-putin-193763fd?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

News leaks this week say the Administration is denying Ukraine much-needed weapons. Our sources tell us they include Patriot air-defense missiles, Hellfire missiles, some 8,500 Howitzer rounds and other ammunition. Some were already in Poland awaiting delivery. So this is a conscious decision to deny Kyiv weapons it was counting on before Russia’s summer assaults. It’s a hostile act that favors Vladimir Putin.

John Bolton: Trump’s Israel-Iran ceasefire was a ‘mistake’

Iran Ready to Enrich Uranium to Bomb-Grade Levels: "We Can Do That"

 https://www.newsweek.com/iran-ready-enrich-uranium-bomb-grade-levels-we-can-do-that-2093390

Iran can now enrich uranium up to the 90 percent level required for nuclear weapons even though it has no desire to build them, a prominent member of the Iranian parliament said following Israeli and U.S. attacks on its nuclear program.

Going forward, Iran will enrich uranium according to its needs at any levels and without abiding by conditions, according to Alaeddin Boroujerdi's statements on Iranian TV, multiple Iranian media reported.

"Iran may need to enrich uranium to 90% purity for fuel to power its ocean liner. We can do that. The only red line is the atomic bomb," the senior member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission was quoted as saying by the UK-based Iran International English outlet. He described U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for zero enrichment as a "delusion".

It is unclear to what extent the damage at Iran's underground nuclear facilities, acknowledged by Tehran, affected the program's development.

Trump and administration officials have spoken of the "obliteration" of Iran's nuclear program by the attack but the leader of the IAEA Rafael Grossi estimated the setback for Iran was a matter of "months."

Americans’ – and Republicans’ – increasingly complicated relationship with Israe

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/13/politics/republicans-israel-support-analysis

Multiple indicators suggest Americans’ support for Israel has reached historic lows as its war in Gaza has dragged on. And while Republicans are much more likely to back Israel than Democrats, even that is getting more complicated – particularly as influential voices on the right voice skepticism of a hardline approach to Iran.

Americans’ support for Israel at record low, backing for Palestinians at all-time high

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-americans-support-for-israel-at-record-low-backing-for-palestinians-at-all-time-high/

This week’s poll found that Republican sympathies with Israelis have remained relatively steady, at 75% vs. 10% for Palestinians. Among independents, the Israeli-Palestinian split was 42% to 34%.

The poll found that 55% of Americans, and majorities of Democrats and independents, support the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Among Republicans, support for a Palestinian state was at 41%.

Less Than Half in U.S. Now Sympathetic Toward Israelis

 https://news.gallup.com/poll/657404/less-half-sympathetic-toward-israelis.aspx

Although Americans remain more likely to say their sympathies in the Middle East situation are with the Israelis rather than the Palestinians, the 46% expressing support for Israel is the lowest in 25 years of Gallup’s annual tracking of this measure on its World Affairs survey. The previous 51% low point in this trend of Americans’ sympathy for Israelis was recorded both last year and in 2001.

At the same time, the 33% of U.S. adults who now say they sympathize with the Palestinians is up six percentage points from last year and the highest reading by two points.

Given their majority-level sympathy for the Palestinians, it follows that Democrats are also broadly supportive of an independent Palestinian state. About three-quarters of Democrats, 76%, are in favor of such a state, compared with 53% of independents. While 41% of Republicans support a Palestinian state, 49% are opposed.

Democrats’ support for a Palestinian state has been trending upward since 2021, whereas independents’ has been relatively steady over the same period. Republicans’ support is up 15 points after dropping sharply last year.

'Look at the sea change now': Enten on 56-point swing among Dems supporting Palestinians

'Why the hell did you vote for the bill?': GOP senator slammed for megabill whiplash

What you're feeling is the banality of cruelty from Trump and the Republican Party

Elon Musk Responds to Trump's 'Back Home to South Africa' Comments

 https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-trump-south-africa-2093392

Musk was one of the most prominent supporters of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, spending at least $250 million to support his bid. However, he has been deeply critical of Trump's "big, beautiful bill," a major tax and spending package that passed the Senate with Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. It now heads back to the House.

The package would raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion, impose large tax cuts and increase spending on border security and defense. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it would add $3.3 trillion to U.S. fiscal deficits over the next decade. The bill also reduces health insurance and food subsidies for some lower-income households.

Musk described the bill as "political suicide" and "utterly insane and destructive," adding on X, "It gives handouts to industries of the past, while severely damaging industries of the future."