To All Trump Voters: How Will You Measure His Success?

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-question-all-trump-voters-will-have-to-answer/

On the Israel side of things, Trump has promised to give Netanyahu a free hand to “get the job done.” What does that mean? Trump has already articulated his vision for what it looks like, stating that Gaza could be “better than Monaco.” What do you Trump voters think success looks like in the Middle East? During his first term, he promised that Jared Kushner would bring peace to the region.

Did that happen? Did moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem accomplish that task? Did the vaunted Abraham Accords? Or are people still slaughtering each other over a spit of land the size of New Jersey?

Do you Trump voters expect a two-state solution? A one-state solution? Trump’s first peace proposal for the region came out in 2020. Here’s how The New York Times described it: “The plan would discard the longtime goal of granting the Palestinians a full-fledged state. President Trump called it ‘a win-win’ for both sides; Palestinian leaders immediately rejected it.”

Trump Pentagon pick flagged in 2021 as potential insider threat for extremist-linked tattoo

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-pentagon-pick-flagged-in-2021-as-potential-insider-threat-for-extremist-linked-tattoo/

As the AP reported in an investigation published last month, more than 480 people with a military background were accused of ideologically driven extremist crimes from 2017 through 2023, including the more than 230 arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection, according to data collected and analyzed by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, at the University of Maryland.

Though those numbers reflect a small fraction of those who have served honorably in the military — and Lloyd Austin, the current defense secretary, has said that extremism is not widespread in the US military — AP’s investigation found that plots involving people with military backgrounds were more likely to involve mass casualties.

Haredi minister slams: Judiciary holds a double standard

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/399488

Speaking at the Knesset plenum, Porush said, "I don't understand what country I'm in, and what year I'm in. As far as I know, I am in the year 2024, in the same country I was in two years ago. In today's country, there is no problem deciding that the family of a person who didn't become a soldier should not be eligible for daycare [discounts]."

Such a person, he stressed, "is not a terrorist - his whole sin is that maybe he hasn't yet enlisted, or that he, as per the rabbis' instructions, is not going to enlist until there is an arrangement ensuring that people will not be able to harm yeshiva students."

Pope Francis Turns on Israel

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/pope-francis-book-israel-gaza-genocide-hope-never-disappoints-ff367083?mod=WTRN_pos4&cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_171&cx_artPos=3

Pope Francis has written a new book to mark the 2025 jubilee. In an excerpt from “Hope Never Disappoints” that has generated headlines, he proposes a “careful investigation” by international experts into whether Israel’s actions in Gaza meet “the technical definition” of genocide.

But don’t kid yourself. What matters here is not the prospect of some authoritative finding by a respected international body. With this call, the pope has taken a side in the Hamas-Israel war. The headlines all have “pope,” “Israel,” and “genocide” in them—a great victory for anti-Israel forces.

What to know about Dr. Oz, the TV physician Trump tapped to run Medicare

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/20/dr-oz-trump-cms-credentials-controversy/

In 2014, a study in the British Medical Journal found that more than half the recommendations made on “The Dr. Oz Show” were either not backed up by, or contradicted, scientific research.

Trump’s turn to bask in Musk’s reflected glory

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/politics/trump-musk-relationship-analysis/index.html

Conflicts of interest weren’t exactly taken seriously in the first Trump administration. But Musk’s ubiquity in Trump 2.0 as the standout ally in an emerging inner circle of billionaires, millionaires and Fox News anchors means they have officially become a joke.

Sell the Steal: How Michael Flynn built a business and MAGA following out of election denialism

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/24/politics/michael-flynn-election-denialism-business-maga/index.html

Flynn – a retired Army lieutenant general who once led the Defense Intelligence Agency, and someone Trump has indicated he would include in a second administration – has been one of the biggest promoters of the same baseless voter fraud allegations that have spawned criminal investigations, a congressional inquiry and, in the case of Dominion, a $787 million defamation settlement from Fox News.

Donald Trump Taps Dr. Oz for Top Health Position

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-taps-dr-oz-top-health-position-1988555

Oz has also faced controversies surrounding his medical career. During a 2014 Senate hearing on consumer protection, former Senator Claire McCaskill said that the "scientific community is almost monolithic against you" for his weight loss product advertisements.

Linda McMahon's Nomination Attacked by Educators: 'Slap in the Face'

https://www.newsweek.com/linda-mcmahon-donald-trump-secretary-education-nomination-attacked-1988707

 Critics see the nomination as the latest instance of Trump selecting a loyalist to serve in his incoming administration over someone with more relevant experience.

"By selecting Linda McMahon, Donald Trump is showing that he could not care less about our students' futures," Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, said in a statement. She added, "McMahon's only mission is to eliminate the Department of Education and take away taxpayer dollars from public schools."

עדיין מעוכב בארץ: הרב מארה"ב חגג את נישואי נכדתו מרחוק

 https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1678908

מזה כחודשיים וחצי מעוכב בארץ רב קהילת טאהש במונסי המעורב בתיק גירושין סבוך בארה"ב. לרגל חתונת נכדתו חגג מרחוק את השמחה. צפו בתיעוד

Sometimes, Donald Trump tells the truth

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/19/trump-cabinet-outsider-heterodox-reagan/

If Trump’s underlying goal is to shrink the federal workforce, which so many other Republican presidents have talked about, then he might have stumbled on a brilliant tactic. Firing civil servants is notoriously difficult. But if Trump manages to install Gaetz at Justice or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Health and Human Services, I imagine you will see a voluntary exodus of expertise like we’ve never seen before. There’s not a lawyer in the Justice Department who couldn’t be making more money for fewer headaches in private practice.

‘We Are Reeling’: Trump’s Pick of Tulsi Gabbard Alarms Intelligence Community

 https://time.com/7176696/gabbard-russia-connection-trump-intelligence/

Weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard posted a video espousing a disproven conspiracy theory that alleged pathogens could leak from biolabs in Ukraine, a theory advanced by Russia as part of its propaganda attempt to press for a ceasefire. Then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said Gabbard had embraced “actual Russian propaganda” and called it “traitorous.” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Gabbard was “parroting fake Russian propaganda.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene: GOP Covered Up ‘Sexual Harassment and Assault’ Claims

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-gop-covered-up-sexual-harassment-and-assault-claims/

Greene suggested there’s no reason that completed reports and settlements involving lawmakers—including Gaetz’ probe—shouldn’t be made public. While she wrote that she’d even filed an ethics report herself, she didn’t specify what, or who, it involved.

The Georgia firebrand ended with a commitment to make public as many purported claims as possible: “If we’re going to dance, let’s all dance in the sunlight. I’ll make sure we do.”

Arkia and Israir to operate flights to the US, instead of foreign airlines

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/399472

The two companies plan to lease European aircraft and operate ten weekly flights using foreign crews in order to lower prices for consumers.