On Thursday, Senate hearings begin on RFK Jr.’s nomination as secretary for Health and Human Services.
But nothing has changed about Kennedy from last spring. He’s still a radical left lunatic who is anti-energy, a “big time” taxer and completely incoherent about our nation’s health.
No Republican can vote for this guy. No senator should.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5108598-wall-street-journal-rfk-jr-hhs-trump-anti-vax/?tbref=hp
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal is coming out in opposition to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Senate Republicans have an obligation to scrutinize his giant closet of business conflicts and dubious ideas,” the Journal wrote in an editorial published Sunday ahead of Kennedy’s hearings with the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday.
The newspaper’s op-ed board said it expects Kennedy to “obfuscate about his ties to trial lawyers, anti-vaccine views, and support for sundry progressive causes,” while also “presenting himself as a truth-teller and slayer of government corruption, [even though] he’s as slippery as Anthony Fauci.”
“Most troubling is his long record of anti-vaccine advocacy,” the Journal wrote, noting the former presidential candidate has “tried to soften his vaccine skepticism since being nominated, and he now says he won’t take away anyone’s vaccines.”
1) The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 944) records an episode that occurred immediately following the brutal murder of Rav Akiva. Eliyahu Hanavi came to bury Rav Akiva. As Eliyahu carried Rav Akiva’s body on his shoulders, Rav Yehoshua, one of Rav Akiva’s main disciples, wondered how this is permitted if in fact Eliyahu was a kohen (as was indicated previously in the Midrash). Eliyahu responded: “Rav Yehoshua, my son, heaven forbid for tumah does not exist when it comes to talmidei chachamim or their students.” Some poskim feel that the statement of Eliyahu can serve as a source to allow kohanim to visit the graves of tzadikim.
Igros Moshe (OH II:113) The question was raised why the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch do not mention that it is prohibited to spit today on the Temple mount? The answer given that it is irrelevant since it is prohibited for those who are impure from the dead (as everyone today has that status) to go there. In fact, however, there are places on the Temple mount that it is permitted for those impure from the dead to enter even according to Rabbinic prohibition. That is until the Chayel which is before the Soreg. The Rambam writes that the Soreg encloses and possibly the Chayel encloses as is explained by Tosfos Yom Tov. That would mean it would be permitted from all sides even on the west, for those who are spiritually impure to enter up to the Soreg which is a number of amos wide. I couldn’t find the exact measure. However according to the Rosh the Soreg is only on the east from north to south it is possible that the Chayel is only there, if so then on the other sides after 10 amos of the Chayel behind the Ezras Nashim it would be permitted. Also on the western side it would be permitted for the impure from the dead as well as other impurities since they can go to mikveh. If you are concerned for zivah they can count seven clean days and then tovel in a mikveh and after the sun sets they would be spiritually pure. Even if they didn’t bring a korban, they are allowed in the Ezras Nashim and surely on the rest of the Temple Mount as stated by the Rambam. .In conclusion we find that regarding the prohibition of spitting on the Temple Mount, those places where it is prohibited to spit it is also prohibited for the impure from the dead to enter Perhaps the problem is that it is not so clear which wall. If there is a clear tradition that it is the Western Wall of the Temple Mount or the Wall of the Ezara behind the Kapores then it would definitely be prohibited for the impure from the dead. It is also possible that it is the lower wall which is prohibited even according to the Rosh. I seem to recall that Rav Dovid Karliner was uncertain which wall. Perhaps this is the reason that they say about the Brisker Rav that he did not go to the Western Wall because of concerns for spiritual impurity. But I find that astounding! The place that Jews have prayed for many generations, obviously has a tradition from the ancient rabbis that it is permitted top go there – so how can anyone disagree with them?
Igros Moshe (OH II #113) ומה שתירצת מה שהקשה בספר אומר השכחה מה שבטור וש"ע לא הוזכר הדין דאסור לרקוק בזה"ז בהר הבית, משום שלא יצוייר למעשה דאסור ליכנס טמאי מתים לשם וכולנו טמאי מתים, הנה הא יש מקום בהר הבית שמותרין טמאי מתים ליכנס לשם אף מדרבנן שהוא עד החיל שהיה לפנים מהסורג. ולמה דאיתא ברמב"ם פ"ה מביה"ב ה"ג שהסורג היה מקיף סביב אפשר גם החיל היה סביב ובתי"ט מדות פ"ב מ"ג מפורש כן בשם הראבי"ה, הרי מותר מכל צד אף במערבי ליכנס טמאי מתים עד הסורג שהיה רוחב איזה אמות, ולא מצאתי השיעור, ולפי' הרא"ש במדות שם שהסורג היה רק לצד המזרח מצפון לדרום אפשר גם החיל היה רק שם, וא"כ אפשר שבצדדים האחרים אחר העשר אמות של החיל אחורי העזרת נשים וכן מצד מערב היה מותר לטמאי מתים. ומשאר טומאות הא אפשר לטבול, ואם יחוש לזיבה יספור שבעה נקיים ויטבול במים חיים ויעריב שמשו, ואף שהוא מחו"כ =מחוסר כפרה= הא מותר מחו"כ אף בעזרת נשים וכ"ש בשאר הר הבית כדאיתא ברמב"ם פ"ג מביה"מ ה"ה. ונמצא שנוגע הדין שאסור לרקוק באותו המקום מהר הבית שמותרין טמאי מתים ליכנס ומקשה שפיר. ואולי אינו ברור כ"כ איזה כותל היא אם היה קבלה ברורה שהוא כותל מערבי של הר הבית או כותל העזרה שאחורי בית הכפורת שלכן אסור לשם טמאי מתים כתירוצך וגם אפשר שהוא כותל התא שאף להרא"ש אסור. וכמדומני שבס' שאילת דוד להגאון ר"ד מקרלין מסתפק בהכותל איזה הוא. ואולי זהו טעם הגאון רי"ז מבריסק זצ"ל שאמרו עליו שלא הלך אל כותל המערבי מחשש טומאה. אבל אני תמה כי מקום שמתפללין שם הוא ודאי קבלה מדורות רבותינו הראשונים שמותר לילך לשם ואיך שייך לחלוק עליהם.
Much has been made of the news that Reform has overtaken Labour in voting intentions in a recent poll. The poll, produced by market research agency Find Out Now, put the Conservatives on 26%, Reform on 24% and Labour on 23%.
Most recent polls show that Labour is still ahead of Reform, but only by a small margin. So while it is too early to say that Reform is beating Labour, it is nonetheless snapping at the heels of both Labour and the Conservatives. If this pattern of support continues up to the local elections in May next year, Reform is very likely to win a lot more councillors.
President Donald Trump stepped back into the presidency this week moving quickly to set a new agenda, but from his inaugural address continuing through a flurry of executive actions, press conferences and interviews Trump relied on an array of false and misleading information to support his case.
Jan. 6 attacks on police downplayed
CLAIM: Asked by Hannity why he pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police at the Capitol, Trump said, “They were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged and they were protesting the vote.” He noted that some of the rioters engaged with police, “but they were very minor incidents.”
THE FACTS: Rioters at the Capitol engaged in hand-to-hand combat with police and many of the rioters were carrying weapons, including firearms, knives, brass knuckle gloves, a pitchfork, a hatchet, a sledgehammer and a bow. They also used makeshift weapons, such as flagpoles, a table leg, a hockey stick and a crutch, to attack officers. One officer was crushed in a doorframe and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter pressed a stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him. One rioter was charged with climbing scaffolding and firing a gun in the air during the melee.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/20/labour-takes-seven-point-lead-farage-opinium-poll
The Opinium survey will also be worrying for Farage, as it shows his personal ratings diving to a level below those of David Cameron, following a series of controversies, including his public comments about the need for women to be discreet when breastfeeding. Farage’s rating has dropped to -17% (the percentage of voters who approve of his performance minus those who disapprove), a fall of eight points since a fortnight ago and the lowest score recorded for him by Opinium.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5107238-trump-gaza-strip-cnn/?tbref=hp
President Trump indicated Sunday that the way to help the situation in Gaza is to “clean out the whole thing.”
Trump said he would like the two bordering countries, Jordan and Egypt, to house Gazans. He also said he would speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about that idea.
Two senior Republican senators on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to rethink his decision to strip personal security from some former Trump administration officials, one of whom was the target of an alleged Iranian plot.
Lindsey Graham, a strong Trump backer, told CNN Trump's move could make it harder to recruit the right people in the future.
"Whether you like John Bolton or not, that's not the question for me ... We need to make sure that if you serve in our government and you take on a foreign power at the request of the administration that we do not leave you hanging," he said.
Only one-third of British Jews believe that Jews have a long-term future in the United Kingdom, and half have considered leaving Britain in the past two years due to antisemitism, according to a new survey published by the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
