Sen. Richard Blumenthal: Attorney General Barr Should Resign | Hallie Jackson | MSNBC

Trump's Firing of Vindman Epitomizes the President's Most Harmful Act of All | Opinion

https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-firing-vindman-epitomizes-presidents-most-harmful-act-all-opinion-1486744

No administration in modern history has so grotesquely assaulted our core democratic values and so blatantly engaged in systemic disregard for the rule of law, as that of Donald Trump. In the coming decades, volumes will be written about the character of the impeached president and the abhorrent behavior that he and his allies used to intimidate foes and deceive the American people. But when historians recount the many ways this president and his acolytes have damaged the nation they were sworn to protect, none will prove more harmful than their decision to embrace the power of "otherizing" through divisive rhetoric and dog whistle politics.

 

 

BDS: Blackmail, Degrade & Silence

BS"D

*************

"BDS, Army-style: Blackmail, Degrade -- & Silence"

Israeli Army Brass  BLACKMAILING Lital bas Miriam:

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Accept SIX MONTHS of Military Jail Without a Fight -- or Face Years in Jail in Without A Fair Trial

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The Crusade to Terrorize Other Girls Into Army Enlistment Escalates Dramatically

17 Shvat, 5780 °°  Feb. 12, '20, (v.4) 

[This is an update of a previous post (circulated last Thursday in the weekly email of the Coalition for Jewish Values), and of this update: https://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/02/idf-antireligious-blackmail-of-female.html .]


By Binyomin Feinberg,

FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~

To check for updates, on first view of this article, as well as throughout the week,  please visit https://saveHischildren.blogspot.com -

or/and see updates for month of Shvat '80:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lddXuWtrhFZxLVA4__PVS7Zo53zNRPk8Cz7nIfxSXBE

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Refusenik Updates: 

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LITAL BAS MIRIAM: 

1.  We've reported several times on Lital bas Miriam. She is a religious bas-Cohen from Tel-Aviv, who has   been - literally - persecuted in Military Prison Four for over an entire MONTH, in the wake of her arrest at the airport on Jan. 13, '20. See:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/01/when-criminal-justice-is-truly-crimina.html


https://savehischildren.blogspot.com/2020/01/bascohen-resists-hegmonist-draft.html ;

http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/when-criminal-justice-is-truly-criminal.html. ;

http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/from-behind-israeli-iron-curtain.html *

{* Rivka No'ah bas Yehudis is the full name of the religious French immigrant Refusenik.}

There was even a recent appeal to Russian President  Putin to help save her, among other persecuted Refuseniks (http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/righteous-outrage-goes-international.html; ;
photos: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nTJT9255QwfrfYLMJ3_NaE8woQPF70MC ).

~~~

2.  On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Lital had yet another military court hearing. Chillingly, the prosecution (i.e., the Army) wanted to hit her with an extraordinarily brutal sentence. Just how long? Reportedly, the Army wants to imprison Lital not - G-d forbid - for days, weeks, or even months -- but for two YEARS!  We are informed by someone in the know that this is no ploy; the Army is apparently "out for blood."  (It is our duty to ensure that it's not her blood - or that of any innocent person - that they get.)

3.  An important question here is: why is the Israeli Army trying to impose such a draconian punishment on this non-violent, 26 y/o "threat to national security?"  Granted, according to the Army, Lital is long-term "draft-dodger," [sic] -- being "absent for years" from the military - in which enlistment is strictly prohibited by Jewish Law, to the extent we are all required to give up our lives to ensure that girls are not drafted (as the Brisker Rov OB"M so famously clarified). But why a sentence so extraordinary brutal?

4.  Clearly, the extraordinary length of the desired sentence appears to be indicative of the Army motivation operative here. It's not that they're prosecuting and persecuting this young lady IN SPITE OF of her dedication to the Torah prohibition against enlistment in the promiscuous Israeli military. In that case, they would temper their vindictiveness with a veneer of token lucidity. Rather, it's precisely BECAUSE of her steadfast dedication to safeguarding her purity and her religious values that the Israeli Army is persecuting Lital.

Moreover, inasmuch as Lital reportedly just recently received her military "service" exemption, they're not expecting her to enlist. Thus, this doesn't seem to be the usual direct choice between military incarceration and military officer exploitation. This particular military court injustice is purely to punish Lital for her refusal to yield to the Army's dictates.

[Be aware that perhaps over a fifth of the estimated 55-60(!) girls now incarcerated in Israeli military prisons are conscripts imprisoned because they wanted to shift to alternative positions in the Army.  When they finish their sentence, they often get what they want. Contrast that treatment with the antireligious abuse of girls who are religious objectors.]

5.  Moreover, not only does the Army aim to break Lital, they also want to terrorize the many, many other girls and women standing up to the Army's crusade to force women into the immoral, exploitative military. Clearly, this young lady  has been targeted to serve as a sacrificial lamb, a "Korban," to "Maitav" (the Draft Office), in order to strike terror into the hearts of even some of the strongest, most devoted girls and women resisting the Army draft. The Army message to those girls is: give up and enlist to "serve the country" (or: serve the male officers in the IDF as "Mizron Tzahali") - or else - face severe military injustice.

6.  That's not all. At that same proceeding, the military judge "directed" the prosecution to strike a "compromise" with the defense. That "compromise" reportedly involves imposing a "settlement" on Lital - that requires she agree to a staggering SIX MONTHS in Military Prison, without even allowing her a chance to fight for her religious and human rights in court.

7.  In essence, this "compromise offer" itself is judicial blackmail: either agree to a half a year without fighting for your rights, or else face the tyranny of two years in Military Prison, all without the chance to a fair fight in court (see posts above).

Moreover, the litany of illicit and illegal actions of the Draft Office, and the Prison System, all provide additional clarification as to why the government is blackmailing Lital into giving up before even beginning her legal battle in earnest: they don't want all of their illegalities and corruption involved in this case to be exposed to the Free World. In other words, the government is acting like guilty bullies normally act: they terrorize the victim commensurate with their guilt, in order to cover it up. (This pattern of malfeasance should be familiar to those who've dealt with child molesters and similar criminals.)

Plea-deals often make sense - for guilty people. But this is plain judicial tyranny.

8.  Above all, this travesty is a clear case of the Army terrorizing an innocent religious woman for remaining steadfast in her adherence to the Torah prohibition against enlistment in the immoral, exploitative military.  If this abomination would be perpetrated anywhere else in the world, we'd call it what it is: Jew-Hatred, of the worst sort.

It's noteworthy that Lital is a "Bas-Cohen" (the daughter of a Cohen, descending from priestly lineage). The last time the precursors of the ruling antireligious Hellenistic Establishment tried forcing a Bas Cohen into a similarly repugnant arrangement  - with a Greek officer ("Hegmon") - over 2,100 years ago - we procured a new Holiday (Chanukah). That occurred in the wake of the bloody Civil War triggered by the priestly brothers of Yehudis. Her brothers, and the many Jews who joined them,  opted to fight, and ultimately defeat the enemy, rather than let their sisters and daughters be treated as "Miz'ron Yevani." [Realize that one female Army-abuse-victim reported that a high-level IDF officer candidly informed her that "girls in the Army are Miz'ron Tzahali." See #21, below.]

9.  As explained in previous posts, all of this torment struck Lital in the wake of her naively submitting to a Religiosity Interview ("Rayon Dat") over seven years ago, around the the time she finished school (in addition to submitting her religiosity certification, her "tatzhir dat"). At that time, the (female) Draft Officer tripped Lital up on a question about the Reading of the Torah, something from which women are generally exempt, by Jewish Law. It was a question that should not have even been asked. At this time, it appears that under the pretext of that question - and perhaps certain additional, similarly irrelevant queries - "Maitav" (the Draft Office) refused to provide Lital the religious exemption to which she was entitled. (See also: 

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/02/religious-exemption-without-religious.html ).

10.  Subsequently, Lital reportedly got mixed messages, and never got a conclusive picture of her final draft status. Like thousands of other girls, she never got any documentation to clarify her draft status one way or the other. 

Additionally, Lital was apparently misled by Border Police. Her family claims that immediately prior to her surprise-arrest at the airport in mid-January, she repeatedly checked with Israeli Border Police. They told her that she's ok to travel, without concern of her name being on the list of non-exempted girls. When she arrived at the airport, they arrested her, to the shock of her parents.

Did Israeli Border Police intentionally give Lital misinformation to ambush her? If so, that would explain why the Army consistently refuses to comply with the government requirement that the Army notify the girls shortly after they submit their religiosity certification.  This way, they can get the girls to drop their guard, and arrest them anytime the opportunity presents itself (e.g. a traffic infraction). Thereby, the Army can use the threat of extended incarceration in the brutal military prison environment as blackmail - to force religious girls into  enlisting, all in flagrant violation of the Torah.

11.  To top it all off, it was reported that Lital's right of communication (already severely limited) has been [illegally] impeded by the prison authorities, on multiple occasions. How can Lital possibly ensure a semblance of a fair hearing - especially when the stakes are so monumental - without the ability to communicate with whomever she needs to? 

12.  Lital's next hearing was set to be held Monday, Feb. 10, but was adjourned until later next week.

Please daven for Lital bas Miriam. We hope that her attorney stands strong against the government terror, and refuses to accept the six month extortion-sentence. The Israeli government should be put on notice that this will not pass without a vibrant public fight.

13.  The frum media as well need be put on notice that this barbaric, anti-Jewish abuse of an innocent young lady cannot be allowed to continue. In addition, Torah Sages  in the past had helped organize womens' demonstrations against the government, over the drafting of girls.  Now, it is so much more necessary, and so much more technically feasible.

~~~~~~~~~~

14.  Shockingly, there are currently approximately 55-60 girls and women imprisoned in Israeli Military Prison. True, not every imprisoned girl is necessarily in jail for refusing to serve in the Army. Some are incarcerated for other reasons (e.g., some seek to be shifted to an alternative position in the military, and many of those would probably prefer to opt out of the Army altogether if we would be able to ensure their success). But, regardless, the Israeli government has no right to enlist females; therefore they has no right to impose Army regimen on them. All the more so, they have no right to impose military incarceration.  (Also be aware that the girls in jail are encouraged to snitch on each other, in return for benefits and better conditions. So some girls may be languishing in prison because of what a fellow inmate was encouraged to "report.")

~~~~~~

15.  Ta'i ["Ta-ee"] bas Oshrah had been imprisoned in Military Prison Six in the North for over a week for her refusal to enlist in the Army. B"H she was just released, but without a military service exemption.

16.  Another girl, Mai, was reportedly just released from Military Prison Four about a week ago, B"H.

17.  Another religious girl, Tal-Yah bas Liz, continues to languish in Military Prison Four for her refusal to serve in the Army. So far, she's been suffering there for an outrageous amount of time, approximately EIGHT weeks total. We are informed that she urgently needs tefillos and vibrant public advocacy.

18.  Another religious girl, an immigrant from France, Rivka No'a bas Yehudis, has been similarly incarcerated for an outrageous amount of time, (also) approaching TWO MONTHS, in Military Prison Six. She was notified that she will get an exemption from Army service, BE"H. However, despite that exemption, they insist on keeping her imprisoned until she completes the 12-day punitive sentence handed up Jan. 30.  (She was due to be released this week.)

Bear in mind that even though Rivka No'a ostensibly submitted her religiosity certification late, there is additional reason to have waived that minor technical infraction: she is much needed to care for her disabled father. Her father was severely injured in a car-crash two years ago, and still cannot walk or properly function on his own.

This persecution of girls with seriously ill parents or siblings is a consistently recurring theme in the narrative of female military incarceration in Israel. It's frequency really warrants a dedicated expose, perhaps entitled "Government Klinghoffer Syndrome."  Other examples, all involving additional, grotesque human rights abuses, include:

° Lital bas Miriam, who has a very ill brother;

° Avigail Leah  Houseband (who finally received her exemption without compromising with the IDF demand for a Rayon Dat) has a very ill mother (Rus Ester Leemor bas Tzipora, a baalas teshuva who was previously an IAF captain), who heroically fought for her daughter's spiritual safety despite her deteriorating condition;

° Ziva bas Mazal, a religious Ethiopian girl, to whom the Army  continues to refuse a religious exemption, without even a pretext of denial of her religiosity;

° the Bnos Beruria R. daughters, who's father, Rav Avrohom Y., has been very ill; and

° Yuval bas Tamar, whose father had been very ill while Yuval had endured over six months of government religious-persecution, in one of the most repugnant, brazen, ongoing human rights abuses in the reported history of the struggle of religious female IDF Refuseniks.

~~~~~

19.  One of the outstanding questions here is:

Where are the ostensibly rightwing and religious Knesset members? Even just prior to a high-stakes election (a third consecutive election at that), they cannot muster the self-interest-impelled gumption to raise a massive alarm over these blatant and unrelenting evils, assaults against Jewish girls that threaten the very future of the Jewish People?

20. Another question is: Has this genre of anti-religious persecution of Jewish women become the "price" that righteous Israeli women are now expected pay - to ensure that the relentlessly-distracted "rightwing" and religious "representatives" continue to hold onto their over-occupied seats in the Knesset? 

~~~
21.  Also see:

CREEP STATE:  Sexual Exploitation - Via Escalation of Religiosity-Interrogations

http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/02/creep-state.html

The Jewish nightmare of Bernie vs. Trump

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-jewish-nightmare-of-bernie-vs-trump/

 In his first months in office, President Trump emboldened the far-right fringe. President Sanders would do the same with the far left

 

Trump talks Roger Stone, Bloomberg stop and frisk controversy and Vindman following bill signing

Entire Roger Stone Prosecution Team Quits Case In Protest | All In | MSNBC

More Than 50,000 People Sign Petition Demanding Investigation Into DOJ's Roger Stone Reversal As Prosecutors Resign

https://www.newsweek.com/thousands-sign-petition-investigation-doj-over-trump-ally-roger-stone-sentencing-proposal-1486928

More than 50,000 people have signed a petition calling for an investigation into the Department of Justice's decision to slash the amount of prison time it is seeking for Roger Stone, the former Trump adviser convicted last year of obstructing Congress's probe into Russian inteference in the 2016 presidential election.

"The Department of Justice appears to be putting Donald Trump's friends above the law," reads the petition which was published on MoveOn.org, reaching more than 51,800 signatures by early Wednesday morning.

"The Justice Department's internal watchdog must investigate the corrupt about-face made at the seeming behest of Donald Trump and call out cronyism within its own ranks," it states. "But given how compromised disgraced Attorney General William Barr is, we cannot trust the Justice Department to correct its course. The House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of Barr, must also investigate independently."

Gaining tens of thousands of signatures overnight, the petition comes after four prosecutors who were working on the Stone case quit on Tuesday after the DOJ moved to reduce the proposed sentence recommendation it had just put forward on Monday.

 

king Trump congratulates Barr on ‘taking charge’ of Roger Stone case, says it ‘was totally out of control’

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-congratulates-barr-on-taking-charge-of-roger-stone-case-says-it-was-totally-out-of-control

 President Trump offered "congratulations" to Attorney General Bill Barr after the Justice Department submitted an amended filing in Roger Stone's criminal case seeking a lighter sentence for the former Trump campaign adviser than prosecutors first recommended -- a move that comes as Democrats accuse the White House of politicizing the DOJ and career prosecutors are withdrawing from the case in apparent protest.

Federal prosecutors initially suggested a lengthy sentence of between 87 and 108 months in prison on Monday, which Trump called "a horrible and very unfair situation." The following day, the DOJ leadership overruled the prosecutors in the case, submitting a new filing that said the DOJ "respectfully submits that a sentence of incarceration far less than 87 to 108 months’ imprisonment would be reasonable" for Stone.

Police investigate Bnei Brak preschool assistant suspected of abuse

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275902

David was videotaped slapping an 11-month-old baby, throwing him on the couch and carpet, and placing a towel over his face and suffocating him. Later, she went out to smoke, leaving him alone.

Attorney Yaron Forer, who is representing David, said: "The prosecution decided to respond with excess severity. Over the course of the year, my client has expressed sorrow and regret for her actions. We are aware of the fact that these actions are not simple, but at the same time she has undergone a very difficult period, both due to the embarrassment and due to the shaming on social media."

 

With New Hampshire Win, Bernie Sanders Is the Democrats’ 2020 Front-Runner

https://time.com/5782619/bernie-sanders-2020-democratic-frontrunner-new-hampshire/

At first, the cheers for Bernie Sanders were so deafening he could hardly begin his speech. “This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,” the Vermont Senator and newly minted Democratic presidential front-runner declared. “No matter who wins—and we certainly hope it’s going to be us—we are going to unite together and defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country.”

 

Sanders holds off Buttigieg to clinch New Hampshire in tight primary race

https://www.timesofisrael.com/sanders-holds-off-buttigieg-to-clinch-new-hampshire-in-tight-primary-race/

  New Hampshire — Bernie Sanders was on track to beat Pete Buttigieg in the New Hampshire Democratic primary Tuesday night as the two men from different generations and wings of their party battled for front-runner status in the chaotic nomination fight to take on US President Donald Trump. With nearly 90 percent of ballots counted, Sanders — the flag-bearer for the party’s progressive wing — had 26 percent of votes, with Indiana ex-mayor Buttigieg narrowly trailing on 24.3 percent and fellow Midwesterner Klobuchar on 19.9 percent.

 

George F. Will On The Need To Defeat Trump | The Last Word | MSNBC

Every Prosecutor On Roger Case Quits In Protest After DOJ Lightens Sentencing Recommendation | MSNBC

Trump says US military may discipline dismissed security official Vindman

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/11/trump-alexander-vindman-impeachment-trial-us-military

 “I obviously wasn’t happy with the job he did,” Trump said of Vindman. “First of all he reported a false call … what was said on the call was totally appropriate.”

One of Vindman’s lawyers, David Pressman said, “There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth.”

Vindman’s twin brother, who served as a senior NSC lawyer, was also recalled last week, though he did not serve as a witness in the impeachment. The Vindman brothers will be reassigned to the defense department, according to a spokesperson.

 

‘We are not a banana republic’: National security adviser defends Vindman dismissals

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/11/banana-republic-obrien-vindman-dismissals-114212

 National security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday defended the dismissal of Lt. Cols. Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman from the National Security Council, suggesting that the officials were trying to undermine the president.

“We’re not a country where a bunch of lieutenant colonels can get together and decide what the policy is of the United States,” O’Brien said during an event at the Atlantic Council think tank. “We are not a banana republic.”

 

O’Brien also insisted that the twin brothers — one of whom, Alexander, was a crucial witness against President Donald Trump in the investigation that led to his impeachment on a charge of abuse of power — were “absolutely” not retaliated against.

But Trump tweeted on Saturday that Alexander Vindman was “OUT” because he was “insubordinate” and had reported the contents of Trump’s July phone call with the Ukrainian president “incorrectly.” It also still isn’t clear why Yevgeny Vindman, an NSC ethics lawyer who was not involved in the impeachment process at all, was fired.

4 Prosecutors Quit After Justice Dept. Takes Extraordinary Step of Lowering Recommended Prison Time for Roger Stone

https://time.com/5782201/roger-stone-prison-recommendation-change/

The four attorneys, including two who were early members of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia team, had made up the Justice Department’s trial team and had signed onto a Monday court filing that recommended up to nine years in prison for Stone.

The department’s decision to back off the sentencing recommendation raised questions about political interference and whether Trump’s views hold unusual sway over the Justice Department, which is meant to operate independently of the White House in criminal investigations and prosecutions.

 

Driver arrested for plowing into a tent of Trump supporters registering voters, police say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/09/gop-voter-registration-attack/

Republican volunteers in Jacksonville, Fla., were registering people to vote in a shopping center Saturday afternoon when a man drove a van through their red tent, then fled, according to law enforcement officials, an incident that has drawn condemnation from prominent Florida lawmakers and President Trump.

The Trick To Tracking Trump’s Lies And Corruption | MSNBC

Chris Hayes: Trump Is Weak, And Beatable | All In | MSNBC

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security: Trump's Proposed Budget Slashes Entitlements—and Campaign Promises

https://www.newsweek.com/medicare-medicaid-social-security-trumps-proposed-budget-slashes-entitlements-campaign-1486595

President Donald Trump has vowed over the course of his presidency not to cut federal spending for entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. But his $4.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2021, unveiled Monday, seeks to do just that.

The White House budget, which is a proposal that congressional appropriators can choose whether to take into consideration when it's offered by the administration each year, would cut billions from the three major safety-net programs over the next decade. It's unclear in what way and by how much the slash in funding to agencies that oversee the programs would affect recipients' benefits.

 

In Extraordinary Step, Justice Dept. to Lower Recommended Prison Time for Roger Stone: AP Source

https://time.com/5782201/roger-stone-prison-recommendation-change/

  The Justice Department will take the extraordinary step of lowering the recommended prison time for Roger Stone, an ally of President Donald Trump, a federal official said Tuesday, just hours after the president condemned the recommended sentence as “very horrible and unfair.”

Federal prosecutors also recently softened their sentencing position on former national security adviser Michael Flynn, saying that they would not oppose a probation of punishment after initially saying that he deserved up to six months in prison for lying to the FBI. The Flynn prosecution is also being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington.

response to Giyus Banos

Maybe if we eased up a little regarding the boys we could gain some leverage to save the girls

 

 

BSD

Rabbi ...,

A darhoibeneh Chamisha Asar beShvat,

I agree we must look inward.

I think we ought start by identifying the somewhat pervasive rot in the frum/chareidi world that's at the root of the government crusade against the girls. The government couldn't possibly dare to embark on this persecutory Giyus Banos program without hefty Chareidi betrayal from within.

1 

I'm referring to the elevation of power-grabs from an art form to an addiction, by some frum askonim. 

2. 

Not to mention the pervasive worship of government money.

3.

Then you have the unhinged, "blind as a bat," Kool-Aid devotionalism - to various intrepid "frum" party hacks, political climbers who unabashedly deny the very existence of Giyus Banos, because it's only being perpetrated against girls other than "unzereh..." (And then they have the azus to brand that cultism as "Daas Torah." )

4.

Then you have frum people out there being bodaik the tzitzis of every girl arrested, and some more satanic ones even being mozti la'az on the incarcerated and persecuted girls*, claiming that they're not "frum." (My father reminded me that "FRUM" sometimes stands for "Fill mit Rishus, U'vainig Mitzvos.")

[*Sounds similar to what Reb Elchonon Wasserman speaks about in Kovetz HeOros, Agada 10, regarding Zera Amalek, see there.]

5. Then you have a large crowd of useful idiots in the frum world who serve as consumers of this nonsense, perhaps out of convenience.

6. Compound that with the common cowardice of many functionaries/Rabbonim, and others, who see the truth - but are too afraid or apathetic to speak out when girls are being abused in the Army, in jail, in court, and by frum slanderers.

So is it a surprise?

So if we deal with that, I think we're well taken care of.

PS Btw, the aforementioned corruptiles eased up on the boys long ago; they beat you to the idea. It's just that they didn't intend to help the girls either - having abandoned them too ... in favor of the finer things in life...

THIS is, in part, what I meant when I mentioned to you, a few years ago, that one thing that scares me more than an Israeli government filled with Chilonim is an Israeli government filled with Chareidim...

I do agree that broader Israeli society needs to see frum people caring about people other than themselves. I think the dealing w/ the aforementioned issues will address that, in part.

We as individuals need to set an example by not emulating the aforementioned.

Marie Yovanovitch: These are turbulent times. But we will persist and prevail.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/06/marie-yovanovitch-ukraine-ambassador-american-institutions-need-us/

When civil servants in the current administration saw senior officials taking actions they considered deeply wrong in regard to the nation of Ukraine, they refused to take part. When Congress asked us to testify about those activities, my colleagues and I did not hesitate, even in the face of administration efforts to silence us.

 

'Proud' Retired General Responds to Lindsey Graham's Vindman Attack: 'We Thought You Guys Were Rock Stars…Where Are You Now?'

https://www.newsweek.com/retired-general-responds-lindsey-graham-alexander-vindman-attack-rock-star-1486644

Retired Brigadier General Peter Zwack was responding to Graham's appearance on CBS' Face the Nation show Sunday, in which the South Carolina senator said Vindman's removal was "justified" and suggested the NSC staffer could no longer "be effective" in his role. Vindman was a key witness in Trump's impeachment and detailed alleged wrongdoing by the president.

Zwack told CNN on Monday that Graham's argument was "ridiculous" and described Vindman—who he once supervised—and other NSC staff who testified as "great Americans." As a "proud" retired member of the intelligence community, Zwack joked that he is "a card-carrying member of the deep state."

 

Sheldon, Miriam Adelson to spend $100 million for Trump re-election bid

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Sheldon-Miriam-Adelson-to-spend-100-million-for-Trump-re-election-bid-617187

 The Guardian on Monday quoted three Republican fundraisers it did not name as saying that the couple, known for their generosity to Republicans, pro-Israel causes and medical research, was ready to spend nearly the same amount, $124 million, as they did in the 2016 cycle. One of the Guardian’s sources said it could reach $200 million.

 

In New Hampshire, Democratic Voters Are Paralyzed by Fear of Making the Wrong Choice

https://time.com/5781797/new-hampshire-democratic-primary/

 If Sanders wins here, will he be unstoppable? And if so, then what? The party mandarins are sure he’s a disaster in the making, a recipe for re-electing Trump—that American voters will never go for a 78-year-old democratic socialist with an expensive, disruptive agenda. That, in the words of the celebrity consultant James Carville, who’s been stumping in New Hampshire for the long-shot moderate Michael Bennet, “we don’t have time for left-wing fantasies in this country.”

It’s a weird moment for a party that for three years has poured its energy into fighting Trump at every turn. Suddenly, the Democrats seem gripped by a low-grade panic, confronting the reality of a difficult primary with no consensus to be had. Somehow, up against a president they regard as a joke, a failure and a threat to the republic, they’re all flogging unity while running in different directions. A field that began with an embarrassment of riches—a record-setting 25 major candidates, including many truly big-time resumes—is now down to this odd lot of flawed hopefuls. Partisans find themselves seized by the paralyzing fear of making the wrong choice—or the sense that the right one doesn’t exist.

Alexander Vindman Deserves Better

Why are there few Torah giants today? Rabbi Sternbuch explains

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275845

Edah Haharedit Rabbinical Court Judge Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch addressed in his lesson the reason for the small number of great Torah scholars in our generation, attributing this phenomenon to the absence of continuous diligence in Torah study.

 

"I heard from the great Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer that the world is wondering and asking why it is that our portion has worsened in that Torah giants don’t emerge from among our ranks as they did from the students of the Volozhin Yeshiva,” he said in a lesson delivered to students in Modi'in Illit, according the the haredi website JDN.