Tuesday, October 20, 2026

‘Everything he said there was a LIE’: Joe SLAMS Trump over false claims at Kansas rally

Trump Uses ‘Shylock’ Term Again—A Year After Claiming He Didn’t Know It Was Antisemitic

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2026/10/20/trump-again-uses-shylock-term-a-year-after-claiming-he-didnt-know-it-was-antisemitic/

President Donald Trump once again used the term “Shylock,” widely considered antisemitic, while defending Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., at a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday night, more than a year after he faced widespread criticism for his use of the term and claimed he was unaware that the term had antisemitic connotations.

Marshall worked as an obstetrician before entering politics, and the Times reported that the lawsuits led to some patients having their paychecks garnished and others being arrested after missing court appearances.

“And they made it like, oh, he was some kind of a Shylock-type guy,” Trump said, arguing that Marshall had been unfairly criticized over his past medical debt collection practices.

Trump previously faced criticism over the term “Shylock” in July last year at a campaign rally in Iowa, where he was touting his domestic policy bill. He said “Think of that: no death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowings from in some cases a fine banker. And in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.” The use of the term drew immediate pushback, and the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement saying it “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous,” and added: “President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.” The term originates from William Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice,” which features a character named “Shylock” who is a Jewish money lender.



VERIFY: Did the cancellation of Keystone XL pipeline by President Biden cause spike in gas prices?

The Real Reasons for High Oil and Gas Prices

 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/real-reasons-high-oil-an

In the wake of the devastating Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. gas prices soared, averaging $4.25 a gallon. Now fossil fuel companies and their political allies have seized the opportunity to suggest that additional fossil fuel investment is the solution. Their arguments are rife with misinformation. This is calculated, of course, meant to pad the industry’s pockets and lock more generations into fossil fuel dependence. That would, in turn, further delay the clean energy future necessary to achieve real energy independence. Here are some of the myths to look out for and the facts that refute them.

Fact-check: We can safely say the Biden administration’s decision to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL), an extension of the fully operational Keystone Pipeline System, had no impact on current oil prices. 

Yes, allies of the oil and gas industry—from Fox News hosts to former vice president Mike Pence—are claiming that the pipeline would have buffered Americans from high gas prices and reduced U.S. reliance on Russian oil. That’s false on multiple levels.

First, it would have taken years for KXL to be fully operational, so its increased supply would have no bearing on current gas prices. Second, the 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil it would have carried daily were intended to head directly to refineries on the Gulf Coast—and then likely to markets overseas.

High gas prices falsely attributed to Keystone XL cancellation

 https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-895299166310

THE FACTS: Social media users are pointing to President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2021 as a major reason for high gas prices in the U.S. in recent weeks. Gas prices have reached record highs since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A meme posted on Facebook last week, which now has over 20,000 shares, reads: “Facts: If they didn’t shut down our pipelines we wouldn’t be paying $7 for gas.”

“So the guy who closed the Keystone pipeline on Day one, wants us to believe it’s Russia’s fault for the gas crisis,” says another Facebook post.

Even if the Keystone XL pipeline had been completed, the amount of oil it was designed to transport would have been a drop in the bucket for U.S. demand, experts noted. The U.S. used nearly 20 million barrels of oil a day last year, while global consumption of oil was near 100 million barrels. The pipeline would have contributed less than 1% to the world supply of oil, according to AP reporting.

“The total volume of additional supply is negligible in a market that uses 100 million barrels of oil every day,” Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia, said in an email statement to the AP.

Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as midterms approach, a new AP-NORC poll finds

 https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2026/most-americans-blame-trump-for-high-prices-as-midterms-approach-a-new-ap-norc-poll-finds/

A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.

The dismal numbers come just weeks before midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress and while Trump is hitting the campaign trail with an aggressive schedule of rallies. But Trump — who has asked voters to pretend that he is on the ballot as he tries to bolster turnout — remains deeply unpopular, with even many Republicans faulting him for failing to deliver on promised relief.

But Americans were less likely to blame Biden in the lead-up to that year’s midterm elections, a sharp contrast with the solid majority who hold Trump responsible now. In October 2022, 44% of Americans said Biden’s policies were responsible for high prices, while 55% blamed factors outside of his control.

תושב בית שמש נאשם בעבירות מין בארבעה קטינים במקווה ובבתי כנסת

 https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/local/1111025/

Translation by AI 

Jerusalem District Prosecution filed a severe indictment today (Tuesday, October 20, 2026) against 

Yechiel Yehoshua Brand, a 33-year-old resident of Beit Shemesh, for committing sex offenses against four minors aged 13 to 16.

According to media reports, the indictment filed in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court charges Brand with committing indecent acts, indecent acts against a minor under the age of 14, and attempted indecent acts.

Key details from the indictment include:

• Exploitation of holy and public spaces: The defendant exploited various opportunities between 2024 and 2026 when the minors were in synagogues, ritual baths (mikvahs), and a supermarket in the city to assault them.

• Assault during prayer: In one described incident, Brand pressed against a minor and rubbed against him in a synagogue. Later, while the minor was praying the Shemoneh Esrei (Amidah) prayer, the defendant touched him multiple times. The minor tried to push his hand away and move to another spot, but the defendant followed him and continued his actions.

• Indecent acts in the mikvah: In one incident, the defendant touched a minor as he exited the immersion pool, and in another instance, he touched a minor in the changing area of the ritual bath.

• Abuse of a minor under 14: The fourth charge details multiple instances of sexual contact and indecent acts against a minor under the age of 14, including blocking his path on the stairs leading out of the immersion pool.

Threadbare

 https://aish.com/48965011/

There are times when one is forced to address the deliciously ludicrous. When "kabbalistic" red strings, once wound around Rachel's Tomb and then worn to ward off the evil eye, become the latest Hollywood fad -- selling for a staggering $26 a piece! - and dragging Judaism's ancient and holy mystical works onto New York Post's Page Six column, we have most certainly reached one of those times.

A group of Hollywood glitterati have turned contritely to look for the meaning of life in the great tradition of Kabbalah. An astute salesman turned "kabbalist" has taken note of their needs and filtered out the less marketable demands of Kabbalah, and presented a Kabbalah that demands little more than cash from its adherents. The reams of exhortation found in the Zohar and Arizal -- the two most fundamental Kabbalah texts -- against hedonism and lust have somehow been hidden from sight.

Firstly, there is absolutely no genuine kabbalistic source for wearing a red thread around one's wrist to ward off the "evil eye." While there exists such a practice amongst some devout Jews, it is not mentioned in any kabbalistic work.

Tosefta Shabbos 07:01) The following are practices constituting "the ways of the Amorites": one who styles his hair in the komi fashion, one who fashions a forelock, one who leaves a tuft of hair at the nape of the neck, one who drags her child among the dead, one who ties an object to his thigh or a red thread around his finger, one who counts and casts pebbles into the sea or a river—all these are "ways of the Amorites." Likewise, one who claps his hands, slaps his thighs, or dances before a flame—these, too, are "ways of the Amorites."

Rejoice at Suffering of Others

 Shiurei Daas (2:13): Sanhedrin (101a): When R’ Eliezer became sick, R’ Akiva laughed when he saw him suffering. He explained, “I was worried that Heaven forefend that my teacher was receiving all his reward in this world, but now that I see him suffering I am happy.” It is very difficult to hear these words and our minds simply can’t tolerate them. How can somebody be happy at another’s suffering especially someone as great as R’ Eliezer - whose holiness is described in many places in the gemora and Zohar… This gemora is so incredible that there is nothing comparable to it. While it is clearly praise worthy to rejoice at one’s own suffering but it is totally offensive to rejoice at another’s suffering - even if the intent is for the good of the other person…. However if you think deeply about it from another perspective, not only is it not problem to rejoice at another’s suffering but it is obvious that just the opposite is true. Why shouldn’t a very spiritual person rejoice at other people’s suffering? He is fully aware that the suffering is beneficial for the person’s soul? Someone who deeply understands the purpose of man in this world will obviously rejoice. He knows how indispensable it is to attain the true pleasure of the World to Come even at the expense of the worthless pleasures of this world… To cry over the suffering of others or to comfort them for their suffering is appropriate for all people and there is obviously nothing wrong with it. In fact empathizing with the other’s suffering involves the best of human nature. Comforting others isn’t a problem even if he isn’t deeply affected by the suffering or his condolences are not totally sincere. In contrast to rejoice at another’s suffering or to console him by saying that the suffering is wonderful is only relevant for someone who is truly knows that he loves the sufferer in the deepest recesses of his soul. Only a person who can determine that his rejoicing flows from absolute knowledge that the suffering is beneficial is permitted to express rejoicing. However for anyone who has not reached this level of perfection it is very likely that his rejoicing is not pure. Lesser people can assume that there are subconscious factors that poison the purity of their joy and contain aspects of cruelty and enjoyment of the plight of the unfortunate.

Zelensky has figured out why Trump loves Putin

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/10/19/putin-dupes-trump-again-zelensky-ukraine-pay-price/

Donald Trump’s second-term relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky got off to a disastrous start. On Feb. 19, 2025, the U.S. president blasted the courageous Ukrainian leader as a “modestly successful comedian” and a “Dictator without Elections” who “has done a terrible job.” Nine days later, Trump berated Zelensky in the Oval Office for not ending the war that Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin had started. “You don’t have the cards,” Trump told him before temporarily suspending U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Not for the first time, it seems the wily Putin has manipulated a credulous Trump. The U.S. president is now blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for the soaring oil prices that are exacerbating his political woes. Never mind that his war in Iran is the actual culprit. If Republicans lose the midterms, Trump has a ready-made scapegoat.

What explains Trump’s bizarre affinity for Putin? The Russian warmonger is standing in the way of his goal of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Shouldn’t Trump be mad at him? I have long since given up believing in conspiratorial explanations of the relationship. If evidence for some nefarious tie existed, it would’ve been uncovered by now, especially after four years of Democratic control of the executive branch.

It hadn’t occurred to me that Trump views Putin as a fellow billionaire, but it’s true. Putin’s net worth has been estimated at $70 billion to $200 billion. Trump, who made more than $2 billion last year, no doubt respects anyone who manages to make so much money in office while clinging to power for so long. He seldom has a cross word for any dictator, while regularly berating democratic allies. Whatever the explanation, Trump’s willingness to do the bidding of a murderous despot is despicable and dangerous.

Monday, October 19, 2026

Source of Torah knowledge

 Raavad (Sefer Kabbalah): This book “Sefer Kabbalah” that I have written is to inform the students that all the words of our Sages – the rabbis of the Mishna & Talmud – were all transmitted from one great tzadik to another great tzadik, from rosh yeshiva and his supporters to another rosh yeshiva and his supporters all the way back to the Great Assembly which received it from the Prophets. The Sages of the Talmud and surely those of the Sages of the Mishna – even for a minor issue - never said anything original except for the decrees that they made with unanimous consent in order to make a protective fence around the Torah. If a person whispers and says, “Because the Sages had disputes over many issues there I am uncertain about the validity of their words,” you should sharply rebuke him and tell him that he has the legal status of a rebel. The fact is that our Sages never argued about the existence of a particular mitzva but rather the details. That is because they heard about the essential nature of the mitzva but did not ask about all the details of the mitzva because they did not serve their teachers properly. For example they didn’t argue whether there should be lights lit for Shabbos. They only argued as to the appropriate material to use for the wicks and what fuel should be used.

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers" by Will Durant

2. THE EDUCATION OF SPINOZA 

It was this Odyssey of the Jews that filled the background of Spinoza’s mind, and made him irrevocably, however excommunicate, a Jew. Though his father was a successful merchant, the youth had no leaning to such a career, and preferred to spend his time in and around the synagogue, absorbing the religion and the history of his people. He was a brilliant scholar, and the elders looked upon him as a future light of their community and their faith. Very soon he passed from the Bible itself to the exactingly subtle commentaries of the Talmud; and from these to the writings of Maimonides, Levi ben Gerson, Ibn Ezra, and Hasdai Crescas; and his promiscuous voracity extended even to the mystical philosophy of Ibn Gebirol and the Cabbalistic intricacies of Moses of Cordova. He was struck by the latter’s identification of God and the universe; he followed up the idea in Ben Gerson, who taught the eternity of the world; and in Hasdai Crescas, who believed the universe of matter to be the body of God. He read in Maimonides a half-favorable discussion of the doctrine of Averroës, that immortality is impersonal; but he found in the Guide to the Perplexed more perplexities than guidance. For the great Rabbi propounded more questions than he answered; and Spinoza found the contradictions and improbabilities of the Old Testament lingering in his thought long after the solutions of Maimonides had dissolved into forgetfulness. The cleverest defenders of a faith are its greatest enemies; for their subtleties engender doubt and stimulate the mind. And if this was so with the writings of Maimonides, so much the more was it the case with the commentaries of Ibn Ezra, where the problems of the old faith were more directly expressed, and sometimes abandoned as unanswerable. The more Spinoza read and pondered, the more his simple certainties melted away into wondering and doubt. His curiosity was aroused to inquire what the thinkers of the Christian world had written on those great questions of God and human destiny. He took up the study of Latin with a Dutch scholar, Van den Ende, and moved into a wider sphere of experience and knowledge. His new teacher was something of a heretic himself, a critic of creeds and governments, an adventurous fellow who stepped out of his library to join a conspiracy against the king of France, and adorned a scaffold in 1674. He had a pretty daughter who became the successful rival of Latin for the affections of Spinoza; even a modern collegian might be persuaded to study Latin by such inducements. But the young lady was not so much of an intellectual as to be blind to the main chance; and when another suitor came, bearing costly presents, she lost interest in Spinoza. No doubt it was at that moment that our hero became a philosopher."

Start reading this book for free: https://read.amazon.com/kp/kshare?asin=B0CQLH69CF&ref_=kar_wh_ca


Avoda Zara

Rav Yakov Kaminetsky (Emes LYakov Bereishis 06:13) Because the world is full of Chamas. Rashi says that the fate of the world was sealed because of theft. Meaning that chamas is understood as theft. However we see in Bereishis Rabbah (31:06) that Chamas is understood as Avodas Zara or murder or sexual sins. This is problematic. How does our verse indicate idolatry? It seems that this medrash understands that the sin of Avoda Zara refers not just the worship of idols or gods. So even though this verse is clearly referring to theft as Rashi says from Chazal, but when the world is full of chamas (corruption) and that becomes normative that is called Avoda Zara. That means if the entire world decides to ignore one of the Torah laws and adopt an alternative new way of conduct they are no longer viewed as serving G-d but to something different (zar). This concept is learned from Ir Hanidachas. Even though the Torah says this is for the sin of idolatry, nevertheless it also is relevant if a city nullifies any mitzva. Once there is general agreement among the population the deviation is viewed as avoda zara.

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Trump gives ‘warrior’ Netanyahu ‘complete and total endorsement’ for reelection

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-october-18-2026/

US President Donald Trump says he had long intended to endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection but deliberately waited until closer to next week’s vote, according to Axios.

“I was always going to do that. I just didn’t want to do it too soon,” Trump tells the publication in a brief phone interview following the endorsement today.

Trump stresses the “good relationship” he has with the premier, and says, “It is important that Israel has a person they can count on.”

Asked if he could work with an alternative Israeli leader, Trump replies: “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Who wants to take the chance?”

The endorsement came despite the fact that several of Trump’s close advisers had favored Netanyahu’s replacement, believing it would better serve US interests in the Middle East, according to Channel 12’s Barak Ravid, who also writes for Axios.

Sources in Netanyahu’s office tell Channel 12 that they were unaware of Trump’s planned endorsement. The Hebrew network adds that the two leaders spoke several times this month, possibly signaling coordination on the matter.

Einstein's Genius Club: The True Story of a Group of Scientists Who Changed the World

 "One other cause beckoned him: Zionism. Ironically, given his abhorrence of nationalism, Einstein embraced Zionism passionately, though not without reservation. Zionism soon mattered more to him than anything outside of science. It was a surprising turn of mind. Until he moved to Berlin in 1914, he had little interest in being Jewish. The Jews he met in Prague in 1911—Brod, Kafka, Hugo Bergmann—were committed Zionists, but they seem to have made little impression on him, at least in the short run: “I read the book [Brod's The Redemption of Tycho Brahe] with great interest,” he wrote to Hedwig Born in 1916. “Incidentally, I believe that I met him [Brod] in Prague. I think he belongs to a small circle there of philosophical and Zionist enthusiasts, which was loosely grouped around the university philosophers, a medieval-like band of unworldly people….”39 Einstein's Jewish colleagues in Berlin were another matter: Many had converted to Christianity to become as German as possible, often with an eye to career advancement. The proudly independent Einstein called this servile “mimicry.” After the war, Zionism must have seemed a logical alternative to assimilation: “Judaism owes a great debt of gratitude to Zionism,” he later said. “The Zionist movement has revived among Jews the sense of community.”40 He began to realize the utility of his fame as a scientist and as a Jew. Towards the end of the war, poor Jews fled Eastern Europe and poured into Berlin, crowding into an impoverished shantytown. To the dismay of assimilated, middle-class Jews, Einstein welcomed the refugees, but also urged them to look towards Palestine as the natural homeland of “free sons of the Jewish people.” He further riled assimilated Berlin Jews in 1920, when he castigated the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith for the underlying message of its name, so suggestive of a “servile attitude” and so resistant to ethnic identity. “Not until we have the courage to see ourselves as a nation, not until we respect ourselves, can we acquire the respect of others.”41 In 1920, Chaim Weizmann, the driving force behind the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and its guarantee of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, became president of the World Zionist Organization. The following year, he set off on a trip to the United States to raise funds for a Hebrew University in Palestine. Einstein agreed to come along. “Naturally, I am needed not for my abilities but solely for my name, from whose publicity value a substantial effect is expected among the rich tribal companions in Dollaria.”42 For all his arch deprecation, he was proud to lend his name to the cause. Howls of outrage were hurled at him for taking such a public stand in favor of Zionism, and especially for setting foot on the soil of Germany's enemies (he stopped in England on the way home from the United States). Before setting out, Einstein heard from his colleague Fritz Haber: “If at this moment you demonstratively fraternize with the British and their friends, people in this country will see this as evidence of the disloyalty of the Jews.”43 Still, Einstein made the trip. He was greeted in the United States with such enthusiasm as would gratify a movie star. This was Einstein's first visit to the country, an exhausting, sometimes preposterous experience. The endless interviewing, hand-shaking, and touring, the crowds gaping to catch sight of him, reporters asking inane or sensationalizing questions, and he answering with “cheap jokes” taken seriously—Einstein said he felt like a “prize ox” being exhibited. In a spare moment, he made his first trip to Princeton as well, receiving an honorary degree from Princeton University and giving four lectures there on relativity (published as The Meaning of Relativity). Meanwhile, he dutifully worked for the Weimar Republic. He served on a committee to evaluate German war atrocities; he joined the League of Nations’ Commission on Intellectual Cooperation. He traveled widely, representing (despite his Swiss citizenship) German science and the democratic German government, in sometimes controversial efforts to overcome the animosities of the war. In the spring of 1922, the Collège de France asked him to lecture in Paris. After some hesitation, he accepted. He was the first German scientist to be invited, though many French scholars disapproved, and Einstein's German colleagues were equally unhappy.44 Increasingly certain of his commitment to internationalism, Einstein turned his fame into a pan-national passport."


Start reading this book for free: https://read.amazon.com/kp/kshare?asin=B005NHN0HA&ref_=kar_wh_ca


Saturday, October 17, 2026

Trump waives Russia-related sanctions before they even kick in as Ukraine ties worsen

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/16/europe/us-ukraine-russia-sanctions-intl-hnk

US President Donald Trump has waived a further slate of sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales, days before they were to take effect under a bill he signed into law last month.

The waiver announced in an executive order Friday comes as Trump increasingly feuds with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and cracks appear in Washington’s support for Kyiv in its yearslong war against its invading neighbor, deepening alarm among European allies.

The White House has heaped pressure on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian refineries as it seeks to ease oil prices ahead of midterm elections at home. Kyiv briefly acceded to the request, but has since resumed attacks — and Russia has continued to pound Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the week.

Trump fires White House press secretary Katie Zacharia after just one week

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434731

US President Donald Trump has dismissed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia after just one week in the position, according to presidential advisers cited by CNN, following intense scrutiny of her first press briefing and questions surrounding her professional credentials.

Although Trump defended Zacharia against what he described as unfair treatment by the media and praised her loyalty, he acknowledged that the responsibilities of the press secretary might not be appropriate for her.

Friday, October 16, 2026

Simon Schama: 'Don’t be shocked, Michael’ – what is life like for British Jews today? | Quite right!

LevinAt11 10-15-2026 broadcast

 BS"D

ע"ש שבת פרשת נח, תשפ"ז - תהא שנת פגר זדים

Linked* below is this week's LevinAt11 broadcast, פרשת נח, October 15, '26:


תכנית ראדיו רב יהודה לעוין, שליט"א, ערב שבת פרשת נח, תשפ"ז
~~~~  ~~~~   ~~~~  ~~~~
Tefillah request, for refuah shelaima of:

1. Rav Yehuda ben Masha HaLevi (Levin);

2. Shimon ben Masha; 

3. Lea bas Freeda;  

4. Reuven ben Chava;

5. Yechezkel ben Feiga Zlota;

6. Neryah Dov ben Chana (Leiter).

~~~~  ~~~~   ~~~~  ~~~~
Topics Included:
    ~~~~  ~~~~   ~~~~  ~~~~

1. Lakewood Va'ad supports subversive Senator Cory Booker - a known ally of the anti-Jewish LGBTQ movement - and issues a carefully-worded letter - exposing how sold-out they actually are:


We yet again need to call out artificial Jewish leadership - not despite the need to respect authentic Torah authority -- but specifically because of it.

(Till 26 minutes);

  2. Objection to Prop 1 in NYC;

3. New Square Politburo urges their community to vote for [Stealth-Euthanasia proponent] incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, despite the NY elections being held in the wake of the (preventable) passage of Physician-Facilitated Murder.

This election in NY State will be seen - by those who matter within political class - as a referendum on murder - specifically, Physician-Facilitated Poisoning of the medically vulnerable (aka "Assisted Suicide") - which the NY legislature just passed, and which Gov. Hochul just signed, in this past legislative session.

Regarding the massive, public Chillul HaShem endemic to frum campaigning - see last week's letter in the post below of Parshas Beraishis.

• Again: If any candidates ask for your support - ask them what they've done to address the foundational moral threats we face (see letter below).

• It's necessary for every individual to intelligently outreach to voters, as well as to Rabbonim you're close with.

4. (Final Quarter) A brief summary of the scandalous misconduct at The Golden Venue tonight, censoring my question to Mike Lawler over some of his recent pro-transgender-tyranny votes, including:


 

Fair Use ##

H.R. 3492: Protect Children’s Innocence Act

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To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors.

The bill’s titles are written by its sponsor.




H.R. 3492: Protect Children’s Innocence Act

Dec. 17, 2025 at 6:40 p.m. ET. On Passage of the Bill in the House.

This was a vote to pass H.R. 3492 in the House.

By PartySelected Caucuses
All VotesRepublicansDemocratsBlue Dog CoalitionRepublican Study CommitteeRepublican Governance Group
Yea51%
 
 
216
213
 
3
 
2
 
147
 
23
 
Nay49%
 
 
211
4
 
207
 
6
 
0
2
 
Not Voting
 
 
6
3
 
3

Statistically Notable Votes

VoteDistrictPartyLegislator
NayCO – 8  R  Evans, Gabe
NayNY – 17  R  Lawler, Michael
YeaNC – 1  D  Davis, Donald
NayPA – 1  R  Fitzpatrick, Brian
VoteDistrictPartyLegislator
YeaTX – 28  D  Cuellar, Henry
YeaTX – 34  D  Gonzalez, Vicente
NayUT – 3  R  Kennedy, Mike

Statistically notable votes are the votes that are most surprising, or least predictable, given how other members of each voter’s party voted and other factors.



The two Republicans who voted against Trump’s transgender troop ban

Eric Garcia
Wednesday 22 July 2026 11:41 EDT


  • An amendment proposed by Rep. Lauren Boebert to codify a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military according to their gender identity failed in the House by a vote of 212-217.
  • Two Republican representatives, Mike Lawler of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, notably opposed Boebert's amendment.
  • Rep. Nancy Mace successfully passed an amendment prohibiting TRICARE, the military health insurance plan, from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments.
  • Mace's TRICARE amendment passed 219-208, with five Democratic representatives joining Republicans in its support.
  • A second amendment by Rep. Mace, which bans transgender individuals assigned male at birth from participating in women’s K-12 sports at Department of Defense-run schools, also passed 221-203."
~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~
• Important News: How inexpensive it is to save girls from the Female IDF Draft (Giyus Banos)
~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~  ~~~~

- From Chomosayich, an established volunteer women's organization in Israel, which has saved and assisted thousands of girls from the ongoing IDF escalations against "easy-target" girls, over the years.

Q) How far can your donation go in saving girls from falling into the Israeli Army? 

In other words, for how little can you save one neshomoh?

A) FACT: For as little as TEN DOLLARS YOU CAN SAVE A TEENAGE GIRL FROM BEING DRAFTED INTO THE EXPLOITIVE ARMY!

FACT: GIRLS LOCATED FURTHER AWAY FROM CHAREIDI CENTERS CAN BE SAVED FOR A MERE 15 DOLLARS.

The cost of saving these neshomos is, in many cases, so low that it's scandalous that we're not seeing far more donations.  Inexcusably, most of the tzibbur is simply being kept in the dark.

U.S. Donations to Chomosayich:

••• See the half-page ad in the new Upstate Jewish Business Directory. •••

Call Today.
~~~~  ~~~~  
The following is a link to a  Guidebook provided by the pro-Israel organization "Chotam." It's an English guide for observant and traditional girls to avoid enlistment in the IDF: 


(* This very publication is a stinging indictment of the Israeli Army Draft Office, and the antireligious Establishment behind its escalating crusade to rob Torah-observant / traditional girls of their legal entitlement to a religious exemption from military service. The very need to publish such a guide speaks volumes of the danger posed to the next generation of Jewish mothers by "fellow Jews." The professional, psychological-warfare techniques that these 16- and 17-year-old girls need to be trained to defend against, all alone - without even legal counsel or a family member - are almost as outrageous as they are anti-Torah. The institutionalization of such techniques indicate how intent the Israeli military is on drafting increasing numbers of Torah-observant girls, and to what depths they're willing to stoop to do so.)
~~~~  ~~~~

A Good Shabbos to our supporters and partners, and wishes for a good, sweet, productive and uplifting year.

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

Email:  torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).

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Previous Programs:

Last week, פרשת בראשית


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Summary/ write-up [recently posted version]: 

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