Catastrophic floods in Texas have claimed at least 51 lives, while more than 25 girls remain missing, according to authorities. Rescue operations are underway across the state as emergency teams race against time. In a viral video circulating on X (formerly Twitter), officials have blamed the Trump administration’s National Weather Service (NWS) for the failed weather forecast, attributing it to cost cuts and halted funding by the DOGE, a department once headed by Elon Musk.
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Trump falsely claims his highly unpopular big bill is the ‘single most popular bill ever signed’ - More Lies
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/04/politics/fact-check-trump-bill-unpopular
On Friday, before signing his massive domestic policy bill, President Donald Trump proclaimed at the White House that “it’s the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country,” adding for emphasis that “this is the single most popular bill ever signed.”
That is an up-is-down reversal of reality.
The bill is wildly unpopular, poll after poll has found. While polls can be off, this bill wouldn’t be popular – let alone the most popular US bill ever signed – even with a massive and widespread polling error.
In a Fox News poll in mid-June, 59% of registered voters said they opposed the bill and 38% said they favored it, with another 3% saying they didn’t know. In a Quinnipiac University poll in late June, 55% of registered voters said they opposed the bill and 29% said they supported it, with another 16% not weighing in. In a Pew Research Center poll in early June, 49% of adults said they were opposed and 29% said they were in favor, with 21% unsure.
Reviewing these numbers and the similar findings of two other polls about the bill, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said on air on Monday: “You just never see numbers this poor. I have been trying to look through the history books to find if there was another piece of legislation that was on the verge of passing that was as unpopular as this one, and…I cannot find one.”
Trump says the Republican mega bill will eliminate taxes on Social Security. It does not
President Donald Trump keeps saying that Republicans’ mega tax and spending cut legislation will eliminate taxes on federal Social Security benefits.
It does not.
At best, Trump’s “no tax on Social Security” claim exaggerates the benefits to seniors if either the House or Senate-passed proposals is signed into law.
Trump said on a recent appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the bill includes “no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.”
But instead of eliminating the tax, the Senate and House have each passed their own versions of a temporary tax deduction for seniors aged 65 and over, which applies to all income — not just Social Security.
‘Blatant misinformation’: Social Security Administration email praising Trump’s tax bill blasted as a ‘lie’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/05/social-security-administration-email-trump-tax-bill
Frank Bisignano, the commissioner of the agency, said in a statement that nearly 90% of social security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.
However, the spending bill does not actually eliminate federal taxes on social security due to the rule constraints of passing a bill this way – through the reconciliation process, to avoid a Democratic filibuster.
Instead, the legislation provides a temporary tax deduction of up to $6,000 for people aged 65 and older, and $12,000 for married seniors. These benefits will start to phase out for those with incomes of more than $75,000 and married couples of more than $150,000 a year.
The New Jersey representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House’s energy and commerce committee, wrote on X that “every word” of the SSA’s email on Thursday “is a lie”.
Social Security Administration praises Trump’s agenda bill in widely sent out statement - More lies
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/04/politics/social-security-administration-trump-bill-email
The Social Security Administration this week sent out an email to many Americans celebrating the passage of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, and touting the measure’s tax relief for seniors, in a move that analysts said strayed from the agency’s typically apolitical nature.
Although Trump campaigned last year on eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, congressional Republicans were not able to fulfill that promise in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” because of the rules surrounding reconciliation, the process Senate Republicans used to approve the package without Democratic support.
Trump, GOP lawmakers and administration officials have repeatedly claimed the package eliminates taxes on Social Security benefits. But that is not in the legislation, and the enhanced deduction would not be available to everyone who receives monthly payments from the agency — like people who elect to start receiving benefits at 62 but who are not yet 65.
Elon Musk Announces Plan To Make 'America Party'
https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-announces-plan-make-america-party-2095031
Billionaire business owner Elon Musk said he is starting a new political party, which he dubbed the 'America Party' in a post on X Saturday.
"Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," the post said, citing a poll he had previously posted on the platform.
Kollel life and Trump's Bill
Have not found any comments about how Trump's new Bill will impact Kollel life?
ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CANCELLATION OF THE GET
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23258497?read-now=1&oauth_data=eyJlbWFpbCI6InlhZG1vc2hlQGdtYWlsLmNvbSIsImluc3RpdHV0aW9uSWRzIjpbXSwicHJvdmlkZXIiOiJnb29nbGUifQ&seq=9#page_scan_tab_contents
Rabbi Auerbach undertook to analyze the topic and express his "humble opinion." He concluded that this legal device could not be accepted in practice
How a tax opposed by Shas sparked climate backlash in the ultra-Orthodox community
https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change/article-860073
A newly published Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) study found that the well-meaning environmental tax turned into a cultural flashpoint. The 2021 tax on disposable plastics – widely used by haredim with large families and in many family celebrations, made easier by throw-away utensils, plates, and the like – caused a sharp and lasting decline in climate support among the ultra-Orthodox community. It was driven by a deep sense of political victimization – not a financial burden – as many saw the tax as an attack on their way of life. Even years after the tax was repealed, the damage to environmental trust still lingers, the researchers declared.
Friday, July 4, 2025
Russia launches record number of drones at Ukraine after latest Trump-Putin phone call
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/03/europe/kyiv-ukraine-strikes-trump-putin-talks-intl-hnk
The massive aerial assault stuck multiple buildings and residential areas in the capital in what has been described by Ukrainian officials as one of the worst attacks of the three-year conflict.
Trump says US has given Ukraine too many weapons in first public comments on pause in shipments
President Donald Trump complained Thursday that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its latest offensive.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa, Trump said former President Joe Biden “emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
After lambasting ‘shylocks’ in tax cuts speech, Trump says he didn’t know term was antisemitic
US President Donald Trump says he didn’t know that the term “shylock” has antisemitic connotations, after he lambasted “shylocks and bad people” in a speech last night celebrating passage of his massive tax-cut and border security bill among supporters at the Iowa State Fairground.
The term “shylock,” used as a stand-in for aggressive moneylender or loan shark, is considered by many to be antisemitic, as it is the name of the Jewish moneylender and villain in William Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” which draws heavily on antisemitic stereotypes of Jews being stingy and greedy.
Lauding his “big beautiful bill,” Trump said that the tax cuts included within it meant that there would be “no death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker, and in some cases shylocks and bad people.”
Holy Rape
Ohr HaChaim (Devarim 21:11) And you see amongst the captives a beautiful woman. This seems to imply that this is talking only about a physically attractive woman but the Sifrei says even an ugly woman that you desire. So why does the verse specifically say beautiful when it could have said a women that you desire? To explain this verse we also need to ask why G-d is giving instruction that a Jew should defile himself with an idol worshipping woman? This is especially questionable since this is during war when G-d is doing miracles for us and therefore we should be acting in an even more pious manner. Why is He permitting us to do something disgusting and hated which distances us from G-d? Permitting unkosher food is understandable while our Saqges say that this is said only against the evil inclination. They don’t say that one should fight against lust and impure thoughts .This can be understood by the mystery that when Adam sinned that many precious souls were captured by the forces of Evil and these are the souls of converts. We see that many great people come from people born as non Jews such as Ruth, such as Shamaya and Avtalyon and Onkelos
understanding the sins of Gedolim - Rav Tzadok
ר' צדוק הכהן מלובלין - מחשבות חרוץ אות א
המחשבה היא עיקר האדם כידוע, אבל כמה מחשבות אינון כמו שמובא בתיקוני זוהר (סוף תיקון י"ט מ"א ב) עיין שם חשיב ארבע, ובתיקון ס"ט (קט"ו א) איתא בין שלוש לארבע וכמה מחשבין אינון דא לעילא מן דא וכו' ולעילא מכולהו מחשבה סתימא וכו' וכמה מחשבין אינון לבושא דא לדא עיין שם, וידוע דכל מה שלמעלה כן הוא למטה בנפש האדם שהוא כצלמינו כדמותינו, וכל השגות בני אדם הוא בדמות אדם כי מבשרי אחזה אלוה כנודע, וגם במחשבת האדם יש כמה מדריגות ויש עומק ראשית דמחשבה שממנו המשכת כל המחשבות הסתום ונעלם מהאדם וזהו המחשבה סתימא, והלבוש התחתון שהוא התגלות המחשבה בפועל כפי מה שהם ההרהורים והמחשבות העוברים במוח האדם גם זה אינו עיקר המחשבה שהוא החכמה בכל מקום שזהו עיקר האדם כח מה כמו שמובא בתיקון כ"ב (ס"ז א) בגימטריא אדם כנודע והיא המחשבה העושית רושם במוח להתפשט מיד ללב וממנה לכל הגוף, כי אבא ואימא תרין רעין דלא מתפרשין כי מחשבה הנוגעת עד שורש אבא הרומז לחכמה שבמוח כנודע היא מחוברת עם הבינה שבלב שהם כח הרגשת אדם, ומיד הוא מרגישה בלב וגורמין הולדה לכוחות המעשה כענין עין רואה ולב חומד וכלי המעשה גומרים (עיין רש"י במדבר ט"ו, ל"ט) דמצינו ראייה בחכמה כמו שנאמר (קהלת א', ט"ז) ולבי ראה הרבה חכמה:
וגם בזה יש כמה מדריגות והיינו דגם בהרגשה שבלב יש גם כן הרבה מדריגות וגם בה יש הרגשה חיצונית שאינה במעמקי הלב ופנימיותו כלל כי הלב ממנו תוצאות חיים, והרגשה גמורה הוא מה שנוגע לעומק חיותו זהו שורש הבינה שבלב הנמשך מעומק החכמה שבמוח. ומחשבה כזו שעיקר נקודת החיות שבלב נתלה בה זהו עיקר האדם לא שאר מחשבות חיצוניות שהם לבושי המחשבה הפנימיית והעיקריית, וכמעט אין אדם שיהיה נקי לגמרי גם בלבוש החיצוני מהמחשבה שיהיה בלתי לה' לבדו ולא יעלה כל ימיו על מחשבתו רגע אחד הרהור אחר:
וחטא אדם הראשון היה במחשבה כמו שמובא בתיקוני זוהר שם ושם, וזהו הדמיון שהכניס בו הנחש במה שאמר (בראשית ג', ה') והייתם כאלקים וגו' כי זהו שורש של כל המחשבות של תוהו והבלים ודמיונות שבאדם לדמות עצמו שיהיה באיזה מעלה וענין שהוא למעלה ממנו ושאין ראוי לה כל אחד כפי השגתו, ואדם הראשון שהיה בתכלית השלימות על דרך (תהלים פ"ב, ו') אני אמרתי אלקים אתם וגו' הכניס בו דמיון שיהיה ממש כן:
ועל זה הוצרכה תורה להזהיר קדושים תהיו יכול כמוני תלמוד לומר וכו' (ויקרא רבה סוף פרשה כ"ד, ט') כי כשהוא בתכלית המדריגה מקדושה עד שידמה למלאכי השרת הוא בכח הבחירה שבו אין היצר הרע מניחו לעולם כלל ומסיתו שיוכל להתקדש כביכול כמוהו ממש, ומזה יוכל להפילו מאגרא רמה לבירא עמיקתא חס ושלום כמו שקרה להאיש ולשבתי צבי שם רשעים ירקב על ידי ריבוי פרישותם גבר כח הדמיון שבהם לחשוב שיוכלו לדמות לעליון ובא להם על ידי שחשבו עצמם תחילה קדושים, וזהו שורש הסתת הנחש שמתחיל במועט עד וכו' ותחילתו במחשבה ודמיון ובלבוש החיצוני של מחשבה אלא שנוגע לכל מדריגות שבמחשבה כדאיתא שם:
וכל זמן שלא נתקן חטא אדם הראשון לגמרי שיהיה על ידי משיח המקווה במהרה בימינו אין המחשבה נקיה לגמרי עדיין מדמיונות כל אחד כפי מדריגתו, והקדוש בקדושתו יוכל לטעות גם כן בדמיונות שונות שנחשבות למחשבת הבל ותוהו אשר מזה נגרם גם למעשה דאין אדם צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא, דהצדיק הוא העושה רק טוב אך היצר מתלבש גם בו לדמות לו שהוא טוב והוא חוטא בהטוב כי אינו טוב אלא כפי הדמיון של היצר המתעהו, וזה מצד הדמיונות שבמחשבה אבל כל זה אינו ענין למחשבה שהוא עיקר האדם דזהו החכמה שבמוח שהוא נשמה שנתת בי טהורה כידוע דנפש רוח נשמה הנשמה היא במוח והיא מה' יתברך כמו שנאמר (בראשית ב', ז') ויפח באפיו וגו' מאן דנפח וכו' חלק אלוה על כן היא טהורה:
No, Trump Did Not ‘Bring Back Free Speech’
https://time.com/7264811/trump-free-speech-joint-address-essay/
In President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, he bragged about restoring “free speech” to the United States. “I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America,” Trump said. “It’s back.”
But this claim couldn’t be further from the truth. Trump has consistently rewarded speech he likes while punishing speech he doesn’t. That kind of “viewpoint discrimination” is exactly what the First Amendment seeks to prevent. In fact, Trump’s actions run counter to the spirit—if not the text—of the First Amendment.
US free-speech rights shredded despite Trump vow to be first-amendment champion
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/us-free-speech-rights-trump
Experts say free speech under attack in ways not seen since Nixon – and critics of president’s agenda are being targeted
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
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.
Thursday, July 3, 2025
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
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
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.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
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
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.
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."
After Running Hot and Cold, Trump Heaps Praise on Netanyahu
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-netanyahu-israel-praise-566d399f?mod=hp_lead_pos10
Relations between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have had plenty of ups and downs. As the two leaders prepare for a White House visit set for next week, things are decidedly on the upswing.
Trump has showered Netanyahu with praise for leading a 12-day assault on Iran aimed at setting back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a conflict the U.S. joined by launching bunker-busting airstrikes on underground Iranian uranium-enrichment sites.
Now the White House has renewed its push for a halt to the war in Gaza. In a Tuesday evening social-media post, Trump said Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” for a 60-day cease-fire with Hamas, a goal likely to come up in his meeting with Netanyahu.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Since the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, Trump has weighed in on Israel’s domestic affairs, urging Israeli authorities to drop charges against Netanyahu that accuse him of corruption, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing. The calls represent rare interference by a U.S. leader in a foreign country’s domestic judicial process.
“Bibi and I just went through HELL together,” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Bibi could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his LOVE for the incredible Holy Land. Anybody else would have suffered losses, embarrassment, and chaos!”
Trump has called the case against Netanyahu a political witch hunt and compared it to his own legal issues. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records by a New York court last year and also found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called both the cases against him disgraceful.
Trump’s decision to add U.S. forces to the air campaign against Iran and then to champion Israel’s leader reflects the president’s affinity—in military and political affairs—for leaders he sees as winners.
Trump-Musk feud reignites over the ‘big, beautiful bill’
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5380120-trump-musk-fight-over-bill/
The Senate’s version of the bill, which narrowly passed earlier on Tuesday, would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion between 2025 and 2034, roughly $1 trillion more than the House-passed version, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk wrote on X.
“And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
How Republicans got Murkowski to yes on Trump's megabill - Not in my backyard
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/01/murkowski-trump-alaska-megabill-00435981
What Murkowski was wrangling for was pretty basic: How to blunt the impact of the bill on her state.
“What I tried to do was to ensure that my colleagues understood what that means when you live in an area where there are no jobs, it is not a cash economy,” she told reporters. “And so I needed help, and I worked to get that every single day.”
And as part of Senate Republicans’ sweeping final amendment to the bill that was part of the overnight negotiations, they removed a controversial tax on solar and wind energy projects that Murkowski and a handful of other Republicans were agitating to be removed.
Another goodie bordered on the obscure, if not for the senator: Bowhead whaling boat captains recognized by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission will be able to deduct more for whale-hunting-related expenses, up to $50,000 from the current $10,000.
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