https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/
Trump-O-Meter Scorecard
Promise Kept
23%
Compromise
22%
Promise Broken
53%
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
George W. Bush's Daughter Barbara Issues Shock Endorsement of Kamala Harris
One of George W. Bush’s twin daughters issued a shock endorsement of Kamala Harris on Tuesday, exactly a week before Election Day.
Barbara Pierce Bush, 42, told People in a statement that it was “inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania” over the weekend, revealing that she’d gone as far as campaigning for the Democratic ticket.
It's Time to Stop Calling Donald Trump a Fascist
https://www.newsweek.com/its-time-stop-calling-donald-trump-fascist-opinion-1975888
Recently, however, more and more observers have taken to painting the movement and especially its sundowning 78-year-old leader with a single, saucy epithet: Fascist.
So, when figures as varied in outlook, occupation, and political bent as former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Charlamagne Tha God, and Yale historian Timothy Snyder characterize Trump and Trumpism as "fascist," attention must be paid.
With respect to Gen. Milley, Professor Snyder, and the rest, one could make the argument—oh, what the hell, let's just make it—that not only is Trump not a fascist. He's worse.
Rav Avigdor MiIler claims conservative candidates, police brutality, stern justice and capital punishment are indispensable for the welfare of society
Q-
Is it a proper opportunity for the Rav to advise us on who to vote for in the upcoming election?
A-
Is it advisable for me to recommend voting for one individual over
another? Yes, absolutely. It's certainly advisable for Jews to back
conservative candidates. Now, exactly which conservative candidate is
the best choice is a matter that requires deliberation. But there's no
question that the Jews have for too long carried on an affair with the
liberals and it has caused them a great deal of suffering. And as long
as the liberals will continue to have power we are going to have a
continuation of the present disorder of society.
All the theories of the liberals as to how to improve society are
garbage. The plain truth is that forty years ago, without any of these
theories, society was relatively stable. And it was based on one easy to
understand principle - and that was that there has to be stern justice.
And that's all! Now, the liberals will say, "No, that's nothing. It's
not true. Capital punishment only increases crime." But that's baloney.
It's sheker vi'kazav. There's one thing wrong with this country and
that's it. Now, don't say that I'm oversimplifying things. Because they
oversimplified in the olden days and we were able to walk in the
streets. Everyone was afraid of the police. Until Mayor Lindsay came
along and emasculated the police, everyone was afraid of a policeman.
And that's what we need. We need more police brutality. And although
innocent people might suffer sometimes, it pays. We need tough police
who don't care what you say about them. We need police who have
headquarters with bosses who disregard the complaints. In the olden days
if you walked into headquarters and complained, the Police Captain
would bark at you, "What do you want?!" That's what he said to you. He
didn't listen to you polititely. "What do you want?!" he said. And you
walked out with your head down.
Capital punishment is the best rehabilitation for criminals. There
used to be a Sing-Sing and it was a perfect educational institution for
criminals. Anyone who went to Sing-Sing and worked on the [garbled] rock
pile, when he got out he had learned that crime doesn't pay. In
[garbled] you didn't have television. All you had was an iron mallet and
you stood in the sun in [garbled] and you banged and you banged and you
cracked rocks and you sweated. And you were thinking all the time, "Why
was I such a fool to get into this?"
It's nothing but yir'as ha'onesh. And even tzadikim need it. The
best people need it. And it would solve almost all crime. But instead
they make a crime-study commission and they spend hundreds of thousands
of dollars and they bring scientists together and the result is that
there's more crime than ever. And you know why? Because it's the
scientists who cause crime. Scientists are causing crime. They're the
ones who say that we should do away with harsh punishment and that we
should listen to the complaints of the criminals. So when the prisoners
recently made an insurrection in the prison and they killed some guards
and they demanded to be heard, what happened? So the Governor appoints a
commission and the members of the commission come to the prison to
listen to the complaints of the felons. Instead of taking them and
putting them into solitary for ten years on bread and water. That's what
they used to get in the good old days. That's what they got and that's
why we didn't have crime. You didn't have crime! What kind of stories
are they telling us that there was always crime?! There wasn't crime. I
remember, I walked home from Mesivta Chaim Berlin every night, summer
and winter, through black neighborhoods. Who ever heard of somebody
snatching a woman's pocketbook in broad daylight. In the olden days -
[At this point the tape ends vi'chaval al di'avdin]
TAPE 125
THE ABOVE QUESTION AND ANSWER WAS RECORDED FORTY YEARS AGO - A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE CARTER-FORD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1976
Rav Shach - Dialectics and understanding Gedolim
Shloime just posted a long list of harsh comments by Rav Shach - "to let him speak for himself" So let me present some counter balancing stories. which create a more 3 dimensional understanding. In essence I will take the approach presented by Anonymous [I would really like some more creativity expressed - why does everyone chose the moniker "anonymous"?]. A leader is not the simple sum of a sample of stories told about him.
1) My son learned in Ponevich in Rav Schach's time and related the following story which circulated the Yeshiva when Rav Shach was niftar.
Rav Shach once asked a close friend of his to promise to attend his funeral. When the astonished friend questioned the necessity of such a strange promise, Rav Shach replied, "As a leader I know I have made many enemies over the years. I am afraid that there will not be a minyan at my levaya."
This is intimately connected with another story.
2) When the news of Rav Shach's petira broke, there was a massive movement of hundred's of thousands of Jews to Bnei Brak. The buses leaving Har Nof were packed. While I was standing by the bus stop wondering how to get to Bnei Berak a car pulled up and offered me a ride. I did a double take when I saw who the driver was. An acquaintance who is the most dyed in the wool fanatic religious Zionist I have ever met. As I gratefully settled in my seat, I asked him why he was going to honor a man who was such a strong opponent for everything he stood for. He replied, "I have much reason to be upset with Rav Shach - both in terms of what he said and what he did to us. But there was no question that G-d chose him to be one of the major Torah leaders of our generation. How can I not show kavod to him by going to his levayah."
3) Regarding his attitude to secular learning. As is well know there is a unique institution guided by Rav Zev Leff - Maarava - in which an elite student body learn both Torah secular studies on a very high level. Something which is obviously not done in the chareidi world. It is also well known that Rav Shach periodically denounced the school in very strong terms. As those who know Rav Leff will attest, he is a very loyal member of the chareidi establishment. Before he accepted the position at Maarava, he of course had consulted with Daas Torah i.e., Rav Shach as to whether to accept the job. When he heard Rav Shach's strong denunciations and read the many wall posters attacking the school - he hurried to consult with Rav Shach. Rav Shach replied, "I already told you that you should take the job with the school. Just as it is your obligation to provide guidance for the school it is my obligation to denounce it so that the cream of our yeshivos understand it is not a l'chatchila choice for them. But for those who need such a school it is important that you guide it."
4) The Bostoner Rebbe told me the following when I was trying to find a school in Yerushalayim for my kids that was comparable to Chaim Berlin where they had learned. He said, "It is obvious that Americans need a different type of education than Israelis and it is obvious that many American's don't make aliyah or go back to America because their kids don't fit it the Israeli yeshiva system. I once went to Rav Shach to explain to him the need for a different yeshiva for Americans. When I presented my views he told me, 'If you American's don't like the way we run things here go back to America.' "
At the time I thought it was incredibly insensitive. However as I have gotten older, I realize that not every problem is to be approached with American rachamim - sometimes Israeli din is needed also. American's fail because they are overly sensitive about somebody saying boo at them or saying, " I don't like you." If they want to live and thrive in Israel they need to be as tough as the natives.
5) This was once expressed to me very bluntly by Rabbi Eliyahu Essas - one of the heroes of the Russian refusenik era. I mentioned to him that I had a set of mishnayos translated into Russian -my grandmother got it as an engagement present. I told him perhaps he would be interested in reprinting it to aid the Russian baalei teshuva. He replied with an irritated tone. You Americans are always looking for the easy way to do things. Russians know that the only way to be a scholar is to master Hebrew and learn the original. American's rely too much on crutches and don't learn to walk on their own."
5) This was once expressed to me very bluntly by Rabbi Eliyahu Essas - one of the heroes of the Russian refusenik era. I mentioned to him that I had a set of mishnayos translated into Russian -my grandmother got it as an engagement present. I told him perhaps he would be interested in reprinting it to aid the Russian baalei teshuva. He replied with an irritated tone. You Americans are always looking for the easy way to do things. Russians know that the only way to be a scholar is to master Hebrew and learn the original. American's rely too much on crutches and don't learn to walk on their own."
6) One final story. Rabbi Steinzaltz is one of the modern heroes of the Jewish people. But he has no mesora i.e., he never was part of a yeshiva. [The Chofetz Chaim had a similar criticism of the Meshech Chochma]. There are many Russian Jews whose tie to Yiddishkeit was almost entirely through the Steinzaltz gemora. There are many baalei teshuva who first learned gemora with the Steinzaltz. Over time his influence and accomplishments increased mightily. He was even described as the "Rashi of Our Era" by Time magazine. Nobody criticised him until he acquired superstar status. It was when people starting describe him a gadol - as someone to guide and make the meta decision for the Jewish people that he was attacked. [Similar to R' Slifkin] He produced a book describing how our Biblical ancestors were human beings with psychological issues and typical petty motivation. It was then that Rav Shach attacked.
Hopefully this answers Shloime's question - if not - perhaps it will be enlightening to another reader of this blog.
Hopefully this answers Shloime's question - if not - perhaps it will be enlightening to another reader of this blog.
A man was wheeled into surgery to harvest his organs. Weeks later, he left the hospital alive
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/28/health/organ-donor-surgery-kentucky-investigation/index.html
The medical records Rhorer has for TJ say he was “declared brain-dead patient being maintained for harvesting of organs” on October 29. TJ underwent procedures to make sure his organs were fit for donation, and that afternoon, hospital workers came to the family and told them it was time.
They held what’s known as an honor walk, a tradition in many hospitals when someone donates organs. A video shot by Rhorer’s friend and posted on TikTok shows TJ in a bed being rolled down a corridor. Hospital staff stop what they are doing, line the halls and stand in silence in their blue scrubs and white coats. Some hold tissues and dab at their eyes.
Will Trump’s and Johnson’s ‘Little Secret’ Be Unveiled on January 6?
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trumpjohnson-secret-unveiled-january-6.html
As Politico Playbook noted, this remark could be interpreted as “a reference to the House settling a contested election.” It is universally understood that Johnson holds his gavel strictly at the sufferance of Trump. And it’s a plain fact that the then-obscure Louisianan was the 45th president’s congressional floor leader in seeking to overturn the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election on January 6, 2021. But it’s not just a matter of previous experience of an insurrectionary alliance between Trump and Johnson. Capitol Hill has been buzzing for a while (per a Politico report last month) about the Speaker’s potential role in another bid to overturn another election defeat, which Trump clearly intends to do if the opportunity arises:
Outcry over Trump’s hint at ‘little secret’ with House Republicans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/28/trump-mike-johnson-little-secret-election
Some observers and Democratic politicians believed the most telling remark of the night came from the Republican nominee himself after he introduced Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, on stage and alluded to a shared secret.
“We gotta get the congressmen elected and we gotta get the senators elected,” Trump told the crowd, referring to the congressional elections at stake next week.
“We can take the Senate pretty easily, and I think with our little secret we are gonna do really well with the House. Our little secret is having a big impact. He and I have a little secret – we will tell you what it is when the race is over.”
Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s running mate celebrated the Oct. 7 attack on Israel
https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-826568
Stein has made opposition to Israel’s military campaign and US support for it a centerpiece of her campaign. Campaign videos show her wearing a keffiyeh or Palestinian scarf, and she recently shared a post by an account named “Kamala Harris is murdering Palestinian children.” On Monday, she posted, “A vote for Harris/Trump enables genocide. We can’t normalize the mass murder of children. As Gaza goes, we all go.”
Israel outlaws UNWRA, bucking international pressure
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-826525
The Knesset plenum approved final voting for two bills aimed at blocking the activity in areas under Israeli control of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which services Palestinian refugees in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein presented both bills in the plenum. According to Edelstein, UNRWA’s operations “eternalized” the issue of Palestinian refugees.
In addition, Edelstein cited the fact that UNRWA employees had participated in, and even served as commanders, in the October 7 Hamas massacre. Edelstein also mentioned incitement in UNRWA school curriculums. According to Edelstein, the time had come to ban the agency from Israel.
Elon Musk is sharing some details about his immigration path. Experts say they still have questions
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/28/us/elon-musk-immigration-washington-post-cec/index.html
Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck says Musk stating that he had a J-1 visa makes it clear he worked illegally, given the restrictions that would have only allowed work in connection with his academic program.
“So clearly, he’s admitting now that in fact, he did work illegally and violate his status. The only question is at that point, what did he do to fix his status violation?” Kuck says.
Confederate anthem ‘Dixie’ played at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally
Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, meant to demonstrate broad-based and unifying support as he seeks a second term, was marked by racist barbs amid other demeaning insults.
It also featured a song that had little in common with the location: “Dixie,” the unofficial national anthem of the Confederate States of America.
Trump's New York Rally Was Moment That Ended His Campaign: Geraldo Rivera
https://www.newsweek.com/geraldo-rivera-donald-trump-msg-rally-puerto-rico-1976328
"You know, Madison Square Garden is famous for a lot of things," he continued. "I think it will be famous for ending President Trump's meteoric campaign to be reelected. I think that the surveys, the polls will show that this was the time, this was the moment where things turned on Donald Trump."
Monday, October 28, 2024
Embracing racism, rabbis at pre-army yeshiva laud Hitler, urge enslaving Arabs
In another clip from the Bnei David Yeshiva published by Channel 13, Rabbi Giora Redler can be heard praising Hilter’s ideology during a lesson about the Holocaust.
“Let’s just start with whether Hitler was right or not,” he told students. “He was the most correct person there ever was, and was correct in every word he said… he was just on the wrong side.”
Redler goes on to say that pluralism is the “real” genocide being perpetrated against the Jewish people, not Nazi Germany’s Final Solution.
The Jewish leadership in Germany and the Nazi threat in 1933
Defends the response of the German Jewish leadership to the first Nazi measures against the Jews in 1933 as having been based on concern for immediate Jewish interests. The official Nazi policy towards the Jews had not yet been formulated conservative forces in Germany feared foreign reactions to anti-Jewish violence, whereas Nazi followers demanded strong measures against the Jews. At that time, many German Jews assumed that they would find a way to cooperate with the regime, and they would continue to live in Germany with restricted rights and economic opportunities.
Jewish collaboration with Nazi Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_collaboration_with_Nazi_Germany
Jewish Support for the Nazi Ascent to Power
During the Nazis' ascent to power, some Jewish organizations, such as the Association of German National Jews and The German Vanguard supported nazism until being outlawed in late 1935. Motivated by anticommunism, conservative nationalism, Zionism, and anti-liberalism, these groups had initially believed that Nazi antisemitism was merely rhetorical hyperbole or a tactic to "stir up the masses".[1][2][3]
Debunking 16 false claims Trump made at Madison Square Garden
“Missing” migrant children: Trump repeated his regular false claim that, because of Harris, “325,000 children are missing, dead, sex slaves or slaves. They came through the open border and they’re gone. Their parents will most likely never see them again, almost any of them.”
Trump was wildly distorting federal statistics.
Philadelphia DA Sues Elon Musk Over Voter Sweepstakes: 'Illegal Lottery'
https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-lawsuit-pennsylvania-voter-giveaway-election-trump-1975942
District Attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner called the daily giveaway plan from Musk's America PAC an "illegal lottery." The lawsuit follows a warning from the U.S. Department of Justice that the sweepstakes might violate federal election law.
Donald Trump’s Racist NYC Rally Was Vile. It Was Also Political Suicide
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-racist-nyc-rally-was-vile-it-was-also-political-suicide/
In other words the entire event despite its marathon length and hodgepodge of z-list speakers, delivered over and over again a very focused message. The Trump campaign is about retribution and revenge. It is about the white supremacist desire to purge America of all their neighbors of different colors and beliefs. It is about Trump’s desire to seek out his enemies and punish them. And over the course of its Wagnerian length (and resonances) it single out group after group that would be deported or punished.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Donald Trump Faces Legal Abyss if He Loses Election
"If Trump loses the election, he is in serious jeopardy in the federal criminal cases, especially the documents case if Judge Cannon's dismissal under the appointments clause is reversed, or corrected by the Justice Department, following the appeal," Germain said.
If elected, Trump has a number of options to kill the federal cases, including appointing a favorable attorney general to drop the charges or simply pardoning himself.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Was Chasam Sofer a Zionist?
Rashi cites a statement of Rabbi Yitzchok as to why whv Torah starts with Bereishis . He notes concern that the goyim might accuse Jews of stealing Israel. Nachshoni says this is not concern for goyim but is reflective of Jewish concerns for a military conquest.
The Chasam Sofer (Derasha for Simchas Torah) notes that some would claim that Israel should be conquered miraculously. But in fact there is no difference between a miraculous or natural conquest
Pioneering genocide researcher Father Desbois denounces mass murder charges against Israel
French-Catholic priest behind ‘Holocaust by Bullets’ investigations visits Gaza border communities, decries anti-Israel ‘propaganda’ and pushes for trials for Hamas terrorists
Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had’
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-military-generals-hitler/680327/
In the days after my original article was published, both the Associated Press and, notably, Fox News, confirmed the story, causing Trump to demand that Fox fire Jennifer Griffin, its experienced and well-regarded defense reporter. A statement issued by Alyssa Farah, a White House spokesperson, soon after publication read, “This report is false. President Trump holds the military in the highest regard.”
Friday, October 25, 2024
Trump alumni warn he could deploy troops against Americans
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/10/24/trump-military-president-election/
As president, Trump often sought to use military force in a bid to crack down on perceived problems. His advisers headed off many of those efforts, as they questioned the legality, common sense or political fallout of doing so, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
After clearing Lebanese village, IDF troops say weapons found in nearly every home
‘They were completely ready for another October 7. It’s not hard to imagine that they would have done it,’ says IDF reservist. ‘We also found Nazi flags and Hitler statues’
Thursday, October 24, 2024
FBI Announces Investigation Into Leak of Classified US Intel on Israel’s Planned Strike on Iran
Thus far, the identity of the alleged leaker has yet to be publicly revealed. Some media outlets reported that a high-ranking Pentagon official’s security clearance was suspended after an investigation indicated she was the one who likely leaked the intelligence.
However, Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin emphatically denied the reports as “not true” on X/Twitter.
“This story is NOT TRUE,” Griffin wrote. “I have spoken with the person the reporter alleges was behind the leak of Israeli preparations and she is at work at the Pentagon today, has her security clearance and has NOT been contacted by … investigators.”
Senior Pentagon staffer leaked Israel's Iran strike plans
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjmfxergjx
Fox News reported from their sources that the report is false and that the staffer was at work and retains her security clearance.
Who Is Ariane Tabatabai? The Pentagon Official At The Center Of The Israel-Iran Document Leak Controversy
Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin has criticized the linking of Tabatabai's name to the alleged leak, describing it as "irresponsible reporting." Griffin reported that she had spoken directly with Tabatabai, who stated that she had not been contacted by investigators and affirmed that she still held her security clearance. Griffin emphasized that the claims against Tabatabai were unfounded, posting on X (formerly Twitter) that "this story is NOT TRUE."
You Can Now Treat Depression With an App
https://time.com/7086622/depression-treatment-app-rejoyn/
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first app-based treatment for major depressive disorder, which just became available for use this summer.
The app, called Rejoyn, is cleared as a supplement to currently approved therapies and works by using specifically designed tasks on a smartphone app to rewire neural signals. The idea is to tap into the brain’s circuits so depressive signals and pathways don’t spiral into the debilitating emotional episodes typical of clinical depression.
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