Friday, November 1, 2024

Pennsylvania Has Already Become Ground Zero for Election-Fraud Claims

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/pennsylvania-election-fraud-claims-voting-trump-65942501?mod=hp_trendingnow_article_pos3

During a campaign rally in Allentown Tuesday night, Trump portrayed the investigation as complete—and voter-registration applications as actual votes cast in Lancaster. “They have cheated. We caught them with 2,600 votes. Now we caught them cold, 2,600 votes.” He echoed the same message over social media.

Donald Trump Says RFK Jr. Will 'Work On' Women's Health If GOP Wins

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-rfk-jr-will-work-womens-health-if-elected-1978377

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. we have," Trump said. "And he's gonna work on health, and women's health. And all of the different reasons. Because we're not really a wealthy or a healthy country. We're not."

"I told Bobby, 'Bobby, I want you to take care of health, I want you to look at the food and the food supply and all sorts,'" he added.

In an all-caps post to Truth Social on September 20, Trump predicted that women would "NO LONGER BE THINKING ABOUT ABORTION" due to his ability to "PROTECT WOMEN AT A LEVEL NEVER SEEN BEFORE."

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Pennsylvania Voter Fraud Allegations: Everything We Know

 https://www.newsweek.com/pennsylvania-voter-fraud-allegations-everything-we-know-1977920

While officials in both counties are yet to come to a conclusion over whether they received some fraudulent voter registration application forms, Trump launched several false claims earlier this week about the two counties engaging in widespread voter fraud.

Jesse Watters Says Wife Voting for Kamala Harris Is Like ‘Having an Affair’

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/jesse-watters-says-wife-voting-for-kamala-harris-is-like-having-an-affair/

“If I found out Emma was going to the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that’s the same thing as having an affair,” he said.

“That violates the sanctity of our marriage. What else is she keeping from me? What is she lying about?” he continued. “Why would she do that and vote Harris? Why would she say she was voting… If I caught her and she said, ‘I lied to you for the last four years.’”

Trump’s Transition Chief Spews RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vax Lies and Says They’re ‘Fun’

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-transition-chief-howard-lutnick-spews-rfk-jrs-fun-anti-vax-lies/

Lutnick denied that Kennedy had any interest in a government position, instead claiming that all he wanted was more data on vaccines to investigate their efficacy.

“I think it’d be pretty cool to give me the data we’ll see what he comes up with,” Lutnick said. “It’s pretty fun.”

After being confronted about the dozens of leading scientific experts who have raised alarm bells about such an arrangement, Lutnick made a truly wild claim: that those scientists “were paid to say [RFK Jr.] pushes lies.”

He failed to offer any evidence to back the claim up.

Trump Team Co-Chair Questions Vaccines on CNN: 'They're Not Proven'

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-team-co-chair-questions-vaccines-cnn-theyre-not-proven-1977704 

Lutnick also claimed that both he and Collins "know so many more people" now that have autism versus when they were younger. Collins quickly asserted that "vaccines don't cause autism," pointing to Kennedy also peddling that falsehood, "which is why people are concerned that he could get a job like HHS."

The Garbage Can Can

Using the language of Hitler, Trump calls Americans 'garbage' all the time

Trump wants to compare now to four years ago. Here’s what it looks like

 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/does-trump-really-want-compare-now-four-years-ago-2024-10-30/

After adjusting for inflation the economy overall is 11.5% larger now than it was at the end of 2019, when output under Trump reached its peak. Growth rates were comparable: From the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of this year, inflation-adjusted output rose 2.66%; in the comparable pre-COVID quarters, comparing the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2018, the economy expanded 2.8%.

Trump sparks concern with claims of fraud in Pennsylvania

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4962489-trump-casts-doubt-election-results-pennsylvania/

“They’ve already started cheating in Lancaster. They’ve cheated. We caught them with 2,600 votes. No, we caught them cold,” Trump said.

Officials in Lancaster County announced last week they were reviewing roughly 2,500 voter registration forms due to potential fraud. But there were no fraudulent ballots involved and no indication that the registration forms are a sign of wider fraud, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

RFK Jr. claims Trump pledged to give him ‘control’ of HHS, USDA

 https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/10/30/2024-elections-live-coverage-updates-analysis/robert-f-kennedy-jr-trump-administration-00186227

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday that former President Donald Trump has promised him “control” of HHS and the Department of Agriculture, according to a video obtained by POLITICO.

Speaking at a virtual event, the former presidential candidate said “the key that President Trump has promised me is control of the public health agencies, which are HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH, and a few others … and then also the USDA.”

Puerto Rican Artist Nicky Jam Withdraws Trump Endorsement

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/puerto-rican-artist-nicky-jam-u-turns-on-donald-trump-support/

On Wednesday, however, Jam announced he no longer supported Trump in an Instagram video.

“Never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian would come to criticize my country and speak badly about my country,” he told his 43 million followers on the app. “And therefore, I withdraw any support for Donald Trump and step aside from any political situation. Puerto Rico deserves respect.”

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

That photo of people wearing ‘Nebraska Walz’s for Trump’ shirts? They’re distant cousins

 https://apnews.com/article/walz-family-nebraska-trump-elelction-2f2e29586b0e9ebe094ff2cf546e1ae4

A sister of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz says she doesn’t recognize the people wearing “Nebraska Walz’s for Trump” T-shirts in a photo that is making the rounds on social media. It turns out they are distant cousins.

Dershowitz says he could ‘enthusiastically’ vote for Biden over Trump

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/448480-dershowitz-says-he-could-enthusiastically-vote-for-biden-over-trump/

“I’m a strong supporter of Joe Biden. I like Joe Biden. I’ve liked him for a long time, and I could enthusiastically support Joe Biden,” Dershowitz said during a radio interview with Dan Abrams on his Sirius XM radio show.

“Over Donald Trump?” Abrams asked.

“Over Donald Trump, yeah,” Dershowitz replied. 

Will Alan Dershowitz Vote For Trump?

Trump Rage-Posts Through Night After Harris’ Massive D.C. Rally

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-rage-posted-on-truth-social-in-the-middle-of-the-night-after-massive-kamala-harris-rally/

Trump has a tendency to lash out on Truth Social when he’s upset, and although he claims nobody draws crowds like he does, the size of Harris’ rallies has been a sore spot throughout the campaign. A Harvard analysis found that Harris rallies draw, on average, twice as many attendees as Trump’s. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department expected about 20,000 people to show up to Harris’s D.C. rally—roughly the same number that packed Madison Square Garden for Trump on Sunday. In fact, the vice president’s event ballooned to more than 52,000 people, causing overflow on the Washington Mall, before ultimately reach 75,000, a campaign official said.

RFK Jr. and Aaron Rodgers: How con artists exploit male insecurity for political gain

 https://www.salon.com/2024/03/15/rfk-jr-and-aaron-rodgers-how-con-artists-exploit-male-insecurity/

But the sad truth is that just because Rodgers and Kennedy are villains doesn't make their victims innocent. Like most con artists, these two manipulate not the good intentions of their marks, but their ugliest instincts. Certainly, there's no shame in having feelings of insecurity, which most people feel at times. But young men are being told to combat that feeling with narcissism, laziness, and entitlement. To play the victim of poorly defined "elites" — a word that Kennedy loves to use — while worshipping actual elites like Kennedy or Rodgers. And to align themselves with these elites, whose main gripe is that their privileged existence doesn't stop others from criticizing the terrible and false things they say. 

In this, these two resemble Donald Trump, who still gets the lion's share of male voters who are largely mad that other people aren't kissing their asses hard enough. The Kennedy crowd does seem to veer younger, suggesting part of it is they don't want to be associated with the embarrassing fanny pack Boomer crowds that fill up Trump rallies. They also swoon at Kennedy's rhetoric about how he "defies the left-right division." That sort of empty rhetoric flatters the egos of people who want to feel like rebels without actually doing the hard work of resisting real injustice — especially if doing so means confronting your own prejudices. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger Says He Is Voting for Harris and Walz

 https://www.newsweek.com/election-2024-live-updates-kamala-harris-donald-trump-10-30-24-1977137


I guess he is not a real man

Former Republican governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger announced in a lengthy X post that he will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz this Election Day. The Terminator actor admitted that he does not "like either party right now" and said that Trump's comments about America being "like a garbage can for the world" are "so unpatriotic, it makes me furious." He added that he "will always be an American before I am a Republican," and that this is the reason why he will be voting for Harris and Walz. Schwarzenegger has openly criticized Trump in recent years. Following the January 6, 2021 rebellion, Schwarzenegger said that Trump would be recognized as the worst President in U.S. history.

Trump declares himself ‘father of IVF’ at town hall with all-female audience

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/16/politics/ivf-donald-trump-abortion/index.html 

 Donald Trump on Tuesday declared himself the “father of IVF,” a fertility treatment that has come under threat following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

It’s unclear what precisely the former president meant when he made the comment at a Fox News town hall in battleground Georgia that was billed as focusing on women’s issues and had an all-female audience. But he has repeatedly returned to the issue – talking up his support for IVF – on the campaign trail, where he has given a long series of confusing or contradictory answers about his stance on abortion.

How Trump’s toxic masculinity threatens men’s health

 https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-masculinity-gun-violence-suicide-prevention-rcna173360

Trump has only leaned in to his hypermasculine anti-science agenda by promoting his “Make America Healthy Again” slogan with anti-vax conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an archetype for toxic masculinity in his own right, who has reportedly been promised a role in Trump’s administration if Trump wins the election and has promoted the idea of banning U.S. agencies from studying infectious diseases. 

Protean Masculinity, Hegemonic Masculinity

 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26567846#:~:text=Hegemonic%20masculinity%20in%20Nazi%20Germany,body%2C%20mind%2C%20and%20psyche.

Hegemonic masculinity in Nazi Germany, as well as in many militarized societies around the globe, meant physical, emotional, and moral “hardness.” The ideal man, embodied by the soldier, was tough and aggressive, in control of his body, mind, and psyche. He did not hesitate to sacrifice life and limb on behalf of the Fatherland, or to subordinate his individuality under the command of a conformist group of comrades. Whereas many scholars have already stressed these features of hegemonic masculinity, this article argues that the act of soldiering provided men with a male identity that was ultimately not defined by the repudiation, but rather integration, of what was (and is) often coded as feminine. In the social practice of male interaction, diversity and flexibility were needed, thus allowing for the display of femininely coded behavior like affection, tenderness, empathy, caring, and tolerance toward emotional breakdowns and moments of weakness in their midst. Thanks to its inclusive nature, such “protean” masculinity enabled different types of soldier-men to establish male identities; it also allowed them to switch among different emotional and moral states without losing their manliness. Yet, this was true only if the predominance of hardness was respected. Eventually, protean masculinity integrated diverse men and diverse emotional and moral conditions into a fighting unit, and, in the case of the Third Reich, into a genocidal society

Trump told Netanyahu he wants Gaza war over by time he enters office - Israel's friend?

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-told-netanyahu-he-wants-gaza-war-over-by-time-he-enters-office-sources/

The message was first conveyed when the Republican presidential nominee hosted the Israeli premier at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in July, according to a former Trump administration official and an Israeli official.

While Trump has publicly confirmed having told Netanyahu that he wants Israel to win the war quickly, the sources speaking to The Times of Israel are the first to reveal that a timeline was attached to that request.

The former US official stressed that Trump wasn’t specific in his appeal to Netanyahu and could well back “residual” IDF activity in Gaza, so long as Jerusalem has officially ended the war.

Freud Did Not Discover the Unconscious

 https://scholars-stage.org/freud-did-not-discover-the-unconscious/

The discovery that a dramatic amount of mental processing occurs outside our awareness is generally credited to Sigmund Freud (1856– 1939). However, this is a myth, crafted in large part by Freud himself. As noted by the historian and philosopher Marcel Gauchet, “When Freud declares, in substance, that prior to psychoanalysis the mind was systematically identified with consciousness, we have to declare this statement rigorously false.” 


Crude talk and the NFL: Trump doubles down on his lead with male voters

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/21/trump-macho-man-appeal/75776773007/

Young men are particularly unreliable voters. In the 2020 election, 55% of women age 18-29 voted compared to 44% of men, according to an analysis by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Getting them to cast ballots in high enough numbers could be a challenge, and Trump's campaign is facing questions from political observers about the strength of its get-out-the-vote operation, much of which has been outsourced to third-party groups. A super PAC financed by entrepreneur Elon Musk is leading part of the effort.

US presidential election updates: Polls show historic gender split between Trump and Harris voters

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/25/us-presidential-election-trump-harris-updates

Donald Trump has been working tirelessly to win over male voters and by some measures his efforts appear effective, but it may have come at the cost of female support. According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll, Trump is besting Kamala Harris among men by 53% to 37%, while the Democratic candidate is winning among women 53% to 36%.

A Special Monologue for the Republican in Your Life

Yakov complained about Hard Life and was Punished

 Daas Zekeinim (Bereishis 47:08), “for how many years have you lived thus far?” Pharaoh was probably prompted to ask this unusual question of his guest as he looked as if he was exceedingly old. Yaakov, when replying, did not refer to his having “lived” at all, but described his sojourn on earth as something of a very temporary nature, , “the days of my being a stranger,” as opposed to , “the days of the years the life,” the way the Torah had described the life of his grandmother Sarah at her death, reported in Genesis 23,1. He indicated that as opposed to his forefathers, he had had a very troubled life thus far. This resulted in his features reflecting this. An explanation by the Midrash of this strange sounding conversation between the ruler of the civilized world at the time and Joseph’s father: As soon as Yaakov had uttered the words that his life compared unfavorably with that of his father and grandfather, G–d told him “I have saved you from Esau and Lavan, I restored your daughter Dinah to you, as well as your son Joseph, and you have the nerve to describe your life on earth in negative terms when speaking to Pharaoh? I am now forced to make sure that you did not tell a lie, by shortening your lifespan when compared to that of your father and grandfather. He therefore deducted a year for each of the words in this reply by Yaakov, i.e. 33 words, so that he died at 147 years, 33 years younger than the lifespan of his father who had lived for 180 years

What’s really behind America’s men v women election

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr430gry81o

With his almost intuitive grasp of people’s dissatisfactions, Trump has tapped into that male frustration, and in the final weeks of his campaign he has doubled down on masculinity. He reposted a warning on Truth Social claiming “Manhood is Under Attack.” Recently he joked about a famous golfer’s genitalia.

“This is a guy that was all man,” said Trump, referring to golfer Arnold Palmer. “When he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there – they said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable.’”

Trump took the locker room talk out of the locker room - and his audience loved it. Riffing about penis size at a political rally, it was the ultimate pushback against stifling political correctness.

Nikki Haley Says Trump’s Messaging Is Turning Off Women Voters

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2024/10/29/nikki-haley-says-trumps-messaging-is-turning-off-women-voters/

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says Donald Trump’s campaign may be alienating women voters in the final days before Election Day. “They need to look at how they’re talking about women,” Haley told Fox News Tuesday night. “This bromance and this masculinity stuff, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable.”

Donald Trump Is a Clear and Present Danger to American Jews

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-clear-present-danger-american-jews-opinion-1976837

People have forgotten the immense rise in antisemitic acts under Trump's administration, the great emboldening of American antisemitism that began long before the student protests on quads across America. The desecration of gravestones around the country. The deaths of Jews trying to celebrate God in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. If you're looking for a fuller list of Trump's antisemitic tropes, I recommend reading here.

Donald Trump may support Benjamin Netanyahu, but when the support of the worst of his supporters is on the line, he won't be there for you.

Donald Trump Could Be His Own 'October Surprise,' Analysts Warn

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-october-surprise-puerto-rico-joke-1976864

Gustavo Torres, the executive director of Latino advocacy group CASA, told Newsweek in a call with national Latino leaders on Tuesday that Trump's rally would not win him back any votes that he may have lost over the Puerto Rico remarks.

"He needs to apologize to the Puerto Rican community, to the Latino community, and he's not doing that," Torres said. "Even if he apologizes, I guarantee you that the Puerto Rican community, our members in Pennsylvania and in Georgia, are never going to forget."

"I believe that that was the October Surprise for the Latino community," he added. "That is the October Surprise for the Puerto Rican community. And we are going to communicate that every single day from now until November 5."

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Abuse - Torah knowledge alone is not sufficient to safeguard society

Rashi(Bamidbar 10:31):And you [Yisro] will be our eyes - This is past tense according to the Targum. Others say it is future tense. Every matter that is concealed from our eyes you will illuminate our eyes.

Ohr HaChaim (Shemos 18:21): Why did Yisro deserved being the source of the information about forming the judicial system - especially when it implies - chas v'shalom - the ignorance of G-d's people prior to his suggestions? It seems that G-d wanted to teach the Jewish people a fundamental lesson for all generations. The lesson being that there are among the nations of the world men of great intelligence and understanding and these nations have awareness of important and valuable information. G-d's intent was to show through Yisro that the election of the Jews was not because their knowledge and insight was greater than other nations. They were not chosen because of their superior wisdom and knowledge. Their election was the result of G-d's supreme kindness and His love of the Patriarchs. This explanation is more appropriate according to the view that Yisro came prior to the Revelation at Sinai. Accordingly G‑d's message was that even though there are amongst the Nations greater wise men than amongst the Jews - the Jews were nevertheless chosen. We are those to praise Him for choosing us because of his Kindness. However, even according to the view that Yisro came after the Revelation at Sinai - a similar lesson can be learned by the fact that Yisro is mentioned in the sequence of events of the Torah prior to the giving of the Torah.

R. S. R. Hirsch (Shemos 18:24): Nothing is so instructive for us, as this information regarding the first legal institution of the Jewish State, coming immediately before the chapter of the law-giving. So little was Moshe in himself a legistlative genius, he had so little talent for organizing that he had to learn the very elements of state from his father-in-law. The man who tired himself out to utter exhaustion and to whom of himself did not occur to arrange this or some similar simple solution, equally beneficial to himself and his people, the man to who it was necessary to have a Jethro to suggest this obvious device,that man could never have given the People constitution and laws out of his own head, that man was only, and indeed just because of this the best and most faithful instrument of G-d.

Here are four campaign promises from Trump. What are their chances if he wins?

 https://www.jpost.com/us-elections/article-826170

During his third campaign, Trump promises tax cuts on Social Security, increased tariffs, mass deportations, and improved California water access, but faces significant challenges.