Monday, July 13, 2020
Trump says Fauci 'made a lot of mistakes'
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-says-fauci-made-lot-mistakes-n1233402
President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying that one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts "has made a lot of mistakes."
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump was asked what he makes of hotspots like Texas and Florida and of some of Fauci’s latest comments, though Hannity didn't specify which remarks he was referring to.
White House takes aim at Fauci as he disagrees with Trump on virus
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/12/politics/fauci-trump-coronavirus/index.html
As coronavirus cases surge in the United States, the White House is taking aim at the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
In
a statement Saturday, a White House official told CNN that "several
White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci
has been wrong on things." The official went on to provide a lengthy
list of examples, citing Fauci's comments early in the pandemic and
linking to past interviews.
President Trump has now spent 100 days at his golf clubs since he took office
https://www.fox4now.com/news/national/president-trump-has-now-spent-100-days-at-one-of-his-golf-clubs-since-he-took-office
But the primary criticism has stemmed from how Trump, as a private
citizen, slammed Barack Obama for hitting the links while president.
"Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties
facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf," Trump
tweeted in 2014. "Worse than Carter."
Norm Eisen, the chief White House ethics lawyer under Obama, called
Trump's 100th day at a golf property as president "an ignominious
anniversary."
Trump Insists Obama Played More Golf as President. The Numbers Say Otherwise.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/trump-falsely-claims-obama-played-more-golf-president.html
President
Donald Trump is apparently none too happy that people are criticizing
him for playing golf as a pandemic is raging in the United States. The
commander in chief took to Twitter Sunday to defend his frequent trips
to the golf course saying that it is the only exercise he gets and that
his predecessor “played more and much longer rounds.” And that was “no problem” but when he decides to play, “Fake News, CNN, and others”
go to great lengths to get a picture and show people how the president
is playing golf. “Actually, I play VERY fast, get a lot of work done on
the golf course, and also get a ‘tiny’ bit of exercise,” Trump wrote.
That
Trump doesn’t gets any other exercise beyond the golf course may very
well be true. But his claim to play less frequently than his predecessor
just isn’t. Trump went to his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, for the
second time this weekend on Sunday, marking the 276th time he’s visited a golf course as president.
Numbers vary slightly. Mark Knoller of CBS News, for example, specifies
that Trump has made 193 visits to golf courses over at least part of
258 days during his presidency. NBC News, meanwhile, says Trump has spent 269 days at one of his golf properties.
Regardless
of which number you use, though, the conclusion is still the same:
Barack Obama was nowhere near Trump’s levels during the same point of
his presidency. According to Knoller, Obama had played 102 rounds of
golf. CNN says that Trump “has played more than twice as many rounds of golf than former President Barack Obama had at the same point in his presidency.” In his whole first term in office, Obama played 113 rounds of golf, according to Golf Digest. The website Trumpgolfcount.com even has a handy chart
that makes crystal clear that Trump has played more golf than Obama.
It’s difficult to know exactly how many times Trump has actually played
golf at his properties because it’s something the administration doesn’t
usually confirm unless the president is playing with a dignitary or
celebrity. “However, if he’s going to the golf club for about 4-5 hours,
you can be pretty sure he’s playing golf,” notes Golf News Net.
Mary Trump is releasing a book. Michael Cohen is finishing a book. Both are being restricted
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/12/media/mary-trump-michael-cohen-books-reliable-sources/
Michael Cohen's sudden return to prison
is under scrutiny because his lawyers say the dispute
centered on
"restrictions in paperwork designed to prevent him from finishing a book
about the president."
index.html
"No standard probation forms include language related to media contacts," CNN's David Shortell and Mark Morales report. But the form presented to Cohen seemed to be tailored specifically to him. CNN has obtained a copy. This has all the appearances of an attempt to stifle Cohen's right to speak freely about his work for President Trump.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Criteria for imposing lockdowns on cities to be published in advance
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/283404
PM agrees to demand by Aryeh
Deri to publish guidelines for declaring restricted areas amid reports
of discrimination against haredim.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri demanded at the weekly Cabinet meeting
Sunday that the criteria for the declaration of a neighborhood as a
restricted area be published before areas are closed off so that the
haredi community will not feel that it is being targeted by the
government.
Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted Deri's request and ordered that the
criteria for the closure imposed on each locality be published on the
prime minister's website.
Historians will likely rank Trump as one of the worst presidents
Historians will likely rank Trump as one of the worst presidents
A new Gallup poll puts President Donald Trump's approval rating at 38%. His disapproval rating stands at 57%.
The average poll similarly shows Trump's approval rating hovering around 40%, while his disapproval rating is above 55%.
What's the point: Trump's approval rating isn't getting any better. In the polls, he is continuing to lose to former Vice President Joe Biden by double-digits. Trump could win a second term, but there is no clear path to doing so.
If gedolim dont follow halacha better to have them become idolators
Berachos 63a-b)
R. Safra said: R. Abbahu used to relate that when Hananiah the son of R. Joshua's brother went down to the Diaspora,38 he began to intercalate the years and fix new moons outside Palestine. So they [the Beth din] sent after him two scholars, R. Jose b. Kippar and the grandson of R. Zechariah b. Kebutal. When he saw them, he said to them: Why have you come? — They replied: We have come to learn Torah [from you]. He thereupon proclaimed: These men are among the most eminent of the generation. They and their ancestors have ministered in the Sanctuary (as we have learnt: Zechariah b. Kebutal said: Several times I read to him39 out of the book of Daniel). Soon they began to declare clean what he declared unclean and to permit what he forbade. Thereupon he proclaimed: These men are worthless, they are good for nothing. They said to him: You have already built and you cannot overthrow, you have made a fence and you cannot break it down.40 He said to them: Why do you declare clean when I declare unclean, why do you permit when I forbid? — They replied: Because you intercalate years and fix new moons outside of Palestine. He said to them: Did not Akiba son of Joseph intercalate years and fix new moons outside of Palestine?41 — They replied: Don't cite R. Akiba, who left not his equal in the Land of Israel. He said to them: I also left not my equal in the Land of Israel. They said to him: The kids which you left behind have become goats with horns, and they have sent us to you, bidding us, ‘Go and tell him in our name. If he listens, well and good; if not, he will be excommunicated. R. Safra said: R. Abbahu used to relate that when Hananiah the son of R. Joshua's brother went down to the Diaspora,38 he began to intercalate the years and fix new moons outside Palestine. So they [the Beth din] sent after him two scholars, R. Jose b. Kippar and the grandson of R. Zechariah b. Kebutal. When he saw them, he said to them: Why have you come? — They replied: We have come to learn Torah [from you]. He thereupon proclaimed: These men are among the most eminent of the generation. They and their ancestors have ministered in the Sanctuary (as we have learnt: Zechariah b. Kebutal said: Several times I read to him39 out of the book of Daniel). Soon they began to declare clean what he declared unclean and to permit what he forbade. Thereupon he proclaimed: These men are worthless, they are good for nothing. They said to him: You have already built and you cannot overthrow, you have made a fence and you cannot break it down.40 He said to them: Why do you declare clean when I declare unclean, why do you permit when I forbid? — They replied: Because you intercalate years and fix new moons outside of Palestine. He said to them: Did not Akiba son of Joseph intercalate years and fix new moons outside of Palestine?41 — They replied: Don't cite R. Akiba, who left not his equal in the Land of Israel. He said to them: I also left not my equal in the Land of Israel. They said to him: The kids which you left behind have become goats with horns, and they have sent us to you, bidding us, ‘Go and tell him in our name. If he listens, well and good; if not, he will be excommunicated.
Berachos (63b)Tell also our brethren in the Diaspora [not to listen to him]. If they listen to you, well and good; if not, let them go up to the mountain, let Ahia1 build an altar and let Hananiah play the harp,2 and let them all become renegades and say that they have no portion in the God of Israel’. Straightway all the people broke out into weeping and cried, Heaven forbid, we have a portion in the God of Israel. Why all this to-do? — Because it says, For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.3 We can understand that if he declared clean they should declare unclean, because this would be more stringent. But how was it possible that they should declare clean what he declared unclean, seeing that it has been taught: If a Sage has declared unclean, his colleague is not permitted to declare clean? — They thought proper to act thus so that the people should not be drawn after him.
WHCA president accuses McEnany of 'denying reality' during press briefings
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany may have resumed regularly scheduled press briefings, but ABC News correspondent Jon Karl argued Saturday that she's not conducting them the right way.
Karl,
who leads the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), penned an
op-ed in which he accused McEnany of giving partisan monologues and
"denying reality" during press briefings.
"The job is to inform
the public: to be an intermediary between the president and a press
corps the public relies on for information ... Denying reality and using
the White House podium for purely political purposes is a violation of
public trust," he wrote in The Washington Post.
He
added: "Briefings under the current press secretary rarely last 30
minutes -- which is short by traditional standards -- but routinely
include opening and closing messages that more closely resemble the
monologues of a partisan political talk show than a public official’s
briefing."
Trump’s refusal to appeal to centrists could make Biden president and give Dems Senate majority
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/biden-trump-race-arnon-mishkin
Former Vice President Joe Biden is getting help in his presidential campaign from a surprising source — President Trump.
Rather
than trying to appeal to centrist voters — moderate Republicans,
independents and moderate Democrats — to widen his base of support, Trump is doubling down on his most extreme positions in an effort to boost turnout by his most fervent supporters in November.
In
addition to posing grave risks to the president’s reelection chances,
this unconventional strategy increases the chances Democrats will
capture majority control of the Senate and expand their majority in the
House of Representatives.
Roger Stone: Critics blast Trump for commuting ex-adviser's jail term
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53373128
Mr Biden's spokesman Bill Russo said Mr Trump could not be shamed and could only be stopped at the ballot box.
"President
Trump has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a
Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the
norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest
of the world," he said.
House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff condemned Mr Trump's clemency.
"With
this commutation," said the top Democratic lawmaker, "Trump makes clear
that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal
friends, and one for everyone else."
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said it showed Donald Trump was the most corrupt president in history.
Sen. Mitt Romney Calls Trump's Decision to Commute Roger Stone's Sentence 'Historic Corruption'
https://time.com/5865809/mitt-romney-trump-roger-stone/
On Saturday morning, Utah Sen. Mitt
Romney became the first Congressional Republican so far to speak out
against President Donald Trump’s Friday night decision to commute the
sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone.
Stone had been sentenced to 40 months in prison for multiple felonies
including lying to Congress and attempting to obstruct the Congressional
investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Jeff Mason on Trump commuting Stone's sentence: 'Bringing this up again may in some ways be positive' for POTUS
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jeff-mason-donald-trump-commuting-roger-stone-sentence
Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason reacted Saturday to President Trump commuting Roger Stone's sentence, saying there will more more "fireworks" regarding the president's actions.
"This
is his Broadway, really, right now of responding to what he thinks was
unfair the entire time related to Robert Mueller's investigation of the
Russia probe and specifically to his friend and confident Roger Stone,"
Mason said on "America's News HQ."
"I
think it is important to remember that Stone was convicted by a jury,
and so in terms of the political risk for the president, this does come
at a time when the president himself has been focusing on a law and
order response to the protests around the country, emphasizing himself
as a law and order president."
Mueller defends Stone prosecution and says 'his conviction stands' in Washington Post op-ed
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/11/politics/robert-mueller-defends-roger-stone-prosecution/index.html
Former special counsel Robert Mueller, in a very rare move, has written an op-ed for The Washington Post
defending his office's prosecution of Roger Stone and saying he is
still a convicted felon and "rightly so" in light of President Donald
Trump's commutation of Stone.
"Congress
also investigated and sought information from Stone. A jury later
determined he lied repeatedly to members of Congress. He lied about the
identity of his intermediary to WikiLeaks. He lied about the existence
of written communications with his intermediary. He lied by denying he
had communicated with the Trump campaign about the timing of WikiLeaks'
releases. He in fact updated senior campaign officials repeatedly about
WikiLeaks. And he tampered with a witness, imploring him to stonewall
Congress," Mueller wrote in the op-ed posted Saturday evening.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Tucker Carlson's top writer resigns after secretly posting racist and sexist remarks in online forum
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/10/media/tucker-carlson-writer-blake-neff/index.html
Neff worked at Fox News for nearly four years and was Carlson's top writer. Previously, he was a reporter at The Daily Caller, a conservative news outlet that Carlson co-founded. In a recent article in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Neff said, "Anything [Carlson is] reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me." He also acknowledged the show's influence, telling the magazine, "We're very aware that we do have that power to sway the conversation, so we try to use it responsibly."
During the years that Neff wrote for him at Fox, Carlson has hosted one of the most influential shows on cable news. In the last quarter, Carlson had not only the highest-rated program in cable news, but the highest-rated show in the history of cable news. Carlson also counts President Trump among his most loyal viewers. On multiple occasions, the President has tweeted out videos of Carlson's program. Which is to say, the scripts that Neff likely helped write and shape were being shared by the President of the United States.
House Democrats promise investigations, legislation after Trump commutes Roger Stone
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-democrats-investigations-legislation-trump-commutes-stone
House Democrats reacted furiously to President Trump’s Friday move to commute the prison sentence of political operative Roger Stone -- demanding an investigation and even legislation to stop similar commutations happening again.
“President
Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of top campaign advisor Roger
Stone, who could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct, is an
act of staggering corruption,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
said in a statement on Saturday.
The White House announced Friday
that Trump has signed an Executive Grant of Clemency for the colorful
political operative, who was sentenced to more than three years in
prison after he was convicted last year on seven counts of obstruction,
witness tampering and making false statements to Congress in relation to
FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its
allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the
Trump Presidency,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in
a statement Friday night. “There was never any collusion between the
Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such
collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to
accept the result of the 2016 election.”
Trump commutes Roger Stone's sentence
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/10/politics/trump-stone-prison-clemency/index.html
President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone,
who was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part,
prosecutors said, to protect the President. The announcement came just
days before Stone was set to report to a federal prison in Georgia.
Trump's decision to commute
the sentence of his friend and political adviser is the crescendo of a
months-long effort to rewrite the history of the Mueller investigation.
This has included selective declassification of intelligence materials, a
ramped-up counter-investigation into the origins of the Russia probe
and attempts to drop the case against Michael Flynn. The President has
broad constitutional power to pardon or commute sentences. But Trump is
unlike almost any other president in how he's used the power proactively
to save political allies.
Subscribe to:
Comments
(
Atom
)