Breaking down 'Obamagate,' Trump's latest theory about the 'deep state' and Obama's role in the Russia investigation

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/13/politics/trump-obama-obamagate-russia/index.html

Trump's latest rhetoric about "Obamagate" matches a well-established pattern.

Some misconduct related to the Russia investigation has been uncovered, and several former FBI officials have been chided for their handling of certain aspects of the probe. But Trump has repeatedly exaggerated the breadth of the wrongdoing or latched onto unproven accusations that even some members of his own administration have struggled to publicly explain or defend.

The Justice Department's inspector general has detailed major problems with the FBI's use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The inspector general also concluded that the most salacious claims about Trump and Russia, first made in the Steele dossier, had not been proved.

To Trump's credit, he said early on that there were improprieties with FBI surveillance. But when the watchdog report came out in late 2019, many of the President's specific claims were debunked, even if he was right about the big picture. (Much like his current messaging, Trump called this kerfuffle "Spygate," and said in 2018 that it "could be one of the biggest political scandals in history.")

For instance, the inspector general found that the FBI's decision to investigate several Trump campaign associates was legally justified and unaffected by bias. Yet even after the report came out in December, the President has continued to claim that the Russia probe was illegal and biased.

Attorney General William Barr also disputes that conclusion from the inspector general, and previously ordered a review of the Russia probe, led by US Attorney John Durham. That investigation is ongoing.

Donald Trump Trails Governors By Almost 30 Points in Coronavirus Approval Poll

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-trails-governors-30-points-coronavirus-approval-poll-1503705

President Donald Trump trails state governors by almost 30 points in a new coronavirus approval poll published Wednesday.

The latest survey from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that almost three-quarters (73 percent) of Americans felt their state governor had a "good" or "excellent" reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By comparison, only 46 percent approved of the president's handling of the coronavirus outbreak—putting him 27 points behind state leaders.

 

Ignoring ban, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox crowd Lag B’Omer fires in Jerusalem

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-haredim-crowd-jerusalem-streets-to-illegally-mark-lag-bomer/

Prime minister orders police to crack down on gatherings in capital and Beit Shemesh amid warnings that incidents could lead to fresh outbreak of coronavirus

317 ultra-Orthodox men freed after breaking into holy site, defying virus rules

https://www.timesofisrael.com/317-ultra-orthodox-men-freed-after-breaking-into-holy-site-defying-virus-rules/

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men arrested Tuesday evening after breaking into a shuttered holy site at Mount Meron were released Wednesday morning to their homes.

Each of the 317 detainees received a fine for violating coronavirus regulations designed to prevent mass gatherings.

 

Israeli doctors using ventilators on virus patients sparingly, but split on why

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-doctors-using-ventilators-on-virus-patients-sparingly-but-split-on-why/

Some experts maintain the machines can cause damage to a certain type of COVID-19 sufferers, while others say noninvasive measures were preferred all along

 Israeli doctors are increasingly sparing in the use of ventilators for coronavirus treatment, with some expressing fears that the breathing machines can cause harm. “There’s a sentiment that we’re trying to delay ventilation unless we really have to,” Eyal Zimlichman, chief medical officer at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, told The Times of Israel, adding that this has been the case since mid-April.

 

 

‘A pretty scary thing’: NY on edge over mystery child illness tied to virus

https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-pretty-scary-thing-ny-on-edge-over-mystery-child-illness-tied-to-virus/

Some 100 kids in state are suffering inflammatory syndrome believed to be related to COVID-19; governor says parents ‘are very concerned about this, and they should be’

 

קורונה נדירה בארץ פגעה בילדים, אחד נפטר; 'כולם חרדים'

https://www.kikar.co.il/359724.html

התפתחות נדירה מאוד של נגיף הקורונה, הפוגעת דווקא בבני נוער, הגיעה לאחרונה לישראל; עד כה היא התגלתה בגופם של שישה ילדים - כולם חרדים - אחד מהם למרבה הצער אף נפטר (אקטואליה)

 

Breaking down 'Obamagate,' Trump's latest theory about the 'deep state' and Obama's role in the Russia investigation

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/13/politics/trump-obama-obamagate-russia/index.html

President Donald Trump and his allies added a new dimension this week to their "deep state" conspiracy theory, directly accusing former President Barack Obama of leading a supposed "coup" to sabotage the Trump presidency.

 

Seizing on a viral hashtag, Trump dubbed the alleged scandal "Obamagate" and has been flooding the zone promoting exaggerated theories and false claims since the weekend. In the President's view, he was the victim of the "biggest political crime in American history" and the Obama appointees who he claims tried to undermine his administration deserve jail time for their misdeeds.

Trump ramped up his rhetoric over the weekend after Obama criticized the Justice Department for dropping its criminal case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump's new focus on Obama also served as a diversion from the coronavirus pandemic, as the nationwide death toll passed 80,000 and the unemployment rate tripled to a staggering 14.7%.

Conspiracy theorists are falsely claiming that the coronavirus pandemic is an elaborate hoax

https://theconversation.com/conspiracy-theorists-are-falsely-claiming-that-the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-an-elaborate-hoax-135985

Since March 28, conspiracy theorists — “coronavirus deniers” — have been using the hashtag #FilmYourHospital to encourage people to visit local hospitals to take pictures and videos to prove that the COVID-19 pandemic is an elaborate hoax.

The premise for this conspiracy theory rests on the baseless assumption that if hospital parking lots and waiting rooms are empty then the pandemic must not be real or is not as severe as reported by health authorities and the media.

 

Why a Second Wave of Covid-19 Is Already a Worry

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-24/why-a-second-wave-of-covid-19-is-already-a-worry-quicktake

3. So how does a virus come back?

There are a number of possibilities. In the case of influenza, there’s the onset of cool weather, a factor that may affect the coronavirus, too. Or the pathogen can mutate. This is another feature of flu, which mutates more or less constantly. In the fall of 1918, a second wave of the historic influenza outbreak occurred and caused most of the deaths in the pandemic. Some researchers believe it was brought about by a mutation that made the virus again unrecognizable to most people’s immune systems. Another important variable is the movement of the virus to populations that haven’t been exposed before and don’t have immunity. In addition, the World Health Organization said on April 24 that there’s no evidence yet that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.

 

1918 Pandemic Influenza: Three Waves

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/three-waves.htm

 There were 3 different waves of illness during the pandemic, starting in March 1918 and subsiding by summer of  1919. The pandemic peaked in the U.S. during the second wave, in the fall of 1918. This highly fatal second wave was responsible for most of the U.S. deaths attributed to the pandemic.

Are the Jews racist?

אמת ליעקב בראשית פרק ט פסוק כה
(כה) ויאמר ארור כנען עבד עבדים יהיה לאחיו51.
הנה ישנן משונאינו מאומות העולם הטוענים שכלל ישראל היא אומה גזענית, שהרי התורה אומרת שכנען ארור והוא יהיה עבד עבדים לאחיו, הרי שהשפילה התורה את גזע כנען למדרגת עבד. אבל האמת ודאי היא לא כן, דהא זה ברור שדעת התורה היא כנגד גזענות, וכבר הוכחתי זה בחידושי לעיל בפרשת בראשית [א' פכ"ב] מלשון המשנה בסנהדרין [דף ל"ז ע"א]: מפני מה נברא האדם יחידי שלא יאמר אדם לחבירו אבא גדול מאביך, הרי שבדוקא שינה הקדוש ברוך הוא במין האדם משאר המינים וברא רק אדם יחידי כדי שלא יבואו בני האדם לידי מדה מגונה זו. אלא שלפ"ז צריכים לבאר את פעולתו של נח במה שהוריד את כנען למדרגת עבד והשפילו משאר מין האדם, והרי זה לכאורה פעולה גזענית טהורה.
אבל באמת אין לזה שום שייכות עם גזענות, דגזענות פירושה שגזע אחד מתנשא מעל גזע אחר בגלל מוצאו ויחוסו וכאילו שהוא נוצר "מחומר" עילאי וטוב יותר וכדומה, אבל כאן הטעם שחילק ביניהם נח היה משום מדותיו המושחתות של חם ובנו כנען, ומדות אלו הנחיל הוא לבניו אחריו וכמו שאמרו חז"ל [פסחים דף קי"ג ע"ב]: חמשה דברים צוה כנען את בניו כו' אהבו את הגזל ואהבו את הזימה ושנאו את אדוניכם ואל תדברו אמת, ומכיון שראה נח מדות כאלו אצל משפחת כנען, מאז קילל אותם שישארו עבדים כל ימי חייהם ולא יבואו בקהל ישראל.
וכמו כן הוא מה שאנו אומרים "אתה בחרתנו מכל העמים", ששונאי ישראל טענו שמזה אנו מראים כאילו אנו חושבים את עצמנו למיוחסים יותר מאומות העולם, ודאי אין זה משום שדת ישראל גזענית היא חס ושלום, אלא שאנו אומרים שמכיון שאנו ירשנו מדות מהוגנות וישרות מאבירי דעה כאלו כמו אברהם יצחק ויעקב, ואנו עמדנו בהר סיני וקבלנו תורת ה' מפי משה רבינו, ממילא אנו בני מעלה יותר משאר העמים, כי הרי אנו שיפרנו את עצמנו במדות טובות ובהתקרבות להשי"ת, אבל הרי כל מי שרוצה יכול להתגייר ולהצטרף אלינו ואז גם הוא יכול לומר על עצמו "אתה בחרתנו מכל העמים", מה שאין זה אמת בשאר האומות הגזעניות שלא מרשים לאחד מן החוץ להצטרף אליהם.

Homosexuality - a heter?

Taz  (Bereishis 2:24):And therefore a man leaves…… The Holy spirit said this because if you say that Adam said it together with “This time …” .That can’t be since it serves no purpose to finish off his statement in that manner. .In contrast if it were said by the Holy spirit and then it is understood as a warning as Rashi explains. And they become one flesh – the Rambam asks “even animals become one flesh  in their offspring?”And in truth this is not really a problem at all because this verse is stated only to prohibit certain sexual relations such as bestiality as is stated in Sanhedrin 58a),”Rabbi Akiva said and cleave to his wife and not another male or the wife of another man and they shall become one flesh means only those sexual relations that result in one flesh through the offspring which excludes with animals because intercourse with them does not produce offspring. And this is what Rashi meant when he was explain the phrase “one flesh” teaches that intercourse with animals is prohibited But we rely on the gemora that “cleave” excludes homosexual relations  because the recipient gets no pleasure as Rashi notes. But why not learn this from “one flesh”because it cant produce offspring but then why is  the word cleave (davak) needed if everything is learned from “one flesh”? it appears to me that without the word “cleave” I would have explained the prohibition of bestiality as because it is lacking in unity. In other words with an animal there is a lack of constant togetherness and that is the reason that they are not one flesh  being together today but tomorrow the animal is with someone else. The Ramban says something a little bit similar concerning cleaving. Therefore I would have mistakenly thought that homosexual relation would be permitted because exclusive loyalty is possible between two males. Something similar is alluded to in the gemora noting that the Persians don’t write a Kesubah for a homosexual couple. Therefore the Torah states and cleaves to exclude homosexuality since the recipient does not get pleasure. But I might mistakenly think that if the prohibition is because of the lack of pleasue and the animal does get pleasure it  is therefore permitted! Therefore we learn from “one flesh” that it is prohibited. And this appears to me to be correct

Flynn judge to allow 'amicus' submissions, delaying immediate resolution and drawing planned ethics complaint

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-in-flynn-case-to-open-up-case-for-amicus-submissions

D.C. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order Tuesday indicating he'll soon accept "amicus curiae," or "friend of the court" submissions, in the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn -- drawing immediate scrutiny and a planned ethics complaint against Sullivan, who had previously refused to hear amicus briefs in the case.

Sullivan's order indicated that an upcoming scheduling order would clarify the parameters of who specifically could submit the amicus briefs, which are submissions by non-parties that claim an interest in the case. Sullivan specifically said he anticipated that "individuals and organizations" will file briefs "for the benefit of the court," as he prepares his response to the government's motion to dismiss the case.

"Judge Sullivan, who denied leave to file amicus briefs when he knew third parties would have spoken favorably of Flynn, now solicits briefs critical of Flynn," independent journalist Michael Cernovich wrote on Twitter Tuesday evening. "This is a violation of the judicial oath and applicable ethical rules. We will be filing a complaint against Sullivan. ... [He] is acting as a politician, not a judge."

 

Judge slows down effort to drop Flynn case

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/12/judge-slows-effort-drop-flynn-case-252725

Judge Emmet Sullivan said he’ll receive written arguments that are likely to oppose Justice’s bid to abandon the high-profile prosecution.

 

Somber warnings temper hopes about a fall return to school -- and normalcy

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/13/politics/coronavirus-schools-education-donald-trump-fauci/index.html

The contentious nature of school closures -- effective in 48 states and the District of Columbia, according to a CNN count -- exploded in a Senate hearing Tuesday after Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul warned Fauci he wasn't the "end-all" authority on issues like when kids should go back to class.

Paul pointed out that mortality rates for young people were comparatively low and misleadingly suggested that outside New England, the virus had been relatively "benign."

"I think the one-size-fits-all -- that we're going to have a national strategy and nobody's going to go to school -- is kind of ridiculous," Paul said. "We really ought to be doing it school district by school district. And the power needs to be dispersed because people make wrong predictions.

"If we keep kids out of school for another year, what's going to happen is the poor and underprivileged kids who don't have a parent that's able to teach them at home are not going to learn for a full year ... I think it's a huge mistake if we don't open the schools in the fall."

Fauci warned Paul that the country needed to be "very careful" about underestimating the effect of Covid-19 on young people, specifically citing the inflammatory syndrome that has killed a number of children in the United States and Europe.

 

Mitch McConnell's deeply disingenuous call for Barack Obama to keep 'his mouth shut'

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-barack-obama/index.html

Taken broadly, what McConnell is doing here is what Trump and his party have been doing for the last three-plus years: Shattering every possible presidential norm with glee while also demanding that political opponents adhere to those same norms. I've lost count at the number of times Trump expresses faux shock at the language used by one of his rivals even as he curses and impugns them without a second thought. Or demands that someone be fired for making a mistake or airing an incorrect claim even as he has racked up literally thousands of misstatements and falsehoods during his time in office.

 

Fauci tells Congress that states face serious consequences if they reopen too quickly

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/anthony-fauci-congress-hearing/index.html

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, warned senators Tuesday that states and cities face serious consequences if they open up too quickly, urging states not to reopen until they know they have the capabilities to handle an inevitable uptick in cases once they relax stay-at-home orders.

In a high-profile hearing where witnesses and many lawmakers joined via video conference, Fauci also told a Senate committee on Tuesday it was a "bridge too far" for schools to expect a vaccine or widely available treatment for Covid-19 by the time students return to campuses in the fall, though he expressed optimism a vaccine would be developed in the next year or two.

 

Alexander and other Republicans on the panel viewed Tuesday's hearing as a showcase for what the administration has been working on, hoping that the reputations of scientists like Fauci would lend credibility to the work that is occurring. In his opening statement, Alexander urged senators not to engage in "finger-pointing" when the entire world underestimated the virus.

 

 

"As much as I respect you, Dr. Fauci, I don't think you're the end-all," Paul said. "I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision. We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying there's not going to be a surge and that we can safely open the economy. And the facts will bear this out."

Slammed by COVID-19, ultra-Orthodox Jews try to understand what God hath wrought

https://www.timesofisrael.com/slammed-by-covid-19-ultra-orthodox-jews-try-to-understand-what-god-hath-wrought/

Why would the heavenly power permit such evil? Posters see punishment for gossip and women’s immodesty; rabbis spy signs of messiah’s coming; others say they just don’t know

 

Dr. Fauci: Reopening early could have 'really serious' consequences

Rand Paul says Fauci isn't the 'end all'. See Fauci's response

“Obamagate” conspiracy theory falls apart after a reporter asks President Trump one question

https://www.salon.com/2020/05/12/obamagate-conspiracy-theory-falls-apart-after-a-reporter-asks-president-trump-one-question/

"It is true that the investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, and into Russia in particular, began during the Obama administration. But it continued well into Trump's own administration. The investigation into Flynn was taken over by a special counsel who was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, Trump's own deputy attorney general," the outlet explained. "The internal FBI correspondence that has emerged in the last two weeks also doesn't reveal agents saying that the goal of the investigation was to take down a president."

 

Despite a lack of evidence to support the conspiracy theory, Fox News quickly became an echo chamber for Trump's attacks.

Fox News Judge Jeanine Pirro accused former Vice President Joe Biden of participating in a "bloodless coup" in the Obama administration to overthrow Trump.

Fellow host Sean Hannity claimed that Obama's leaked comments showed that he was "sending a message to deep state operatives to go out and do more dirty work."

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs went all-in on the conspiracy theory on his show.

"We know that the whole thing was not only a conspiracy to overthrow a president, but it was a web of deceit and lies that were the basis for the special counsel and all of the nonsense that the radical Dims, the deep state, and yes, the Obama administration put in motion," he alleged. 

But outside of that Fox echo chamber, Trump and his allies were accused of using the conspiracy theory to distract from his bungled coronavirus response.

Cooper: Trump's testing claim is not and has never been true

Is 'Obamagate' A Phrase With Any Meaning? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Donald Trump Tweets Video of 'Ask China' Press Conference Clash, Says Reporters Were Conspiring Against Him

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-ask-china-clash-media-1503298

Donald Trump has branded the media "out of control" after walking away from a press conference in which he told a reporter to "ask China" when she questioned his comments on coronavirus test levels.

The president left Monday's COVID-19 briefing after clashing with journalists, following a query from CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang which he branded "nasty."

Sharing a video of the exchange on Twitter, Trump wrote: "The Lamestream Media is truly out of control. Look how they work (conspire!) together. They are the Enemy of the People, but don't worry, we will WIN in November!"

Fauci Warns Premature Reopening Could Trigger an Uncontrollable Outbreak Leading to 'Suffering and Death'

https://www.newsweek.com/fauci-warns-premature-reopening-could-trigger-uncontrollable-outbreak-leading-suffering-death-1503477

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert at the National Institute of Health, on Tuesday cautioned that states which circumvent the White House's criteria to relax social distancing guidelines could result in a second outbreak that overwhelms society.

 

Trump goes on wild tweetstorm to distract from Fauci testimony

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

 Hours before his top medical adviser is expected to contradict his assurances that it's safe to reopen America, President Donald Trump is on a Twitter tear amplifying conspiracy theories and covering up for his own racially-tinged rhetoric to distract from his failures during the pandemic.

Trump is making unfounded charges against his predecessor Barack Obama and wading into the row over his treatment of an Asian American journalist ahead of an appearance before a Senate committee by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease specialist, and oral arguments before the Supreme Court about Trump's attempt to keep his financial information and tax returns from Congress and New York prosecutors.

 

Trump on Monday accused Democratic-led states of deliberately slowing openings of their economies to hurt him politically in an election year and is ignoring warnings of global health experts that reopening societies will spark new spikes in infections without the massive testing and tracing program that he has failed to put in place.

Fauci testifies on Trump's coronavirus response

https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/fauci-testifies-coronavirus-05-12-2020/index.html

He was responding to GOP Sen. Mitt Romney's question about President Trump's recent suggestion that Obama was responsible for the lack of a vaccine.

"The President said the other day that President Obama is responsible for lack of vaccine. Dr. Fauci, is President Obama — or by extension President Trump — did they do something that made the likelihood of creating the vaccine less likely?" Romney asked.

 Neither President Trump nor his predecessor President Obama are responsible for the lack of a coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

Sages not concerned with absolute truth but rather correct procedure

אמת ליעקב ויקרא פרק כא פסוק ב

ונראה בביאור דבריהם, ע"פ מה שביארתי באריכות בחידושי לעיל בפרשת בראשית [א' פכ"ו] דהתורה מסרה לנו את המדות שהתורה נדרשת על ידיהן, ועל ידי אותן המדות אנו פוסקין כל ספק שנולד לנו באיזו הלכה - ואין לו לדיין מה שעיניו רואות, וכשהללו מזכין - אף שהאמת לאמתו שהוא חייב, מ"מ אם הרוב מזכין הרי הוא זכאי על פי דין תוה"ק דאחרי רבים להטות, ואף שאפשר שהמיעוט כיון לאמיתת האמת מ"מ התורה מסרה לנו את הדין איך שנדרוש עפ"י השכל האנושי, ועיי"ש5. ועיין בים של שלמה [בהקדמתו למסכתות ב"ק וחולין] איך שביאר הא דאמרו בגמ' אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים.

והנה בעירובין [דף י"ג ע"ב] איתא: ג' שנים נחלקו ב"ש וב"ה הללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו והללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו יצאה ב"ק ואמרה אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים הן והלכה כב"ה, ועיי"ש. ולכאורה מאי שנא מכל פלוגתא דתנאי או אמוראי שודאי כל אחד אומר שהלכה כמותו, ומאי שנא מחלוקת ב"ש וב"ה דמשמע דכאן היתה מלבד כל מחלוקתם גם מחלוקת אחרת שהללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו והללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו. והנראה לבאר הגמ', דבאמת היתה כאן מחלוקת חדשה - והיא כללית - מלבד כל פרטי דינין שנחלקו בכל התורה כולה, שב"ש אומרים הלכה כמותנו וב"ה אומרים הלכה כמותנו, כלומר שנחלקו היכא דישנו רוב ומיעוט אלא שהמיעוט הוא חריף טפי - דב"ש אזלי בתר החריפי ומשום דהחריף יכול לכוון יותר אל האמת לאמיתו, וב"ה סברי דאזלינן בתר השכל האנושי - ואף שזה אינו אמיתת האמת, אבל מכיון שלפי השכל האנושי נראה שכן הוא האמת הרי הדין כאותו הרוב. ולפ"ז נמצא דלב"ש לעולם יש להשגיח בב"ק, שהרי הב"ק בודאי הנהו האמת האמיתי, וכיון שבפלוגתא זו נפסקה ההלכה דאזלינן בתר השכל האנושי גם לדעת ב"ש, א"כ ע"כ אית לן למיפסק כדברי ב"ה בממה נפשך - דלדידהו הא לעולם הילכתא כוותייהו, ולב"ש הא לדידהו משגחינן בב"ק, ודו"ק.

ואפשר6 דלפי מושגם באמת נחלקו ג"כ בפרק האשה שנתארמלה [כתובות דף י"ז ע"א] בענין כיצד מרקדין לפני הכלה, דב"ה סברי דיאמר כלה נאה וחסודה, וב"ש ס"ל דיש בזה חשש שקר, והיינו דב"ש סברי שבשום אופן אסור לשנות מהאמת לאמיתה, ולכן אפילו אם אחד קנה מקח רע מן השוק אסור לשבחו - שהרי לפי האמת האמיתית הרי זה מקח רע, וב"ה סברי דכיון דלעולם בעינן שתהיה דעתו של אדם מעורבת עם הבריות א"כ אין זה נחשב לשקר, והיינו שצריך להתחשב עם האמת של רגשי האדם, ודו"ק היטב.
ונבין לפ"ז מה דאיתא בספרי קבלה דלעתיד לבוא תיפסק ההלכה כבית שמאי, והיינו משום דרק בעולמנו צריכים אנו להתחשב עם האמת הנראית לרוב בני אדם, אבל לעתיד לבוא שאז תתגלה האמת האמיתית בודאי תהיה ההלכה כב"ש, ודו"ק.

A man's wife is subordinate to him to the degree he is subordinate to G-d

Netziv  (Bereishis 2:24): And therefore man leaves…and cleaves to his wife . from this point on there is no advice to be his ezer knegdo as was intended by her creation and as Adam felt that he was missing except from the aspect that he is leaving his father and his mother cleaving to his wife and then becoming one flesh as he loves her as if they were one person as it states in Yevamos (62b).”one who loves his wife as himself….”And even then she is not entirely subordinate to him as was the first woman who was literally considered as part of him. Rather they are considered one flesh. That means that what he thinks is good for him and desirable and she completely fulfills his wants. She  should have the same attitude concerning what she wants for herself and that he comply with her wishes. Nevertheless since the reason that the first woman was made  to have the inherent nature to be supportive, even though women are not exactly the same as the first woman was originally but rather as she became after eating from the fruit from the Tree of knowledge as we will discuss later in Bereishis (3:20) while he is amongst those created during the first 6 days of creation. And only one who merited that achieves the love of his wife with total abnegation as Eve was before the sin. It was because of this that there are two types of cleaving of Adam and Eve  in order that for all time there should be two types of helping of a wife to her husband. Therefore  they were on the sixth day of creation two modes of love of Eve to Adam  in order that there should always be two modes of love of a woman to her husband. And just as we spoke about two modes that man has to serving G-d. All this was made on the first day that he was created as we explained before Bereishis (2:4). And thus the nature of love of a man’s  wife and life with her husband  This is similar to what R Shimon Ben Eliezer stated in Kiddushin (82b). “I was created to serve my Maker and they were created to serve me.”To the degree he serves G-d will be the degree That his wife serves him or according to mazel as all other aspects of man’s life. Either things happen as the result of Divine providence  based on his deeds or by good or bad mazel and this is the nature of the world.

What Judge Sullivan Should Do

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/what-judge-sullivan-should-do/611488/

The Justice Department has requested that he dismiss the case against Michael Flynn. Here are 13 questions the judge should ask of government counsel.

 

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan probably has little choice but to accede to the Justice Department’s outrageous motion that he dismiss the case against Lieutenant General Michael Flynn—notwithstanding Flynn’s guilty plea to false-statements charges more than two years ago. Existing law provides him little discretion in deciding whether to let the case go. That said, he does not have to dismiss the case without comment.

“Arguably, You Sold Your Country Out”: Could a Judge Override Barr in the Flynn Affair?

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/could-a-judge-override-barr-in-the-flynn-affair

What’s telling about the government’s unprecedented motion, which Michael Bromwich, a former inspector general and longtime Department of Justice official, called “a pardon by another name,” is that it tries really hard to rewrite history, if not ignore it altogether. To the Justice Department, all revolves around a single instance, four days into the new administration, when Flynn, a sophisticated official with decades of government service, including in the nation’s intelligence apparatus, found himself in the crosshairs of an overreaching FBI. “The Government is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn’s statements were material even if untrue,” Timothy Shea, the loyalist Barr installed as acting U.S. attorney in Washington earlier this year, wrote. “Moreover, we [do] not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt.” No other career official who had been on the case signed the filing—one of them, Brandon Van Grack, a Mueller veteran in the department’s national security division, had abruptly withdrawn from the Flynn case moments earlier on Thursday, in apparent protest of the Justice Department’s reversal.

 

Flynn: What Will Judge Sullivan Do?

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/05/11/flynn-what-will-judge-sullivan-do/?slreturn=20200412084852#

 

On May 8, The New York Times headline read “U.S. Drops Michael Flynn Case … .” I suppose that’s technically true. The article didn’t say that the Flynn case was dismissed. Indeed, it hasn’t been. The Justice Department clearly has no authority to dismiss a pending criminal case—particularly after a guilty plea has been entered by the defendant. All it can do is “ask” the court to dismiss the case. Given who the judge is, the Justice Department can’t be too certain of the outcome or what will happen along the way, and probably won’t be sleeping easily while awaiting the judge’s decision.

Trump's Attorney General Barr Called To Resign For 'Assaults On The Rule Of Law' | MSNBC

Ingraham: Obama to the rescue

Fact Check: Is Obama the only president to criticize a successor?

https://kslnewsradio.com/1924939/fact-check-is-obama-the-only-president-to-criticize-a-successor/

Among the hundreds of #ObamaGate retweets President Trump sent over the weekend was a widely circulated meme with a photo of former President Barack Obama stating, “First Ex-President To Speak Against Successor.” Mr. Trump retweeted the meme, writing, “He got caught, OBAMAGATE!”

The meme had been seen on the Internet in past years. Now it’s adding fuel to the current #ObamaGate fire on Twitter. 

Is Obama the only president in U.S. history to denounce his successor? 

The short answer is no. There are several presidents in recent history who have spoken out against their successors to different news and media outlets.

 

Trump increases attack against Obama with ‘Obamagate’ tweet

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ups-attack-against-obama-with-obamagate-tweet

Last week, Attorney General William Barr’s Justice Department dismissed the case against Flynn, Trump's first national  security adviser, who was seen as the key prosecution witness from Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign.

Trump, along with other Republicans, seized on the decision and framed it as an example of a Democrat-manufactured plot to remove him from office.

 

Trump's 'Obamagate' comments and Barr's Flynn meddling suggest troubling new pivot

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-obamagate-comments-barr-s-flynn-meddling-suggest-troubling-ncna1204856

In my 25 years as an FBI special agent and (now retired) head of the bureau's counterintelligence, I learned the value of predictive analysis. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the FBI transitioned from an investigative agency adept at investigating what happened after the fact to an intelligence agency capable of forecasting and preventing harm from happening in the future.

Trump is clearly still sensitive about the 2016 election, and especially about concerns that he may not have beaten former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fairly. He therefore has a special interest in undermining accusations of Russian meddling, something he has done since entering the Oval Office. What better way to do this than to flip the script? He didn't have an advantage; in fact, he was the victim

As other commentators have pointed out, attempting this bait and switch would likely involve efforts to censure, discipline or even criminally charge current and former government officials, such as former CIA Director John Brennan, fired FBI Director James Comey, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper and perhaps even Obama and Biden. During his Monday news conference in the Rose Garden, a reporter asked Trump what crime he might accuse Obama of committing. Trump responded: "Obamagate, it's been going on for a long time. It's been going on from before I got elected, and it's a disgrace that it happened. You look at, now, all of this information that's being released, and from what I understand, that's only the beginning."

What is 'Obamagate' and why is Trump so worked up about it?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/what-is-obamagate-and-why-is-trump-so-worked-up-about-it

The US president spent Mother’s Day diving into the rightwing fever swamps and unleashing a barrage of tweets and retweets assailing his predecessor

 

Senate Republicans break with Trump over ‘Obamagate’

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/11/senate-republicans-trump-obamagate-249734

After the Justice Department’s abrupt decision last week to drop the criminal case against Flynn, Trump shifted his public focus over the weekend to mount a three-day tear against his predecessor on Twitter, accusing Obama of committing the “biggest political crime in American history.” Trump sought to popularize the hashtag “Obamagate,” which he said makes the Watergate scandal “look small time.” Trump also said Obama “got caught” and later retweeted comments by Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, who said Obama was part of an effort to frame and entrap her client.

 

Trump hardens campaign tone after virus batters economy

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-reelection/index.html

Trump also signaled a new fallback strategy designed to whip up the fervor of his base by accusing his predecessor of mounting an attempt to cancel out his win in 2016 in what his supporters refer to as a "deep state plot."

"Obamagate. It's been going on for a long time. It's been going on from before I even got elected, and it's a disgrace that it happened," Trump claimed without evidence. Asked by a reporter to identify the crime he had accused Obama in a tweet of committing, he responded: "You know what the crime is. The crime is obvious to everybody."

The conservative media machine is pulsating with the reverberations of Attorney General William Barr's decision last week to drop charges against Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in a case that arose from the Russia investigation.

Shortly after Trump spoke, the scope of the Republican election attack became even more clear as Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa pressed the conspiracy theory on the Senate floor.

"The rule of law is at risk if the federal government can get away with violating the Constitution to do what they did to Lt. Gen. Flynn," said Grassley. "Given all that we know now regarding the fake foundation to the inquiry, it's time we asked: What did Obama and Biden know and when did they know it?"

Republican Group Releases Ad Encouraging Americans to Hold Trump Accountable for Abusing His Power

https://www.newsweek.com/republican-group-releases-ad-encouraging-americans-hold-trump-accountable-abusing-his-power-1503281

Conservative group Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL) released two new advertisements on Monday highlighting how President Donald Trump has allegedly attempted to avoid all forms of oversight.

The group's latest videos, which ran on Fox News' Fox & Friends, Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity, come ahead of Tuesday's oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court which could determine if Trump could be indicted for crimes while in office. Trump's legal team argues that the president cannot be investigated for wrongdoings while he is in office.

Pulse oximeters are selling out because of the pandemic. Most people don’t need them

https://qz.com/1832464/pulse-oximeters-for-coronavirus-unnecessary-but-selling-strong/

Amazon is currently flooded with listings for pulse oximeters, many of which are not FDA-approved. People who use such devices are at risk of getting an inaccurate reading. A 2016 study in Anesthesia & Analgesia looked at a number of inexpensive pulse oximeters not cleared by the FDA, and found that many of them were prone to large errors.

A number of wearables offer SpO2 features, including ones offered by Fitbit and Garmin. Apps that use your smartphone’s camera to deliver SpO2 measurements can be hit-or-miss. Such technology hasn’t been cleared by the FDA. One study looked at three pulse oximeter apps: iOx, OX, and POx. All three apps delivered inaccurate SpO2 measurements, according to the authors, from the University of Alabama and the University of Michigan.

 

Something Appears To Be Wrong With Donald Trump | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

White House Orders Staff to Wear Masks as Trump Misrepresents Testing Record

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/us/politics/white-house-masks-trump-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Declaring once again that “if somebody wants to be tested right now, they’ll be able to be tested,” Mr. Trump said that his administration was working with states to allow them to conduct 12.9 million tests in May, insisting that the testing ability in the United States compares favorably with other countries.

“We are testing more people per capita than South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Sweden, Finland and many other countries,” he said, ignoring countries where testing on a per capita basis is higher, including Germany, Russia, Spain, Canada, Switzerland and at least 20 others, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data.

Mr. Trump also mischaracterized the trajectory of new cases in the United States.

“The numbers are way down from what they were two weeks ago,” the president said. “The numbers are really coming down very substantially. This weekend was one of the lowest we’ve had. The numbers are coming down very rapidly.”

The number of new cases reported across the country this weekend was 45,227. That is lower than the 60,872 cases reported from April 25 to April 26. But over the past two weeks, the numbers of new cases over all have declined only slightly — not substantially.