✡ Who's REALLY Protecting Israel? [Scientific Study]

Terms of Michael Cohen's return to prison under scrutiny

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/10/politics/michael-cohen-prison-paperwork-dispute/index.html

After spending the past several weeks on New York's tony Upper East Side, Michael Cohen has found himself back in federal prison after a dispute with the government over what his lawyers say were restrictions in paperwork designed to prevent him from finishing a book about the president.

The form in question, a two-page document titled "Federal Location Monitoring Program Participant Agreement," had called for Cohen to abstain from communicating with members of the media — a provision that he had balked at given the pending release of his tell-all book, and one which his legal team has claimed is unusual.

Defense attorneys and legal experts that CNN spoke with Friday said that the form appeared to be tailored to Cohen, the flamboyant former fixer to President Donald Trump, whose affinity for the press is well known. Some called it unfair.

 

A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the US Courts, the judiciary agency that oversees the federal probation system, declined to comment on the specifics of Cohen's case, but added that no standard probation forms include language related to media contacts.

Shlach: Repairing the Sin of the Spies

http://www.ravkooktorah.org/SHLACH_65.htm

Rav Kook wrote that even today we still suffer the consequences of this catastrophic error. The root cause for the exiles and humiliations of the Jewish people, throughout the generations, is due to our failure to correct the sin of the spies.

 

To repair this national failure, a teshuvat hamishkal is needed, a penance commensurate with the sin which will “balance the scales.” The spies defamed the Land of Israel, as it says, “They despised the desirable land” (Psalms 106:24). We must do the opposite and show our unwavering love for the Land.

The Sin of the "Spies"

https://www.etzion.org.il/en/sin-spies

According to the Ramban (13:1 and 13:27) and the Akeidat Yitzchak (77) it appears that the sin of the spies lay in overstepping the bounds of their authority, in their transition from being faithful reporters – which was the mandate given to them - to becoming advisors with their own independent views and evaluations – which lay outside the bounds of their mission. Indeed, such a distinction exists in modern intelligence bodies, where the function of the information gatherers is to report on what they have seen or heard, and that of the intelligence evaluators is to evaluate the situation or even to provide advice, on the basis of that information. In the transition from one function to the other they did indeed overstep their authority, but ultimately this was no more than a formal sin. Is this really what constituted the true sin of the spies?

Is Aliyah a Mitzvah?

https://www.ou.org/blog/is-aliyah-a-mitzvah/

 

Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (Igros Moshe E.H. 102) discusses whether there is a mitzvah to make aliyah and why many rabbanim have lived in the Diaspora. He writes that even according to the opinion of the Ramban, that there exists a biblical obligation, the nature of this obligation is different than many other mitzvos. He feels that this mitzvah is “kiyumis” not “chiyuvis”.

To fully appreciate this distinction, it is necessary to offer an introduction regarding different types of mitzvos. There exist two types of mitzvos: 1) “kiyumis”- A mitzvah that is not obligatory, rather if one fulfills this mitzvah one receives reward (ex. Eating in the Succah following the first night. For the following meals one does not need to eat in the Succah, if one were to choose, one can refrain from eating bread and the like and would not be in violation of any prohibition. However, if one chooses to eat bread then one must eat it in the succah. Thus this mitzvah is “optional”.) 2) “Chiyuvis”- A mitzvah that one must fulfill and is obligatory in nature. (ex. Wearing Tefillin. One must wear tefillin every day and if one neglects this mitzvah and does not wear tefillin has done something wrong. Thus this mitzvah is “obligatory”.)

Now we can understand the ruling of Rav Moshe. He explains that although there is a mitzvah to live in Israel, however, this mitzvah is “optional”. Meaning that one is not obligated to move to Israel, rather, if one lives in Israel he fulfills a mitzvah. Rav Moshe continues, that because there is no prohibition of living outside of Israel it might be preferable to do so for the reasons given by Rav Chaim Kohen (namely that there are many mitzvos and prohibitions that apply specifically to the Land of Israel and it is difficult to fulfill all of those obligations.)

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l agreed with the premise of Rav Moshe Feinstein. He also felt that the mitzvah to live in Israel is a mitzvah “kiyumis” and not “chiyuvis” (oral ruling cited by Rav Hershel Schachter shlit”a sefer Peninei Harav).

Anderson Cooper slams 'lies and noise' from Mike Pence

Doctor reacts to Trump's claim: It's a preposterous thought

White House Works To Discredit Dr. Fauci As Coronavirus Surges in U.S. | MSNBC

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.

DeVos asked if she has a plan to reopen schools. See her response

Chris Wallace RIPS DeVos for trying to illegally cut off funding to schools that don’t re-open

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.