Voting

I could not find this in the Igros Moshe though I don't know why it was left out. It is readily found on the Internet 

Racism -Judaism is not racist

 Rav Yakov (Bereisishis 9:25) And he said cursed is Canaan he will be a slave to his brothers   There are among our haters of the nations of the world who categorize Israel as a racist nation, because the Torah says that Canaan is cursed and he will be a slave to his brothers. They claim that is because the Torah degraded the race of Canaan to the level of a slave.  But in fact it is surely not so. It is clear that the view of the Torah is against racism, as I have already shown  this in my commentary to Bereishis  (1: 22) from the language of the mishna in Sanhedrin (37a]: which states “For what reason was man created as a single person – in order that a person can not claim that my ancestors are superior to your ancestors because G-d made the human species different from the other species and created only one person so that the human beings would not come to be racist. 

In light of this we need to explain the actions of Noach in cursing  Canaan to be  degraded him below the rest of humanity which seems to be a clearly racist act. In fact it has nothing to do with racism, racism means that one race is elevated above another race because of its origin and lineage and as if it was created from superior and better "material" and the like. But the reason that Noah divided between them was because of the corrupt personality of Ham and his son Canaan. This degraded nature was passed on to their descendants as is stated in Pesachim (113b) Five things Canaan commanded his sons: Love robbery and love fornication and hate your masters and do not speak the truth, and since Noah saw such corruption in the family of Canaan, he cursed them that they who will remain slaves all their lives and will not come in the congregation of Israel.

And similarly concerning what we say, "You have chosen us from all the peoples", which the haters of Israel claimed that from this we consider ourselves superior to the nations of the world. It is certainly not because Judaism is racist – G-d forbid! We say it because we have acquired  fair and honest attributes from our religious leaders and teachers  such as Abraham Yitzchak and Yaakov, and we stood on Mount Sinai and received the Torah of God from the mouth of our Rabbi Moses. Consequently we have become more refined and elevated than the other nations, but only because we have improved ourselves by involvement with Torah and mitzvos and by getting closer to G-d. But in fact anyone who wants can convert and join us and then he too can say about himself "You are our choice from all nations", which is not true in the other racist nations that do not allow anyone from outside to join them. 

And this is obvious from what we say, You have chosen us from all the peoples, and we say the same in the blessings of the Torah every day that He has chosen us from all the peoples, and yet in the order of Selichos we say, "We are more guilty than other nations ". It is puzzling, how can we say that we are the chosen ones and yet more guilty. But it is as we said, our virtue is not inherently in us or religion or our superior origin, but in the fact that we were chosen from all nations because of our refinement, so therefore when we sin and do not protect ourselves from doing wrong, we are are the guiltiest of all people, because the higher the level of man, the higher his sin if he fails.

The Rank Double Standard in Trump and Biden’s Trash Talk

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-rank-double-standards-in-trump-and-bidens-trash-talk/

His running mate JD Vance, who just days ago told people to “stop getting so offended” over the rally (“I’m just — I’m so over it,” he continued) tweeted of Biden’s comments: This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss Joe Biden are attacking half of the country. There’s no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it.”

But let’s not forget that Donald Trump does and says a lot worse than “garbage.” His rhetoric routinely pings from the offensive to the threatening to the violent. He calls liberals Marxists and Communists. He has mocked people with disabilities, referred to women who challenge him as dogs, called Mexicans rapists, called immigrants vermin, and said they are “poisoning the blood of the country.”

He has threatened election officials with prosecution, and he routinely says his opponents should be killed. On Thursday night, Trump said that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney should be shot (he had previously said she and former president Barack Obama should be tried in televised military tribunals). He has suggested Gen. Mark Milley, his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, be executed; those who worked for him have said that he also talked about executing drug dealers, shoplifters, journalists, and members of his own administration who leaked information to the media.

The stereotype of every childhood bully is that they can dish it out but they can’t take it. Trump is a lifelong bully, and his base seems to genuinely relish his efforts to torment those who challenge him, or those who he sees as weak. He’s also one of the most thin-skinned people to ever enter politics. He believes a double standard should apply: He gets to demean and insult whoever he pleases in the crudest possible terms, but if the tables turn on him, well, that’s not fair.

Chareidim live in a Bubble

 I was recently told that one of my grandchildren was told by her teacher  that the current war with the Arabs and Israel doesn't concern her since it is only the secular who are fighting. This was done so she shouldn't worry about the danger Israel is in today. Other grandchilodren were told that as long as they kept learning Torah in the beis hamedrash they faced no danger from missiles

In short there is little to no empathy for the sacrifices the non chareidim are making in fighting and dying because they too can become chareidim learn Torah and do mitzvos and be protected miraculously

Voter Fraud in US Elections? What the Data and Research Shows

 https://www.newsweek.com/voter-fraud-us-elections-data-research-1978342

A new report relying on extensive historic data has found instances of voter fraud remain incredibly scarce despite alarm and concern over the potential for such activity to sway the 2024 presidential election.

Republicans have continually raised concerns about voter fraud during and following the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump and his allies filed 62 lawsuits in various courts in an effort to challenge the election, many of those cases resting on claims of voter fraud.

Of the 62 lawsuits, only one succeeded before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the initial ruling.

"Judges heard the cases, they reviewed the evidence—both Republican and Democratic judges," West said. "There were judges appointed by Donald Trump, and they all reached the conclusion there was not widespread ballot fraud and the election was not stolen."

Republican judge: Americans should hear Trump's Cheney attack before casting vote

Conservatives 'sickened' by Trump's remarks about Cheney

As religious Zionist IDF casualties rise, so does resentment of Haredi exemption bill

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-religious-zionist-idf-casualties-rise-so-does-resentment-of-haredi-exemption-bill/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2024-11-01&utm_medium=email

The belief that there is a divine commandment for men to serve in the IDF has been one of the central points of disagreement separating religious Zionists from their more insular Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, brethren for at least half a century.

But as the number of IDF soldiers killed or wounded in action continues to rise, and as the religious Zionist community continues to pay a disproportionately high price in casualties, that disagreement has transformed into enmity.