Trump’s Migrant Gang Members Appear to Be Anything But

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-migrant-gang-members-appear-to-be-anything-but/

“Officers and agents well versed in gang activity in general and TdA in particular reviewed the information gathered on each alien, identifying TdA members based upon information such as previous criminal convictions… surveillance… evidence that the alien had committed crimes in coordination with known members of TdA… and admission of TdA membership by the alien.”

Cerna adds, “ICE did not simply rely on social media posts, photographs of the alien displaying gang-related hand gestures, or tattoos alone.”

But, unless there is something it is not saying, ICE seems to have done exactly that in the case of at least two deportees without criminal records or apparent gang ties. Both men do have tattoos, but they also have written statements from the particular tattoo artists attesting that the designs have nothing to do with any gang. Both also followed all the legal procedures for seeking asylum, registering with the Customs and Border Protection app, CPB One, in Mexico and presenting themselves at the assigned point of entry at the U.S. border at the designated date and time.

Was Nevudchaznezar Greater Than Dovid?

Sanhedrin (92b)  Rabbi Yitzḥak says: Molten gold should be poured into the mouth of that wicked person Nebuchadnezzar . The reason is that if an angel had not come and struck him on his mouth to prevent him from continuing his praise, he would have sought to overshadow all the songs and praises that David recited in the book of Psalms. 

Rashi (Saqnhedrin 932b)לגנות - שהיה מסדר שבחות נאות יותר מדוד ואילו אמרן הקב"ה היה נוטה אחריהן יותר מאחרי השירות שעשה דוד:

He would have composed praises that were nicer than that of Dovid. If he said them than G-d would be inclined to favor them more than the songs of Dovid.

Boasberg says Trump administration ‘evaded’ deadline for deportation flight info

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5206108-trump-administration-venezuelan-deportation-flights/

A federal judge on Thursday said the Trump administration’s response to his request for more information on Venezuelan deportation flights was “woefully insufficient” and “evaded” obligations to show they complied with an earlier court ruling.

In a new order, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the Justice Department refused to meet his Thursday deadline to hand over the flight information and instead submitted a declaration from an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official informing that “Cabinet Secretaries are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”

The order came after Boasberg ordered the government to privately provide more details about the flights in a sealed filing, saying he was once again rebuffed by the government.

“The Government again evaded its obligations,” Boasberg wrote, noting that the filing from the ICE official included the same information about the flights.

He ordered the Trump administration to provide an update from someone directly involved in the discussions by Friday.

By Tuesday, officials must explain in writing why they did not violate the court’s orders blocking Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

Beit Shemesh mayor attacked, car vandalized and flipped by haredi extremists

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-846796

Greenberg's vehicle was smashed, vandalized and then flipped but he and his family were evacuated from the scene, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

Haredi extremists attack Beit Shemesh mayor and his family, overturn his car

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/haredi-extremists-attack-beit-shemesh-mayor-and-his-family-overturn-his-car/

Ultra-Orthodox extremists late Wednesday attacked Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg and his family, overturning the mayor’s car and injuring his 19-year-old son.

In a statement, the municipality said that Greenberg, a member of the Haredi Degel Hatorah party, “was attacked by extremists while leaving a family celebration.”

“His vehicle was smashed and vandalized, but the mayor and his family were rescued from the scene. The mayor’s son required medical treatment. Mayor Greenberg trusts the Israel Police to bring the lawbreakers to justice,” his office said.

Video from the scene showed black-clad Hasidic Jews rocking the vehicle back and forth while someone screamed in the background.

Greatest sin?

 I have been reviewing the latest concerns - suicide adultery poverty shidduchim, chillul hahem, chillul Shabbos, idolatry, murder, stealing and the obvious question is why are certain sins and problems ignored? 

It was recently suggested that the unwillingness to protest blatant problems has a clear answer - my blog and its questioning of the judgment of gedolim and other fundamental violations of how a true Jew is to behave.  There are people who will not complain about serious Torah violations if I am. It is inappropriate for them to obey G-d as long as I  have been supportive. 

Cabinet fires Shin Bet chief; PM claims lack of trust in Bar, who calls move invalid

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-fires-shin-bet-chief-pm-claims-lack-of-trust-in-bar-who-calls-move-invalid/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously in the early hours of Friday morning to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the premier’s office announced.

Bar’s final day will be April 10, with the government moving up his dismissal after initially scheduling it for April 20, though Netanyahu’s office said Bar could be gone before then if ministers approve a permanent replacement.

The move marked the first time in Israeli history that the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency.

Behind the Curtain: Trump's mind control

 https://www.axios.com/2025/03/20/trump-support-republican-concerns-silent

Most GOP lawmakers dutifully defend things they might ridicule if they were done by a Democrat or weaker Republican.

They see no upside — or good reason — to oppose him because Trump, Musk and others would torch them publicly and on social media, and almost certainly threaten a primary challenge.

The bottom line: Politics is all about incentives. And every Republican incentive is to back Trump — and make sure he and MAGA media know it.

NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally return home after more than nine months in space

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/18/science/spacex-crew-9-astronauts-space/index.html

NASA has maintained since last summer, when it announced Williams and Wilmore would join the Crew-9 team, that Crew-10 needed to be in place before the Starliner astronauts could leave orbit. That planning allowed NASA to keep the US-controlled portion of the space station fully staffed without needing to fly a separate, multimillion-dollar return mission for Williams and Wilmore. The United States jointly operates the space station with Russia, Japan, Canada and the participating countries of the European Space Agency.

The decision, however, has been the subject of apparent criticism from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, who have claimed Williams and Wilmore were abandoned by the Biden administration.

In posts about the matter on X, Musk has said SpaceX could have brought Williams and Wilmore home months ago, but an offer was denied for “political reasons.”

It’s not clear what that offer entailed or to whom it was offered.

A Biden-era senior NASA official told CNN that SpaceX never communicated such an offer to agency leadership — and the space agency likely would not have entertained the idea regardless.

If Musk had made the offer to someone outside NASA leadership, the source noted, “I’m sure they would have responded and said, ‘Well, that would cost us several $100 million extra that we don’t have for a new Dragon capsule and Falcon 9.’”

Musk has since said the offer was not made to NASA but was taken directly to the Biden White House, which “refused to allow it,” according to a post he shared on X.

It’s unclear why such a deal would have been discussed with the White House, which does not typically have direct involvement in NASA crew assignments or space station staffing matters.

A former senior Biden White House official, however, also told CNN that they never heard of such an offer from Musk or SpaceX.

“I’m not aware of any communications that came to the White House, whether directly or indirectly, along the way — as there was a close team working space policy issues at the White House,” the source said.

Trump Issues Firm Directive to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-issues-firm-directive-supreme-court-chief-justice-roberts-2048291

He then addressed Roberts and the Supreme Court: "STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!"

In response, Boasberg said Thursday that the Trump administration must submit a sworn declaration from someone involved in those talks by Friday morning. He gave the government until Tuesday to submit another declaration indicating if the government will invoke the privilege.

'An authoritarian impulse': Trump clashes with federal courts

White House Handed Intel Blowing Up Trump’s Key Claim about Russia -Trump is Russian Asset

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-handed-intel-blowing-up-trumps-battlefield-claim/

President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Ukrainian soldiers are “encircled” in the Russian region of Kursk, despite being told by the CIA and other intelligence agencies that this isn’t true, according to Reuters.

Trump has even boasted of saving “surrounded” Ukrainian soldiers in the area, in Russia’s southwest, straddling the Sumy region in the northeast of Ukraine.

Trump now publicly claimed several times that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces have become “encircled” by Vladimir Putin’s. On March 14, he wrote on Truth Social that they are “completely surrounded.” He again made the assertion during a visit to the Kennedy Center on Monday.

Now, three U.S. and European officials familiar with the situation have told Reuters that, despite definite pressure on Ukrainian troops in the region, they are not encircled, as Trump has said.

The sources told the news wire that the White House has been informed of that by intelligence agencies, including the CIA, over the past week. Even still, Trump has continued to talk about their encirclement.

The assertions echo those by his Russian counterpart, Putin, who said on March 13 that Ukrainian troops in Kursk were cut off and would ultimately need to “surrender or die.”

U.S. Intelligence Contradicts Trump on Ukraine

 https://www.newsweek.com/us-intelligence-contradicts-trump-ukraine-report-2047747

American intelligence agencies shared with the White House information showing that Ukrainian troops are not encircled in Russia's Kursk region, contradicting statements by United States President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

The publication cited unnamed American and European officials familiar with the intelligence assessments who said Ukrainian troops were under serious pressure in Kursk—but not surrounded.

Trump's comments echoed similar claims emerging from Russia about Ukrainian encirclement in Kursk, where Kyiv's forces had been struggling to hold on to territory captured after a surprise cross-border push last August.

Trump is seeking to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, starting with a ceasefire. But Ukraine and its allies in Europe worry that Trump is too sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stories such as this underline those fears.

Trump coziness with Putin seen in U.S. backing off countering Russian sabotage in Europe: