Trump’s Strategy for War Chat Fallout: Attack, Attack, Attack

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-signal-group-chat-attack-strategy-c330693c?mod=hp_lead_pos3

White House criticizes news media and plays down security risk of Signal group chat that included journalist from the Atlantic

The White House is going to war over war plans, dusting off a familiar playbook that President Trump has used for decades to blunt controversies: attack, attack, attack.

The president, senior advisers and top cabinet officials launched a campaign to dismiss one of the biggest crises of Trump’s second term, as Washington grappled with the news that top administration national security officials discussed sensitive military operations on a nongovernment message app that included a prominent magazine editor.

US Appeals Court Hands Trump Defeat in Deportation Case

 https://www.newsweek.com/us-appeals-court-hands-trump-stinging-defeat-deportation-case-2051082

In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to lift an order blocking the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act earlier this month.

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the March 15 ruling from Boasberg that temporarily halted deportations under the Alien Enemies Act after ordering that the government's "emergency motions for stay be denied," according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

In a concurring statement filed Wednesday, Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson noted that presidential power under the Alien Enemies Act is not unlimited, and its invocation requires a certain threshold:

"The term 'invasion' was a legal term of art with a well-defined meaning at the Founding. It required far more than an unwanted entry; to constitute an invasion, there had to be hostilities," adding that "predatory incursion referred to a form of hostilities against the United States by another nation state, a form of attack short of war. Migration alone did not suffice."

Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, in her concurring opinion, noted that due process applies to everyone: "The true mark of this great Nation under law is that we adhere to legal requirements even when it is hard, even when important national interests are at stake, and even when the claimant may be unpopular." The judge notes that the removed migrants did not have "some semblance of due process."

Respectfully disagreeing with earlier authorities

 These are selections of sources from my Daas Torah 2nd edition

Rav Chaim Voloshner (Ruach Chaim 1:4): … It is prohibited for a student to accept the words of his teacher if he has questions about them. Furthermore sometimes the truth is with the student and not the teacher.” Avos (1:4) says, One should sit in the dust at the feet of one’s teachers and drink with unquenchable thirst what they say. “The word for sitting - avek - can also mean struggle or warfare. That is because this is an obligatory struggle. The holy rabbis who have composed the books we study have in fact given us permission to struggle and to fight over their words and to answer the difficulties they raise. Therefore, we have the right to question what they say and not to blindly accept their words - but one must love the truth…. Since ascertaining the truth is the prime concern - we must be very careful not to be conceited and egotistical in the discussions and to imagine that we are as great as the teacher or author with whom we are disagreeing. We should be aware in our hearts that we might simply be misunderstanding their words. Therefore we must always be very humble. We must have the attitude, ‘I am not worthy to argue but this is Torah and I must know the correct answer’. Furthermore, the Mishna states that the struggle is conditional on being ‘in the dust at their feet’ which means we must be humble and submissive and figuratively sit on the ground before them in these discussions.

Seridei Aish (1:113): I frequently comment on the apparent contradiction found in Avos (6:5) concerning those factors involved in acquiring Torah i.e. analysis of the students and faith in our Sages. Furthermore, what does faith in our Sages have to do with acquiring Torah? However, the explanation is that if one doesn’t believe in the truth of the words of the sages then one readily dismisses them for the slightest reason. With an attitude of condescension, one proclaims that they didn’t know what they were talking about. Consequently, one makes no effort to investigate and try to validate what they said. However, in the end we find that in fact we are the ones who have erred. … Therefore it is characteristic of the truly wise to presume that the sages have not erred, G d forbid! In fact we, with our limited perspective and limited understanding, have erred. On the other hand to blindly believe and not struggle to comprehend with our intellect the apparent difficulties, saying simply that they knew and we need merely to mindlessly rely on them, that is also not correct. We need to wrestle mightily with the apparent contradictions and doubts as if they are people like us. With this approach, we will come to a much profounder and sharper comprehension. Thus, we see that both factors - emunas chachomim (faith in our sages) and pilpul (intellectual evaluation) - work together to the purpose of the acquisition of Torah.

Michtav M'Eliyahu (4:269): Why was Miriam punished with leprosy - indicating the sin of lashon harah - when all she did was inquire about her brother’s conduct? G d Himself answered this question by stating (Bamidbar 12:8): Why weren’t you afraid to speak against My servant Moshe? It is permitted to question the teacher’s conduct if he knows in his heart that his teacher is right and he only wants a clarification. In other words, he wants to understand but is not challenging or criticizing his teacher. In such circumstances, it is not only permitted but is required as we see in Berachos (62a). However when the student’s attitude is, “I also know what to do and to judge the validity of my teacher and I am convinced he is wrong” - then there is problem with his faith in scholars and such a challenge is a manifestation of lashon harah…. An example of an appropriate question is when Rabbi Akiva Eiger, one of the greatest scholars in the last several hundred years, raised a difficult question about the words of Tosfos. He concluded his words by stating:” I have not merited to understand the holy words of Tosfos.” [G d forbid to think he was just being polite. In fact, he, despite all his greatness, understood that Tosfos was superior and he was nothing in relation to them. A great person is upset that he doesn’t understand while a little person in his arrogance readily accuses his superiors of error.]

Maharal (Introduction to Be’er HaGolah): The precondition for achieving perfection, through knowledge and comprehension of reality, is accurate self evaluation. However self knowledge is not easily achieved and in fact it is rare to find someone who has an objective understanding of whom he is. Paradoxically this should be the easiest thing to know - he needs to simply open his eyes. He is not far away and is not in Heaven - in fact, there is nothing closer! However, the majority of people perceive themselves inaccurately. In particular, they mistakenly think that they are the equal of the early sages and say, “I also have a brain and that the early days were not better than now.” They insist the intellect of man is identical in all ages. True sages, however, know their own value. They do not distort justice concerning their money and surely concerning themselves. An example of this accurate self-evaluation is found in Eiruvin (53a): “The hearts of the early generations were as open as the 20 amos wide door of the Ulam of the Temple, while that of recent generations is like that of the 10 amos wide door of the Heichal of the Temple while our heart is like that of the eye of a needle….” We see that they are not embarrassed to admit their inferiority relative to earlier generations and describe how they differ….

Shower with Cold water on Shabbo

Igros Moshe (OC IV 75.1) Question Is it permitted to take a cold shower on Shabbos? Answer I replied previously that we don’t find in the halachic literature the mention that a cold shower is prohibited on Shabbos. Nevertheless it is clear and obvious that most religious Jews on their own initiative do not take cold showers on Shabbos even though they were not told it is prohibited. It is not known if the reason for this this is that this is viewed as abnormal behavior since typically the shower is with warm water. Since there is a prohibition on Shabbos to wash with warm water, even if heated before Shabbos, the whole body. Perhaps because of this prohibition people refrain from cooling off with a cold shower in the summer. Or perhaps it is viewed as a weekday practice. Taken together perhaps these reasons constitute a custom not to take cold showers. However it could also be the result of ignorance and is not a minhag and is thus merely a mistaken practice (minhag ta’os).

Instead of vaccines, RFK Jr. focuses on unconventional measles treatments, driving worries about misinformation

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/05/health/measles-rfk-vitamin-a-misinformation/index.html

As a measles outbreak in West Texas continues to grow, the response from US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has leaned heavily on treatment with vitamin A, as well as “good results” from the use of the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin and cod liver oil.

Doctors say that this messaging might take away from efforts to increase vaccination, and some misinformation about these therapies is already circulating online.

Many US doctors have never seen measles, given that the virus was declared eliminated in the country in 2000. There are no antiviral medications specifically to treat measles infection.

“Vitamin A is not a substitute for vaccination,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health.

Remedy Supported by Kennedy Leaves Some Measles Patients More Ill

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/health/measles-kennedy-vitamin-a.html

After the health secretary promoted vitamin A as a cure, parents in West Texas began giving their children high doses, sometimes to prevent infection.

Disdain for Europe in US Signal chat horrifies EU

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c204vl27n2qo

"Horrific to see in black and white. But hardly surprising," is how a top European diplomat reacted to what comes across as deep, heartfelt disdain for European allies, revealed late on Monday, European time, in an online group chat between top US security officials.

In the chat, Vice-President JD Vance notes that only 3% of US trade runs through the canal, as opposed to 40% of European trade, after which he and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth complain of European "free-loading".

Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/25/vaccine-skeptic-hhs-rfk-immunization-autism/

A vaccine skeptic who has long promoted false claims about the connection between immunizations and autism has been tapped by the federal government to conduct a critical study of possible links between the two, according to current and former federal health officials.

The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Geier and his father, Mark Geier, have published papers claiming vaccines increase the risk of autism, a theory that has been studied for decades and scientifically debunked.

David Geier was disciplined by Maryland regulators more than a decade ago for practicing medicine without a license. He is listed as a data analyst in the HHS employee directory.

Team Trump will pay a price for whistling past the Signal group-chat fiasco

 https://nypost.com/2025/03/25/opinion/team-trump-will-pay-a-price-for-whistling-past-the-signal-group-chat-fiasco/

It looks like Team Trump has decided to try to whistle right past the “Operation Overshare” fiasco, and may well pull it off — but not cost-free.

President Donald Trump is standing up for National Security Adviser Mike Waltz after he (or maybe his staff) mistakenly added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat on Signal into which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later dropped sensitive details of the anti-Houthi bombing campaign.

The stunning security breach had “no impact at all,” the prez announced Tuesday morning, and “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson.”

Uh . . . what lesson is that?

Yes, we get that stepping up to own failures is hard. But it just got that much harder for Americans to trust the administration on national-security issues going forward.

At the very least, we pray the prez is privately knocking hard on every head involved in this mess — and warning that heads will roll if there’s anything like a next time.

The American people need to know Trump is still fighting for them, not lying to them.

Signal Chat Blunder Shows Pitfalls of Trump’s Ad Hoc Approach to Foreign Policy

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-signal-chat-journalist-foreign-policy-e91cb838?mod=hp_lead_pos1

The administration has struggled to translate Trump’s promise of quick results into early wins

Texts by President Trump’s advisers about whether to attack Houthi militants in Yemen underscored the ad hoc nature of the administration’s national security deliberations, a mode that has sometimes left allies bewildered and his own aides at odds.

Other presidents have relied on the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council staff to develop and filter options in an orderly manner. The Trump team has operated in a far less orthodox fashion, one that stems from the president’s impatience with debate and skepticism of bureaucracy. Many of his top advisers, few of whom have held senior positions before, share that perspective.

Lessons From the Signal Chat on the Houthis

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/signal-leak-houthis-pete-hegseth-mike-waltz-tulsi-gabbard-john-ratcliffe-6195ab3b?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

The leak furor will fade but not JD Vance’s contempt for allies.

Democrats had fun pounding away at the Trump Administration Tuesday over a security leak to a journalist on the Signal messaging app, and we trust the White House has learned a lesson. It’s amusing to hear journalists who dine out on leaks deplore this leak. But the lasting import won’t be the security breach as much as what Trump officials really think about our European allies.

Donald Trump Defends Signal App Amid War Texts Backlash

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-defends-signal-app-amid-war-texts-backlash-2050394

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Signal, the app in which his top national security officials discussed war plans in a text group that included a journalist, was "the best technology for the moment."

"Sometimes you have to move very quickly," Trump said, "and there are other devices that are very good, but they are very, very cumbersome, and you're not able to use them...from a practical standpoint. So, all we can do is find out the best we can do with modern technology. They'll probably get better over the years."

Trump noted during the media availability that the Singal app was "the best technology for the moment.

Chewing Gum Releases Microplastics Into Your Mouth, Scientists Warn

 https://www.newsweek.com/microplastics-chewing-gum-mouth-saliva-pollution-health-2049922

Chewing a single piece of gum can release hundreds to thousands of pieces of microplastic into the saliva in your mouth—likely to go on to be swallowed.

This is the warning of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) who experimented to see how many microplastics the polymer-based treats might let out.

Microplastic (smaller than 5 millimeters in size) and nanoplastic (under 0.001 millimeters) particles have become ubiquitous in the environment and can get into the very food we eat.

These particles have been found in various bodily organs—including the brain, kidney, liver, placenta and testes—with scientists estimating that humans may consume as many as tens of thousands of microplastic pieces each year.

Scientists are concerned about the impact of microplastics on health; with studies on animals and human cells suggesting that microplastic particles could be causing us harm.

"Our goal is not to alarm anybody," said paper author and engineer Professor Sanjay Mohanty. "Scientists don't know if microplastics are unsafe to us or not.

"There are no human trials. But we know we are exposed to plastics in everyday life—and that's what we wanted to examine here."

Shlomo Carlbach

Igros Moshe (E H I #96) Question A person who had been viewed as a ben Torah for many years who is a musician who has composed songs based on holy verses for weddings and these songs are commonly sung  by religious Jews at simchos of mitzva but now bad rumors are spreading  saying that he sings before mixed audiences of unmarried men and women. Is it now permitted to continue to sing the  songs that he composed when he was viewed as a good Jew? Answer In my humble opinion, I don’t see that there is anything prohibited in this since they were clearly composed when he was considered a good Jew. Proof supporting this is we find that the decrees made by the high priest Yochanan that are said in his name is said by some to be the one described as faithfully serving this position for 80 years and then becoming a heretic. Even after he became a wicked sinner, his decrees that he had made as a good Jew were not invalidated and were still ascribed to him. We find something similar with Elisha ben Abuya. It would seem that the only reason to prohibit is the Rambam’s ruling that a sefer Torah that was written by a heretic should be burned in order not to have a monument to the heretic. However that clearly refers to a Torah written by a heretic but if he wrote it as a good Jew it is not burned.  Consequently those songs written when he was a good Jew there is no reason to prohibit them now even for bnei Torah and baalei nefesh there is no reason to be strict .Furthermore I am even uncertain about the songs that were composed after his reputation became bad, whether these are prohibited if there is nothing objectionable in their content. It would seem that only holy things such as a sefer Torah are prohibited. It is obviously permitted to use and call medical treatments or machines by the name of their inventor  even if he is a heretic. So it seems it is only an issue for holy things to be associated with a heretic but not secular things. Songs are viewed as secular things since they are not inherently holy. Consequently even those songs he wrote after his reputation became bad, I am inclined to say they are also not forbidden to sing but nevertheless not by bnei Torah or baalei nefesh. In addition the bad rumors are not that he is a heretic but are issues of levity and relaxed standards of modesty in that he is singing to a mixed audience of young men and ladies  For such there is no obligation to avoid leaving a monument to him in fact if he wrote a sefer Torah it would be valid and surely the songs he composed. In sum there is no need to be strict in this case even for bnei Torah and baalei nefesh. If in fact the rumors are also about heresy than the distinction as to when the songs were composed applies and the eaely songs there is no reason at all to be strict while the more recent compositions are not reasonably considered prohibited since they are not holy like a Torah however in the latter case bnei Torah and baalei nefesh  it is best to be strict. 

I had two encounters with him. The first was at a Chanukah party made by his devoted followers. One of them was a young lady that someone suggested as a shidduch for me .  She had introduced me to him as a student of Rabbi Freifeld. At the end he went around the room giving a hug o everyone including the young ladies. When he attempted to hug my date I objected that he shouldn’t do it. He replied casually “but Rabbi Freifeld knows about this.” With the clear implication that he was defending himself by claiming that Rabbi Freifeld approved this behavior. Later I had a chance to meet with Rabbi Freifeld and I told him what happened. His sole response to me was that I had done the right thing. 

The second occurred in Toronto airport when I went in a failed effort to raise money for my index to the Mishneh Berura that I was working on after I published Yad Moshe to the Igros Moshe. As I got off the plane I heard people shouting and I found that he had also been on that flight.  We ended up standing together in line for customs. I mentioned to him that there was a tshuva in the Igros about him. He first became very agitated and replied that he knew about it. Then he added that he was on very good terms with Rav Moshe and that Rav Moshe liked him.  He was clearly being defensive. 

In sum, the above tshuva did not address his problematic behavior nor did Rav Moshe seem to be well informed. On the other hand my observation is that he himself realized that his behavior was problematic and crossed too many red lines.