Trump’s Tariff Rebate Contradictions

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trumps-tariff-rebate-contradictions-dbaf002c?st=JuHcda

He’s floating a $2,000 rebate to blunt the harm from his border taxes.

President Trump has a big tariff problem: His border taxes are raising prices on tariffed goods, they’re unpopular with voters, and the Supreme Court might rule that his “emergency” tariffs are illegal. His latest response: Promise voters a $2,000 tariff rebate.

That was his Hail Mary pass Sunday as he declared on social media that “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” He went on to promise various benefits from tariffs, including “taking in Trillions of Dollars” that will soon pay down the national debt.

This is a teaching moment for a high school logic class. Start with the contradiction that Mr. Trump can both pay a tariff rebate and pay down the national debt. The annual federal budget deficit is roughly $1.8 trillion even with tariff revenue, so paying a rebate would add to the national debt, not reduce it.

Mr. Trump’s claim of a revenue benefit from tariffs also belies what his Solicitor General, John Sauer, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. In arguing that tariffs aren’t really taxes and are mainly a tool of foreign policy, Mr. Sauer said “these tariffs, these policies, it is clear that these policies are most effective if nobody ever pays the tariff. If it never raises a dime of revenue, these are the most effective use of these—of this particular policy. So they’re clearly regulatory tariffs, not taxes. They are not—they’re not an exercise of the power to tax.”

But wait. If tariffs are most effective if no one ever pays them, then how are they going to raise the revenue Mr. Trump needs to pay those rebates? The truth is tariffs are taxes, but Mr. Sauer didn’t want to admit this lest the Court conclude that Mr. Trump is usurping a core constitutional power of Congress. Which he is.

Donald Trump ‘Outsmarted’ Over SNAP Benefits Ruling: Legal Analyst

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-outsmarted-over-snap-benefits-ruling-legal-analyst-11020409

Wu said Trump was “outsmarted” because Jackson’s temporary stay, though it appeared to favor the federal government, was likely a strategic procedural move designed to prevent the Supreme Court’s conservative majority from issuing a broader, indefinite stay that could have delayed SNAP funding for months.

הבחור הטוב עבר לישיבה של הרב לייבל - הר"מ זעק: "צריך לקרוע קריעה"

 https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1710010

הלם בישיבה בביתר עם עזיבתו של אחד הבחורים לישיבה במבשרת ציון של הרב דוד לייבל. הר"מ בישיבה הגרמ"א פינקוס נשא שיחה בפני הבחורים וזעק: "הבחור הזה אין לו חלק לעולם הבא. כל הישיבה הזאת אין להם חלק לעולם הבא. לוקחים ישיבה ובונים בתוכה עוד דברים שהם לא התורה, הם מאבדים את העולם הבא שלהם". האזינו להקלטה

Amulets and Spells

 Ohr Hashem, (4:5) Are amulets and spells influential on human actions?: If he were one of the wise men of our nations it is unlikely to have any influence at all on them, but he if he is one who believes in them because he is a misguided and gullible person than it would be effective. While we will not deny experience as well as what has been revealed by the Sages in many places in the Talmud, nevertheless we must endeavor to clarify this strong unnatural thing, with its negative appearance, and explain how amulets and spells work since they are clearly unnatural. Amulets and spells do not themselves have power to do anything. For example it will be clear that that there is no relation between the heavenly rains and the amulets and spells. And it will already be seen that G-d is not the active force  since sometimes they produce good and sometimes bad and it would be insulting to ascribe their actions to Him and thus say that G-d agrees with the evil and it also contradicts man’s free will to say man is the active agent. Therefore we can say that neither G-d nor man is always the active agent. Sometimes it is Heavenly forces and sometimes it is from G-d and the amulet or spell serves as an instrument.  Thus a wise and pious person can use them as instruments of holiness and purity as he would with prayer or mitzvos. If so why lesser people belive in their power? It must be that heavenly powers can be invoked by them by lesser people

Trump pardons Giuliani, Powell, Chesebro and dozens more involved in 2020 ‘fake electors’ case

 https://nypost.com/2025/11/10/us-news/trump-pardons-rudy-giuliani-john-eastman-sydney-powell-and-dozens-more-involved-in-2020-fake-elector-scheme/

President Trump granted pardons for 77 individuals tied to a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election – including his close allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, a Justice Department attorney announced late Sunday night.

The pardons are mainly symbolic because none of the 77 individuals were charged on the federal level, however they could prevent future administrations from prosecuting the alleged co-conspirators.

The “fake electors” scheme eventually led to the attempt by the president’s supporters to halt the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump Pardons His Top 2020 Allies in Mammoth Late-Night Reveal

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pardons-his-top-2020-allies-in-mammoth-late-night-reveal

Donald Trump has pardoned a roll call of his allies who were involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The 77-person list dropped just before 11 p.m. on Sunday from Trump’s Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who titled his X post: “Important pardon of Alternate Electors of 2020!!”

The list of people getting “full, complete and unconditional” pardons include former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, and conservative attorney...

Trump Admin Demands States ‘Undo’ Full SNAP Benefit Payouts

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-demands-states-undo-full-snap-benefit-payouts-11018765

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued directives to state SNAP directors on Saturday, declaring the authorized payments "unauthorized" now that the Supreme Court has temporarily paused the rulings that mandated the disbursements. The move affects the anti-hunger program used by millions of Americans and has triggered fierce pushback from Democratic-led states and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, then wrote to state SNAP directors warning that payments made under the prior orders were "unauthorized" and demanding states "immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025." The directive threatened penalties for non-compliance, though it remains unclear whether penalties apply to states that used their own funds rather than federal money.

Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Sunday: "It's one thing if the federal government is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say, no, this can't be done. But when you are telling the states that have said this is a significant enough issue in our state, we're going to find resources, backfill or front load, whatever term you want, to help our people, those states should not be penalized."

Snap funding stopped by Trump

Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Full SNAP Payments

 https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-full-snap-payments-11014816

The High Court granted the Trump Administration's request to appeal a previous ruling that would require SNAP to be fully funded amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The Supreme Court’s administrative stay pauses District Judge John J. McConnell Jr.'s previous mandate for full SNAP payments, giving the First Circuit Court of Appeals additional time to review the case.

Meanwhile, millions of SNAP recipients face continued uncertainty about the timing and amount of their benefits.

Trump on Truth Social on Tuesday: "SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly 'handed' to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT"

Democrats swept elections far beyond the big races in referendum on Trump

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/08/democrats-local-election-sweep-trump

From clerks to coroners, Democrats on Tuesday flipped city councils, school boards and county commissions.

Much of the attention Tuesday night focused on the Democrats’ big wins in the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, as well as in the New York mayor’s contest. But the party also won hundreds of lower-profile state and local contests — often swamping Republican incumbents with overwhelming turnout, suggesting that voters’ desire to send a message opposing President Donald Trump was deep and wide.

Voters seemed intent on showing their displeasure with Trump even if that meant voting against a random Republican city council member. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, 41 percent of Americans said they approved of Trump’s performance while 59 percent disapproved — the president’s worst showing since January 2021, a week after the attack by a pro-Trump mob on the U.S. Capitol.

Rabbi Rottenberg

 

Baltimore Beis Din

 

Omens

 Sefer Chasidim (59) For there was no enchantment in Jacob and we are not to look for omens. Due to our current sinful state,,there are many Jews that utilize charms and omens. For example they are mindful not to eat eggs Saturday night after Shabbos and not to take fire twice when there is a sick person in the house or a new mother within 9 days of giving birth.  They also are involved in divination. When they see fire and burning coals standing, they say we will have a guest, if you extinguish it with water, they say the the guest will fall into the water. They are violating a number of Torah commandments.  The only omens that are permitted is that which our Sages have permitted such as the signs on Rosh HaShanna. People say  not to start teaching a child or begin any mitzva until Rosh Chodesh. While this is not divination it is improper since no one knows whether he will die before Rosh Chodesh and thus miss doing the mitzva. The rule is always to do the mitzva as soon as it is available. 

The Night Democrats Finally Stopped Losing

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/11/05/democrats-election-night-of-winning-00637076

It wasn’t just that Democrats won every closely-watched election — it’s that their victories were so sweeping. An expected victory in the Virginia governor’s race became a 15-point landslide, a gubernatorial race thought to be closer in New Jersey became a 13-point thrashing of its own and that referendum to redraw California’s House lines to add more Democratic seats was winning by nearly 30 points.

If the message was in the margins, there was no mystery in the why. Voters are, again, unhappy with the political status quo and, again, fault a White House they see as unfocused on their priorities. And Trump isn’t just failing to address the cost of living — many voters see him as abusing his power.

And the deeper problem Republicans have is that Trump is a one-man turnout machine for Democrats. There’s no such similar force for Republicans when the president isn’t on the ballot, and every election for a decade that’s about Trump (rather than the Democrats) has turned out poorly for the GOP.

For now, Democrats were happily reminded that there’s no tonic for a demoralized party like success.