Sen. Rick Scott, carrying on a tradition, takes credit for infrastructure funding he opposed

 https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/feb/02/sen-rick-scott-carrying-tradition-takes-credit-inf/

But Scott didn’t vote for the law that’s funding the Everglades project. Neither did Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida colleague he shared the credit with.

That makes Scott part of another growing political tradition: lawmakers claiming credit for things made possible by legislation they opposed. It’s how some lawmakers navigate the awkward situation when they’ve voted against something that the public broadly supports, especially bills that funnel money to localities and create jobs and economic opportunity.

DeSantis’s pleas for hurricane aid raise hackles amid vast partisan divide

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/01/desantis-hurricane-ian-aid-disaster-relief-florida

Critics have noted that among DeSantis’s first acts after being elected to Congress in November 2012 was to join 66 Republican colleagues and vote against a government aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which killed more than 100 as it devastated north-eastern states.

Ron DeSantis Is Taking Credit for Millions in Federal Relief

 https://www.governing.com/finance/ron-desantis-is-taking-credit-for-millions-in-federal-relief

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a spending spree for months, taking credit for millions of dollars in federal stimulus money he’s handing out to mostly rural Republican counties while at the same time bashing President Joe Biden’s big government spending.

Federal bucks have bolstered the state budget for two years in a row, shoring up the state’s reserves, and funding such things as the governor’s job growth program, climate “resiliency” against rising waters, road projects, broadband expansion, college training programs and tax cuts.

“I think it’s hypocritical,” said Ben Wilcox, research director for Tallahassee-based government watchdog group Integrity Florida. “He’s taking credit for something that’s not really his to claim credit for.”

On hurricane relief votes and hypocrisy

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/30/hurricane-relief-votes-hypocrisy/

In life, there are coincidences, and then there’s how members of Congress vote.

As Florida surveys the damage done by Hurricane Ian and confronts how to recover from it, the New York Times on Thursday ran a piece noting that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was once quite skeptical of expansive federal disaster relief. Some of his first votes as a member of Congress in 2013 were against bills to help the Northeast recover from Hurricane Sandy. But then he voted for a 2017 bill that included relief funds for his home state amid Hurricane Irma. Now he’s in a position of not just asking the federal government for help, but also potentially to enact an expansive aid package of his own.

DeSantis, Once a ‘No’ on Storm Aid, Petitions a President He’s Bashed

 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/politics/desantis-biden-hurricane-ian-aid.html

As a freshman congressman in 2013, Ron DeSantis was unambiguous: A federal bailout for the New York region after Hurricane Sandy was an irresponsible boondoggle, a symbol of the “put it on the credit card mentality” he had come to Washington to oppose.

“I sympathize with the victims,” he said. But his answer was no.

Nearly a decade later, as his state confronts the devastation and costly destruction wrought by Hurricane Ian, Mr. DeSantis is appealing to the nation’s better angels — and betting on its short memory.

“As you say, Tucker, we live in a very politicized time,” Mr. DeSantis, now Florida’s governor, told Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night, outlining his request for full federal reimbursement up front for 60 days and urging the Biden administration to do the right thing. “But you know, when people are fighting for their lives, when their whole livelihood is at stake, when they’ve lost everything — if you can’t put politics aside for that, then you’re just not going to be able to.”

Hurricane Ian Showcases GOP’s Disaster Aid Hypocrisy

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/hurricane-ian-showcases-gops-disaster-aid-hypocrisy

The conflict between lawmakers’ public promises to help the storm’s victims—and their own commitment to blocking or reducing the scope of that help—would be just the latest instance of the congressional GOP trying to have it both ways when it comes to disaster relief.

In the last decade, congressional Republicans have made it a key principle that disaster aid bills be “fiscally responsible” while applying that principle in conspicuously uneven ways.

Funding disaster relief packages, like funding the government, was once considered a noncontroversial and nonpartisan duty for Congress. But amid the Tea Party’s rise, a crop of new, hard-right Republicans began to see opportunity in leveraging these bills as a way to communicate their conservative bona fides to the party base.

Matt Gaetz Asks for Help in Florida After Voting Against Hurricane Relief

 https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-asks-help-florida-after-voting-against-hurricane-relief-1748273

In a video posted by Gaetz on Twitter on Friday, the Florida rep. said he didn't vote in favor of the bill because the disaster relief funds were linked to the release of more funding for Ukraine.

"This was a piece of legislation regarding insulin prices. And they attached the entire funding of our government and Ukraine's to that bill so that these programs and these policy choices would not be subjected to committee review, and to hearings, and to markups and amendments," Gaetz said.

Nature doesn't change

Rabbeinu Bachya (Devarim 32:1) A Midrashic approach to our verses, based on Sifri Haazinu the words האזינו השמים are an introduction to G’d saying to Israel: “take a look at the heaven and the earth which I created to be useful to you; did either heaven or earth change their ways? Did you sow seed and it did not grow, did you sow wheat and barley came up? Or, has a cow stopped ploughing or threshing? Has the donkey ceased being a beast of burden? If these planets, or animals which do not receive a reward for performing their duties and which do not even get punished for failing to do their duty have not refused to do them, how much more so could you people who are rewarded for doing your duty and who are being punished for failing to do your duty be expected to be smart enough not to deviate and rebel against Me?” The meaning of this Midrash is that all natural phenomena do not change their norms. If Moses singled out only heaven and earth as examples to illustrate this principle, it was because they, more than any other phenomena in our universe, are charged with preserving the laws of nature which ensure continued existence of the world as we know it. Just as if the oceans would break out of their assigned role and parameters would bring in the wake of such departure of the norm immediate calamity upon earth, so if heaven and earth were to disobey the rules laid down for them the result would be even more catastrophic. What is true of inert phenomena such as heaven and earth, is also true of living creatures such as cows and asses which are the mainstays of the farmer on earth. If all these creatures do not change their habits, man must certainly not change his habits and thereby endanger not only his surroundings but himself. 

Sifrei (Devarim 306) "Listen, O heavens, and I will speak": The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Tell Israel: Look at the heavens that I have created to serve you. Have they changed their courses? Does the solar orb ever cease from rising in the east and lighting the entire world, viz. (Koheleth 1:15) "and the sun rises and the sun sets"? And, what is more, it revels in doing My will, viz. (Psalms 19:6) "He is like a groom emerging from his bridal canopy, rejoicing like a hero to run the course!" "and hear, O earth, the words of My mouth": Look at the earth that I have created to serve you. Has it ever changed its ways? Have you ever sowed and it has not sprouted? Have you ever sowed wheat and it sprouted barley? Or is there an ox that does not thresh or plow today, or an ass that is not laden and does not go? And thus of the sea it is written (Jeremiah 5:22) "Will you not fear Me? says the L-rd. Will you not tremble before Me? For I have set sand as a bound against the sea, etc." Has it ever changed its ways and said I will rise up and flood the world? No! As it is written (Iyyov 38:10-11) "… and I imposed My law upon it … and I said: Until here shall you go and no further!" Not only that, but it grieves and can do nothing, viz. (Jeremiah, Ibid.) "Its waves rage but cannot cross it." Now does this not follow a fortiori? If these (waves), which were created neither for reward nor punishment — if they are meritorious, they are not rewarded, and if they sin, they are not punished, and they do not pity their sons and daughters — if these have not changed their ways — then you, who, if you are meritorious, are rewarded, and who, if you sin, are punished, and you do pity your sons and daughters — how much more so should you not change your ways!

Israel upbeat on draft Lebanese demarcation deal, sees gas profit-sharing

 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lapid-says-draft-lebanese-maritime-border-deal-guards-israels-interests-2022-10-02/

Israel gave its preliminary nod on Sunday to a draft U.S.-brokered deal demarcating a maritime border with Lebanon that may lead to profit-sharing in a disputed Mediterranean gas prospect.

Hoping to defuse one source of conflict between the hostile countries and prod them toward accommodation, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein last week submitted a new proposal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration.

After years of stop-start shuttle diplomacy, agreement seems closer than ever. As Beirut mulls the 10-page draft - details of which have been kept under wraps - the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called it "a very important step" on Saturday while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a powerful Hezbollah ally, deemed it "positive".

Israel and Lebanon near deal on maritime border dispute

 https://www.ft.com/content/68e1ace3-ce90-4138-8453-7089189c48f6

Israel and Lebanon are edging towards a US-brokered agreement to defuse a dispute over their maritime border that has been a long-running source of tension between the two countries, officials said on Sunday.

The latest proposal, sent to the two countries by US envoy Amos Hochstein last week, would clear the way for the use of a disputed gasfield in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbollah had threatened to attack if Israel brought it online before a border deal was reached.

Israel’s prime minister Yair Lapid, who faces elections next month, said the country was still “discussing the final details” of the proposal “so it is not yet possible to praise a done deal”. But he added that the draft “safeguards Israel’s full security-diplomatic interests, as well as our economic interests”.

'I have a plan that can solve the housing crisis'

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/07/24/i-have-a-plan-that-can-solve-the-housing-crisis/

 "The housing crisis is not a matter of fate, it can be solved. I have a housing program that talks about increasing supply, breaking the monopoly of the Israel Lands Administration, privatizing the marketing mechanism, building apartments for rent on Moshavim for 2,000 shekels a month, and building public housing. If I become finance minister, I will make sure that there is a five-year plan with a long-term strategy."

Everytyhing is a miracle

 Rabbeinu Bachya (Shemos 30:12) In fact it is axiomatic to remember that a person is not a true believer, i.e. does not really have a share in Moses’ Torah unless he is absolutely convinced of the fact that G’d performs such hidden miracles all the time, that there is no accident and no coincidence in the universe. G’d is aware of all that occurs and has had a hand in it (See Nachmanides at the end of Parshat Bo.) The second part of this absolute faith that is required of each Jew is that he must be convinced that every one of his good deeds will qualify for reward and every one of his sins will be subject to punishment. 

The whole matter of blessings and curses which was already spelled out in Deut. 27,15-26 and some of which has been debated in Niddah 31, i.e. that the person who is subject to a miracle being performed for him is unaware of that at the time, is the reason our sages said in Baba Metzia 42 that when one enters one’s grain storage chamber in order to measure the size of one’s crop, one should pronounce a benediction asking G’d to bless one’s store. If one first measured the size of the stored grain and pronounced this benediction only subsequent to having measured it, such a prayer is considered as using the name of G’d in vain as G’d had already decreed either blessing or curse on that grain. We have a principle that blessings are not bestowed on matters which have been measured, weighed, or counted. Only matters which have escaped our eye and its ability to measure it are subject to blessings. This is another way of saying that the principle we have called נס נסתר, the “hidden miracle,” is constantly at work. If such blessings could be applied to matters we have weighed or measured such a miracle would no longer be “hidden.” This was one of the major reasons the Torah forbade head-counts of people to ensure they would not be exposed to the “evil eye,” As long as the blessings apply to people in a manner which cannot be checked, the עין הרע, the evil eye, the negative influence brought to bear, does not have a precise target on which to focus. The evil eye can influence only matters which have been measured, weighed or counted. Having appreciated this you will understand why the count of the males over 20 years of age which is the subject of the early part of our Parshah had to be conducted by means of a coin, i.e. the half-shekel.

Prayer -serving G-d

 Rabbeinu Bachya (Devarim 11:13) and to serve Him with all your hearts.” Our sages in Taanit  ask rhetorically: “what kind of service can one perform for G’d with one’s heart?” They answer: “Prayer.” They prove this from Daniel 6,17: “your G’d, the one whom you serve constantly, He will save you.” Was there then a Temple for the Jewish G’d in Babylon where Daniel could have offered sacrifices? Clearly the King must have referred to the G’d to whom Daniel prayed in his heart. In verse 11 of that same chapter Daniel is described as opening the window of his room facing Jerusalem when praying. David also said in Psalms 141,2: “take my prayer as an offering of incense.” Moreover, our sages in Berachot 26 have said that the daily prayers nowadays are in lieu of the daily communal offerings, the תמידים. It is important to appreciate that the power of prayer is such that it can bring about changes in the laws of nature, save people from mortal danger, and bring about cancellation of evil decrees by G’d. 

Torah vs science

 Rabbeinu Bachya (Bamidbar 33:1) ראשית חכמה קנה חכמה ובכל קניניך קנה בינה, “The beginning of wisdom is: ‘acquire wisdom!’ With all your acquisitions acquire insight.” (Proverbs 4,7) In this verse Solomon taught the people that the first kind of wisdom they are to acquire is the wisdom dispensed by the Torah. This is the meaning of ראשית חכמה in the verse we quoted. Once a person has acquired this wisdom he also needs to acquire insight, discernment, in order for him to understand the connection between different phenomena. Wisdom is always totally incomplete unless accompanied by a measure of such ability to discern relationships. Seeing that the attribute (or emanation) בינה insight, discernment, is so crucial, Solomon advises a person to spend his entire fortune in his search to acquire בינה. The words: “with all your acquisitions acquire insight,” mean that “even if you have to spend all your money in order to acquire this attribute, do so, for true wealth is בינה, not money.” Wisdom is also portrayed as shouting (to its owner) (Proverbs 8,18) “riches and honor belong to me, enduring wealth and success.Solomon was forced to inform us here that the first and foremost requirement for his נפש, personality, is the acquisition of Torah knowledge before learning any other disciplines. If he were to acquire other kinds of knowledge first, these are apt to turn his heart away from true wisdom and implant in his mind worthless ideas. However, if a person studies Torah first and makes it the mainstay of his outlook in life he is then permitted to study other disciplines, sciences, etc., seeing that if he has built a sound base of Torah knowledge for himself he is not liable to be corrupted by the philosophically negative elements which are part of other disciplines. Torah knowledge will always remain “floating” on top just as does purified silver..... All other wisdom contains elements comparable to dross, impurities, which have a tendency to invalidate that wisdom. Our Torah, by contrast, will not lead man to sustain losses either in money or through misleading him philosophically.

When Solomon demands that Torah must be the first subject studied, he means that unless one learns about the meaning and purpose of miracles one may fall victim to the theory that nature preceded the Lawgiver chronologically, that the universe was not created by Hashem. The reason that in Hebrew nature is known as טבע is that if one delves into the study of nature before having studied Torah such study is liable to swallow a person, he will “sink into a morass,” just as people who are drowned by the sea, טובעו, were drowned, because they had not learned to swim first A person who has studied Torah and early Jewish history summarized in the Torah knows that in addition to “nature” and natural laws, the Creator Who is totally free has demonstrated on many occasions that He is the master of what we call “laws of nature” by temporarily suspending these so-called eternal laws and thus demonstrating that it must have been He who had created and formulated them in the first place. Scientists, i.e. people who study nature, believe only the evidence of their eyes. When they read about the miracles which the Torah records they assume that the desert through which the Israelites marched must have been a very benign strip of land, capable of producing crops, etc., etc. They totally deny what the Torah describes as “this great and terrible wilderness inhabited by fierce serpents, etc., etc., through which the Lord your G’d has led you” (Deut. 8,15). The point made by the Torah is precisely hat the deserts through which the Israelites marched was even more hostile to human habitat than regular deserts. This is why the Torah stresses beyond doubt “it was not a place where one could sow or expect to plant fruit-bearing trees such as figs, pomegranates, etc.” There were no wells.