The return of Hunter Biden’s laptop

 https://www.vox.com/22992772/hunter-biden-laptop

But the emails were indeed being put out as part of an orchestrated campaign by Trump’s team to try to drive negative media coverage toward Joe Biden shortly before the election. And whatever the revelations about Hunter, claims from conservatives that the leaked emails proved Joe Biden acted corruptly in some way were false — they proved no such thing.

Hunter’s emails contained a whole lot of embarrassing and arguably newsworthy material about himself, and the shady foreign business interests of the son of the potential next president are certainly a worthy topic of media coverage. But as for the Biden who was actually on the ballot, there was very little from him personally in those messages (other than an exchange where he comforts his despondent, drug-addicted son). The emails didn’t dominate mainstream media because, at least so far, they didn’t have the goods.

Did Study Link More Strokes in Young People to COVID Vaccine?

 https://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-com-fact-check-link-more-strokes-young-people-covid-vaccine-1756397

False.

The 2022 study provides no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine is responsible for the increasing stroke rate in under 55s. The data used in this study was collected between 2002 and 2018 and therefore bears no relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the vaccine has been associated with a small increase in blood clots, the absolute risk is much lower than the risk of blood clotting and stroke associated with COVID-19 infection. Therefore vaccination may reduce overall stroke risk for individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

How a Trump-supporting election-denier has gained footing in this solidly blue state

 https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-esque-election-denier-s-gained-footing-solidly-blue-new-n1300304

But Zeldin has made a compelling case for himself: If Hochul wants to stick her closing argument, she needs to make it clear that his claims about crime are disingenuous, that he is vehemently anti-abortion, and that he would sow chaos and gridlock in a Democratic legislature, making meaningful change impossible.

Donald Trump’s conspiracy theory about broken glass at the Pelosi house

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/02/donald-trump/donald-trumps-conspiracy-theory-about-broken-glass/

Trump claimed that at the Pelosi house, "the glass it seems was broken from the inside to the out, so it wasn’t a break-in, it was a break out."

This is refuted by police and accounts Pelosi and DePape told officials.

A Justice Department criminal complaint says DePape told authorities he broke into the house through a glass door and that he wanted to take Nancy Pelosi hostage.

Trump’s claim isn’t supported by evidence. We rate it Pants on Fire!

Rambam - how could he learn from heretics?

 Chida (Pesach Einayim 1:202b): R’ Meir found a verse and interpreted it. The gemora did not simply say, “R’ Meir found a verse.” This implies that only R’ Meir interpreted the verse as permission to learn from a heretic while the rest of the sages disagreed with him. Thus according to the majority position there is no distinction between an adult and child learning from a heretic. That is why the Rambam omitted such a distinction in the Mishneh Torah. This is also the understanding of the Shach (Yoreh Deah 246).  Others disagree with this interpretation  However if the Rambam rejected R’ Meir’s position that a mature adult can learn from a heretic - how could he himself have learned secular knowledge. He writes in one letter that he learned all the books of idol worship… Furthermore we find that the Rivash (#45) said that the Rambam learned philosophy because he accepted the view of R’ Meir that a mature adult is allowed. The Rivash also notes that the Rambam cites the verse of R’ Meir in the introduction to Moreh Nevuchim! I think the resolution of these difficulties is what I wrote elsewhere. The Rambam’s definition of mature adult is not great in years but rather great in Torah and with an advanced mind even in matters of the world as was R’ Meir. Therefore, if the Rambam wrote in the Mishneh Torah that a G-dol was permitted to learn from a heretic, everyone would view themselves as a Godol and permit themselves to learn from a heretic. Therefore, he deleted this distinction. The spirit of G d spoke in him, in particular in our orphaned generation where every student thinks he is a rabbi. They are in fact naked and yet they are not embarrassed…

Gra criticized Rambam regarding the supernatural

 Gra (Commentary to Shulchan Aruch YD 179:13): Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 179) Uttering an incantation on the wound from a scorpion is permitted even on Shabbos even though this type of remedy is ineffective since the person is in mortal danger. This ruling of the Shulchan Aruch is view of the Rambam (Mishna Torah Avoda Zara 11:11). The Rambam expressed this view also in his comments on the Mishna (Avoda Zara 4:7) However, every rabbinic authority after the Rambam disagreed with him. This is because there are many gemoras describing use of Divine names and witchcraft. The Rambam had such a view because he was influenced by philosophy. Therefore he writes that witchcraft, use of Divine names, incantations, demons, and charms are all false. His view is completely erroneous since we see many descriptions in the gemora of these things. Even the Torah itself gives examples such as Moshe’s staff turning into a snake. The Zohar also describes these things. And there are too many cases to enumerate dealing with incantations. Philosophy has warped his understanding so that he describes all these gemoras as meaningless or interprets them not according to their plain meaning. I don’t accept the philosophers or their approach. To the contrary, all of these stories are to be taken literally. While they in fact have a deeper concealed meaning it is not the understanding of the philosophers which is merely a superficial understanding but rather that of the kabbalists. 

The Dark Heart of the Republican Party

 https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/11/the-dark-heart-of-the-gop/671965/

In terms of actual damage, January 6 was far worse than one violent crime in San Francisco. Republican leaders—and here I will leave aside Donald Trump, who is in a class of hideousness all by himself—have said far worse things over the past five years. But a parade of Republicans somehow think that an unhinged, hammer-wielding intruder putting an old man in the ICU is funny.

Kari Lake Makes Light of Pelosi Attack, Draws Laughter at Campaign Event

 https://www.newsweek.com/kari-lake-makes-light-pelosi-attack-draws-laughter-campaign-event-1755901

Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has drawn laughter and applause after making a flippant remark about the violent attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump joins conspiracists stoking doubts about Pelosi attack

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/01/trump-paul-pelosi-attack-conspiracy-theory-00064417

“It’s a lot of bad stuff and I’m not a fan of Nancy Pelosi, but what’s going on there is very sad,” Trump continued. “The whole thing is crazy, and if there’s even a little bit of truth to what’s being said. The window was broken in and it was strange the cops were standing there practically from the moment it all took place. So, you’re going to have to explain that to your audience, including me.”

Rick Scott repeats false claim that Democrats cut $280 billion from Medicare

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/oct/31/rick-scott/rick-scott-repeats-false-claim-democrats-cut-280-b/

In an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., repeated a talking point previously used by the National Republican Senatorial Committee — which Scott chairs — in campaign ads.

The ad cited Senate roll call vote 325 to back up its assertion. This was the final vote to approve the Inflation Reduction Act, a Biden-backed bill that included provisions addressing climate change, the taxation of very large corporations, and Medicare drug pricing, among other topics. It passed both chambers with only Democratic votes, and it received Biden’s signature.

The $280 billion — technically, somewhere between $237 billion and $288 billion, depending on how the numbers are estimated — stems from a provision in the Democratic bill that would end the longstanding bar that kept Medicare from negotiating with drugmakers over the price of certain medicines. Not being able to negotiate prices has meant that Medicare — the pharmaceutical market’s biggest single buyer — could not leverage its weight to secure lower prices for taxpayers. This has been part of the reason U.S. pharmaceutical prices have been higher than those in any other major country.

"Lowering Medicare costs is not the same as reducing benefits," the committee wrote. "Quite the opposite — many measures to reduce costs for the government would reduce costs for individuals as well."

Prominent conservatives share online disinformation about Paul Pelosi assault

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/31/conservatives-disinformation-paul-pelosi-assault-00064208

“The Left is going crazy because not only are we not BUYING the wacky, implausible Paul Pelosi story but we are even LAUGHING over how ridiculous it is,” Dinesh D’Souza posted Sunday morning to his 2.5 million Twitter followers. “What this means is that we are no longer intimidated by their fake pieties. Their control over us has finally been broken.”

Attacker wanted to ‘kneecap’ Nancy: Partisan conspiracies in Paul Pelosi assault

 https://www.foxnews.com/shows/media-buzz/attacker-wanted-kneecap-nancy-partisan-conspiracies-paul-pelosi-assault

Clay Higgins, a Republican House member from Louisiana, tweeted something he must have found amusing. 

After the vicious assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul, the member of the Homeland Security Committee tweeted an apparently doctored image of the speaker with one eye looking bruised. The caption: "That moment you realize the nudist hippie male prostitute LSD guy was the reason your husband didn’t make it to your fundraiser."

Donald Trump Jr.'s Paul Pelosi Post Receives Huge Backlash

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-jr-paul-pelosi-posts-backlash-1755787

Many social media users are condemning Donald Trump Jr. for a message he posted over the weekend on Twitter and Instagram that references the violent attack on Paul Pelosi.

‘Absolutely no evidence:’ Police, FBI affidavit debunk salacious conspiracy about Pelosi attack pushed by conservatives

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/31/politics/pelosi-attack-right-wing-conspiracy-theories-invs/index.html

 Prominent figures on social media, including some of the loudest voices on the political right, are pushing a salacious and false conspiracy theory about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, in an apparent attempt to shift the narrative about the assault.

The claim that big names like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Jr., and Dinesh D’Souza have promoted to millions of their followers: Paul Pelosi and the man who attacked him were gay lovers who had gotten into a fight.