Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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There is no excuse for voluntarily participating in January 6 public hearings

The media are abuzz with anticipation about a new witness in the January 6 hearings: Matt Pottinger, a former deputy national security advisor who resigned on January 6. He is not a direct witness to anything, but is being called because the committee's primary goal is to cast aspersions on Donald Trump.

Not that Trump doesn't deserve them -- I thought the entire January 6 protest was a bad idea, and said so beforehand -- but this is not actually about Trump.

The January 6 committee is a Stalinist show trial. It is being conducted by one party to humiliate and destroy the other. It is unconstitutional and unlawful, and is destroying the civil liberties and reputations of innocent people.

If Pottinger wants to have his say about Trump, the country's op-ed pages are open to him; there are book publishers eager to provide contracts, etc. By going along with this charade, he is hurting everyone else's constitutional rights.

I won't condemn those who testify under threat of subpoena and jail time -- though I feel that the best moral course for them would be to defy the committee and accept the consequences. But volunteering? No excuse.

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Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
00:00:17
This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

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The drive home 💔
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Additional note about this week: Sabbath of Vision!

I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.

Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!

Weekly Torah reading: Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22)

We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.

This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.

A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.

We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.

I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...

Breitbart News Sunday: show rundown (July 27, 2025)

President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).

On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.

And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.

Special guests:

Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...

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