So far, we've learned:
- Twitter employees are basically left-wing activists
- Twitter had a lot of ex-FBI/ex-CIA people moderating content
- Twitter was shadow-banning, despite denials to the public and Congress
Notably, James Baker, a key Russia collusion figure, had his hands on everything -- the censorship and the cover-up -- right up to the present.
Some have said it is starting to look like the government either used Twitter (and, presumably, other social media companies) to shut down speech in a way the First Amendment would not allow it to do directly; or, going further, that law enforcement and intel agencies used social media to influence elections.
I don't think the government can legally or constitutionally evade the First Amendment this way -- which is the subject of ongoing litigation by Trump.
The next Congress will also have to call the FBI, CIA, NSA etc. onto the carpet to explain themselves. They will try to lie, as in the past, but it's worth asking.
More to come.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
