This week's portion begins with Moses's instructions to the people to set up a judicial system in the Land of Israel. Moses given the people other instructions, including about monarchy, rules of war, relations among neighbors, and more.
There is the famous line: "Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you." (16:20). That line is often misquoted as a justification for "social justice" -- often by people who are not terribly enthusiastic about modern-day Israel possessing the land of Israel.
We are so preoccupied with the adjective "social" that we forget about the noun "justice." There's no "social justice" in the Torah -- just "justice justice."
Justice is the noun, and justice is the adjective. Justice -- defined by what we deserve. If we do right, we deserve good; if we do wrong, we deserve evil, and only our prayers and repentance and charity can do anything about it.
My son’s Little League All-Star team won a tournament yesterday. He went 2-for-2 with a single (here) and a double, both solid hits.
On Sunday morning, former President Donald Trump posted an attack on pop star Taylor Swift, signaling that his campaign had begun to unravel.
It was not a surprise that Trump might resent Swift for her endorsement of his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, but there was absolutely nothing to be gained by saying so publicly.
In doing so, Trump was drawing attention to an endorsement that had made little impact, and possibly alienating some of his supporters.
He was also signaling that he had lost control of himself, and the campaign. This was the Trump of 2020, the undisciplined incumbent who, under attack from all sides, would lash out at rivals and the press, even when he was winning.
We had not seen this version of Trump in years. The "lawfare" against him seemed to have focused his mind even as it also consolidated his Republican support. The 2024 campaign was professional, disciplined, and efficient.
True, the campaign was slow to react to the replacement of President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket ...
I'm tired of being told Trump is winning easily who have no basis for saying so and who will claim that the election was stolen from him if and when they are wrong. I have told you before that I think he is winning -- I no longer think so, by the way, for the first time -- and I have told you my basis for believing so.
My basis for not believing so is Trump's own behavior. After showing up for the debate unprepared for the opportunity to speak directly to his own voters, he compounded the damage by attacking Taylor Swift in a pointless post on Truth Social. Coupled with reports that he was traveling with Laura Loomer -- an Internet provocatuese with her own agenda but nothing in particular to offer -- I have concluded that the Trump campaign has inexcusably lost its focus.
The election is still winnable, but he is not winning it, and he needs to change.
After making that argument, I found a lot of people agreed. But I also received a lot of pushback from some conservative influencers on social media. ...
We'll cover the second assassination attempt against Trump, plus the aftermath of the debate, the latest polling numbers, and Trump's missteps (yes, I do think he's made some, and it's really getting much too late for that kind of thing).
We'll also have the latest installment of The Trumpian Virtues (available on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Trumpian-Virtues-Audiobook/B0CZ4NBQVB)
Plus, some music and art, because life can't be all about this political nonsense.
With special guests:
- Mark Mitchell -- pollster, Rasmussen Reports, on the state of the race
- Peter Himmelman -- musician, author of "Suspended by No String": https://www.amazon.com/Suspended-String-Songwriters-Reflections-Aliveness/dp/B0D2W8NLFZ
Tune in: SiriusXM 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
