It's been an incredibly strong start to the Trump administration. They are fighting all the good fights, and Democrats are on the back foot -- though they seem to think filing lawsuits will pull them through, as it did last time.
We'll talk to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy about the California high-speed rail boondoggle, and the upcoming audit of federal spending on it. It's a microcosm of failure in California governance that must be urgently fixed.
Next, we will get a recap of CPAC from our own political editor, Matthew Boyle, and review some of the progress made by the administration on key issues for conservatives, as well as on the "America First" foreign policy front.
We'll also take a look at the prospects of long-term conservative projects, such as the Convention of States. And we'll speak with an Israeli diplomat to discuss what's next in negotiations with Hamas -- after so much heartache last week.
Special guests:
Sean Duffy -- Secretary of Transportation, former member of Congress
Matt Boyle -- Breitbart News political editor, on CPAC and future prospects
Mark Meckler -- Convention of States, on conservative constitutional efforts
Anat Sultan-Dadon -- Israeli counsel general in Atlanta, on hostage deals
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
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
