Judge Merchan tries to defend himself after Trump sentencing — but he and Bragg are responsible for this monster

 On Friday, the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump saw one of the most impassioned defense arguments given at such a hearing in years … from the judge himself.

Acting Justice Juan Merchan admitted that the case was “unique and remarkable” but insisted that “once the courtroom doors were closed, the trial itself was no more special, unique, and extraordinary than the other 32 cases in this courthouse.”

If so, that is a damning indictment of the entire New York court system. Merchan allowed a dead misdemeanor to be resuscitated by allowing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to effectively prosecute declined federal offenses.

He allowed a jury to convict Trump without any agreement, let alone unanimity, on what actually occurred in the case.

Merchan ruled that the jury did not have to agree on why Trump committed an alleged offense in describing settlement costs as legal costs.

Neither the defendant nor the public will ever know what the jury ultimately found in its verdict.

I once described this case as a legal Frankenstein: “It is the ultimate gravedigger charge, where Bragg unearthed a case from 2016 and, through a series of novel steps, is seeking to bring it back to life … Bragg is combining parts from both state and federal codes.”

Even liberal legal experts have denounced the case and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently called it total “bulls–t.”

Now, Merchan seemed quick to assure this Frankenstein case was just like any other creature of the court. It did not matter that it was stitched together from dead cases and zapped into life through lawfare.

Merchan knows that there is a fair chance this monstrosity will finally die on appeal, and he was making the case for his own conduct.

The verdict, however, is likely to last far longer than the Trump verdict. It is a judgment against not just Merchan but the New York legal system, which allowed itself to be weaponized against political opponents.

Trump can now appeal the case as a whole. Prior appeals in the New York court system were unsuccessful, and hopes are low that the system will redeem itself.

However, Trump can eventually escape the vortex of the New York court system in search of jurists willing to see beyond the rage and bring reason to this case.

Merchan’s monster will now go on the road and work its way back to the Supreme Court. Outside of New York, this freak attraction will likely be viewed as less thrilling than chilling.

Lawfare is that monster. It threatens us all, even those who hate Trump and his supporters. Once released, it spreads panic among the public, which can no longer rely on the guarantees of blind and fair justice.

That includes businesses that view this case and the equally absurd civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James as creating a dangerous and even lawless environment. Many are saying “There but for the grace of God go I” in a system that allows for selective prosecution.

Many will be blamed as the creators of this monster but few will escape that blame, including Merchan himself.

 Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Zera Shimshon Parshas Va'Yechi

 

Shocking Footage: "I've never seen such destruction.... it looks like a war zone."

 

*Shocking Footage: "I've never seen such destruction.... it looks like a war zone."*

News chopper gives a shocking report on the view from above Pacific Palisades.

Thousands of homes are destroyed.

Kamala doesn’t look thrilled that Obama is talking with Trump.

 

Watch LA Lady Confront Newsom asking him "Why the Hydrants have no water"?

 LA woman runs up to confront Gavin Newsom about his failures, asks him why her daughter’s school burned down and why the hydrants didn’t have any water.

Fetterman Sticks it to the DemonRats!

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) made waves with two major announcements that have taken social media by storm. The first shock came when Fetterman revealed his intention to vote YES on several of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, a move that defies party lines and has sent shockwaves through Washington.

Fetterman mentioned several notable names, including Marco Rubio, Elise Stefanik, Sean Duffy, and Brooke Rollins as individuals he would support for cabinet positions under a future Trump administration. He also left the door open to consider RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, signaling a rare willingness to cross party lines.

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Angry Bnei Brak Torah Learners Attack Accost IDF General While He Eats Cholent

 

זו תורה וזו שכרה

ומי כעמך ישראל 

I see that the Bochrim know how to riot not only in Yeshiva but also in the streets. I wonder how they would fair opposite a couple of Hamas terrorists? 

On Thursday, a frightening incident took place in the heart of Bnei Brak, as IDF Major General David Zini was accosted by hundreds of members of “Peleg Yerushalmi”.

Major General Zini, along with his advisor, were reportedly visiting Bnei Brak to meet with local figures. He was eating cholent at the Goldis restaurant, when a member of Peleg Yerushalmi recognized him and encouraged his peers to join in assaulting him.

As can be seen on video, the protesters tried to storm the restaurant. Police were called to intervene and rescue the general.

Though Ponovitz Boys Refuse to Fight in the IDF They beat the crap out of Each Other

 

Ponevezh Yeshiva head Rabbi Asher Deutsch, right, and Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz in an undated photo.

I wonder if Torah is "Meigin Umatzleh" when you beat the crap out of each other? Harav Deutsch z"l was also the leader of the Peleg "Auerbach" Terrorists! When he fought the police in Yerushalayim calling them "Nazis" he was a hero, but in Ponovetz itself, where he taught, they wouldn't let him be buried in the "respected" area, the body was lying in a room while both sides were fighting! Ironies of ironies they needed to call in a secular Zionist Judge to mediate! 

By Mati Wagner

A sacrilegious tug-of-war over the body of a brilliant Talmud scholar and firebrand as he was being brought to rest has unleashed a new bout of violence in a decades-old power struggle at Ponevezh Yeshiva, where young men belonging to the intellectual elite of the Haredi community are educated.

Divisive in his lifetime, the head rabbi of Ponevezh, Rabbi Asher Deutsch, was no less so in his death.

On December 16, Deutsch’s body awaited burial at his apartment at Rabbi Wasserman Street 5 in Bnei Brak, a short walk from Ponevezh Yeshiva. Ponevezh is the Haredi equivalent of an Ivy League university where Deutsch taught since 1988.

Meanwhile, two warring yeshiva factions bickered over where to bury his remains.

Deutsch’s detractors, aligned with Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman, the 77-year-old grandson of Ponevezh’s founder — and who has property rights over most of Ponevezh’s assets, including the Ponevezh Cemetery — opposed allowing Deutsch’s burial anywhere in the cemetery, let alone in the VIP section.

Deutsch’s supporters, led by 77-year-old Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz, who is married to Kahaneman’s sister, insisted that Deutsch’s body be buried in the section of Ponevezh Cemetery reserved for the yeshiva’s most illustrious rabbis.

A secular former judge was called in to mediate.

Retired Jerusalem District Court judge David Cheshin, who was born into a well-connected Haredi family and speaks Yiddish but left religious observance after IDF service, has been serving as a mediator in a myriad of conflicts between the two brothers-in-law for three years.

As the recitation of Psalms by tens of thousands of Deutsch’s students, followers and admirers through a vast PA system dragged on, Cheshin called an impromptu Zoom meeting that brought together representatives of the Deutsch family and representatives of Kahaneman and Markovitz in an attempt to reach a compromise that would enable Deutsch’s body to be laid to rest in a dignified manner.

UnitedHealthcare slammed for denying cancer patient's surgery... while she was on the operating table

 

Dr Liz Potter

A surgeon has slammed UnitedHealthcare after the insurance giant allegedly disputed her patient's care while she was on the operating table.

Dr Elisabeth Potter, a plastic surgeon in Texas, claims performing breast reconstructive surgery on a breast cancer survivor when she received a phone call in the operating room.

Mid-surgery, Dr Potter was allegedly told to contact UnitedHealthcare 'right now' about the patient on the operating table, forcing her to stop the surgery and take the call. 

The insurance representative allegedly said he needed information about the patient's diagnosis to determine 'if her inpatient stay should be justified.'

Dr Potter said in a TikTok video this week: 'I was like, "Do you understand that she's asleep right now and she has breast cancer?" and the gentleman said, "I don't actually. That's a different department that would know that information. 

'I've never had this happen before,' she said. 'It's out of control. Insurance is out of control. I have no other words.' 

UnitedHealthcare told DailyMail.com that Dr Potter's claims are unconfirmed and that the company would never ask a physician to step out of surgery.

A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'There are no insurance related circumstances that would require a physician to step out of surgery and it would create potential safety risks if they were to do so. 

'We did not ask nor would ever expect a physician to interrupt patient care to answer a call and we will be following up with the provider and hospital to understand why these unorthodox actions were taken.'

Dr Potter claims she was performing a bilateral deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap procedure, which reconstructs breasts after a mastectomy.

Mastectomies, which remove one or both breasts, are performed in breast cancer patients to get remove diseased tissue.

According to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), around 100,000 breast reconstructive surgeries are performed every year, making it one of the most common procedures in the US. 

Without insurance, the DIEP flap surgery costs anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000. 

A 2020 study from ASPS found that between 2012 and 2017, 28 percent of patients were denied coverage for their breast reconstructive surgeries. 

Dr Potter claims she had to leave the operating room to take the call, which could have increased the patient's risk of infection since the area outside of the operating room is not sterile.

The patient would also have to be under anesthesia for a longer amount of time, making them more likely to suffer complications like nausea and blood clots.

UnitedHealthcare is the nation's largest health insurance conglomerate. 

The company expected to bring in revenues of $450 billion in 2025, with Thompson believed to earn a salary in the region of $10million a year. 

UnitedHealthcare leadership is in the hot seat over a history of denying medically necessary treatments, an issue believed to have driven Luigi Mangione, 26, to allegedly assassinate one of the company's top executives. 

UnitedHealthcare has also been accused of using an AI program with a 90 percent error rate to deny claims. 

In the weeks since Thompson's assassination, patients and healthcare providers like Dr Potter shared their stories of denied claims.

One pediatric neurology nurse on Reddit said the company has allegedly denied anti-seizure medications for children with epilepsy.

The nurse wrote: 'We have UHC deny seizure medications that we can definitively tell will benefit patients based on their EEG results because it's not UHC's preferred medication.

'Patient has to fail the preferred medication first. And by fail, this means the patient has to have a s***load of seizures. So these kids have to seize their f****** brains out to get a medication that we know will control their seizures.'

Uncontrolled seizures can damage neurons and brain cells, leading to irreversible brain damage. 

And a bombshell report released by ProPublica found UnitedHealthcare has allegedly working to cut therapies for more than 10,000 autistic children.

TikTok users responded to Dr Potter's video with shock and disgust.

One user said: 'So instead of calling the other department within United, they call a surgeon out of surgery?'

Another wrote: 'That is outrageous! A doctor leaving a surgery to talk to their insurance. No.'

And one said: 'That is literally INSANE.

Syria Collapsed Only Because of those Who Learned in Beit Medrish With a "Bren" ! Grodna Rosh Yeshiva

 

I hardly know where to begin.

An outraged parent of a talmid in Grodno emailed me and told me to get the latest Yated immediately. “Look at the front page,” he said. “It’s the second leading story.”

In Beit Shemesh, the distributors are smart enough not to drop this paper in our neighborhoods, so I had to drive to Ramat Gimmel to pick one up.

Before writing anything, I showed my reaction to a major talmid chacham in my neighborhood. His response: “Kol hakavod — post it.”

The article describes a speech delivered by the Rosh Yeshiva of Grodno, Rav Drabkin shlit”a, to hundreds of talmidim. The parent who wrote to me said the bochurim mocked the speech, openly ridiculed it, and that the fallout created a massive chillul Hashem. Many talmidim, he said, lost respect for their Rosh Yeshiva.

What did he say?

He claimed that although soldiers fight with tanks and planes, the real victory comes only from the “bren” of Torah learning in the beis medrash. His “proof”? That Syria collapsed without tanks or planes.

Let’s start with the obvious: In an article of over 500 words, Hashem is mentioned only twice — and even then, only in passing, as part of a mashal. The entire thrust of the piece is that the victory belongs to the yeshiva bochurim, not to Hashem, and certainly not to the IDF.

Then came the claim that Hashem delivered the Greeks into the hands of “those who learn Torah,” meaning — according to him — Mattisyahu, who supposedly sat in the beis medrash while others fought.

This is simply not found anywhere in Shas, in Midrash, or in Al Hanissim. Not before the war, not during the war, not after the war.

In fact, Al Hanissim lists fighters, not lomdei Torah in the beis medrash:

• the weak

• the few

• the pure

• the righteous

• the עוסקי תורתך

And the simple reading is that all of these were the fighters. The only historical record we have — Sefer Maccabim — states explicitly that Mattisyahu fought with his sons. The Gemara discusses the miracle of the oil, not the military campaign.

The Rosh Yeshiva simply invented a narrative with no textual basis.

And now let’s ask the obvious question:

If victory comes from the “bren” of Torah learning, then why didn’t Gaza collapse on October 8?

There were no tanks, no planes, no soldiers in Gaza for nearly three weeks. The yeshivos were learning with “bren” and “geshmak.” So why didn’t Gaza fall?

Why did Hezbollah continue firing rockets for weeks while the North emptied out? Why didn’t Lebanon collapse from the “bren”? Why did the IDF — not Grodno — have to eliminate Syrian air defenses in September?

Even the U.S. Secretary of State admitted that the turning point in Syria came from the killing of Sinwar, the killing of Nasrallah, and the destruction of Hezbollah’s infrastructure — not from yeshiva learning.

Of course, everything is from Hashem. Anyone who has learned Chovos HaLevavos knows that Hashem uses shluchim — and in this war, the shaliach is the IDF, not Grodno.

And the most important point of all:

We don’t even know how this war will end. This could still, chas v’shalom, become one of the greatest calamities in Jewish history.

To reduce a complex, tragic, ongoing war — with thousands dead, tens of thousands displaced, and an entire nation traumatized — into a simplistic slogan about “bren” is not Torah. It is not emunah. It is not history. And it is not responsible leadership.

It is wishful thinking dressed up as theology.

When leaders rewrite history to fit a slogan, they don’t strengthen Torah — they weaken trust. And once the talmidim stop believing you, no amount of ‘bren’ can put that fire out.

When Torah is used to erase reality instead of illuminate it, the result isn’t emunah — it’s fantasy. And in a war like this, fantasy doesn’t save lives. The IDF is fighting. Hashem is guiding. Pretending otherwise is not faith — it’s failure.

If “bren” alone won wars, Gaza would have fallen on October 8 and Hezbollah on October 9. Reality didn’t get that memo — but the Yated printed it anyway.

I really believe that the Rosh Yeshiva doesn't even believe what he said and as it turns out his talmidim don't believe it either!

 But the stupid Hebrew Yated puts this utter nonsense on the front page!