What’s Behind the Hero Worship of Luigi Mangione?

Luigi Mangione, now facing extradition to New York for murder charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has gained online folk-hero status. More at Fox.

It’s a dreadful sign of the times that Mr. Mangione is being celebrated in too many places as a worthy avenger instead of an (allegedly) deranged killer. But that is how our culture has degraded—egged on for political purposes or audience ratings by many who know better.

Online, fans exist for almost everything and everyone. Following the shooting death of Brian Thompson, a fandom emerged around his suspected killer that seemed unifying in a way few others have been. He became an avatar that anyone who’d ever struggled with a hospital bill could understand.

Luigi Mangione should not be a folk hero after being accused in Thompson’s death.

But he is.

So now we have to deal with why… People feel powerless and hopeless in front of the U.S. health care system.

Could Trump Really End Birthright Citizenship?

Birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. President-elect Trump has promised to revoke this right via executive order on the first day of his second term. More at CNN.

It’s true that some people have exploited the law, but having citizen children does not protect undocumented immigrant parents from deportation. Children cannot sponsor their parents until they are 21, and they must be able to support them financially. Concerns about these rare instances do not justify throwing out birthright citizenship.

…such a change will provoke a mountain of litigation almost immediately, and rightly so. It will be a hard sell even for the archconservative majority on the Supreme Court to overturn more than a century of precedent affirming that citizenship is granted at birth.

In the 1860s, birthright citizenship made sense. Things have changed since then. The principle is out of date. When that amendment was enacted, you did not have millions of people sneaking into the country every year.

Will Biden Offer Preemptive Pardons to His Allies?

As Trump vows legal action against Biden associates, the Biden administration is apparently weighing the idea of issuing preemptive pardons to his allies. More at CNN.

…a broad grant of preemptive pardons, however tempting, would be a mistake. Trump will do what Trump will do, but such a step by Biden would set an unfortunate precedent, one likely to be repeated by some future presidents seeking to shield their allies from retribution.

Except for himself, Biden should pardon them all, along with pretty much everyone else Patel has singled out by name and those who worked on the Jan. 6 committee.

It’s a complete assault on the rule of law—an admission that the Democrats believe that justice not only is political but should be politicized. It sets an extremely dangerous precedent—from the side constantly yammering on about the dangers posed by Trump to our democracy.

What Has Israel Accomplished in Syria?

Following Assad’s collapse, Israel launched strikes destroying Syria’s strategic weapons and neutralizing its navy. Israel has also deployed ground forces beyond the buffer zone for the first time in half a century.

Israel’s current actions are reminiscent of its successful secret mission in 2007 to destroy Syria’s nascent nuclear reactor, likely constructed with North Korean help. The threat that Syria poses to the region was and remains acute. The threat it poses to the rest of the world is, once again thanks to Israel, far more limited.

Following a major 48-hour bombing campaign in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it had destroyed most of the former Bashar al-Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities, in an effort to prevent advanced weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile elements.

“Israel is not looking to apply sovereignty to the buffer zone, but rather to militarily control the area in order to prevent danger under conditions of instability,” Michael assessed.

Israeli officials have emphasized the tactical nature of the move, which also likely stems from the trauma from the surprise attack executed by the Hamas terrorist attack on its border with Gaza last year.

What Are the Key Takeaways From Bibi’s Testimony?

Taking the stand in his ongoing corruption trial, Netanyahu dismissed charges as minor compared to Israel’s challenges. He emphasized his leadership and vowed to clear his name. More at AP.

At the start of his testimony, Netanyahu described himself, as is his wont, as the victim of the leftist conspiracy of the hostile media and its supporters in the police and the prosecutor’s office – who would have lifted him up and paraded him through the streets if he had only returned to the pre-1967 borders.

The prime minister was animated in the responses he gave to the questions posed to him by his defense attorneys, and was eager to expound at length on his accomplishments as prime minister, his fortitude under pressure, and his attitude toward and policies to advance a free market for opinions in the media, a key part of two of the cases against him.

His meandering testimony swung between crucial world events — from the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement that partitioned the Middle East between western powers to Netanyahu’s 2015 break with then US president Barack Obama over Iran’s nuclear programme — and the mundane.

What’s New & Interesting in Jewish Thought?

Here are three thought-provoking Jewish takes on religion, philosophy, and politics:

For over a year, we have been reciting Tehillim for IDF soldiers protecting our friends and family in Israel. Some people do not recite Tehillim with the same intensity as they did when the war began. Particularly those who live far away from the danger might experience a Tehillim fatigue.

It is in the Second Temple period and particularly with the Maccabean revolt against their hellenising oppressors that the pig comes into its own as an object of defilement. The Stoic philospher Epictetus records that the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes sacrifices a sow in the Temple and pours its blood over the altar in an act of desecration.

Shoval is awed and fascinated by the Ten Commandments, seeing them as immutable meta-principles that apply for all time. While men can and do enact, reinterpret and repeal laws, the Ten Commandments cannot be altered, modified or reconfigured. They therefore provide an enduring set of values, principles and limitations that serve to undergird man’s continuing efforts at moral perfection.

Today’s Hot Issues

What’s Behind the Hero Worship of Luigi Mangione? Could Trump Really End Birthright Citizenship? Will Biden Offer Preemptive Pardons to His Allies? What Has Israel Accomplished in Syria? What Are the Key Takeaways From Bibi’s Testimony? What’s New & Interesting in Jewish Thought?