May 29, 2020 
WEEK IN REVIEW
President Trump's attack on the media to delegitimize them and cast doubt has been a prime focus of his since he took office. But on Thursday, he attacked the very media that allowed him to build followers for his hateful, spiteful, and untrue speech. He signed an executive order targeting social media companies, namely Twitter and Facebook, for applying fact checks to two of his tweets. 

The order directs executive branch agencies to ask independent rule-making agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to study whether they can place new regulations on these types of companies.

Media outlets do have a responsibility to fact check. Under the shield of free speech, these companies can't damage a person's good name. Our country's libel, slander, and defamation laws are designed to offer protection from these types of scurrilous attacks.

However the President should not use his authority as a sword. He must be accountable for what he says.

He can't use the FCC and the FTC as weapons against perceived anti-conservative bias in the media. The executive order is part of Trump's pattern of using government agencies as own political tools for revenge. 

Trump is embarking on a slippery slope that could lead to massive censorship throughout the internet and other forms of media. We need freedom of the press to serve as an independent check on the activities of government - especially during this Presidency.

Twitter's tagging of Trump's false  claims is itself absolutely protected under the First Amendment as an expression of opinion, according Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe. Freedom of speech is a Constitutional right guaranteed to everyone. Trump doesn't get to choose when and how it is used.

Words matter. Trump knows that and that is why he is fighting so hard against those that believe that, too.

In the meantime, let's remain committed to our goal - electing Joe Biden and other JAC candidates who will use their words and actions to lead and heal. 
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS

Tuesday, June 2
Virtual JACPAC Fundraiser in support of
John Hickenlooper for U.S. Senate (D-CO)
4:30 pm CT | 5:30 pm ET | 3:30 pm MT | 2:30 pm PT
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Thursday, June 4
Virtual Update with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)
3:00 pm CT | 4:00 pm ET
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Tuesday, June 9
Virtual Postcard Party
3:00 pm CT | 4:00 pm ET
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Sunday, June 14
Sit at JAC's "Table"
Women for Brad in support of
Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10)
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Tuesday, June 2
Virtual Reception with Ambassadors Samantha Power 
and Susan Rice
6:00 pm
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Thursday, June 4
Chardonnay & Conversation with Jill Biden & Hillary Clinton
4:00 pm CT | 5:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm PT
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Tuesday, June 9
Virtual Reception with Vice President Joe Biden & 
Senator Kamala Harris
Time TBA
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Thursday, June 11
Women for Biden & Women's Leadership Forum 
Virtual Conversation
featuring 
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Connie Britton, 
and Alyssa Mastromonaco
7:30 pm ET |6:30 pm CT | 4:30 pm
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Thursday, June 16
A Fabulous Evening with Vice President Joe Biden 
featuring
Barbra Streisand & John Legend
8:00 pm ET | 7:00 pm CT | 5:00 pm PT
Details here
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Wednesday, June 17
Fireside Chat about the
Future of American Foreign Policy
with
Sec. John Kerry, Sec. Madeleine Albright, & Sen. Chris Coons
7:00 pm ET
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Please note: Login links for Biden for President events are sent out directly by the campaign. 
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Watch your inbox for more online events.
ISRAEL
Netanyahu: Palestinians in Israeli-Annexed Jordan Valley Won't Get Citizenship

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview that Palestinians living under Israeli rule in an annexed Jordan Valley would not receive Israeli citizenship.  Palestinian towns and villages in the area will remain "Palestinian enclaves" under Palestinian rule but Israel security control, he explained.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Trust Donald Trump to Make Henry Ford's Virulent Antisemitism Relevant Again 

When Donald Trump toured a Ford factory in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Thursday, he veered off his prepared remarks to discuss the founder. "The company [was] founded by a man named Henry Ford," Trump told the assembled executives, factory workers and media. "Good bloodlines, good bloodlines. If you believe in that stuff, you got good blood." On the one hand, it's quite possible that Trump did not know Ford's dubious anti-Semitic history - the man is not exactly well-informed, no matter how many times he assures us he's "smart" and a "stable genius." On the other, you don't need to be a genius to know that referring to people's "bloodlines" in a way reminiscent of eugenics is a serious no-no, even when you are not talking about a rank anti-Semite.
Continued Reading

CHOICE
More Patients Seek Abortion Pills Online During Pandemic, but Face Restrictions
 
During the coronavirus pandemic, more healthcare is moving online - including abortion. In many states, abortion pills can be prescribed remotely, and abortion providers are reporting a growing number of women seeking medication abortions through telemedicine. But others are finding obstacles in their way
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
 
As Churches Reopen, Supreme Court Faces Balancing Act Between Physical and Spiritual Health

The coronavirus has left the Supreme Court with a difficult task: balancing the nation's physical and spiritual health. As all 50 states ease restrictions put in place to combat the pandemic, churches and other religious institutions seek equal treatment. Legal battles have led to showdowns in California, Illinois and elsewhere on the eve of Pentacost Sunday, when churches largely shuttered since before Easter are eager to greet worshippersThe churches have become the latest protesters against strict state coronavirus restrictions. Legal battles in Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia and elsewhere follow other skirmishes involving abortion clinics, retail businesses and primary election voters.
BEYOND THE CORE
Speculation Swirls About Next Supreme Court Vacancy

Just months before Election Day, the question of whether  President Trump will get to select a third Supreme Court justice hangs over the final weeks of the court's term.   Speculation over a possible vacancy has focused in recent years on the prospect of Justice  Clarence Thomas  exiting while Republicans control the White House and Senate, and alternatively on the health of the court's aging liberal bloc.  Top Senate Republicans drew fresh attention to the bench recently when they said they would confirm a new justice if given the chance despite 2020 being an election year, in an apparent reversal of their rationale for blocking President Obama's nominee late in his second term.
Continued Reading


POLITICAL BYTE
Mike Pompeo Is the Worst Secretary of State Ever

If you thought the volume on the Trump-Twitter-Fox noise distraction machine was turned up extra loud in the past few weeks, it was not only to deflect attention from the nearly 100,000 Americans who've died from Covid-19, but also from the confirmation that on President Trump's watch our country suffered the first deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11 that was planned abroad.  You read that right. Last week, Attorney General William Barr and the F.B.I. said that data from cellphones of a Saudi Air Force trainee who killed three U.S. sailors and wounded eight others at a Navy air base in Pensacola, Fla., on Dec. 6 confirmed that it was an act of foreign-planned "terrorism."
Continued Reading

BIDEN ROUNDUP
Biden Hopes to Pick VP by Aug. 1 
 
Former Vice President  Joe Biden says he hopes to decide on a running mate by Aug. 1, about two weeks before the Democratic convention in Milwaukee, WI. This week  Biden said his campaign's vice presidential committee has already interviewed the contenders on his shortlist.  "We're in the process of deciding the basic cut - about whether or not they really want it," Biden said. "Are they comfortable? They've asked a lot of questions." Biden has said he's committed to picking a woman.
Continued Reading


Joe Biden reacts as US coronavirus death toll passes 100,000
Joe Biden speaks about the US coronavirus death toll which passed 100,000


CORONAVIRUS
6 Coronavirus Vaccine Developments From Israel to Watch
 
Vaccine candidates from the US, UK, China, Japan and Germany are on the fast track, and Israel has at least six projects on the go. This international effort may lead to multiple products.  "We expect more than one could make it to market," says Ronald Ellis, an Israel-based consultant to the industry and editor in chief of  Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics.  Let's see what vaccine candidates are being cooked up in Israeli labs .
Continued Reading

FYI
Mrs. Maisel Spent the Summer There. Now the Whole Place Can Be Yours for Just $6m.    
 
This upstate New York resort's lake, bowling alleys and cabins were the setting for Mrs. Maisel's Catskills summer retreat.  Now it can be yours for a mere $6 million.  The Scott's Family Resort in Deposit, which has been operating for 150 years, is on the market. The owners had announced in a January Facebook post that they were forced to close "due to circumstances beyond our control."  The resort had become too expensive to keep up, but the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to operate this summer.
JAC II
Introducing JACII, a JAC group for young professionals, advocates, and those young at heart who are looking to get involved. Groups have started in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
 
Events will feature elected officials and speakers in lively settings. JACII is by and for young people. Now is the perfect time to get involved.
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Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at info@jacpac.org. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.

The Last Word
"There's nothing I'd rather do than get rid of my whole Twitter account. "

-- President Trump
Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
Paid for by Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs. Contributions or gifts are not tax deductible.  Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Corporate contributions and contributions from non-US citizens who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence are prohibited. All contributions by individuals must be made from personal funds and may not be reimbursed or paid by another person.