These 11 wonderful people were at Tree of Life Synagogue. I imagine they were holding prayer books singing Hebrew prayers Jews have loved for thousands of years. I’m sure many were wearing a Tallit, the Jewish Prayer Shawl. May They Rest In Peace. May Their Memory be a Bleasing. pic.twitter.com/wK0uxOwSSS
— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) October 29, 2018
All entries by this author
These 11 wonderful people
Oct 29th, 2018 4:54 pm | By Ophelia BensonShe thinks it’s outrageous
Oct 29th, 2018 4:02 pm | By Ophelia BensonNo @PressSec, CNN did not say @realDonaldTrump was directly responsible for the bomb sent to our office by his ardent and emboldened supporter. We did say that he, and you, should understand your words matter. Every single one of them. But so far, you don’t seem to get that. pic.twitter.com/ZbH5DQggWq
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) October 29, 2018
Look. If you incite hatred, then hatred has been incited. If you have a huge public megaphone – such as for instance the personal Twitter account of a president or prime minister – and you use it to call Xs “Enemy of the People” then you are doing just that. If you rant and rave over and over and OVER again that … Read the rest
Please stay away
Oct 29th, 2018 2:39 pm | By Ophelia BensonA number of people in Pittsburgh have asked Trump to stay away. Of course he is going there anyway.
… Read the restMore than 35,000 people have signed an open letter to President Trump from the leaders of a Pittsburgh-based Jewish group who say the president will not be welcome in the city unless he denounces white nationalism and stops “targeting” minorities after a mass shooting Saturday at a local synagogue left 11 dead.
Nevertheless, the White House announced Trump would travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, ignoring the letter as well as a plea from Pittsburgh’s mayor that the president at least refrain from visiting “while we are burying the dead.” The first of the funerals for the 11 shooting victims
Remember these faces
Oct 29th, 2018 11:29 am | By Ophelia BensonThere were three terrorist incidents in the US last week, not two. The third was a white man who shot and killed two black people in a Kroger grocery store in Louisville, Kentucky.
Remember these faces…not the shooter’s. Pray for their families. #krogershooting pic.twitter.com/lvg9whojTe
— Simply Kris (@KrisHuston77) October 25, 2018
… Read the restMaurice Stallard, 69, was at a Kroger supermarket when Gregory Bush, a 51-year-old white man, walked in and shot him multiple times. Bush then exited the store and shot Vickie Lee Jones, 67, in the parking lot before an armed bystander reportedly fired back, prompting him to flee. Police were unable to confirm accounts that Bush encountered a second armed man, who engaged him in a
Stealing from the poor
Oct 29th, 2018 10:42 am | By Ophelia BensonBut hey, it’s all ok because Trump is the champion of The Little Guy (not The Little Gal so much), the scourge of the elites, the populist, the friend of miners and factory workers.
Except, wait a second. He’s being sued for bullshitting people with no money into scam get-rich schemes.
… Read the restA new lawsuit accuses President Trump, his company and three of his children of using the Trump name to entice vulnerable people to invest in sham business opportunities.
…
The 160-page complaint alleges that Mr. Trump and his family received secret payments from three business entities in exchange for promoting them as legitimate opportunities, when in reality they were get-rich-quick schemes that harmed investors, many of whom were
Incitement of violence
Oct 29th, 2018 9:54 am | By Ophelia BensonWorse again.
We saw this one yesterday, 17 hours ago.
The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
The next are 5 hours ago, 7:30 a.m DC time.
… Read the restThere is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That
Make him stop
Oct 28th, 2018 5:45 pm | By Ophelia BensonCan no one make this criminal fascist monster STOP INCITING HATRED even now???
The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
More like a dash to the far-right
Oct 28th, 2018 5:34 pm | By Ophelia BensonBrazil on Sunday became the latest country to drift toward the far right, electing a strident populist as president in the nation’s most radical political change since democracy was restored more than 30 years ago.
The new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has exalted the country’s military dictatorship, advocated torture and threatened to destroy, jail or drive into exile his political opponents.
The word “populist” is too cuddly for all that. Far-right authoritarian is a better fit.
… Read the restMr. Bolsonaro, who will take the helm of Latin America’s biggest nation, is farther to the right than any president in the region, where voters have recently embraced more conservative leaders in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia. He joins a
Is there a plan to shoot at them?
Oct 28th, 2018 4:21 pm | By Ophelia BensonFox News created a panic about a “caravan” of refugees, and Trump latched onto it, and that’s why 11 people were murdered in that synagogue yesterday.
On Tuesday, October 16, President Trump started tweeting.
“The United States has strongly informed the President of Honduras that if the large Caravan of people heading to the U.S. is not stopped and brought back to Honduras, no more money or aid will be given to Honduras, effective immediately!”
And more of the same, and Mike Pence joining in.
… Read the restThe apparent impetus for this outrage was a segment on Fox News that morning, which detailed a migrant caravan thousands of miles away in Honduras. That caravan began sometime in mid-October, made up
We must unite to talk about baseball
Oct 28th, 2018 10:30 am | By Ophelia Benson
The president.
…This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on humanity. It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of Anti-Semitism from our world. We must unite to conquer hate.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2018
Watching the Dodgers/Red Sox final innings. It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings, Rich Hill of Dodgers, and brings in nervous reliever(s) who get shellacked. 4 run lead gone. Managers do it all the time, big mistake!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2018
Six hours apart. Six whole hours. Mourning, mass murder, pray, hearts go out, assault on humanity, unite against hate, blah blah … Read the rest
The eleven
Oct 28th, 2018 10:14 am | By Ophelia BensonHave paper towels ready.
Joyce Feinberg, 75
Richard Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil Rosenthal, 59
David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice Simon, 84
Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Younger, 69May their memories push us to create a world that values every life.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) October 28, 2018
Rose Mallinger, 97. Oh brave shooter.
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) October 28, 2018
Setting the tone
Oct 28th, 2018 9:10 am | By Ophelia BensonJulia Ioffe asks how much responsibility Trump has for the synagogue massacre.
The summary: he doesn’t have to do the shooting himself to be part of the cause of the shooting.
… Read the restCulpability is a tricky thing, and politicians, especially of the demagogic variety, know this very well. Unless they go as far as organized, documented, state-implemented slaughter, they don’t give specific directions. They don’t have to. They simply set the tone. In the end, someone else does the dirty work, and they never have to lift a finger — let alone stain it with blood. I saw it while reporting on Russia, where, after unexpected pro-democracy protests and the annexation of Crimea, Putin created an environment so vicious,
Straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Oct 27th, 2018 6:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonStraight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Just moments ago, Lou Dobbs guest Chris Farrell (head of Judicial Watch) says Caravan is being funded/directed by the "Soros-occupied State Department". pic.twitter.com/QBSong7uk1
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 27, 2018
It starts with anti-Semitic trolls and coded language and it ends in violence. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Two and a half years ago. https://t.co/vnjDgw1vsJ
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) October 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/xeni/status/1055980146551914496
Not for a minute would he let the slaughter of Jews interrupt his orgy of self-congratulation and his next round of ethnic hate https://t.co/jvPXDMpobd
— Simon Schama (@simon_schama) October 27, 2018
In a dark place
Oct 27th, 2018 3:40 pm | By Ophelia BensonTrump & Republican Congress have done everything they possibly can to make sure that today's mass murderer of Jews was the best equipped mass murderer he could be.
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) October 27, 2018
So, America, perhaps the greatest danger we face is not a caravan 1000 miles away.
Maybe it’s already here.— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 27, 2018
… Read the restI met the Holocaust survivor who became my 'aunt' at the Tree of Life synagogue 25 years ago. Today I called to make sure she was still alive. "All day have been thinking about when they killed my family in the synagogue in Vilna," she said. That was before the Holocaust started.
— Jina Moore (@itsjina) October 27, 2018
Got another one
Oct 27th, 2018 3:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonMeanwhile the dedicated campaign to get women’s jobs taken away if they don’t agree that men can be women continues.
NEWS:
We just found out nina edge ain’t gonna be teaching at LJMU no more – students spoke up and they had a meeting today!! pic.twitter.com/OhieIWvczP— The White Pube (@TheWhitePube) October 26, 2018
“Students spoke up” apparently after and because these two inquisitors spat out a bunch of tweets accusing Nina Edge of the usual bullshit, complete with tagging a bunch of people like the nasty wannabe cops they are. And took a bragging selfie to say so.… Read the rest
His hair got wet
Oct 27th, 2018 2:45 pm | By Ophelia BensonHave a sick basin at hand.
Unspeakably vile and callous. Trump says he considered canceling his political rally not because 11 people were murdered in an anti-Semitic act of terrorism, but because he had a bad hair day due to answering questions about the murders of Jews in the rain pic.twitter.com/diM9mxB58D
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) October 27, 2018
“This is a dispute that will always exist I suspect”
Oct 27th, 2018 11:54 am | By Ophelia BensonThis fucking fool.
President Trump, asked about gun laws, says the Pittsburgh synagogue should have had armed security at the bris and the gunman wouldn’t be able to do what he did pic.twitter.com/y9Cq59wPM5
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) October 27, 2018
Oh they should have had armed protection. So what’s he saying? That there should be armed protection everywhere? Supermarkets for instance, like that Kroger in Jeffersontown, Kentucky where a white guy shot two black people to death a few days ago? But what if the security guard is in aisle 10 so the shooter goes to aisle 2 to shoot people there? It would take a lot of armed security to cover the whole space, and the parking lot … Read the rest
During a baby naming ceremony
Oct 27th, 2018 10:49 am | By Ophelia BensonA gunman attacked a Pittsburgh synagogue during services Saturday morning, killing multiple people and wounding three police officers, among others.
The suspect opened fire inside the Tree of Life Synagogue during a baby naming ceremony, Philadelphia’s attorney general told the Associated Press.
Ah, during a baby naming ceremony. Thoughtful touch.
… Read the restDuring a standoff, the suspect spoke multiple times about wanting or needing to kill Jews, police dispatchers said on the radio.
He surrendered to police around 11 a.m. Dispatchers said he had a pistol on his ankle and another in his waistband, and had been injured. KDKA reported that he came out crawling.
The Tree of Life synagogue is located in a leafy residential enclave
In an exclusive investigation
Oct 27th, 2018 10:11 am | By Ophelia BensonOh look, an exciting investigative scoop by The Oxford Student.
In an exclusive investigation, The Oxford Student can reveal a fellow of St Cross, and Sociology Professor, has been making #transphobic statements anonymously on Twitter #Investigation #Oxfordhttps://t.co/sZEAzYcaSY
— The Oxford Student (@TheOxStu) October 26, 2018
Let’s rush to read this investigative uncovering of a truth:
… Read the restPlease note that this article contains explicit discussion of transphobic statements and images.
Professor of Sociology and Fellow of St Cross College Michael Biggs has been posting transphobic statements online under the Twitter handle @MrHenryWimbush, The Oxford Student can reveal.
The Twitter account, named Henry Wimbush and still online at the time of publication, has been tweeting statements such as “transphobia is a
If you inflame hatred, hatred will be inflamed
Oct 26th, 2018 3:16 pm | By Ophelia BensonGary Younge at the Guardian sees a connection between Trump’s constant stoking of hatred and the highly stoked hatred we see all around us.
… Read the restTrump’s election and the xenophobic rhetoric that came with it not only emboldened schoolchildren to parrot bigotry to their peers, it gave the state free rein to unleash its power indiscriminately against a minority community. So when pipe bombs are sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, California congresswoman Maxine Waters and CNN it should be understood not only as a specific threat to democracy but as one of the most violent examples yet from a democracy that has long been under threat.
…
…Both in his candidacy and presidency Trump has made direct appeals
