QOTD: Words

"Donald Trump has been standing at a mirror summoning a demon for the past three years. But he can honestly say he had no idea his words would summon any demon at all. He is sufficiently cretinous to see no connection between reality and the world he has been working so hard to evoke. These are magic words he uses to get people to the polls, and if the way they get to the polls is on the back of a historical monster, it is no great matter.

Here is a terrifying story: There is an ominous caravan, filled with dog whistles and nightmares. Another: We will have a tax cut by the election. Never mind that these are lies. Never mind that these are impossibilities. They are only words. Words do not matter." -- Alexandra Petri, in today's Washington Post, on the "scary stories" the rancid, self- serving monster in the White (Supremacist) House likes to tell to gullible dolts in order to achieve his purposes, regardless of the harm it does to us all.

This morning's mass shooting in Pittsburgh was perpetrated by someone who thought refugees were "invaders" "that kill our people."  Where do you suppose that idea, and Cesar Sayoc's fever dreams about "enemies of the people," came from?

Alt-Right Loon Kills At Least 8 At Pittsburgh Synagogue (UPDATED)

A gunman, identified as Robert Bowers, 46, walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, this morning shouting "All Jews must die!" then shot and killed at least 8 congregants:

Congregants near the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh were ambushed on Saturday morning by a man who opened fire with multiple weapons. According to on-scene reports, the shooter shouted “All Jews must die” as he was firing into those present. 

At 11:30 ET, news reports indicate that 8 people have died, and 12 are wounded including at least 3 police officers who responded to the shooting. First reports of the shooting came in around 10:45 ET, while the web site for the Tree of Life shows that Shabbat services began at 9:45, suggesting that the gunman may have assaulted the congregation as the service was ending. Reports indicate that four people were killed on the main floor of the synagogue. The shooter then killed more people in the basement of the synagogue. One person may have been killed outside the building.

He's a far- right,  anti- Semitic, anti- refugee crackpot:

Pittsburgh suspect Robert Bowers posted this AM “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people..I’m going in” https://t.co/2T5c6xdPhC pic.twitter.com/Bj7T7E8Yzh

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) October 27, 2018

Re HIAS --

HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is an American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees.

More to come.

UPDATE:  He's a white nationalist QAnon nut, of course.

UPDATE II:  The death toll is now 11.

Police Blotter: Right-Wing Terrorist Mastermind Edition

Pinheads:

Homeland Security warned us in 2009 that right wing extremism is on the rise–something we are seeing in recent conservative pushes to overthrow the government. The report stated, among other things, that  “Heightened interest in legislation for tighter firearms…may be invigorating rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements,” as we have seen exemplified in a Tea Party attempt to construct an anti-Muslim death ray. 

Now, Three Georgia “Patriots” tried to buy pipe bombs and other explosives to aid in their effort to attack power grids, water treatment facilities, and other infrastructure. Brian Edward Cannon and Cory Robert Williamson appeared in court on Friday, and Terry Eugene Peace is due for his first appearance on Monday.

And how did the authorities catch on to these right-wing masterminds?

... [T]he three militia members chatted on Facebook about plans to launch guerrilla-style attacks on government facilities, according to the FBI.  [our emphasis]

Even though these three inept patriots buffoons got caught before they could do any harm, the threat from these groups is obviously real and should be taken very seriously by all of us.

Norway's Timothy McVeigh

Norwegian police have a suspect in the bombing and shootings yesterday which killed 94 people, mostly children at a summer camp. The suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, is a self-described "nationalist" and "conservative" whom police say has connections to right wing groups in Norway*.

The huge explosion caused extensive damage to government buildings in Oslo and 7 deaths. Earlier, Breivik was seen at the site of the explosion, and later traveled to an island near Oslo, where he is accused of shooting and killing 84 young people at a youth camp for the governing party in Norway.

*UPDATE: ... and is an apparent fan of right-wing American lunatic and Muslimphobe Pam "Pammy Jugs" Geller.