On the NRA myth of German Jews “defending themselves” against the Nazis

https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1057638824371662848?s=17

David Frum (@davidfrum) Tweeted:

«The non-Nazi Conservatives had a vastly bigger and more powerful private militia, the Steelhelmets, and so even did the law-abiding Social Democrats. Hundreds of people were killed in street battles in 1930-33: an NRA dream come true of armed citizens defending themselves!»

The Misguided Rabbis of Twitter  – Tablet Magazine

Source: https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/273567/the-misguided-rabbis-of-twitter

Wow. Quite a finish. I recommend the entire (short) article, because it’s extremely easy to take this quote out of context. How DO we exist in religious communion with those of differing political opinions?

«Mr. Samet, a Holocaust survivor, escaped death by four minutes because he was a little late to shul. He is also a strong supporter of Trump. Frank, Julia: Would you stand before this 80-year-old man, not in a tweet or online piece, but face to face, and tell him he is responsible for the death of his friends, the people with whom he prays each Shabbat? Would you bar him from the shul where he almost died, again, at the hands of Jew haters? Really? And that would make us the righteous ones?

There is much that smart journalists and observers like these folks say that I agree must be said: Yes, we must be vigilant and aware and ready to spot and combat the virus of hatred. Yes, we must call out public voices, from the president on down, who speak in ways we believe endangers or radicalizes the population. But my congregants are not the ones who are dangerous, and manipulating responsibility to turn Jews into perpetrators is ethically appalling—and communally toxic. We can only be a Jewish people when we don’t excommunicate each other—for religious reasons or political reasons or cultural reasons. Everyone is welcome to pray in my synagogue, right or left, no matter how much I as rabbi may object to your views. Because we do not pray as Democrats or Republicans, but as Jews. Now let us tear our clothes and mourn the dead.»

Instagram Is the Alt-Right’s New Favorite Haven

Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/instagram-is-the-alt-rights-new-favorite-haven

«Yiannopoulos also wrote that he found it “sad” and “disgusting” that this publication, The Daily Beast, didn’t receive a bomb.

Instagram initially declined to delete Yiannopoulos’s post, saying it didn’t violate their “Community Standards.” The social giant eventually deleted the post after The Daily Beast reported on it.»

Stop helping demagogues change the subject – The Washington Post

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/stop-helping-demagogues-change-the-subject/2018/10/26/30d1b6aa-d95b-11e8-a10f-b51546b10756_story.html

Meta:

«Talk about children suffering from thirst, and many will loudly blame the parents. Condemn the president, and his supporters will blame you for undermining national safety.

There is only one solution. Keep the story in proportion — and talk about other things. Don’t get pulled down a rabbit hole of absurd argument. News organizations aren’t lacking for other subjects; ordinary people can use their social media accounts to write about real problems that matter to their communities.»

Democrats Have A Whac-A-Mole Problem In The Senate

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/democrats-have-a-whac-a-mole-problem-in-the-senate/

«It’s too soon to say the Senate is a lost cause for Democrats. A 1-in-6 chance isn’t good, but it isn’t zero, either. The scenario for a Democratic victory, however, probably involves a systematic polling error in which all of the polls are off in the same direction rather than Democrats clawing their way to victory on a race-by-race basis. The map was tough enough for Democratsthat almost everything possible was going to have to go right for them to win the Senate, and it hasn’t.»

Come on, systematic polling error!