Belleville Synagogue Shooter Blamed Jews For COVID

To the surprise of no one, the man responsible for trying to kill Jews at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario harbored hatred towards Jews. 

He evidently became radicalized when he began subscribing to conspiracy theories blaming Jews for COVID. Because of these beliefs, the gunman refused to be vaccinated and would be discharged from the Canadian military in 2022.

Those same beliefs would drive him to try to kill Jews, and he might have succeeded if not for Constable Jeff Smith who ended up killing the assailant. Smith was seriously wounded and his wife says he faces a long road to recovery.

But I have no doubt that Belleville's Jewish community, the Jewish community across Canada and non-Jewish Canadians will see to it that Constable Smith gets everything he and his family needs for his valor. 

Of course, the congregants of Sons of Jacob Synagogue should not have needed to have police protection for being Jewish. Unfortunately, so long as Jew hatred flourishes and public officials tolerate anti-Semitism in our political discourse such as the belief that Jews are somehow responsible for COVID and all other of society's ills then we can expect more violence and more brave souls like Constable Jeff Smith to put a stop to it.

Chad Tracy Becomes Red Sox Full-Time Manager with 3-Year Contract with Option for 2030

 

Nearly five months after he was named interim manager of the Boston Red Sox following the abrupt dismissal of Alex Cora, Chad Tracy has officially become the team's full-time manager.

Tracy has been given a 3-year contract with a club option for the 2030 season. The team has also extended Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow through 2030.

It took a while for the Red Sox to get going but in the space of less than a month went from having the worst record in the AL to climbing their way to one of the AL Wild Card spots. From June 25th through August 7th, the Red Sox went 32-5. During this streak, they tied an 80-year-old club record with a 15-game winning streak.

Now, the team has cooled off considerably. Since August 7th, the team has been treading water with a 20-22 record. But the Red Sox did clinch an AL Wild Card berth over the weekend albeit indirectly with the help of Atlanta Braves slugger Mike Yastremzski, the grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastremzski. 

How far the Red Sox will go in the 2026 post-season remains to be seen. But in the grand scheme of things, Tracy has exceeded all expectations much like the recently departed Joe Morgan did when he took over the team midway through the 1988 season. Regardless of what happens in October, Tracy certainly deserves to win AL Manager of the Year. 

Megyn Kelly's Inhumanity Towards Cindy Crawford After Her Son's Death

My opinion of Megyn Kelly has diminished considerably since she started engaging in anti-Semitism.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to descend below anti-Semitism, yet Kelly has succeeded in doing so by publicly lambasting a mother following the death of her child. 

Yesterday, Kelly saw fit to berate Cindy Crawford after the death of her 27-year-old son, Presley, from an apparent drug overdose:

Let’s face it, both kids were commercialized. He said he was signed when he was 15. And Cindy Crawford of all people should have known the dangers of that. She should have known the dangers.

You’ve got a teenage boy being sent over to New York, to Europe, Hollywood, and he remarked several times about how bizarre it was to grow up in Hollywood. And you better watch him. There are predators in that industry, predators in modeling, in music, in Hollywood. I mean, honestly, can you imagine putting your 13-year-old and 15-year-old in modeling?

I just think it’s a reckless decision. The odds are overwhelmingly against them growing up to be well people.

If that wasn't enough Kelly further claimed that Crawford and her husband Randy Gerber are "by all accounts aren’t drug addicts themselves, but we don’t know that to be honest."

What kind of person would say such a thing to millions of people?

I suspect it would be the sort of person who doesn't care what she says and who she harms as long as she draws her attention to herself and that her name is spelled correctly.

There is nothing a parent dreads more than the thought of their child predeceasing them. That Kelly would see fit to kick Crawford while she is going through the worst moment of her life says a great deal more about Kelly than it does about Crawford. Kelly has demonstrated she is devoid of any humanity.

It ought to be said that Kelly has three children of her own. One would think a mother of three children would be the last person to publicly castigate Crawford in her darkest hour. But perhaps Kelly simply believes she is better than Crawford or perhaps simply jealous of her. It would go a long way in explaining her lack of humanity.

I certainly hope none of Kelly's children should die before she does. Were such an awful thing to come to pass, I suspect that Cindy Crawford would be the first to offer her condolences.

Thoughts on German Chancellor Merz Declaring "Jewish Life is No Longer Safe in Germany"

On Sunday, Germany's Christian Democratic Union suffered massive defeats in state elections in both Berlin and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

In Berlin, the far left Linke Party garnered the most votes while Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania proved to be another triumph for the far Right AfD. Earlier this month, the AfD triumphed in Saxony-Anhalt.

In response to this electoral disaster, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated, “The fact that Jewish life is no longer safe in Germany is the heaviest burden of recent years.” 

As you can imagine, when the German head of state tells the world that his country is no longer safe for Jews then all bets are off.

Merz's pledge that his government will do "everything possible to ensure that Jewish life in Germany, and here in the capital, Berlin, is safe,” is a day late and a Deutschmark short when he has already concluded it is no longer safe to be a Jew in Germany. This reality is reflected in the vote.

Of course, it is less safe to be a Jew all over the world. Yet the declaration of Jews no longer being safe in Germany takes on a whole other meaning. 

Merz's grip on power is on tenterhooks. It is only a matter of time before the Far Left & Far Right rule Germany and Jews will once again be public enemy number one.

No good can come of it. I can only hope it can be stopped but it seems that Germans don't want to stop it. It would seem that Germans are in the mood to kill Jews again.

Just Another Sunday for ICE: Assaulting a U.S. Citizen in Evanston & Shooting a Door Dash Driver in The Back in Austin

For ICE it was just another Sunday as its hoodlums assaulted a U.S. citizen on the streets of Evanston, Illinois while shooting a Door Dash delivery driver in the back in Austin, Texas.

In Evanston (just north of Chicago), the man "resembled" a person sought by ICE and since he was in front of a Mexican restaurant came to the conclusion that he could be wantonly abused. The man in question has not been publicly identified.

Meanwhile, the Door Dash driver has been identified as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national. Despite being shot in the back, ICE insisted he be placed in custody where he slept on a floor and was denied medical attention until being given a pill before being taken back to the hospital this evening.

What else can be said about ICE which hasn't already been said?

Yet so long as ICE persists in engaging in violence against American citizens and immigrants alike, attention must be paid to their cruelty and inhumanity.

There are certain harsh realities. In any nation has which defined borders there will be circumstances under which people will be deported. Under such circumstances, there must be an agency of the government that will perform this role. 

But ICE in its present form cannot go on. It has long ceased to be immigration enforcement agency and has become a domestic paramilitary organization intent on intimidation, injury and death. 

ICE will need to be replaced with another agency and with a new mandate. Of course, even if this comes to pass, it will take years, possibly decades to undo the damage which has been done by the Trump Administration.

Thoughts on The Shooting Outside a Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario on Yom Kippur

When I awoke this morning, I saw a text from my mother notifying me of the shooting which took place in front Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario during Yom Kippur services.

No one inside the synagogue was injured although windows were broken. The gunman, who has been identified as Sean Ward, wounded a police officer guarding the synagogue. That officer has been identified as Constable Jeff Smith who returned fire along with another officer who arrived on the scene striking the assailant. 

Belleville is situated on Lake Ontario about halfway between Toronto and Ottawa. When I took trips on VIA Rail between the two cities I would pass through Belleville. Sadly, such violence can happen anywhere at any time.

As such, I could not help but think of the attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, UK on Yom Kippur last year which claimed the lives of two Jewish congregants. A day later, a mob descended upon 10 Downing Street to cheer the attack. It would come as no surprise to me if there are those who will see fit to publicly praise the attack.

Unfortunately, I believe we can expect more attacks on synagogues not only during the High Holidays, but during Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim and Passover and perhaps this coming October 7th. Of course, for anti-Semites anytime will do when it comes to killing Jews.

I can only hope Constable Smith makes a full recovery and gets every honor that is coming to him. Presuming that Mr. Ward survives his injuries, I hope that he will never see the light of freedom ever again.

Alex Bregman's On Deck Circle Injury Gave Me Flashbacks to Juan Encarnacion

 

During this afternoon's game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds, Cubs third baseman lex Bregman was hit in the face with a foul ball near the on deck circle and has been hospitalized. 

In the fourth inning, Cubs first baseman Michael Busch was facing Reds reliever Luis Mey when Busch fouled off a pitch which bounced and struck Bregman in the face. Bregman ran towards the Cubs dugout grabbing his face and was met the team's training staff who took him into the clubhouse. 

When I learned about what happened to Bregman, I immediately thought about one player - Juan Encarnacion. 

On August 31, 2007, Encarnacion, who was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Cincinnati Reds (coincidentally), was standing in the on deck circle to pinch hit for reliever Randy Flores. Sadly, Encarnacion would never get to the plate as his teammate Aaron Miles lined a foul ball to his face off Reds reliever Jon Coutlangus.

Encarnacion's left eye socket was crushed. The Cardinals medical director, Dr. George Paletta, called Encarnacion's injury "the worst trauma I've seen." In an instant, Encarnacion's 11-year MLB career was over.

I can only hope that Bregman can avoid Encarnacion's fate. It is worth noting that Encarnacion was hit by a line drive whereas the foul pitch which hit Bregman bounced first. However, Bregman was standing a lot closer to the batter than Encarnacion who was standing in the on deck circle. 

In the grand scheme of things, I am surprised that these sorts of injuries don't happen more often given the close proximity between home plate and the on deck circle.

While the Cubs beat the Reds 9-1 and could earn the top NL Wild Card berth, it is cold comfort with the possibility that Alex Bregman's 11-year MLB career might have come to an abrupt end. At the very minimum, I would be surprised if Bregman would be able to play in the post-season. And even if Bregman does come back this post-season, he might do himself more harm than good in the long run even if he does earn another World Series ring.