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Shooting At Annunciation School Church In Minneapolis Leaves Multiple Children Dead And Many Injured

In Defense of Thoughts and Prayers

Hectoring people for displaying heartfelt sympathy accomplishes nothing.
Jonah Goldberg /
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks to the media following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 27, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

“Prayer is not freaking enough,” MSNBC host and former Biden press secretary  Jen Psaki declared on X after the horrifying church shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday. “Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Dispatch, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, enormous lizards roamed the Earth. More immediately prior to that, Jonah spent two decades at National Review, where he was a senior editor, among other things. He is also a bestselling author, longtime columnist for the Los Angeles Times, commentator for CNN, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. When he is not writing the G-File or hosting The Remnant podcast, he finds real joy in family time, attending to his dogs and cat, and blaming Steve Hayes for various things.

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