Congresswoman Gifford was shot once or twice point blank in the head. Six other Staff members were shot as well. What a sad day for this country. Congresswoman, others shot in Ariz. - Politics - msnbc.com Abner
Sorry, but I have to comment, NPR is awesome! That notwithstanding, this is the first I have heard about this tragedy. Thank you for posting it. According to the article, 5 people have died so far in the attack. What always bothers me about press conferences is that the journalists always make it into a competition into who can ask the best questions. Often this leads to taking a serious situation like this, and having a large amount of people screaming over each other to ask questions that have already been answered, or that nobody really needs nor wants to know. EDIT: Given the vitriol that has overtaken the public political discourse, it should not be a surprise that this has happened. A shock, of course, but not a surprise. I see it happening more often, although I hope I am wrong.
Very true. It was just a matter of time. I like NPR myself. Among the dead and injured are a nine year old child, and a Federal judge. So far, there have been 15 shooting victims according to the news. Abner
Interesting video from Congresswoman Gifford FYI, YouTube - Gabrielle Giffords warns Sarah Palin there will be consequences. Abner
Well she is not dead like the radio had said. She is still alive and that they are looking for a second gun man. The shooter "Jared Loughner" was discribed by friends as "Very Left".
If this is true, then the Dems who jumped to place political blame on Reps have a whole lot of egg on their face. Reading around the internet, I have seen an amazing ammount of hypocrisy from leftist bloggers who directly blame conservative radio and TV hosts for these deranged actions. So far, the experts are speculating that the suspect is schizophrenic, and had become increasingly disconnected with reality over the past few months. I wrote above my opinion that heated political rhetoric seemed to be a major catalyst in these killings, but it's starting to look like yet another situation where someone badly needed help but was too far gone to properly estimate the level of his own disturbance. Politics may have just been a scapegoat for what he had amounted to. Sometimes the same thing happens between mentally disturbed people with their obsessions with celebrities, or extreme paranoia of a more general nature. I'm sure that in the months to come, a lot more will be known about the shooter and his mental condition. Last I checked, there were reports that 19 people were shot (more than the 15 that were reported earlier) and 6 people had died (more than the 5 reported earlier), and that Congresswoman Giffords was still alive.
Based on what I have heard today on the Sunday morning political shows, a lot of people are jumping to the conclusion that there was some clear political agenda to these shootings but it seems to me that it's more likely that this was a case of a mentally ill person acting out some delusional drama. I'm not even sure that it could be said that Giffords was specifically targeted. I heard that the Federal Judge was there because he just happened to drop in on a friend. Certainly the little girl wasn't a target.
I was one of those conclusion-jumpers, but at this point, I think that your theory makes a lot more sense, given the preliminary information about this person's life and character.
I agree with most of what you said, though I do believe Rep. Giffords was targeted. Loughner specifically mentioned her Congressional district in one of his Youtube videos.
OK. Maybe it's a bad thing, but I'm not paying that much attention. I don't know anything about any youtube connections. Regardless of the nature of his problem, I'm glad he's in custody and I'm very sorry for the deaths and the sorrow.
Amazing.......yet is was considered by most in the media that is was anti-Muslim and biggotted to note that Major Hassan was a Muslim and the shootings at Ft. Hood could have had an Islamic terrorist motivation.
So far the Left has blamed Sarah Palin, conservative talk show hosts and anti-immigration activists for the crime. Maybe they ought to wait until there is some real proof that the shooter had some political motivation and exactly what that motivation was before accusing people and groups of being somehow distantly complicit in the crime. I can understand how folks on the Left can be upset about one of their own being gunned down, but baseless accusations like these are positively immoral. Just imagine if a conservative politician was harmed and National Review started accusing "Blacks" or "Arabs" of causing the crime without any evidence. The Left would go ballistic......and they would be right to do so.
It's funny. I've seen a whole lot more from the right saying that the left has been doing this than the left actually doing this. That Gabrielle Giffords interview however, was absolutely horrible. I knew that it would blow up right in her face for saying what she did... and I knew that certain righties would point to it and say "SEE, that's what LIBERALS are doing!" Here is a great Niel Bortz article that found by searching for "Palin's Map." Sarah Palin's Map - Neal Boortz - Townhall Conservative It's very on-point, he basically PWNS anyone who wants to make a connection between the Palin map and the shootings, but then ruins the whole deal by trying to get yet another cheapshot in at liberals. Do people like Niel Bortz and Keith Olberman have fully functional brains? If they wake up in the morning and stub their toe, the first thing that comes to mind is how to blame the opposing party for it. In fact, so far, all we know about the killer's political views is that some of his former classmates consider him to be liberal *scary music... DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!!!!!* That should put that question to rest.
Most of the media also made it a point to comment that he'd shaved his head. I heard it all day long the day Loughner was arraigned. What was the point of that? Are they intimating that we shaven head people should all go on a watch list or something? It just seems like coverage of this event and its aftermath was unusually stupid even by the paltry standards of American journalism. -=Steve=-
Steve you have a shaved head and often travel out of the country...you’re on the left as well, oh yes you work in higher education.....I don't know about now but during the Bush Era I bet you made a few watch lists!!! lolz
All true, well, except the part about me being on the left. I've always said the less government the better. Actually that's another thing I suppose I have in common with Loughner, that I sometimes write about going back to using gold and silver as money. Heh, maybe someday I'll do a FOIA request for my FBI file. -=Steve=-
That's crazy I'm all about going back on silver (not gold). I have been buying coins and bars left and right. I just picked up a bunch of 50 gram bars for $30 each off of Amazon. It was well below market value.
