Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition, 6 others killed in Arizona

[Sam Spade]

breaking...

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona

Heading changed to reflect further information.

Update: 2:38 PM

[Sam Spade]

Local media say "shot point blank in the head" right now, which would not be good.  Site is down.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2011/01/08/gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-head-in-tucson/

[Sam Spade]

Fox News has it up to 12 people shot.  Shooter was apparently caught and is in custody.

[Sam Spade]

Some twitter link I followed names two Giffords staffers also among those "shot". ("Shot" feels like a strange term to me because it doesn't give information on a crucial count - is she alive? - and is untranslatable in German.)

Unknown - she was transported to the local hospital and we'll have to wait on that front.

[Sam Spade]

She's dead, Jim.

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona

Further:  Witnesses described as in his late teens or early 20s.  No race or motive given yet.

[Sam Spade]

http://gawker.com/5728501/arizona-congresswoman-shot-outside-grocery-store

[Sam Spade]

KOLD-TV is reporting that Giffords is currently in surgery - the hospital apparently called the station.

ugh - headline change again.  NPR, you suck.  You need to be defunded at this rate.

[Sam Spade]

anyway, I have to go now.  May be back later - if the mods want to alter the title when we find out more, please do so.

As usual, certain posters on Atlas are clearly putting their "best efforts" on this one.

[Sam Spade]

Catch it before it gets taken down.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10

Myspace was too quick.

[Sam Spade]

The idiots misspelled his name - its Jared Loughner.  The myspace account taken down and referenced in his youtube (fallenasleep) is definitely him.

Appears like he's a real lunatic.

[Sam Spade]

Name:
Jared Lee Loughner
Channel Views:
271
Joined:
October 25, 2010
Website:
http://Myspace.com/fallenasleep
About Me:
 
My name is Jared Lee Loughner!
Hometown:
Tucson
Country:
United States
Schools:
I attended school: Thornydale elementary,Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View Highschool, Northwest Aztec Middle College, and Pima Community College.
Interests:
My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. Conscience dreams were a great study in college!
Movies:
(*My idiom: I could coin the moment!*)
Music:
Pass me the strings!
Books:
I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver's Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno.

[Sam Spade]

I doubt we're ever going to know a particularly coherent motivation for someone who, judging by his YouTube, is probably a paranoid schizophrenic.

Yes, but that won't stop certain people from trying.

[Sam Spade]

Loughner applied for the military, but was rejected.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_91db5db4-1b74-11e0-ba23-001cc4c002e0.html

[Sam Spade]

And what is with so many people here turning a very tragic event into "omgz teabaggers! bla bla bla 2nd amendment! bla bla!" hackfest? This thread is about Giffords and the others who lost their lives, not about Palin and others being idiots, seriously STFU already.

The Sheriff of Pima County spoke several times about vitriol from radio talk show hosts and general political discourse and how absolutely destructive it is in his press conference.

I'm not terribly surprised that he would.

[Sam Spade]

(sigh)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio

[Sam Spade]

lying bitch.

ah, so this is the type of rhetoric we should be using to promote nonviolence. i see.

and what exactly does that have to do with violence? Actually, don't bother.

Well, it doesn't contribute to a softening of tone that many in these threads are calling for.

It seems, not just through reading this thread, but through the responses of many persons who were quick to point fingers and even quicker to call for the silencing of opinions of other people with certain political views under the guise of "bringing civility back to political discussions", that there is little interest in softening the tone of the political debate, as the actual effect of these unsubstantiated accusations is similar to the effect of poking one's fingers into the eyes of the neighbor's pet dog repeatedly.

There is zero evidence that the "heightened political rhetoric" of the past two years has anything to do with what occurred.  And if it did, big deal.  American political history is full of incendiary rhetoric, violence and calls for revolution.  And we're better for it because of it, imho.

[/2 cents]

[Sam Spade]

This is a conservative blogger, so caveat emptor, but I posted it because of the Reuters article which says:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://thechollajumps.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/jared-loughner-is-a-product-of-sheriff-dupniks-office/

[Sam Spade]

I thought the speech was excellent and quite appropriate, if not exactly matching the feelings of what normal people feel about the tragedy.  Of course, it was way too long, but that is to be expected.