Talk Elections

One Democratic source tells me shooter called out names of people as aiming at targets.

waiting for the sheriff to arrive, about 15-to-20 minutes later. The EMS came about 30 minutes later. Rayle said he was "stunned" by how long it took medical help to arrive.

According to the law enforcement official, the suspect began shouting something before shooting wildly with an automatic weapon. Shots then rang out from the crowd --  a security agent or someone else fired at the suspect who survived.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/08/arizona-congresswoman-reportedly-shot-public-event/#ixzz1ATgUI2lw

On CNN, a reporter [Arizona Daily Star David Fitzsimmons] can't understand "why anyone would shoot a moderate"

Leave it to the classy folks here to immediately turn this into a political debate

Terrorist

If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon.

I define terrorist.

Thus, a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon.

If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.
You call me a terrorist.
Thus, the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem.

In conclusion, reading the second United States Constitution, I can't trust the current government because of the ratification: The government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar.

No!  I won't pay debt with a currency that's not backed by gold and silver!

No!  I won't trust in God!

What's government if words don't have meaning?

The majority of citizens of the United States of America have never read the Constitution of the United States of America.

You don't have to accept federalist laws.

Nonetheless, read the United States of America's Constitution to apprehend all of the current treasonous laws.

You're literate, listener?

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.

First of all, of course, all great wishes for Gabrielle Giffords. I have followed her career reasonably closely since she was elected in 2006, because she has been a pretty courageous Democrat from a district that's historically Republican.

But let's forget all that now. Let's now just do two things. One, pray/hope for her survival and recovery. Two, I would encourage all of you to keep an eye out for any signs of coverage that deplores the shooting but says something like, "Of course, there IS a lot of anger out there, so..." You won't hear that today. But keep an ear out for it Sunday, and Monday. As if there's a rationale for something like this. Just keep an ear out.

It might turn out that the shooter is just a nut. If so, so be it. But I implore you, just keep your ear to the ground. You can just hear it, can't you? "Of course, no one defends something like this, but..." Listen for that part after the but.

Finally, I see that Republicans are expressing the requisite horrified reaction. Good for them, today. But Giffords' office windows were broken during the 2009 healthcare summer of madness. And she cancelled an event just last week. Just keep an eye out.

Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district and when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there are consequences to that action.

Senator John M. McCain of Arizona, a Republican who serves in Washington with Ms. Giffords issued one of the strongest statements, saying: “I am horrified by the violent attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion. I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families.” He added: “Whoever did this; whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law.”

"He was a pot head and into rock, like Hendrix, The Doors, Anti-Flag," she wrote. "I haven't seen him in person since 2007 in a sign language class. As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy. He had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in 2006 and dropped out of school. Mainly a loner, very philosophical."

MSNBC talks to Rep. Gabrielle Gifford about the death threats, vandalism and harassments. Aired 3/25/10.

“Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district and when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there are consequences to that action.”

9-year-old murdered today: Christina Taylor Green. She was student council member, studied ballet and played baseball.

So the train of logic is:
1) anything that can be called an "assassination" is inherently political;
2) very often the "politics" are obscure, personal, or reflecting mental disorders rather than "normal" political disagreements. But now a further step,
3) the political tone of an era can have some bearing on violent events. The Jonestown/Ryan and Fromme/Ford shootings had no detectable source in deeper political disagreements of that era. But the anti-JFK hate-rhetoric in Dallas before his visit was so intense that for decades people debated whether the city was somehow "responsible" for the killing. (Even given that Lee Harvey Oswald was an outlier in all ways.)

That's the further political ramification here. We don't know why the Tucson killer did what he did. If he is like Sirhan, we'll never "understand." But we know that it has been a time of extreme, implicitly violent political rhetoric and imagery, including SarahPac's famous bulls-eye map of 20 Congressional targets to be removed -- including Rep. Giffords. It is legitimate to discuss whether there is a connection between that tone and actual outbursts of violence, whatever the motivations of this killer turn out to be. At a minimum, it will be harder for anyone to talk -- on rallies, on cable TV, in ads -- about "eliminating" opponents, or to bring rifles to political meetings, or to say "don't retreat, reload."

"A reporter called me a little while ago, and told me that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had been shot at a public event. She is in critical condition.

"I'm going to let others comment on what this means for America. I just want to say what it means to me.

"Gabrielle Giffords and I served together on the House Committee on Science and Technology. She was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, and I was a member of that subcommittee. Her D.C. office was one floor above mine.

"I saw Gabby dozens, if not hundreds of times, during our two years together. And nearly every time that I can remember, she was smiling.

"Gabby is one of the most cheerful, charming and engaging people I have ever known. She's always looking on the bright side. She has something good to say about pretty much everyone. Bad news never lays a glove on her. She loves life, and all the people in it.

"No matter what is going on in your life, after fifteen minutes with Gabby, you'll feel that you can touch the stars.

"Everyone knew that Gabby would have a tough race in 2010. (She actually won with 49% of the vote.) But I always thought that if each of her constituents could spend that fifteen minutes with her, and see what she is really like, then she would win with 99.9% of the vote. (Same thing about Harry Teague of New Mexico, who lost, and a few others that I could name.) You would want her as your Congressman, because you would want her as your friend.

"I know nothing about the man who shot Gabby, and what was going through his mind when he did this. But I will tell you this - if he shot Gabby out of hatred, then it wasn't Gabby he was shooting, but rather some cartoon version of her, drawn by her political opposition. Because there is no way - NO WAY - that anyone who really knows Gabby could hate her or hurt her. She is a kind, gentle soul.

"My heart goes out to Mark Kelly, Gabby's husband, and the many, many people who love her. Gabby, we don't want to lose you. Please stay here with us."

-Alan Grayson

Only the top two members of each party, in each chamber, have full-time security detail from the U.S. Capitol Police, as does the president pro tempore of the Senate. Capitol Hill police on Saturday urged members and staff to "take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal safety and security."