I Would Very Much Like an Alternative Explanation of This...

Lessons from the tragedy in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona was the site of a shooting on Saturday that left 6 dead, 20 injured, including a sitting member of the House of Representatives.  The attempted Assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has shocked our nation's Capital and gripped the entire country.  What , if anything, can or should be learned from this horrific event? While I reject the notion that any individual or group of individuals aided, abetted, or incited this lunatic to violence, I will accept ...

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords/AZ Shooting: Malloy, Lieberman React
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition at an Arizona Hospital following Saturday's shootings at a Supermarket in Tucson. Jared Loughner is scheduled to make a court appearance in Phoenix today on 5 federal charges stemming from the attempted Assassination of the Congresswoman, and the Murder of 6 others and the shooting of 13 others who were injured, and have survived thus far. Doctors remained "cautiously optimistic" regarding Gabby's prospects for recovery in a briefing...

Massacre in Tucson A Sad Day for America: Salzburger Nachrichten, Austria
How responsible is right-wing Rhetoric for the Assassination attempt against Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? According to columnist Thomas Spang of Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten, where to pin the blame couldn’t be clearer. For the Salzburger Nachrichten, Thomas Spang writes in part: For months, the political right has been turning up the heat in the United States. In this poisoned atmosphere, a young man reaches for his gun. In the political discourse of the United ...

Doctors: No Change In Giffords' Condition, Not Out Of The Woods Yet
Dr. Michael Lemole, left, chief of Neurosurgery, and Dr. Peter Rhee, trauma director, discuss Rep. Giffords' condition. (AP) NEXT » The medical team at University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson announced that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot in the head on Saturday during an apparent Assassination attempt, remains in critical condition. Chief of neurosurgery Dr. Michael Lemole said, "At this phase in the game, no change is good, and we have no change," but added, "We're ...

Should Congressional Staff be armed?
In the wake of the terrible Assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the Murder and assaults on so many of her constituents, some members of Congress are talking openly about their concerns for their safety and security. While this incident seems to clearly be the work of an insane individual without rational motivation (other than an obsession with Giffords which dates back several years), concerns about the safety of members of Congress for any future attacks will remain a topic of...

Florida Delegation Weighs In on Arizona Tragedy
While Gov. Rick Scott issued an order Monday for all flags at state buildings to fly at half-staff this week in remembrance of Victims of the Mass Shooting in Arizona, members of Florida’s congressional delegation weighed in on the tragic events. The shooting resulted in the death of six people, and others -- including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. -- were wounded. Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz took to the airwaves, appearing on NBC’s Meet the Pre...

Could Anything Have Stopped Loughner?
The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of six and wounding of 13 others in Tucson is one of those American tragedies that threatens to be interpreted according to what one wants to believe. The shootings will be argued over and debated as more information comes forward, but what seems unavoidable is that the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, was a nutbar through and through, and there was no way he could have been deterred. Arizona’s curious (to Canadians) Gun Laws that ...

What Riverdaughter said
There seem to be two major camps regarding this tragedy: Sarah Palin is a monster and the Tea Partiers must be blamed. Or, Sarah Palin is the scapegoat and her picture had nothing to do with this tragic incident. I prefer the third way. .... In the past 18 years, starting with the advent of Rush Limbaugh, we saw a ratcheting up of Right Wing Extremism. ... And it is into this environment that Sarah Palin steps as the champion of a new set of people. A group that even the Right Wing Republicans ...

Is al Qaeda the Greater Assassination Threat?
I'm with Joe in thinking that the tragic Tucson shootings are being over-politicized, and likewise Jon Chait has wise words on the subject. (I think Jon understates the influence that inflammatory Rhetoric can have on the mentally unstable, but then I'm no psychologist.) That said, the most explicit political talk of things like "Second Amendment remedies" is wildly irresponsible and hopefully this tragedy can serve as an opportunity to stamp out that sort of conversation, whether or not there's...

Remembering Arizona's Victims
The US Capitol dome is shown in the background as flags fly at half staff in honor of the Victims of the shooting in Arizona that injured US Representative Gabrielle Giffords, at the Washington Monument in Washington January 9, 2011. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expression, and worship. Read more... We invite all Americans who share these...

Doctor: No change in Giffords' condition
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The condition of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot in an attack at a Tucson political event, was unchanged Monday, and a doctor said that was positive news. "We're not out of the woods yet," said Dr. G. Michael Lemole, section chief of Neurosurgery at University Medical Center in Tucson. "At this phase in the game, no change is good and we have no change," Lemole said at a briefing on the condition of Giffords and others wounded in the Saturday shooting rampage outside o...

Lawyers For 'Unabomber,' White Supremacist To Represent Jared Lee Loughner
The Federal Public Defender's Office on Monday requested that the court appoint Judy Clarke and Mark Fleming to represent Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect allegedly behind the Mass Shooting on Saturday that killed a Federal Judge and gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Clarke previously represented "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski and assisted in the case of confessed al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui. Fleming represented Aryan Brotherhood defendant Travis Dally in a federal capital mu...

Hundreds of congressional staffers observe moment of silence for those killed and injured in Giffords attack (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller Fanatical Fans: Professional sports team's finest [SLIDESHOW] Hinojosa voices support for bill that curbs 'threatening' Speech against lawmakers Politico’s Ben Smith gives credence to baseless SPLC comments on Tea Party connection in Arizona shooting Hundreds of congressional Staffers observe moment of silence for those killed and injured in Giffords attack Marco Rubio: I want to be a senator, not president or vice president Hundreds of congressional s...

Report from the Hill
REPORT FROM THE HILL.... I traded emails today with a Capitol Hill Staffer with whom I speak regularly, and I think the aide's perspective is worth passing along. (I'm republishing the staffer's note in its entirety with permission.) To say hill staff is shook up after the weekend's events would be an understatement. We are family up here and I know I'm not the only who has already gotten requests from family to find another line of work. We have had this in the back of our minds for quite som...

Rhetorical Reality
In “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” Randy Newman’s wistful, Bush-era song about the end of the American empire, there is a line about “the leaders we have/are the worst we’ve ever had/but they’re not the worst this poor world has ever seen.” Words to take to heart as we debate whether or not Hate Speech on the right—above all, on Fox News, in the blogosphere, and on Talk Radio—has made events like the attempted Assassination of Congr...

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy to introduce gun legislation in wake of Giffords shooting
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Democrat representing NY's 4th District, is introducing Legislation this week that will ban assault weapon magazines like the ones used to kill six people and critically wound thirteen others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on Saturday in Tuscon. Read Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's official statement on the Gabrielle Giffords shooting . Firearm magazines made after 1994 that  hold more than 10 bullets had been llegal under the assault weapo...

Giffords shooting leads nation to introspection and political finger wagging
In the wake of the shooting in Arizona this weekend that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and that killed and injured more than 20 people, many pundits and politicians are pointing fingers. Others are hoping the incident will serve to ratchet down rancor. Yet emerging details make it clear the shooter wasn’t primarily motivated by politics, right or left. Jared Lee Loughner seems mainly to have been struggling with Mental Illness and was angry at being thrown out of Pima Communi...

Arizona's Eighth Congressional District Epitomized Over-The-Top Demonization Of Liberals
While it is critical to understand that Jared Loughner's Terrorist Attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and dozens of her constituents over the weekend was not directly caused by the words of her political opponents, the tragedy in Arizona presents an opportunity to examine the nature of our political discourse. Giffords' district, the Arizona Eighth, is a prime example of overheated Rhetoric. Her 2010 campaign was plagued by Vandalism and death threats from anonymous citizens, as well as hyperbol...

Arizona Ranks 15th in Number of Handgun Murders
New evidence continues to surface about the circumstances surrounding Saturday's tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, where Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was a Victim of a shooting outside a Grocery Store where she had been meeting with constituents. Six victims have died as a result of the attack, with another 14 wounded, including Giffords. Among the facts now known are that the suspect, Jared Loughner, legally purchased the Glock semiautomatic Handgun used in the Murders at a st...

Shooting Victim Died Saving Wife
Huffington Post reports: The longtime pastor of 76-year-old Dorwan Stoddard, one of the six Victims of Saturday’s Arizona shooting, says he had a conversation with Stoddard’s wife in the Hospital that leads him to believe Stoddard died trying to protect her from the spraying bullets. “According to Mavy when I talked to her in the hospital, when the gunshots went off Dorwan pulled her down and ended up on top of her,” Michael Nowak, pastor of the Mountain Avenue Church o...

ABC chief: Giffords coverage shows lack of unity
The new president of ABC News says his organization needs to work with more unity, and its weekend coverage of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting proved it. Unlike rivals CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News Channel, ABC did not broadcast Saturday's false report that Gifford had died, which originated with National Public Radio. But for 10 minutes, the ABC.com website used an incorrect headline in a banner. ABC News President Ben Sherwood says he still hasn't figured out who was responsible. He says "it wa...

Giffords Predecessor: There Isn't Anything in Arizona That's Uniquely Different
ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords over the weekend has prompted a reexamination of the nation’s Gun Laws, with a particular focus on Arizona, with its lax laws about Gun Ownership in addition to its tinderbox politics on Immigration and other hot-button issues. But on ABC’s “Top Line” today, former Rep. Jim Kolbe - who represented Giffords’ district in Congress for 22 years before retiring in 2006 - said it’s a mist

A Moment of Silence (VIDEO) led by President Obama
President Barack Obama led a moment of silence on Monday morning for a saddened, shocked nation that was subjected to an attempted Assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords .  The Assassination attempt resulted in the Murder of 6 individuals and the injury of 14 others.  At 11:00AM, the President and First Lady Michelle Obama entered the south lawn of the White House, stood side-by-side with hands clasped in front of them, heads down, and eyes closed for one minut...

Shameless: Politico.com insinuates the right wanted Giffords dead over green stance
As I noted yesterday in response to the attempted Assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8), the Mainstream Media has been nothing short of shameless in its attempts to try and insinuate - or outright declare - that it was “the right” who targeted her for Murder. Josh Trevino wrote yesterday numerous times on Twitter about how Politico had joined in on the “Right Wing vitriol” bandwagon. Today, they continue to add to it with their latest extremely irr...

Obama Leads Moment of Silence after Shooting
Monday, January 10, 2011 By Lou Kesten, Associated Press In this March, 2010 photo provided by the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Giffords poses for a photo. Giffords was critically wounded during a shooting at a political event Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords) Washington (AP) - A somber President Barack Obama led a moment of silence on Monday for a nation stunned by an attempted Assassination against an Arizona congresswoman that left...