Loughner Letter Claims I Planned Ahead

The latest updates on the Gabrielle Giffords shooting incident in Tucson
The shooting of United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others is still the dominant story in news and is expected to remain so for the coming days.  Six people have died from the shootings, which took place while the Congresswoman was hosting a public event in Tucson, Arizona.  Fourteen people were injured, including the Congresswoman who was shot in the head.  Below readers can see the latest updates on the story. -  The parents of the shooting suspect, Jared ...

Loughner's parents 'devastated,' 'hurting'
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The parents of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of six people and attempted Assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, are "devastated" and "hurting real bad," a neighbor told The Wall Street Journal. The paper reported that the neighbor, Wayne Smith, broke the news to Randy and Amy Loughner that their son was a suspect in the shootings Saturday. "She almost passed out right there," Smith told the Journal. "He sat in the road with...

Loughner in court over attempted assassination
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 11 January 2011 03.04 GMT Jared Loughner has appeared in court where he was formally charged with two counts of Murder and three of Attempted Murder. Photograph: Mamta Popat/AP Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of shooting six people and wounding 14 others in Saturday's Assassination attempt against the Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has appeared in court, charged with Murder and Attempted Murder. Loughner, 22, who arrived in leg chains and handcuffs and...

Jared Loughner's Parents "Hurting Real Bad"
This March 2010 photo shows a man identified as Jared L. Loughner at the 2010 Tucson Festival of Books in Tucson, Ariz. (AP/Arizona Daily Star, Mamta Popat) CBS News' Bob Orr and Jan Crawford discuss with CBS News' John Dickerson what authorities know about the suspected shooter in Saturday's tragedy in Tucson, Jared Lee Loughner. (CBS) TUCSON - A long-time neighbor of Jared Loughner's family tells The Wall Street Journal that the Tucson shooting rampage suspect's father has prepared a statemen...

The Lefts Script of Hate
“Just the facts, ma’am,” Dragnet’s Joe Friday famously informed witnesses he interviewed. Oft-interviewed Pima County Sherriff Clarence Dupnik might adopt the catchphrase: “Save the facts, ma’am. Just the narrative.” The narrative of right-wing Rhetoric fueling accused mass-murderer Jared Lee Loughner proved so seductive to partisans that they didn’t wait for the compilation of facts, or burial of the dead, to advance their politically opportunisti...

Insanity defense harder now than for Hinckley
In an earlier time, the deeply troubled past of Jared Loughner might have led his lawyers to mount an insanity defense. But that would be harder now, because Congress raised the bar for that claim after a jury found John Hinckley innocent by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan. And the federal system is not alone in posing high hurdles to insanity defenses. State officials plan to charge Loughner as well, and Arizona law does not allow a verdict of Not Guilty by reason of ins...

Insanity defense harder now than for Hinckley
WASHINGTON—In an earlier time, the deeply troubled past of Jared Loughner might have led his lawyers to mount an insanity defense. But that would be harder now, because Congress raised the bar for that claim after a jury found John Hinckley innocent by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan. And the federal system is not alone in posing high hurdles to insanity defenses. State officials plan to charge Loughner as well, and Arizona law does not allow a verdict of not guilt...

Insanity defense harder now than for Hinckley
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an earlier time, the deeply troubled past of Jared Loughner might have led his lawyers to mount an insanity defense. But that would be harder now, because Congress raised the bar for that claim after a jury found John Hinckley innocent by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan. And the federal system is not alone in posing high hurdles to insanity defenses. State officials plan to charge Loughner as well, and Arizona law does not allow a verdict of not...

Arizona gunman in court as Obama leads mourning
The man accused of trying to assassinate a congresswoman in an Arizona Shooting Spree that left six dead appeared in court Monday but said nothing to shed light on his motive. President Barack Obama led the Americans in a somber minute of silence to honor the 20 people gunned down in Tucson -- where he will attend a memorial service on Wednesday, the White House announced. Flags were at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, where hundreds of aides and lawmakers crammed the storied steps of Co...

Cenk Uygur: Was Jared Loughner's Act Political?
Was Jared Loughner's act in shooting Rep. Giffords political? Apparently this is what's being debated with a straight face now. Is this a joke? He shot a politician in the head. He called it an "Assassination." What part of that was unclear? He didn't shoot Gabrielle Giffords randomly and it turned out she just happened to be a politician. He sought her out, targeted her and then tried to kill her based on the fact that she was a politician. He thought the government was the problem and it was...

Poisonous Politics
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 By Patrick J. Buchanan On Feb. 15, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, delusional and a loner, fired his .32-caliber pistol at FDR in the Bayfront Park area of Miami. Five feet tall, Zangara could not aim over the crowd. So, he stood on a folding chair and was piled on after the first of five shots. He wounded four people, including Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago. In two weeks, Zangara, who pled guilty, had been sentenced to 80 years. When Cermak died on March 6, Zangara was re...

The heroesof Arizona
It's an ancient warfare tactic, and one Terrorists of every stripe employ to wreak violence on the innocent: The element of surprise. Once the attacker ambushes presumably unarmed civilians, in a peaceful setting, the Victims are usually paralyzed through shock and cannot defend themselves. It takes remarkable presence of mind to survive – much less mount a unified offensive against the attacker and save other innocents. In the Arizona attack Saturday that killed six and injured 14, the...

Will AZ Shooter Kill the First Amendment?
Joe Guzzardi, FloydReports.com Immediately after crazed gunman Jared Lee Loughner gravely wounded Arizona U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, killed U.S. Judge John M. Roll, and six other people while wounding 12 innocent bystanders, the Immigration Rhetoric subtly ratcheted up. Denouncing Gifford’s shooting, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and others made it clear that what they referred to as “inflammatory Speech” had made the political atmosphere in Arizona so toxic that acts

ADL's Jared Loughner Report: Mental Illness, Not Ideology Likely Led To Tragedy
Mental Illness, rather than Tea Baggery's likely to blame for Loughner's rampage, says the ADL Since Saturday's massacre in Tucson, both the left and the right have parsed alleged killer Jared Lee Loughner's YouTube videos, the statements of his supposed school chums, his favorite books (everything from To Kill a Mockingbird to Mein Kampf), and any other scraps of info out there on the guy. The left has surmised he's your classic anti-government, Wingnut Teabagger. The right's labeled him an a...

The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. Newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com Compiled by ABC News Digital News Associates and Desk Assistants JAYCE HENDERSON, JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ, CLAUDIA MORALES, MOLLY HUNTER and KATY CONRAD Arizona SHOOTING / Gun Control: ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller: “Obama Phones Sheriff Dupnik, Families of the Victims, The Heroes, and Giffor...

Gabrielle Giffords recovery continues in aftermath of Tucson shooting
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords continued her recovery in a Tucson Hospital after Saturday's shooting: The 40-year-old lawmaker was shot through the head Saturday, allegedly targeted by a deranged constituent. Doctors said Sunday that the passage of the bullet through only one side of her brain and her initial responsiveness give hope she could survive and even possibly recover. "We are more and more encouraged," physician Michael Lemole, who is treating Giffords, said on ABC's "Good ...

Arizona shooting suspect could face death penalty
The 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate a US congresswoman and killing six others, appeared in court, his head shaved, a cut on his right temple and in handcuffs. He stared vacantly at a packed courtroom and sat down to listen to whispered instructions from his attorney. Representative Gabrielle Giffords lay about a 100 miles away in an intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot through the head but able to give a thumbs-up sign that doctors found as a reason to hope....

Whos Guilty of Inciting Violence, Mr. President?
Victor Davis Hanson, The Washington Times Very few Americans are fans of both The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the purported Tucson killer, apparently was. Fewer still post on the Internet fears about “brainwashing,” “mind control,” and “conscience dreaming”; have long records of public disruption and aberrant behavior; were expelled from community college; or were rejected summarily for Military service. No matter. ...

Doctor: Gabrielle Giffords 'holding her own' after shooting
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's doctor said the congresswoman was "holding her own" at a Hospital in Tucson early Monday morning, with CT scans showing that the swelling in her brain is not getting any worse. This Story Christina-Taylor Green, 9-year-old killed in Tucson, remembered, mourned Obama calls for national moment of silence for Tucson Victims Doctor: Gabrielle Giffords 'holding her own' after shooting Giffords able to communicate, respond Gabrielle Giffords, congresswoman from A...

Arizona legislature working this week on bill to limit Democrat hate group Westboro from disrupting funerals
Three-time Democrat Kansas gubernatorial, (1990, 1994, and 1998), Senate (1992), and Mayoral (Topeka, 1993 and 1997) Candidate Fred Phelps and his Westboro Democrat Hate Group have announced plans to disrupt the Funerals of all the Victims of this Saturday’s Arizona Murder spree, which left six dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords seriously injured in a failed Assassination attempt by disturbed Leftist Jared Lee Loughner. Democrat Fred Phelps, a staunch Al Gore supporter, has targeted...

The exploitive rhetoric of tragedy
After all, unlike Sarah Palin's absurdly infamous Facebook map with crosshairs on Congressional Districts that some pundits have blamed for the violence, we have some evidence — suspect Jared Lee Loughner's own words — that these books were a direct influence on him. And to listen to partisan ghouls such as Keith Olbermann exploiting this horrific crime, any Rhetoric or writing or images that contributed to it must be stopped and those who don't accept blame and then repent (specific...

The Fix: Why politics never stops
The attempted Assassination of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday has effectively ground partisan politics in Washington to a halt. The planned vote on the Repeal of the Health Care bill, which was scheduled for later this week, has been postponed. President Obama led the nation in a moment of silence this morning. And politicians from both sides have been filling the airwaves with calls to honor Giffords and the other Victims by toning down the political Rhetoric. And yet, for all ...

A tragedy in Tucson, and more arguing on talk TV
NEW YORK (AP) — In the wake of the Arizona shootings, conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck issued a challenge to all Americans to reject violence. Liberal talk-show host Keith Olbermann voiced his own call for repudiating violence. Has Saturday’s rampage inspired a measure of consensus and a softening of Rhetoric among cable TV’s more confrontational hosts? Not that you could tell from Monday’s clash of TV pundits, even as they reacted to accusations that the polarized ...

Our permanent culture of political violence
In the wake of Jared L. Loughner’s attempted Assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords -- part of a shooting rampage that has claimed six lives -- Americans are going through much hand-wringing and some honest soul-searching, while politicians and media pundits have loudly condemned this heinous act of political violence and bemoaned its occurrence. All of these heartfelt expressions are necessary. Words are the only way we can truly express our national grief and sorrow. But much of what i...

Arizona gunman in court as Obama leads mourning
The man accused of trying to assassinate a congresswoman in an Arizona Shooting Spree that left six dead appeared in court Monday but said nothing to shed light on his motive. President Barack Obama led the Americans in a somber minute of silence to honor the 20 people gunned down in Tucson -- where he will attend a memorial service on Wednesday, the White House announced. Flags were at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, where hundreds of aides and lawmakers crammed the storied steps of ...