The Real Tragedy Of The Giffords Shooting May Be Less Access To Members Of Congress

On the memo
Fox News has published the memo reportedly compiled by the Department of Homeland Security and distributed to Arizona Law Enforcement. The memo suggests that the suspect Jared Lee Loughner, 22, may have had an anti-Semitic motivation in targeting Rep. Gabriella Giffords (D-Ariz.) and that he may have been influenced by the Racist group American Renaissance. Earlier Sunday, officials had downplayed that there was such an official DHS memo per se. A read of the document suggests that it may be c...

Historical Perspective on Members of Congress Being Shot
Here's a little historical perspective on members of Congress who have been shot, in the wake of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shot in Arizona. Giffords is currently in intensive care and officials say they are optimistic about her condition after being shot at a "Your Corner" event in Tucson. Authorities say at least five people were killed and 19 injured Saturday. Rep. Leo Ryan was the last member who was shot. He was shot in 1987 before the Jim Jones mass Suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Six Members ...

With Giffords Shooting, a Grim Milestone
The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords raises any number of questions: What is happening to our country? What has happened to our politics? Who would do such a thing? It is an incredibly ugly moment in American life, a reminder that politicians, like citizens, can find themselves at the dangerous end of a gun. From Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln to John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, bullets have pierced our leaders, revealing them to be as mortal as the rest of us. Assassination in America...

NYT: Az Shooter plotted to kill
The info begins to trickle out…. Via NYT: TUCSON- Prosecutors accused Jared Lee Loughner, a troubled 22-year-old College Dropout, of five serious federal charges on Sunday, including the attempted Assassination of a member of Congress, for his role in a shootout that left 20 people wounded, six of them fatally, on Saturday morning. Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix indicated that evidence seized from Mr. Loughner’s home showed that he had planned to kill...

Docs: US Attorney charges alleged gunman
A U.S. attorney in Arizona charged Jared Lee Loughner with five counts on Sunday, including Murder and attempted Assassination. The complaint is here. An accompanying release is up here. According to the complaint, federal investigators found a letter in a safe of Loughner's thanking him for attending a “Congress on Your Corner” event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2007, alongside an envelope with handwritten notes that read “I planned ahead,” “my assassinat...

FASCIST PIGS, FANATICAL IDEOLOGUES, AND DELUSIONAL ILLNESS
One of the more interesting emails I received yesterday after the unfolding of the attempted Assassination of Gabrielle Giffords and the Murder of others, including a Federal Judge in Arizona, was the following: "This is what comes of spewing hate, you fascist pig!" I find it interesting primarily because it encapsulates in an enlightening way the leftist mindset which has been described in the last several posts on Dr. Sanity. I have not met or examined the individual who is in custody for thi...

Congresswoman fights for life after shooting
Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was fighting for her life on Sunday following a shooting rampage that left at least six people, including a nine-year-old girl and a Federal Judge dead. Ms Giffords, a 40-year-old member of the House of Representatives who first took office in 2007, was shot in the head at close range while attending a public event called “Congress on your Corner”, at a Supermarket in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday. EDITOR’S CHOICE Congresswoman fights for life a

Federal Charges Filed Against Suspected Arizona Gunman
Fox News: Federal charges have been filed against Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected gunman in a shooting rampage at a Safeway Supermarket in Arizona that left six dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The five-count Criminal Complaint includes an attempt to kill a member of Congress, two counts of Murder in the first degree and two counts of Attempted Murder. This comes as authorities announced that the man previously thought to be associated with the suspect has been cleare...

Arizona Shooter Jared Loughner Targeted Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Back in 2007
"He was a political radical" "He was Left Wing" "As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal" Loughner's leftwing High School friend Caitie Parker ("I went to high school, college, & was in a band with him") We know Loughner was a poltical radical back in 2007 according to High School friend, college friend, bandmate and fellow liberal Catie Parker.  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Jared Loughner targeted Giffords as far back a...

Federal charges filed in Giffords shooting
Published: Jan. 9, 2011 at 5:44 PM This Surveillance footage released by the Pima County Sheriff's department shows the alleged suspect. He is described as a Caucasian male, approximately 40-50 years old, dark hair, and was last seen wearing Blue Jeans, and dark blue jacket. Anyone who knows the identity of this individual is asked to contact 911, 88-CRIME or the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (520) 791-6974. (UPI/Pima County Sheriff's Department) 6 dead, 13 wounded in Ariz. Shooting Spree ...

Arizona tragedy gives Congress a moment to pause
WASHINGTON—The shooting rampage in Arizona seems to have created a reset moment for confrontational politics, as lawmakers reflect on the repercussions of the overheated Rhetoric traded on the airwaves and on the Campaign Trail. Members of Congress from both parties called Sunday for civility over belligerence as the House temporarily shelved the contentious debate over repealing the Health Care law and lawmakers paused to contemplate the tragedy. Critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Gifford...

Infidel Bloggers Alliance
Gabrielle Giffords was shot because she is Jewish? From Carl: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) wasn't shot because she was pro or anti-immigration. She wasn't shot because she voted against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. She wasn't shot because Sarah Palin targeted her seat in last fall's Elections. And she wasn't shot because she voted for ObamaCare. Gabrielle Giffords was shot because of a much more baseless hatred. Gabrielle Giffords was shot because she is a Jew!

Roger Ailes
Howard Kurtz's Moronic Equivalence Greasy-wigged Republican Howard Kurtz has finally found a Victim in yesterday's massacre in Arizona. It's Sarah Palin. I hate to say this [sic], but the blame game is already under way. It began within hours of Saturday's horrifying shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and nearly 20 others, even before the gunman was identified. Political Target Map as seen on Sarah Palin's website. Inset: Sarah Palin and Gabrielle Giffords (AP Photo) One of t...

Surgeons say Giffords showing positive signs
TUCSON, Ariz. — Doctors treating wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords provided an optimistic update Sunday about her chances for survival, saying they are "very, very encouraged" by her ability to respond to simple commands along with their success in controlling her bleeding. The FBI said Law Enforcement could bring charges against the gunman as early as Sunday, and House Speaker John Boehner said normal House business this week has been postponed in the aftermath of the shooting. Surgeons s...

Police: 2nd suspect in shooting cleared
As John Hinderaker notes, today’s development in the murderous Shooting Spree in Arizona today tend to argue against the notion of a Conspiracy.  The second Person of Interest in the Probe has been cleared as a suspect, as it was the cabbie who drove Jared Loughner to the Supermarket event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and who trailed Loughner after getting stiffed on the fare: Arizona authorities say a second man has been cleared of any involvement in an attempted Assassination of U...

CNN Reporter Raises Palin Crosshairs Map in Relation to Shooting of Rep. Giffords Video 1/9/11
Good grief. “Palin Derangement Syndrome” on full display. Here is video of CNN reporter Jessica Yellin bringing up Sarah Palin’s map last year “targeting” Democrats for defeat because of their support of ObamaCare - including the district of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in the head yesterday in Tucson, Arizona. She brings this up despite the fact she admits that there is no evidence whatsoever that the suspected shooter was in any way a...

Olbermann Calls For Calm Then Blames Republicans For Giffords Shooting
Carol's Blog! Illegal Aliens Now Get Free Heart Surgery and Cancer Treatment - Free heart surgery for illegals is insane unless it is an emergency. Providing emergence medical services wasn't good enough for the Obama administratio... Todays WTF Video: Robot Learns to Flip Pancakes - What could go wrong? Suspect Held in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Shooting i... Roseanne Barr vs Ted Nugent: What Could Go Wrong? ......

Salon Posts Completely False Article About Giffords Shooting
Some guy named Justin Elliott is claiming that the Glock 19 and magazines used in the Giffords shooting yesterday would have been banned by the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. The only thing he got right in his article was the punctuation. The semiautomatic Handgun used in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen other people on Saturday would have been illegal to manufacture and difficult to purchase under the Clinton-era assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. According t...

Gabrielle Giffords shooting: doctors describe congresswoman's injuries
Gabrielle Giffords survived being shot through the head because the bullet did not cross between the two sides of her brain, the surgeons overseeing her treatment said on Sunday....

Gabrielle Giffords shooting: US gun law likely to be unaffected
The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is unlikely to lead to any change in US Gun Laws....

Gabrielle Giffords shooting: inflammatory rhetoric draws real blood
The language of political debate in the US has turned so vitriolic that many hold it responsible for the Arizona shootings....

Attacks on Members of Congress
Here is a CRS report, "Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes While in Office." Ryan Beckwith lists some (most?) of those who were assassinated or murdered. The last appears to be Leo Ryan. ...

Can We Tone Down the Political Rhetoric?
Conservatives have been quick to repudiate - to brand as offensive and disgusting - any suggestion that the Tucson shooting was somehow inspired by the extreme anti-Obama political Rhetoric of the past 2 years. In this, conservatives have the facts on their side. By all reports, the Tucson shooter was a very mentally disturbed person. Even if Jared Lee Loughner was aware that Sarah Palin’s PAC had posted a gun sight next to Congresswoman Gifford’s name, that awareness c...

Justice: The Soul's Astonishment
Can your soul be astonished? More to my point: Can our American souls be astonished? Here are reflections directed to 2012 Presidential Candidates, notably those who still retain a values-based outlook on life and wonder how they can be elected or govern if, as Christians, they are accused of imposing their faith on a nation now being defined as "post-Christian." In all the blather about redistribution of wealth, fairness, and social justice, there lurks an underlying assumption about...

Insanity Nation
First, toldja so: Newsmax declares “Shooter Linked to Left Wing Politics.” Yes, by Newsmax. Apparently it was reported the young man accused of shooting owns copies of The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, which of course (in the minds of righties, who cannot figure out why Hitler was a right-wing psychopath, not a left-wing one) proves he’s a leftie. Anyway, the more I hear about the shooter, the more it appears he was deeply disturbed, possibly psychotic. I am not qualif...