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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Ariz. shooting suspect not cooperating, sheriff says
Investigators find envelope at Loughner's residence with handwritten phrases 'I planned ahead' and 'My assassination' and 'Giffords'
Below:
TUCSON, Ariz. — A 22-year-old man charged with trying to assassinate a U.S. congresswoman in a shooting spree that left six people dead has remained silent and has not been cooperating with the investigation, according to a sheriff.
Jared Loughner, described as a social outcast with wild beliefs steeped in paranoia and deep distrust of government, was due to make his first court appearance Monday at 4 p.m. ET.
At 11 a.m. ET, President Obama led the nation in a moment of silence to remember the victims.
A federal judge, a congressional aide and a young girl were among the six killed Saturday, while Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others were injured in the bursts of gunfire outside a Tucson supermarket.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, where the shootings occurred, said Loughner was not cooperating and told ABC News the suspect had said "not a word" to investigators.
Dupnik said authorities were all but certain Loughner acted alone, saying "he's a typical troubled individual who's a loner."
NYT: Bloodshed puts focus on vitriol in politics
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But Dupnik told the TODAY show that political rhetoric may have contributed to Loughner's actions.
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"I think the tone of rhetoric that's occurred in this country over the past couple of years affects troubled personalities," he told TODAY.
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'My assassination'
Investigators said they had found an envelope at Loughner's residence with the handwritten phrases "I planned ahead" and "My assassination," along with the name "Giffords" and what appeared to be Loughner's signature.
Federal officials told NBC News they also found a note addressed to Rep. Giffords -- but apparently never sent -- in which Loughner expresses his strong dislike for her.
Those familiar with the letter describe it as threatening, but they say it does not state that he intended to kill her. It is not clear, one official says, when it was written.
Police said Loughner purchased the semi-automatic Glock pistol used in the attack in November.
The New York Times reported that court documents indicated Loughner had bought the weapon legally from the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Tucson. The state's laws allow the carrying of concealed weapons.
An official familiar with the shooting investigation said Sunday that local authorities were looking at a possible connection between Loughner and an online group known for white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said local authorities were examining the American Renaissance website for possible motives.
The group's leaders said in a posting on their website that Loughner never subscribed to their magazine, registered for any of the group's conferences or visited their Internet site.
Loughner will be represented in court by Judy Clarke, the lawyer who helped defend Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, the federal defenders' office said.
"Our understanding is that Judy Clarke is who is assigned to the case and she has accepted," Manny Tarango, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Phoenix, said.
Clarke, a former federal public defender in San Diego and Spokane, Wash., also served on teams that defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy McVeigh and Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who drowned her two sons in 1994.
.'Time for us to come together'
As the investigation continued, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle observed a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House as members of Congress stood on the steps on the Capitol.
The president and first lady walked out and stood with hands clasped and heads bowed for approximately one minute and then walked back inside.
.."It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart," Obama said Sunday in a statement.
The six killed included U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63, and 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and was featured in a book called "Faces of Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the day terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.
Green was recently elected as a student council member and went to the morning's event because of her interest in government.
Story: Slain girl’s father: We wish we could have been with her
Others killed were Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman, 30; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Scheck, 79.
McConnell vows 'thoughtful' response
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined students at the Martha Layne Collins High School near Louisville, KY, for the national moment of silence.
Aides said McConnell had told that students that "violence has no place in the democratic process, and this heinous crime will not deter any of us from carrying out our duties."
"This is a devastating personal tragedy for those who were directly involved, but it is also a national tragedy," a copy of his prepared remarks said.
Slideshow: Mourning follows deadly shooting in Arizona (on this page) "When an elected representative is gunned down in the very act of exchanging ideas with his or her constituents, democracy itself is attacked. And all Americans are united in condemning this unspeakable act of violence," McConnell added.
He said the legislative calendar would be revised, "ensuring that our response to this attack is thoughtful and deliberate."
"As part of that, we will of course, thoroughly review the safety precautions that members of Congress take and consider what, if anything, needs to change," he added.
Connecticut Rep. John Larson, who heads the House Democratic Caucus, said Sunday that lawmakers will continue to have open sessions with their constituents, although they are likely to take more precautions.
The chief law enforcement official in the House, Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood, was holding a conference call Monday with House members to discuss security.
FBI Director Robert Mueller cautioned public officials to be on alert, but said there was no information to suggest a further specific threat.
HO / Reuters Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was in critical condition in hospital, but was able to hold two fingers up when asked. Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat, was in critical condition after surgery, but was able to follow simple commands, such as holding up two fingers when asked, doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson said.
A single bullet traveled the length of her brain on the left side, hitting an area that controls speech. Given the devastating wound, doctors said they were uncertain about the extent of brain damage she may have suffered.
She has been put into a pharmaceutical coma but is being awakened frequently to check her progress.
Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery at Univ. of Ariz., who operated on Giffords, told TODAY that he remained "cautiously optimistic."
Video: Neurosurgeon: Giffords ‘holding her own’ (on this page) "I just came from Congresswoman Giffords' bedside and I'm happy to say she's holding her own. And that is to say that she's doing the same things she was yesterday. And that's the most we can hope for at this time," he told TODAY.
"She's still within the window where it could go either way," he added.
'What is going on in our country?'
Giffords' husband Mark Kelly, an astronaut due to go into space in three months as possibly the last space shuttle commander, rushed to his wife's bedside Saturday.
In a statement, he thanked people for the outpouring of support. "Many of you have offered help. There is little that we can do but pray for those who are struggling," he said in the statement.
Video: Giffords discusses Palin's crosshairs last year (on this page) Kelly also said it was important to remember those who died in the shooting.
His identical twin brother, Scott, is currently on the International Space Station. He and the ISS crew took part in the moment of silence.
"My sister-in-law, Gabrielle Giffords is a kind, compassionate, brilliant woman, loved by friends and political adversaries alike — a true patriot. What is going on in our country that such a good person can be the subject of such senseless violence?" he wrote in a message posted on Twitter from space.
Reuters, The Associated Press, NBC and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:01 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| I see the resident idiots on the left, including Sheriff Dupnik, Hanoi Jane, & a lot of the media blaming republicans in general and Sarah Palin in particular for the shooting. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:48 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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In response to the question "Does political rhethoric (sic) encourage violence?" I believe nasty political rhetoric incites anger, disgust, or if one is wise, (s)he will ignore it. The violent response might come from someone who lacks personal control. Personally, I'm inclined to be anti- the person who uses nasty, attacking verbiage, and it's a waste of time and breath to get involved.
I don't believe the violence by the individual in this story was encouraged by political rhetoric. More like he has mental problems and was enraged by something he took personally. |
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:44 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Andy Heller of the journal was one of the first to join in with the blame Palin crowd. Its like they all checked in to see what the daily Kos told them to spew. Idiots now they look like bigger fools than they did before if thats possible.  |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:00 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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quote:
00SL2 schreef:
In response to the question "Does political rhethoric (sic) encourage violence?" I believe nasty political rhetoric incites anger, disgust, or if one is wise, (s)he will ignore it. The violent response might come from someone who lacks personal control. Personally, I'm inclined to be anti- the person who uses nasty, attacking verbiage, and it's a waste of time and breath to get involved.
I don't believe the violence by the individual in this story was encouraged by political rhetoric. More like he has mental problems and was enraged by something he took personally.
Speech has long been used to incite emotion and even violence. In this time of intense media exposure. Thats why people hold rallies of like minded people. Look historically at lynch mobs, etc.
You are correct about the weak and the socially challenged , as well as the mentally incompetant, being more vulnerable. |
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Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:40 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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| Still waiting for any of the leftists out there to show one shred of proof that this whackjob had been inspired by Palin, Rush or Foxnews. You know it is a fact he was a heavy pot smoker so maybe its time to take another look at those who want to ease pot restrictions. That should calm the leftys down. |
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Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:11 am |
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Dave Starr
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** Obama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
** Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
** Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
** Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
** Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“
** Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
** Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
** Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
** Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.” |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:22 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:29 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:27 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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■ “I’m waiting for the day when I pick it up, pick up a newspaper or click on the Internet and find out he’s choked to death on his own throat fat or a great big wad of saliva or something, you know, whatever. Go away, Rush, you make me sick!” — Left-wing radio host Mike Malloy on the January 4, 2010 Mike Malloy Show, talking about Rush Limbaugh going to the hospital after suffering chest pains.
■ MSNBC’s Chris Matthews in 2009 fantasized about the death of Rush Limbaugh: “Somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp”
■ Author/humorist P.J. O’Rourke: “It’s the twilight of the radio loud-mouth, you know? I knew it from the moment the fat guy-”
Host Bill Maher: “You mean Rush Limbaugh and Sean-”
O’Rourke: “-from the moment the fat guy refused to share his drugs....”
Maher: “You mean the OxyContin that he was on?...Why couldn’t he have croaked from it instead of Heath Ledger?” — HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, February 8, 2008.
■ MSNBC’s Amy Robach in 2006 mildly wondered if “Death of a President” movie depicting the imagined assassination of President Bush was “poor taste or, as some say, thought-provoking?”
■ On his radio show in 2009, Ed Schultz wished for Dick Cheney’s death: “He is an enemy of the country, in my opinion, Dick Cheney is, he is an enemy of the country … Lord, take him to the Promised Land, will you?”
■ Also on his radio show, in 2010, Schultz shouted: “Dick Cheney’s heart’s a political football. We ought to rip it out and kick it around and stuff it back in him!”
■ Then-Air America host Montel Williams in 2009 urged Congresswoman Michele Bachmann to kill herself: “Slit your wrist! Go ahead! I mean, you know, why not? I mean, if you want to – or, you know, do us all a better thing. Move that knife up about two feet. I mean, start right at the collarbone.”
■ Writing on the Huffington Post in 2007, radio host Charles Karel Bouley mocked: “I hear about Tony Snow and I say to myself, well, stand up every day, lie to the American people at the behest of your dictator-esque boss and well, how could a cancer NOT grow in you? Work for Fox News, spinning the truth in to a billion knots and how can your gut not rot?”
■ “I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact.” — Host Bill Maher on his HBO show Real Time, March 2, 2007, discussing how a few commenters at a left-wing blog were upset that an attempt to kill Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan had failed.
■ “Earlier today, a rental truck carried a half a million ballots from Palm Beach to the Florida Supreme Court there in Tallahassee. CNN had live helicopter coverage from the truck making its way up the Florida highway, and for a few brief moments, America held the hope that O.J. Simpson had murdered Katherine Harris.” — Bill Maher on ABC’s Politically Incorrect, November 30, 2000.
■ Host Tina Gulland: “I don’t think I have any Jesse Helms defenders here. Nina?”
NPR’s Nina Totenberg: “Not me. I think he ought to be worried about what’s going on in the Good Lord’s mind, because if there is retributive justice, he’ll get AIDS from a transfusion, or one of his grandchildren will get it.” — Exchange on the July 8, 1995 Inside Washington, after Helms said the government spends too much on AIDS.
■ “I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease....He is an absolutely reprehensible person.” — USA Today columnist and Pacifica Radio talk show host Julianne Malveaux on Justice Clarence Thomas, November 4, 1994 PBS To the Contrary.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-bozell/2011/01/12/newsbusters-publisher-bozell-condemns-death-wishes-against-conservativ#ixzz1AqIOjDan |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:22 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sarah Palin. in an attempt to extricate herself from the controversy surrounding the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. used the term "blood libel ",
This has erupted in a new controversy as the term is used to demonize Jews and represents a falsehood that Jews used Christian childrens blood in rituals. Giffords is the first Jewish female to be elected to Congress from Arizona.
Was Palin unaware of the meaning of the term or was she race baiting? There are those who thinks she is not intelligent to understand or she is simply arrogant. |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 6:11 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Palin Goes Nuclear With 'Blood Libel' Speech
by Howard Kurtz Info
Howard Kurtz is The Daily Beast's Washington bureau chief. He also hosts CNN's weekly media program Reliable Sources on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET. The longtime media reporter and columnist for The Washington Post, Kurtz is the author of five books.
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print TwitterEmailShare In a nearly eight-minute video, Sarah Palin says "journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite" hatred. Howard Kurtz on her un-presidential move and why "blood libel" offends Jewish people.
The talk in political circles has been that Sarah Palin had a rare opportunity in the wake of the Tucson tragedy to reach out beyond her base and recalibrate her image beyond that of a gun-toting mama grizzly.
After all, the strategists said, there was some sympathy for her—beyond the Palin-haters—for being tied to the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, even if she had erred with her “reload” talk and by posting that map with the gun-sight targets last year.
Instead, Palin chose to throw kerosene on the embers of a smoldering national controversy.
“Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding,” Palin said in a video on her Facebook page, “journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.”
Blood libel, for those who are not familiar, describes a false accusation that minorities—usually Jews—murder children to use their blood in religious rituals, and has been a historical theme in the persecution of the Jewish people.
Had Palin scoured a thesaurus, she could not have come up with a more inflammatory phrase.
As someone who has argued that linking her rhetoric to the hateful violence of Jared Loughner is unfair, I can imagine that the former governor was angry about how liberal detractors dragged her into this story. But after days of silence, she had a chance to speak to the country in a calmer, more inclusive way. She could have said that all of us, including her, needed to avoid excessively harsh or military-style language, without retreating one inch from her strongly held beliefs.
Instead she went the blood libel route.
She added that blame for the shooting of 20 people should rest “not with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election.”
With her defiant video, Palin continued—no, escalated—her war with the press, which plays so well with her strongest supporters (despite a recent thaw in which she actually granted a few interviews to the lamestream media). She continued her us-versus-them approach to political discourse. She punched back at critics rather than trying to fashion a unifying message.
I would say that sounds like the response of someone who wants to stoke her base and further her lucrative career as a culture warrior—not someone who is plotting to run for president.
Update: One thing that Palin’s comments have done, judging from the early coverage, is to take the spotlight off the victims and make this about her—perhaps more so than she intended. Here are some other voices today:
Jonathan Chait, the New Republic: “Okay, it's a little over the top for Sarah Palin to accuse her critics of "blood libel." But she does have a basic point. She had nothing to do with Jared Loughner…What's happening is that Palin has come to represent unhinged grassroots conservatism, and people in the media immediately (and incorrectly) associated Loughner with the far right.”
Andrew Sullivan, the Atlantic: “This message—even at a time of national crisis—was a base-rousing rallying cry, perpetuating her own victimhood and alleged bloodthirstiness of her opponents. One would have thought that Palin, like any responsible person in her shoes right now, could have mustered some sort of regret about the unfortunate coincidence of what she had done in the campaign and what happened afterwards. Wouldn't you? If you had publicly defended a map with cross-hairs on a congresswoman's district, and that congresswoman had subsequently been shot, would you not be able to express even some measure of regret at what has taken place, even while denying, rightly, any actual guilt? Could you not even acknowledge the possibility that your critics have and had a point, including the chief Palin-critic on this, who happens to be struggling for her life in hospital, Gabrielle Giffords.”
John Hinderaker, Powerline: “Palin's statement is, I think, very good. It emphasizes, appropriately, the victims and the nation's political process rather than politicians, demonstrating once again that Palin is less obsessed with Sarah than her enemies are. Overall, the statement comes across as mature, balanced, sympathetic and yet strong in its rejection of the left's opportunism.”
Jonah Goldberg, National Review: “I think that the use of this particular term in this context isn’t ideal. Historically, the term is almost invariably used to describe anti-Semitic myths about how Jews use blood—usually from children—in their rituals. I agree entirely with Glenn [Reynolds’s], and now Palin’s, larger point. But I’m not sure either of them intended to redefine the phrase, or that they should have.
Greg Sargent, Washingtonpost.com: “Unfortunately for Palin, Giffords herself was one of those who objected to the crosshairs map. ‘The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district,’ Giffords said last March. ‘When people do that, they've gotta realize there's consequences to that action.’
“In other words, Palin's phony framing of the issue—that by raising concerns about her word-choice and imagery, critics are trying to deprive Palin of her First Amendment freedoms, rather than simply asking her to be more mindful of the potential consequences of incendiary rhetoric—is one that Giffords herself rejects.”
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 6:21 pm |
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Dave Starr
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Alan Dershowitz:
The term “blood libel” has taken on a broad metaphorical meaning in public discourse. Although its historical origins were in theologically based false accusations against the Jews and the Jewish People,its current usage is far broader. I myself have used it to describe false accusations against the State of Israel by the Goldstone Report. There is nothing improper and certainly nothing anti-Semitic in Sarah Palin using the term to characterize what she reasonably believes are false accusations that her words or images may have caused a mentally disturbed individual to kill and maim. The fact that two of the victims are Jewish is utterly irrelevant to the propriety of using this widely used term. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 6:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The use of "blood libel" is not all that widespread. Many political commentators brought on experts to discuss the meaning.
Sarah Palin supporters may try to make light of her use of the term, but she is a born again Christian using a phrase that implies being a martyr and usually a jewish martyr. Once again she shows how unfilt she was to even be a candidate for VP.. |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:08 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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David brock of Media Matters was on Chris Matthews Hardball and he posted his own "Message to Sarah Palin". He cites three instances in which followers of Glenn beck were involved in acts of violence influenced by Beck.
The sttempted firebombing of Pelosi's home.
Conviction of man making repeated death threats against Patty Murphy after stating she had a target on her back.
Threats against a san francisco philanthropic center by an individual citing beck. |
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:19 pm |
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