Arizona Rep. Farley: Gabrielle Giffords' family is 'strong' and 'optimistic

Boehner: Shootings wont sway GOP agenda
House Speaker John Boehner says that the shooting of an Arizona congresswoman won’t stop representatives in Washington from their duties. In a brief statement Sunday morning, the newly sworn speaker said flags on the House side of the Capitol in Washington will be flown at half staff to honor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ slain aide, Gabe Zimmerman. Thirty-year-old Zimmerman was among six killed Saturday in a Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that left the Democratic congresswoman among 13 ...

Shock, anger and finger-pointing in Washington
On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, the vitriol of the past election campaign played in Saturday’s shooting ...

Making Sense Out of the Violence in Tuscon: Reflections From A Migrant
It's not about win or lose Cause we all lose when they feed on the souls of the innocent blood drenched pavement keep on moving though the waters stay raging. Matisyahu - 2009 The reactions I've witnessed to the violence in Tuscon have made me physically sick. Ever since I heard the news on Saturday, I've been glued to twitter, the television, and my computer screen, looking for someone to say something that makes some kind of sense. It seems the only people that have anything worthwhile ...

Tucson rampage spurs talk of greater Hill security (AP)
WASHINGTON – The Senate's sergeant-at-arms says he's against members of Congress arming themselves to increase their safety in the wake of the shooting rampage in Arizona. Terrance Gainer tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that "I don't think it's a good idea." Several ideas have been discussed for increasing security in the wake of Saturday's Shooting Spree in Tucson that left Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona gravely wounded. Gainer says threats to members of the Senate inc...

Arizona tragedy casts pall over stunned nation
The nation’s capital lumbered to work in a pall Monday, somber from the Congress to the White House, as official Washington absorbed an Assassination attempt against one of its own. Giving voice to the grief, President Barack Obama conceded that everyone was still in shock. By the end of the long day, Obama had secured plans to travel on Wednesday to Tucson, Ariz., to speak at a memorial service for the Victims of the deadly attack. White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said First Lady Michel...

Early Morning Swim: Sherrod Brown and Rachel Maddow Discuss Violence in Our Politics
Meanwhile, God bless Sheriff Dupnik. The Arizona sheriff investigating the Tucson shooting that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded had harsh words today for those engaging in political Rhetoric, calling conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh “irresponsible” for continuing the vitriol. “The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information,” Pima County Sh...

The Dismissal of Sarah Palin
I am neither shocked nor surprised that this nation's most prominent liberals see fit to blame Sarah Palin for causing the shooting in Tucson that severely injured Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and claimed six lives. But it does sadden me. Before the shooter was identified much less his Victims were identified we witnessed the spectacle of a Nobel Laureate and an Academy Award-winning actress amongst many others falling all over themselves to excoriate the former Alaska Governor. Y...

Arizona, where the American Dream went to die
When I arrived in Arizona last March, my bones were still practically numb from the snowiest winter in the modern history of my native Northeast. There was radiant sunshine that made the Valley of the Sun feel like a warm soaking bath, bordered on my far horizon by New-Age red rocks and big sky -- natural beauty that inspired awe for me as it surely once did for so many new arrivals over so many decades. I didn't travel to Phoenix to witness beauty, unfortunately, but to get an up close look a...

AZ Sheriff Dever: Killer Alone Responsible for Shooting, Frightening To Try To Lay Blame On Anyone Elses Doorstep
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 By Penny Starr Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, Ariz. (Cochise County Sheriff's Department photo) (CNSNews.com) - Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he does not understand why his friend and colleague, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, would suggest at a news conference following Saturday's shooting in Tucson that political ideology played a role in the tragedy. At a Press Conference on Saturday, Dupnik said Arizona had become the “mecc

Doc: 'Hopefully she'll live to be 95'
Physicians at the University of Arizona Medical Center issued their most optimistic assessment yet of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s condition, with trauma specialist Dr. Peter Rhee telling a British Television Station that she was “100 percent likely to survive” the gunshot wound she sustained Saturday. “As a physician I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for this, but her prognosis for survival is 100 percent, as far as it being short term,” he said. “H...

MARC THIESSEN: Stop Blaming The Tea Party For The Arizona Tragedy. After the attempted car bombi
Marc Thiessen: Stop Blaming The Tea Party For The Arizona Tragedy. After the attempted car bombing in Times Square last year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg publicly speculated that the attack had been carried out by “somebody with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health-care bill or something.” At the Nation, columnist Robert Dreyfuss wrote that “a member of some sq...

Doctor: Giffords's survival chances are '100 percent'
Physicians at the University of Arizona Medical Center issued their most optimistic assessment yet of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s condition, with trauma specialist Dr. Peter Rhee telling a British Television Station that she was “100 percent likely to survive” the gunshot wound she sustained Saturday. “As a physician I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for this, but her prognosis for survival is 100 percent, as far as it being short term,” he said. “H...

Poll: Despite Left's Lust to Pin Blame on Right, Only 32% Believe AZ Shootings Were Politically Motivated
After a 48-hour orgy of venom and hatred directed at the right in the wake of the massacre in Arizona Saturday, a CBS poll reveals only 32% of Americans actually believe the ludicrous accusations. This suggests a couple of possibilities: Either the next poll will show 100 of Americans accept the truth or the media and kook left will double down with the wild conjecture. Sadly, I think it's too late for these people to regain any credibility, so I learn toward the latter.Nearly six in 10 American...

Pawlenty jabs Palin over 'crosshairs'
Possible Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty took a jab at Sarah Palin, saying he wouldn’t have used gun crosshairs to target Rep Gabrielle Giffords and others. “I wouldn’t have done it,” the former Minnesota Governor told The New York Times on Monday when asked if he would have created a map like the one posted last year on Sarah PAC’s website showing crosshairs on lawmakers who supported Health Care reform. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico...

Nihilism or Sarah Palin: What motivated Arizona shooting suspect? (The Christian Science Monitor)
Atlanta – Initial reports about Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old College Dropout charged with killing six and gravely wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, so far present a picture of a person inspired by a tangled and in some ways nonsensical web of philosophies more than any one person, political movement, or line of thought. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik suggested Saturday that the shootings might have been influenced by "vitriolic Rhetoric" in t...

Opinion: Sarah Palin won't seek Presidency
Darling of the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, hasn't stated she won't run for president.  She hinted to reporters last year that if the door of opportunity opened up for her, she wouldn't close it.  Still, it was unlikely she would make a run for national office after quitting as Governor of Alaska in the middle of her term.  As a political speaker, she has been a big draw for tea party conventions and were she to run for president and get elected, she would have had to take a Pay Cut.&#...

Tucson rampage spurs talk of greater Hill security
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s sergeant-at-arms says he’s against members of Congress arming themselves to increase their safety in the wake of the shooting rampage in Arizona. Several ideas have been discussed for increasing security in the wake of Saturday’s Shooting Spree in Tucson that left Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona gravely wounded. Gainer says threats to members of the Senate increased over the past year — to 49. But he said he considers the...

Senate sergeant-at-arms: Lawmakers carrying guns not a good idea
It's not a good idea for lawmakers to carry guns for personal protection in the wake of Saturday's shooting in Arizona, the Senate's sergeant at arms said Tuesday. Terrance Gainer, the Senate's top Law Enforcement official and the former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, urged lawmakers to leave their security to professionals following the shooting on Saturday of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). "I don't think that's a good idea," Gainer said on "Good Morning America" on ABC. "I think we ...

Afternoon Fix: Gabrielle Giffords doctor: "We're not out of the woods yet"; Tom DeLay sentenced to three years in prison
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's (D-Ariz.) doctor says "we're not out of the woods yet"; a judge has sentenced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to three years in Prison for Money Laundering; and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says he's not interested in being the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee. The Tea Party: movement or moment? * Doctors for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) said that there has been no change in the lawmaker's condition, but "at this point no change is good." Michael...

Major new Dali Museum set to open in Florida
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A new museum showcasing a leading collection of works by Surrealist master Salvador Dali is set to open in Florida. The ribbon cutting for the museum in St. Petersburg will be held Tuesday Morning. It replaces a previous museum based around a private Dali collection that St. Petersburg acquired in 1982. The new, $36 million museum is double the size of the old building. The St. Petersburg museum is considered to have the world’s most comprehensive collecti...

Obama, Boehner face leadership test after shooting (AP)
WASHINGTON – On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, the vitriol of the past election campaign played in Satur...

Condolence books placed on Capitol Hill
House Speaker John Boehner (D-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have invited House members, staff and visitors to write their condolences and well-wishes for those harmed in the Tucson shootings and their families. Two books will be available at 3:30 p.m. and through the rest of the week in the Cannon House Office Building -- one for well wishes and the other for condolences. ...

Boehner: No Debt-Limit Hike Without Spending Cuts and Budget Reform
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) issued the following statement on the Debt Limit: I’ve been notified that the Obama Administration intends to formally request an increase in the Debt limit. The American People will not stand for such an increase unless it is accompanied by meaningful action by the President and Congress to cut spending and end the job-killing spending binge in Washington. While America cannot default on its debt, we also cannot continue to borrow recklessly, dig ou...

Boehner Passes First Test as Speaker in Handling of Arizona Tragedy
As news of the horrific shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spread over the weekend, Speaker of the House John Boehner rose to the occasion, seeking to calm nerves and reassure members of Congress and their families. Aside from being the first major test handed to the newly elected speaker, Boehner's handling of the situation may have been especially important considering the target of this Assassination was a Democratic congresswoman. And while past Republican leaders would have surely express...

Ohio Congressman Stivers talks security, office and personal pay cuts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - First-term Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers, who was sworn-in as a Member of the 112th Congress last week after beating the Democratic Candidate he lost to in 2008, is one of the 85 fresh Republican faces who helped elect another Ohio congressman, John Boehner (OH-8) of West Chester, the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Speaker Boehner was present along with Stivers to watch as Gov. John R. Kasich, who was officially was sworn-in just past midnight Monday, ...