Beck, Limbaugh respond to shooting

All the News thats Fit to Edit Like a Ransom Note
In between whacking Paul Krugman around like a pinata, John Hinderaker of Power Line writes: Here is a rule of thumb: any time a liberal quotes a fragment of a sentence, or, as in this case, a three-word phrase, a red flag should go up. When liberals quote sentence fragments, they are usually misleading when they aren’t out-and-out fabricated. Stacy McCain once dubbed this the Ransom Note-style of quote editing; or as one of Tim Blair’s readers asked in 2009 about Far Left Media Matter...

Rush Limbaugh Doubles Down On Yesterdays Comments: Put Yourself In My Shoes
Like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh is taking that whole “being connected to a mass murderer” thing pretty personally. You’d think, at this point, he’d be old hat at it but, instead, he seems to think the fact that this has been happening since the 90s makes it even worse. So, today on his Radio Show, he passionately defended himself against heat for comments he made yesterday. You see, some people took that whole “Democrats are fully supporting the guy w...

Left Lays Seige After Arizona Shootings
Sheriff Dupnik’s comments immediately after the horrific weekend shootings wherelaid the blame on conservative Talk Radio have caused the American left and right even further apart. Though there is no proof that the suspect Jared Loughner ever listened to talk radio, and in fact may actually have leftist beliefs, Sheriff Dupnik continued to pound the airwaves and lengthened his fifteen minutes of fame into a fifth day. Despite the fact that he’s responsible for the investigation of ...

See, I Told You So Comes Back Around to Bite Rush Limbaugh
Actually, there is evidence that at least Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck have tacitly admitted their responsibility for inciting violence. Almost immediately following the shootings, Palin removed from her website the map with the gun sight crosshairs targeting Giffords. And Beck removed the picture of him stalking around with a pistol in his hand. The fact that they removed these images right after a shooting in which they are clearly inciting violence by gunfire is just coincidence, I guess. Th...

The foolishness of the 'blood libel' charge
Greg already touched on many of the more egregious aspects of Sarah Palin's video response to critics, but I wanted to focus more directly on her use of the term "blood Libel." First off, it would be a serious stretch to assign any blame to Palin for Jared Loughner's actions. But while this is a situation in which Palin has been genuinely wronged by critics, she has already squandered any Moral High Ground she might have fairly laid claim to. Part of Palin's appeal to her base comes from her w...

Beck Stokes Fears Of "A Ban On Guns" Following AZ Shooting
Beck Claims Politicians Are "Pushing" To Ban Guns Following AZ Shooting Beck: Lawmakers Are Pushing "A Ban On Guns." On his Fox News show, Beck claimed that lawmakers are pushing "a ban on guns" in response to the Arizona shooting. Beck stated: BECK: It didn't take long for Washington to come out with their solution to the problem of the alleged violent Rhetoric. The solution, however, comes despite not having a shred of evidence that this crazed gunman was motivated by anything other than his...

Climate-blaming Sheriff with departmental climate to hide?
Climate-blaming Sheriff with departmental climate to hide? Speaking of television, according to a post linked by Michelle Malkin, it turns out that Jared Loughner did not watch TV. Nor did he listen to the Talk Radio said to have created a "climate" which was responsible for his actions. Friend says Loughner "did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn't listen to political radio. He didn't take sides. He wasn't on the left. He wasn't on the right." Over to you, Sheriff Dupnik... Dupnik, o...

About That Heated Political Rhetoric...
You know, the Rhetoric that caused the nutcase in Tucson to shoot all those people? 'HE DID NOT WATCH TV. HE DISLIKED THE NEWS. HE DIDN'T LISTEN TO POLITICAL RADIO'Will the media and Sheriff Dumb*** in Pima County start backpedaling from their attacks on Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and other Conservatives? Of course not, but they're going to spending a lot of time with egg on their faces. ...

Friend claims that Jared Loughner didnt watch television or listen to talk radio
  Shortly after Jared Loughner shot and killed six people while wounding dozens of others in Arizona the media went on a witch-hunt to see where they could lay the blame for Loughner’s actions. Personally, I would have blamed Jared Loughner and I suppose the media would have also if they weren’t being driven by their agenda.   It didn’t take long for the media to find their target and set their sights on Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, conservative t...

DUPNIK IS DONE- Loughner Did Not Watch TV, Was Not Into News, He Didnt Listen to Talk Radio
This morning on “Good Morning America,” ABC’s Ashleigh Banfield sat down with Zach Osler, a High School friend of Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson massacre. Osler says his friend wasn’t shooting at people, “he was shooting at the world.” Regarding the high-pitched Talk Radio and Cable News political Rhetoric, Osler says his friend didn’t even watch the news. He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn’t listen to political radio. He...

Does Moderation Work?
In The Conversation, David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns every Wednesday. Tags: Gabrielle Giffords, Tucson shooting Susan Walsh/Associated PressGabrielle Giffords, a moderate in the most immoderate state in the union. Gail Collins: David, we can’t not talk about the shootings in Tucson. I know you’ve been wanting a more moderate and sane political dialogue. But I am sorry to admit that one of my thoughts is that the aftermath of Tucson proves h...

Classmate And Best Friend: Jarred Loughner Wasnt Political, Just Deranged
ABC found a former classmate and close friend of Jarred Loughner, Zach Osler, and interviewed him this morning asking what might have motivated the now-infamous Tucson attacks. Osler’s answer was that Loughner wasn’t motivated by any politics, he wasn’t a Talk Radio listener and that he didn’t really watch the news. Osler says that Loughner was, quite simply, just mentally ill. Ossler does suggest that a movie called Zeitgeist might have had something to do with Loughner&...

'Blood libel'
'BLOOD Libel'.... If the goal of Sarah Palin's Speechwriters was to get lots of attention, it worked. Her use of the phrase "blood libel" this morning has sparked quite a bit of discussion. In context, the half-term Governor, speaking by way of a pre-recorded video because she can't handle interviews, argued that "Journalists and pundits" had manufactured "a blood libel," which in turn may "incite ... hatred and violence." Palin was a little vague as to what, exactly, constituted "blood libel,...

Media Matters For America Calls Out Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin
David Brock (r) and friends. (Hey, is that Bawney Fwank I see?) Oh please. Now David Brock has his panties in a bunch because Beck used vampire imagery and compared him to a “smelly kid in third grade.” (Media Matters) — Today, in response to the tragic shooting in Arizona and the increasing focus on the tone of political discourse, Media Matters for America founder and CEO David Brock issued an Open Letter to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch asking him to rein in Fox News persona...

Beck claims 'I don't use [violent rhetoric] on or off the air': Oh really?
Beck claims 'I don't use [violent Rhetoric] on or off the air': Oh really? It sure seemed that everyone -- and I mean EVERYONE -- at Fox News was focused yesterday on beating down the horrifying idea that somehow Fox News' incendiary rhetoric might have played a significant role in fomenting Saturday's horrifying tragedy in Arizona. Of course, Glenn Beck -- being one of the chief purveyors of said incendiary rhetoric -- was out there leading the attack, devoting his entire hour to...

Vitriol spinners losing the battle for hearts and minds?
The view from our front porch at daybreak this morning: Deck cranes of the container ship "West Bay" out of Hong Kong catch the sun's early rays dockside at Eastern Minerals across the street. "It looks like the vitriol spinners are losing the battle for hearts & minds," we just twittered," referencing a brand new CBS News poll that finds "Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated": Overall, 57 percent of respondents said the harsh polit...

Open thread for night owls: More than rhetorical violence
In mourning for those who lost their lives in the Tucson massacre Saturday: To the survivors, including Congresswoman Giffords, go our wishes that their recoveries be swift and complete. President Obama has asked for a memorial moment of silence Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern time. • • • • • At Talk to Action, the Veteran watcher of white supremacist and anti-semitic groups Chip Berlet writes, The Becking of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. An excerpt: From a moral viewpoint R...

THE LEFT IS TRYING TO MAKE LOUGHNER THE VICTIM: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS SCOOPS RUSH LIMBAUGH AND WEASEL ZIPPERS BY A DAY
TODAY, WEASEL ZIPPERS POSTED SOME WISE WORDS FROM RUSH LIMBAUGH: What Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full support of a major political party in this country. He’s sitting there in jail. He knows what’s going on, he knows that . . . the Democrat party is attempting to find anybody but him to blame. He knows if he plays his cards right, he’s just a Victim. He’s the latest in a never-ending parade of victims brought about by the unfairness of America . WE MADE THIS OBSERVATION

No More Mister Nice Blog
WILL PARTISAN BICKERING SEND A CRAZY MAN TO THE CHAIR? Lefties have been looking for ties between Jared Loughner's state of mind and recent expressions of right-wing rage; the right, in response to this, has lashed out, aggressively attacking commentators and others -- including Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik -- who've criticized the right. And now along comes Limbaugh. The soundbite from Rush Limbaugh's Tuesday Radio Show that's Rush Limbaugh Blasts Critics Linking Talk Radio to Shootings...
Yahoo! Buzz Rush Limbaugh defended himself against suggestions that the heated Rhetoric sometimes found on political programs influenced the shootings in Arizona. Since the violent incident last weekend, a debate has erupted in the media about whether political Talk Shows influenced Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of killing six people in Arizona and critically wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Talking about Loughner on his radio program, Limbaugh said, “We know he listened to heavy me...

After Arizona: Time for Nonviolent Communication
I actually felt a little sorry for the conservative pundits who were forced to answer for inflammatory words that, by wide consensus, contributed to the horrible shootings in Tucson. Mona Charen was reduced to spluttering to Tom Ashbrook of NPR's "On Point" that Conservatives are not actually bloodthirsty proponents of Assassination. Obama has used the odd gun metaphor, too, many Republicans were quick to point out. You can hardly blame them for not wanting to take the rap for Jared Lo...

The Right Word: Fox and inflammatory rhetoric | Sadhbh Walshe
Rightwing talkshow hosts were horrified by the Arizona massacre - and by the allegations that their fiery Rhetoric may have somehow influenced the shooter. O'Reilly is convinced that the attack was simply the work of an out-of-control "nut job" and was furious with others in the media for suggesting that anyone on the right was in any way responsible for fostering a hostile political environment (View clip here). "The killer Jared Loughner is a psychopath. Civilisation has always had them ...

Palin Claims 'Blood Libel' by Critics After Shootings
(Adds history of "blood Libel" in ninth paragraph.) Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Calling it a "blood libel," Sarah Palin condemned people who have criticized her for heated political Rhetoric and the role it may have played in the shootings in Tucson, Arizona. Palin, 46, the former Republican Governor of Alaska, her party's 2008 nominee for vice president and a potential 2012 Presidential Candidate, made her statement in an Internet video. "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own," she said...

oh no, there's no violent rhetoric on the right
rush limbaugh: "i tell people don’t kill all the liberals. leave enough so we can have two on every campus -- living fossils -- so we will never forget what these people stood for." Ann Coulter: "we need somebody to put rat poisoning in justice stevens' creme brulee. ... that's just a joke, for you in the media." with that being said, you are a democrat. you are saying, "let's cut and run." and i have to tell you, i have been nervous about this interview with you, because what i feel like ...

More on overdermination and political violence
In my earlier diary, "Influence and over-determination", I quoted from Jacob Weisberg at Slate writing about the obvious political context: To call his crime an attempted Assassination is to acknowledge that it appears to have had a political and not merely a personal context. That context wasn't Islamic radicalism, Puerto Rican independence, or anarcho-syndicalism. It was the anti-government, pro-gun, xenophobic Populism that flourishes in the dry and angry climate of Arizona. Extremist sho...