Breaking...memorial service in Tucson turns into political rally

Barack Obama calls for 'new era of civility' in Tucson speech
US President Barack Obama offered the American nation's condolences to Victims of the Arizona shootings at a memorial service on Wednesday night. • President Barack Obama with wife Michelle at the memorial service. Picture: Getty He also called on Americans to learn from the Tucson tragedy - in which six people were killed and more than a dozen injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, 40, by gunman Jared Lee Loughner, 22. The president said if lessons were drawn from the lives o...

The Tucson Massacre Pep Rally
Listening to the service on the radio during rush hour traffic was something. I can’t imagine what it must of looked like on TV. I have been to more then a few memorial services in my life, as I’m sure many of you have, but this surreal service is…as Michelle Malkin wrote…gross. Of all the memorial services I have been to for slain officers I have never, EVER, heard cheering..whoops and hollering. I’m at a loss for words at this disgusting display tonight. Update 8...

Sarah Palin vs Barack Obama: Their differing reactions to the Arizona shooting according to Politico
  Earlier today I read this article on Politico about the differing reactions between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin on the shooting in Arizona. I found the article quite interesting, here is the main crux of the article: In the span of a single news cycle, Republicans got a jarring reminder of two forces that could prevent them from retaking the presidency in next year. At sunrise in the East on Wednesday, Sarah Palin demonstrated that she has little interest — or capacity —...

A letter from Michelle Obama to parents after the Tucson tragedy
From the White House: Dear parents, Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Arizona this past weekend.  Yesterday, we had the chance to attend a memorial service and meet with some of the families of those who lost their lives, and both of us were deeply moved by their strength and resilience in the face of such unspeakable tragedy. As parents, an event like this hits home especially hard. ...

Obama praised for leadership after U.S. shooting
Sheldon Alberts, Washington Correspondent, Postmedia News · Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011 TUCSON, Arizona — John Jewell did not vote for Barack Obama — and he never voted for Gabrielle Giffords either, for that matter. But as the 59-year-old Tucsonan paid silent tribute to Ms. Giffords on Thursday outside the Hospital where the Arizona congresswoman is recovering from her gunshot wound, he had a message for his president: Well done. On the day after Mr. Obama rallied Americans to beg...

Memo To Kathleen Parker on Father Sky Reference in Tucson Memorial
I understand you were upset with the opening invocation at the memorial service for the Tucson Shooting Victims. Here's what you had to say about it on Twitter: Father Sky and Mother Earth, seriously? You probably didn't realize that it was a nod to Native American beliefs, rather than a New Age-y expropriation of those beliefs. That's all right, I understand. Religion isn't your beat. Besides, New Mexico and Arizona are exactly alike. How is a major CNN contributor like you to know what they d...

Presidential Library Puts JFK Archives Online
The Presidential Library is putting John F. Kennedy's archives online, including hundreds of thousands of personal photographs, documents and doodles. Wyatt Andrews reports. The USDA is proposing a calorie limit for School Lunch, according to age group, in an effort to battle Childhood Obesity. Michelle Miller reports. Despite allegations that the suspected Tucson shooter Jared Loughner was mentally ill, it is still unclear the role it played in the deadly rampage. Katie Couric reports on the la...

Mrs. Obama talks tolerance in open letter to parents
First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday urged parents to teach their Children tolerance in response to the deadly Tucson Shooting Spree that touched off debate about political Rhetoric. Mrs. Obama, who joined her husband at a memorial service for the Victims Wednesday, issued an Open Letter to parents. Children are struggling, she said, to make sense of Saturday's shooting that killed six and left 14 injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. "We can teach them the value of tolerance -...

President Obama at Tucson memorial service
About 45 minutes into the service, following remembrances by Gov. Brewer, former Governor and current DHS Secretary Napolitano, and Attorney General Holder, President Obama is introduced by UA President Robert N. Shelton. The text of his remarks as prepared are available below the fold. President Obama is expected to speak for just under twenty minutes. Update: President Obama's begins: To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the Students of this university...

President Obama official schedule and guidance, Jan. 12, 2011. Tucson Memorial Service
In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press. Later in the morning, the President will meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon to discuss U.S. support for Lebanon's Sovereignty, independence, and stability, the ongoing work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and other regional issues. Lebanon is an important partner in U.S. efforts to promote peace, stability, and justice in the Middle East. The President an...

Michelle Obama sees lessons after Arizona shooting
Mrs. Obama joined her husband, President Barack Obama, at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday for the Victims of Saturday's attack outside a Supermarket, where a gunman killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama said Children would struggle with questions about what such an event says about the world. "The questions my daughters have asked are the same ones that many of your Children will have - and they don't lend themselves to easy answers," the fi...

Tucson service shows what liberals really mean by 'separation of church and state'
Despite the wholly inappropriate and distracting pep rally sound track, there were some moving moments in last night's memorial service at the University of Arizona for the Victims of Saturday's Safeway massacre in Tucson. But one thing that ought not be allowed to pass by without comment was how the event illustrated as no other public commemoration in recent memory what is really meant when the doctrine of "Separation of Church and State" is invoked by proponents of liberal multiculturalist co...

Bizarre Tucson Memorial
Humor me while I throw in my two cents. Perhaps it was the raucous whopping. Perhaps it was the Opening Ceremony with the Chief blessing all above, below, here, there, everywhere. Maybe it was the Holder and Napolitano reading the scriptures. No one of the cloth this time to invoke the spiritual. Janet shouting out “hello Tucson, hello Arizona” didn’t awaken my empathy, but perhaps it was her reading of Isaiah. “Make straight in the dessert a highway” that came to m...

Youngest victim of US shooting buried
The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Hundreds of people lined the streets as her small coffin was borne into t...

9-year-old AZ shooting victim laid to rest
Stumble This! Tucson, Arizona - The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, after Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of the attacks which unleashed a wave of soul-searching about America's political culture. Hundreds of people lined the streets as her small ...

A Pep Rally, Not A Memorial Service - Obama's Call For "Humility" In Our Tone Is Way To Late, The Damage Has Been Done
I'm not watching, but reading live threads, and saw Michelle Malkin's post earlier.. Cheering, hollering...at a Memorial Service? Excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't there supposed to be some decorum at a memorial service? This isn't a concert or a sporting event. I had a bad feeling, and I'm not liking what I'm seeing. UPDATE: Cheering and shouts of "We love you" when "That One" came to the stage. From everything I've seen, Jan Brewer's Speech was the only one worth any salt. She actually mentio...

Michelle Obama's advice to American parents on the Tucson shootings
Here's an "Open Letter to Parents" from First Lady Michelle Obama just posted on the White House blog: Dear parents, Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Arizona this past weekend. Yesterday, we had the chance to attend a memorial service and meet with some of the families of those who lost their lives, and both of us were deeply moved by their strength and resilience in the face of s...

A Tale of Two Speeches: Roundup and Reactions
As far as I can tell, the reaction to Palin's video statement and President Obama's Speech has been pretty disparate, and interesting. One theme shines through: Both were commenting on the same event, but the focus was very, very different. The video is The Nation's John Nichols commenting on the differences and similarities. His conclusion: If Democrats claim the mantle of civic involvement and responsibility, that's not such a bad thing. Tristero over at Digby's blog thinks this Speech transce...

Youngest victim of US shooting buried
People hold a sign as they line the street leading to the St. Elizabeth Ann... The Funeral hearse leads a procession to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church for... The youngest Victim of the Tucson shootings was laid to rest Thursday, a day after President Barack Obama hailed the 9-year-old girl as an inspiration to US politicians to heal their poisonous divisions. Christina Taylor Green, who was among six people killed by a misfit gunman last Saturday, has become the heart-breaking public face of th...

Jared Loughner's Path in Hours Before Arizona Shooting
He fought with his father, he spooked the neighbors, he went to Walmart for ammunition—Claire Martin and Masada Siegel trace the Tucson suspect’s path in the hours before the shootings....

More on Violence And Right Wing Rhetoric
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Conservatives who fail to understand the arguments from liberals about Right Wing Hate Speech act as if Jared Loughner lived in a vacuum and acted with absolutely no external influences. This is despite multiple reports indicating Loughner’s interest in fringe politics. NewsOne reports on yet another connection, alleging that Loughner is a fan of right winger Alex Jones. I find it curious that Conservatives have been attacking liberals this week ...

Media meme o the day: Obamas speech was much more presidential than Palins
This is a useful way to wrap up (hopefully) the coverage of Our National Conversation On Rhetoric as it’s a stark example of how easily the Propaganda about Palin’s culpability in the shootings was accepted as a political fact of life. There are two ways a reporter could address yesterday’s oratorical bookends by her and Obama. One: “Hey, isn’t it insane that Palin had to give this Speech? People don’t normally have to point out that they’re not respon...

Michelle Obama sees lessons after Arizona shooting (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – First Lady Michelle Obama urged parents across the United States on Thursday to talk to their Children about the Arizona shootings and use the event to teach them a lesson about American values. Mrs. Obama joined her husband, President Barack Obama, at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday for the Victims of Saturday's attack outside a Supermarket, where a gunman killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama said children...

After Tragedy, An Open Letter To Parents From Michelle Obama
What is this? In an Open Letter just sent by the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama exhorts parents to use the Tucson tragedy as a teachable moment. It's a moment, she writes, for valuable lessons, "about the character of our country, about the values we hold dear, and about finding hope at a time when it seems far away." Here's the full text of the letter. Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Ar...

After Tragedy, An Open Letter To Parents From Michelle Obama
What is this? In an Open Letter just sent by the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama exhorts parents to use the Tucson tragedy as a teachable moment. It's a moment, she writes, for valuable lessons, "about the character of our country, about the values we hold dear, and about finding hope at a time when it seems far away." Here's the full text of the letter. Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Ar...