Giffords still in critical state

Gun Sales Surge In Arizona After Shooting
Saturday’s horrific shooting in Tucson has predictably prompted criticism of the lax Gun Laws that allowed a guy with documented mental problems to buy a semiautomatic weapon. So, naturally the state’s gun lovers are frantically arming themselves to the teeth, in case stricter Gun Control (like not letting the mentally ill own assault weapons) is imposed. Bloomberg reporter Michael Riley talked to an Arizona gun store owner who reported that gun sales surged after Saturday’s sh...

Obama to be nation's consoler at memorial service
(01-12) 07:28 PST WASHINGTON, CA (AP) -- Searching for unity out of tragedy, President Barack Obama will honor the Victims of the Arizona Mass Shooting in personal terms and remind those in grief that an entire nation is with them. The president is again stepping into his role as national consoler, a test of leadership that comes with the job. His mission at Wednesday's memorial is to uplift and rally, not to examine political Incivility. Set to speak during an evening gathering in Tucson, Ari...

Update: 19 People Were Hit By Shots Fired During Arizona Rampage
What is this? The Pima County Sheriff's office has released a statement that clears up the issue of how many people were wounded by gunfire during Saturday's deadly attack in Tucson, Ariz., on those gathered at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). While officials had said that there were 20 Victims (six of whom died), they've clarified the record to state that: "Nineteen people were shot, six of whom succumbed to their injuries. There were other minor injuries as a result of people t...

Dad pursued Ariz. massacre suspect before shooting
(01-12) 07:41 PST Tucson, Ariz. (AP) -- Mysterious black bag in hand, Jared Loughner ran into the desert from his angry father, who was driving a truck on a futile pursuit. Hours after Randy Loughner's confrontation with his 22-year-old son Saturday morning, six people were shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded — and Jared Loughner was in custody. The sheriff's deputies who swarmed the Loughners' house removed what they describe as evidence Jared Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabr...

House pays tribute to victims of Arizona shooting
The House is honoring Victims of Saturday's shootings in Tuscon, including one of its own. Republican Speaker John Boehner is opening the session of remembrances and tributes to the 19 people shot, six fatally. The remarks are expected to focus on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat shot in the head as she spoke to constituents outside a Supermarket. Later Wednesday, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and other lawmakers are flying with President Barack Obama to Arizona to co...

House Pays Tribute To Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Shooting Victims (LIVE UPDATES, VIDEO)
WASHINGTON -- The House is honoring Victims of Saturday's shootings in Tuscon, including one of its own. Republican Speaker John Boehner opened the session of remembrances and tributes to the 19 people shot, six fatally. (SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES) Later Wednesday, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and other lawmakers are flying with President Barack Obama to Arizona to console the Victims and their families. New information, meanwhile, has surfaced about a confrontation between...

Virginia General Assembly kicks off with prayer breakfast
Festivities surrounding the first day of the Virginia General Assembly's annual session kicked off Wednesday morning with a prayer breakfast attended by more than 1,000 people at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The group was led in prayer by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) and Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) and heard a sermon via Skype from Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Rev. Billy Graham, who was snowed-in in North Carolina. They prayed for members of the Military...

Obama to Be Nation's Consoler at Memorial Service
WASHINGTON (AP) — Searching for unity out of tragedy, President Barack Obama will honor the Victims of the Arizona Mass Shooting in personal terms and remind those in grief that an entire nation is with them. The president is again stepping into his role as national consoler, a test of leadership that comes with the job. His mission at Wednesday's memorial is to uplift and rally, not to examine political Incivility. [Photo Gallery: Gabrielle Giffords Shooting in Arizona.] Set to speak du...

Influence and over-determination
In comments yesterday, Mark Matson posted this incredibly instructive little video demonstrating the power of even barely noticeable influence: In the broadest sense, this is a demonstration of the (small-s) situationist Thesis: the hidden power of situational factors to influence behavior. Situationist influences are generally taken to be much less important than dispositionist ones--those that reside in the individual's inherent disposition--their character, tastes, preferences, beliefs, et...

Determined to Stifle Arizona Violence Debate, Palin Claims She's the Victim... of a "Blood Libel"
Echoing the new battle cry of the right, Sarah Palin has come out of hiding to accuse those who suggest over-the-top Rhetoric and a volatile political climate might offer some explanation of Saturday's gun rampage in Arizona of Manufacturing a “blood Libel” against her. Desperate to defend herself after being called out for placing the crosshairs of a rifle over the home district of a congresswoman who was then the Victim of an Assassination attempt, the former Governor of Alaska scr...

Sarah Palin unapologetic after criticism related to Arizona shootings
In a forceful and unapologetic statement released early Wednesday, Sarah Palin dismissed critics who had suggested that the former Alaska Governor's Firearms-infused Rhetoric contributed to the shootings in Tucson that killed six and wounded 14, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, contending they "incite the hatred and violence they purport to condemn." "Like many, I've spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance," Palin said. "After this shocking tragedy, I...

Update: 19 People Were Hit By Shots Fired During Arizona Rampage
What is this? The Pima County Sheriff's office has released a statement that clears up the issue of how many people were wounded by gunfire during Saturday's deadly attack in Tucson, Ariz., on those gathered at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). While officials had said that there were 20 Victims (six of whom died), they've clarified the record to state that: "Nineteen people were shot, six of whom succumbed to their injuries. There were other minor injuries as a result of people t...

How Obama Can Talk About Tolerance without Trivializing a Tragedy
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are joined by government employees on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, to observe a moment of silence for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the other Victims of an Assassination attempt against her. (Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) This post originally appeared on Slate. For the second time in his tenure, President Obama will eulogize the Victims of a shooting. In November 2009--it now seems...

CBS Poll: Support For Stricter Gun Laws Spikes After Tucson Rampage
The number of Americans who favor stricter Gun Laws has spiked significantly in the wake of the weekend Shooting Spree that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition, reversing a long-running trend of declining support for more stringent Gun Control, according to a new CBS poll. In the poll, 47% of respondents said Gun Laws should be made tougher, while 36% said they should remain unchanged, and just 12% said they should be relaxed. While that means a slim plural...

Palin: Journalists incite hatred after AZ shooting
(01-12) 07:19 PST Anchorage, Alaska (AP) -- Sarah Palin posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page early Wednesday, accusing Journalists and pundits of inciting hatred and violence in the wake of a deadly Arizona shooting that gravely wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Last spring, Palin targeted Giffords' district as one of 20 that should be taken back. Palin has been criticized for marking each district with the cross hairs of a gun sight. In the video, the 2008 GOP vice pres...

Sarah Palin scores Blood Libel ascribed to her by the press - The Gabrielle Giffords shooting
Sarah Palin’s video response to the Arizona shooting of Gabrielle Giffords Sarah Palin today accused her opponents of Manufacturing a “blood Libel” by suggesting her Rhetoric and campaign tactics had anything to do with the Arizona shootings. Four days after an incident which left six people dead and critically injured the congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Palin released a video statement condemning the attack. She denied that a now infamous campaign map showing Giffords’...

Palin: Were above the mindless finger-pointing (Daily Caller)
Read more stories from The Daily Caller Face of evil: Mug Shots of famous assassins [SLIDESHOW] Poll of Conservatives shows support for broad cuts to spending, including Military Spending Washington's top five most ridiculous reactions to the Arizona shooting Jared Loughner and the ins and outs of the insanity defense Mark Sanford exits the stage Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin released a video Wednesday of her first long-form statement on Saturday’s Tucson, Ariz. shooting that left six ...

Father chased son into desert before shooting
Mysterious black bag in hand, Jared Loughner ran into the desert, his angry father stopping pursuit in his truck. Hours after Randy Loughner’s futile confrontation with his 22-year-old son Saturday morning, six people were shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded — and Jared Loughner was in custody. The sheriff’s deputies who swarmed the Loughners’ house removed what they describe as evidence Jared Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who doctors said Tue...

Fearing tea party violence, four Arizona Republicans resign
Stumble This! Fearing violence from Tea Party Activists, Arizona Legislative District 20 Republican Chairman Anthony Miller and several others tendered their Resignation this week following Mass Shootings that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition. Miller, a 43-year-old former campaign worker for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), said that verbal attacks and blog posts from members of the Tea Party had him fearing for the safety of his family, according to a report in Th...

Sharron Angle defends rhetoric in wake of Arizona (The Ticket)
Former Nevada GOP Senate Candidate Sharron Angle is pushing back against critics aiming to link her campaign Rhetoric to the shootings in Arizona. "I condemn all acts of violence. The despicable act in Tucson is a horrifying and senseless tragedy, and should be condemned as a single act of violence, by a single unstable individual," Angle said in a statement, per CNN. "Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people's Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ...

Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers Uniting to Protect Youngest Ariz. Rampage Murder Victim
KIRK ADAMS, SPEAKER OF Arizona STATEHOUSE: All indications are that they [Westboro Baptist Church] do plan to Protest, that this will not stop them. But there's an interesting story, Greta, that's developed here. Republicans and Democrats and Tea Partiers in Tucson are coming together to provide sort of a human buffer to the Protesters so that the families will not have to hear the disgusting cries of the Protesters against this 9-year-old girl. And I think this is an example of the community co...

Weekly Pulse: Giffords Shooting Reveals Flaws in U.S. Mental Health Services
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head at a constituent outreach event in a Supermarket Parking Lot in Tucson on Saturday. In all, the gunman shot 18 people, killing 6, including a Federal Judge and a 9-year-old girl. Jamelle Bouie of TAPPED urges President Obama to take up the issue of Mental Health care in his upcoming Speech on the Mass Shooting. Several people who knew the alleged shooter came forward with stories of bizarre behavior and run-ins with Campus Police at his commu...

Worst Human Being in the World: Rush Limbaugh
By Michael J.W. Stickings He could be our Craziest Conservative of the Day, but I think he's actually much worse than that. (Our newest contributor, Nicholas Wilbur, will have more on Rush this afternoon.) On his Radio Show yesterday, Dear Leader Rush actually said -- I kid you not -- that Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner has the full support of the Democratic Party: What Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full sup...

POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more. President Obama began working Monday night on the Speech he will deliver during a memorial service Wednesday for the Victims of Saturday's Mass Shooting in Tucson, Arizona. White House officials say Obama has determined the broad idea of what he wants to say and is working with his team of Speechwriters on drafting his remarks. According to ...

Friend: Shooting suspect embraced chaos
TUCSON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The suspect in the weekend rampage at a political event in Tucson, Ariz., was a skilled marksman and "loves causing chaos," a friend said. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, of Tucson faces federal charges in Saturday's shooting, in which Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was critically injured and U.S. District Judge John Roll, his law clerk Matthew Bowman and Giffords' Staffer Gabriel Zimmerman were among the dead. Six people died and 14 were injured. "He was a nihilist and loves causing c...