Hes on a Roll Rep. Clyburn: Congress Deserves Special Treatment by TSA

More Clyburn Asininity
This calls for the clown.  Ah, there he is. A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports. “I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as assistant Minority Leader in the House, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Clyburn called for the Transportation Security Administration, which admin...

House Dem calls for 'beefed up' security, special treatment for members by TSA
A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports. “I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as assistant Minority Leader, said on "Fox News Sunday." Clyburn called for the Transportation Security Administration, which administers Airport Security checkpoints, to interact “a little better” with

Loughner/Supremacist Link Thoroughly Debunked
I noted yesterday the unavoidable non-existence of any link between Jared Loughner and either mainstream-right or far-right groups. Today, Ken Vogel at Politico thoroughly debunks the juciest of those claims — that Loughner was aligned with the white supremacist group American Renaissance: An Arizona Law Enforcement agency is backing away from a document it produced in the aftermath of Saturday’s shootings in Tucson – and which was leaked to Fox News – that linked the man...

House Resolution Would Condemn Giffords Attack (Full Text)
Members of Congress and staff members observe a moment of silence for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and other Shooting Victims, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, on the East Steps of the Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) The House of Representatives on Wednesday will vote on a resolution declaring that the House "condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific attack" in Tucson, Arizona that left six dead, a congresswoman in critical condition and 13 ot...

The Post 1/11/2011
While South Carolina prepares for an icy inauguration and the start of the 2011 legislative session, the focus of the nation continues to be absorbed by the Shooting Spree in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday that killed six people and left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded. The Giffords’ story has dominated all facets of national news, the 2012 presidential discussion and has even reached into South Carolina politics given the asinine, anti-First Amendment comments made in response...

Gabrielle Giffords staffers, volunteers carry on in face of tragedy
As the House reconvened for the first time since Saturday's rampage in Tucson, Staffers and volunteers in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-Ariz.) Washington office did what they have done since the Mass Shooting -- persevere in the face of tragedy. Of the 20 or so Staffers in the office, eight have remained in Washington; the others returned to Arizona following the attack. Those currently in Washington are expected to travel to Tucson for Wednesday's memorial service and may stay in Arizona through ...

James Clyburn: Congress should get special treatment from TSA
The Hill reports that Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) thinks that members of Congress should be given special treatment by TSA at airports. He is quoted as saying "“I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports." Well now , Congressman, do you think that any other Amricans feel that way? Welcome to our world. Congressman Clyburn has been in state and Federal Government positions since 1971, and one supposes that by the 40th year of s...

Airports Consider Using Private Security Screeners
Following the furor over invasive Airport Security screenings and personal pat-downs, some airports are now considering replacing government security screeners with private companies. It's a step the new chairman of the House Transportation Committee has been urging the nation's airports to take. But it's not clear travelers would notice much of a difference. The Kansas City International Airport is one of 17 in the United States where the screeners work for private contractors, not the Transpor...

Congressional leaders lay blame for Tucson killing
Partisan representatives and their aides have slung Rhetoric over the circumstances that led to the Murder of 6, and the wounding of 14 more, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, last weekend.  While Obama assured the country that “the perpetrator of a heinous crime” would be brought to justice, Democrats and Republicans slumped into their comfort zone.  Most media outlets have concluded that Jared Loughner, the man who held the gun, is mentally unstable, yet politi...

Lawmaker calls for briefing on mental health danger signs
A leading lawmaker on Mental Health issues is calling for a Bipartisan debate on how to keep lawmakers and their staff and families safe in the wake of Saturday's deadly shooting in Tucson. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus along with Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Penn.), wants the group to hold a briefing focusing on the behaviors and threats that raise red flags. "Police agencies already do that," Napolitano told The Hill. "I want to make sure some of ...

Gene Healy: Politicians' solutions to violence only harm citizens
In the wake of Saturday's horrific Murder spree in Tucson that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., gravely wounded, the House GOP leadership announced that normal legislative business would be suspended. It was the right move, showing proper respect for the Victims and avoiding the crass spectacle of partisan votes in the tragedy's aftershock. Moreover, judging by some legislators' reactions to the attack, Congress sorely needs a breathing period, lest it do serious damage by le...

Beware of those who would trade security for freedom
The most recent example of that is Rep. James Clyburn who thinks it is time the concept of free Speech is rethought in the wake of the Tucson shooting: The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use ‘be...

Jim Clyburn wants to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in response to the Arizona shooting
   Just when you thought that all of the talk about reinstating the “Fairness Doctrine” had died down along comes a politically driven, ideologist sheriff in Arizona looking to capitalize on a shooting to push his partisan agenda and thrusts the talk of the “Fairness Doctrine” back into the limelight.   Anyone who heard the words of Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik could realize that they were politically charged conjecture motivated by an agenda. ...

Would-be TSA saboteur sentenced to 2 years in prison
By Robert Boczkiewicz Denver | Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:07pm EST Denver (Reuters) - A former data analyst for the Transportation Security Administration was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal Prison for trying to sabotage a computer network used for screening airline passengers. Douglas Duchak, admitted last year to attempting to load malicious code into TSA computer servers in October 2009, about a week after being told he was being let go from his position at the agency's operations cen...

Would-be TSA saboteur sentenced to 2 years in prison
Denver (Reuters) - A former data analyst for the Transportation Security Administration was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal Prison for trying to sabotage a computer network used for screening airline passengers. Douglas Duchak, admitted last year to attempting to load malicious code into TSA computer servers in October 2009, about a week after being told he was being let go from his position at the agency's operations center. Duchak had worked at the Colorado Springs facility for f...

Don't disarm citizens Rep. King arm your fellow Representatives
Its not just Democrats that are using the Arizona shootings, an irrational action by a madman that no security team could completely prevent., as an excuse to propose ways to limit American’s freedom, Republican Rep. King has added his voice. He wants to selectively over-turn the Second Amendment and ban anyone from having a weapon within 1000 feet of certain Federal officials. Politico reports on this presumptive proposal by the gun-hating Republican. ““It is imperative that w...

Republican Wants To Ban Guns Within 1,000 Feet Of Members Of Congress
This is going to have the same problem that Gun Free School Zone Acts of 1990 and 1995 had. You cannot remove someone’s 2nd amendment right to keep and Bear Arms just because they live near a school, and I’m not sure that simply being near a member of Congress is enough to remove those rights either. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), one of the few pro-gun control Republicans in the House, wants to make it illegal for someone to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of certain high-ranking...

The Violent Rhetoric End Game, Revealed.
The “Violent Rhetoric” End Game, Revealed. At last we see the end game of all the weekend “violent rhetoric” talk from the left. Several leading House Democrats blamed the inflammatory rhetoric for contributing to the Tucson massacre, while Republicans denounced criticism of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) following the tragedy. One lawmaker, Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), has said he would introduce a bill to make it a crime to threaten or incite violence against a federa...

Dem leader: Alleged shooter sought 'Second Amendment remedy'
Rep. James Clyburn said it is impossible not to connect fiery campaign Rhetoric to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).  The number three-ranking House Democrat invoked the Rhetoric of a Tea Party Senate Candidate in describing the actions of the man accused of shooting Giffords (D-Ariz.).  "He saw a Second Amendment remedy and that's what occurred here and there is no way not to make that connection," Clyburn said during an interview with the Charleston Post and Courier. 

Security review rises to top of congressional agenda after attack
An increased police presence at district events, stepped-up Airport Security for members and even a bomb-proof shield around the House gallery are under discussion in the wake of a recent Assassination attempt on a lawmaker.  The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Saturday has shaken staff and members and left them pushing for a comprehensive review of the Capitol Police’s security procedures even as they strive to remain accessible to constituents.  U.S. Capitol Police offic

Citing shootings, Sen. Sanders solicits campaign donations
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) issued a Fundraising plea Tuesday in which he cited the Tucson shooting and accused "right-wing reactionaries" of contributing to a threatening political climate. "Given the recent tragedy in Arizona, as well as the start of the new Congress, I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few words with political friends in Vermont and throughout the country," he wrote at the opening of the lengthy plea for campaign donations. Sanders, who is up for Reelection i...

[Headline] - PISTOL SALES SURGE AFTER AZ SHOOTING
Wolff was right. Instead of hurting sales, the massacre had the $499 semi-automatic pistols -- popular with police, sport shooters and gangsters -- flying out the doors of his Glockmeister stores in Mesa and Phoenix. “We’re at double our volume over what we usually do,” Wolff said two days after the Shooting Spree that also left 14 wounded, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in critical condition. A national debate over weaknesses in state and...

Zev Yaroslavsky: A Time to Cool the Rhetoric
On Saturday morning, before she was shot, Gabrielle Giffords was performing one of her most vital duties as a public servant. She was meeting with the public. The Arizona congresswoman knew there were risks; last March, the windows of her office were shattered after her vote for Health Care reform. During her hotly contested campaign for Reelection, gun gimmicks and imagery abounded. On a map on Sarah Palin's political action committee's website, Giffords' district was among a number that had ...

Left-Wing Democrats Use Giffords Shooting to Raise Funds
Here is a screen capture of a letter sent out by 21st Century Democrats on the night of the shooting. If someone clicks the "Click here to share your thoughts" link, They are taken to a page with a duplicate of the letter, comment box and donation button. 21st Century Democrats claim to be "Building A progressive Majority" and, claim in the letter, to have helped reelect Giffords in 2010. Their 2010 Candidates page features Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold, Keith Ellison and Alan Grayson among other...

Arizona shootings unlikely to change federal gun laws
WASHINGTON — Federal Gun Control proposals may accelerate following the Tucson massacre in which an Arizona congresswoman was seriously injured, but they'll still face high legal and legislative hurdles. With Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and a Supreme Court majority embracing Second Amendment rights, significant new congressional action appears unlikely. At most, lawmakers may try to pick around the edges. "I think the odds of something passing the House ...