Infidel Bloggers Alliance

Reaction to Tucson Shooting: Defining Moment for Left
In the immediate aftermath of the attempt on the life of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), many (but fortunately not all) on the left were quick to blame conservative Rhetoric.  They thought hoped this shooting would prove to be their silver bullet in their war on the right, proof of their creed that conservative rhetoric breeds violence. They intended to use it as a defining moment of the currently re-ascendant Conservative Movement.  Instead, their reaction has made it a defining momen

Giffords "making more spontaneous movements," doctor says
TUCSON (Reuters) - Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, gravely injured in a shooting rampage, is "making more spontaneous movements" and is able to feel her bullet wounds with her hands, a doctor treating her said on Wednesday. Giffords was shot through the head by a gunman who raked a meeting with semi-automatic pistol fire in Tucson on Saturday, killing six people including a Federal Judge, a 9 year-old girl and one of Giffords' aides. "She is making more and more spontaneous movements ... she ...

Sarah Palin Invokes Anti-Semitic Term Blood Libel in Reaction to Arizona Shootings
There has been extensive discussion about whether intensified hateful Rhetoric used in partisan debate may have incited accused Arizona shooter Jared Loughner to try to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at her Congress on the Corner event Saturday, wounding 13 others and killing six.  Loughner himself has not yet explicitly expressed a motive, though Law Enforcement has uncovered evidence indicating an extreme political dislike for Giffords. Journalists such as Keith Olbermann and others ...

Officers Stopped Suspect on Day of Ariz. Shooting
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP)-- The suspect in a deadly Arizona shooting ran a red light and was stopped by a wildlife officer less than three hours before the attack that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The Arizona Game and Fish Department says an officer stopped Jared Loughner at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expression, ...

Accused Arizona gunman stopped for running red light
TUCSON, Arizona | Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:21pm EST TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - Arizona shooting rampage suspect Jared Loughner was pulled over for running a stoplight about two hours before he shot six people dead and wounded 13 others at a Tucson shopping center, authorities said on Wednesday. A state Game and Fish Department officer made the Traffic Stop at around 7:30 a.m. local time on Saturday and issued Loughner a verbal warning after conducting a check of his driver's license and registrati...

UC Berkeley Chancellor Blames Ariz. Shooting on Hateful Speech
Yesterday morning, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau emailed the campus community with regard to the horrendous Mass Shooting in Arizona that killed a Federal Judge, a 9-year-old girl, and several others while gravely injuring Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the apparent target of the attack. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expres...

Update: Westboro vultures will leave Green family alone, but
The evil Westboro ghouls will stay away from 9-year-old Christina Green’s Funeral in Arizona, but as a result of a “deal,” they will get increased exposure of their vile views — and they still plan on protesting other Tucson massacre Victims’ memorial services. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church won’t picket the Funeral of a 9-year-old girl killed in Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., in exchange for g...

Arizona Sheriff, College Refusing To Release Public Records About Tucson Shooter
In response to Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, among others, blaming Conservatives and Talk Radio for creating an “atmosphere” that inspired Jarred Loughner to his Saturday Shooting Spree many have questioned whether or not Law Enforcement and other government officials in the Tucson area might not have had enough information on Loughner to have identified him as a threat before he hurt anyone. It’s a valid question worth asking (certainly more valid than blaming Rush Limb...

Sarah Palin proves -- again -- that she is a terrible politician
Sarah Palin didn't retreat. She reloaded. And she proved, again, that she is a ruinously incompetent politician. Over the weekend, liberal pundits overeagerly speculated that she may have inspired the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). After learning more about alleged shooter Jared Loughner, many of those same commentators restrained their criticism of the former Alaska Governor, and polls showed that Americans are skeptical of any connection. People recognized Palin had been unfair...

What is 'blood libel'?
Carrie Dann writes: Within minutes of the release of Sarah Palin’s video response to the Tucson shootings, the Web ignited with furious debate about the former Alaska Governor’s use of the phrase “blood Libel” to describe connections drawn between Arizona shooter Jared Loughner and Conservatives who have used guns and violence as metaphors for political Activism. In a nearly eight-minute long message, Palin said that “Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a...

So not that I should be surprised that Andrew Breitbart would liken criticism to rape
But seriously? Sarah Palin is being criticized for using the term “blood Libel” in a statement casting herself and fellow Conservatives as Victims of the Arizona shootings, because liberals are mean when they say that violent Rhetoric can beget violence. Andrew Breitbart apparently decided to respond, tweeting: I used ‘blood Libel’ because I thought using analogy of lefties at pinball machine in Jodie Foster film ‘The Accused’ was too obscure. Oh fuck you. Fo...

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...

Most Americans do not blame political rhetoric for AZ shootings, survey says
Stumble This! WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans reject the view that heated political Rhetoric was a factor in the weekend shootings in Arizona which killed six and critically wounded a congresswoman, a CBS News poll said on Tuesday. Since the Saturday incident in which Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in which strong language and ideological polarization is common may have contributed to the att...

U.S. majority doesn't blame rhetoric for Giffords shooting
WASHINGTON | Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:18am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans reject the view that heated political Rhetoric was a factor in the weekend shootings in Arizona which killed six and critically wounded a congresswoman, a CBS News said on Tuesday. Since the Saturday incident in which Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot at point-blank range, various politicians and commentators have said a climate in which strong language and ideological polarization is com...

Poll: Most Say Rhetoric, Killings Unrelated
From a deeply saddened CBS News: Poll: Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated Posted by Daniel Carty January 11, 2011 Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country’s heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. So either our media master has better ratchet up their efforts or move on to their fall back position - Gun Control. In the wake ...

Officers stopped suspect on day of Ariz. shooting
(01-12) 10:55 PST Tucson, Ariz. (AP) -- In the hours before the Assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Jared Loughner went to Walmart, was pulled over for running a red light and ran from his father after an angry confrontation. Investigators are piecing together the timeline of Loughner's frenzied morning before the attack that killed six. "What he did and the morning before the shooting, we're just trying to find all that out," said sheriff's Capt. Chris Nanos. Nanos wouldn't...

Federal AZ judges recuse themselves in Loughner case
All Federal Judges in Tucson have taken themselves off the case of Jared Loughner. A brief order filed late Wednesday by Judge Raner Collins, on behalf of the other Tucson Federal Judges and magistrate judges, said, "[I]n order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and because a judge has a duty to disqualify him or herself if his or her impartiality could be reasonably questioned, whether or not such impartiality actually exists, this Court must recuse itself." Judy Clarke, Loughner's defense...

The Political Consequences of Violence
I believe that The New Yorker’s George Packer has mistaken the meaning of a line in my column this week. He writes: Douthat wrote, in the spirit of phony equivalence, “If overheated Rhetoric and martial imagery really led inexorably to Murder, then both parties would belong in the dock,” but also this: “the Attempted Murder of a Democratic congresswoman is a potential gift to Liberalism.” In other words, everyone goes over the line now and then, no one actually want...

Palin's blood libel comment gets Dems' blood boiling
Far from backing down, Sarah Palin defended herself today against critics who linked her Rhetoric to the Arizona shootings,  accusing them of the long-condemned anti-Semitic slur "blood Libel." Palin opponents noted soon after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) that left six people dead that Palin had posted a map on her website last fall with gun sights on 20 districts, including Giffords'. She announced it with a tweet: "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" In her defense, Palin...

House honors Giffords; touches on guns, rhetoric, individual responsibility
During the first speeches in Congress since the Mass Shooting in Arizona, Gun Control, the role of Rhetoric, and individual responsibility were brought up. Members, introducing a resolution honoring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (R-AZ), largely stuck to honoring the Victims. But there were some notable moments of speeches that strayed from that. California Democrat and Veteran Member, Jane Harman, after praising Giffords and recognizing the victims, was the first to bring up gun control. "Finally, we ...

Palin Accuses Critics of 'Blood Libel' (updated)
Far from backing down, Sarah Palin defended herself today against critics who linked her Rhetoric to the Arizona shootings, accusing them of the long-condemned anti-Semitic slur "blood Libel." Palin opponents noted soon after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) that left six people dead that Palin had posted a map on her website last fall with gun sights on 20 districts, including Giffords'. She announced it with a tweet: "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!&quo...;

Pawlenty says 05 Minnesota government shutdown should have lasted longer
There wasn’t a great deal of fanfare last week when U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley released a three-year-long committee staff review of the financial activities of several media-based ministries and churches, but that is likely because the paper offers no concrete steps forward. In the wake of the shooting in Arizona this weekend that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and that killed and injured more than 20 people, many pundits and politicians are pointing fingers. Others are hoping th...

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...

Neither Tucson Sheriff Or Campus Police Will Release Psycho Killers Records
Arizona Republic: Sheriff’s Department and community-college officials in Pima County are refusing to release a wide range of public documents about the man charged in Saturday’s shooting rampage that left six dead and more than a dozen wounded. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Pima Community College have declined to release documents that could shed light on run-ins they had with 22-year-old Jared Loughner in the months prior to the shooting. The Arizona Public Recor...

Westboro Baptist Church Agrees Not to Protest 9-Year-Olds Funeral
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 By Staff, Associated Press Kansas City, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas church has decided to not Protest at the Funeral of a 9-year-old girl killed in a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz. Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka says church members will skip Thursday's Funeral of Christina Taylor Green in Tucson. Phelps-Roper says the church decided against the picket in exchange for airtime with 102.1 The Edge in Toronto, Canada, and an interview with K...