Missing From Loughner Debate: Soul Searching

Charles Krauthammer: 'The origins of Jared Loughner's delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Paul Krugman'
Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician, Charles Krauthammer, so often a voice of sanity and reason (he is, after all, a Psychiatrist) ... says today exactly what's been needing to be said, in what Peter Wehner refers to as "a 'spectacularly good column' that concludes with a devastating knockout of the New York Times columnist Paul Krugman." Here are a few excerpts to pique your interest. The money quote is "The origins of [Jared] Loughner's delusions ...

American history and the fallacy of right-wing violence
Calmer voices are beginning to be heard over the fading din of accusations following last Saturday’s shootings. Now comes the search for answers to two questions that are joined at the hip: (1) How do we protect our elected officials from harm by would-be assassins? (2) How do we go about rescripting our political dialogue so that its tone is constructive rather than incendiary? A putative answer to the first question has already been suggested in the somewhat misguided proposal that all 5...

Congress to honor Giffords, others
Published: Jan. 12, 2011 at 12:40 PM House Speaker John Boehner decried the rampage in Tucson, Ariz., in which six people died and 14 people were injured, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Ariz. lawmakers seek ban on Funeral Protests WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- House Speaker John Boehner decried the rampage in Tucson, Ariz., in which six people died and 14 people were injured, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. "These are difficult hours for our country," Boeh...

The Arizona massacre libel
Image by Getty Images via @daylife Charles Krauthammer: The charge: The Tucson massacre is a consequence of the "climate of hate" created by Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, ObamaCare opponents and sundry other liberal betes noires. The verdict: Rarely in American political discourse has there been a charge so reckless, so scurrilous and so unsupported by evidence. As killers go, Jared Loughner is not reticent. Yet among all his writings, postings, videos and other ravings - and in all...

Why Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' was a poor choice of words
Sarah Palin feels victimized by critics who accuse her of helping to create an angry political climate that led to the Tucson shootings, and she has a point. She chose a truly unfortunate way to make it, using the phrase "blood Libel." Here's the context, from Palin's eight-minute video statement on the shooting: "Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to con...

Monkey Wrench: Friend of Giffords Shooter Jared Loughner Says He Did Not Watch TV Disliked the News
whthfk on Police Visited Home of AZ Shooter on More Than One Occasion. Clarification on GOP Rep. Allen West: I Have No Plans to Tone Down My “Strong Language” in Wake of Giffords Shooting… Rep. James Clyburn, Sheriff “Vitriol” Dupnik and Paul Krugman simultaneously hardest hit. (TV Newser)- This morning on “Good Morning America,” ABC’s Ashleigh Banfield sat down with Zach Osler, a High School friend of Jared Loughner, the s...

Fitting Memorial For Arizona Shooting Victims
President Obama, will speak at tonight’s public memorial service for the Victims of last weekend’s shootings in Arizona. The service and Speech will be carried live on Cable News networks, online, and elsewhere, beginning at 8PM EST. As he grieves with and consoles thousands in person at the University of Arizona’s McKale Center in Tuscon, the president will also be reaching out to the entire nation, helping with the healing process, and framing this terrible tragedy as the tea...

Questions for Charles Krauthammer and others on the right
I agree with Charles Krauthammer: It's wrong to blame the Arizona shooting on any specific conservative commentators or individuals, as he argues in his column this morning. But in the spirit of civil debate that everyone is suddenly clamoring for, I have a couple of follow up questions for him -- or anyone else who feels like answering them -- that I hope he will address, which he could do anytime he likes over on the Post Partisan opinion blog. Krauthammer argues that claim that the rhetor...

Boehner Stymies Gun Reform
Wed Jan. 12, 2011 7:39 AM PST Gun Control advocates, stand down. That's the message being sent by newly engaveled House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who, The Hill reports, plans to reject the gun-control Legislation offered by Rep. Pete King (R-NY) in the wake of the Tucson massacre. King's bill would prevent people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members of Congress. A long-time proponent for stricter Gun Laws, King says his bill is meant to protect government officials and the publi...

House to condemn 'horrific attack' in Arizona
House Speaker John Boehner, struggling to hold back tears, opened a day of speeches on the resolution saying: "We are called here to mourn an unspeakable act of violence ... these are difficult hours for our country." Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a third-term Democrat from Tucson, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and remains hospitalized in critical condition. Thirteen others were wounded in addition to the six killed. The dead included one of Giffords' Washington aides, Gabriel Zimme...

House to condemn 'horrific attack' in Arizona
WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:56am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A saddened House of Representatives on Wednesday observed the Arizona shooting that left one of its members gravely wounded as it discussed a resolution condemning the "horrific attack" and honoring the six people killed. House Speaker John Boehner, struggling to hold back tears, opened a day of speeches on the resolution saying: "We are called here to mourn an unspeakable act of violence ... these are difficult hours for our co...

Wonkbook: NCLB reform coming; Boehner opposes new gun laws; John Kerry's speech; oil spill recommendations
Obama wants to revise No Child Left Behind, reports Nick Anderson: "President Obama will mount a fresh attempt this year to rewrite the No Child Left Behind education law, a top administration official said this week, and key congressional Republicans said they are ready to deal... Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of a subcommittee on elementary and secondary education, said there is Bipartisan consensus that the 2002 law should be overhauled...[but] some Republicans say a big bill could ...

Video: John Boehner Tribute to the Arizona Shooting Victims on the House Floor
Speaker John Boehner on the House floor this morning BOEHNER: "“These are difficult hours for our country,” Boehner said as the House opened debate on a resolution denouncing the massacre and honoring its Victims “Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not, This is a time for the House to lock arms in prayer for the fallen and the wounded and a resolve to carry on a dialogue of Democracy" “We may not have all the final answers, but we already have the answer that matte...

Boehner in tribute: 'Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not'
An emotional Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) paid tribute Wednesday to the Victims of the Tucson shooting, lauding the stricken Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) while pledging the House would “lock arms” in prayer and resolve. “These are difficult hours for our country,” Boehner said as the House opened debate on a resolution denouncing the massacre and honoring its victims. “Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not,” he said. “This is a time for the House to l

Heavy Metal and the Tucson Shootings
Drowning Pool, the metal band whose song “Bodies” made an appearance on alleged Tucson shooter Jared Loughner’s MySpace page, has responded to the very stupid suggestion that their dumb song had anything to do with last Saturday’s horrific Crimes. As The Daily Caller reports: A recent Washington Post article chronicles instances in which music has apparently influenced killers, most notably Charles Manson, whose fascination with The Beatles song “Helter Skelter” guided s

Americas Intellectual Instigators of Hatred: Rheinische Post, Germany
Continuing with our look at the German press reaction to the attack in Arizona, columnist Frank Herrmann of the Rheinische Post expresses relief that finally, Americans are looking inward and asking what it means when holding public office is synonymous with risking one’s life. America is in a state of shock. The bloodbath in Arizona has shaken a nation which must recognize that when hateful Rhetoric poisons the political climate, brutal violence may follow. Perhaps this was the act of a ...

Sarah Palin, where are your handlers?
So. Sarah Palin released an Internet video response today to those laying blame at her door for the "crosshairs" and Rhetoric and general partisan atmospherics surrounding the Giffords shooting. “Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood Libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn,” she said. “That is reprehensible.” The media is always a convenient scapegoat. But p...

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 ...

Arizona Shooting Funeral Protest Strains the First Amendment
The tragic shootings in Tucson raise, yet again, a critical question in a country which cherishes the First Amendment: how much must we tolerate intolerance in the defense of free Speech? It’s not even about conservative rabble-rouser Glenn Beck, who commonly uses heated Rhetoric (and some outright misstatements) to rally his supporters—and who is now piously attacking the left for purportedly using the shootings to taint the Tea Party movement. The sad truth is that while the shoo...

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: The Angry American Male
No sooner had Gabrielle Gifford been rushed to the Hospital with a massive gunshot wound to the head when the blame game got into full swing. Egged on by the comments of Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik the theory quickly emerged that right-wing conservative Tea Party Rhetoric had all but pulled the trigger. Conservatives shot back that the accusation was a "blood Libel," bereft of evidence and designed to score political points. Moreover, they argued, the left had spewed far more venom dur...

Jon Stewart, Reactionary
The clearest sign of the political cowardice and intellectual impotence of liberal America is its collective worship of Jon Stewart. Once upon a time, The Daily Show was probably funny - that’s presumably why it appears on Comedy Central. But Stewart long ago turned into the Oprah Winfrey for urban hipsters, his self-appointment as the arbiter-in-chief of smirking moderation masking a profoundly reactionary worldview. Stewart is reaping accolades this week for his handling on Monday night of...

House offers tribute to victims of Tucson shooting rampage
As it reconvened for its first day of legislative business following Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, lawmakers on Wednesday paid tribute to the Victims of the tragedy in a resolution and a series of statements on the House floor. Shortly after 10 a.m., the House reading clerk read the four-page resolution, which was offered by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Then, House leaders from both parties spoke from the floor about the Mass Shooting that killed six and wounded 14. Members are...

House Speaker John Boehner: 'Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not'
From House Speaker John Boehner's Speech given at the beginning of today’s House session: [...] We know that we gather here without distinction of party. The needs of this institution have always risen above Partisanship. And what this institution needs right now is strength -- holy, uplifting strength. The strength to grieve with the families of the fallen, to pray for the wounded, and to chart a way forward, no matter how painful and difficult i...

Boehner Calls Up House Resolution Honoring Tucson Victims, Responders
An emotional Speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, took to the house floor Wednesday with a Speech calling up a resolution honoring those killed and wounded in Saturday's shooting at a "Congress on Your Corner" event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in Tucson. Giffords is one of the wounded and remains in critical condition. "We're thankful, so thankful that Gabby is still with us," Boehner said fighting back tears. "Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. This is a ...

Boehner: 'Our Hearts Are Broken But Our Spirit Is Not'
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 By Staff House Speaker John Boehner at the swearing in of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., on Capitol Hill on Jan. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (CNSNews.com) - House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) delivered the following remarks on the House floor Wednesday as the House considered a  resolution condemning the shooting in Tucson, Arizona and honoring the Victims.  Following are Speaker Boehner’s remarks as prepared for delivery: “Today, we are called