Steve Hynd Making Sense Again

What President Obama should say (#obamashouldsay)
President Obama is scheduled to speak in Arizona Wednesday evening. The Speech will come four days after a gunman, identified by police as Jared Lee Loughner, killed six people and wounded 14 during a shooting rampage in front of a Tucson Supermarket. Among the dead: a nine-year old girl who aspired to enter politics and a Federal Judge. Among the wounded: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), the apparent target. Analysts and commentators around the web are giving the president advice regarding wh...

Exposed--documentation of Leftwing hate, threats
The concerted effort by the Leftwing, the Mainstream Media, and high-profile Democrats to blame Conservatives for the Tuscon shooting continues this afternoon. Senators Patrick Leahy and John Kerry alluded to the 'need to curb rightwing Rhetoric.'  Liberals in Congress have stated they wish to pass Legislation to curb certain forms of free Speech. One Congressman in particular stated this afternoon on Fox News that Sharron Angle, GOP Candidate for Senate in Nevada, was partly responsible fo...

Peter King: Both Sides to Blame for Inflamed Rhetoric
In a brief interview after his Gun Control Press Conference with Mayor Michael Bloomberg today, Long Island Congressman Peter King weighed in on the big question that has been dominating the blogosphere: How much is the violent Rhetoric, of the type used by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, responsible for the Gabrielle Giffords tragedy? King's take: The media were too quick to pounce on shooter Jared Loughner's supposed radical affiliations. "I think too many elements in the media were too quick...

Craig Crawford: Little Big Stories
When Small People do things that create big stories we only confirm what they want. In their pitiful minds we make them a Big Deal. Their profile goes global. Their psychotic innermost thoughts become part of the national conversation. They become infamous. Which is all they want. It's unavoidable, but sad. And only encourages others. Instead of blaming partisan Rhetoric why not examine how the Arizona killer got a gun? There's no evidence that political hot Speech turned Jared Lee Loughner in...

Americans get it: It's just a horrible coincidence
CBS News is out with a new poll today that finds Americans strongly rejecting the notion that the political climate played a role in Saturday's attempted Assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Fifty-seven percent of respondents say that the nation's "harsh political tone" didn't have anything to do with the shooting rampage, compared with 32 percent who say it did play a role. Not surprisingly, Republicans are more unified in denying any linkage (a 69 to 19 percent margin), but even a plurali...

Sarah Palin's presidential hopes surely can't survive this assassin's bullet | Jonathan Freedland
It's not exactly fair. Palin didn't pull the trigger that killed six people, including a nine-year-old girl, in Arizona and left a member of Congress fighting for her life. But politics isn't fair. The cold reality is that the individual most politically damaged by the Saturday shootings is the former vice-presidential Candidate turned Reality TV star, bestselling author and all-round media phenomenon. For proof, just imagine how a Palin Presidential Campaign would now unfold. Her fellow Republi...

Bloomberg, King, offer gun legislation after shooting in Arizona
 In light of the recent shooting in Arizona, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Republican Congressman Peter King are joining forces in support of a safe, sane, federal policy towards Firearms. In New York City, during a news conference at City Hall, the two introduced Legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress and Federal Judges. The measure will also apply to carrying weapons near the president or vice president.  New Y...

Detroit Free Press, Detroit News blame 2nd amendment for Arizona shooting
Deranged lunatics hell-bent on killing people will always be able to procure a weapon no matter the Gun Laws. All gun restrictions do is take weapons away from law-abiding citizens. When seconds count to save your life, the police are only minutes away. The liberal MSM just don't get the simple fact that the Founding Fathers wanted us to have the right to Bear Arms for a very good reason. The Detroit Free Press - the same outfit that predicted unprecedented violence when Michigan adopted far l...

New Theory for Tucson Tragedy: Blame the Atheists
I hadn't wanted to weigh in on the political debate over accused killer Jared Loughner's motives in Tucson. Mainly, because I don't know what those motives are. For now, only this young man and the demons haunting his brain know for sure what provoked him, as he is charged, to shoot 20 people, killing six. In the length of time that it took to get Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to the Hospital, I had hoped that amid this tragedy, common sense and decency might prevail. Then the tweets started. And once...

Leahy: Don't overdo security for lawmakers
In the wake of the recent Arizona Shooting Spree, Sen. Patrick Leahy said Tuesday that more rank-and-file lawmakers do not need radically beefed up security, likening that sort of situation to totalitarian states he has visited. Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a Speech at the Newseum that Capitol police had provided “superb” security after he had been sent a letter contaminated by Anthrax following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.  But he also said that he feels

Blood Libel
The drumbeat of blaming Conservatives for causing the Tucson shooting seems that it will never cease.   No evidence has yet been presented that Jared Lee Loughner had ever heard of Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh, let alone was provoked by their words. Yet the rush to conclusions proceeds completely uninhibited by any evidentiary requirement.  It seems sufficient for some to presume that Conservatives = guns/violence, therefore, Conservatives are to blame for any violent attack using a firearm. ...

Mental illness expert: Yes, ask whether political climate was a trigger for shooter
Dr. Marvin Swartz, a Professor of psychiatry and leading expert in Mental Illness, told Greg Sargent today that yes, the nation's political climate should be considered in the Jared Lee Loughner case. "It's a reasonable question to ask," Dr. Marvin Swartz, a psychiatry Professor at Duke University who specializes in how environment impacts the behavior of the mentally ill, said in an interview this morning. "The nature of someone's delusions is effected by culture. It's a reasonable line of inq...

Obama Should Focus on Mental Health Care.
I wasn't a fan of David Frum 's "reefer madness" post on the Loughner shooting, but this is a good recommendation for what President Obama should say in his comments in Arizona tomorrow: Go all in on Mental Health. Liberals will want the president to address Gun Control. Unsmart. Stokes your opposition, leads to a political contest you cannot win, and even if you do win, what really do you accomplish? A ban on extended magazines? Next time the killer will bring two guns. But more resources for ...

Arizona Shootings: The Culture of Guns
New York Times columnist David Brooks chided the media for making the "extremely murky" link between political Rhetoric and actual violence. Jon Stewart says "you don't know what a troubled mind will get caught on." And conservative radio talk hosts have characterized Jared Lee Loughner as an isolated case, while their liberal critics are seizing on the tragedy for political gain. In all of the passionate takes on what led to the tragedy, up to now relatively little atten...

Arizona Sheriff Dever Says Its Frightening to Lay Blame on Anyone Elses Doorstep
Of all the great sheriffs in Arizona, the tragedy had to happen in Dipstick’s district. Today, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he did not understand why Dipstick would lay blame at anyone else’s doorstep. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he does not understand why his friend and colleague, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, would suggest at a news conference following Saturday’s shooting in Tucson that political ideology played a role in the tragedy. At a press...

Tucson shooting victim shielded wife from hail of bullets
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - An elderly man who died using his body to shield his wife from a withering hail of bullets when a gunman sprayed a crowd in Tucson on Saturday, was remembered for his heroics on Tuesday. Dorwan Stoddard, a 76-year-old retired Construction Worker, died saving his wife, Mavanelle, by covering her on the ground as the gunmen shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others at a street corner congressional outreach event. "We are just blessed that he is walking with the Lord n...

MSNBC's Contessa Brewer: 'People' Are Blaming 'Vitriolic Right-Wing Talkers' for Shooting
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer on Tuesday spread the blame for Saturday's spree shooting, singling out "vitriolic right-wing talkers and the Tea Party." Several groups seemed to be on Brewer's list, with the notable exception of Jared Loughner. He was only mentioned as a failure of the Mental Health system. Closing the 12pm hour of News Live, Brewer summarized, "We've been following the fallout from the Tucson shooting and there is a lot of blame to go around. People are ...

Tighter Gun-Control Laws: A Long Shot
Yahoo! Buzz The Tucson shootings have renewed an effort among Northeast lawmakers to strengthen federal gun-control laws, but a partisan climate and an influential gun lobby mean that talk may be as far as it gets. On Tuesday, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D., N.Y.), whose husband was killed by a lone gunman in a 1993 Shooting Spree, said she would introduce Legislation to reinstate a ban on high-capacity magazines like the one used by the Tucson shooter. Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) said that he would o...

GOP lawmaker to introduce new gun control legislation
Congressman Peter King (R-NY) announced Tuesday he will introduce new Legislation making it illegal to knowingly carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress and Federal Judges.  The new law will also apply to anyone within 1,000 feet of the President or Vice President. Congressman Peter King today also announced that he will introduce Legislation that will make it illegal to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of the President, Vice President, Members of Congress or judges...

King to introduce gun-restriction legislation in response to Tucson shooting
Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, will introduce Legislation that will make it a federal crime to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of federal officeholders and judges in response to the shooting in Tucson that killed Judge John Roll and gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.  King, who chairs the Homeland Security committee in the House, will get support from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a longtime advocate for Gun Control (via The Daily Caller): Rep. Peter King, a Rep...

Infidel Bloggers Alliance
The Hill: Poll: Rhetoric, Arizona shooting unrelated By Jordan Fabian - 01/11/11 08:13 AM ET Almost 60 percent of the public believes that heated political rhetoric has nothing to do with an Arizona Shooting Spree that gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and killed a Federal Judge. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in a new CBS News poll said rhetoric is unrelated to the shooting, while 32 percent said they believe the two are connected. Many pundits and lawmakers have keyed in on ...

Sarah Palin Under fire!
Sarah Palin under Fire! Headlines around the world confusing the issues by blaring, “Weight of words in focus after shooting”, by CNN. Gabrielle Giffords shooting: has the backlash damaged Sarah Palin? Guardian.co.uk With the shootings in Arizona last weekend involving Gabrielle Gifford and 19 others there is another interesting factor that the News Media has failed to note and may of just have played an important factor. In 2007 Jared Loughner attended a rally where Gabrielle Giffo...

About that Republican who supports gun control ...
Ryan Grim at Huffington Post reports: Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, is planning to introduce Legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a government official, according to a person familiar with the congressman's intentions. As I explored in a piece today, the chances that Gun Control Legislation will pass through this Congress, even in the wake of the Arizona Mass Shooting, are slim. But still, it's worth considering King's proposal. And if th...

Loughner's Parents: Did They Know About His Mental Illness?
Alleged Arizona shooter Jared Loughner is the only child of Randy and Amy Loughner, described by neighbors as an unfriendly, isolated couple. Claire Martin and Masada Siegel report on their odd behavior—and why they’re hiding from the media. Plus, full coverage of the Arizona shooting....

Environmental Influence on Violent Psychotics, Part II
With the help of one of the authors of the study I cited yesterday, Jeffrey Swanson of Duke, and a Psychiatrist friend who teaches at a major university and has treated patients with psychosis for close to 20 years, I have tracked down some other articles on the subject of environmental influence on people with violent psychosis. First, though, let me restate the caveat with which I opened part one of this discussion yesterday. We know very little about Loughner—is he mentally ill, what dr...