TRENDING: Politically charged e-mail on Arizona shootings draws fundraising scrutiny

Saunders Fundraises Off Arizone Murders
Bernie Saunders There has been no shortage of individuals and institutions that have sought to capitalize on the shootings in Tucson. Add Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to that list. This afternoon Sanders sent out a Fundraising appeal, seeking to raise money to fight Republicans and other "right-wing reactionaries" responsible for the climate that led to the shooting. He writes: Given the recent tragedy in Arizona, as well as the start of the new Congress, I wanted to take this opportunity...

'Gabby opened her eyes': Obama
Last year, colour was reserved for cushions. Now, it’s on the sofa Would the real Lisbeth Salander please stand up? Scandal Sheet: Selena Gomez feeling gleeful? President Barack Obama hugs NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), as he arrives to attend the event "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America" honoring the January 8 shooting vi. Jeff Mason and Tim Gaynor, Reuters with files from Agence-France Presse · Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 U.S. President ...

the Fruits of Political Extremism
The motives of the gunman who shot the US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killed six bystanders in Tuscon on Saturday are unclear. We do not know whether the youth who has been arrested for the crime, Jared Loughner, was driven by political grievance or Mental Illness. But to many in America this looks like an atrocity that was waiting to happen. Since Barack Obama entered the White House two years ago, the American right has adopted partisan Rhetoric of the most reckless kind. A year ago...

Obama visits wounded Giffords
TUCSON, Ariz - President Barack Obama visited wounded U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords Wednesday to begin an emotional trip to Arizona as political leaders condemned the deadly Shooting Spree in Tucson. Obama’s Motorcade carried him to University Medical Center shortly after he landed in Tucson to address a memorial service for the six killed and 14 wounded by a gunman who opened fire while Giffords met voters last Saturday. “The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by st...

Rhetoric as comfort food: The mac-and-cheese instinct
Neither the right nor the left lost any time criticizing the other after the Tucson shootings, but it's increasingly clear the suspect was not politically motivated. If only we could go back to Monday. Discussions about Saturday's shootings in Tucson, which killed six and wounded 13, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were so much simpler then: inflamed, righteous and deliciously partisan in a comfort-food kind of way. The fallout from the tragedy took a neat and predictable course: t...

Obama leads mourning of Arizona shooting victims
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - President Barack Obama mourned the Victims of an Arizona shooting spree on Wednesday and urged Americans not to let the debate over the tragedy be used as "one more occasion to turn on one another." In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He warned against seeking "sim...

Obama leads mourning of Arizona shooting victims (Reuters)
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) – President Barack Obama mourned the Victims of an Arizona Shooting Spree on Wednesday and urged Americans not to let the debate over the tragedy be used as "one more occasion to turn on one another." In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He warned ag...

Obama leads mourning of Arizona shooting victims
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - President Barack Obama mourned the Victims of an Arizona shooting spree on Wednesday and urged Americans not to let the debate over the tragedy be used as "one more occasion to turn on one another." In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critically wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He warned against seeking "si...

Obama leads mourning of Arizona shooting victims
By Jeff Mason and Tim Gaynor TUCSON, Arizona | Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:10pm EST TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - President Barack Obama mourned the Victims of an Arizona Shooting Spree on Wednesday and urged Americans not to let the debate over the tragedy be used as "one more occasion to turn on one another." In an emotional address to thousands of people who packed a Tucson arena for a memorial service, Obama said no one knew what prompted a gunman to go on a rampage that killed six people and critic...

Obama leads Arizona memorial service
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - Thousands of people crowded an arena on Wednesday to hear President Barack Obama comfort Americans shaken by a shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. A memorial service that began with an American Indian blessing by a tribal elder was to conclude with a Speech by Obama who led a large contingent of dignitaries to the memorial service for the six killed and more than a dozen wounded. Obama began his visit to Arizona...

Bernie Sanders - Slimeball of the Week
"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. I also want to thank the very many supporters who have begun contributing online to my 2012 Reelection campaign at (his website) There is no question but that the Republican Party, big money Corporate Interests and right-wing organizations will vigorously oppose me. Your financial support now and ...

Obama goes for unity in Tucson memorial speech
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Summoning the soul of a nation, President Barack Obama on Wednesday implored Americans to honor those slain and injured in the Arizona shootings by becoming better people, telling a polarized citizenry that it is time to talk with each other "in a way that heals, not in a way wounds." Following a Hospital bedside visit with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the Assassination, he said: "She knows we're here, and she knows we love her." In a memorably dramatic momen...

Text: President Obama's Tucson Memorial Speech
Tucson, Ariz. - "To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the Students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow. There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We jo...

Leave it to Sarah Palin restore order
In the accompanying video on the left side bar, Governor, Sara Palin gives thoughtful reasoned comments of the recent acts of horror committed by a deranged young man resulting in the death and injury of innocents.  Governor Palin  discusses the issue in light of the exceptional nature the US Constitution, and how Americans transfer power through spirited debate and not blood shed, the U.S. is an example to the entire world. The media of course is first to attempt to politicize ...

Bernie Sanders Uses Tucson in Fundraising Pitch
Stephen Hayes at The Weekly Standard points to a Fundraising letter sent out by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic Socialist of Vermont, that uses the Tucson shootings in a pitch for political contributions to help fight off  ”the Republican Party, big money Corporate Interests and right-wing organizations.” What should be understood is that the violence, and threats of violence against Democrats in Arizona, was not limited to Gabrielle Giffords.  Raul Grijalva, an old friend ...

Sen. Sanders uses Arizona massacre in fundraising pitch
There has been no shortage of individuals and institutions that have sought to capitalize on the shootings in Tucson. Add Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to that list. This afternoon Sanders sent out a Fundraising appeal, seeking to raise money to fight Republicans and other “right-wing reactionaries” responsible for the climate that led to the shooting. 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 word...

Vt. senator cites shootings in fundraising letter
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — An independent U.S. senator from Vermont is being criticized by national Republicans for citing this past weekend’s shootings in Arizona in a Fundraising letter. The letter that Sen. Bernie Sanders sent out on Tuesday begins by mentioning the Shooting Spree in Tucson that killed six people and left Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others wounded. The letter also mentions issues such as health care, Social Security and taxes. Sanders is up for re-e...

Sanders fundraising e-mail: Is Ariz. safe for non-Republicans?
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is sharing his thoughts on the tragedy in Arizona through a Fundraising e-mail, skating on a thin political line. The self-described Socialist even goes as far as to question whether Arizona welcomes political dialogue from those outside the Republican Party. "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 count...

Vt. senator cites shootings in fundraising letter
An independent U.S. senator from Vermont is being criticized by national Republicans for citing this past weekend's shootings in Arizona in a Fundraising letter. The letter that Sen. Bernie Sanders sent out on Tuesday begins by mentioning the Shooting Spree in Tucson that killed six people and left Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others wounded. The letter also mentions issues such as Health Care, Social Security and taxes. Sanders is up for re-election in 2012. Brian Walsh of the...

Megyn Kelly Upset Over Sen. Sanders Mention Of Arizona Shooting While Fundraising
Democratic Strategist Richard Socarides visited America Live today to discuss Vermont senator Bernie Sanders ‘ decision to discuss the weekend’s shooting in Arizona in a newsletter wherein the Independent Senator also appealed for campaign donations. Was it in poor taste? Host Megyn Kelly certainly thinks so. Socarides opined that Sanders’ letter was first and foremost “a political newsletter, not a Fundraising appeal, not a request for funds.” Kelly then pointed o...

Latest Tool to Fund-Raise Off Giffords' Shooting is Liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has sent out a fund-raising letter in response to Rep. Giffords' shooting. 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. I also want to thank the very many supporters who have begun contributing online to my 2012 Reelection campaign at www.bernie.org. There is no question but that the Republican Party, big money corporat...

Liveblog: President Obama Speaks at Together We Thrive Event in Tucson
The President will speak sometime during the “Together We Thrive” event happening at the McKale Center on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, four days after the Assassination attempt that wounded 15 people, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), and killed 6 others, including a Giffords Staffer, a Federal Judge and four constituents. It is expected that he will speak for 20 minutes and focus mainly on the Victims themselves: The remarks - written to last ju...

Obama visits shot politician in hospital
US President Barack Obama has made a poignant visit to wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Hospital, four days after she was gunned down in an Assassination attempt. Obama spent time with Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, a US Space Shuttle Astronaut, at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, before heading to a memorial service to pay tribute to those killed and wounded in the attack. "The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by stopping first at the hospital where c...

So who will? Someone has to...
PHOENIX (AP) -- All Federal Judges in Arizona have recused themselves from hearing the case against the man accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and four other federal employees. An order issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver says the impartiality of the Arizona judges could be questioned given that one of people killed in the shooting was U.S. District Judge John Roll of Tucson. Roll was the chief federal judge for Arizona. Alex Kozinski, chief judge for the 9th U.S. C...

Giffords making spontaneous movements, doctor says
Stumble This! 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 move...