Tragedy in Arizona

A Tale of Two Sheriffs
The Tucson massacre that left six dead and injured 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, brought into sharp public focus the local sheriff, Clarence Dupnik. He’s been the sheriff of Pima County, which includes Tucson, Arizona’s second-largest city, for 30 years. For the 20 years before that, he was a police officer. Dupnik has gained attention this week for linking the shooting to the vitriolic political climate in the U.S., and in particular, Arizona. Speaking at a Press Conference...

Public memorial set for Arizona shooting victims
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The city shaken by a shooting rampage that killed six people and left 14 injured prepared to come together at a church Tuesday to mourn the Victims, including a 9-year-old girl who sang in the choir. Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas will preside over the first official tribute to the victims at St. Odilia Catholic Church. The Diocese called the service a “Mass of healing for our community.” The modern turquoise-and-white church is only blocks from Saturday̵...

The Issue Is Guns
There is little question that political discourse in the United States in the early 21st century will never be confused with the Lincoln-Douglas debate. Political combatants take an unseemly delight in characterizing opponents as enemies of the state, and reasonably decent public servants can expect to be labeled as pinheads and traitors, puppets of capital and apologists for Terrorism. This has been going on for some time; indeed, historians will note that no election in recent memory surpass...

In Arizona, Obama to honor memories, speak of hope
WASHINGTON — Under high expectations to provide healing, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will try to convert the horror of the Arizona shootings into a moment of national unity, centering his memorial Speech in Tucson on the lives of the Victims and the heroism of those who rushed to stop the madness. The president was crafting his Speech on Tuesday, and his aides were reluctant to discuss it even broadly in its unfinished form, other than to say it will emphasize the memories of tho...

Next on the AZ Target List: Rep. Raul Grijalva?
I have some concern right now (in addition to the Victims of Sat’s shooting) for Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ). He had to close his local offices in Yuma and Tucson back in April 2010 because of threats arising from Racists over Immigration and the infamous S.B. 1070 law. From HuffPo: Grijalva Staffer Ruben Reyes said the office has been flooded with calls all week about Senate Bill 1070. About 25 percent are “very racist” in nature, Reyes said, characterizing some as “t...

Budget cuts, stigma cause mentally ill to fall through cracks (The Lookout)
State Budget cuts, as well as a widespread stigma attached to Mental Illness, may have made it easier for the suspect in Saturday's deadly Tucson shootings to slip through the cracks despite clear signs of Mental Illness, according to Mental Health advocates in Arizona and nationally. Cuts to Arizona's Mental Health services wiped out funding for the kind of early detection and intervention programs that might have steered the shooting suspect, Jared Loughner, into treatment, they say. But a b...

Sic To Clyburn: Kiss My Black Ass
If I knew how to Photoshop a rifle target on U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s face, I’d have done it … It’s not that I want anybody to bust a cap in his tired old Cosby wardrobe raidin’ ass , I just know that “Controversial” imagery like that would capably reinforce this website’s commitment to the First Amendment at a time when Clyburn and his Socialist allies in Washington D.C. seem intent on tramping all over it. As part of the leftist overreaching that ...

Accused gunman's family 'so very sorry' for shootings
Provide feedback to the multimedia producers. Thank you. Your feedback was successfully sent. Video will begin in 5 seconds. What type of connection do you have? Your video format settings have been saved. President Obama says the US continues to grieve the shooting in Arizona which left six people dead. The family of accused Tucson gunman Jared Loughner has apologised to the relatives of those he is accused of gunning down, saying in a first statement since the shooting, "we are so very sorry f...

Vt. senator cites shootings in fundraising letter
MONTPELIER, Vt. — An independent U.S. senator from Vermont drew criticism Tuesday from Republicans for citing this past weekend's shootings in Arizona in a Fundraising letter for his 2012 re-election campaign. The e-mail that Sen. Bernie Sanders sent 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. In his d...

Resolution to Condemn Attack in 'Strongest Possible Terms'
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will bring up a Bipartisan resolution Wednesday that “condemns in the strongest possible terms” the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Tucson over the weekend. Boehner will formally introduce the measure at 10 a.m.; it will specifically name the Victims of the shooting, including those who died: Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabriel Zimmerman....

Tighter Gun-control Laws A Long Shot
(NewsCore) - 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, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. 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. P...

House to Honor Tucson Victims, First Responders with Resolution
The U.S. House of Representatives will honor Victims of the Tucson, Arizona shooting rampage. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will call up House Resolution 11 Wednesday morning to honor the dead and injured as well recognize several acts of heroism on the scene. The text of the Resolution states, "The House of Representatives condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific attack which occurred at the 'Congress on your Corner' event hosted by Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson...

Newsweek blames Giffords shooting on failure to crackdown on right-wing extremists
Newsweek thinks the discredited 2009 DHS report on right-wing Extremism could have helped stop Giffords' shooter Jared Loughner. The problem with this ridiculous theory is Jared Loughner is a left-wing lunatic according to people who actually knew him. (Newsweek) — Two years before the Tucson massacre, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a report that right-wing Extremism was on the rise and could prompt “lone wolves” to launch attacks. But the agency backed away from...

Dem Rep. Bob Filner: "We Have Been Threatened"
Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) spoke with CBS News Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes on Washington Unplugged about political discourse in the wake of the Tucson tragedy which left six dead and 14 others injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). Filner told Cordes that the heated political debates over Health Care, town-hall meetings and the 2010 Midterm Elections increased voter anger. "Like many of us across the country - including Gabby - we had, I'll just lump them together a...

House members want added security after Giffords shooting
House members will return to the Capitol on Wednesday for the first time since the Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that nearly killed colleague Gabrielle Giffords, and they are demanding improved protection ranging from office security cameras to the installation of a plexiglass barrier over the House floor. Members will meet Wednesday with the U.S. Capitol Police and the sergeant-at-arms to discuss security issues in the Capitol and at home in their own districts, which is where Giffords, a De...

Tea Party & Bernie Sanders Using Tucson Tragedy For Fundraising
I bet you never thought you’d see those two in the same headline. I’m a bit surprised myself. Bernie should know better. From The Weekly Standard comes the text of the email from Sanders… 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 reel...

Radical leftist punk band inspired accused gunman
Jared Loughner, the alleged Arizona assassin, may have been inspired by the radical leftist punk-rock band Anti-Flag, one of his favorite bands, according to a schoolmate who posted on Twitter.com her reminiscences about her association with Loughner. Loughner, 22, is in custody accused of opening fire into a crowd in Tucson, Ariz., killing six and critically wounding Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Understand what's happening to America's culture and what you can do to fight it with ...

Do classrooms hold lessons on the link between rhetoric and violence?
No one has yet blamed Jared Loughner's teachers for his violent mind-set and actions in Arizona, but teachers and parents have long been aware that inflammatory Rhetoric can spark agitation in Children. Did increasingly hostile political Rhetoric incite Loughner to violence? Of course not -- we know that from exhaustive studies of children exposed to television and Video Game violence. But we still bear a responsibility to teach and model Civil Discourse. Does Sarah Palin's "take back the 20" W...

Obama to give State of the Union Jan 25 (AFP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama will deliver his annual agenda-setting "State of the Union" Speech on January 25, his first in a tense new era of divided US government, officials confirmed Tuesday. "As many great challenges lie ahead for our nation, we welcome an opportunity to hear your proposals," Republican US House Speaker John Boehner said in a letter formally inviting the president to make the yearly address. The Speech will come after Republicans form...

Obama to deliver State of the Union address on Jan. 25
WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner has formally invited President Obama to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on Jan. 25. "As many great challenges lie ahead for our nation, we welcome an opportunity to hear your proposals," the Ohio Republican wrote in a letter released Tuesday afternoon. The Speech will officially be Obama's second State of the Union address, and his fourth to a joint session of Congress. But it will be his first speaking to a Republican-majority House, ...

The amazing recovery of Gabrielle Giffords
By Michael J.W. Stickings We've been focusing a great deal on the shooting and on what was behind it, that is, the larger socio-political context, but, lest we forget, the most amazing part of the story is happening at a Hospital in Tuscon: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is able to breathe on her own, doctors said Tuesday. Giffords remains on a ventilator to help her recovery, said neurosurgeon G. Michael Lemole Jr. Giffords n...

A Loaded Question, Part 2
Dave Weigel notes that Arizona Republicans like State Sen. Jack Harper have no compunction against immediately expanding Gun Rights in the state. In Arizona, gun-rights groups don't have to worry about the "anti-freedom bigots" at all. Harper and Pearce are right; they began this year with the votes to expand gun rights, picking up right where they left off last year. They passed a "Constitutional Carry Act" that expanded the right to carry weapons in public—the right Arthur Olivas was enj...

A Brief History of Hate and Political Violence in Arizona
Whatever Jared Loughner’s motivations were (and I think there are some clear signs of influence that we’ve been documenting here at JJP), there’s no question that there’s a dark footprint of Hate Speech, threats and political violence in Arizona. It’s routine apparently and it has escalated over the past few years. I think it’s really important to keep the environment and context in which Loughner was acting in mind when he attempted to assassinate his Member ...

Systematic assassinations not part of our politics
Charles Dharapak/AP A book of condolences is laid out for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and other Shooting Victims, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. Giffords was shot Saturday in a Tucson shooting rampage that left six people dead. The steam seems to be going out of the move to "deftly pin this" -- the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others -- "on the Tea Partiers," as one unidentified senior Democratic operative put...

Rep. Giffords' condition improves after shooting
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - Representative Gabrielle Giffords is breathing on her own and doctors on Tuesday were hopeful about her recovery from a head wound suffered in an Arizona Shooting Spree that killed six people. Giffords, a popular 40-year-old Democrat, is still in critical condition at a Tucson Hospital but is "holding her own," responding to simple commands and breathing without the aid of her ventilation tube, her doctor said. "She has no right to look this good. We're hopeful," Dr. ...