Zandar's Thought Of The Day

The worst sheriff in America
In the ignominious tradition of camera-hogging Police Chief Charles Moose (remember him?), Pima County (AZ) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has become America’s new worst celebrity lawman. While he cuddles up to MSNBC’s entire Tea Party-bashing line-up, more facts about Tucson massacre suspect Jared Loughner’s encounters with Law Enforcement are coming out. We now learn: “The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion be...

ENOUGH OF THE APPALLING JACKASSERY Sheriff Dupnik Must Resign
Since he first opened his mouth on Saturday night to address the nation about the terrible shootings at a Tucson Safeway, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has been inaccurate, wrong, or completely biased in his handling of the case. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik must resign. Never have we witnessed a prominent public figure inaccurately and viciously politicize a national tragedy like Sheriff Dupnik. And in all of his statements he has either been wrong or misdirected. This bitter partisan must go. It’s ...

Malkin: The worst sheriff in America
You must read Michelle's roundup of the history of the Pima County Sheriff's interaction with dangerous nutbag Loughner.There are many heroes who showed indomitable courage and grace under fire during this weekend’s horrific Tucson massacre. Blowhard Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was not one of them. ....As Sheriff Dupnik himself has now admitted, Loughner leveled death threats against others that were investigated by Law Enforcement – and then apparently shrugged off. Locals note that L..

Systematic Assassinations Not Part of Our Politics
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 it to Politico. It has become obvious that the murderer was crazy, the follower of no political movement, motivated only by the bizarre ideas ricocheting through his head. If any blame attaches to others, it is to authorities who had notice of his madness and did not do enough to confine him o...

How Obama can talk about tolerance without trivializing tragedy (Exclusive to Yahoo! News)
By John Dickerson Slate.com For the second time in his tenure, President Obama will eulogize the Victims of a shooting. In November 2009—it now seems another era—he gave a small masterpiece of a Speech in honor of the 13 people killed when Army Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas. When Obama speaks Wednesday night in Tucson, he will of course memorialize those killed and wounded when Jared Lee Loughner allegedly opened fire. He is at his best telling stories. But O...

Obama Known For His Threats Toward The American People Calls His "Mini Me" Sheriff Dupnik To Thank Him
Obama called the dishonorable Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik today to thank him. This was after this POS Sheriff attacked in hate Speech Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, tea partyers and Conservatives. ABC News Political Pupnch by Jack Tapper Obama spoke today with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, families of some of the Victims, Rep. Giffords’ Rabbi and two of the heroes that helped in the Arizona tragedy on Saturday. In a phone call this afternoon with Sheriff Dupnik, according to Whi...

Loughner Parents: Sorry About Those Murders (ignore that skull in the back yard??)
These parents have a LOT of explaining to do.    “Sorry” isn’t going to be enough. The family of Tucson shooting suspect Jared Loughner handed out a written statement to reporters standing in front of their home late Tuesday afternoon. This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our Privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don’t understand why this ...

Morning Must Reads: "Libel"
--Sarah Palin breaks her silence on the Arizona shootings, issuing a long, unapolagetic response from her Social Media perch that accuses the media of trying to "manufacture a blood Libel" against her. --"Blood Libel" historically refers to the powerful anti-semitic falsehood that Jews use the blood of Christian Children in rituals. Ben Smith tries to get a bead on how it entered the American political vernacular. --Obama's Speech today in Tucson will be more eulogy for the Victims than tre...

Angels & Bikers
One silver lining in the ongoing saga of the vile Westboro Baptist Church Funeral Protests is that wherever they go Americans unite against them. The Arizona State Legislature has passed a law preventing Protesters to come within 300 feet of funerals. And Arizonans are organizing a counter-protest to keep the family and other mourners of the nine-year-old girl murdered this past Saturday, Christina Green, shielded from the hateful signs and chants of the Westboro clan. Within hours of the chur...

The Worst Sheriff in America
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 By Michelle Malkin There are many heroes who showed indomitable courage and grace under fire during this weekend's horrific Tucson massacre. Blowhard Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was not one of them. If the White House has any sense, President Obama will stay far away from the demagogic Dupnik and his media entourage when he visits Arizona on Wednesday to memorialize the Victims. Indeed, if the White House is truly committed to unifying the country, it wil...

A Fool With a Badge is Still a Fool
Michael Reagan, FloydReports.com When a would-be assassin shot my Dad, President Ronald Reagan, nobody questioned the fact that the shooter was certifiably nuts. Authorities recognized that fact and put him in a mental institution as his obvious disturbed mental state demanded. Now we have another attempted killing of a public official, Arizona’s widely admired Rep. Gabby Giffords, and just about everybody recognizes the fact that the shooter, one Jared Loughner, is crazy as a loon. Moreover...

Legends of Law Enforcement: Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik
In this episode of Legends of Law Enforcement, we celebrate the legendary and storied career of Pima County Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik. Dupnik was the first to identify the infamous Serial Killer 'Jack the Ripper' as an ancestor of William F. Buckley. "America's Sheriff" states that Jimmy Hoffa, possibly buried at the Meadowlands, was "whacked" by Barry Goldwater. Dupnik also believes that Charles Manson was wrongfully imprisoned for the "Redrum" murders of Sharon Tate and others. The sheriff as...

Legends of Law Enforcement: Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik
In this episode of Legends of Law Enforcement, we celebrate the legendary and storied career of Pima County Sheriff Clarence L. Dupnik. Dupnik was the first to identify the infamous Serial Killer ‘Jack the Ripper’ as an ancestor of William F. Buckley. “America’s Sheriff” states that Jimmy Hoffa, possibly buried at the Meadowlands, was “whacked” by Barry Goldwater. Dupnik also believes that Charles Manson was wrongfully imprisoned for the “Redrum...

What Did Influence Jared Loughner?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey Hardly an hour had passed after the first sketchy news broke on Saturday that there had been a horrific shooting attack in Tucson, Ariz., at a public event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, when the liberal media began reporting the incident in a way that suggested it was somehow linked to modern American politics -- as practiced by Conservatives. At 1:53 p.m. Tucson time on Saturday, The Associated Press released a story reporting the identi...

More Bad News For MSM & Dupnik Police Were Sent to Loughners Home Several Times
It’s Rush Limbaugh’s fault. The further we get away from the tragedy the more we are putting together a picture of a very disturbed young man. After four days of blaming Conservatives for the Violent Crime of the young leftwing pothead, the media is finally getting around to reporting the facts to the case. This had nothing to do with Sarah Palin, or Rush Limbaugh, or the Tea Party, or conservatives. The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on mo...

Its time to dial down the political rhetoric (Rep. John Lewis)
Last week, members of Congress took time out of the congressional schedule to read the words of the U.S. Constitution. It amazes me, in light of the critical condition Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) now confronts, that somehow by some twist of fate she fell in line at the place where she read the words of the First Amendment. The Constitution is the touchstone of every legislator; it is almost a sacred text in our Democracy. In view of our reverence for the document, I think some Americans ...

Update: 19 People Were Hit By Shots Fired During Arizona Rampage
What is this? The Pima County Sheriff's office has released a statement that clears up the issue of how many people were wounded by gunfire during Saturday's deadly attack in Tucson, Ariz., on those gathered at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). While officials had said that there were 20 Victims (six of whom died), they've clarified the record to state that: "Nineteen people were shot, six of whom succumbed to their injuries. There were other minor injuries as a result of people t...

Determined to Stifle Arizona Violence Debate, Palin Claims She's the Victim... of a "Blood Libel"
Echoing the new battle cry of the right, Sarah Palin has come out of hiding to accuse those who suggest over-the-top Rhetoric and a volatile political climate might offer some explanation of Saturday's gun rampage in Arizona of Manufacturing a “blood Libel” against her. Desperate to defend herself after being called out for placing the crosshairs of a rifle over the home district of a congresswoman who was then the Victim of an Assassination attempt, the former Governor of Alaska scr...

No More Mister Nice Blog
WILL PARTISAN BICKERING SEND A CRAZY MAN TO THE CHAIR? Lefties have been looking for ties between Jared Loughner's state of mind and recent expressions of right-wing rage; the right, in response to this, has lashed out, aggressively attacking commentators and others -- including Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik -- who've criticized the right. And now along comes Limbaugh. The soundbite from Rush Limbaugh's Tuesday Radio Show that's Descent into madness
Before After The New York Times: The account by Mr. Loughner’s friend, a rare extended interview with someone close to Mr. Loughner in recent years, added some details to the emerging portrait of the suspect and his family. “He was a nihilist and loves causing chaos, and that is probably why he did the shooting, along with the fact he was sick in the head,” said Zane Gutierrez, 21, who was living in a trailer outside Tucson and met Mr. Loughner sometimes to shoot at cans for target pract

Douglas LaBier: The Changing Face of Psychological Health
The aftermath of the Tucson shootings is likely to spawn new discussion about serious Mental Illness and it's legal implications. Coincidentally, the Mental Health establishment has been debating what to include or exclude as a mental and emotional disorder, for the forthcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. For example, one Controversy is whether to remove narcissism as a bonafide disorder. In contrast to discussion about mental disorders, I think we've...

NYT: Cops Previously Visited Loughner Home
With all the evidence against the suspected Tucson shooter Jared Loughner, a Guilty verdict could still prove very difficult. Jan Crawford reports on the latest details of the case. As new details are released of Tucson shooting suspect Jared Loughner's alleged behavioral issues, Dean Reynolds reports on the latest Mental Health laws in Arizona. Jared Loughner, 22, is charged in the shooting that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded and killed six people in Tucson, Ariz. (CBS) In thi...

Influence and over-determination
In comments yesterday, Mark Matson posted this incredibly instructive little video demonstrating the power of even barely noticeable influence: In the broadest sense, this is a demonstration of the (small-s) situationist Thesis: the hidden power of situational factors to influence behavior. Situationist influences are generally taken to be much less important than dispositionist ones--those that reside in the individual's inherent disposition--their character, tastes, preferences, beliefs, et...

Father chased son into desert before shooting
Mysterious black bag in hand, Jared Loughner ran into the desert, his angry father stopping pursuit in his truck. Hours after Randy Loughner’s futile confrontation with his 22-year-old son Saturday morning, six people were shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded — and Jared Loughner was in custody. The sheriff’s deputies who swarmed the Loughners’ house removed what they describe as evidence Jared Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who doctors said Tue...

Palin: Media incite hatred, a 'blood libel' after Arizona shooting
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has posted a nearly eight-minute video on her Facebook page condemning those who blame political Rhetoric for the Arizona shooting that gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Last spring, Mrs. Palin targeted Mrs. Giffords' district as one of 20 that should be taken back. Mrs. Palin has been criticized for marking each district with the cross hairs of a gun sight. In the video posted Wednesday, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidat...