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Arizona Shootings: 'It Was a Colossal Failure of Journalism'. That quote, from a commenter at my personal blog, described the effort of several news organizations to fabricate a connection between Jared Loughner's murderous rampage and the Tea Party and/or Sarah Palin. ... There is no evidence that Loughner was a Sarah Palin fan. There is no evidence that he was associated with the Tea Party or that he was concerned with immigration. Instead, there is a steadily growing heap of evidence that Jared Loughner was suffering from a mental illness, quite possibly paranoid schizophrenia. Giffords' Husband Failed Same Background Checks Her Attacker Passed. Breitbart News reported that Gabby Giffords renewed her push for background checks to require purchasers at gun shows to pass the same background check her attacker, Jared Loughner, passed. Some media outlets and gun control advocated responded to the report by claiming Loughner's successful passage of a background check simply proves the background check system isn't sufficient. But those making this argument miss a very important point: Namely, that Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, was turned away twice on gun purchases in 2013 because of certain requirements and stipulations of the current background check system. Journalists urged caution after Ft. Hood, now race to blame Palin after Arizona shootings. [CNN,] the network that had shown such caution in discussing the Ft. Hood shootings openly discussed the possibility that Loughner was inspired to violence by... Sarah Palin. Although there is no evidence that Loughner was in any way influenced by Palin, CNN was filled with speculation about the former Alaska governor.The Censorship Of Madmen. Certainly there is anger simmering in the growing resistance to this radical President. Why wouldn't there be? The Obama Democrats are "transformative," which means they are aggressive. They want to force you to do a great many things. They're not shy about using the most insulting rhetoric to shout down your objections. They provide no opportunity for you to gracefully decline participation in their plans... unless you happen to be one of the favored few who receive an ObamaCare waiver. The "consent of the governed" plays no role in thousand-page bills negotiated through secret backroom deals, and pushed through Congress with earmark bribes, in obnoxious defiance of the American people. The Tea Party movement has done a fantastic job of controlling this anger, and converting its energy to constructive ends. ABC Interviews Friend of Giffords Shooter, Ignores Her Claim He's Liberal. A friend of the gunman accused of Saturday's tragic shooting spree involving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was interviewed on Sunday's "This Week." For some reason, her claims posted on Twitter Saturday that Jared Lee Loughner was a liberal went completely ignored. The Incitement Double Standard. As the political left seeks to use the Arizona tragedy to tar all conservatives with the brush of the murderer, there is another point to remember here. In the past few years, there have been several shootings and terrorist attacks carried out or attempted by American Muslims who were clearly influenced by extremist Islam. Yet every time such a crime happens, liberals loudly warn us that an examination of the motives of those who carry out such attacks is beyond the pale, since such ruminations might be prejudicial to Muslims, even if the truth is that those crimes were influenced by Islam. Democratic Rep. Blames Fox News for Gabrielle Shooting. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, blamed the Fox News Channel for today's shooting spree that left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded and four others slain. He told a local New Jersey paper shortly after the incident, "There's an aura of hate and elected politicians feed it, certain people on Fox News feed it." Political Violence: A Human Problem that Transcends Left and Right. Like most Americans, I found myself frequently watching the news for more information about the shooting involving Congresswoman Giffords. As I searched various media outlets, I wasn't surprised to see that the Huffington Post was the first I came across which had made the willful choice to sink so low as to exploit this tragic event for political gain. Frightening, twisted shrine in Arizona killer Jared Lee Loughner's yard. A sinister shrine reveals a chilling occult dimension in the mind of the deranged gunman accused of shooting a member of Congress and 19 others. Hidden within a camouflage tent behind Jared Lee Loughner's home sits an alarming altar with a skull sitting atop a pot filled with shriveled oranges. Mental illness, not rhetoric, at root of more political assassinations historically. Anyone studying the writings and videos of the accused, Jared Lee Loughner, is hard-pressed to find any coherence, let alone a political one either way. Friends on Twitter said Loughner was "left-wing" and "a pothead." Loughner claimed to admire both the "Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kampf." Before his expulsion from college, classmates said he was given to unprovoked outbursts in class. The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel. Shortly after November's electoral defeat for the Democrats, pollster Mark Penn appeared on Chris Matthews's TV show and remarked that what President Obama needed to reconnect with the American people was another Oklahoma City bombing. To judge from the reaction to Saturday's [1/8/2011] tragic shootings in Arizona, many on the left (and in the press) agree, and for a while hoped that Jared Lee Loughner's killing spree might fill the bill. With only the barest outline of events available, pundits and reporters seemed to agree that the massacre had to be the fault of the tea party movement in general, and of Sarah Palin in particular. Why? Because they had created, in New York Times columnist Paul Krugman's words, a "climate of hate." Political Vultures. Very few Americans are fans of both The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, as the Tucson killer, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, apparently was. Fewer still post on the Internet fears about "brain washing," "mind control," and "conscience dreaming"; have a long record of public disruption and aberrant behavior; were expelled from community college; or were summarily rejected for military service. No matter. Almost immediately following Loughner's cowardly murdering of six and wounding of 14 including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, pundits and some public figures rushed to locate his rampage, together with his paranoid rantings about government control, within the larger landscape of right-wing politics — especially the rhetoric of the Tea Party and Sarah Palin. The Most Cynical Campaign. The Tucson shooting was an unspeakable horror, a characteristic exercise in American democracy — a townhall meeting outside a Safeway store — interrupted by gunshots and bloodshed. The gunman targeted Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot through the head but survived, and killed six and wounded thirteen others. Any time someone attempts to assassinate a public official it is an attack on the entire country, and the Tucson shooting has been appropriately treated as such by politicians across the political spectrum. We barely knew all the facts in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, though, before this vicious act was being milked for political advantage by ghoulish opportunists on the Left. Their argument was that the suspect, Jared Loughner, was effectively sent from the Tea Party. Conservatives in the Crosshairs. The bullets had hardly stopped whizzing when a cataract of commentary descended. The first inundation came mostly from the Left. Its basic message was epitomized by Paul Krugman: The shooting was probably politically motivated. The Tea Party. Sarah Palin. Scary. "The climate that preceded the Oklahoma City bombing." Beck. Limbaugh. "The evils of Partisanship." "Culture of hate." Et cetera. Arizona Massacre Prompts Political 'Cheap Shots'. When Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords collapsed outside the Safeway in Tucson Saturday morning, felled by a hail of bullets that killed six and wounded another 13 innocent people that had come to see her, some were quick to claim that the carnage was the product not merely of the tortured mind and trigger-happy fingers of the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. Rather, many on the American Left said the horror could be traced to the malign influence of American conservatives; members of the Tea Party; right-wing pundits Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck; former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin; and Fox News. MoveOn launches campaign against vitriolic language — despite its sordid history. Despite having a sordid history of using vitriolic rhetoric, George Soros-funded advocacy group MoveOn has seized upon the tragic shooting of Ariz. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and other attendees of a public event in Tucson Saturday as a means to go after "overt and implied appeals to violence in our political debate." The left-wing group has launched a congressional petition campaign to get members of Congress and the news media to drop any references to "violence" from political discussion. Sometimes A Tragedy Is Just A Tragedy. Even before anything at all was known about Jared Lee Loughner, who went on a deadly shooting spree outside a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, a narrative was beginning to take shape. Partisans on the left immediately blamed the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, "talk radio," and Republicans more generally. The Tucson Massacre Witch Hunt. [Scroll down] According to the Huffington Post, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) attributed the shooting to the "vitriolic rhetoric that has arisen over the past few years among extreme elements of the Tea Party." He said that Sarah Palin "[contributes] to this toxic climate [and] needs to look at her own behavior, and if she wants to help the public discourse, the best thing she could do is to keep quiet." This isn't just a collection of pundits, politicians and glitterati stumbling about a rush to judgment. This is a deliberate attempt to hunt down and stifle political opposition. Murders, Lies, and Liberal Fantasies of Conservatives. The leftist predisposition towards irresponsibly blaming every act of violence with political connotations on the "climate of bigotry" created by right-wingers speaks volumes about the ideology of liberalism. After the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the murder and injury of several others, the liberal media commenced their annual "Let's Silence Conservatives" campaign. Left Has A Fingerpointing Field Day After Arizona Shootings. In August 2009, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members attacked and beat Kenneth Gladney, a black man who was distributing Gadsden ("Don't Tread On Me") flags at a congressional town hall meeting near St. Louis. Also in August, 2009, posters began showing up at political rallies showing Barack Obama with a Hitler mustache. Major media outlets including CNN and NBC, and minor media outlets such as MSNBC, immediately accused Tea Party members of "extremism,", "racism" and "hatred." The posters, however, were products of the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee, named for their leader, a communist, radical anti-Semite, and seven-time candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States. In September 2009, a pro-Obamacare activist at a MoveOn.org rally bit off the fingertip of a 65-year old man. Adding Insult to Tragedy. The shooting spree that left six dead and fourteen wounded in Arizona on Saturday was a horrible tragedy involving a very unstable young man. It's clear that twenty-two year old Jared Loughner, who was allegedly attempting to assassinate Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, has been deeply disturbed for a long time. As Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik observed: "there is reason to believe he has a mental issue." Yet, Dupnik and a number of media outlets were not content to stop there. Surely there must be a way to blame conservatives and "right-wing rhetoric" for the tragedy, right? The Arizona Shooting and the Blame Game. What a relief! President Obama can pull FBI Director Mueller back from Arizona and call off the investigation into the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords. The smoking gun has been found. It is obvious after listening to the Sunday morning news shows that the shooter had been listening to conservative talk radio, was heavily influences by the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, loose gun laws in Arizona, and the hate discourse that is created by right wing organizations and politicians. Sherlock Holmes has nothing over David Gregory. The Left Hypocritically Exploits Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' Shooting. Just hours after Saturday's tragic shooting incident in Tucson, Arizona, numerous news sources on the left from CNN to the Huffington Post were casting blame upon Sarah Palin, Tea Parties, and Second Amendment supporters. Hoping the shooter had right-leaning views, the Left immediately started portraying Jared Lee Loughner as a right wing nut. Even as information trickled in revealing Loughner had some left-leaning political views, the left ignored it and ran with their own spin, labeling him a product of the right. Again and Again. If an Islamist blows up or guns down 50 people, shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he does it, you're not supposed to say that the act has any broad implications at all. It is simply an individual act, end of story. But if a young psychotic in Arizona kills a lot of people, we're supposed to examine the state of Sarah Palin's soul. Tea party's message: Don't blame us. The Tucson Tea Party quickly searched its email list and membership rolls and found no record of any participation in the group by Jared Loughner, the suspect in the shootings, which left six people dead and 14 wounded... The Dishonorable Sheriff. Evidently, some people just can't help themselves. When a tragedy happens or a crime is committed, they can't resist the temptation to blame their political opponents. By exploiting a tragedy for partisan advantage, they cover themselves with dishonor. Will the Democrats Get Away With It? Not too many years ago, a horrific crime like the one perpetrated by Jared Loughner would have been the occasion for liberals to call for gun control legislation. This time they are aiming higher, trying to delegitimize, with at least some sectors of the electorate, opposition to their policy preferences. The Democrats are taking a flyer on this because they think it worked for them in the case of the Oklahoma City bombing. Is there any chance, this time, that they can blame the Arizona murders on conservatives? The Cynicism and Intellectual Corruption of the Left. You would have to be living on another planet not to be aware of the effort by some on the left and in the media to blame conservatives for creating a "climate of hate" that encouraged a suspect, Jared Loughner, of attempting the political assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, which resulted in the death of six people and the wounding of 13 others. This crusade is being led by the New York Times, whose front-page story on Sunday said this... Blaming Sarah Palin for Arizona Shooting Is Wrong. Following this weekend's tragic shooting, many on the left in the United States are calling for Sarah Palin and the Tea Party to be called to account for their alleged culpability in the killings. But these claims are spurious and could do more to help the left's political detractors than harm them. The progressive "climate of hate:" An illustrated primer, 2000-2010. The Tucson massacre ghouls who are now trying to criminalize conservatism have forced our hand. ... They want to play tu quo que in the middle of a national tragedy? "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun." When Reagan Was Shot: When the obviously disturbed John Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan in 1981, pundits blamed guns for the tragedy; they didn't blame an ideology, left or right. Barry's Angry Words. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, overseeing the investigation the Tucson shootings that left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a coma and federal judge John Roll and five others dead, wasted little time in blaming heated political rhetoric for the crime. Shortly after the first reports of the shootings, Dupnick said, "The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous, and unfortunately Arizona has become sort of the capital," adding "We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry." Giffords' father, asked if she had any enemies, reportedly said that the whole Tea Party was her enemy. Don't Blame Right-Wing Rage This Time. Conservatives are furious that the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords is being pinned on them. Their indignation is justified. The mania of Giffords' would-be assassin may be slightly more right-wing than left-wing, but on the whole it is largely disconnected from even loosely organized extreme right-wing politics. Bias alert! There's nothing "right wing" about a guy with a satanist altar in his back yard, a guy who reads the "Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kampf," or a guy who stalks and ambushes politicians at an otherwise peaceful assembly. Let's avoid political games over Arizona shooting. The horrid shootings and killings in Tucson demonstrate the always unpredictable nature of mayhem. It's worsened by the sadly predictable efforts of Washington interests to twist every tragedy into an excuse to restrict our freedoms or to bash their political adversaries. ... And having represented Oklahoma City, I'm aghast that spin doctors are already encouraging President Obama to use this tragedy as his "Oklahoma City moment." Alinsky's rhetoric: Leftist journalists, politicians, and activists have made much of conservatives' use of certain symbols or metaphors, targets and crosshairs in particular. ... Before the Left goes too far down this road of casting aspersions at the language of their political opponents, they might want to take a fresh look at the president's own community organizing playbook, Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, a book the author dedicated to Lucifer. Hanoi Jane and Jared. Jane [Fonda] is more focused on condemning uninvolved conservatives than she is on the maniacal murderer who slaughtered half a dozen people in cold blood in a parking lot. ... Couple Fonda's inappropriate placing of blame with the liberal media endlessly expressing outrage over the loss of life in Arizona while continuing to shill for abortion rights, and you have another prime example of the politicization of misfortune. The Real Cause of the Arizona Killings. One or two commentators got it right, characterizing the shootings in Arizona ... as an act committed by a deranged gunman. But the spin is on by the usual MSM suspects that the shootings were due to "hostility" and "polarization" caused by (guess who?) right-wingers who have ratcheted up the rhetoric about health care and immigration. Free Speech in the Crosshairs. This can't be happening again. A terrible tragedy, followed by vile recrimination and politically motivated accusations. Were no lessons learned after the slander of conservatives following the Oklahoma City bombing? Aside from the terrible specter of psychotic gunmen legislating with bullets, we now have to deal with the inanities of shameless members of the nattering class in a redux of the Clinton blame-game. Taking advantage of tragedy. True to Rahm's Rule of never letting a good crisis go to waste, liberal pundits and Democratic politicians are consciously exploiting Saturday's tragic shooting in Tucson for political gain. Free-speech scapegoat. Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, used Saturday's shooting as an excuse to promote the so-called Fairness Doctrine, the main attribute of which is to use government to force equal time for liberal views on talk radio, where there's not much demand for leftism. It's a wildly overreactive assault on our liberty to manipulate a tragedy to control speech. Only a president can cool this lynch mob. This could be Barack Obama's finest moment. He wouldn't have to invite anyone in for a beer. He wouldn't have to find a foreign potentate to bow to with abject apologies for the manifold sins of the America of liberal and "progressive" imagination. All he has to do is act like a president. He could tell the lynch mob to put down their rope and call off the hanging of Sarah Palin. Tragedy In Tucson: On Palin's Hands? From New York newspaper columnists to an Illinois senator, the liberal left is blaming the Tea Party and conservative stars for the shooting of an Arizona congresswoman. How about blaming the communist and Nazi-loving shooter? Not Letting Another Crisis Go To Waste. In the wake of the Arizona killings, knee-jerk Democrats want to crack down on free speech and place more limits on gun ownership. All of this because a single man out of 310 million with no links to conservatives or talk radio allegedly goes mad. There Is Yet No Loughner / Far-Right Connection. It is worth stating again that there is at present no — zero — evidence that purported Tucson shooter Jared Loughner was affiliated with any tea party group or other mainstream conservative cause. 'Pin This on the Tea Partiers'. [Scroll down] MSNBC political commentator Keith Olbermann even had the chutzpah to go on air Saturday night [1/8/2011] and call for rhetorical restraint in politics while simultaneously demanding that Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly of Fox News offer "solemn apologies" for giving "oxygen to those deep in madness to whom violence is an acceptable solution." Politico.com quoted one veteran Democratic operative saying that the Obama White House should use the tragedy to score political points. "They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers," he said. "Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people." Tucson Coverage Underscores the Demise of the Old Media. The attempt by many left-wing pundits and bloggers to try and blame conservatives for the Tucson murder spree is nothing short of obscene. But it's also mistaken, I think, to try and divine "meaning" out of what is essentially a senseless and meaningless act of horrific violence. ... The notion that Loughner was motivated by conservative political thought or rhetoric is ludicrous and preposterous. Unfortunately, in this day and age, ludicrous and preposterous notions often have a widespread following, especially in the Big Media. Insanity mustn't call the shots. After 72 hours of nonstop liberal "analysis" in the wake of the Arizona shooting, I've finally figured out what we have to do: Shut down all the Targets. Yes, really. A chain of superstores whose logo is right off a firing range — are you crazy? If a single set of crosshairs on a single Sarah Palin Web site can get 19 people shot or killed, having hundreds of storefronts advertising target practice is inviting a nationwide massacre! Why even the name "Target" itself is dangerous. The Left Is Not About To Waste This 'Crisis'. Theme: The left's immediate reaction to the Arizona shooting proves, again, that it will not forgo any chance to exploit a tragedy ("crisis"). Minor theme: In the process, mostly through projection of its own perversions, it is setting records for hypocrisy, irrationality and unfairness. Politico reported that after the shootings, one veteran Democratic operative said that President Obama should "deftly pin this on the tea partiers. Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people." Contemptible Opportunists in Giffords Shooting Obscure Actual Problem. Ronald Reagan was nearly killed by a similarly mentally ill gunman. Did anyone suggest that liberals or Democrats encouraged or inspired John Hinckley? Incitement to Tyranny. The big-government cultists' reaction to the Arizona madman's rampage couldn't possibly have been more predictable. Mounting a "never let a crisis go to waste" assault on the nation's airwaves, liberals have spun this tragic and insane act exactly as an unnamed Democrat source told Politico they should: "They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers. ... Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people." We Need More Political Rhetoric, Not Less. The Rodeo Clown Posse was led out of Tucson in a cloud of dust with a hay-burning frenzy by Arizona's Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. Close in tow were hyper-boiling politicians and the usual lefty print and TV media cowboys such as Rep. James Clyburn, columnist Paul Krugman, TV antagonista Chris Matthews, and even our own Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. These tin-star constables couldn't get on their donkeys fast enough to round up the usual outlaws. The leading perennial villain, of course, is overheated political rhetoric, the euphemism for any strongly held opinion that differs from the liberal narrative. Big Lies and Little Ones. In the wake of the Tucson massacre, the indecent behavior of the formerly mainstream media has not been limited to the New York Times-led witch hunt against Republicans, conservatives and independent media voices. Equally appalling in its own way has been the rush by pundits to advise President Obama on how to make political hay out of the atrocity. A Horrid Crime, a Dishonest Debate. Already, we have learned a great deal about the assassin. He is a deeply disturbed pot-head. In order to give meaning to the addling emptiness of his life, he turned to the anti-Semitic rants of Adolph Hitler, Marx's Communist Manifesto, the occult, and what appears to have been an obsession with Representative Giffords, a Jewish congresswoman and supporter of Israel. Some acquaintances and schoolmates who'd endured his tirades over the years predicted he'd come to an end just like this. Nevertheless, the instantaneous reaction of the hard Left, President Obama's base, was to politicize the Tucson atrocity as a natural, an inevitable, result of conservative ideology, enthusiasm for immigration-law enforcement and gun ownership by law-abiding Americans, and dissent from Obama's policies... What if Jared Loughner had been a Muslim? Shamefully and sadly, the media would have covered his horrific assassination attempt of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz) and slaying and maiming of innocent Arizonans in a more responsible manner. They would have called for restraint and not violated the journalistic tenet of not assuming anything, a tenet they purportedly (and often facetiously sanctimoniously) claim to hold dear. But because Loughner was not a member of one of the mainstream media's protected classes, they used Loughner's heinous act to go on liberal crusades against conservatives and Tea Partiers, to promote gun control, amnesty, and rail against those who may oppose ethnic study programs that erroneously teach students that the Southwestern part of the United States is a part of Mexico. New Media Soundly Defeats Left-Wing Media's Political Witch Hunt. The media's shameless political witch hunt we saw over the weekend was obviously counter-intuitive behavior to anyone at all interested in not looking like the worst kind of political opportunist. But frustration makes you stupid and the left is frustrated, especially those in the media, because they are losing. Poisonous Politics. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a Democrat and friend of Giffords, kicked off the campaign Saturday with this excoriation. "I'd just like to say that when you look at unbalanced people, how they are — how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths, about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous." Dupnik later narrowed it to some "people in the radio business and some people in the TV business." Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell narrowed it further to Fox News, the home of Glenn Beck. Liberalism's Ugly Face. John Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan because he wanted to impress the actress Jodi Foster. No one called on Jodi Foster to justify herself in that tragedy. So why should Sarah Palin? Why should she answer for someone else's actions, especially since that person is by all indications a left-wing lunatic? The attempt by liberals to paint the Tea Party movement as a dangerous aberration that breeds homicidal maniacs is simply egregious. The Tea Party is a movement by everyday Americans who are sincerely concerned about the due intrusion of the federal government into their lives. If the last election is anything to go by, most current American voters are either part of it or in sympathy with at least some of its goals. Sanders Fundraises Off Arizona Murders. 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 [1/11/2011] 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. Gee, Officer Dupnik. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has attained his 15 minutes of fame by mouthing off about the alleged culpability of the Tea Party in the tragedy of Tucson. A report on The Cholla Jumps site is indicating that Sheriff Dupnik himself may bear some responsibility for what happened. The Arizona Clouseau. The strangest figure to emerge from the Tucson shooting story is Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He's been all over the airwaves, pushing a highly politicized agenda, and talking out of the opposite side of the body from the one that's supposed to generate speech. The Gun Control Push. America's new least favorite mayor, Michael Bloomberg of snow-covered New York City, complained that "the law says drug abusers can't buy guns. Even though Jared Loughner was rejected by the military for drug use and arrested on drug charges, he was able to pass a background check and buy a gun." Wait, hold up a second. "The law says drug abusers can't buy guns?" Well, then how the heck did Loughner get one? Arizona Lawman Acting Stupidly, Obama Silent. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik ascribed blame in a murder case to radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh — thereby labeling him an accomplice — while conceding he has no proof. ... Sheriff Dupnik last April publicly stated he would order his deputies not to enforce Arizona S.B. 1070 because it is a "racist" law. After the Safeway massacre, he proclaimed his own state a "Mecca for racism and bigotry" without having any facts. The Worst Sheriff in America. To date, there is no public evidence that accused shooter Jared Loughner was in any way motivated by the national rancor over illegal immigration and the Arizona law (though open-borders extremists from the Justice Department on down most certainly wish it were so). When he complained about non-English speakers, Loughner's nonsensical diatribes were aimed at illiterates in general — not illegal aliens — and "grammar control" by the government. No matter. [Sheriff] Dupnik vehemently singled out "people in the radio business and some people in the TV business" like Rush Limbaugh for creating the New York Times-patented "Climate of Hate." Jared Loughner Was a Tea Partier? I don't think that anyone else should have to suspend their First or Second Amendment rights because of what this one demonic miscreant did to Giffords and the other victims. Indeed, I do not believe that because of one weed who committed unspeakable evil that 300 million people should not be able to use certain similes or should give up their Glocks. No Tucson Lectures for "Artists". Within minutes of the news breaking that Jared Lee Loughner had killed six and wounded 14 in a rampage outside a Tucson Safeway store, including a critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the news media immediately leaped to the conclusion that the harsh tone of our political discourse — led by conservative talk radio — surely must be to blame. That narrative turned out to be hogwash, but another one has emerged during the investigation into Loughner's psyche, yet virtually no one wants to discuss it. Was the shooter inspired by the entertainment media? Why would violent movies or music be left out of the rush to judgment? Hypocrisy, the Liberal God. Within the whirlwind of controversy following the shootings in Tucson last Saturday, we have seen a very determined attempt by the Left and their in-house propaganda machine, otherwise known as the mainstream media, to attach blame to the conservative right in general, and talk radio, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh, among others, in particular. Using The Giffords Shooting To Destroy Free Speech. Now it is clear that Jared Loughner was stalking Gabrielle Giffords for years, long before Sarah Palin and her supposed "target" electoral map. Now it is clear that Loughner's classmates were afraid of him months ago. ... Not only was he dangerous, he was a Leftist. Loughner's high school friend, Caitie Parker, remembers him as a "political radical" who was "Left-wing, quite liberal." The Bias Against Guns: The certainties we can expect are life, death, weather patterns ... and the old media always exploiting a tragedy involving a firearm into a call for gun control. To wit, two days after the Tucson tragedy, The Washington Post ran an editorial with this headline: "Gun control: It's not a political impossibility." Sheriff Dupnik: An MSNBC Star Is Born. The sheriff of Pima County is troubled by vitriol only when it comes from the mouths of conservatives. Stopping The Deranged From Obtaining Guns: Is that even possible? Jared Lee Loughner was disturbed. Clearly. His YouTube diatribes about grammar and illiteracy and his shrine to a skull in his backyard show the 22-year-old was wacked. But can Congress prevent such deranged people from purchasing firearms? 'Civil' Discourse: A One-Way Street? In the wake of the attempted murder of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, and the murders of six of her constituents who went to see her at a local Safeway grocery store, the American people have been hearing a lot about the need to return to "civility" in our political discourse. What exactly does that mean? It depends upon whom you ask. Gun control (still) won't work. It has been a dismal decade for gun-control advocates. They lost the federal so-called assault weapons ban when it expired in 2004. The U.S. Supreme Court made history by proclaiming an individual has a right to own firearms for self-defense. A Democratic president came into office vowing not to take away anyone's guns. So it's no surprise that anti-gun forces would take the mass shooting Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., as a rare opportunity to reverse their fortunes. It's also no surprise that their proposals are models of futility. Climate Change: The eruption of wild accusations after the shootings in Arizona illustrate once again that those who talk about civility the most practice it the least. Pious calls for the restoration of civility have come from a parade of pundits and pols famous for celebrating or rationalizing the most egregious violations of it. Why Leftists Are Far Likelier to Use Political Violence Than Conservatives. Murders by the mentally deranged shooter of an Arizona congresswoman, a federal judge, and other ill-fated bystanders were instantly attributed to Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. This leap to judgment was horrifically mistaken. Killer Jared Loughner turned out to be an insane, leftist pothead, a registered independent who did not listen to the radio. But of course, the accusers refused to apologize for slander. So we are left to ponder why liberals get to assume the worst about their foes, and feel free to announce it, when history teaches us otherwise? Ironically, if anyone is violent, it is most likely will be a leftist. Liberal Extremist Arrested for Threatening Tea Party Spokesman. In an exceptionally odd twist to the Tucson tragedy, one of the victims of Jared Loughner's psychotic meltdown has himself been arrested for violent rhetoric. As reported throughout the media, James Eric Fuller, 63, was arrested and taken for a psychiatric exam after an outburst at an event taped for a special edition of ABC's "This Week." Fuller reportedly took a picture of Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries and yelled "You're a dead man!" Once Again, Progressives Prove Willing to Politicize Everything. Last week's mass murder at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's meet-up with her Arizona constituents was immediately politicized by progressive politicians and media figures. But it's wrong to see this as an unusual event. It's the way things are always done when progressives have any power to reach the public: everything is political. And President Obama is doing his very best to take advantage of the situation. Progressives: Always Angry, Newly Desperate. Last week, for the umpteenth time, anything resembling decency or restraint was completely abandoned in an orgy of progressive foaming at the mouth over what they were convinced — absent a shred of evidence — were the "real" motives of a madman. So convinced that, even as the facts emerged regarding Jared Loughner, facts which completely destroyed their theories, not a single one of the ranters apologized or recanted. Frank Rich Still Trying To Blame Right For AZ Shootings. Like Rahm Emanuel, who didn't to waste a crisis, Frank Rich doesn't want to let a murderous rampage pass without trying to wring political advantage. By now, even most ardent liberals have had to admit that there was no nexus between conservatives and the manifestly psychotic AZ shooter. But there was Rich, in his New York Times column of this morning, still bitterly clinging to the accusation. Somewhat related: Killing Politicians and Other Guilty Pleasures. [Scroll down] I am not referring to the British faux-documentary Death of a President (2006) that has been mentioned by some this last week, in which President George W. Bush is assassinated. I am writing of two American-made films in which characters presented as right-wing elected officials were killed, by either the hero of the movie (Shooter) or by one of the right-wing politician's own minions in a scene intended to be humorous (Machete). In both films, the killing of the elected official was meant to be enjoyed by the audience, and for many on the left, that was precisely the case. So, Should We Ban The Koran? Hundreds of Islamic terrorists say they were motivated to become murderers by The Koran and incitement from a few radical Muslim clerics. That's a fact, where you like it or not. Clearly, then, the liberals should — if they have any sense of logic — begin their campaign by demanding the bookstores stop selling The Koran, universities stop teaching courses on Islam, and imams tone down their exhortations. That isn't going to happen, because the liberals aren't really interested in curbing hate speech. A Delicious Orgy. Game, set and match to the leftist media. Once again, they have defined the issue and set the terms of the debate on the horrific shootings in Arizona last weekend. He who defines the issues wins. Period. And the liberal media has the right on the ropes — putting them, once again, in the lose-lose position of proving a negative. Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, Kathy Griffin: Shameless Trifecta Exploit Tucson. From the time news coverage of the Tucson shooting began streaming across television screens till now, there has been a concerted effort to affix blame for the shooting on conservatives like Sarah Palin and bodies of conservatism, like the Tea Party. And while these efforts have been carried out by seeming equal numbers of Democrat officeholders and media talking heads like the always embarrassing Keith Olbermann, three people who have predominated in these efforts are Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, and Kathy Griffin: a trio I've personally dubbed "The Shameless Trifecta." The 'Teabaggers Inspired Loughner' narrative continues to crumble. [The Washington Post] reports: ["]A team of 250 federal investigators and 130 local detectives trying to understand why Jared Lee Loughner went on his alleged killing spree has conducted more than 300 interviews with family, friends and neighbors since the shooting. But they remain stumped about what ultimately prompted the 22-year-old's descent into violence.["] That's easy: Just ask Paul Krugman. Or Frank Rich. Or Keith Olbermann. Or Michael Moore. Or Jane Fonda. Is Loughner Insane or Evil? Over at Politico, Roger Simon has written a thought-provoking column about the descriptions of Jared Loughner in the media. News outlets have rushed to label Loughner as "insane" — but whatever happened to "evil"? ... Simon argues that evil has "been medicalized into insanity. But only up to a certain point. There seems to be a correlation between the number of people you kill and whether you are called insane or evil." Sheriff Dupnik doesn't have a clue. It just gets better and better with Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz., doesn't it? The city of Tucson is in Pima County. Friends and relatives of the victims of the Jan. 8 shootings that left six dead and at least 14 wounded should regret that Dupnik is their sheriff. After the shootings, Dupnik — a Democrat who reportedly is also a Rachel Maddow fan — tried to blame, not the suspect Jared Loughner, but conservative radio and TV talk show hosts, a climate of "hatred" and "vitriol," and all those "bigoted" Arizonans outside of that oasis of tolerance and enlightenment known as Pima County. The dangerous internet passport proposal. The hysterical bleating that passes as legitimate journalism since the tragedy in Tucson, is a stark reminder of how the tightly controlled prison of the Soros/Obama media complex views Americans and their Constitutional rights. It took less then five media cycles (three days) for the usual suspects (Lenin's useful idiots) to call for sweeping changes to both the First and Second Amendments. William Randolph Hearst would certainly recognize the emotionally laden, sensationalized fictional swill that the Media Elites would like us to meekly ingest. 'Common Sense Gun Laws' Make a Comeback After Tucson Shooting. Have we not yet existed long enough as a nation to know that the government cannot keep us safe under any and every circumstance? Are we not lucid enough as citizens to know that any new government involvement in our lives will diminish our liberties, even if safety is the proposed aim? Therefore, we should always be wary when politicians are quick to pounce on disaster for political gain as was seen in the aftermath of Tucson. Mourning in America. [Scroll down] The timing of the [Tucson] tragedy fell right into the left's area of expertise: Exploiting a crisis for political leverage by blaming it on the opposition, particularly those like Sarah Palin and conservative radio commentators who are perceived as threats to the very survival of liberalism. In addition to blame, their strategy is always to work toward shredding the U.S. Constitution, in this instance to stomp on the first and second amendments by seeking to limit the free speech of conservatives and to take away the right to own a gun. Civility for Thee. What was the evidence for the charge that Loughner was a product of the political fringe, or that his rampage was a logical extension of right-wing politics? The scene of the crime was Arizona, which had been the object of liberal vituperation, failed economic boycotts, and political censure because of its efforts to enforce federal immigration laws that the Obama administration was not enforcing. The suspect was a lone white male. And there was a vague memory that such ideological scavenging amid tragedy had worked well in the Timothy McVeigh case. I think that was about it. Judge John Roll Was a Hero: Why Didn't We Know This? The Tucson shootings are a huge story. Everyday we hear the updates of Congressman Giffords' recovery, but hardly a word of this profound development. Liberals' Civility Test. A week after President Obama's stirring remarks at the Tucson memorial service comes an important Civility Test for liberals. ABC's Jonathan Karl reports that Democratic Representative Steve Cohen went to the well of the House and compared what Republicans are saying on health care to the work of the infamous Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Loughner Listened to Band That Sings About Murder and Calls Its Fans 'Maggots'. Jared Loughner, who killed six and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, did not listen to political talks shows, but he did listen to a rock group that calls its fans "maggots." Roxanne and George Osler IV, parents of one of Loughner's friends, told The Associated Press that their son and Loughner listened to Slipknot. A ghastly use of tragedy. The sole responsibility, unless Loughner had an actual accomplice or other direct help, lies upon the man who pulled the trigger and no one else. But you might not believe that if you listen to the claims of Tucson sheriff Clarence Dupnik, or of Keith Olbermann, or of Paul Krugman. Proof That President Obama and The Left Incited Tucson Violence. For over a week we have heard the pundits on the left try to pin the blame for the horrible Tucson shootings on the Tea Parties, Sarah Palin, and/or Right Wing Radio hosts. However there was no evidence that anything coming out of these sources had anything to do with Jarred Loughner's disgusting attack. Yet some progressives continue to attack Conservatives for the inciting Loughner's hate. Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom. What the Tucson shootings reveal about our political culture is its gross opportunism, not its violent imagery. Six people died in an attack on a freely elected member of our republican government, and the left decided that the appropriate response was to rip the nation apart by blaming the tragedy on the right in general and Sarah Palin in particular. Liberals hate free speech unless it's theirs. Ever since a violent, evil lunatic decided to shoot innocent people in a public place in Tucson, Ariz., hand-wringing liberals have been vilifying everyone but the violent, evil lunatic himself. They have tried to blame Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, the tea party and the NRA. I'm sure some of them are even trying to figure out how to pin it on George W. Bush. One might think that "violent" or "divisive" rhetoric was something new to them. Not Playing with a Fuller Deck. In the wake of the Tucson massacre which claimed the lives of six people and injured thirteen including Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the liberal media fell all over themselves trying to assign blame to Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Tea Party activists and conservatives in general for this horrific tragedy. The fact that Jared Loughner did not travel in conservative circles did little to deter these baseless accusations. So much for civility. Come back and see me in five years when, unless they are stopped, there won't be any private insurance companies. Driving companies out of the market by making it impossible to make money offering insurance to consumers is a feature, not a bug of this monstrosity. A shameful week for America's liberal elites. This has been a hugely shameful week for sections of the American Left, who have exploited a horrific tragedy that claimed six lives, in order to advance political attacks upon some leading conservative politicians and media commentators, as well as an entire political movement in the form of the Tea Party. The vitriolic and hate-filled attacks have marked a low point for liberal media elites in America in the 21st century, even to the extent that President Obama himself, probably the most liberal US president of modern times, felt the need to rebuke this undignified and crass display of left-wing finger-pointing in his memorial speech in Tucson on Wednesday night. The Left's Tucson Strategy: Stage Two. The Left's attempt to link the Tucson shootings to angry rhetoric (not theirs, of course) was stage one of a broader strategy — what both military men and political strategists refer to as preparing the battlefield. Dumpnik. At a time when most of America was looking for answers in the Tucson shootings, trying to understand what mix of privation and perversion could drive an individual to shoot indiscriminately into a crowd of innocent bystanders, longtime Pima County sheriff Clarence Dupnik had his answers prepackaged and ready for prime time. Case in Giffords Shooting Likely to Take Years. Investigators have been poring over surveillance video, interviewing witnesses and analyzing items seized from Jared Loughner's home as they build a case in the assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Is it Time to Expand the Fairness Doctrine? In keeping with the demagogue's credo "Never let a good tragedy go to waste," some among us are extracting as much mileage from the Jared Loughner massacre as they can. It is being used to raise money and reduce freedom, with the latter amounting to calls for gun and speech control. Sharks Are Not Misunderstood Dolphins, and Islam Is Not a Religion of Peace. When a Muslim commits an act of mass-murdering terrorism, in contrast, the left does not camp out in front of the shooter/assassin/bomber's home and scrutinize every person he ever in his life came in contact with and blame them all for his actions. Instead, the media personalities report on acts of terrorism the way they do shark attacks. ... The actions of a non-Muslim mass murderer like Loughner are pinned on everyone he ever met (and conservatives like Governor Palin whom he never in fact met), but the carnage caused by Muslims and sharks alike isn't blamed on anyone or anything and just chalked up to "tragedy." Gun Control Efforts in the Wake of Jared Lee Loughner. The tragic shootings in Tucson have sparked new cries from gun control advocates for more restrictive gun laws. The gun control lobby is hoping the emotions stirred up over the senseless killings will generate a wave of support and favorable Congressional treatment since the most high-profile victim was a member of Congress. What Liberals Don't Know About Guns, Chapter 217. Fresh off of blaming Jared Loughner's killing spree in the Tucson mall on Sarah Palin, liberals are now blaming it on high-capacity magazines. They might as well imprison everyone named "Jared" to prevent a crime like this from ever happening again. If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention. We hardly hear a peep these days about Ft. Hood, the infiltration of our military (!) by a Jihadist. I recently referred to the atrocity when speaking to a progressive friend; she could barely recall what I was talking about. Yet, when a lone, apparently psychotic young man, created a bloodbath in Tucson, the left was all over this one. The outrage about Tucson was fast and furious, with fingers pointed directly rightward. The Tea Parties and Sarah Palin were vilified by the MSM and progressive bloggers. American Brownshirts. 'Every once in a while, you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary," Rep. Michael Capuano (D., Mass.) told a February 22 union rally in Boston. Even if union members and their supporters missed Capuano's call to mayhem (or his subsequent tepid apology), many of them are on the same brutal wavelength. Although Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.) still is recovering from a January 8 assassination attempt, the Left's post-Tucson civility campaign has vanished like gunsmoke in a desert breeze. Loughner Indicted on 49 Counts. Jared Loughner has been charged with 49 federal counts in connection with the slaughter in Tucson in January. As the [Washington] Post notes, the indictment employs a novel legal argument. Tucson's Other Victims — Truth and Logic. While the liberal media sought to stake out the moral high ground in the first days after the tragic massacre in Tucson, the picture soon changed rather dramatically. Their indignation turned to hypocrisy, their journalistic standards stood exposed, and they lost control of the narrative as more facts became known about the alleged killer, about their own actions and words — on tape, on the Internet and in print — and about who was really to blame for creating a partisan and hostile environment in this country. The Left was clearly hoping that the controversy would have the effect of silencing conservative voices in the media, and shaming the Republicans into backing off of their agenda that they were recently voted in to pursue, including plans to vote to repeal ObamaCare. Invoking Tucson Shooting, Obama Seeks 'Common Sense' Restrictions on Gun Sales. Two months after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, President Obama is calling for "agreement on gun reforms." He says he wants to start a new dialogue with both sides of the gun debate. In reaction, the National Rifle Association said on Monday [3/14/2011] it "welcomes any serious discussion on policies that focus on prosecuting criminals and fixing deficiencies in the mental health system." Judge Rules Tucson Shooting Suspect Not Competent to Stand Trial. Mental health experts concluded that the 22-year-old college dropout suffers from schizophrenia. Judge rules Loughner is not competent to stand trial. Jared Lee Loughner, accused of a mass shooting in which he allegedly tried to assassinate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, isn't competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday [5/25/2011]. To [Heck] with You People. [Scroll down] Everyone "knew" the shooter was a tea partier. Except he wasn't. He wasn't even a conservative. He was a sick, demented, nutball. And it still didn't matter! More bleating and caterwauling about the "tone" followed. More chin stroking and tut-tutting from Meet the Press roundtables and "very special segments" on the Today Show. Media controversy backfires. The Pima County Republican Party of Tucson, Arizona, should thank the local news media for making their gun raffle a success — by misidentifying what the gun was and just what the event was. The controversy was stirred by a media that does not know the difference between a Glock 19 and a Glock 23 or for that matter, an auction from a raffle. The news media made it seem as though Republicans were selling the very gun Jared Loughner used to shoot Gabrielle Giffords in a rampage in which he killed six people and wounded 13 others. A year after the shooting... NPR Again Falsely Blames Giffords' Shooting on Uncivil Political Rhetoric. I suppose we couldn't get past the one-year anniversary of the crime against Democrat Representative Gabrielle Giffords without some Old Media outlet blaming the supposed "heated" political rhetoric of the day for her shooting. On Sunday [1/8/2012] we saw NPR doing just that. The fact is, no matter how many times they say it, politics and the "heated rhetoric" thereof had absolutely nothing at all to do with Giffords' shooting. The linking of the crime to politics is just not legitimate. DNC chair blames Tea Party for Tucson shooting? Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., speaking in New Hampshire this morning [1/11/2012], reminded her audience of the tragic Tucson shooting last year — and also insinuated that the Tea Party, which she said regards political opponents as "the enemy," has enhanced divisiveness in Congress and had something to do with the shooting, at least indirectly. Feud erupts over DNC chairwoman's comment on Giffords shooting. An inter-party feud erupted Wednesday evening [1/11/2012] over whether the head of the Democratic Party blamed the Tea Party movement for the shooting one year ago in Tucson, Ariz., that killed six and injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). The left claimed that Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) was referring to the rancor of public discourse — a hot topic in the days after the shooting. Republicans called it a pathetic attempt to score political points, and demanded an apology. DNC Chair Says Giffords Shooting Tea Party's Fault. The DNC's chairwoman, a champion of Occupy Wall Street, once again associates the tragedy in Tucson with an end to civil discourse caused by the grass-roots Tea Party movement. Has she no shame? Giffords' resignation opens up race to fill Arizona seat. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' decision to step down from her congressional seat sets up a wide-open race to fill her spot in a conservative-leaning Arizona district that has a history of electing moderates from both parties. Rep. Giffords to step down from Congress to focus on recovery. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is stepping down from Congress to focus full-time on her recovery from a shooting which left her severely injured, her office announced Sunday. Rep. Giffords to resign from Congress this week. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona announced Sunday she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago. Obama hijacks the Navy. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is back again using a U.S. Navy warship as a vessel of political pandering. At a hurriedly convened Pentagon ceremony Friday, [2/10/2013] Mr. Mabus announced that the next littoral combat ship, LCS-10, would be named for former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat. Former military brass 'shocked,' 'angered' over USS Gabrielle Giffords. Despite the country's respect for former Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, not everyone in the military community was thrilled with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' Friday [2/10/2012] announcement that the Navy's new Independence variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named for her. ... Retired Rear Admiral George Worthington, former commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, told The Daily Caller that there are many people more worthy of a ship bearing their name. Naming of Navy ships returns to tradition. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, under fire from Congress and veterans for naming ships after fellow Democrats and social activists, plans to announce another round of ship names in the near future that will be more traditional, a Pentagon official tells The Washington Times. The official said Mr. Mabus has chosen names for five surface ships — three for war heroes and two for locations. Ships typically are named after states and cities. Former Giffords aide Barber wins race to succeed her in House. Democrat Ron Barber defeated Republican Jesse Kelly in an emotionally charged and nationally watched special election Tuesday [6/12/2012] to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). In what both candidates predicted would be an extremely close race, Barber finished 6 points ahead of Kelly, taking 52 percent of the vote to Kelly's 46, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Conn. lt. gov.'s office: Giffords meeting planned. A spokesman says Connecticut's lieutenant governor has been invited to attend a meeting between former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and families of the victims of the deadly Newtown elementary school shooting. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly launch gun control initiative. Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband launched an initiative aimed at curbing gun violence on Tuesday [1/8/2013], the second anniversary of the Tucson shooting that killed six people and left her critically injured. Giffords and Mark Kelly wrote in an op-ed published in USA Today that their Americans for Responsible Solutions initiative would help raise money to support greater gun control efforts. Gabrielle Giffords: The NRA is an 'ideological fringe'. Former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords D-Ariz. launched a new policy group this morning dubbed Americans for Responsible Solutions. The organization calls for government action to stop gun violence. That sounds pretty standard, but in this morning's USA Today op-ed, Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly specifically criticize the National Rifle Association — signalling that she will directly challenge the group's influence. The Editor says... Using Gabby Giffords as a mascot. What does it tell you when a new group founded to clamp down on gun-ownership rights announces its formation by trotting out the celebrity victim of a crazed gunman? It means the group does not really wish to have a serious and open discussion about the complex and troubling factors that have led to the explosions of mass violence we have seen in recent years committed by increasingly unstable, psychopathic outcasts. The Top 50 Liberal Media Bias Examples. [#18] Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: From the moment that the crime against Representative Gabrielle Giffords became national news, members of the media began to blame her attack on the "violent rhetoric" of conservatives in general and the Tea Party movement in particular. A "climate of violence" perpetrated by the right was at fault, said the media. This line of attack on the right was unleashed by the media before the name of the attacker was even known. Gabby Giffords Poisons the Well. Although Giffords was unable to complete her term in Congress, she did recover sufficiently to make something of a return to public life. The "civility" campaign having long since fizzled, she got on board with the new moral panic, the one about guns. If [Jonathan] Alter meant it when he said he hoped Giffords would become a "referee" of public discourse — an advocate for reasoned civility — he ought to feel terribly disappointed. She has instead turned out to be a practitioner of incivility and unreason. 'Civility President' Again Uncivil After Gun Defeat. After Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot, President Obama called for "more civility in our public discourse." Now, after losing a Senate vote, he uncivilly calls his political foes willful liars — with Giffords at his side. Those crazy, lone-wolf, low level IRS employees. Let's not forget that for the last few years, every time there has been a mass shooting or a terrorist plot revealed, the media reflexively pointed their fingers at the Tea Party movement. Just three short hours after the first reports came in about the mass shooting in Tucson, Paul Krugman of the New York Times posted in his "Conscience of a Liberal" blog a quote by Rep. Gifford's grieving, distressed father that "'the whole Tea Party' was her enemy." His intention was to lead the reader to conclude that the Tea Party was somehow to blame. The Media's Double Standard. There are some illuminating contrasts between the media's handling of the political dimensions of the Family Research Council shooting and the shooting of Representative Giffords. In the latter case, the media rushed to assume political motivations and were quick to blame, of all people, Sarah Palin. The Media's Shooting Bias. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner shot Representative Gabby Giffords and murdered six people in Tuscon, Ariz., conservative Americans were instantaneously treated to inane lectures about "right-wing rhetoric" — despite there being no link whatsoever between the shooter and any sort of "rhetoric." Meanwhile, the Daily Kos's Markos Moulitsas, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, and the New York Times' Paul Krugman went one further, blaming Sarah Palin personally. Elsewhere, the most dull campaign rhetoric — stuff that is used routinely by both sides — was transmuted into hard evidence of guilt and complicity. "Look at that politician over there. He said 'target'!" Perhaps worst of all, Loughner was repeatedly described as a "right-winger" when, insofar as he had any ideology at all, friend Caitie Parker said, he was "left-wing, quite liberal." Democrats in pro-gun states turn down the gift of Gabby. Everybody loves Gabby Giffords — just not necessarily on the campaign trail. When the gun control advocacy group led by the former congresswoman from Arizona threw its support behind several endangered Senate Democrats in Western and Southern states, the candidates carefully moved to distance themselves from the affable Ms. Giffords and boasted about their strident defense of Second Amendment rights. FBI files suggest Gabrielle Giffords shooter planned second attack. The new details about Loughner are included in 1,500 pages of FBI investigative files, released this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington bureau. To avoid the death penalty, Loughner — whose lawyers initially maintained he was mentally incompetent — pleaded guilty and received a life sentence. Vile ad bounces off McSally, sticks to Gabby Giffords. The ad is meant to help Democratic incumbent Ron Barber in his bid for re-election. It is emblematic of a wave of tough new advertising the gun-control lobby pushed out after the slaughter of children and teachers at Newtown, Conn. did not result in meaningful gun-control legislation. The anti-McSally ad is more than hardball politics. It is base and vile. It exploits a family's tragedy to score cheap political points. Liberal Incivility and Gabby Giffords. When a gunman attempted to murder Rep. Gabriel Giffords in January 2011, the country was shocked by what was widely interpreted as an act that symbolized the incivility that had transformed American politics. That assumption, which was primarily aimed at undermining the Tea Party movement that had swept the midterm elections months before in the 2010 midterms, was soon debunked when we learned the shooter was an apolitical madman. But liberals have never ceased yapping about the implications of their opponents' alleged meanness. Now it turns out the person who is doing the most to give the lie to this assertion is Ms. Giffords. Gabby Giffords gets mean. Gabby Giffords, irreproachable figure of sympathy, has fashioned an improbable new role for herself this election year: ruthless attack dog. The former Democratic congresswoman, whose recovery from a gunshot wound to the head captivated the country, has unleashed some of the nastiest ads of the campaign season, going after GOP candidates in Arizona and New Hampshire with attacks even some left-leaning commentators say go too far. And Republicans on the receiving end are largely helpless to hit back, knowing a fight with the much-admired survivor is not one they're likely to win. Media Can't Handle The Truth: Gabby Giffords' Attacker Passed Background Check. On March 4, Breitbart News reported that Gabby Giffords was joining with Democrat lawmakers to push background checks for gun shows so that everyone would have to pass the same background check her attacker passed to get his handgun. Numerous media outlets — Slate magazine, Mother Jones, MSNBC, Daily Mail, New York Daily News, and Huffington Post UK, among them — were shocked that Breitbart News would dare report this, but none refuted the fact the Jared Loughner passed a background check for the firearm he used to attack Giffords in January 2011. Gabby Giffords Visits Chris Christie to Push Firearm Confiscation Laws. On March 18, gun control proponent Gabby Giffords met with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) to discuss new firearm confiscation laws for the state. In August, Breitbart News reported that Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) — the gun control group founded by Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly — began pushing temporary confiscation as part of its bid to find something that would resonate with the American people and give the group some traction. Gabby Giffords Uses Pope Francis's Address for Gun Control Fundraising. On September 24 the gun control group founded by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly used Pope Francis's address to Congress as an opportunity to request a $3 donation from gun control supporters. The Top 50 Liberal Media Bias Examples. [#18] Gabrielle Giffords Shooting: From the moment that the crime against Representative Gabrielle Giffords became national news, members of the media began to blame her attack on the "violent rhetoric" of conservatives in general and the Tea Party movement in particular. A "climate of violence" perpetrated by the right was at fault, said the media. This line of attack on the right was unleashed by the media before the name of the attacker was even known. It later turned out that shooter Jared Lee Loughner had no discernible political beliefs at all and, in fact, had been targeting Giffords before the Tea Party movement was even started. "If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." |
