Jackie ******r, right, tries her best to figure out the clues on a giant crossword as Jared Loughner, a volunteer, stands in the background during the Tucson Festival of Books.
This 22-yr-old, who shot Congresswoman Giffords in the head and killed and wounded many others, is more than just your typical uber-right wing Sarah Palin-worshiping Tea Party jackwagon. I met these lowbrows enumerating the US Census this summer. They're miserable paranoids in the extreme.
But this Loughner cat is mentally insane besides. He believes in "conscious dreaming", wants to trash the current US Constitution and start the country over, calls himself a terrorist, and that's just for starters.
Check out My Final Thoughts By Jared Lee Loughner! to see what I mean.
Al-Q., Bin L., and al-Zawaheri aren't the only brainwashing SOB's on the planet.
Damn you, Sarah, and your little dog glennbeck too. Shut the hell up.
UPDATES 1/9: Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy has the most reasoned thoughts on this whole mess: here. Dan. I's response at #15 is very reasoned, as I believe mine is at #63.
8:43 PM ET Wow
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, speaking about Arizona:
"When you look at unbalanced people, 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. And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.
"It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. And that's the sad thing of what's going on in America. Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."
He later added:
DUPNIK: Let me just say one thing, because people tend to poo-poo this business about all the vitriol that we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech. But it's not without consequences.
REPORTER: How do you know that that's what caused it.
DUPNIK: You don't.
UPDATES post January 13
Only one side has made the rhetoric of armed revolt against an oppressive tyranny the guiding spirit of its grassroots movement and its midterm campaign. Only one side routinely invokes the Second Amendment as a form of swagger and intimidation, not-so-coyly conflating rights with threats. Only one side’s activists bring guns to democratic political gatherings. Only one side has a popular national TV host who uses his platform to indoctrinate viewers in the conviction that the President is an alien, totalitarian menace to the country. Only one side fills the AM waves with rage and incendiary falsehoods. Only one side has an iconic leader, with a devoted grassroots following, who can’t stop using violent imagery and dividing her countrymen into us and them, real and fake. Any sentient American knows which side that is; to argue otherwise is disingenuous.
... George Packer, New Yorker magazine
Palin's reaction to Tucson massacre end her chances of being president?
Posted: 03:56 PM ET
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Sarah Palin may have done herself in.
The tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, presented an opportunity for Palin to reach beyond her base and strike a note of unity. It was her chance to say something that showed she was capable of true leadership.
You see, before Palin opened her mouth, there was a good deal of sympathy for her. Many believed it was wrong to drag her into the debate.
But then she spoke. And it was just awful. Defiant and inflammatory, Palin invoked the historically painful term "blood libel" in attacking the media. This is a phrase used to describe anti-Semitic myths about how Jews killed children to use their blood in rituals.
NBC news correspondent Andrea Mitchell suggested the use of the phrase "blood libel" was "ignorant." Which it was. A CBS analysis suggested Palin played "the victim card." Which she did. And ABC said Palin "once again, has found a way to become part of the story." True.
It is being suggested that the scope of the Tucson situation is simply beyond Palin's limited skill set. And when you compare Palin's response to the uplifting speech we heard from our president last night, well, you can draw your own conclusions.
President Obama still has work to do when it comes to delivering on his campaign promises to change Washington and elevate the national discourse but last night went a long way in reminding many Americans why they voted for him.
And comparing the president's lofty words to Palin's small ones must have many Republicans rethinking their support of a woman who has great difficulty getting beyond her image of some sort of rogue momma grizzly bear.
... Jack Cafferty, CNN
Actual billboard in Tuscon:
Hi Steven,
ReplyDeleteDo you truly believe it is those such as Sarah Palin which create such people? That is there is nurture and then there is nature. The facts being we are complex creatures, so don’t you think that having one less screw, an extra one or one not quite tightened properly could have more to do with it? As for myself I don’t think evil is something that actually exists, rather it’s like so many other things we have words for to cover what we can’t explain.
That is rather then looking for someone or something to blame, I’d rather look for a reason and attempt to have it remedied. That is blame can only foster hatred, while seeking reason find solution. That’s not to say as of now we have a solution for those who commit such acts, yet I don’t think we ever will if how they are given over to be attributed to others. The bottom line for me being, as all this has so many focused on what’s wrong with the world, what's right with it hardly get's noticed.
Best,
Phil
Not sure about the metaphysics until I die, Phil, so the whole "evil" thing discussion will have to wait.
ReplyDeleteHatred I believe in though. It's everywhere, especially in civilized societies where haters can command the airwaves and use use slick Cicero-like glib combined with half-truths and lies and diversion to influence votes, and thus power.
But enough about the Reagan administrations.
But that's when it started, here in the USA. The Far Right has completely taken over our once hallowed Republican party, and they SPEW HATE, constantly, on their national infomercial "News" network, FOX.
So I don't know if there's "evil", but if there is, it's centered in Rupert Murdoch, the shame of Australia, the provocateur of America, and the enemy of all things decent and good.