Tucson Shootings -- January 12

New York Times: "President Obama landed in Tucson on Wednesday afternoon, and immediately headed to the hospital to see Representative Gabrielle Giffords and other people injured in the shooting on Saturday." AP update here. ...

... Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Obama will focus his speech at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday evening on the victims of the attack and on the idea of service to the country, avoiding any overt commentary on the debate over violence and the nation’s political culture. Instead, Mr. Obama ... will call for unity among Americans, while trying to honor the victims, including their service to government, as an example to all Americans. He will share the anecdotes about the victims that he has learned during private phone calls to the families, aides said." President Obama will speak at 8:00 pm ET. ...

... Politico: "Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Justice Anthony Kennedy will accompany the Obamas. Also flying on Air Force One will be House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and five Arizona Republicans: Reps. Paul Gosar, Trent Franks, Ben Quayle, Dave Schweikert and Jeff Flake." CW: you remember Ben Quayle, a/k/a porn star "Brock Landers," who ran an ad in which he said, "Barack Obama is the worst President in history." (Scroll down on this page to see part of the ad; Andy Cobb's remake, below the Quayle ad, is even funnier.) Should be a fun trip.

UPI: "Doctors said Wednesday they're encouraged by the progress made by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.... Dr. Peter Rhee of the University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., said Giffords still is in critical condition but is making more and more spontaneous movements -- even fixing her hospital gown on her own." ...

... Mike Orcutt in Scientific American on how Gabrielle Giffords survived: the "nature of her injury" & "prompt emergency care kept her alive."

Juan Cole: "Sarah Never Does Anything Wrong.... Palin has a long history of using violent rhetoric and then denying it." Thanks to Jeanne B. ...

AND the Politico headline is, "Palin charges critics with 'blood libel.' Sarah Palin released a video statement Wednesday calling the rush to pin blame on conservatives for the Tucson shooting 'reprehensible' and a 'blood libel.'" I'm not going to post the nearly 8-minute video because I don't want to do anything to encourage Palin, but the Politico article includes the video. ...

... Sarah Palin just can't seem to get it, on any front. I think she's an attractive person, she is articulate.  But I think intellectually, she seems not to be able to understand what's going on here. -- James Clyburn, House Assistant Leader (D-SC)

Since the next two bloggers comment on Palin's appearance, I've posted this screenshot, but no video!

CW: Hair combed, check. Lipstick neutral, check. Funereal gray suit, check. Flag pin, check. Fireplace, check. Silver-framed B&W photo, check. American flag on the right of the screen, check.

     ... Greg Sargent: "... the obvious care that went into making this video ... demonstrate ... that Palin and her advisers knew this was a potential make-or-break moment.... Palin, of course, has long taken her case directly to supporters via Twitter and Facebook, while not permitting herself to be exposed to any journalistic cross-examination. Utilizing a pre-taped video message is a new twist on that strategy.... Her core accusation on the video ... actually accuses [her critics] of expressing concern and outrage about the shooting ... in an effort to do nothing more than damage her politically": The key sentence: "But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn." ...

     ... Balloon Juice: "Palin’s toned-down appearance and scripted delivery show that she wants to adopt the appearance of reasonableness... The setting is presidential, but the message is classic Palin, lashing back at her critics. She was clearly hoping to show 'gravitas', but that’s more than set dressing." ...

Today has been set aside to honor the victims of the Tucson massacre. And Sarah Palin has apparently decided she's one of them. -- Josh Marshall of TPM

     ... Andrew Sullivan: Palin "can see absolutely nothing awry in the inflammatory and violent rhetoric she and others have deployed so aggressively in the past two years. Nothing. The attempted assassination of a congresswoman after relentless demonization of her, after her opponent brandished an M-16 at a campaign rally, after a brick was thrown through her campaign window, after she personally complained about Palin's own metaphorical cross-hairs on her." ...

     ... Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic: "Anyone still wondering whether political debate in American would change in the wake of the shooting of 20 in Tucson ... got their answer this morning as Sarah Palin delivered a resounding no. The blood libel is an anti-Semitic myth dating to the middle ages that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious ceremonies; it served as the basis for centuries of genocidal persecution." ...

     ... Howie Kurtz of the Daily Beast, who a few days ago defended Palin, now writes, "Had Palin scoured a thesaurus, she could not have come up with a more inflammatory phrase."

     ... CW: John Nichols of The Nation notes that Giffords is Jewish. Nichols doesn't say so, but I'm guessing Palin is using the "blood libel" accusation against her detractors to equate herself with Giffords -- "See, we're both victims. Maybe I didn't get a bullet through my head, but 'the evil-doers' are mean to me, too." This false equivalency, if that's the intention, is disgusting on so many level. Update: okay, I'm in good company:

Palin’s comments either show a complete ignorance of history, or blatant anti-Semitism. Either way, it shows an appalling lack of sensitivity given Representative Giffords’s faith and the events of the past week. -- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), via a spokesperson

When Governor Palin learns that many Jews are pained by and take offense at the use of the term, we are sure that she will choose to retract her comment, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words. -- Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street

     ... Zachary Roth of Yahoo News: "Several Jewish groups are criticizing Sarah Palin's use of the term 'blood libel' in her video statement on the Arizona shootings. The phrase traditionally refers to false anti-Semitic myths about Jews using the blood of Christians, often children, in their rituals." ...

     ... Karen Tumulty: "Sarah Palin's statement Wednesday in response to the Tucson shootings, in which she has found herself at the center of a debate over civility in political discourse, was crafted as both a defense of her own actions and a strike against her critics -- but reaction to the statement was dominated by a fresh controversy over her use of the phrase 'blood libel.'" ,,,

     ... Ezra Klein says, "Palin is right to feel aggrieved." And so what if she doesn't know what "blood libel" means? Then he concludes, "So that's Palin's substantive response: Politics has never been reliably civil, and at least she's not shot anybody.... But you won't find 'stop bothering me, this tragedy isn't my fault' in the chapter headings of any books on leadership. Palin could've taken this opportunity to look very big, and instead she now looks very small."

... Speaking of right-wing rabble-rousers, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle finally released a statement which, in part, condemned the many journalists, pundits & politicians who criticized her call for "Second Amendment remedies":

Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people's Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant. The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the TEA Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger. -- Sharron Angle

       ... CW: right. We're the dangerous ones.

Gene Robinson of the Washington Post: "We must recognize the obvious distinction between rifles, shotguns and target pistols used for sport on the one hand, and semiautomatic handguns designed for killing people on the other. We must decide that allowing anyone to carry a concealed weapon, no questions asked, is just crazy. And for heaven's sake, we must demand that laws designed to keep guns out of the hands of lunatics be enforced."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Speaker John A. Boehner expected to spend his first celebratory weeks as the new leader of the House showcasing his party’s differences with the Democrats. But the shooting rampage in Arizona upended those plans. Now Mr.Boehner is being called on to play a far less partisan role, leading Republicans and Democrats alike through a difficult period."

Protect Congress, to Hell with Everybody Else

     (1) Brian Montopoli of CBS News: "An aide to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) tells CBS News that the Indiana Republican plans to introduce legislation next week that would encase the House Gallery in 'a transparent and substantial material' such as Plexiglas that would keep members of the public from being able to throw explosives or make other attacks on members on the House floor." ...

     (2) Shira Toeplitz of Politico: "Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), one of the few pro-gun control Republicans in the House, wants to make it illegal for someone to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of certain high-ranking federal officials, including members of Congress. ...

     (3) New York Times: "House members reconvened at the Capitol on Wednesday to honor the dead and the wounded in the Arizona shooting rampage and to begin reviewing security concerns with law enforcement officials. At the same time, many Republican lawmakers quickly rejected any suggestion that gun control laws need to be tightened, even to limit access to expanded ammunition clips like the one that the police say Jared L. Loughner used outside a Tucson supermarket on Saturday...." ...

... New York Times Editors: "Members of Congress are understandably worried about their own safety in the wake of the shooting rampage that was centered around Representative Gabrielle Giffords.... But some of the ideas being proposed would have the effect of further distancing lawmakers from the people they represent — and elevate their safety above the 100,000 Americans who are shot or killed with a gun every year."

Charlie Savage & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Threats to lawmakers rarely lead to charges.... While attackers almost never telegraph their intentions ahead of time, they do often show signs of fixation on public figures against whom they harbor grievances — real or imagined — and often tell a friend or a relative that they might attack them, forensic psychologists say." ...

... Oops, missed this one. New York Daily News: Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.)"said Sunday they'll pack heat back home after the deadly attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords." ...

... Prof. Joanne Freeman in the New York Times: "In the rough-and-tumble Congress of the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s, politicians regularly wore weapons on the House and Senate floors, and sometimes used them.... During a debate in 1850, Senator Henry Foote of Mississippi pulled a pistol on Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri.... Until the 1840s, reporters played down [Congressional weapons-brandishing], in part to avoid becoming embroiled in fights themselves.... That changed with the arrival of the telegraph. Congressmen suddenly had to confront the threat — or temptation — of 'instant' nationwide publicity."

He doesn't say much, he just sits in his cell with a smirk on his face, nothing else. -- U.S. Marshal David Gonzales

David Fahrenthold & Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "The Pima County Sheriff's Department on Wednesday released reports from 12 cases in which its officers interacted with the family of Jared Loughner, files that provided evidence of the accused gunman's troubled childhood but contained no obvious foreshadowing of the rampage that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) critically wounded.... The most serious case involved a small-time drug arrest in 2007, when a sheriff's deputy reported finding a marijuana pipe in Loughner's pocket." ...

... ** AP: "A wildlife officer pulled over [Jared Loughner] ... less than three hours before the deadly attack, authorities said Wednesday.... Loughner ran a red light but was let off with a warning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.... The officer took Loughner's driver's license and vehicle registration information but found no outstanding warrants on Loughner or his vehicle. Wildlife officers don't usually make traffic stops unless public safety is at risk, such as running a red light."

... Tom Steller of the Arizona Daily Star: "Jared Lee Loughner sought help getting a job several times last year at a Pima County employment center, but the last visit turned into a familiar fiasco: Loughner was ejected as he protested his constitutional rights.... On Sept. 29, Loughner made the last of at least four visits to the Pima County OneStop center.... He came in carrying a video camera and recorded the staff in the office...." When told not to tape the staff, he pulled a copy of the Constitution from his pocket & said it was his right. He was asked to leave then & another time the same day....

... Jo Becker, et al., of the New York Times: "The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday.... A [police] spokesman ... said the details of the calls ... would be released.... He said he did not know what the calls were about ... or whether they involved Jared Loughner or another member of the household." The article details an interview with Zane Gutierrez, a friend of Loughner's, who said Loughner was "a nihilist and loves causing chaos" & was expert at handling guns.

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "The rules regarding [an insanity defense] ... were tightened over the years in the wake of the verdict for John W. Hinckley Jr., who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The insanity argument is now seldom successful, legal experts said. What is more likely ... is that Mr. Loughner’s lawyers will use any mental health problems they find to stave off the death penalty, if he should go to trial and be convicted."

Glock Sales Surge. Michael Riley of Bloomberg: "A national debate over weaknesses in state and federal gun laws stirred by the shooting has stoked fears among gun buyers that stiffer restrictions may be coming from Congress, gun dealers say. The result is that a deadly demonstration of the weapon’s effectiveness has also fired up sales of handguns in Arizona and other states, according to federal law enforcement data."

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post writes about how various newspapers have printed the mugshot of Jared Loughner. CW: my choice, unlike everyone else's, has been not to post it at all. It's isn't just that the photo is too creepy -- it is -- but that Loughner seems to want to be recognized for the glory of his crimes. I don't want to help him out. ...

... Jack Shafer of Slate says it a lot better than I did: Loughner won't be content until people understand that he's a sadistic bastard capable of greater transgressions than shooting innocent people at point-blank range and that killing a 9-year-old only hints at the monster inside him.

The Commentariat -- January 12

Dana Milbank details some incidences of the pervasive government-corporate revolving door, with former federal employees cashing in on corporate & jobs, and former members of Congress/now-lobbyists walking the halls of the Capitol Building & even doing business on the House floor, which violates House rules. CW: among those Milbank mentions is Republican Bob Livingston whom Milbank describes as "button-holding members" before getting kicked off the House floor. A friend & I were just discussing Livingston yesterday -- Livington's claim to fame: "During debate over the impeachment of Bill Clinton..., Livingston acknowledged that he had had an extramarital affair and resigned as Speaker-elect." (WikiPedia) ...

... John Bresnahan of Politico: "While former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay tries to avoid a three-year stint in Texas prison, the loyal aides who once worked for him have quietly created a powerful Republican network on and off Capitol Hill.... These DeLay alums are populating the upper reaches of Republican leadership jobs in the House and enjoying lucrative jobs lobbying and consulting."

Jonathan Weisman & Laura Meckler of the Wall Street Journal: "The White House will announce as soon as this month the creation of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, with fund-raising likely to begin in March or early April, said officials involved in the planning."

Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post: a new, tea-party-backed majority on the Wake County (Raleigh), North Carolina school board has moved the school system away from its racially-integrated policy into one that promotes racial & economic segregation.

Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "President Obama will mount a fresh attempt this year to rewrite the No Child Left Behind education law, a top administration official said this week, and key congressional Republicans said they are ready to deal."

Lee Fang of Think Progress: Rep. Peter King, the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, "has doubled down on his promise to launch a witch-hunt against Muslims." He has claimed again -- falsely -- "that American Muslims never cooperate to combat terrorism." With audio.

Tucson Shootings -- January 11

Paul Davenport of the AP: "Arizona legislators planned to consider emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kan., church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was among six people killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson. The proposed law would prohibit protests at or near funeral sites. It would take effect immediately if passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer," who says she will sign it. "The Westboro Baptist Church said Monday it plans to picket Thursday's funeral for Christina Taylor Green because 'God sent the shooter to deal with idolatrous America.'"

"Armed Giffords Hero Nearly Shot Wrong Man." William Saleton of Slate: "... what do gun advocates propose? More guns.... The new poster boy for this agenda is Joe Zamudio, a hero in the Tucson incident. Zamudio was in a nearby drug store when the shooting began, and he was armed. He ran to the scene and helped subdue the killer.... 'I came out of that store, I clicked the safety off, and I was ready,' [Zamudio] explained on Fox and Friends. 'I had my hand on my gun. I had it in my jacket pocket....' As he rounded the corner, he saw a man holding a gun. 'And that's who I at first thought was the shooter.... I told him to "Drop it, drop it!'" But the man with the gun wasn't the shooter. He had wrested the gun away from the shooter." Saleton elaborates details of the encounter to show "how close [Zamudio] came to killing an innocent man."

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence posts an "Insurrectionism Timeline": "On June 26, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court embraced the National Rifle Association's contention that the Second Amendment provides individuals with the right to take violent action against our government should it become 'tyrannical.' The ... timeline catalogues incidents of insurrectionist violence (or the promotion of such violence) that have occurred since that decision was issued."

Jennifer Medina on Suzi Hileman, one of the shooting victims who is recovering in University Medical Center from three bullet wounds. Hileman had taken 9-year-old Christina Green to meet Rep. Giffords.

Today doctors at University Medical Center discuss the status of Rep. Giffords & others:

Arizona Republic: "Doctors caring for U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords said this morning she is breathing on her own and is otherwise recovering from a devastating head wound she suffered when a gunman opened fire at point-blank range. In addition to Giffords, five patients remain in the hospital with three listed in serious condition and two in fair condition...." ...

... Tucson Sentinel: "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is '100 percent' certain to survive, said Dr. Peter Rhee, a surgeon treating her for a gunshot wound to the head. 'As a physician I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for this, but her prognosis for survival is 100 percent, as far as it being short term,' Rhee told Britain's Channel 4 News.... 'Hopefully she'll live to be 95 years old,' said Rhee, the medical director for University Medical Center's trauma center." ...

Last night Dr. Peter Rhee spoke to PBS "News Hours"' Judy Woodruff:

David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "As Loughner appeared in court, acquaintances in Arizona revealed new details about his past few years -- in which an increasingly erratic Loughner distanced himself from family members and friends and made decisions that sabotaged his ambitions." ...

... CBS News: "The parents of the suspect in the shooting rampage that left six people dead in Tucson, Ariz., released a statement Tuesday saying that they don't understand why the shooting happened and that they can't express their feelings in words.... Both parents have been interviewed extensively by the FBI.... Earlier, the parents told federal investigators they knew their son was becoming increasingly troubled but were not aware how much he had drifted and were 'completely surprised' that he actually committed a violent act." ...

... CBS/AP: Jared Loughner "wrote 'Die, bitch' in a note found at his home.... Investigators believe the handwritten message was a reference to Giffords.... The note was found in a safe alongside other ones, including 'I planned ahead,' 'My assassination' and the name 'Giffords.' ... On Saturday morning, Jared Loughner's father saw him take a black bag out of a car trunk.... The father approached Loughner, and he mumbled something and took off running.... The father got in his truck and chased his son as he fled on foot." ...

... Ben Smith links to a conspiracy theory Website which Loughner apparently frequented in November 2010. One of Smith's readers pointed to a conversation between Loughner & another user; the other person tells Loughner that he (Loughner) is "frankly schizophrenic" & urges him to "Seek help before you hurt yourself or others...." 

... Nick Baumann of Mother Jones: a friend of Loughner's, Bryce "Tierney tells Mother Jones ... that Loughner held a years-long grudge against Giffords and had repeatedly derided her as a 'fake.' Loughner's animus toward Giffords intensified after he attended one of her campaign events and she did not, in his view, sufficiently answer a question he had posed, Tierney says."

... Brigid Schulte of the Washington Post: "Under Arizona law, any one of Jared Lee Loughner's classmates or teachers at Pima Community College so concerned about his increasingly bizarre behavior could have contacted local officials and asked that he be evaluated for mental illness and potentially committed for psychiatric treatment. That, according to local mental health and law enforcement officials, never happened." ...

... If Schulte's reporting is correct, our crack Education Secretary doesn't know WTF he's talking about: Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post writes, "Education Secretary Arne Duncan said today that the community college that forced out the suspect in the Arizona shooting rampage because he was disruptive did what it could in handling the young man."

Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: "Today, the Eighth District stands apart as one of the most emotionally and politically polarized in the nation.... The shootings came after a disconcerting run of episodes in this district..., raising temperatures here in a way that some that some of Ms. Giffords’s friends argue fed an atmosphere that might encourage violence."

Michael Levenson of the Boston Globe: "On the 50th anniversary of one of President Kennedy’s most famous speeches, his great-nephew, Joseph P. Kennedy III, stood in the same spot in the Massachusetts House today and delivered his own address, decrying the vituperative political rhetoric that he said is tearing at the nation's fabric."

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Former President Bill Clinton on Tuesday waded into the debate about America’s political rhetoric..., saying the tone of the national conversation must change. Speaking from Haiti on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake there, Mr. Clinton suggested that passionate political speech should not be directly blamed for the kind of violence that occurred in Tucson. But he said the angry back-and-forth of modern debate is not healthy." Here's the BBC print story & video. ...

... Jim Rutenberg & Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "... even some Republicans sympathetic to [Sarah] Palin suggested that she needed to find a more substantive and nuanced means of addressing the criticism [related to her targeting Rep. Giffords] to avert any risk to her political standing and to maintain control of her political narrative."

Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "Across the ideological spectrum, officials and activists agreed after Saturday's Tucson killings that it was time to soften the harsh edges of America's raucous national dialogue. But by Monday, a bitter debate had erupted over how to do it -- and on whose terms." CW: Newt Gingrich seems crazier than usual -- he brings up "liberals" and "radical Islam".

Jake Tapper & Diane Sawyer of ABC News on vitriolic rhetoric. Sheriff Dupnik lets Rush Limbaugh have it:

Alex Pareene of Salon: "The attempted assassination of a member of Congress seems depressingly like the inevitable conclusion of two years of hysterical revolutionary language suffusing every single domestic political debate." Pareene cites many examples of how the right has "normalized political violence." ...

... Adam Serwer in the Washington Post: "We need to be clear that we're not talking about the mere use of violent imagery -- but political rhetoric that implicitly or explicitly justifies actual violence." ...

Jon Stewart, who has been excoriating the MSM for years about hyperbolic pundits, on the same:

It would be really nice if the ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on TV. Let's at least make troubled individuals easier to spot. -- Jon Stewart

Tim Smith of RobotCeleb explains the screenshot below: "Glenn Beck is trending like crazy after a photo of him holding a gun was randomly generated by his website. The kicker here is that Beck had just published an article stating 'We must stand together against all violence'”:

Joe Davidson of the Washington Post: "Rhetoric against federal workers has escalated from the day Ronald Reagan famously said ;government is the problem' to last week's comment by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) that 'the enemy is the bureaucracy.'" Davidson recounts recent acts of violence against federal employees.

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Obama is, so far, keeping his distance from the debate over whether vitriolic political discourse contributed to the attack in Arizona... ." ...

... Two Times a Hero. Speaking to Shep Smith of Fox "News," Tucson shootings hero Patricia Maisch calls out right-wing and Republican party rhetoric, which she says she hopes will change in the wake of the shootings:

Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: "House lawmakers are considering adopting an enhanced security system that would ease the way for members of Congress to get more comprehensive protection at public appearances in their home districts. Under the bipartisan proposal, the Capitol Police ... would formalize its relationship with local police and sheriffs’ departments ... and jointly develop more standardized plans to deal with varying threat levels for ... public events.... Lawmakers could then ask the local police to execute the plans for certain events, a step now taken only on an ad hoc basis."

Bob Herbert writes about our really stupid gun laws & our out-of-control murder rate. ...

... Molly Ball & Shira Toeplitz of Politico: Members of Congress "who have brought up gun control in light of the Tucson shooting have largely been the issue’s regular standard-bearers on Capitol Hill. Even gun-control advocates aren’t very optimistic about their chances.... The signal piece of gun legislation to come out of the Arizona shooting looks to be a bill that Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) plans to bring up as soon as this week. It would ban the manufacture and sale of high-capacity magazines such as the one Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s would-be assassin, Jared Lee Loughner, attached to his Glock 19, allowing him to fire off 33 bullets without reloading, rather than the 10 or so in a typical clip. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) ... plans to introduce McCarthy’s legislation in the Senate.... But McCarthy and Lautenberg are up against a political consensus that has only hardened in recent years...."