Originally Posted By mawnck Nope, not kidding. Wish I was. >>Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms. The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media. At least three other people, including members of her staff, were injured. << <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/...-arizona</a> Please note that this is not Glenn Beck's fault. 9_9
Originally Posted By mawnck By the way ... <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/08/sarahpac_0.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.boingboing.net/2011...ac_0.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones The only thing we know about the shooter is that he's a white male in his late teens or early 20s. Love the speculation though. Conservatives want it to be an ultra-liberal eco-terrorist type and liberals want it to be a Tea Party type. Oh, how is she doing? Didn't think about it...
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones Arizona local news, KTVK via CNN is reporting that the congresswoman is alive but in critical condition.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones CNN has also changed its homepage again. It's way too early to tell whether this is an assassination, a random shooting or what. Or maybe she was targeted by a family friend. Speculation is fun but the egg may be on your face at the end of this.
Originally Posted By ecdc Yeah, some news sources had reported she was dead but have reversed that. However, they do say she was shot point-blank in the head, which can't be good and which definitely sticks to mawnck's use of the word "assassination."
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Speculation is fun but the egg may be on your face at the end of this.<< I hear ya - I'm not into truthiness, no matter how much this might "feel" like it must've been done by some tea bagger loon. However, there was a sign outside the grocery store saying she was there. It was a well-publicized event by her office. She was shot point-blank in the head, definitely indicating she was targeted. Could be political, could be a jilted husband. But, provided the early reports are right, it's not speculation to say she was directly targeted.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones 11 other people were reportedly shot, though, so there is some randomness to it. We'll have to wait and see.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Even if she survived (and with a head injury that might not be a good thing, I speak from experience here) it is a tragic event and it is likely there are still fatalities. Until the trial, does motive matter much?
Originally Posted By mawnck Yep - reports are now conflicting. (They were not conflicting at the time I started this topic.) She was also active in anti-immigration (it IS AZ, after all) so you are correct, mustn't jump to conclusions. (Didn't *I* say that once before?) Doesn't change the fact that she was on Palin's "hit list." And Palin's site is down.
Originally Posted By ecdc Meantime, at least six other people are apparently dead. The whole thing sucks.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb <a href="http://www.kold.com/" target="_blank">http://www.kold.com/</a> Tucson local TV news site
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<This is the "2nd addmendment solution" Sharon Angle was advocating.>> Exactly. I doubt this was a random shooting. This Representative was re-elected to her third term, and has been the political target of the far right since 2009: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/08/gabrielle-giffords-shot-c_n_806211.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...211.html</a> "While there is no hard evidence at this point to suggest that the shooting was politically motivated, Matt Yglesias points out that an anti-Giffords event was held in June with the billing: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly." Rep. Giffords was also on Sarah Palin's "target list." As noted earlier, a gun was dropped at a Giffords event in 2009, and her office was vandalized in March." With this kind of attention focused on Giffords by the far right, it's not difficult to conclude that she was the deliberate victim of this attack, along with her supporters attending the event at Safeway. It will be interesting to see how strong the condemnation is coming from the usual suspects like Beck and Limbaugh. I'm guessing it won't be very heartfelt, since these guys view her and other Dems in Congress as the enemy, and have used very suggestive rhetoric in the past supporting the Sharron Angle "Second Amendment Solution" as a way to solve our nation's problems.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>It will be interesting to see how strong the condemnation is coming from the usual suspects like Beck and Limbaugh.<< I'm expecting something along the lines of "it's too bad, but see what happens when you try to take over our country with your Socialism?"
Originally Posted By hopemax This is terrible. Yes, the first thought is Democratic congresswoman shot, point blank, that this is is related to the current state of politics in the US right now. Her opponent in the recent elections mentioned the use of "Second Amendment solutions," as well. Her office has been previously vandalized during Health Care reform, and guns have been present at previous events of hers. We'll have to see how this shakes out though.
Originally Posted By mawnck On a somewhat classier note ... >>My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice. - Sarah Palin<< <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=485459383434" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/note.p...59383434</a> >>“I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country." John Boehner<< <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/08/gabrielle-giffords-shot-c_n_806211.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...211.html</a>
