Originally Posted By ecdc <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/08/sheriff-clarence-dupnik-a_n_806303.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...303.html</a> This guy is my hero: "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," said [Sheriff Dupnik]. "And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry." When asked by a reporter if Giffords being shot could have been motivated by "prejudice and bigotry," Dupnik responded, "All I can tell you is that there's reason to believe is that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think that people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol." While speaking, the sheriff said that himself it included, "it's not unusual for all public officials to get threats." However, he said the sentiment doesn't come without consequences. "And that's the sad thing of what's going on in America," he explained. "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."
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<"And that's the sad thing of what's going on in America," he explained. "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.">> Gee... push vitriolic rhetoric and public officials become targets of violence. Then no one will want to serve as public officials. Government shrinks to nothing. Where have we seen this before? Shoot abortion providers until no doctor wishes to become one. Lack of available abortion providers = women not getting abortions. The far right tea baggers are the ones who want to shrink government down to a measly speck. Is this how they're going to do it? Take a page from the anti-abortion playbook?
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "At present it's seeming like the "lunatic" is a very sick puppy ... His delusional nonsense was the genuine, mental illness type, rather than your typical angry Tea Party kook." Maybe so, but given the volume of the noise coming from the opposing side of this particular representative it would be hard to make a case that this individual's feeble mind wasn't influenced at least a little bit by the Tea Party rhetoric. The truth is is that anyone who is willing to commit mass murder, whether it's this guy or the men who took down the Twin Towers, has to be at least a little bit crazy.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***The far right tea baggers are the ones who want to shrink government down to a measly speck. Is this how they're going to do it? Take a page from the anti-abortion playbook?*** Maybe this guy was just a lone kook, and maybe he never heard of Sarah Palin and wasn't political and was just deranged and just co-incidentally decided to try and assassinate some random political figure (or, as some right wingers are asserting, not even that...it was ENTIRELY random). If so, maybe. But isn't is a pretty amazing coincidence that the political figure who was gunned down just happened to be one of only TWO politicians to gain re-election on Palin's "hit list"? I'm sorry, but this smells like right wing hysteria gone too far, no matter how you slice it...Sarah Palin believes it, too, since she and her people have been desperately scrubbing THIS from the internets as fast as they can (feeling guilty much, Ms. Palin?)... <a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs454.ash1/24972_382925783587_24718773587_3655178_2736968_n.jpg" target="_blank">http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hp...68_n.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Perhaps the right to bear arms should be repealed. A form of terrorism this is too. But I bet it would never be deemed as such.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Perhaps the right to bear arms should be repealed*** Yeah, good luck with that. I was just spending some time on a left wing board where all, yes ALL of the members were vehemently defending the oft misunderstood second amendment.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Another reason why I choose to live in Europe, guns are very, VERY rare. There have been 3 shootings that I am aware of in the last 24 years, and the worst thing to happen to politicians are eggs.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Predictably, Tea Party supporters and talk radio yakkers are busy denying any culpability for creating an atmosphere that made this possible, by playing the "he's just a lone crazy" card. True on one level. But as Josh Marshall of TPM points out, this is not surprising, nor does it excuse them of culpability. In fact, it is crazies and unstable people who are most likely to listen to the non-stop drumbeat and take it as justification for committing actual violence. So just as it is not surprising that most people can withstand a flu epidemic that will nonetheless kill older people or those with weakened defenses, most people can listen to this drumbeat/climate of incitement and not be prompted to commit violence, but the people on the edge of mental health eventually will. Marshall gets to it about 4:45 into this: <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/01/me_on_olbermann_show.php" target="_blank">http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c...show.php</a> I did watch Olbermann last night and he was admirably NOT in hyperbole mode, even offering a mea culpa for those times when his rhetoric might have gotten overheated and promising to be conscious of when his metaphors might veer into the violent as well. If only those more guilty of such rhetoric in the first place would take a similar look at themselves. And, of course, the video of Giffords herself talking about being in Palin's crosshairs and how there are "consequences to that action" is quite rightly being played a lot. (That comments about 2 minutes in): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7046bo92a4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...46bo92a4</a> And I loved this from the comments section: "How's that bullety, cross-hairy thing workin out for ya Sarah?"
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "He wanted to impress Jodie Foster !" This isn't funny at all. Shame on you.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>This isn't funny at all. Shame on you.<< No, it wasn't. I'm sick of these teabaggers showing up and when they don't have any cogent arguments to offer, they just resort to tossing out bombs to push buttons.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder The public attitude towards government and government workers has gotten so twisted in the last few years it IS a wonder anyone wants to do it. The same people who claim to be "patriots" are also the ones doing the attacking, griping about anything and everyone. I've mentioned this before- it has become de rigueur to give the public access to government worker full names, salary information and place of work. Once that started, my wife and I and many co-workers have received hate mail both at home and work, telling us "government leeches to quit living off the tax slaves" and get a real job, among other things. My wife and I have received five notes between us. None have been physical threats, however. We also have had to purchase protection against use of our names and salary for credit fraud, and three different neighbors have made pointed remarks about how now they know how we've paid for home repairs, gone on trips and purchased our vehicles. Never mind we both drive six year old Toyotas that are paid for by now. We don't know what else to do about it anymore but just shake our heads.
Originally Posted By ecdc In fact, I think the term "teabagger" no longer captures these people. I hereby rechristen it, "tea douchebagger."
Originally Posted By ecdc >>The same people who claim to be "patriots" are also the ones doing the attacking, griping about anything and everyone.<< The people who claim to love this country the most know the least about it. And they spend all their time talking about how much they hate government. What America is cannot be separated from its government. There's been good times, and oh yes, bad times in the American government. But this country is much more than naive dreams of the past, or mom, or apple pie. You cannot separate what America is from its government and the decisions its Democratically elected leaders have made.
Originally Posted By mele <<He wanted to impress Jodie Foster !>> Thanks, Mr. True Colors. All we needed to know.
Originally Posted By hopemax Now, here's a question. If there had been talk radio, twitter, websites around in 1980, and Ms Foster made comments about Reagan being friendly to Iranian terrorists, he would lead the US to its destruction, and he might not even be an American. And we need to join together, use 2nd amendment solutions, and take him out. Do you think she would be allowed off the hook, because Hinckley is obviously crazy?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder >disneydad109 Sun 1/9/2011 9:32a ? < Seriously? You don't understand the problem with your posts?
Originally Posted By disneydad109 we can look for a answer till we are blue oin the face. People do these things cause they are out of their fricken mind. palin,foster, the pope,whomever pick a person and say they caused it. just be glad your not in england,blowing up boats,bombing sea side resorts,shooting a missle at 10 downing street,blowing up subway cars thats a very unsafe place to be. no where has cornered the market on nuts.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo lol, a guy who clearly has no clue. I feel safer living in the UK then I ever did in the US. very few people have guns here, and if we get injured we even have social medicine to patch us up.
