In the world of fact-packaging, presenting what has occurred in in non-judgmental terms seems to produce a status quo reaction. What happened in Arizona yesterday was a political assassination, and should be treated like one.

A supporter hugged Ms. Giffords on election night in Tucson in November, 11/15/10. (photo: Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star/AP)

Political Assassination in Arizona

By Marc Ash, Reader Supported News

09 January 11

Reader Supported News | Perspective

t's time to set the record straight. The reason that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the brain, "through and through," was that an individual hated and feared her political objectives enough to commit the cowardly act. You will hear a thousand times in the coming days, "We do not yet know the motive," ... "It's not clear if the motivation was political," ... "It was the act of an unstable individual." Each instance will be a lie.

Gabrielle Giffords stood up for healthcare reform and against xenophobia. They shot her in the head for it. The six that died were the lucky ones. The other dozen shot will carry this day forward for the remainder of their lifetimes.

When men like John Boehner and women like Sarah Palin tell you that they are shocked and saddened by what has occurred you may well assume that they are indeed. They inspired the rampage, and they are now confronted by what they have wrought.

This is from a rally promo on Sarah Palin's website:

"SATURDAY 06/12/10, 10:00 AM
Get on Target for Victory in November
Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office
Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly"

Let this day go down in history with April 14, 1865, November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968 and June 5, 1968.

Essay over.

Marc Ash is the founder and director of Reader Supported News, as well as Truthout.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

Comments

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Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

- The RSN Team

+116 # Richard Schmidt 2011-01-09 10:10

Yes, thank you for telling it like it is. Sarah Palin and her colleagues on the radical right are anti-American anarchists, who inspire violence. But the public who support them are no better.

+88 # kathiemm 2011-01-09 11:08

And you, too, Richard, are telling it like it is. The rights to freedom of speech and violence were not established as tools to promote murder of people whose ideas you did not like. Sarah Palin and her campaigners do indeed bear considerable responsibility for the needless and immoral harm done in Arizona yesterday, and anyone in the American public who follows those calls to arms, and calls to harm, are guilty as accessories, at the very least.

+21 # William Hilton 2011-01-09 18:41

Clearly, we are a violent country, at all levels, this is a hang over from the "wild west" that has permeated our society mostly through law emforcement. The NRA was born of that. On Meet The Press today a speaker said (this man was simply a murderer who has no repect for our constitution, & how can a human being just kill another human being?) Where has this person been locked up, does he not see the mayhem we have in this country? just this week two youths took guns and went and killed people they were angry with, where did they get the idea it is OK to kill someone because you are angry at them? I mean we (our Government) have a good reason for killing, Cubans, Koreans Argentinians, Vietnamese, Nicuaragians, Persians, Iraqis, Grenadians, Hiatans etc etc etc. Or how about our death sentence process, Likely more than half of all those were innocent victims! We live in a virtual police state and it isn't going to change. Unless of course, we have the gumption or desperation to revolt against it!

-124 # forparity 2011-01-09 11:47

I can assure you, that by far most of the calls for violence, both in the fringe media and it's pundits, and especially amongst the blogs (left wing vs right wing) comes from the left - not the right.

Perhaps that is in the spirit of Ted Ralls recent cable TV appearance (NSNBC) where he called for violent revolution in the streets of America, and Bill Ayers old call for urban warfare in suburbia. Or Palistian supporters holding public events in the US) calling for all the Jews to be sent back to the gas chambers, etc.

There is no hubris to be had here.

+63 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:19

I've never heard of "ted ralls".

What Bill Ayers said or didn't say is inconsequential , because you're refering to comments that may or may not have been made by him 45 YEARS AGO.

Since when is Palestine vs. Israel a "liberal" thing? What about all those New York Jews you hate? Do they hate Israel too?

Would you like to continue this game? Maybe we could keep score.

I can list MANY THREATENING comments by mann coulter.

I can list MANY THREATENING comments by bill o'really.

I can list several by limb-blow himself.

These weren't made in the 60's. They are CURRENT. These weren't made by people you've never heard of. They were made by people who literally HUNDREDS of Americans ACTUALLY BELIEVE!

This is an argument you don't want to have right now. Just accept responsibility and FIX IT!

-50 # forparity 2011-01-09 13:48

billy bob.. I live amongst the far left... you have no awareness whatsoever.

I watch O'Reilly off and on -- Even Dennis Kucinich enjoys the rather regular debate w/him. I find O'Reilly a bit arrogant and uneducated - but always interested in giving others a fair shake, and never makes threatening remarks. Period.

+17 # billy bob 2011-01-09 19:39

Interesting, I live among the FAR RIGHT.. AND YOU have no awareness whatsoever.

"If Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off-limits to you, except San Francisco."

-Bill O'Reilly on Fox "News" 11/10/2005

Suggesting possible FUTURE targets for TERRORIST ATTACK. VERY CLASSY.

+13 # billy bob 2011-01-09 19:41

I noticed you didn't come to the rescue of limb-blow or coulter. Why did you avoid discussing them?

+32 # donna 2011-01-09 21:34

You are laughable, name me an assassin that is a liberal. Liberals debate, conservatives assassinate, MSNBC has never urged violence like FOX. You are trying to create a false fact and history is on our side. You may live amongst the far left, but I am the far left and never will i defend picking up a gun and killing an elected official because we disagree. That is conservative style not liberal.

+37 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:47

Speaking of left-wing radicalism in the 60s (40+ years ago), do you remember any right-wing radicalism at the time?

Assassinations maybe?

How many blacks were lynched by "left-wingers"?

Was the Kent State massacre committed by liberals?

I know, I know, Manson was a liberal because he had long hair and a guitar and used the word "pigs". Apparently, no one told him that his motivations were racist and that he was murdering other liberals.

Like I said to someone else, this isn't about a psycho's motives. It's about his INSPIRATION.

This isn't exactly the first right-winger to resort to violence in recent years either. Just ask the secret service. President Obama was receiving a few hundred death threats A DAY for a while. Do you think the Secret Service has a liberal agenda too? Actually, I guess they do. They want the President of the United States to NOT be murdered. That's starting to look like a liberal sentiment.

+8 # wisdom 2011-01-10 02:10

you forgot to mention the oklahoma city bombers

+10 # billy bob 2011-01-10 08:25

You're right.

I was only pointing out the fact that even in the 60s (the last time right wingers can point to and say there was violent extremism on the left), it was only a RESPONSE to pre-existing right wing extremism.

The late 60s seem so violent to people because that's when the left decided to fight back (albeit briefly).

+25 # othermother 2011-01-09 13:59

How can you assure us that 'by far...most of the calls for violence...comes[sic]from the left'? Who's done the counting? Where is it recorded?

At least as important as 'how many' is 'from what platform' and the size and volatility of the listening audience.

+25 # kenecon 2011-01-09 18:43

Forparity is grasping at straws. I viewed the Ted Rall interview. He spoke about a new book of his. He addressed of violent revolution, with which I disagree, in abstract terms. He did not single out an person or persons for acts of violence. Bill Ayers? You got to be kidding me. That was over 40 years ago. What Palestinian supporters calling for gassing the Jews. Cite the source. Sure, there are so-called leftists who suggest violence. These are few and far between and do not get any media attention unlike omnipresent rightists such as Palin, Bachman, Beck, O'Rielly, dozens of hate radio hosts. Forparity must be eating hallucinogens.

+20 # donna 2011-01-09 21:26

Good try forparity but i have history on my side and i assure you that liberals are not the bearers of violence or violent threats, nice try but you are dead wrong and we know it! name for me the violent liberals you speak of, name them!! ewe are tired of the lies and the manipulation and i assure you we are not going to take it easily anymore. Wasnt a liberal that killed Dr tiller, was not a liberal that killed any of these people, so tired of right wing crap!

+7 # wisdom 2011-01-10 02:07

go ahead and spin the story and tell that to the parents of the 9 year old girl!

+2 # rock 2011-01-10 22:14

I think you are very correct in this. I hope Marc has the decency to admit that he was a little hasty this time. What do we know about this madman so far? Marijuana, rants against Glen Beck's 10/28 project, more marijuana. Looks like a real nut job, OK, and CERTAINLY no right-wing connection. I don't think there's any progressive traction to be had here.

+41 # Patricia 2011-01-09 13:52

when you have people like sarah palin saying that the new health care bill includes death panels,and john boehner talking about "health care job killer", it's no wonder people get crazy. it's time we asked politicians to stop the extremist rhetorical lies.

-5 # andresorgen 2011-01-09 14:49

To all those who like to jump to quick conlusions. The facts are: the perpetrator was a mentally disturbed individual, among his favorite books were "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Mein Kamf by Hitler, and "Siddharha" by Hesse. This nut (a pot-smoker) was obsessed with the invention of some currency, he thought that he was watched by the government. Tell me that these facts that I took from recent news are wrong. Judge for yourself, instead of rushing to blame the "Right" or the "Left." Remember that nut from Texas who rammed his small airplane into an IRS building. Where do you pigenhole him? Think about instead (a modest advise from a European): (1) more hospital assistance to and supervision over nuts (sorry for using this non-PC expression) (yet I already hear here a voice from Dems, "No, you cannot do this, psychiatry will turn into mind control) (2) forbade once and for all the sale of guns with 15-year prison sentence to all who own them (I hear already idignant Reps, "You are a bastard, you want to take away our constitutional right). Do you suggest any other solution (besides elimitating AM radio, FoxTV, and Fairness Doctrine in internet)

+22 # propsguy 2011-01-09 16:47

among his favorite books were "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Mein Kamf by Hitler, and "Siddharha" by Hesse. This nut (a pot-smoker)

hmmm, i had to do a book review on Mein Kamf when i was in high school. and every pot smoking college hippie (not necessarily nuts) read Siddhartha. as for Marx, that's a classic historical political treatise. you can find many people who have read all the books on his list. i'm not sure why his list of books is getting so much press, as if it were proof of something sinister. i don't argue that the guy has some loose screws, but you can't deduce that from this reading material

+23 # DaveW. 2011-01-09 17:20

andre, You have some decent ideas and if implemented they no doubt would be helpful. However, making the association of this "nut" being a pot smoker is non-sequitur as is mentioning one his favorite books being the "Communist Manifesto." Historically, it is a fascinating book and most certainly is not advocating shooting innocent people, including children, at a political event. I believe if you do some research you'll find the overwhelming majority of "pot smokers" to be non-violent. And as a lifelong Democrat I can assure you many of us would like to see "more hospital assistance and supervision over mentally disturbed individuals (let's can the "nuts" verbosity). Finally, AM radio "shock jocks" need to go and FoxTV is a cancer that demands eradication.

0 # bubbiesue 2011-01-09 18:46

Fairness Doctrine in internet)

Please note, there is no such fairness doctrine. There isn't even one regarding politician appearances on radio or TV any more. I.e., there is no fairness.

People just have to accept the responsibility for what happens when they run off at the mouth without putting the brain in gear.

And by the way, the shooter is undoubtedly mentally ill and using pot or something else to relieve the stress. I wouldn't blame him, but I'd rather see him get treatment.

+22 # Tmax 400 2011-01-09 18:52

Always amazing...the first thing out of the media is...he's a pot smoker and - brace yourself - he has read Marx! Communist! I can see all the waves of mindless viewers/listeners/readers out there parroting those quotes. Just paint the guy as a pot-smoking-communist-end-of-the-world nut and everyone will never suspect the right-wing freaks that instigated it all. Oh, yeah and let's through in that he was a fascist too...something is bound to stick!

Seems to me that anyone who is a fan of Marx's 'Communist Manifesto' would have gone up and shook Ms. Giffords' hand instead of shooting her. After all she strongly supported healthcare reform - a more leftist (dare I say Socialist) ideal, don't you think?

People always write about the propaganda Hitler and the Soviets disseminated. They don't hold a candle to the mass-controlling mindless-blather the US puts out on their citizens.

+15 # Allison 2011-01-09 20:30

andresorgen, I agree with your recommendations for the most part. But regardless of which political side the shooter is on, we know that 1) because he was after a politician, that he was politically motivated, and 2) that in the United States, the political discourse -- or what passes for discourse of late -- has become filled with gun and violence references.

I don't care which side of the aisle you sit on, it's PRECISELY because mentally ill people will take such rhetoric literally that people must take responsibility for their words and stop inciting violence!

+9 # wisdom 2011-01-10 02:14

this is not a random killing. this is a target massacre.

+4 # abc 2011-01-10 09:58

andresorgen, you assume quite a lot in your post. First, while his letters suggest strongly that he has mental problems, he has not been formally diagnosed with any mental illness, so he may not be a nut. Second, according to close friends, he has not taken drugs for several months, and pot smoking is not known as a cause of such violent actions. Third, no one on the left or right is calling for the end of constitutional rights as a result of this, either free speech or bearing arms. Yet the reality remains that there is plenty fo scientific evidence that violent political speech increases the likelihood of political violence. And this should not be surprising. American companies spend billions of dollars each year on commercial speech designed to shape opinions and encourage people to act in certain ways. To merely write this off as an isolated case of random violence by a nut case is a total cop out and runs counter to the factual evidence.

+8 # Fafa 2011-01-10 10:04

Dr Tiller as shot in the head in while kneeling in his church. The murder was preceded by the acts of an anti-abortion group who: published his home address, published his work address, printed "WANTED" posters with his picture on it, picketed his office, harrassed his help....and THEN a "nut" killed him. What do you think gave the "nut" his idea? We can call someone a "nut" and that assuages our guilt because we sit by and watch this escalating of hostilities! Our country is in a moral crisis...which has nothing to do with religion but everything to do with human decency, respect and civility.

-4 # john rusnak 2011-01-09 16:18

This misses the whole target.It is a comment based solely on personal views.The killer had planned this for several years.It will be borne out that we had a disturbed person who most likely was on anti psychotics and heard someone tell him to do this.After all there has not been a mass murder in the world in the last 60 + years that was NOT in the hands of psychiatry or taking the drugs before he did his deeds! Osamas #2 man is a psych. Do not fan the fire with stupid generalities that tell us nothing

+5 # DaveW. 2011-01-10 09:02

john rusnak, "After all there has not been a mass murder in the world in the last 60+ years that was NOT in the hands of psychiatry or taking the drugs before he did his deeds!" You have,no doubt,indisputa ble "facts" to back up that statement. It's you, who are "fanning the fire" by making statements you can't possibly verify with empirical data. And by the way, please give your definition of "mass murder." It's "your" comments John, that "are based solely on personal views." "Osamas #2 man is a psych." Explain relevancy to the case in Arizona. Hitler liked dogs. Are "all" dog lovers "possible" mass murderers? A more "plausible" explanation is that this particular young man has been incited by years of vitriolic oratory that embraced violence as a solution to his own particular grievances. His dead and wounded are "victims" of his now accomplished deed. He himself is a "victim" of a violence drenched society that has led him and others to view the "gun" as a "weapon" of free speech. Until, and if, our culture changes, we can expect more of these atrocities in the future. Are you listening 2nd Amendment whackos?

+12 # giraffe 2011-01-09 17:53

Abuse of freedom of speecb - "load 'em up and shoot" is no different than "FIRE" in a crowded theater.

Boner delayed the vote of repeal of Health Care - is meaningless. If he wants to repeal it - he should have a replacement and include the unconstitutiona l acts of the banks, insurance companies and other entities that control main street.

Gates put the military machine on the table -- if we are to reduce the deficit -- all government spending must be looked at in DETAIL. $50B missing in the first few months of the IRAQ war is a perfect example of corruption.

Careful BONER -- you've been exposed. Now if Palin keeps on with her "load n shoot" -- I for one will scream and so should you.

Hitler incited the poor Germans after WWI and now we have Rush, Beck, Palin etc. (and you too BONER) doing the same.

What part of (UNITED) in the UNITED STATES don't these people understand?

+8 # DaveW. 2011-01-09 22:09

Richard, Yes, Marc Ash "told it like it is." Except, for one of the most callous and asinine statements I've seen come from any journalist and one which I was quite frankly shocked to see as a longtime RSN supporter. When Ash attacks the Boehner's and Palin's of this world for inciting this hideous and deadly display of violence I simply couldn't agree more with him. When Ash remarks, "The six that died were the lucky ones," I have to seriously consider his sanity. That "nine year old" child and everyone else that will never laugh, cry, marry, love, hope or dream are sure as hell not "lucky." Where there's life there hope. Evidently not in Ash's warped view of things. I have NEVER been so disturbed by a comment on this site. Mr.Ash, do you have kids? I do and I can tell you something. I'd rather have a "wounded" child to love and nurture back to health and help to erase that horrible day than a goddamn tombstone to put flowers on.

+60 # Mike 2011-01-09 10:22

Marc,
You say it more clearly than anyone else. All the spin we will hear about the motive will, I expect, help to deny or deflect from the point you make here. We must make the point that the kind of fear & hatred that the rhetoric on the right instigates will continue to lead to this kind of tradegy.

+35 # Linda Ruth Cardozo 2011-01-09 10:54

thank you....

+66 # murielschnierow 2011-01-09 10:55

Marc-this is the result of the appalling disregard for the welfare of the USA by the Bush Dynasty and friends. Yes Sara Palin, Boehner and the rest are absolutely resonsible but Bush and Cheney belong inorange jump suits. thank you RSN for the truth.

+72 # josie 2011-01-09 10:59

I only hope that Palin reads this article. She's as guilty of this crime as if she herself pulled the trigger and all the sanctimonious comments she's now issuing don't change that fact. John McCain can be thanked for introducing such an ignorant, publicity seeking phony to national government. Without him, she'd still be making moose stew in Alaska instead of soiling our airwaves.

+18 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:13

Of COURSE she'll read it.

When asked what sources she relied on for her news she said, "ALL OF THEM".

That would include this.

+56 # DaveM 2011-01-09 11:01

Many of the materials distributed by Sarah Palin and her ilk bear an eerie resemblance to "hit lists" and the like circulated by one of the more rabid "pro-life" groups a few years back. To my knowledge, this material was quite properly quashed as Constitutionall y unprotected "hate speech". I see no significant difference here apart from a few more euphemisms being employed.

The ultimate responsibility for this tragedy lies with the shooter. It appears, on first glance at least, that he has serious psychological problems. But we live in an America veritably drenched in venom and phrased in just the right way for the proverbial "lone nut" to use it as justification.

+51 # ER444 2011-01-09 11:07

Everybody should go to Sarah Palins web site and write a comment. www.sarah-palin.com Go to the article "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag" and let her know what a dangerous ignorant demagogue she is and show her followers are that we will not be silent about her unforgivable rhetoric. She was, by the way, warned many times to stop using her "reload, and target" images, she didn't listen. Mama Grizzly needs to hear from all of us. FLOOD HER WEB SITE !!!

+15 # allison 2011-01-09 11:39

Nice idea, but it won't do any good, as her site is regularly scrubbed of any comments/input which are in disagreement with her.

+14 # othermother 2011-01-09 14:13

Worth a go anyway. Keep them on their knees, scrub, scrub, scrubbing.

-43 # forparity 2011-01-09 11:41

..target images.. bulls eyes .. targets.. etc., is standard fare in political campaigns, both in speech and on maps. When this came up last year, I looked around at a bit of Democrat party history.. and quickly decided that there is not story here, other than one side here, being very hypocritical.

+16 # othermother 2011-01-09 14:11

I agree with you that references to targets, fights, battles, are standard fare in political campaigns. But the juxtaposition of an invitations to fire an M-16 with a call to remove an incumbent representative from office is the kind of Palin 'humor' we've come to know and loathe. I don't like the DNC either, by the way, but the Becks of this country are not just harmless loudmouths.

But

+25 # Interested Observer 2011-01-09 11:45

Posted:
In our time and given the present level of gun possession, your rhetoric and imagery (and that of your friends Jesse Kelly, and Sharron Angle of “second amendment remedies”) is nearly equivalent to giving the order outright. It only takes one out of thousands and today there are more than thousands well equipped for and on the brink of taking action, and it’s no secret. In the light of the recent near miss of the Beck/Tides Foundation episode you are, at best, grossly irresponsible in not finding a different and better mode of expression for your first amendment rights. We have just swallowed our first dose of second amendment remedy and I wonder who, if anyone, enjoyed the taste. Will you continue asking for more? Too bad about your TV show

+3 # Interested Observer 2011-01-09 19:01

Just checked back at the Palin website and the post above is still there. It appeared immediately, apparently there is no review there as there is here.

+4 # othermother 2011-01-09 14:29

Guess what? Just went there, and found 'this page intentionally left blank'. One is invited elsewhere on Google to join Facebook to connect with Sarah Palin.

+18 # greg s 2011-01-09 11:10

thx for your concise and perfectly worded summation

+33 # lockerh 2011-01-09 11:12

Yes, we have already heard apologists for the hatefest that has been going on in the Right Wing. "Well, there are left-wingnuts out there, too! It's bad on both sides, this rhetoric of hate."

There is a difference between rhetoric of anger and rhetoric of hate. One is analytical; the other is entirely emotional and usually brainless.

Republicans deliberately appeal to the brainless hateful members of our population, and they are many, which is why Republicans continue to be pretty successful in elections. It's why we must try to reflect--as Marc Ash has done here--truthfully and not propagandistica lly to the events such as this horror in Arizona.

It is not accidental that it happened in Arizona.

-25 # Melinda L. Secor 2011-01-09 11:19

Politicizing this incident commenced before the victims had even been scraped off the sidewalk. Disgusting. Inhuman. Pitiful. Those who have done this, no matter their political affiliations, should be ashamed....That says much more about the state of today's society than any SPECULATION about this obviously disturbed gunman.

+15 # andresorgen 2011-01-09 14:58

Thank you, Melinda L. Sector, for your voice of reason... Twelve minuses you received for your posting says a lot about the state of minds of those who gave you these minuses.

+27 # Interested Observer 2011-01-09 11:20

Is this the first or the last of the second amendment remedies we will be seeing as the tea (party) pot starts to boil? Given the distribution of guns in this country, employing the kind of rhetoric and imagery used by Palin and Kelly is as good as giving the order as out of thousands there is almost surely one who will take it in that spirit. In the light of the prior the Glenn Beck/Tides Foundation near-miss episode, such public "discourse" is irresponsible, at best.

That must have been some pistol he had. 6 dead, 14 wounded reported on Reuters. Did he even have to re-load? God Bless the NRA!

+4 # DaveW. 2011-01-10 09:07

Interested Observer, Good post! The NRA is nothing more, nothing less, than a "terrorist organization." It's just that simple.

+50 # AML 2011-01-09 11:28

The Secret Service has long documented the spike in hate crimes that follows Palin wherever she goes to speak. The woman is a sociopath.

+16 # TurnOffHerMike 2011-01-09 13:51

Of course she's a sociopath - remember how she threw her whole family under the bus when she started her political "career"?

+19 # JazB 2011-01-09 11:30

When some forget that Freedom is an idea that allows you control of your life and NOT the right to control others this is what comes as the rotting truth. All that have preached for taking up arms against anyone else simply for stating their thoughts should be set as criminal. So to take it from the book they all seem to claim as their guide..... An eye for an eye.... Would pretty much leave them blind....

-18 # MSecor 2011-01-09 11:35

You know, politicization of this incident commenced before the victims had even been scraped up off the pavement. Disgusting. Inhuman. Pitiful. And, THAT says SO much more about what ails this society than the SPECULATED motives of this obviously disturbed shooter. It is very sick to be rushing to be first to put one's own politically advantageous spin on the event while the victims have yet to even be removed from a puddle of their own blood...which was done by those from both the right and left. I am appalled and sickened...and deeply ashamed of our society as a whole.

+40 # Bruce Gruber 2011-01-09 12:59

MSecor, I disagree with you.

Politicization is this event's CREATOR. This "incident" IS the disgusting, inhuman, pitiful spawn of the red meat rhetoric which has been used to divide and enrage American citizens from and against one another over every humane consideration of life, death, rights, opportunity, war, peace, economic opportunity, education and faith since the nation's founding.

Every political assassination has resulted from some righteous 'know everything' opinionated low life ignoring the process and implementing their personal frustrations or greed for attention on a society made up of people just trying to cope with the imperfections of governance.

We call it "politics", but I believe it is the impolitic result of bullyism and economic manipulation. My view is that the Supreme Court's decisions in Santa Clara (1886) and Citizens United (2010) insured that economic power and influence were concentrated in the hands of the few and protected behind the corporate veil so that not only could money buy the politics it wanted, but individual citizens were powerless to discern or affect the human people who actually run things.

+9 # MSecor 2011-01-09 13:53

Indeed. I agree. Division politics...from both parties...serves to divide and enrage the people. And, that is the point. Keeps people entertained and distracted, voting on emotion rather than issues.
However, the American people have a choice. They could THINK, rather than allow themselves to be manipulated. We really don't have to play the game.

Bullyism and economic manipulation....again I agree. However, the human people who actually run things are responsible for allowing themselves to be bought by the corporations. They really don't have to play the game.

Independent thought and personal integrity. We can choose to practice them or not. And, we have the right to expect them from our public servants..who, on both sides of the aisle, typically do not display those characteristics .

+10 # billy bob 2011-01-09 19:21

Have you ever heard the phrase, "false equivalence"?

That's what you're presenting us with. Like it or not, there is NO left wing conterpart for the incitement to violence being made by the professional media on the right.

If you can quote me examples of Rachel Maddow or Marc Ash advocating political assasination I'm all ears.

If you don't think political assasination IS ABSOLUTELY BEING ADVOCATED BY THE RIGHT, then please challenge me on this point. I'd LOVE to quote you MANY MANY MANY examples.

+30 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:09

His 'motives" don't matter. He's a lunatic. His INSPIRATION DOES MATTER.

He wasn't inspired by LEFT-WING HATE RADIO. IT DOESN'T EVEN EXIST.

I can cite you several examples of right wing media talking heads making death threats, if you want to get specific.

Maybe we should stop politicizing 9-11 and just agree that it was a tragedy committed by 19 individuals - NOT AFGHANISTAN OR IRAQ.

FIGURE OUT WHICH SIDE YOU'RE ON.

+4 # MSecor 2011-01-09 13:35

Left wing hate does exist. Right wing hate does as well. Inspiration? Who knows where that came from, as the man in question has not discussed it. Have you spoken with him? Has he stated that he was inspired by rhetoric from either political party? No. You are speculating with NO FACTS. I know where I stand, and it it with NEITHER the rabid right or the rabid left. The choice between the two is a false one. Somewhere between the two is where common sense and peace reside. Outside the realm of political spin doctors.

As far as 911, of course it wasn't Iraq or Afghanistan, and we have no business inflicting violence in either country. Nor did we have any business interfering in their business for all these years, thus inspiring those 19 individuals, if they indeed were responsible for the attack, a supposition that I have serious doubts about, to put it mildly.

+11 # Interested Observer 2011-01-09 18:52

Left wing hate may exist but it is not, at present, a pervasive 24/7 media profit center with a few genuine superstars, that is, players who have become household names e.g. Beck, Palin, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter. Name a so-called left wing media figure with as large a profile, with or without abusive vitriol as main ingredient. Show me two who command large five or six figure fees for speaking engagements. Tell me where to find some left wing hate media on the radio or on cable TV?

-3 # billy bob 2011-01-10 08:23

I didn't say "left wing hate".

I said "LEFT WING HATE RADIO".

Read the comment first. Then post a reply.

By the way, is it possible that an asshole capable of political assasination might lie? Nah! Let's just take the asshole at his word.

His word, by the way, includes conservative rants on his YouTube page. Is it possible that he committed murder attacking someone Sarah Palin had "in her gun sights", because Nancy Pelosi wanted him to?

No, we can NEVER prove what ANYONE'S motives were in ANY act of terrorism. WE CAN HOWEVER LABEL THIS AS RIGHT-WING TERRORISM.

Why?

BECAUSE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

+2 # MSecor 2011-01-11 11:04

The sicko began stalking the Giffords in 2007. Was Palin's target site up at that point?

Some examples of Left Wing Hate RADIO, since you asked:
Mike Malloy

http://www.http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2009-02-04-MalloyShow-Malloy-RepublicanPartyMurdered.mp3mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2007-12-19-Malloy.mp3

http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2009-02-18-MalloyShow-Malloy-RepublicansMurdered.mp3

http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2009-08-04-Malloy-HopesForGlenBeckSuicide.mp3

http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2009-01-23-MalloyShow-Malloy-AttacksRush.mp3

http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2010-01-04-Malloy-9p-Limbaugh.mp3

Ed Schultz Show
http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2009-05-11-SchultzShow-Schultz3-Hr1Seg3-Cheney%20is%20a%20loser%20and%20God%20should%20take%20him.mp3

http://www.mrc.org/specialreports/radioclips/2010-02-24-Schultz-12p-DickCheneyHealthCare.mp3

BOTH sides are guilty of inciting hate.

0 # billy bob 2011-01-12 10:18

You're confusing harsh words with death threats.

I guess I should have been more clear. OF COURSE THE LEFT HATES THE RIGHT JUST AS MUCH AS THE RIGHT HATES THE LEFT.

THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT WE DON'T SUGGEST ASSASSINATION AS A SOLUTION TO OUR DISAGREEMENT.

Now, your homework assignment is to find examples of left-wing radio calling for the extermination of right-wingers, or possible future targets for terrorist attack.

You're right though. We DO hate you JUST AS MUCH AS YOU HATE US.

That's war.

Until you find me some well publicised recent examples of left-wingers calling for DEATH - THIS IS STILL A FALSE EQUIVALENCE.

NICE TRY THOUGH.

+1 # MSecor 2011-01-13 11:59

Um...did you listen to the clips? Apparently not. Many of them are specifically calling for death.

And, by the way, your assumption that I am a right-winger is DEAD WRONG. You surely know the old saying about assumptions. Just because I don't agree that the hate speech is limited to the right-wingers? Go read over your own posts, they prove my point...unless, that is, you are a right winger yourself.....but I'm sure the better explanation is that you're just a hypocrite.

0 # billy bob 2011-01-12 10:38

Calling uncle dick a sleazebag isn't a good example of the hate radio we're talking about. UNCLE DICK IS A SLEAZEBAG. The question is, when has a well-known left-wing radio show host discussed why he should be assassinated?

Remember when mann coulter suggested the assassination of President Clinton?

Remember when g. gordon liddy suggested the proper way to murder A.T.F agents?

Remember when bill o'really suggested future terrorists attack San Francisco?

Remember when mann coulter suggested future terrorists attack the New York Times building?

Remember when Jesse Helms threatened the life of President Clinton? (not a talk show host but a sitting senator)

Remember when g. gordon liddy said he used pictures of Hillary Clinton for target practice.

Remember when sharon angle called for "Second Amendment" remedies if the repugs didn't get their way?

Remember when scare-a palin said it was time to "re-load"?

I'm sure I could go on if I tried. I'd give you links as well, but I don't think I need to, do I?

Thank you for pointing out Malloy to me, though. I never heard of him before. I think I'll start listening more often. He doesn't need to "incite" hatred. You're right. There's plenty of that. I still don't know of any examples of inciting VIOLENCE.

0 # billy bob 2011-01-12 14:48

I made a mistake. Apparently, I was only scratching the surface of the depths the right is capable of. Here's a link for ya:

http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/142-142/3277-fox-news-the-no-1-name-in-murder-fantasies

Since you're an avid read of RSN I imagine you already read it. Why haven't you commented on it?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you have ANY examples of well known left-wingers suggesting bush be assassinated when he was in office? Do you have any examples of left-winger pundits "joking" about having bill o-really decapitated?

BOTH sides are equally angry. BOTH sides are NOT equally guilty of inciting violence.

I know. I know. "The people who actually carry out right-wing murder fantasies are 'crazy', so no one is at fault".

Tell me, do you think the kind of garbage spewing from fox news and right-wing radio HELPS? Obviously, the right thinks this kind of language DOES SERVE SOME SORT OF PURPOSE. Otherwise, why would it be so engaged in it? I think I know what the purpose of the "joking" death threats is too: INTIMIDATION.

Point the finger elsewhere all you want, but the blame rests on YOUR side, and until YOUR side steps up and starts acting like responsible American citizens, this is going to continue.

-1 # billy bob 2011-01-12 17:05

RECENT EXAMPLE #1: July, 2008 - right-wing psycho goes on killing spree in a Unitarian Church - later claiming it was because he hated liberals. In his house were found books by o'reilly and hannity.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/29/suspects-note-cites-liberal-movement-church-attack/

RECENT EXAMPLE #2: April, 2010 - Richard Poplowski kills three police officers after making himself a well known follower of glenn beck and his words

http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_the_news/White_Supremacy/poplawski+report.htm?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_the_News

RECENT EXAMPLE #3: May, 2010 Dr. George Tiller is murdered while attending church after o'reilly refers to him as "Tiller the Child Killer" on 29 different episodes of his show.)

RECENT EXAMPLE #4: July, 2010 - Byron Williams ends up in a shootout with cops while trying to murder members of the Oakland ACLU, after listening to Glenn Beck’s rants about the coming appocalypse.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/24327003/detail.html

-1 # billy bob 2011-01-12 17:10

RECENT EXAMPLE #5: April, 2010 Charles Alan Wilson threatens Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for her vote to pass health care reform. He left messages saying, “It only takes one piece of lead. Kill the (expletive) senator! ... Now that you’ve passed your health-care bill, let the violence begin” and “I do believe that every one of you (expletive) socialist democratic progressive (expletive) need to be taken out.”

His family later said all of this was due to the fact that he watched too much Glenn Beck.

(http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/more-glenn-beck-inspired-right-wing-violence/question-1306669/)

FOUR OF THESE HAVE HAPPENED WITHIN THE PAST YEAR!

Maybe you should check out what the "Joe Wilson Special" is. Hint: it's a GUN with the words "YOU LIE" printed on it. What will be your excuse if ONE OF THOSE IS ACTUALLY USED in the NEXT right wing assasination attempt?

This didn't just start this week. It's an ongoing pattern.

AND THE CRIMES ARE NOT BEING COMMITTED BY DEMOCRATS.

DEAL WITH IT AND FIX IT. STOP "SHARING" THE BLAME AND START TAKING SOME RESPONSIBILITY.

+10 # othermother 2011-01-09 14:22

MSecor, if you are appalled, sickened and ashamed of society as a whole, you are ill-equipped to do anything about it. If you are hoping for clarification of Loughner's motives, I fear you'll wait a long time; from his now-removed myspace ramblings, I seriously doubt he knows his own mind. I do believe we have a legitimate interest in knowing who (after God) can declare Rep. Giffords' seat vacant and in ensuring that the loser in the November contest does not profit from her removal.

+4 # MSecor 2011-01-09 14:59

Well, it seems we could at least have the decency to wait for some indication that this woman...yep, real live human being, not a political "seat"...will not be well enough to resume her duties before circling about her not-yet-vacant seat like vultures.

Nope, we will likely never know the motives of this sick and twisted individual....that was exactly my point. However, there obviously will be no lack of partisan hacks on both side purporting to know why he did what he did for the purpose of political advantage. And, yep, that is appalling and sick.

+2 # billy bob 2011-01-09 19:30

This isn't about wandering through the inner workings of a lunatic mind.

This is about hold people who's very words CONDONED this kind of action accountable.

When a Muslim cleric says we should bomb the United States and a Muslim terrorist tries to do just that, do we say, "yeah, but we can't blame the cleric who advocated this violence, because it was a twisted individual who actually carried out the act. We don't 'know' what was going on in the twisted individual's mind"

NO. WE TAKE PEOPLE AT THEIR WORD AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.

WHY CAN'T YOU SEEM TO DO THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE?

DO YOU NEED A LIST OF RIGHT-WING QUOTES (recent - not from the '60s, and WELL PUBLICISED) to prove my point?

+2 # othermother 2011-01-10 10:11

I have prayed and will continue to do so for Rep Giffords' full recovery, but it is obvious that this will be a work of time if it happens. Meanwhile, I do not believe her seat will be left empty while she recovers.

The death of that beautiful little girl is inexpressibly sad. The appearance of her photo on electronic and paper pages reminds us of the horrors of political violence but arguably is not politically neutral because readers are not politically neutral. But I think it belongs on display to remind us of what we are doing, or failing to do.

0 # billy bob 2011-01-12 17:14

Mentioning human beings being "scraped up off the pavement" is pretty disgusting and inhuman as well, don't you think?

-1 # MSecor 2011-01-13 12:59

Yeah well, it seemed as if you folks that are determined to politicize this tragedy needed a very visceral reminder that there were indeed human beings involved here, not just political talking points.

+42 # Helene Larson 2011-01-09 11:38

Sarah Palin is no different than Charles Manson. Neither pulled the trigger, they just set up the shoot. Christina Green was the 9yr old killed. She was born on 9/11. Was on student council & only girl on baseball team. May this and the death and injuries to others haunt Palin forever.

+20 # banichi 2011-01-09 11:38

I can't even say I am surprised at the fact that this happened. Shocked, yes. Horrified, too. But surprised, no. The climate of division, fear, and encouragement of anger and violence as being an appropriate response to disagreement with political actions has now just reached a tipping point. It would not surprise me at all if this event became a reason for Homeland Security to create more restrictions to our rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights. That has become the knee-jerk reaction to fears of 'terrorist' actions.

Watch for it. We can not allow that result to occur and take away another increment of the liberty that we as citizens are responsible for maintaining and standing up for. If we don't stand up for these freedoms guaranteed by the founders, we will lose them.

+15 # Erica 2011-01-09 11:39

Dave M. has it exactly right. Hate speech and rhetoric are dangerous tools that have been used to inflame people. The shooter, who is probably an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic, incorporated the hate speech with his own delusions and then acted out the unspeakable violence that occurred yesterday. I'm wondering where the gun came from.

+9 # wfalco 2011-01-09 17:23

Quoting

Dave M. has it exactly right. Hate speech and rhetoric are dangerous tools that have been used to inflame people. The shooter, who is probably an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic, incorporated the hate speech with his own delusions and then acted out the unspeakable violence that occurred yesterday. I'm wondering where the gun came from.

I agree. But how many of these disturbed individuals are out there ?Perhaps thinking they are some armed insurgency against some undefinable government entity that is out to "take away their freedoms."
Said disturbed individuals may be easily swayed by silver tongued rascals...let's say a Glen Beck and/or an attractive female spokesperson...let's say Sarah Palin and what you have is a recipe for disaster. These isolated, unemployed, lost souls have no identity and will seek it out in some extreme fashion. It is a dangerous brew that may still be boiling. Is Arizona ground zero? How about Peter King calling for hearings on right wing fringe groups?

-47 # forparity 2011-01-09 11:39

It appears that the young man who shot her, is described as:

"He was a political radical... as I knew him, hes was left wing, quite liberal.."

.. by a friend who was interviewed on ABC news. This would seem to match his reading list to some extent.

Rather reminds us of the nut who flew the private plane into the IRS building down in Dallas (?) Tx last year - his rants were tied to Marxist themes as well.

Besides most of the vitriol and name calling and calls for death of politicians, destruction of public property by protesters radical groups, as well as vast majority of the "Hitler and Nazi" signs, comes from the far left, in this country - not the right.

+24 # Jay T 2011-01-09 12:28

Prove it.

-24 # forparity 2011-01-09 13:50

I just quoted her tweet. If you are ignorant of the news, so be it... past and present.

+36 # paganloreli 2011-01-09 12:35

[quote name="forparity"]It appears that the young man who shot her, is described as:

"He was a political radical... as I knew him, hes was left wing, quite liberal.."

That's not the way the Tucson papers read. I'm an AZ resident, unfortunately in these times. The shooter, whom Tucson police believe did NOT act alone, had a number of You-Tube posts. The portions of his posts which were intelligible at all were very much in line with current verbiage spouted by the most recent crop of Republican demagogues.

+19 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:06

Yeah, I think muslim terrorists aren't muslims either. Maybe we should stop bombing Afghanistan. Afterall, it was a bunch of lunatics with no political objective at all right?

I wonder why this liberal kept posting conservative comments on his YouTube page and why this liberal murdered a crowd of other liberals.

I wonder when conservatives are going to accept responsibility for their words and actions.

As donald rumsfeld told our nation after 9-11: WATCH WHAT YOU SAY.

Or does that rule only apply to liberals?

+5 # Robert Griffin 2011-01-10 11:59

Quoting

Besides most of the vitriol and name calling and calls for death of politicians, destruction of public property by protesters radical groups, as well as vast majority of the "Hitler and Nazi" signs, comes from the far left, in this country - not the right.

I have found exceedingly few "calls for death of politicians" or "Hitler and Nazi" signs coming from progressives, liberals, Democrats, Greens, or Socialists. I don't know about Communists, since I have no access to Communist rants.
On the other hand, I have run across a number of right wing calls for armed protection of American rights, claims that Obama is a Nazi, pictures of Obama with a Hitler-type mustache.

+12 # anyfreeman 2011-01-09 11:44

intimidation, thuggeryand threats are not free spech. in today's electronic village, they are akin to setting fire to the theater, not just yelling,"Fire."

+21 # mb hubbard 2011-01-09 11:46

I am praying for a "Law and Order" type trial in which the prosecutors trace the crime all the way to the source. In this case they would prosecute Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Jesse Kelly.

+7 # Gino H 2011-01-09 15:21

lAW AND ORDER ALREADY HAS DONE THIS ONE. iT ENDED UP WHITH THE fAUX NEWS / LIMBAUGH CHARACER'S SUPPORTERS CREATING MAY MAYHEM IN THE VERY COURTROOM WHERE THE TRIAL WAS TAKING PLACE.

0 # wisdom 2011-01-13 01:25

Quoting

I am praying for a "Law and Order" type trial in which the prosecutors trace the crime all the way to the source. In this case they would prosecute Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Jesse Kelly.

I suggest the victims and their families of this massacre, sue Palin, Beck,Limbaugh, O'Reilly for accessories to a violent crime!! If anything they can start a civil suit for damages that they suffer.

+20 # PeggyO 2011-01-09 11:47

I copied the ad and pasted it with a link to your article. Thanks ... some friends have complained about Right-wingnuts on their Facebook pages asking for evidence of Sarah Palin's involvement and this is as plain & simple as it gets. And by that I mean those that question her role really need "plain and simple" content.

+15 # Merschrod 2011-01-09 11:49

Well stated. Let's see how many lamestreet media will call it as a political assasination. Will this be treated as a terrorist act? Or will ethnocentric denial just chaulk him up to "unbalanced?"

Keep in mind that one of the war crimes guys being tried in relation to genocide in Ruwanda was a radio announcer. Was the assasination "inspired."

We are looking more ugly by the day.

+9 # J.Lindsley 2011-01-09 11:49

The Governor of Arizona is amassing a list of things to have to answer to in the near future.

She is one of the most unatteactive people in politics today. Ugliness is etched in her face. Her laughter is a witches screech. A grimace of The Joker.

+11 # paganloreli 2011-01-09 12:36

Quoting

The Governor of Arizona is amassing a list of things to have to answer to in the near future.

She is one of the most unatteactive people in politics today. Ugliness is etched in her face. Her laughter is a witches screech. A grimace of The Joker.

Sad, but true!!! It's becoming scarier and scarier to live in this state--let alone raise children here.

+38 # Johnny Genlock 2011-01-09 11:53

Violence is not a conservative principle. As a conservative I condemn this action along with the inciting rhetoric which fueled it. While I, too, would like to see Obama's Healthcare disappear, this kind of action is not the way. I would ask both sides of the political spectrum to join me in making this Sarah Palin's worst nightmare. We do not need Palin running for Pres. or Vice President, which many feel she is being groomed for. We do not need John Boehner's "leadership." He should step down. Both have tolerated and promoted inciteful rhetoric. They should "man up" and accept the consequences: our total rejection of them and what they stand for.

+15 # billy bob 2011-01-09 13:00

Thank you for accepting that someone on the right is responsible for this. Let's hope the rest of the right shows as much responsibility to our country as you have.

+5 # Robert Griffin 2011-01-10 12:02

May conservatives like you regain power in the Republican and Libertarian parties!

+11 # giraffe 2011-01-09 11:57

The Sarah Palins (etc)abuse the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speah ILLEGALLY -- no different than shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater. Sarah Palin, especially, should be tried in a court of law for inciting people like the one who shot those in AZ on 01/08/2011.

The T-PARTY and R's want to follow the constitituion - then start with enforcing it NOW.

Anybody has a right to their own opinion but do NOT have a right to their own facts -- and abuse of that right is also abusive.

If government should not be in health - then who will reign in the insurance companies and lobbyists because neither of these entitles are IN the constitution.

Reform or repeal is a TOTAL issue and not a pick the part that satisfies big $$ (like banks, ins. companies, the military machine, etc.)

+21 # Brenda 2011-01-09 11:58

And now all the instigators would have you believe that they are innocent of fueling the nut cases in this country to rise up and do such atrocious activity as what happened. I hope the press runs with how the Repuglican and Teaparty leadership and "FUX News and fiends" have blood stained hands from this incident and others that most likely will follow.

+20 # billy bob 2011-01-09 12:59

You can hope all you want, but the right-wing media has already told us what to believe - that this was just some lone nut-job.

Apparently, they can't believe someone sane would take them at their word and actually act on their comments.

+12 # TurnOffHerMike 2011-01-09 13:58

Of course nobody sane would take them at their word!

+22 # redjelly39 2011-01-09 12:04

I made a statement on the Sarah Palin site earlier this morning. I asked her to step away from politics altogether.
FYI - the 9 year old girl that was killed is Christina Green and she was born on 09-11/2001. She went to see Gabrielle Giffords and this should have been a wonderful experience for her, not the end of her life. I am so sad & sickened by this.

+8 # Albert Baca 2011-01-09 12:22

I have been reading comments about the Gabby Giffords shooting. It is downright sickening what people are writing about people on the right and about people on the left. Such civility. This country better tone it down before it gets worse. We are a violent society. Violence is in our collective genes; has been since Mother England shipped criminals across the pond to get rid of them.

+6 # Lesabre 2011-01-09 23:08

Maybe YOU folks were criminals. Speak for your self. I'm sick of the right wing rhetoric that has been blasted over the air and cables since Rupert Murdoch took over all the TV and radio stations. I don't listen or watch any more and Obviously I can't get away from it.....There are such things as fighting words....violence inciting, hate fostering statements and as far as I can tell...it is all coming from the people considered to be right of center politically....If I can't ignore them, then, ...uh...What?

+24 # Jay T 2011-01-09 12:25

Let's don't forget Sharron Angle and her 2nd Admendment remedies.

+17 # Avenging Angel 2011-01-09 12:38

I see another notch on the seriously impared right wing's armanaments. I also see another step towards anarchy and, eventually, totalitarianism . I'ts amazing how these nuts can get away with murder. Of course all of the usual garbage will
attempt to fudge the reality of this event: political assassination

+11 # fredboy 2011-01-09 13:22

While so many try to excuse Palin, Limbaugh, Beck and the other Tea Party/KKK hate team with the false claim of "political speech," wise attorneys and prosecutors must pursue both criminal and civil redress based on incitement.

If I enter a crowded theater and yell "Fire!" or an aircraft and yell "Bomb!" and as a result people are injured or die, I would be culpable. My actions and statements would have incited violence.

Palin and the rest should be arrested, prosecuted, and sued. Their hatred, the "target" imagery, and their sustained viciousness must now be held to the legal tests. It is disgraceful and ignorant that Palin's spokesperson says their target imagery and messaging should be excused. Are they saying we can post similar Website targets on the Palin family and if harm results we are simply to be excused?

If only we had a President and Attorney General willing to pursue this and seek justice for those killed and injured.

+12 # rdrjames 2011-01-09 15:01

If the president and AG didn't prosecute Bush and Cheney why would they go after anyone else?

-3 # wisdom 2011-01-13 01:29

The victims and their families can sue in civil court for damages.

+15 # Leanne Bissell 2011-01-09 13:27

It is a very sad day indeed. But maybe it will spark some much need dialogue about many things that need to be discussed in this country. Our media. Television in general. How we define people's importance only in terms of money and power. How many people get left out of that equation. What violence is.... and how the wholesale slaughter of nations is equally deplorable as the killing of one single human being. As a nation, we have alot to look at. We have been led like sheep to the slaughter. We need to look long and hard at what we consider to be important before it disappears before us. Do we actually love each other in this country and have compassion for one another in this country? Is money the only thing that matters? Sadly, the violence and the wholesale slaughter of the environment answers that question. Bring on the dialogue with civility, compassion, and hopefully a little humor as well!

+8 # T J Bear 2011-01-09 13:33

Where would a liberal blogger be if they had helped inspire a liberal, or for sure where would similarly analogous Muslim Americans be right now? Certainly not still free people just temporarily toning down their blogs.

+6 # Gino H 2011-01-09 15:04

Certainly Faux News is also responsible to inciting violence and, in this case mass murder. Hmmm, lets' check their financial backing (LOL)

0 # Gino H 2011-01-09 15:17

I don't understand this quote.

+4 # Gino H 2011-01-09 15:16

Certainly Faux News bears a big share of the responsibility for inciting mass murder. Hmm perhaps their funding basis should be checked out.

I wonder where the FBI is in all this.

+13 # Jayne Milner 2011-01-09 15:27

This country is descending into lawlessness. Huge mistakes have been made with the economy. We had an incredibly inept and corrupt president in Bush and while Obama may be marginally better - he started with such a mess and is so weak and misguided that the country is not going to fare much better under him. The multi-national corporations are in control of much of our government. The corporate right wing is basically going to take over everything eventually. On the ground the fascist brown shirt types will rule the streets. Guns, violence, warfare, - none of these have ever been the forte of liberals. The far right will eventually win out if things get nasty. It could be that it doesn't get that bad. But as far as guns and violence go the fascists are always fully locked and loaded before the liberals ever get their pants on. Guns, violence, killing or maiming people - these are just not the progressives thing. But the physical nature of world makes it so that those who are willing to kill and maim and torture win out - at least in the short term. Bottom line - with the maiming of this democratic congresswoman the far right is one more congressional seat closer to its goals.

+16 # Daniel Fletcher 2011-01-09 16:32

The right has as it's last resort, a willingness to violence to the extreme. Look at all the "collateral damage" caused by the lies resulting in our present wars. The complicity of the left is disgusting because this lends toward the kind of violence every decent person should abhor.
Having said this I have to take responsibility for my own excessive language at times. I call on all members of the left and right to join me by repubidating political violance of every kind, which must include the murdurous violence we are committing in the world on a large scale right now. I withdraw my language of revolution in any manner that suggests violence. I call on the American people to engage in a revolution of thought and belief and to embrace the common good of everyone, even the people of the middle east, by refusing to legitimize violence in any manner employed for the sake of accomplishing any political agenda what so ever. That we allow money and power to take precedence over the common good reduces the victims of these things to less than human beings equally worthy of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the wealthy are. Injustice always enflames violent behavior.

+1 # MSecor 2011-01-09 17:40

awesome, well said

+3 # DaveW. 2011-01-10 09:35

Daniel, Your post sounds a lot more like the guy I've come to know a little (albeit e-mail and RSN)and respect. I wish you would have addressed me personally after "dressing me down" but I'm relieved to hear you say what your saying never the less. Perhaps I wasn't "knee jerking" after all. "The right seems to think they are the only ones with weapons." "Our God is bigger than their God." We both are acutely aware of where this type of language leads. That particular destination is a cemetery. Good post Daniel!

+14 # Daniel Fletcher 2011-01-09 16:42

I am not trying to take advantage of this crime to support my own political agenda. That injustice breeds violence is a truism not subject to any political stance. I would merely hope that because we have experienced an act of dispicable domestic terrorism, we do not overlook the sadly equally dispicable terrorism we are committing through our military to other people. It wasn't right for this fool to shoot machine gun this public event and it is just as wrong to fail to be as appalled by the 50 innocent to 1 arguably non-incent that we kill in our drone attacks for example. Let's not let this moment induce any mass hypocracy that makes a false distinction between the terrorism inflicted against us and the terrorism we inflict. Even Martin Luther King said that an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere. Let us not forget this and face this moment ignoring that we, whether we intend or not, are as US citizens, complicit in acts every bit as evil. If we are going to repudiate violence motivated by political rhetoric and have an obligation to denounce it, let us not allow our poisonous American Expceptionalism make it right only when we do it to others. This makes no sense.

+4 # MSecor 2011-01-09 17:41

And this comment is just as awesome as the last....well reasoned and well said

+11 # Lee Black 2011-01-09 17:15

I understand the theme of this article but have to complain about the comment about the "lucky ones" - Innocents shot and killed are not lucky.

+4 # Jish Lurie 2011-01-09 17:45

Thank You!

+7 # kenecon 2011-01-09 17:58

Thanks Marc. Your essay is right on. However, it's not just the violent and inflammatory rhetoric of the far right and tea party republicans. Since 9/11, sanctioned violence has become an essential ingredient in government, the media and cultural expression. Global wars of choice, where killing the perceived opposition with guns, bombs, missiles, drones, commandos and night raids is extolled as necessary and virtuous, never mind the "collateral damage" inflicted on innocent bystanders. Violence against persons is an American rite not only in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Guantanamo and countless black sites, but in our prisons in the streets, on TV, in sports arenas and at the movies. Our society is saturated with the language and imagery of violence. Acceptance and legitimization of violence starts at the top, then peculates through the rest of our desensitized, gun-infested society. Add to the mix bigotry, racism, xenophobia and fanaticism (both religious and ideological), what happened in Tucson, Arizona, while shocking, should not be all that surprising.

+7 # dianealta 2011-01-09 19:08

I want to share a clip from my personal hero, Bobby Kennedy, on mindless violence. He actually gave this speech on my birthday, oh so long ago. I hope you will take the time to hear it and , maybe, even repost it somewhere. Given the horrendous violence of yesterday, it's a little something I can do to add to the POSITIVE political discourse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Vll-t0H6A

+7 # Lee Black 2011-01-09 21:02

dianealta, Thanks for that reminder. Such beautiful words. I would love to have our public discourse raised to this level.

+9 # futhark 2011-01-09 19:29

So, what's new here? Didn't Michael Moore show us in "Bowing for Columbine" that the culture of the United States is saturated with violence, so no one should be surprised when it erupts like this. Littleton, Colorado, where Columbine High School is located, has the manufacture of weapons as one of its chief industries. In the so-called entertainment industry violent "action" films and video games are some of the biggest sellers. Our Nobel Peace-Prize winning president rejoices in the success of "drone attacks" on the other side of the planet, killing, wounding, and destroying the property of people who might otherwise befriend the United States. Our children are badgered unmercifully in high school by military recruiters to join the institutions of death and destruction as a means of sustaining hegemony over the resources of other lands and peoples.

+5 # Dion Giles 2011-01-09 20:21

There are low life scum in every country who are prepared to massacre their fellow-countrymen and assassinate public figures. Some are hyped up by rantings of the Palin-Fox News variety, some are serving organised crime as in Mexico, but many have no other motive than a generalised loathing of their fellow human beings. Britain saw the Dunblane massacre, Australia saw the Port Arthur massacre, both of which could happen because human garbage got hold of guns. The authorities responded by clamping down on gun ownership, already much restricted. But a hugely disproportionat e gunshot death rate occurs in the United States because low life trash can so easily get guns to exercise their Second Amendment rights as the animal who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the five others was doing. If there is no decisive backlash against the Second Amendment and the gun industry there will be no pause in the mass killings and maimings.

+5 # ann berry 2011-01-09 23:03

I'm beyond fed up with rationalization s. How much more of this bloodshed will the Fox-brainwashed, image-entranced, couch-bound American public take before we stand up, go out in the streets and cry "Enough, dammit, we want OUR America back--and we're talking to you, too, National Rifle Association!"...? Or will we never?

+5 # elsiena 2011-01-10 09:32

Get real!
The same evil entities are behind this assasination attempt as were behind JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr. and Paul Wellstone-yes Wellstone!

+2 # Harold R. Mencher 2011-01-10 09:38

"When men like John Boehner and women like Sarah Palin tell you that they are shocked and saddened by what has occurred you may well assume that they are indeed."

I hope that Marc Ash isn't being serious that both of these despicable people and the rest of the Congressional and Arizona state Republicans and the Tea Partiers as being truly and sincerely sorry that this happened. THEY AREN'T. Evil people, people who lack a conscience and a soul, people who (literally) will do anything and say anything for power and greed, care very little about the consequences of their actions.

So, please people, do not believe that the very people and organizations that created the very environment for what happened on Saturday, January 8th, aren't anything but happy about what happened.

I'd be a whole lot happier if Sarah Palin and Jesse Kelly were arrested and prosecuted for inspiring the hate that caused this very action that took place on Jan 8th. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT!!!!

+3 # John Nagel 2011-01-10 10:35

I firmly ask all to sign the petition going around asking Sarah Palin to formally apologize and denounce the violent action taken in AZ.
I see where the mass media is trying to defuse the "political angle" but all the facts are there: Politician, Democrat, for the people, "don't retreat...reload". How much more do we need? But once again, it will be the work of a lone nut, mentally unbalanced individual with no political agenda, loner, a general drifter and loser. Please America, wake up and look inwardly. This WAS a political assassination as the result of rhetoric sponsored and spewed by right-wing politicos who want to go back to the failed, miserable policies of GWB, who literally ruined this country. Watch the picture unfold, this will be old news in a week...unless we call for action and ask for the investigation of some of these people (Palin) who brought this on....

+5 # noitall 2011-01-10 11:15

Who is worse, lefty or righty? In the eyes of the world, we are quite silly and dangerous people. We commit and we allow all that is being dribbled out of Wikileaks...that is AMERICA. Should we be surprised when someone gets assasinated (always some lefty)? Most of us just say "was wondering when that would happen". We're sick and the fix is generational. What are we doing to fix it? allowing our children to watch the violence on TV passed to them as entertainment? We're sick alright. Who would have thought that any politician would be bumped off for supporting health care for all?!! We should be in the street demanding it! People are keeping their jobs rather than retiring in order to keep their health care plan. Jobs? what jobs?! ones that you can't get full time because they'd have to give you benefits. America...truthfully, what can you claim to be the land of, now that 'free', 'brave', are proven to be not us any more. Land of the greedy, fearful, racist. The most 'christian' and the most selfish and un-jesus-like. Congratulations fading rip-offs.

+9 # Blackhole2001 2011-01-10 11:47

"We have the best government that money can buy."
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."
"Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about."
"The radical one of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them."
~ Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer, and Lecturer 1835-1910)

0 # Dion Giles 2011-01-10 19:06

In 1994, Judge Roll struck down a federal requirement for a background check on applicants for the right to have a gun. Naturally that's not why he was murdered - but it is why a low life misanthrope was able to get hold of a gun to do it. The gunshot murders won't be curbed without curbing the gunnies.

+3 # J.T. Waldron 2011-01-10 20:11

Gabrielle Giffords Faced Opposition from Local Anti-War, 9/11 Truth Activists

This is how local antiwar activists in Tucson have viewed Gabrielle Giffords (and her political machine) in the past. We offer our condolences for those who have died, those who were injured, and their families who are left to deal with the aftermath of this horrific tragedy. The fact is there was a lot of opposition to Gifford's stance regarding the wars, torture and rendition, the patriot act and impeachment of the Bush administration.

http://weeklyintercept.blogspot.com/2011/01/gabrielle-giffords-faced-opposition.html

+5 # Mary-Anne 2011-01-11 07:07

"The six that died were the lucky ones. The other dozen shot will carry this day forward for the remainder of their lifetimes."

I was stunned when I read this incredibly thoughtless statement. Six people are DEAD! How can you possibly say that they are lucky?

I'm willing to bet the wounded are NOT saying they wished they had died so they won't have to live with the reminder. I'm also quite sure the families of the dead are not considering themselves "lucky" that their loved one has been ripped from their lives. I'm positive the parents of the nine year old are grieving at the loss of their child, and the potential that lived within her, rather than saying she was "lucky".

How can you dismiss the dead, their families, their friends in such a cavalier fashion?

I was a follower of 'Truthout' and came to 'RSN' when you started it. I am hoping you made that statement in the heat of the moment. That what you said was not what you meant. That the murder of six human beings is tragic.

You need to clarify this statement, and post an apology if this is not what you meant to say.

+5 # Dion Giles 2011-01-11 19:40

"I was stunned when I read this incredibly thoughtless statement. Six people are DEAD! How can you possibly say that they are lucky?"

Mark Ash's comment is one often made in the belief that being maimed can be worse than being killed. It is untrue - maimed victims still mostly treasure their lives. However the comment is not callous (as implied) but spurred by compassion for those who have to live with often horrific injuries. For people like Gabrielle Giffords. The truly lucky ones are those who didn't get shot at all.

-3 # Hamzi K. Moghrabi 2011-01-12 06:50

The real terrorist or criminal is not guilty of his crime alone. The main crime is committed by those who instigate hate and violence. All the crimes in the world are inspired by those who claim injustice and instigte hate for those who believe that violence is the answer to eliminate those described by the Real Criminal.

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