Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition, 6 others killed in Arizona

[Beet]

Well, I'm about 90% sure this is a political assassination.

[Beet]

Could CNN be any more daft?

"Several people have been shot at a grocery story in Tucson Arizona, and a spokesman for a Pima county sheriff's department says that among the victims or included in the victims are at least 12 people, they describe them as injured, they do not use the word wounded. The shooting reportedly took place at around 10 am local time, that would have been noon eastern time. And now, we have heard from the Tucson city newspaper that among those who may have been wounded was Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, who was a Democrat with the House of Representatives. The reason this is noted is she had an event taking place..."

Could it have taken them more words to get to the bottom line? Jeez. It would be noteworthy if a Congressperson was shot anywhere. And what the heck's the difference between injured and wounded?

[Beet]

Damn Sam, you are on the ball this afternoon with the most informative links.

[Beet]

Irony.

[Beet]

Irony.

Inappropriate...

No. Not inappropriate, it shows how accessible she was trying to be, how you need to be as a Congressperson. If I were anyone in Congress right now, I would be scared to exercise my 1st amendment rights or do my job.

[Beet]

There isn't anything that makes Americans more angry than watching people politicize death.  

Not saying I endorse the 'omg this is all the Republicans' fault' stuff, but...

How did you feel watching the 2004 GOP convention?

[Beet]

Timothy Cheeves, a friend of his from high school who Loughner said was the 'only one who ever listened to' him says

"He was like a radical against both parties. . . . From what I got, it seemed like he didn't like anybody that was in power."

That actually fits the tea party profile... a lot of people who support the tea party also claim to like elements of the far left.

[Beet]

I strongly disagree with the notion that just because Jefferson said we should start shooting each other every 150 years, we should. It's also strange that someone who has spent the entire thread vehemently denying any association with incitement to violence would post that quote.

[Beet]

I strongly disagree with the notion that just because Jefferson said we should start shooting each other every 150 years, we should. It's also strange that someone who has spent the entire thread vehemently denying any association with incitement to violence would post that quote.

I did not quote Jefferson for the truth or falsity of his statement.  I quoted it to show, once again, that this supposed hateful rhetoric regarding the Second Amendment has been around for centuries.

Just because something has been around for a long time doesn't make it right. Jefferson lived in a very different time and he had no way of seeing what the future would be like. The quote is clearly an incitement to violence. We can't assume that the type of rhetoric that was valid in his day -- if indeed it ever was -- is valid today.

[Beet]

I think one lesson that we can definitely draw from this is what Ezra Klein and Ross Douthat (even though I dont usually agree with him) pointed out - at least we are not Pakistan. What we have in common is that we all stand against the assassin. The mere realization that despite all the differences between Progressives and the Tea Party, they all stand shoulder to shoulder against this act of violence is what ought to convince us to tone down our rhetoric. We have the basic things in common, even if we disagree on a lot.

[Beet]

Did anybody else find the amount of cheering and applause during the memorial slightly awkward?

Not really but I understand a lot of people did. The problem is, once you start applauding over every little thing, the instinct is to continue doing so. They probably should have told the audience to hold the applause beforehand.

[Beet]

Here is a profile of Giffords in the NY Times.