Fox News feed cuts from Tuscon when Sarah Palin mentioned

We don't know if there's any direct link to Sarah Palin and her "crosshairs" ad, but Fox News seems to be extra protective of their big money star. Read More......

Sheriff on 'vitriol that comes out of certain mouths'

It's idealistic for the right wing extremists to think their talk can't have an impact. The Tuscon sheriff could easily be referring to RedState blogger and CNN contributor Erik Erickson who wrote the following:

At what point do the people tell the politicians to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to their state legislator’s house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?

Obviously bad, but then this:

Were I in Washington State, I’d be cleaning my gun right about now waiting to protect my property from the coming riots or the government apparatchiks coming to enforce nonsensical legislation.

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Elvis Costello - Man out of time

We're both still absorbing what happened yesterday in Arizona. Between the violent rhetoric and the obsession with guns among some people, it's not a complete surprise though. Times like this I think about how much the country has changed since I last lived there permanently. There are a lot of great things about the US but the gun culture that grows every year is not one of them. How does a mentally unstable person get weapons so easily? This macho obsession with violence really has to end. Read More......

Russian government to go 'open source' by 2015

Good luck with that transition. Ditching old applications can take years and writing them from scratch is not a quick process either. It may be even more difficult (or at least, more expensive) since many of the brightest software engineers in Russia are already employed by foreign software vendors who are building products for global businesses and governments. Putin may have a point about the privacy issues though open source offers no guarantees either. WSJ:

At the end of 2010, the "open-source" software movement, whose activists tend to be fringe academics and ponytailed computer geeks, found an unusual ally: the Russian government. Vladimir Putin signed a 20-page executive order requiring all public institutions in Russia to replace proprietary software, developed by companies like Microsoft and Adobe, with free open-source alternatives by 2015.

The move will save billions of dollars in licensing fees, but Mr. Putin's motives are not strictly economic. In all likelihood, his real fear is that Russia's growing dependence on proprietary software, especially programs sold by foreign vendors, has immense implications for the country's national security. Free open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va.

Nor is Russia alone in its distrust of commercial software from abroad. Just two weeks after Mr. Putin's executive order, Iran's minister of information technology, citing security concerns, announced plans for a national open-source operating system. China has also expressed a growing interest. When state-owned China Mobile recently joined the Linux Foundation, the nonprofit entity behind the most famous open-source project, one of the company's executives announced—ominously to the ears of some—that the company was "looking forward to contributing to Linux on a global scale."

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Sarah Palin: Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead - Reload!'

Sarah Palin on Twitter, March 23, 2010:

@SarahPalinUSA Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: "Don't Retreat, Instead - Reload!"

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No votes on health care repeal and all other bills in House next week

The new GOP House leaders have postponed action in the U.S. House next week. From The Hill:

House Republicans are postponing a vote to repeal the healthcare law scheduled for next week after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in Arizona.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a statement late Saturday that “all legislation currently scheduled to be considered by the House of Representatives next week is being postponed so that we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today’s tragedy.”

“Further information relating to a revised House schedule will be released tomorrow,” Cantor added.

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Sheriff on shooter: 'We are not convinced he acted alone'

At a press conference, the Sheriff indicated that it's likely that the shooter did not act alone:

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said Saturday evening that the man linked to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others might have an accomplice.

"We are not convinced he acted alone," Dupnik said at a news conference.

Dupnik said investigators have reason to believe the 22-year-old suspect whom he would not name came to the scene with someone else. "We have photos," Dupnik said of the gunman's companion.

Nate T. Gray, of the FBI, referred to bringing "those responsible" to justice.

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Jared Loughner, the alleged Giffords shooter, favorites a YouTube video

Thanks to tsuki in the comments to this post, we are alerted to this video on YouTube.

The title: "America: Your Last Memory In A Terrorist Country!"



Seven minutes. The profile for the poster is listed as follows:

Name: Jared Lee Loughner
Channel Views: 271
Joined: October 25, 2010
Website: http://Myspace.com/fallenasleep

My name is Jared Lee Loughner!
Hometown: Tucson
Country: United States
Schools: I attended school: Thornydale elementary,Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View Highschool, Northwest Aztec Middle College, and Pima Community College.

We think Loughner is the shooter because of this (Yahoo News):

Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by people familiar with the investigation as Jared Loughner, 22. Pima County Sheriff's officials said he used a pistol to carry out the shooting spree. U.S. officials who provided his name to the AP spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release it publicly.

His exact motivation was not immediately clear. Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured versions of a MySpace page that belonged to Jared Loughner and over Youtube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an account "Classitup10" and linked to him. The MySpace page, which was removed within minutes of the gunman being identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious "Goodbye friends" message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."

More as it develops.

GP

UPDATE: There's clearly a ton to say about this video, and I'll have more in a later post. It's creepy, raw, achingly slow and weirdly inspired. But for starters, just listen to the lyrics of the music. Every line matters. Read More......

Last March, Rep. Giffords discussed being on Sarah Palin's targeted list

This interview is from March 25, 2010.

In an interview after her office was vandalized, Giffords talked about being on the targeted list of Sarah Palin, noting "the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that they've got to realize there are consequences to that action." Chuck Todd appeared to dismiss Giffords' concern stating, "in the moment it may look bad."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Jesse Kelly, Giffords' Republican opponent, hosted a shooting event during the campaign

Thanks to FireDogLake, we have this from Jesse Kelly, Congresswoman Giffords' Republican opponent in the Arizona congressional race. It's an ad for a June event that allows Kelly's supporters to "Get on Target for Victory" — "Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office" by shooting a "fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly".


By the way, the 'Crosshairs' graphic appears to have been scrubbed from Palin's website.

Posted without comment.

GP Read More......

Obama remarks on the shooting of Rep. Giffords

UPDATED with transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: As many of you are aware, earlier today a number of people were shot in Tucson, Arizona, including several who were meeting at a supermarket with their congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. We are still assembling all the facts, but we know that Representative Giffords was one of the victims. She is currently at a hospital in the area, and she is battling for her life.

We also know that at least five people lost their lives in this tragedy. Among them were a federal judge, John Roll, who has served America’s legal system for almost 40 years; and a young girl who was barely nine years old.

I’ve spoken to Arizona governor Jan Brewer and offered the full resources of the federal government. A suspect is currently in custody, but we don’t yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. A comprehensive investigation is currently underway, and at my direction, Director Bob Mueller is en route to Arizona to help coordinate these efforts. I’ve also spoken to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House.

Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine. She is not only an extraordinary public servant, but she is also somebody who is warm and caring. She is well liked by her colleagues and well liked by her constituents. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is a Navy captain and one of America’s valiant astronauts.

It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does -- listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors. That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country.

What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers. Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them. And I know Gabby is as tough as they come, and I am hopeful that she’s going to pull through.

Obviously our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain. We are going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this. But in the meantime, I think all of us need to make sure that we’re offering our thoughts and prayers to those concerned.

Thank you.

Live stream from the White House:

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

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Giffords out of surgery, doctors optimistic

Great news for Congresswoman Giffords. Sadly, a child who was shot at the event has died according to the hospital update. KGUN:

Officials at University Medical Center have confirmed that U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords is alive. She is out of surgery. Doctors are optimistic about her chances of recovery.

The news is a dramatic reversal of previous reports circulated on some national news cable channels and local media claiming that Giffords and up to 6 others were dead.

Doctors say she had suffered from a gunshot wound to the head but is responsive.

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