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 the rest of this post...

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 the rest of this post...

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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FLASHBACK: GOP Senator appears to sympathize with shooting of judges

Following on Gaius' report that a federal judge was one of those shot today when a gunman opened fire on a congressional townhall meeting, shooting Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in the head, I take you back to April of 2005 when GOP Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) appeared to rationalize the murder of federal judges, while his GOP Senate colleagues cheered him on. Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) ripped Cornyn at the time, understandably. Read the rest of this post...

CNN reporting a federal judge also among those shot today

UPDATE: KVOA in Tuscon has confirmed that U.S. District Judge John Roll has died.

More CNN updates on the Tuscon shooting should be coming available on their blog.

Nine patients were brought to the hospital, including a child. All of them are in either serious or critcial condition and are undergoing surgery, spokeswoman Darci Slaten said.

A federal judge was also among those shot, a law enforcement official said. It is not clear whether he was among those taken to the hospital.

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Did this Palin 'Crosshairs' ad get Congresswoman Giffords shot?

UPDATE: Politico has the latest.

The breaking news today is that Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) has been shot at a public event. News of her condition aren't confirmed, but aren't good.

Here's the Sarah Palin Crosshairs ad that may have inspired the shooter. Giffords is the fourth name down on the left:


Blood on the tracks.

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BREAKING: Congresswoman from Palin's 'crosshairs campaign' shot

UPDATE: CNN and other outlets previously reported the Congresswoman had died but new reports suggest she is still alive and in surgery. Let's hope for the best with this terrible attack.

The crazy right has some serious explaining to do. Palin's sick "crosshairs campaign" was previously in bad taste but now it's gone too far. CNN:

At least 12 people were shot at a Tucson grocery store on Saturday, and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was among them, a Democratic party source told CNN.

Giffords, 40, was holding a constituent meeting at the grocery store when the shooting occurred, according to a schedule posted on her website.

CNN could not confirm conditions for Giffords or any of the others wounded, but the Tuscon Citizen newspaper was reporting that Giffords was shot in the head.

Gifford's office was vandalized following her vote in support of health care reform last year. Read the rest of this post...

Greenwald on blind support for Democrats and choices like Daley

When Obama hired Geithner, it was clear to me where this was going. That move threw cold water on any dreams of change, since it showed Obama was ready to "stay the course" and continue the Bush/Paulson economic model. There are still some good ones out there but they're nowhere near the White House. The main players in the party are so far removed from the problems of the middle class, it's not possible for them to appreciate the problems of working families. That anyone in the party or the press can say Daley is a "moderate" is amazing. He's center-right at best. Greenwald is right when he says people need to stop complaining about Obama's people and face the fact that Obama chose them. He wants those people and their ideas.

More from Glenn Greenwald on giving blind support:

It is probably the case that a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the Democratic base contributed to the Democrats' defeat in the 2010 midterm election. But what Obama cares about is getting re-elected in 2012, and he knows full well that come March or April of that year -- if not earlier -- most of the progressives who are now continuously complaining about him will be at the front of the line waving their Obama banners, pulling out their checkbooks and whipping into line anyone who is not similarly supportive. By contrast, corporate institutions and Wall Street tycoons will pour their money into Obama's defeat if he does not show them the proper level of deference and accommodate their policy demands, but will support him (as they did in 2008) if he pleases them. Resource disparities between those factions are significant, but it's also due in part to their own choices that Wall Street is empowered, and progressives are irrelevant.

If someone wants to lend unconditional support to Obama and the Democrats, there's a cogent (if not persuasive) rationale to justify it. But what I find baffling is that those who make that choice -- and who make clear that this is their choice -- then express surprise, anger and scorn in situations like the Daley appointment when the White House so blatantly ignores what they want. Given the posture of progressives, why would the White House possibly do anything other than ignore them (except when they're deliberately attacking them in order to appear more centrist)? What motive does the White House have for doing anything other than that? None that I can see.

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US tells Twitter to hand over details from Iceland MP

Enough is enough. Why is it that we don't see such actions against the major US newspapers who print stories that had higher classifications than anything published by WikiLeaks?

Birgitta Jonsdottir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, said last night on Twitter that the "USA government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. Do they realize I am a member of parliament in Iceland?"

She said she was starting a legal fight to stop the US getting hold of her messages, after being told by Twitter that a subpoena had been issued. She wrote: "department of justice are requesting twitter to provide the info – I got 10 days to stop it via legal process before twitter hands it over."

She said the justice department was "just sending a message and of course they are asking for a lot more than just my tweets."

Jonsdottir said she was demanding a meeting with the US ambassador to Iceland. "The justice department has gone completely over the top." She added that the US authorities had requested personal information from Twitter as well as her private messages and that she was now assessing her legal position.

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K'naan Soobax

Two years ago Jojo was hit with the flu and we talked about making sure to get those flu shots to (hopefully) prevent that from happening again. Guess what we didn't remember to do and guess what happened? We both were slammed with the flu this week and it's been misery. I walked to the store two blocks away and it felt like I ran a marathon. We're finally a bit closer to the end of this but we really need to remember those flu shots next year. Read the rest of this post...

China is the primary suspect in French industrial espionage scandal

This has been quite a big story over here in recent days. Perhaps the good news out of this is that China may be moving into the electric car market sooner. That's not necessarily a bad thing from an environmental angle. The Guardian:

Tonight a French magazine claimed the three men had leaked information about the development of batteries for the electric vehicles that Renault hopes to put into production in the next 18 months.

Le Point said the employees had been approached by a private company used as a subcontractor by Renault. It claimed that in return for information, money had been paid into foreign bank accounts.

More damaging for Renault, Le Point also alleged the leaked information concerned multi-million euro technology that the company had yet had a chance to patent, meaning it was not protected from being copied.

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