More on the Human Cost of Today’s Shooting; UPDATE: Lunatic Fred Phelps Plans to Picket Dead Child’s Funeral
I would like to take a moment and focus on the human cost of today’s shooting.
A nine-year-old girl was killed. More details on her here. Her name was Christina Greene, and this is her picture:
Per Ben Smith, here she was as a younger child:
Here is a video of Congresswoman Giffords yesterday on Fox News, calling for a pay cut for members of Congress:
I earlier linked a Facebook video of the Congresswoman reading the First Amendment on Thursday. Here is a YouTube version for non-Facebook users:
There are people who care nothing for these victims, other than to use them as cheap pawns in a tawdry and disgusting political attack on people like Sarah Palin.
The names of these ghouls include names like Tom Boggioni (TBogg) and Markos Moulitsas (Kos). If there is a hell, they are going there.
UPDATE: Speaking of hell, Fred Phelps is going straight to the lowest circle:
He praises the shootings and plans to picket the funeral of the child whose picture you see in front of you.
And that marks the end of my involvement with the human race. Later.
Terribly, terribly sad. She had her whole life ahead of her.
Christoph (8ec277) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:29 pmThat graphic is obviously wrong. She was not 30 in 2006.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:31 pmWhat’s that Eastwood line from “The Unforgiven” about when you kill someone, you take from them everything they’ve ever been, or will ever be!
A life snuffed out before it seemingly ever began.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:32 pmGod, your heart just breaks when you see that.
narciso (6075d0) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:32 pmI agree they are taking this out of context, because this shooter wasn’t a tea partier. However, wasn’t Congresswomen Giffords one of those who vehemently attacked Palin based on her cross-hair graphic?
Christoph (8ec277) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:34 pmI have a 10 year-old girl. This girl had most of her life taken from her. But not all of it. Not all.
Her parents still have the memories. It is small consolation. I would not accept it as consolation, in their place.
But I hope one day they see it as something.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:35 pmEven if someone else shot her, since Giffords herself attacked Palin, what makes you think she would object in any way to her fellow Democrats doing so now? When even her own father did so today?
Christoph (8ec277) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:36 pmShe was born on September 11, 2001. Did you see that?
Jesus.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:36 pmPoignant words. She probably had 9 mostly great years. Many people find their childhood was one of the best parts of life. It isn’t enough, but it is something, and I’m glad she had that.
Christoph (8ec277) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:38 pmNow, that’s just eerie – so sad. I don’t have children, but cannot imagine how you overcome such a life – changing loss.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:38 pmI was wondering if anyone was going to take two seconds to tlk about the little girl who was killed today.
Judging by the MSM and the statements made by various pols, the life of a little girl is about one thousandth as valuable as the life of a politician.
Funny thing, my values are exactly the reverse of theirs.
Dave Surls (913b72) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:42 pm…and a child shall lead them…
If they will follow.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:47 pmDave Surls, I assumed the absence of reporting on little Christina Greene was due to a polite respect of privacy for her family. She wasn’t a public figure like Judge Rolls or Ms. Gifford, but a child, and private citizen. I thought the restraint admirable.
It’s beyond distressing to put myself in her parent’s position. Life will now be measured by before and after. No parent should ever have to experience this – especially due to something so horrific and unexpected. May God keep them close and lovingly show them the way through this valley of darkness.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 8:57 pmNot to make light of this, for I do think that the death of this dear girl is tragic;
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:09 pmbut, think how far we’ve come in this country where we find that the death of a child is so remarkable,
when just one-hundred years ago (or less), the deaths of children from illness, accidents, or tragedies such as this were – more or less – unremarkable.
Patterico, where’s your “really really like” button? 😉
Also, be sure to add Roger Ebert to your “not going to Heaven” list. Despite all his Hollyweird fame and acclaim, Sarah Palin still just scares the ever-lovin’ shit out of him:
http://twitter.com/EBERTCHICAGO
qdpsteve (f1c59f) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:16 pmPoor Christina. And especially, poor Christina’s parents and family. Have 10 nieces and nephews and the thought of losing any one of them…it’s just unimaginable.
She was born on September 11, 2001. Did you see that?
She’s an individual first, of course, and her death is unspeakably awful.
That is eerie, though, and both her birth and her death are just one more reminder of how, despite appearances and all our efforts to the contrary, how volatile this life is, and that there really is no true safety anywhere except in Heaven.
no one you know (a8b794) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:22 pmIt’s really painful to see the young girl, but thanks for taking the time to remember her. Beautiful child.
I share Mccain’s prayer than the survivors remaining are spared.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:30 pmShe had just received her first communion. God bless this little girl and her family.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:33 pm“except in Heaven”
Where is that?
Christoph (8ec277) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:35 pmI know a little girl with cancer. I know she may not live much longer. But she has a chance.
Ag80 (e03e7a) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:36 pmPerfect, although it shoulda ended at the first pic.
Mr. Pink (4d7531) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:37 pmkinda too bad Jared didn’t have a Fred Phelps fixation
happyfeet (aa4bab) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:42 pmAnd now I *know* the world’s ending next year, because even Keith Olbermann is making a little bit of sense:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40983401#40983311
qdpsteve (f1c59f) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:46 pmChris Hooten and Bill Yelverton will be right there with Fred Phelps since they are all on the same side.
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:52 pmOne of the agonizing facts about this case is that a neighbor took her to the meeting saying it would be an interesting experience. I remember a nurse who was driving a little girl home with her daughter when she was in an accident. The other child died. The parents were devastated and blamed the nurse. Two families, not just one, were affected.
Mike K (568408) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:52 pmA 9/11 baby…I saw that, Patterico. Astounding. There’s more to heaven and earth than meets the eye…
What a terrible day.
Patricia (3aa1fd) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:52 pmI hate seeing Fred Phelps and his sick rant posted in the same post with innocent victims. He does not deserve to be a part of this post. It seems indecent.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:57 pmIt IS indecent. I have been sitting here for 10-15 minutes just feeling sick.
There is no better way to convey it, though, is there?
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 9:59 pmA separate post would be better, I think.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:00 pmYou’d think I’d be hardened to this kind of thing.
But I am not.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:00 pmDana, it may be a habit of mine, that no matter how disgusted I am with someone’s behavior, I need to present it to others in the most forceful fashion possible. But putting this in another post feels wrong. I am filled with rage and others should be as well. This post explains why.
This day has marked what is wrong with this country. Very well. There are ghouls stalking our country and they need to be identified.
I am not religious and I don’t believe in hell. But days like this make me wish I did.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:04 pmComment by qdpsteve — 1/8/2011 @ 9:46 pm
I suffered through half of that video, and had yet to hear anything rational from Olberdouche.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:04 pmA lot of condemnation for Sarah and the GOP, but no mention of when the DNC/DCCC/DSC “targets” Republicans for defeat.
I am not religious and I don’t believe in hell.
And yet evil manifested itself earlier today and again with Fred Phelps and his sick perversion of God.
(I accept your explanation regarding the posting, although I may not agree.)
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:08 pmSimply despicable.
My heart goes out to the Green family, the Roll family, the Giffords/Sullivan family and all the victims of this sick twisted maniac who committed this atrocity. He’s crazier than a shithouse rat.
Bugg (996c34) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:08 pmYou expected something different from Olbermann, Phelps must be of the devil, there’s no other way
narciso (6075d0) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:10 pmto explain him; god doesn’t do this,
Oh, I believe in evil.
I didn’t say I didn’t believe in that.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:11 pmAh, but that is the dichotomy of God, that he allows unspeakable evil to exist.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:12 pmAnd since I believe in evil, but not in hell, it makes it very important for me to find a way to make evil suffer here, on Earth.
I don’t feel up to the task here. Laws and distance constrain me. And that is frustrating.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:13 pmWell, Pat, you should join the Left, as they are never constrained by laws, and they have cohorts everywhere to overcome the constraints of distance.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:16 pmYou know, I apologize for the comment. I made the observation re hell and thought about the existence of evil, etc., but did not need to mention it and distract from the focus of this post, inexpressible loss.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:18 pmAD: in his piece, good ol’ *does* Keith mention the left, and apologized for some of his own overheated mouthing off. But yes… you have to suffer through a long list of (his perception of) episodes from Sarah Palin and others, before he gets to that. I barely made it myself. But it’s MSNBC after all, so you know– gotta pander to that lefty audience. Maybe I’m crazy but IMHO it’s still nice to see Olby crawl through a whole 10-minute ‘special comment’ without literally burning some GOPer in effigy, though.
qdpsteve (f1c59f) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:22 pmNo apology required Dana, as it is only due to the ever-present evil that stalks the world and needs to be opposed at every opportunity, that we have to endure this tragedy today.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:23 pmComment by qdpsteve — 1/8/2011 @ 10:22 pm
Well, that’s nice to hear, but I just couldn’t get there.
AD-RtR/OS! (3ff3b3) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:24 pmIt was a bridge too far.
AD-RtR/OS!, I would like to be more deliberate and prudent in my commenting. That’s all.
I agree re the ongoing need to oppose evil at every turn possible. Today is why.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:29 pmIf you really think about it, Phelps and the left are the same.
Condemn all who disagree. With Phelps the condemnation is Hell. With the left it’s having to listen to it’s inane rantings until we leave the mortal coil.
Sometimes the former seems more appealing than the latter.
Ag80 (e03e7a) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:32 pmHe praises the shootings and plans to picket the funeral of the child whose picture you see in front of you.
Over my dead body. Booking a flight to Tucson as soon as I know the details.
Andy (d87a0a) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:53 pmThat’s the spirit.
Keep us informed. I will support you.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:56 pmI don’t mean to be indifferent, but you mean picket rather than boycott, yes? It would be a blessing for Phelps to boycott these funerals..
alwaysfiredup (23de9f) — 1/8/2011 @ 10:59 pmThanks Patt.
We’re gathering up a little welcoming party for them.
Will keep you posted.
Andy (d87a0a) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:00 pmNo, sir. I believe you have it somewhat wrong…
It marks the end of THEIR involvement with the human race.
It is wisdom, in this case, to erect a fence. But it’s also wise to realize which side of it you are on.
Their behavior clearly demonstrates them all as subhuman narcissistic bastards.
They attempted to spin this as “the right gets the blame, and the left gets a pass.”
That’s how they started to sell it… read the comments:
Comments like:
This is outrageous! When will the far right extremists realize how F’ing CRAZY they really are?
and
A nine-year-old is among the dead. Mother-fuck all you tebaggers and god damn all right wing gun-hugging extremists.
Then this came out:
Jared Loughner, Alleged Shooter in Gabrielle Giffords Attack, Described by Classmate as “Left-Wing Pothead”
NOW, all of a sudden it’s:
Clearly, this is not about left or right, Dem or Rep. This young fool had an issue that he wanted to take to the extreme. He can’t even articulate what he is so pissed off about.
and
It is wrong to politicize this. I have read so many blogs and forums blaming Sarah Palin. Only the shooter is responsible for his actions.
Got that? “Only the shooter is responsible for his actions”.
It’s really sad… The capacity for tap-dancing on The Left puts Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly to shame. It really does.
IgotBupkis, President, United Anarchist Society (c9dcd8) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:00 pmalwaysfiredup,
Yes. I obviously had a brain freeze while writing the headline.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:05 pmThe Arizona Republic has established a guest book where the public is invited to leave the families of the victims messages of condolences.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:05 pmIt’s hard to believe this guy is for real.
If this was in a movie you’d make fun of the writer for how over the top his script was.
Patterico (c218bd) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:08 pmAndy, from what I’m reading tonight, there will be quite a number of welcoming parties for Fred and company. Also, if the family directly invites them to be guests, the Patriot Riders would likely attend and shield the family from them as well.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:14 pmIt’s not about God, it’s about Free Will. If you could not be/do evil, you would not be able to choose Good, either. It would be forced upon you.
I believe some people read the Adam/Eve choice as being a sin, and the world changed as a result of their actions. I thoroughly disagree.
I believe what happened was that God put the tree there, tellingly described by some versions as “The Tree of Knowledge of Good And Evil”, intentionally, knowing that at some point Adam and Eve would quite possibly choose Free Will over Innocence and Ignorance — but that he would not force that choice upon them.
Thus Adam and Eve were not “cast out” of a perfect place — they suddenly realized what they had not known before — that there is Evil in the world, as well as Good — and what the difference between them was.
The animals of the world did not change, the predators in “Eden” always preyed on the weak and helpless — Adam and Eve suddenly understood that that was WRONG, something they had no grasp of before.
Hence there is no “original sin” in the sense of a “wrongful act” by mankind.
But now we have to learn whatever it takes to be one with God despite that newly obtained Free Will, whereas before we had it as a matter of course without even trying.
Just as, with parents watching their child lose his/her innocence and becoming worldly, God feels the same about Us. You can’t stay in the cradle forever.
To those who have a problem with God and the issues of Good and Evil and Original Sin and the like, I strongly recommend two things:
1) C.S. Lewis: The Great Divorce.
2) A TV series called “Joan of Arcadia” from a couple years ago, available via Netflix, etc., on DVD.
I think the two of them are both exceptionally effective at making the apparently cruel choices God has made more… understandable. I found them both invaluable to that end.
IgotBupkis, President, United Anarchist Society (c9dcd8) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:19 pmMaybe Paul Krugman and Kos will attend and people could have a welcoming party for them as well, not that I am suggesting anything untoward should happen.
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:25 pmThat Phelps guy has got to be one of most disgusting things I’ve seen in a while. Sick! Now that is dangerous violent rhetoric!
Chris Hooten (2b9678) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:51 pmWe discussed it on an earlier thread (the Elizabeth Edwards funeral, perhaps?) and our host of course does not advocate or espouse violence in any way, but there is NO F***ING way that Fred Phelps and his band of dimwit peckerwoods should be allowed anywhere near the girl’s funeral. I have a feeling that a whole lot of citizens of Tucson will feel the same way and will make the necessary arrangements, but if needed and if I can swing it I will be happy to join the anti-Westboro group there.
JVW (4463d3) — 1/8/2011 @ 11:59 pmAnd he’s a Democrat…
The Departed (d027b8) — 1/9/2011 @ 12:23 amI hope Governor Brewer promises full and unconditional pardons for any and all crimes committed against the Phelps family if they protest this little girl’s funeral.
nk (db4a41) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:51 amMy little girl was born 12/11/01 so I can’t even imagine what I would be like if it was her.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family; all the families of the victims, but especially the family that lost that child.
The people responsible for this should be drawn and quartered… slowly
Lord Nazh (821ae1) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:53 amAlso:
In Illinois, the prosecutorial discretion of the State’s Attorney is absolute. If that is also the case in Arizona, I hope the prosecutors in Tucson and Cochise County will issue a similar statement — saying that they will not prosecute anyone who hangs the Phelps’s upside down over a slow a fire the way Cochise would have done.
nk (db4a41) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:57 amThis idiot from Westboro Cult seems to have missed that Loughner wasn’t a veteran of anything, much less Afghanistan.
Teh Schlip (92120b) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:01 amIncidentally, as a Tucson moron, I volunteer to assist in counter-picketing / setting up a human wall against the WBC cultists as needed. Had some experience doing that against the hippies at the Davis-Monthan AFB gates and the recruiting center in the past. No violence, just get there first to take up space and keep them farther away. Armed with video cameras of course.
Teh Schlip (92120b) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:11 amThe Bible tells us to avoid worldly things.
This world consists of islands of good in a world of evil and lunacy.
Driving yourself crazy with hate and rage is what Satan wants.
This precious little girl is in heaven.
Brian (847594) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:25 amI don’t know if ‘God hates fags’ . . . but I’m pretty sure that he’s no fan of Fred Phelps.
That poor sweet angel.
Icy Texan (0fd603) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:42 amIt’s probably a good thing that I’m 600 miles away, here in West Texas. If I were to be back home in Tucson on the day of the little girl’s funeral, and Fred Phelps shows up to protest, I might very well wind up in jail.
Icy Texan (0fd603) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:48 amAnd once again (SHOCKA!) the left steadfastly refuses to ascribe personal responsibility to the perpetrator of a criminal act. He only did it because Sarah Palin and the Tea Party drove him to do it! Didn’t you know?
Icy Texan (0fd603) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:53 am“Dave Surls, I assumed the absence of reporting on little Christina Greene was due to a polite respect of privacy for her family. She wasn’t a public figure like Judge Rolls or Ms. Gifford, but a child, and private citizen. I thought the restraint admirable.”
Well, Dana, I can assure you that you’re simply wrong about that.
We live in a world where the lives of politicians are considered MORE important than the lives of little girls (or other “ordinary” citizens), and this is well reflected in the media coverage and in the statements of various politicians.
The only way the death of a little girl is going to make the front pages is if the details of her death are lurid enough to sell papers (think JonBenet Ramsey). And, there’s exactly zero chance that all kinds of politicians are going to get motivated to release statements just because a nine year old girl gets killed. If one of their own gets shot though, they’ll be all over that in a heartbeat.
It’s pretty sad that that’s the way things are…but, that’s the way things are.
Dave Surls (913b72) — 1/9/2011 @ 3:06 amThank you so much, Patterico, for that beautiful pic of Christina Greene! It is now the desktop photo on my computer.
Icy Texan (0fd603) — 1/9/2011 @ 3:33 amWe will execute the killer despite the fact that he is certifiably insane because he killed a federal judge. (In my world, the sentence for mentally ill killers would always be execution.)
For killing the little girl: meh. The insane defense would keep him fed, sheltered, and clothed with free dental and medical for the rest of his natural life. But government employees are “special.” You will bow to your overlords.
If he is tried, found guilty, and executed for killing Cristina Greene, good. If he is charged only for killing a federal judge, please let me know if there is a defense fund. (You’re not against a fair trial for the insane are you?)
snookered (1f2034) — 1/9/2011 @ 6:35 amRegarding Phelps and company;
Since he has announced his intention of harassing the funeral of a private citizen, might it not be possible for the family to obtain a restraining order against him and his un-merry chuckleheads? The if he insists on showing up, the cops can snatch him out of the way. Furthermore, given his lovely personality, just getting him into court seems likely to generate a charming number of contempt of court charges.
just a thought….
C. S. P. Schofield (e4bd33) — 1/9/2011 @ 6:57 amI’m almost as disgusted by people who link to Phelp’s attention-seeking bile as I am for the man himself.
harkin (1d0d3f) — 1/9/2011 @ 6:59 amUPDATE: Speaking of hell, Fred Phelps is going straight to the lowest circle:
I don’t wish Hell on anyone, not even evil people like Fred Phelps. But you don’t unrepentantly take God’s name in vain AND cause untold suffering to so many people –especially doing both of these things for money (provoking a reaction to be able to sue)– and get away with it.
He will answer, one way or the other. Hope he takes some of his own advice and repents before he dies.
no one you know (a8b794) — 1/9/2011 @ 7:24 amChristoph, can you point to one single thing in Loughner’s rantings, writings or videos that indicates he has ever read or heard one damned word Sarah Palin ever wrote, or are you just exploiting this little girl’s death like Fred Phelps? Please advise.
richard mcenroe (46bda8) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:06 amThat implies that there is a “Westboro Cult” of which he is a member. There is no such thing; it’s just him and his extended family. There is no larger group or organisation or movement that he merely represents.
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:39 amI am religious and don’t believe in Hell. But in the long run, God does not leave evil unpunished.
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:41 amI hope people show up to the funeral like the good Muslims did at the recent Copt Christmas mass, to act as human shields, not to answer violence with violence.
You’re making me nervous with talk of a “welcoming party” for Phelps…
Patricia (3aa1fd) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:46 amI’m a stoic old coot, but our host’s words @ #6 made me tear-up. Such a beautiful child.
Old Coot (f73cf0) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:48 ambtw, instapundit has a ton of links to various people showing how violent the left has been in their rhetoric. i find this from kurtz to be sensible, though:
> Let’s be honest: Journalists often use military terminology in describing campaigns. We talk about the air war, the bombshells, targeting politicians, knocking them off, candidates returning fire or being out of ammunition. So we shouldn’t act shocked when politicians do the same thing. Obviously, Palin should have used dots or asterisks on her map. But does anyone seriously believe she was trying to incite violence?
No, no one does, not even the people who say she was.
Aaron Worthing (1a6294) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:50 ambtw, don’t forget this one:
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/11/05/dem-pollster-what-obama-really-needs-is-an-oklahoma-city-moment/
Aaron Worthing (1a6294) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:51 amI don’t believe in a heaven or a hell – people like Phelps are allowed to exist because of our actions (or inactions, in this case). Phelps and his merry band of haters were allowed to protest and harrass military families by many members of so – called “upstanding society,” primarily because their actions supported the view against the wars. But now the chickens are coming home to roost, and the evil they’ve allowed to take place in lieu of their silent approval is now unfettered.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:54 amYou’re making me nervous with talk of a “welcoming party” for Phelps…
As you have sown, so shall you reap, Mr. Frey. I don’t condone violence in this case, but the threat of it just may convince them to take their disgusting carnival of depravity elsewhere. Actions have consequences at long last, I think.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/9/2011 @ 8:57 amDmac
Thats patricia not Pat
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:00 amPhelps just wants attention actually he stole his idea from some enlightened sobap preachers who used to hold signs to full clergical garb at aids victims funerals (some were not even gay)
Phelps BTW isnt the worst offenders there are even lower turds than him
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:05 amthese sobap preachers were eventually removed by the baptist congress – not soon enough
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:09 amThat picture of Christina is going to haunt me for a long time. This is overwhelmingly sad.
Angeleno (cf2b88) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:12 amIt has been reported that Jared Loughner, the shooter of Giffords, was influenced by a pro-white racist organization that publishes an anti-immigration newsletter – American Renaissance, an organization that Loughner mentioned in some of his internet postings. He made comments that people in his area are “illiterate”. Very similar to what Tancredo said at the tea party convention – that many of the people who voted Obama into office “can’t even spell the word vote or even speak English,” which brought loud applause from the crowd. Tancredo went on to talk about the “cult of multiculturalism” which is “aided by leftists.” Not hard to see that such hate speech can influence the unbalanced … and clearly, the gun nuts are primarily conservatives.
“Don’t retreat, reload” – Sarah
SarahPAC (9df40f) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:15 amI can guarantee Patriot Guard and the American Legion Riders will be there. They’ve been blocking Phelps from service funerals all across the country.
richard mcenroe (46bda8) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:27 ami will point out that there have been “welcoming parties” at phelps protests that consisted of peaceably assembling and blocking access to the funeral. so its not necessarily inciting violence to say that.
Aaron Worthing (1a6294) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:28 amWhat’s to be nervous about? I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over these people.
Insomniac (eb9961) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:30 amI disagree, EPWJ. Phelps doesn’t want attention. He wants money, which the court has awarded him enough times to keep his family in plenty of funds. Which allows them to continue picketing funerals and earning more money. It’s a vicious circle
PatAZ (537b43) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:30 amYes, Pat, that’s all that Phelps is about. A crooked money-making scheme of being offensive and suing when people respond to the offense.
SPQR (26be8b) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:31 amFred Phelps may be a “wack job” but I don’t think he is talking about this shooting since he refers to the shooter as an “Afghan veteran”
Neo (03e5c2) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:32 amPatAZ
No doubt – also to me attention means money
But there are worse out there – there are these sick freaks who take out magazine subscriptions – send congratulation cards – birthday cards even years after the facts
We had murder victims families still getting birthday cards from angry prisoners for their lost ones – rape vic’s too
But the cheerleading over the congresswoman being alive and then the oh well a 9 year old girl died attitude from Shep on Fox has made a new mission for me to finally remove that insufferable pr..
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:37 amHe is. Laughner has been reported by several sources as being a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
Insomniac (eb9961) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:39 ambtw, more evidence the shooter is an anti-semite. i say more, because we already know he listed mein kampf as a favorite book.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/arizona-shooting-suspect-may-be-linked-to-anti-semitic-group/story-e6frf7jx-1225984713213
And yes, giffords is jewish.
Aaron Worthing (1a6294) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:43 amFrom the station that is – Shep’s employmet has reached its end with them –
EricPWJohnson (2a58f7) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:44 amIinsomniac – there is no evidence that he was an Afghan war vet. None.
JD (ad76b9) — 1/9/2011 @ 9:45 amI know the good people of Tucson will show up in force to stand with the Greene family.
JEA (31549d) — 1/9/2011 @ 10:02 amI think you need to re-read what I wrote. I didn’t state there was any evidence that he was an Afghan war vet. I wrote “Laughner has been reported by several sources as being a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.”
Insomniac (eb9961) — 1/9/2011 @ 10:03 amIt was reported by one ignorant person, Rep, Linda Lopez, and Shep of course took it as gospel, just like he believed Hasan’s relative that he was non violent. One is supposed to show mercy and compassion to those who defame, but it’s been really
narciso (6075d0) — 1/9/2011 @ 10:15 amhard since yesterday.
I’m confused by those words. Is that a wish (that I share) or a fact?
Old Coot (f73cf0) — 1/9/2011 @ 10:26 am“Ask yourself this…….”
Yelverton – Why would you do something stupid like that, since it did not happen? Why not ask yourself what it would be like to spend the rest of your days in a mental institution. That is a situation much closer to reality.
In actuality though, muslims do train for terrorist operations. A palestinian shot Robert Kennedy. Targeting imagery is very common in political campaigning on both the left and the right ( see the definition of crosshairs and Howard Kurtz’s piece in the Daily Beast).
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/9/2011 @ 10:31 amThe little girl is baseball’s Dallas Green’s grandaughter. Her dad is a scout.
elissa (2f1e5c) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:09 amI wrote “Laughner has been reported by several sources as being a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.”
WTF are you talking about? One person who later retracted it – either link to some additional credible sources or admit you’re just trolling here.
Dmac (498ece) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:10 amLaughner applied to enlist in the Army when he graduated from high school and was rejected.
Mike K (568408) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:16 am_________________________________________
It has been reported that Jared Loughner, the shooter of Giffords, was influenced by a pro-white racist organization that publishes an anti-immigration newsletter
And the killer posted a video to his Youtube site that shows the burning of the American flag. That along with his reported liberal politics of a few years ago, along with his possibly teary-eyed, anti-Jewish sentiments about the Palestinians, places him in the camp of that peculiar assortment of leftists, including those in academia.
In some ways, his biases don’t sound too different from those of the former close spiritual adviser of the current occupant of the Oval Office. Namely, Jeremiah “Goddamn America” Wright.
Mark (411533) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:21 amAgree as to TBogg and Kotze; Phelps not so much. TBogg and Kotze are highly influential on the left, so their ghoulish tendencies need to be exposed up down and center. Phelps, by contrast, is a one-trick pony. He knows he’s never going to convince anyone of anything; it’s all about shock value. He says the stuff he does hoping people will give him more unearned publicity by denouncing him. It’s all he’s got.
I do like NK’s idea of an advance promise of pardons for anyone who bumps him off, though. That’s the one type of unearned publicity I’d like that see that creep get. Laws constrain me, too, but a pardon for anyone who bumped off that jerk is just as legal as Marc Rich’s pardon or Esteban Núñez’s commutation.
Xrlq (425ece) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:22 amAs I said on the other thread, watching Laughner’s YouTube clip convinces me he was not in his right mind making rational decisions, and I would not ascribe inspiration of his actions to anyone, R or L, human or Martian.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:24 am______________________________________
A palestinian shot Robert Kennedy.
That’s another one of the ironies pertaining to the murders of two icons of liberals/Democrats. That Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan Sirhan were affiliated — directly or symbolically — with the left (if not ultra-left) instead of the right.
I read that Jacqueline Kennedy, in her grief, grumbled something about being even more disgusted that her husband’s assassin was a Communist instead of a bigoted rightwinger. Or the type of person that Northeastern liberals in particular would have branded as very common in Texas (or “flyover country” in general).
Mark (411533) — 1/9/2011 @ 11:31 amRIP; condolences to the families
My daughter was born 12/11/01 and I can’t imagine the pain of what this family is going through 🙁 I hope the take the man (and any accomplices) and tie them to 4 horses running 4 directions…
and have the horses walk
Lord Nazh (13eed3) — 1/9/2011 @ 12:45 pm“but a pardon for anyone who bumped off that jerk is just as legal as Marc Rich’s pardon or Esteban Núñez’s commutation.”
Xrlq – There was a lot of payola involved in Rich’s pardon. Do you think that would be required in the Phelps situation?
daleyrocks (e7bc4f) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:14 pmWhere is SarahPac to blame the right and da jooooooos.
Obamaisanturd (9d22ba) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:45 pmAm I the only one who seems to find the comments of the Sheriff in Tucson somewhat incoherent?
AD-RtR/OS! (7c91a7) — 1/9/2011 @ 1:51 pmOf course, I may be prejudiced against an LE official who doesn’t seem to find anything wrong with uncontrolled illegal immigration streaming through his county.
Don’t forget, too, that Fred Phelps is a Democrat. He was a convention delegate for Algore and he ran for both U.S. Senator and Governor as a Democrat. Don’t let the state-run media continue to convert Phelps and his merry band of haters into conservatives to smear us.
The Underground Conservative (9062b5) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:40 pmThe Sheriff looks and sounds like a guy who is being cutout of the investigation, and isn’t happy about it.
Mueller was ordered to go there personally by Obama, so the FBI has poured manpower into Tucson and everything is going through federal courts and federal judges — probably in San Diego or Las Vegas because a District of Arizona Judge was killed.
shipwreckedcrew (436eab) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:44 pmWell, the Feds did get into court today to file Federal Charges for the deaths, and attempted murders of Federal employees.
AD-RtR/OS! (7c91a7) — 1/9/2011 @ 2:58 pmI suspect, as has been said, that AZ will get into court sometime this week.
I still question whether or not the prosecutors at either level will be able to overcome the obvious (but perhaps not legally) derangement of this guy, and get him onto Death Row.
He killed a 9-year old. Put the guy in GenPop, and let nature take it’s course.
The Departed (d027b8) — 1/9/2011 @ 3:46 pmMagnificent goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely excellent. I really like what you have acquired here, really like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it wise. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a wonderful website.
Neha Anand (e1c2ef) — 3/25/2011 @ 5:18 pm