Monday, January 10, 2011

Is this the face of evil? Update!

This is the mugshot of Jared Lee Loughner. (Update: Like many of you I also watched Rachel Maddow tonight and she explained that this is NOT Loughner's mugshot.  She also went on to debunk a number of other misunderstandings and conspiracy theories about this case.  I will write a post and embed the video first thing in the morning.)

I am not really somebody who believes in evil, but it is hard not to look at this visage, knowing what he did, and see anything else.

Of course without access to the kind of weaponry that Loughner had in his possession, even somebody as deeply disturbed as he appears to have been, could never have inflicted such devastation on so many innocent lives.

I can only hope that this sends a message to the lawmakers in this country about the need to carefully regulate who does, and who does not have access to such powerful instruments of death. 

Though perhaps that is too much to hope for.

Update: It looks like the Teabaggers have lost little time in turning this tragedy into an opportunity to raise funds.  That is almost as cold blooded as what Loughner did.

Update 2: Mother Jones has an interview with Loughner's close friend.

Loughner would occasionally mention Giffords, according to Tierney: "It wasn't a day-in, day-out thing, but maybe once in a while, if Giffords did something that was ridiculous or passed some stupid law or did something stupid, he related that to people. But the thing I remember most is just that question. I don't remember him stalking her or anything." Tierney notes that Loughner did not display any specific political or ideological bent: "It wasn't like he was in a certain party or went to rallies...It's not like he'd go on political rants."

But Loughner did, according to Tierney, believe that government is "fucking us over." He never heard Loughner vent about the perils of "currency," as Loughner did on one YouTube video he created.

105 comments:

  1. melanie daniels3:29 PM

    He looks like a cartoon. He looks like
    Joe the Plumber.

    ReplyDelete
  2. kdusmdd3:34 PM

    I wish that he would mention Sarah Palin's name at least one time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ferry Fey3:34 PM

    No,, it's not the face of evil. Or Evil.

    It is the face of sickness. A human being with an illness, not someone to be demonized as a personification of an abstract.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's the face of untreated mental illness. His family should be ashamed if they never attempted to intervene on his behalf.

    ReplyDelete
  5. sallyngarland,tx3:41 PM

    Palin's twin--though they aren't identical

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3:43 PM

    At first sight, I thought it was a picture of Palin's attorney Van Flee.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:44 PM

    just gonna go ahead and say it: did his parents ever recognize or acknowledge or attempt to deal with this?

    I've tried to get this thought out of my head, it just keeps coming back.

    I'm not saying it's their fault. I just really want to hear their thoughts and words.

    - kellygrrrl

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:45 PM

    the Arizona State legislators who seem hellbent still on passing legislation allowing all students and teachers to carry concealed weapons on college campuses need to realize how many kids from CA come to AZ for college.
    Most CA students cannot get into CA UC or CSU system b/c our schools want out of state tuition -- all states do.
    AZ makes a lot of money off of CA college students.
    Every person I've talked to here says there is no way they would let their kid go to school there if this new law passes.

    - kellygrrrl

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous3:48 PM

    Did you see "Taxi Driver"?

    This kid is probably going to be declared "insane" and get lodgings near Kozinski for the rest of his life.

    Is insanity "evil"? Not usually if it's treated.

    I think we should change the debate and consider how to insure "sick minds" don't get easy access to guns.

    I do think Glen beck feeds this type of paranoid personality is a highly irresponsible manner to crank up ratings and political passions.

    I think Sarah Palin *might* learn something from this whole experience if she just finds some degree of empathy for someone victimized for their politics.

    Walk a mile in the shoes of the many victims of the Tucson shooting, Sarah. Stop running for office long enough to "feel their pain".

    Gryphon: We could tone it down here as well and grieve. We can get back to Sarah bashing after the shock wears off from the acts of an insane gunman. Just my 2 cents. Sometimes you're so deep in the contest of political messaging you can get lost in the ethics of these the "intent" behind Sarah Palin's clumsy populism and fear mongering. If it didn't work... politicians wouldn't stoop to that ugly bag of tricks so often.

    We need to educate people and influence them to a greater degree of skepticism of people we think are working daily to make thinmgs a lot worse. That's what scares me about Sarah Palin: she is showing the next successful demagogue what works and what won't to gain power.

    But for a few days a time of silence (on these issues as polictics) in honor of the dead, wounded and the traumatized in Tucson.

    I would follow President Obama's lead on this matter and let us all heal.

    I wonder if we could all request people to start putting President in front of the name Obama until the voters select a new name to go behind it. "Respect the uniform... if not the man." That's a change I would like to see: respect for the office again.

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  10. Doesn't look like any 22 year old I can think of. What a sad, sorry sight. It's easy to understand how someone who is not fully minded might be easily led in an atmosphere of hate speech.

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  11. Anonymous3:48 PM

    It is the face of sickness, and disturbance. Sure this guy pulled the trigger and killed innocent people. A war veteran with PTSD could have done the same thing. The more we say things like this (labels), the people who have mental illness/sickness will not get treatment, because of the shame/stigma.

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  12. Anonymous3:50 PM

    Loughner is the face of mental illness. Sarah Palin is the face of evil.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am very adept at reading energy and I cannot - can not - look at this picture for any length of time. It pings me very weirdly.

    As others have mentioned, it is very clearly the face of someone who is ill in a way most of us cannot (thankfully) understand.

    This is the representation of what happens when the rhetoric comes to life.

    So very, very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  14. London Bridges3:54 PM

    Read this interview with his best friend:
    http://tinyurl.com/2duzygf

    ReplyDelete
  15. melanie daniels3:57 PM

    You know, I wonder, since AZ is RW, is
    there any way they can hide it if he is a
    Palin Fanatic? They keep saying he isn't
    talking, but if he did, who is to say they'd
    actually report what he said? They've
    covered for Palin in AK, because of her
    pull & what she has on people, what if
    it is the same now? What if they kill
    him before he can talk & forge a suicide
    note? What if, to save the TP & $P, McCain
    pulls strings?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:01 PM

    Hey Gryphen,

    Check this out

    thechollajumps.wordpress.com/.../jared-loughner-is-a-product-of-sheriff-dupniks-office/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous4:19 PM

    Haha.

    I call BS.

    This "friend" doesn't exactly sound like a progressive to me.

    "...if Giffords did something that was ridiculous or passed some stupid law or did something stupid..."

    Hmmm. Project much?

    Asshat

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous4:19 PM

    " London Bridges said...
    Read this interview with his best friend:
    http://tinyurl.com/2duzygf

    3:54 PM"

    Yeah, his "best friend." I doubt this guy has
    ever had a friend, period.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous4:21 PM

    .... I think some weird/interesting things have been going on with this guy's upbringing.. news has been slow coming in from that part of the picture/puzzle...his parents...

    ReplyDelete
  20. No this is not the face of "evil." This is the face of insanity. Evil infers some deliberation, a moral choice. When you read his writings or watch his YouTube channel, this kid is clearly deranged. He wasn't sane enough to moralize his decision. Maybe splitting hairs too fine between personality disorder and psychosis.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous4:24 PM

    This is the first time I have seen this version of the 2007 meeting where Jared questioned Giffords

    "Loughner attended another Giffords event:
    Mr. Montanaro said his friend "was never really political," but "really tried to be philosophical." Mr. Loughner liked "contemplating the meaning of words and the origin of language," Mr. Montanaro said.
    That interest might have triggered Mr. Loughner's first meeting with Ms. Giffords in 2007. Mr. Loughner said he asked the lawmaker, "How do you know words mean anything?" recalled Mr. Montanaro. He said Mr. Loughner was "aggravated" when Ms. Giffords, after pausing for a couple of seconds, "responded to him in Spanish and moved on with the meeting."
    From today's Daily Dish

    His friends say he like to play with semantics, like asking people questions that he knew were unanswerable so he would feel smarter than them.

    In the 2007 Giffords answers Jared's question in words she understands but he doesn't thus defeating him at his own game and proving that words do have meaning.

    Could that have been enough to set him on a path to bettering or defeating her by killing her?

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  22. Anonymous4:29 PM

    Wow all I can say is Wow! This is a man that definitely is a follower of people like Sarah Palin.

    I think that this young man might have had a crush and liked Gabby when he went to her 2007 event.

    But when Sarah Palin came on the scene a new fond love developed for him. And everything Sarah was about rang true to him.

    A man easily persuaded. And all Sarah Palin's hate and violence he took upon himself and through the last two years of watching Sarah he wanted to show Sarah Palin how much he liked her, by doing this unspeakable act.

    Gabby probably did not give him the attention he wanted and so Sarah was this new inspiration to him and he lived and breathed Sarah!

    There is no way that man was not influenced by Sarah Palin and her target map and vicious talk.

    Sarah Palin and all your elk are some sick and demented human beings that need mental help.

    If there was a map out there with a crosshair of Sarah Palins house you know she would press charges against that person f you Sarah f you cu*t!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous4:29 PM

    He looks like a Palin or somebody who would look at home at a Palin rally.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous4:30 PM

    He looks at least 40 years younger than your average Palin fan to me. I doubt he urinates in a plastic sack either. Could be an outlier I guess.

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  25. majii4:33 PM

    Is this guy really supposed to be only 22 years old? He looks SO much older.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous4:34 PM

    Loughner's parents tried to blockade their house from law enforcement officials when they came to search it.

    And AZ has the death penalty - mentally unstable or not, they need to use it in this case.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous4:36 PM

    Sarah Palin is still hiding. Such a leader.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Linda Arizona4:36 PM

    As a Tucsonan and mother of a college boy, I'm thankful that my son chose a college in another state.

    We've been talking for a few years about the tone of life here in Arizona, believing that Tucson was a liberal island in a sea of red. We've been more and more concerned that we were fooling ourselves. Little did I know that it could get worse.

    Arizona doesn't believe in mental health care, health care for the elderly or the poor. But, they do love prisons for profit, guns and rightwingers in denial.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous4:44 PM

    OMG--Watching Billo, can't believe what I am hearing. Poor faux news is laying it on thick. They are attacking the sheriff saying that he gave the left a cover, and picking on him ruthlessly. What a bunch of whiners--gotta watch it. I almost want to cry for billo----NOT!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous4:45 PM

    paylin: malice aforethought.

    http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/malice+aforethought:

    "or an intent willfully to act in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to human life; but malice aforethought does not necessarily imply any ill will, spite or hatred towards the individual killed."

    ReplyDelete
  31. Pat in MA4:45 PM

    It is not the face of evil, it is the face of mental illness, the face of someone who was rejected from the army, expelled from college, yet had no disqualifying criminal or mental health records and was allowed to purchase a gun. How does anyone get such a mental health record if they do not seek any treatment because as far as they know, they're just fine...?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Linda Arizona4:47 PM

    melanie daniels said...

    "You know, I wonder, since AZ is RW, is there any way they can hide it if he is a Palin Fanatic? They keep saying he isn't talking, but if he did, who is to say they'd actually report what he said?"

    The media is heavily influenced by the rightwing in Arizona.

    You can bet on it, that McCain/Brewer/Kyl are working on keeping anything damaging covered up.

    Otoh, these creeps are also stupid. So, let's hope a progressive will leak whatever is relevant.

    Moving the shooter to Phoenix was a suspicious move. Everyone knows that Phoenix is the seat of rightwing nuttery.

    We do have an open court. The thing they'd want to do would be to keep information from getting into the records.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous4:59 PM

    Tired of hearing the denial of the rhetoric being the cause of this and that it's just a 'whacko crazy person'. The majority of media is giving their 'ratings darling' a pass. I'll give them a pass - up the ass.

    'Crazy' as they call it, can listen and absorb the drum beats of ad nauseam ‘Don’t retreat, just reload’ which started a few years ago and has continued to be vocalized in her reality show, in her speeches and event attendances. Repeated over and over – like a drip, drip, drip. It’s isn’t just Palin, but she is the one who elevated the violent rhetoric throughout the Presidential campaign and has maintained it. She is the media ‘ratings darling’ as they all repeat every tweet, FB post, speech, etc. which amplifies the violent references and images.

    They continue to separate this 'crazy' (medical) and the political. God forbid the two could cross.

    They are not looking at the posibility that the 'crazy' can still listen to political as we see the reference of the government payment in gold and silver which has been a 'right' chant. There is some DC elected person wanting to bring a bill to the floor for this.

    The talking heads are all saying this guy's writings can't be understood. Hello -- there are some dots that can be connected. I'm no politician or talking head but I've connected a few dots.

    Media - Stunned and Stupid as ever.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous5:01 PM

    Have you seen this Gryphen?

    The Community Food Bank of Tucson, Ariz., one of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-Ariz.) favorite charities, received more than $18,000 in donations during a span of about seven hours after the congresswoman's husband mentioned it in a statement. (from HuffPo)

    Amazingly heartwarming compared to the fundraising being done by certain entities I wont mention.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous5:06 PM

    We were out running errands Saturday when this was happening. We flipped on the TV and were shocked at what we saw. Told husband immediately that the guy would be a skinhead. That was before he had been identified.

    So am I psychic? I wish. No, I've just visited AZ way too many times.

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  36. Anonymous5:10 PM

    Actually, I think we are projecting on the photo of this guy. He can look "crazy"--- but, honestly, if I did not who he was -- he could also look very "normal"..

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  37. That's the face of ALL the teabaggers, so full of hate.The face of EVIL would be $arah Palin.

    ReplyDelete
  38. BAustin5:16 PM

    Sadly, it's the face of insanity. He looks physically different from the smiling boy at the book fare....

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous5:16 PM

    The kid is probably sick, but because he planned to assassinate Griffords, it looks like premeditated murder. He left a nice paper trail. And, to be fair, we don't know if or how the Fox Noise Machine, and Sarah's rhetoric affected him. Even Rachel pointed out that we don't know if he heard it or even understood it. He, alone, pulled the trigger and bears the responsibility.

    However, Saarah target map, trying to hide and explain away the target map, and her gun rhetoric have become the issue, and Sarah is noticeably absent. Anyone could have sent an email to Beck saying that they hate violence and war. Rebecca showed up on Tammy's radio show, not Sarah. Bill O'Reilly is trying to get an interview with Sarah, hopefully by the end of the week. (WTF? Where is she, and why won't they let her out before the end of the week?)

    And, why can't Sarah show any leadership at all? She can't function in this crisis. People have had to write her emails and answer for her. (Map marks, sure). Sarah's silence along with the map fiasco shows that she is not presidential material. She left her job as governor when the going got tough. Sarah is not reloading. She retreated, and now, she is AWOL.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous5:18 PM

    Ferry Fey said...

    No, it's not the face of evil. Or Evil.

    t is the face of sickness. A human being with an illness, not someone to be demonized as a personification of an abstract.

    -----------------------------------

    Well said.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous5:19 PM

    Here is link to Daily Beast of story from 'neighbours' wherein one has said his father is aggressive.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-01-10/is-jared-lee-loughner-mentally-ill/full/

    (By contrast, neighbors say Jared’s mother is very friendly and outgoing, although his father, Woods says, is “very aggressive, very angry all the time about petty things—like if the trash is out because the trash guys didn’t pick it up, he yells at us for it.” The Loughners couldn’t be reached for comment).

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous5:21 PM

    Back in the dark ages even minor mental and emotionally disturbed people were called evil or devil possessed. I think this picture is creepy but I detest keeping evil attached to people that need treatment but no funds or way to get it. He may be evil or whatever, I don't think he is close to what Palin and McCain are. He kind of looks like he could be related to McCain or Van Flein actually.

    Loughner lives in a place where the mental cases are treated the way the powers that be want. I don't have a problem with people having guns and hunting. What I don't get is why it is so easy for anyone to purchase a semi-automatic and lot's of ammo? Also have you heard about the Law of Lee, something like that? People with the name of Lee are more likely to do an assassination.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous5:30 PM

    If he isn't talking that is more like he was coached or trained to some degree. Someone who saw him shooting said he looked like he had some training with guns.

    How did he age so fast?

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous5:30 PM

    Heard Buchanan comparing this shooting to the 1960's. WTF?

    In the 1960's, we had limited TV. No cable. TV signed off on some networks at midnight. Many towns and cities had 1 or 2 daily newspapers. TV News was at noon, 6 pm and 11 pm. We didn't have computers, the internet. Didn't have the massive radio market carrying political talking heads. There was not the 24/7 ability to listen to, read, research the ad nauseam chants and rants of instant news that now can be sent to your iPhones, Twitter, etc. There was also not the transportation availability to hop here, there and everywhere to hear people speak or the elected be in DC and come back home every weekend. Life is not the 1960's anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous5:35 PM

    Words matter -- even when Sarah Palin says them

    ...One American, and I'm sad to say also an Alaskan, has contributed in a very real way to this tragedy. During the 2010 political season in the United States Sarah Palin widely distributed political material targeting several congressional districts by depicting them in the unmistakable cross hairs of a rifle scope. Last year, in an eerily foretelling interview with MSNBC Congresswoman Giffords said, "For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district, and when people do that, they've gotta realize there are consequences to that action." Palin's targeting, in her political crosshairs, of Representative Giffords and many other brave Americans who were doing their best to contribute to the Democratic process the crafters of the U. S. constitution envisioned, was and is shameful. No, she didn't tell anyone to go out and shoot these people any more than a person who shouts fire in a crowded theater told people to trample others, but she is one of many hard-right "haters" who did shout "fire".

    Sarah Palin's political spinners are now claiming that the crosshairs used in her political mailers and on-line materials this year didn't mean rifle scope crosshairs, they really meant sighting lines used by surveyors. Really. ..

    ...Unfortunately, the American media waits breathlessly for every Twitter or Facebook utterance from Sarah Palin. When the press gives that kind of national voice to people like Sarah Palin, she is indeed accountable for what she says and how other people act on it. When you scream fire in a crowded theater, or place political opponents in rifle scope crosshairs, you are responsible.

    Bob Poe is a 30-year resident of Alaska. Over that time he served four Alaska Governors, both Democratic and Republican. He was a candidate for Alaska Governor in the 2010 election. He currently resides with his wife in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His opinions are his own.

    http://www.alaskadispatch.com/voices/tundra-talk/8209-words-matter-even-when-sarah-palin-says-them

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous5:37 PM

    Saracudda, Pitbull with lipstick... I wonder how the families of the Dead feel about those cute nicknames now? Remember the random threats uttered, screamed or yelled during her stump speeches? She never asked her audience to calm down once. The hatred spewed by her audiences after her stump speeches was even worse. She found a role and played it to the hilt, making millions in the process. She quit her public service job, and worked behind locked secure doors. All the while waving her fingers at others not GOP'ers, others who kept their public service jobs, and she accused them selling our Country out, accused them of not thinking like real Americans. She's protected today, crying about her own life being in danger. Remember the boy who cried wolf? I wonder if she ever considered those people were sons and daughters, mothers and fathers who have love ones and love this Country as much as she does. A family is burying a daughter, who might have wanted to serve the public. She died out of curiosity, of the alleged Democratic processes. Sadly, she met an anger and fury manifested very heavily the past couple of years. It was tapped and the spigot left wide open. Sarah served millions from that keg of hate.

    Is it too much to say Sorry. She demanded it for Trig. It shouldn't have to be demanded for the families of the dead. Sorry will not cost her one dime. But, it could lift some broken hearts.

    Posted By: missiv @ 01.10.2011 1:41 PM

    http://www.alaskadispatch.com/voices/tundra-talk/8209-words-matter-even-when-sarah-palin-says-them

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  47. Anonymous5:39 PM

    YES !!!

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/gabrielle-giffords-brain-_n_807136.html

    Great NEWS!!

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  48. He has Charles Manson eyes to me....

    I cannot fathom what kind of man with any honor that would go up behind a woman and shoot her in the head, then continue shooting a child, elderly bystanders, etc.

    And I don't hear any men speaking out against this type of shooting.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous5:52 PM

    Palin Aide's Inane Bullseye Map Defense

    I can’t decide which possibility is more startling: That Mansour actually believes what she is saying, in which case she is an idiot; or that she merely thinks everyone else is so deeply stupid that we’ll believe it, in which case her stupidity would also be matched with cold cynicism.

    Here’s the problem, as Weigel and others have ably pointed out: Palin herself has played up the notion that the map was populated with bullseyes. Politico’s Jonathan Martin points out that after the election she tweeted about the “‘bullseye’ icon used 2 target the 20 Obamacare-lovin’ incumbent seats?”

    I wrote yesterday that we should not rush to politicize the Arizona shooting. Ascribing a political motive or philosophy to an apparent madman before we have all the facts does little to calm the tone of our politics, and it threatens to distract from the unfolding tragedy by refocusing attention on familiar rote debates.

    But to say that it is too soon to know whether Saturday’s attacks are the result of overheated politics or just bad coincidence is not to say that those arguments, especially regarding the dangers of inflammatory political rhetoric and symbolism are not legitimate.

    Putting that map up was irresponsible and tasteless to start with. Spouting nonsensical defenses of it only compounds the mistake.

    http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/01/09/palin-aides-inane-bullseye-map-defense.html

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  50. Anonymous6:09 PM

    One of the most moving true stories I ever read, was a young woman whose brother was killed my a mentally ill person..she became curious about mental illness, that she went on to study it, and became a social worker in that field, to help people get treatment.. realizing that anyone who has a brain can get mental illness... it's called "mental" illness, but its something that happens to your brain- which is an organ. and if you have one (a brain), you are susceptible... Jared Loughner was probably a smart, gifted young man, and did not get the right resources and family support. I've been reading comments around the blogs, from Arizonians who say their state have cut mental health programs, and their big deal is funding the prisons. SICK!!

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  51. Anonymous6:11 PM

    On TRMS, Rachel said that the photo is not his mug shot. Also, no affiliation has been found with any white supremacist group.

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  52. Anonymous6:16 PM

    I think Sarah Palin has just had her John Edwards moment!

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  53. Anonymous6:18 PM

    Bone-chilling prescience from Matt Taibbi

    Just under a week ago on January 5th, Matt Taibbi's expose of John Boehner hit the Rolling Stone website.

    It's typical Taibbi: poignant, brilliant writing exposing the hypocrisy and underbelly of Washington and one of its most detestable politicians. And after a brief flurry of attention, it was largely forgotten as just another political hit piece among dozens of similar, if less researched and artful, efforts on the new Republican congress.

    But in light of the Giffords shooting, one part of Taibbi's article in particular stands out with bone-chilling prescience:

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/9/934863/-Bone-chilling-prescience-from-Matt-Taibbi

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  54. Anonymous6:19 PM

    The Palin and Beck media play

    After listening and watching the Beck disclosure of his email exchange with Sarah Palin, I had to spew something out about what I see as a sham.

    This stunt was nothing more then a co-produce­d (Beck/Pali­n) media response by two of the most guilty spewers of vile bile. The ever disgusting nature of these two "Americans", flashes even brighter by the use of "innocent emails" being shared by Beck. These emails are obvious attempts to redirect the negative viewing of their past actions by the public, and nullify the obvious vitriolic infusion of violent rhetoric into the current political debates, which WE ALL have seen by these people over the last four plus years.

    By creating a level of fear, xenophobia­, racial angst, and an Us v. Them political mentality and divisivene­ss, these two people are especially at the crux of the problem. And, by portraying themselves as nothing more then peace loving and misunderst­ood public personalit­y's, they are yet again trying to manipulate the media in hopes of having people not to put the bullseye on them for their outrageous past actions.

    There is nothing ethical nor moral about these self serving societal sycophants­.

    It is a sad occurrence that happened Saturday, but it was an occurrence that could possibly have been avoided. This was not the first incidence of violence (primarily against Dem's) we have seen, yet throughout those past actions of violence, these people have continued to spew their violent commentary­.

    It was not until one of Palin's "targets" was hit, did she remove her innuendo'd call for violence, and then claiming that she never made the connection between cross hairs and violence. We know this to be false, with her "Bullseye" tweet, yet that does not matter. This was a spin for her base alone.

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/10/935226/-The-Palin-and-Beck-media-play

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  55. Anonymous6:23 PM

    The letter actually goes so far as to suggest that a 2008 post written by Markos was somehow equivalent to Sarah Palin's use of the gunsight imagery and her exhortations to "RELOAD" in the conservative battle against Democrats. Instead of linking to the actual post, the letter links to a photoshopped version, which ads an image of Rep. Giffords and a bullseye, neither of which were in the original post. Even without that dishonest sleight-of-hand, the notion that a three year old post from Markos is equivalent to Sarah Palin's ongoing use of violent imagery is laughable.

    It'd be a different story if Markos was one the most important politicians in the Democratic Party and if he made habit of regularly using the images that were photoshopped into his post, but neither of those two things are the case. So not only is the tea party trying to capitalize on tragedy, they aren't even telling the truth while doing it.

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/10/935177/-Tea-party-group-fundraises-off-of-Giffords-shootings

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  56. Anonymous6:26 PM

    We're so frugal - Sarah Palin

    We're not really into the Drama - Sarah Palin

    I hate violence. . .
    Don't retreat, RELOAD! - Sarah Palin

    I hate war. . .
    say what you want to say about me, but I raised a combat vet, and you can’t take that away from me. I’m proud of that distinction, but it is not one that I had imagined because no woman gives birth thinking that she will hand over her child to her country, but that’s what mothers have done from ancient days.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous6:27 PM

    A Timeline.

    http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaigns/guns-democracy-and-freedom/insurrection-timeline

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/10/935053/-Anti-goverment-hyperbole-and-gun-violence:-A-timeline

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anonymous6:27 PM

    He's smirking cause he achieved a goal, as twisted as it is. He's a household name and I guarantee he is regaled as a hero in some factions of this country.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous6:28 PM

    That bunch of kooks at the Westboro Baptist Church plan to picket the victim's funerals.

    More gun laws won't do any good, the sickos already have them and you can get just about anything you want from street people. All it takes is a little cash and if they don't have what you are looking for they will steal it and meet you someplace at a designated spot and time. I know because I have had them offer to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous6:28 PM

    I am very disturbed by this thread, gryphen, What is next with you-suggesting he should lose weight? This man is sick. Mentally ill. He was led by we know what and his illness to commit this atrocity. I am sickened by the system, put Into place by Reagan, that totally failed.

    Honestly, you need to decide what you want to be. A journalist or someone who accuses a taxi driver of evil because he doesn't fit your parameter of goodness.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous6:31 PM

    FYI - Rachel Maddow confirmed earlier that this is not his mugshot - that hasn't yet been released.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous6:36 PM

    Tom Delay had hair but a stupid shitfaced grin. I think that is a Republican thing to do for mug shots.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Anonymous6:38 PM

    President Barack Obama will travel to Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the victims of last weekend's shooting rampage.

    White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said late Monday that the president would speak at the service, and that first lady Michelle Obama would accompany her husband.

    The University of Arizona said the service would take place at 6 p.m. local time on the campus and would be free and open to the public.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/obama-arizona-trip-presid_n_807132.html

    ReplyDelete
  64. Anonymous6:39 PM

    @5:01, thanks for the update about the Food Bank. That is quite inspiring.

    Completely OT, but your post reminded me that earlier I was thinking about how POTUS and FLOTUS are often photographed working with the needy, serving food, etc and looking completely at ease. (photographed by virtue of their positions, not because they send out a media alert, unlike some media whores who shall remain nameless...) It just made me wonder, has Sarah ever lifted a ladle of soup into the bowl of a hungry person? Have any of her delinquent children? I'm sorry, that little photo-op in Haiti doesn't count either!
    Do any of the current cabal of rabble rousers ever do any type of community service other than flap their gums for hate and profit?

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous6:40 PM

    The Community Food Bank of Tucson, Ariz., one of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's (D-Ariz.) favorite charities, received more than $18,000 in donations during a span of about seven hours after the congresswoman's husband mentioned it in a statement.

    Bill Carnegie, the CEO of the Community Food Bank, said the charity normally doesn't even receive donations from the local Tucson area, but since the Saturday shootings, donations have poured in from across the U.S. and Europe.

    "They started at 8 a.m. this morning, and just keep pouring in from everywhere," he told HuffPost. "Most donations are around $50, so you can imagine the number of phone calls and activity on our website that have been going on to generate $18,000."

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/gabrielle-giffords-pet-ch_n_807057.html?ir=Politics

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous6:43 PM

    Right now, to Sarah Palin, she herself is the victim in this situation.

    And as long as she gets recognition for it, good or bad, there is no distinction to her, just like in her perverted sense of celebrity culture, the logical road to the White House is through Reality TV. If it's about her, she's winning.

    But today, for once, I suspect she might not like the attention she's getting. Sure, her words have come back to haunt her before when she took positions just to get a crowd chanting mantras like "Drill, Baby, Drill!" But it took her a week to respond to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the BP/Halliburton/TransOcean disaster, in a Tweet. After the shooting in Tucson, Palin's site quickly scrubbed that picture of targets on congress, and she offered "sincere condolences" in a hasty, detached statement that read like a memo about war casualties. Not so much on her favorite catchphrase today, "Don't retreat -- reload!"

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-wellington-ennis/its-not-sarah-palins-faul_b_806312.html?ir=Politics

    ReplyDelete
  67. scarlet/oregon6:44 PM

    Anon at 3:48 Excellent Comment with many insightful thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  68. erica from dallas6:44 PM

    If there is a push to end overt and implied violence in our political debate I guess Sarah won't find much to talk about!
    Thank you Gryph for the comfort you and fellow bloggers have given me the last three days.I don't think I have ever been so sad about an event.
    Why do we have the right to own semi-automatic weapons?

    ReplyDelete
  69. Anonymous6:56 PM

    ...At the time, Palin and other GOP party members were facing criticism for using violent, inflammatory rhetoric against their Democratic opponents in the health care debate. In a misguided attempt to defend herself, Palin tried to show that violent rhetoric is used across American culture, most notably in the world of sports. In a rambling response that evoked Jonathan Swift crossed with Larry the Cable Guy, Palin took to Facebook to offer satirical words of encouragement to the NCAA hoops teams in the throes of March Madness. She wrote:

    ...The point is that that Palin revels in the idea that "reloading" against those she doesn't deem to be "real Americans" is a completely legitimate part of national discourse. The point is that behind her flawless façade and frontierswoman packaging, Palin draws strength from visions of violence. The fact that she is a national political figure with an obsessive right-wing cult following makes it all the more disturbing.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/its-not-a-game-sarah-pali_b_806943.html?ir=Politics

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous6:57 PM

    OT.... did anyone see The Insider tonight? I can't find video but showed pictures of Bristle out shopping in AZ today with Tripp... if that girl is not seriously KNOCKED UP I will eat my first Born....

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous7:05 PM

    I agree with the first poster; he does look like a cartoon.
    I don't think he looks crazy. He looks like a smug, self-satisfied juvenile, low-IQ ignorant teenager that planned a criminal adventure and got exactly what he wanted.
    Look again.
    That's far scarier to me than a random psycho. Because you can't see them coming. They're functioning; have the ability to plan and carry out.

    What's crazy is his lack of remorse, lack of empathy for the victims and lack of fear for himself (selfish, but normal).

    ReplyDelete
  72. Anonymous7:07 PM

    OT- I hope later that the sheriff, Mr. Gifford and the congresswoman's father elaborate and give details why they pointed to the rhetoric as to why this mass shooting occurred. It is a sheriff's and police force's job to investigate threats and the basis of the threats. If those closest to Congressman Gifford pointed to violent rhetoric that must have been the basis of the threats.

    ReplyDelete
  73. President Obama & First Lady Michelle will be in Tucson on Wednesday.

    http://uanews.org/node/36874

    The memorial chain that ordinary citizens can sign is a moving & thoughtful touch.

    I hope his staff is rounding up the most vicious & defense GOP-ers to join him on stage. For those who believe that 'everything happens for a reason,' all that Christina Taylor Green represents should serve as a catalyst for everyone to put country first.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Anonymous7:19 PM

    Proof not everyone has a functioning conscience. Why we can't depend on consciences which are poorly trained and non functional. Anyways, I'm sure she meant "reload" the washing machine. And, everything...

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous7:31 PM

    6:31 PM

    Where did that picture come from? I saw it on TMZ. The person looks over 22 and a drastic change from Loughner's other photos.
    I thought he'd been to Sarah's surgeon. If that is not him TMZ is really on the decline. They don't get anything right.

    I heard someone on the radio say they saw him in court. He didn't appear to be radically crazed. Actually rather normal and could talk with the Judge. Not what he had expected. It is odd if the officials haven't' released an official photo. I hope he survives and there can be court proceedings. Both Federal and State.

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  76. Anonymous7:44 PM

    How would Sarah Palin react about a maps with cross hairs over her house? How would the Palinbots react? Would they believe it was just "surveyor marks"? Would they champion someone's innocence if such a map were created? That's the point.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Anonymous7:47 PM

    Poor little victimized Sarah can't even go to the memorial with her buddy McLame and grandstand in some typically narcissistic fashion since she is PERSONNA NON GRATA as they say. She has to sit down and shut the fuck up and it has got to be driving her even more insane than she already is. She's not going to be anywhere near the love and support and kindness and honor and graciousness that will be present at the memorial. But then, isn't that just wonderful for all of us, especially the victims' families, that Palin the Inciter is in hiding. Mama Grizzly, my ass. She can't even 'refudiate' this horror, it's all about her, her, her. I hope Creepy Chuckie is proud of the monster that he created.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Anonymous7:57 PM

    No, i don't think he's evil, Gryphen. What's evil is that this poor, mentally sick kid lives in a country that fails to provide its citizens with the resources they need when their brain chemistry goes haywire.

    Watch his videos and what you see is a paranoid schizophrenic. It could happen to any of us--you, me, any of your readers. Yet rather than provide us with the medical help we need, this country pours all of its money into the military industrial complex and cuts taxes on the rich. THAT is what is evil. This kid is just sick, and 20 people are dead or hurting tonight because of our twisted priorities.

    ReplyDelete
  79. i think it is the face of someone very mentally ill. just how ill he is will be revealed with time.

    strange how he shaved his head and it looks like even his eyebrows. was he trying to resemble someone? what did his parents think of this obviously strange behavior?

    from what i have read about jared, and from the memory of past mass murder like this, i doubt that he planned to live through this assassination. he most likely planned to take his own life, imho. i find it very creepy that his parents hired the unabomber's and mcveigh's lawyer. that should make anyone on a jury shudder.

    everything about this whole ordeal is so very sad except that gabby is holding onto her life and that there were acts of great heroism. yet the more we hear about jared, the stranger and creepier it gets. i hope we as a nation become more educated about mental illness and the need to offer people free care and much better insurance coverage.

    ReplyDelete
  80. i think it is the face of someone very mentally ill. just how ill he is will be revealed with time.

    strange how he shaved his head and it looks like even his eyebrows. was he trying to resemble someone? what did his parents think of this obviously strange behavior?

    from what i have read about jared, and from the memory of past mass murder like this, i doubt that he planned to live through this assassination. he most likely planned to take his own life, imho. i find it very creepy that his parents hired the unabomber's and mcveigh's lawyer. that should make anyone on a jury shudder.

    everything about this whole ordeal is so very sad except that gabby is holding onto her life and that there were acts of great heroism. yet the more we hear about jared, the stranger and creepier it gets. i hope we as a nation become more educated about mental illness and the need to offer people free care and much better insurance coverage.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous8:03 PM

    Pic of Bristol & Tripp shopping in AZ

    http://photos.tmz.com/galleries/bristols_shopping_spree__zoom_view#tab=most_recent

    ReplyDelete
  82. Enjay in E MT8:05 PM

    Excellent piece at DU - worth a web trip to read the entire letter

    snip]Instead, you did something none of us expected. You approached the glowing, orange embers that lay smoldering at the rubble heap that once was a proud and prosperous America and you slowly fanned the flames. The anger, the uncertainty, the shattered lives...with the precision of a laser surgeon, you focused on that anger and encouraged people to become more angy, to become "Tea Party Patriots," to "reload, not retreat," to take up arms in revolt of an unseen enemy that they didn't understand, and neither did you. [end snip

    http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x162045

    ReplyDelete
  83. Anonymous8:24 PM

    Where is Sarah? Her ghostwriter has emailed Glenn Beck, put a lame post up on FB and she apparently called in and did a taped show with Laura Inghram a few days ago. I'm serious. Where is she? There is no evidence that Laura's interview was done the day it aired (could have been taped days before). We have seen hide nor hair of her since her Haiti photo op if I'm not mistaken. Or mabey her Anchorage Costco book signing non-event.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous8:33 PM

    I wish you would not give him the air time he so craves.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Anonymous8:43 PM

    WE know what he looks like. But can you delete the picture? Hasn't he had enough unearned notoriety?

    ReplyDelete
  86. Anonymous8:45 PM

    Gryph, my 21 year old son was diagnosed with paranoia schizophrenia a month before his 18th birthday. Learning that my son has this disease was unbelievably devastating for my family. It’s been an uphill battle ever since.

    What I can’t understand is why the parents didn’t get help for their son? It is very obvious this kid had a mental illness. I was watching an interview with a young lady who went to school with him. She said he was normal but all of sudden he change and started acting strange. That right there is a red flag. I am parent who pays very close attention to my kids, sometimes too close, you could say I smothered them or over protective. I became aware there was something wrong with my son, when he stayed in his room, didn’t go outside, and stop visiting his friends. He was an outgoing kid, played sports, always wanting to hang out with his friends. Also, he would say to me, “people were talking about him and he was sick of people talking about him.” At first, I dismissed it; because I found out he smoked pot. I told him he was being paranoid because of the pot and told him to stop. After one of his basketball games, in the car on the way home, he was agitated and talking to himself. I asked what was wrong, he said the people in the stands were saying bad things about him and right then I knew something wasn’t right. The next day, I took him to a Psychiatrist, in which a few weeks after testing, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After two years, we finally found the right medications. With monthly counseling and medication, he seems to be okay. He’s had some setback due to stress, but he is back to working, playing basketball, hanging out with his true friends. My point is the face on the picture is not the face of evil, but a face of a very sick person, who should have received help. I know it can be easy to judge the parents, but as a parent of mentally ill young adult, it’s hard for me to digest them not using resources to help their son. This tragedy may have been avoided. I know you can’t make your adult child take medicine, but in some States, mentally ill people are forced by courts to take their medication and have frequent counseling.

    Also, I want to note. Although Sarah Palin, et. al. didn’t pull the trigger; they do share the some of the blame, because of their rhetoric. At times, my son would get into his paranoia mode believing some of the conspiracies and rhetoric. I convinced him not to take that stuff to heart, don’t listen to voices and stay focus. The media, politicians and public figures, need to be careful with their words, sadly as we know; people with mental illness can take those words seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  87. erica from dallas8:54 PM

    Please,would you now delete his picture or at least make it tiny.I feel like he is violated us.soooo Creepy

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous9:05 PM

    Anon @ 8:45, thank you for sharing your story. I have a mentally ill sister and I understand what you and your family are going through.

    Our loved ones have support around them, as you describe, but I read that this family actually barricaded their house against the authorities today. I would imagine there is untreated illness in the home, perhaps in one or both of the parents. This might explain the insufficient support for their son.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous10:45 PM

    That picture, is it Sarah Palin without her bumpit and red lipstick?

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous10:45 PM

    Sarah Palin, your pathetic response to this crisis is not making me want to vote for you. Just the opposite.

    A Voter

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous10:46 PM

    Lone gunman often do what they do for fame. Please take his picture down.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Sarah Palin is Evil Incarnate...everything she touches turns to Shit.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Anonymous11:27 PM

    Insanity is the only word that fits the below tweets.

    There was a tweet last night from Dem_Apples "We need to start a defense fund for Loughner, we need to help the good folk of America, the judge is all ready prejudiced. beck glenn news"

    And another tweet from her: "Thank God we finally have an American Hero, the kid deserves a medal, maybe congress will start listening to the PEOPLE. beck glenn fox news"

    "more Democrook down, I hope this is the start of a pattern in America. haha Glenn beck Fox News Rush Limbaugh Sarah Palin"

    Stunning isn't it.
    Sharon1943

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous11:53 PM

    Loughner reportedly was "fixated on Rep. Giffords". Stands to reason that if so, he would follow news accounts of her. She appeared on MSNBC in March saying "words have consequences" about Palin's crosshairs map. I would think that the Tucson papers and news stations would have commented and shown the map of their district targeted, of Rep. Giffords being targeted by Palin.

    All of those things point to at least reasonable suspicion that Loughner knew about Palin's crosshair map. The odds that someone who was "fixated on Rep. Giffords" wouldn't be aware of those events are small.

    Then he bought the gun in November - after the mid-terms, after Gabby Giffords had won. And he waited.

    "Not a political event"? Bought the gun in Nov., waited two months specifically for a chance at Rep.Giffords yet it's "not a political" shooting?

    BS

    Sharon1943

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  95. crystalwolfakacaligrl12:24 AM

    @8:45
    Until the dreaded "obamacare" passed he is on his own!
    That's why MOST parents were happy & HCR B/C their Children would have HC until 24??
    His parents barricaded themselves away from everyone today? Wonder why?

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous12:30 AM

    @anon 9:05 p.m. - I think you are right, family life was a bit different -- the mother worked since Jared was born, the father stayed home to be the house husband and take care of Jared. I read that when the parents came home from grocery shopping, with police cars all around, and were told their son was suspected of the mass shooting, the father sat on the road and cried, and the mom almost passed out.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Anonymous3:05 AM

    I sometimes try to find the best in people or give themt he benefit of a doubt. someone do an MRI of this man's brain, stat. somthing is off in his eyes. I wonder if he has a brain tumor?? There was a case years ago, i think the guy who killed people by sniping off a clock tower....who actually had a brain tumor in the part of your brain that controls personality and thus made him act in this tragic manner.
    This man could possibly have an organic brain problem...well, we know that, but one that lead him to do this act.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Anonymous3:14 AM

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman


    link to serial killer found to have a brain tumor.
    Get this guy an MRI stat!!

    ReplyDelete
  99. Anonymous5:54 AM

    Sharon1943@11:53 PM, you are so right!

    Jared Loughner was very likely glued to the TV whenever Giffords was featured or said anything. What else did he have to do all day except watch TV and surf the net? He didn't work much. He probably followed Giffords' every move for years.

    It's extremely likely that Loughner knew all about how Sarah Palin targeted Giffords. The question is, did that target influence Loughner to try to assassinate Giffords? Hopefully, the investigation will answer that question.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Anonymous6:31 AM

    Some secret?
    Who believes this spoon fed bull about the "Amurikan Sweethart"?

    ReplyDelete
  101. Anonymous6:47 AM

    " Anonymous said...
    Sarah Palin is still hiding. Such a leader.

    4:36 PM"

    She'll be back after her stitches are out.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Anonymous9:38 AM

    Awww, they took the house photos down:
    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/44254-W-Sedona-Trl-Maricopa-AZ-85139/71683421_zpid/

    44254 W Sedona Trl
    Maricopa, AZ 85139

    Bedrooms: 5
    Bathrooms: 2
    Sqft: 3,929
    Lot size: 7,405 sq ft / 0.17 acres
    Property type: Single Family
    Year built: 2005
    Parking type: Garage - Attached

    ReplyDelete
  103. He looks a bit like loopy country cousin Ricochet "Ric" Palin.

    Shouldnt the baggers be claiming that if only the precious 9 year old victim had been packing heat this whole incident could have been prevented? Sure, unrestricted access to guns in Arizona helped create this tragedy but lowering the Second Amendment age to say... seven could be the answer to the problem. Afterall, when the mentally ill and young children are known to be armed, the public will simply cower in fear in their homes thus eliminating the potential targets for such tragedies in the future.

    Mr. Beck, it's your move... C'mon, support concealed carry for elementary school kids! You know you want to!

    ReplyDelete
  104. Anonymous1:49 PM

    "I am not really somebody who believes in evil, but it is hard not to look at this visage, knowing what he did, and see anything else."

    Careful Gryph: You could take anyone's picture, put it afore the same context and come out with the same conclusion.

    I agree wholeheartedly with Ferry Fey @3:34 PM. We need restraint here, not myopic armchair denunciations...leave that to the "right."

    ReplyDelete
  105. Anonymous4:31 PM

    He looks like Glenn Beck. And not any bit crazier-looking than he:
    http://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/does-glenn-beck-have-a-secret/

    ReplyDelete

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