I found that listening to Bill Hileman talk about the shooting of Christina Green as his wife held her tiny hand to be almost unbearable. And hearing how the Green family has been ever present and supportive in his wife's recovery made my heart ache for the families that have been so devastated by this terrible tragedy.
I feel very strongly that something good must come out of this terrible event. Gun laws must be tightened, hateful rhetoric must be quelled, and access to good mental health treatment must be made available.
The America that I live in should be a place where a little nine year old girl can go to the market without fear that she will never return.
Update: According to the Huffington Post Pima County may have set themselves up for just such a catastrophe:
In the past year, Pima County, Ariz., where Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others were shot Saturday, has seen more than 45 percent of its mental health services recipients forced off the public rolls, a service advocate told The Huffington Post.
The deep cuts in treatment were protested strongly at the time, with opponents warning that they would result in a spike in suicide attempts, public disturbances, hospitalizations and brushes with the police. But according to Clarke Romans, executive director for southern Arizona's branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the state government ignored requests for relief, citing the need to implement strict budget controls.
This, along with the rhetoric, and the almost non-existent gun laws seem to have created an almost perfect storm. It may have only been a matter of time before something like this happened.
Or until it happens again.
Sadly, Gryphen it is too much to ask. There are far too many people in this country who seriously value the right of every grudge-holding psychopath to conceal a semi-automatic pistol on his person wherever he leaves his parents' basement, and consequences be damned, over the precious life of a small girl.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, all those people have dicks the size of my little finger.
sow the wind and reap the whirlwind...by their works you shall know them. violence is never the answer.
ReplyDeleteJeff Perron over at Big Goverment had this to say:
ReplyDeleteIf the Left wants to eliminate at a stroke the vast majority of heated, hated right-wing rhetoric there’s a very simple way to do that: give up.
Get out of the way. Stop advocating the violation of individual rights every day in every way. Stop trying to get legislation passed that steals private property for the purpose of funding your favorite social engineering goals. Stop extolling the alleged virtue of interpreting the U.S. Constitution in ways that further Progressive goals. End your advocacy of coercion through government.
Your cause is not noble, your methods are not virtuous, your philosophy is not just. Your ideas are more than mistaken; they’re immoral, impractical, and unconstitutional. Change your philosophy and change your behavior and ‘the Right’ will no longer have an incentive to fight back against your support for squishy tyranny.
Until then, you can expect the rhetoric to continue. A vocal segment of the American people will simply no longer sit back passively and watch their freedom get corroded away, one bad edict at a time.
Until then, the intellectual revolution to restore it will continue undiminished.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/11/935411/-Right-Promises-Rhetoric-Will-Continue
You are a very shelted person. America is 1000% more safe than it was even 10 years ago. Most cities have excellent PDs and citizens look out for each other. However, tragedy still happens daily and to bystanders and passersby.
ReplyDelete@12:50
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct. As much as we would hope for a kinder, gentler society, it seems to be only a pipe dream. How many mass shootings have taken place in U.S. history where changes to gun laws were proposed and then forgotten once the initial shock wore off?
Death and injuries from firearms will continue unabated and gun ownership will increase. Sorry to say; nothing will change.
As far as the far right is concerned, it's open season on anyone outside of the womb.
ReplyDeleteI would bet money that Sarah Palin is sequestered away right now with image consultants, PR flacks and attorneys plotting her comeback.
ReplyDeleteI have a sickening hunch that she will re-emerge as a "Kinder, Gentler Sarah" to try to leverage this tragedy to position herself as the "New Voice of Reason, Peace and Love" in America.
Mark my words. Whatever she does we must NEVER let her forget the face of Christina Green. Ever.
Nearly 50 Percent Of Mental Health Services Recipients In Giffords' County Were Dropped In 2010
ReplyDeleteDifferent reactions for different people.
I'm an idealist. I grew up believing what I was taught about the qualities that set the U.S.A. apart to make it the greatest nation. Over the last 10 years, I've learned those qualities were lies and/or exaggerations.
ReplyDeleteWe do have the greatest military of any nation and perhaps the most armed civilian population. That's not very encouraging to me.
Don't you mean "the greatest force for good in the world", Gryphen? (snark intended)
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful child. What a treasure, we have all lost big time.
ReplyDeleteChristina Green is Piper's age. That has to deeply effect the Palins. It is hard to believe a wonderful child that wanted to learn about government was shot down as she was participating in the democratic process. Her bright spirit was here for a brief time but she came to teach us lessons for a lifetime.
Did you read that sales of the Glock gun are going ballistic? Up 65% over last year, same date...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/11/arizonans-flock-up-the-bl_n_807517.html
(Or: http://tinyurl.com/4gfoqkn )
Gryp thank you so much for allowing us to vent our feelings and thanks for your time in posting information that you are able to find. So sad that this happened, it is heart breaking as well as inspirational listening to their comments and emotions. I listened to a man from MSNBC and he said that this tragedy was inevitable and sad to say how true his comment was. It was ridiculously hateful and ugly during the presidential election period and I too thought it was going to be a matter of time before somebody gets hurt.
ReplyDeleteIf Sarah Palin believes she only had the Congress districts marked like a surveyor. There is no reason for her to feel guilty or caught. How can Sarah not speak up about this tragedy and Christina Green? Wasn't she the first to send condolences to the Giffords? Condolences for the attempt on her life, not because she didn't survive. Sarah is a maverick I suppose, but that makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteO/T:
ReplyDeleteAZ Surgeon of Congresswoman Giffords, Dr. Michael Lemole is brother-in-law of Oprah's Dr. Oz
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI would bet money that Sarah Palin is sequestered away right now with image consultants, PR flacks and attorneys plotting her comeback.
I have a sickening hunch that she will re-emerge as a "Kinder, Gentler Sarah" to try to leverage this tragedy to position herself as the "New Voice of Reason, Peace and Love" in America.
Mark my words. Whatever she does we must NEVER let her forget the face of Christina Green. Ever."
1:21 PM
..............................
I believe you are right about image consultants. I believe Sarah will never be accepted by decent people again. She will be endeared by the same people that were her base before, but I have a feeling she lost a lot of her base. If you think people hate her now, wait till she comes out with her new fake image. Everybody knows what motivates Sarah and that is money. Sarah is not even motherly to her own kids, how can she be the symbol of love to any body else?
" Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI would bet money that Sarah Palin is sequestered away right now with image consultants, PR flacks and attorneys plotting her comeback.
I have a sickening hunch that she will re-emerge as a "Kinder, Gentler Sarah" to try to leverage this tragedy to position herself as the "New Voice of Reason, Peace and Love" in America.
1:21 PM"
My guess is she'll claim she has cancer.
And let's not forget they are no longer funding organ transplants. Disgraceful.
ReplyDelete1:44, if an army of Christinas was mowed down before the Palins' eyes, they would barely blink. Not their problem! They have no empathy for anyone outside their closed little society of lying, grifting, sociopaths.
ReplyDeleteSorry to say this, but there is no comparison between Piper (Palin's youngest daughter) and the child that was killed in Tucson.
ReplyDeleteWhere's Sarah Palin in all this?
ReplyDeleteLooks like she's hiding in her closet.
She didn't reload after all, she retreated. Go figure.
What a leader!
Rick
I too heard the commentator on the Ed Show say that the right's deep pockets have created this political Frankenstein (Palin). They had thought Palin would be the right's Hillary Clinton, but now realize they've created a monster. They can't trust what she's going to do or say and she's caused so much controversy, that they constantly have to do damage control for her.
ReplyDeleteThey're probably discussing if it's time to cut their losses and stop supporting her. Plus with her ego and inability to follow rules, she's such a liability to them, threatening to run for POTUS when they know she can't win. They've got to take down this self-serving monster and cut her off the payroll before she destroys their party for good. She's no better than a brunette Ann Coulter.
OT- Ed Schultz referred to Palin as "political Frankenstein". The GOP created her. The GOP would be wise even at this late date to admit Palin was a poor choice, choosing her was a mistake with the exception of "firing up the base" and jusst suck it up. I can understand if the party believed they needed to save face but she is an out of control person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ed Schultz that if one takes away Palin's attacking, her extreme and violent rhetoric there is not much to her. Creating Palin into a superwoman on the TLC dollar, even extravagant expenditures to dress, coff and make her face up was temporary and taught her nothing nor even appropriate attire for events or even professional attire.
Her snark has grown out of control also.
I think the GOP put their eggs in the wrong basket. There aren't enough men out there with a hard on for her to elect her to anything. I wonder if the GOP provides personnel to scrub her FB site to control the illusion people adore her.
After lying the crosshairs are surveyors marks IMO Palin has demonstrated what she would do in response to even a massacre: lie
Some good has already come out of this tragedy. Palin has tried to claim that her gunsights weren't gunsights at all and they were surveyor's marks. You can be sure that she is going to tame down the rabid hate rhetoric from now on.
ReplyDeleteYou will also not hear any more of the ranting about exercising of 'second amendment' rights either. These extreme rightists are certainly evilhaters but they're certainly not unaware of how far they can go now that this has happened.
Sarah's guilt was proven at least in her own mind when she started claiming that the gunsights were surveyor's marks. Now that was stupid!
I watched that video again and what comes to my mind is "BITCH".
ReplyDeleteNothing positive has ever come from Palin or her family. The Palins and people may say she had nothing to do with this, but what people remember is the hatred associated with Palin during the presidential election, the cross hairs, her map, Congresswoman Gifford being targeted and Mrs. Gifford sensing and announcing violence was coming.
All this is associated with the Palins and the only explanation they can come up with is "surveyor's symbols". That just adds more hate towards the Palins.
" Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI would bet money that Sarah Palin is sequestered away right now with image consultants, PR flacks and attorneys plotting her comeback."
I doubt it, because a good PR person would have released a longer, more compassionate statement than the terse and vague one she put on FB on Saturday. A good PR person would have her making noncontroversial comments praising the heroes of the tragedy, mentioning the fallen by name, etc. But what we are getting from her camp is crickets.
Much has been written in the past about how she doesn't trust anyone and her inner circle is tiny.
My guess is that she is recovering from plastic surgery and isn't able to go in front of a camera. I do think she will surface in some form tomorrow though, because President Obama is going to Arizona, and she can't stand being upstaged.
I could not get through this video with dry eyes.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSorry to say this, but there is no comparison between Piper (Palin's youngest daughter) and the child that was killed in Tucson.
2:45 PM
You're right, Little Christina had ambitions, she did not have her hand out like the Palins.
The sad fact is that there are more guns in Arizona than people dying for an opportunity to try them out.
ReplyDeleteLike a comedian once said, "What's the use of air bags in your car, if you aren't sure they work? I keep thinking I should drive into a wall, to see."
So, even the more "sane" of the bunch, no doubt have an itchy trigger finger...not a good situation.
@anon 1:13- I sorta disagree. When I was a kid (age 10-12), I could take buses and walk all over city streets, without the fear of being kidnapped. When my children were younger, it was easier to let them out of sight at the store. These days, my adult children, would never let their kids have the freedom I grew up with.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI would bet money that Sarah Palin is sequestered away right now with image consultants, PR flacks and attorneys plotting her comeback.
I have a sickening hunch that she will re-emerge as a "Kinder, Gentler Sarah" to try to leverage this tragedy to position herself as the "New Voice of Reason, Peace and Love" in America.
Mark my words. Whatever she does we must NEVER let her forget the face of Christina Green. Ever."
1:21 PM
..............................
She will say she prayed hard and God told her it is her mission to heal America. (That would play into her "Saint Sarah" bit, after all.)
Leave it to her to try to spew some sh*t like that...
Sarah's been MIA before this happened... Either she already had a mental breakdown (she never responded about the rumors of Todd and the "affair"), or she is recovering from another plastic surgery.
ReplyDeleteOh Gryph, This Canadian weeps for the U.S. As the mother of 4, I grieve for the the parents of 9 year old Christina. To never again have the opportunity to hug and kiss their beautiful child, to tuck her in at night...oh, it is too much.
ReplyDeleteAmericans, please look into to your souls and stop the madness that is taking over your country.
I realize I am speaking to the converted, however I am posting this message on all the right wing blogs/websites (although the ceepees won't let me in!)
God bless, and hug each other with a smile.
Gryphen, you don't have to post this. Just thought you might appreciate this letter from Gabby Gifford's cousin to Sarah Palin:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/01/11/dear-sarah-palincousin-cong-giffords-speaks
suspect Loughner's family has released a bried statement:
ReplyDelete"This is a very difficult time for us. We ask the media to respect our privacy. There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were, so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this happened. It may not make any difference, but we wish that we could change the heinous events Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss.
Thank you, the Loughner Family"
- kellygrrrl
I guarantee that if Obama had put a poster out with gun sights over wasilla alaska, with a slogan like "don't retreat, reload" and God forbid someone attempted to take her life, the reich wing in this country would not just be talking impeachment, but the death penalty for those responsible for putting such a poster out. Guaranteed.
ReplyDelete2:25 p.m.,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean?
Sarah isn't with image consultants. She doesn't think she needs any. And I highly doubt she feels anything about the victims.
ReplyDeleteThe far right are very frightening. I'm worried right now. Really worried. I have a terrible feeling that there is going to be more violence. They are hostile. And there are frustrated mentally ill people out there.
The other frightening group are the Palinbots. They are brainwashed and don't know it.
My tears continue to fall.
ReplyDeleteWhat has SP to say to me...nothing,.
After Giffords shooting, Credo Mobile issues petition against Sarah Palin's gun crosshairs:
ReplyDeletehttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/01/after-giffords-shooting-credo-mobile-issues-petition-condeming-sarah-palins-gun-crosshairs-graphics.html
Whatever Sarah does, image makeover or not, she will be severely boo-ed by the majority. I'll be surprised if she does anymore FAUX interviews. She doesn't like being booed at.
ReplyDeleteWow, did you all know that last year an enraged rightwinger drove a man and his TEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER off the road because their car had an Obama sticker on it - and AFTER that event, Palin called for her supporters to stop cars with Obama stickers on them and ask, "How's that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?"
ReplyDeleteShe's a psycho. Truly.
Link to road rage story: http://www.wtsp.com/news/mostpop/story.aspx?storyid=128587&provider=top
Link to Palin encouraging road rage: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-wellington-ennis/sarah-palin-encourages-ro_b_521080.html
Sarah Palin's presidential hopes surely can't survive this assassin's bullet
ReplyDeleteShe didn't pull the trigger, and she's not the first to use the language of combat. But the Alaskan's career will certainly suffer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif
america/2011/jan/11/sarah-palin-presidential-hopes-arizona-shootings
More importantly, there would be a potent witness ready to testify against Palin: Giffords herself. The most important 13 seconds of videotape could prove to be the clip, already running on a loop on American television, of Giffords complaining last autumn about that crosshairs ad, warning those behind such violent imagery to "realise there's consequences to that action". That statement, full of poignant prescience, can't help but point a finger at Palin. If, as those around her hope and pray, Giffords survives, she would need to do no more than appear on a platform or in a TV ad in the 2012 campaign to indict Palin. She would embody in her very person the case that the former governor of Alaska lacks the judgment to be president.
Perhaps Palin could have overcome this obstacle, expressing deep contrition for the crosshairs map and vowing to join those calling for calmer, cooler public discourse. But her response since the shootings has deepened her problem. Her single public statement was chilly and defensive. It began, "My sincere condolences are offered …" a form of words that, one senior Democrat mused to me, looked as if "it had been drafted by a lawyer", anxious not to say anything that read like an admission of guilt.
Eliminating mental health services for a group of citizens that cannot advocate for themselves is a death sentence (death panel?). I say this as the mother of a young woman with bipolar disorder. Shame on us.
ReplyDelete‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Palin is going to wake from her medications, strip the plastic surgery bandages and confront a changed universe. She is a sociopath. Her only survival technique is to seek fresh victims to exploit. The internet is depriving her of unwitting victims by the sheer volume of information it is spewing.
ReplyDeleteNot going to be pretty, folks.
" Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI guarantee that if Obama had put a poster out with gun sights over wasilla alaska, with a slogan like "don't retreat, reload" and God forbid someone attempted to take her life, the reich wing in this country would not just be talking impeachment, but the death penalty for those responsible for putting such a poster out. Guaranteed.
3:43 PM"
--------------------------
Ha! Remember the FRENZY the right went
into when they claimed he called Saint Sarah
a pig? And they MADE IT UP! Just because
he used the expression "lipstick on a pig"
they wanted to lynch him!
When I was younger, I didn't exactly like
republicans, but I figured they were entitled
to vote whatever way they wanted. Now? I
hate republicans. Every election they act
like monsters--like wearing their purple
heart band aids to mock Vietnam vet John
Kerry. What they did/do to Obama--God, I
despise "conservatives." Every election I
hate them more.
Holy shit:
ReplyDeletehttp://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/does-glenn-beck-have-a-secret/
Ewww!
After Jared Loughner himself, Arizonans might be the most responsible for the shooting. They've taken too much money out of health care.
ReplyDeleteGood points, Anon 3:00PM. Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteI guess the tards just don't get what has happened??????? This is disgusting.
ReplyDeleteFull Metal Wilson
By fitsnews • on January 6, 2011
Comment Email Print ShareThis
In September 2009, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (RINO-S.C.) was well on his way to becoming a Bob Inglis-style casualty of the Tea Party movement. That’s when he took a few too many caffeine pills and yelled “You Lie” at U.S. President Barack Obama during a nationally-televised presidential address on socialized medicine.
Now?
Tea partiers can’t get enough of the guy … despite the fact that he’s one of many fiscally liberal Republicans who supported the TARP bailout (before it was “sweetened” with so-called free market incentives) as well as dozens of other big-spending bills that were passed during the Bush years.
Nonetheless, Wilson’s infamous remark has been immortalized in Tea Party lore … proving once again that politicians will “say anything” to stay one gust ahead of the shifting political winds.
Wilson’s remark has also been immortalized on a new limited edition AR-15 lower receiver … which for those of you who don’t “speak gun” is a main component of the most widely-used assault rifle in the world.
I'm reading the comments about Palin being with image consultants and coming back as the kinder, gentler, etc.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think so as she just finished her image reinvention on Sunday night - her reality show.
I see it as Karma that in all the planning, it finished the same weekend as the AZ tragedy. It went to the last episode and blew Palin out of the water as the tragedy, the crosshairs map and the reality show came together as the converation that cannot be separated in people's minds.
Melanie Daniels, Jeff Perron is an uninformed fool if he thinks private property rights are in danger from the Left. The rest of hiis rant is equally pointless.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gryphen for posting the highlights from MSNBC and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMy satellite dish is down, doing construction, so I have no TV.
I appreciate your postings.
-kellygrrrl
Cartooneroony: Sarah Palin Releases Statement on Congresswoman Giffords Shooting in Arizona
ReplyDeletePosted on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 by GottaLaff
I love having Twitter pals like Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the syndicated comic strip La Cucaracha, because I am given permission to post work like this:
Check it out--it is perfect!
Guns...
ReplyDeleteI'm a long time member of the NRA and I think Sarah Palin is their worst enemy. Her reckless gun rhetoric and pandering to crazy militias is over the top.
After this horrible violence, there's a surge in gun purchases which might, in turn, spur attempts to limit gun rights. I'm all for having intelligent rules governing gun ownership. For example, we should prohibit crazy people from buying guns (duh) and ban the type of clips that Loughner used.
However, I see a Sarah-induced backlash over gun rights on the horizon. I still want the right to bear arms to protect myself and to hunt but Sarah's careless words threaten my rights.
The NRA should come out publicly and denounce Sarah Palin's gun rhetoric in the strongest possible language. Since Gabby Giffords also supports gun rights, Giffords would likely approve of such an action by the NRA.
P.S.
I think the NRA didn't support Joe Miller during this campaigns because he is way too extreme when it comes to guns (displaying them while shopping, Eagle River "gun" parade, unstable militias, carrying guns on planes, etc).
Haven't been able to find the ratings for her last show as it would be interesting to see how far the dropped.
ReplyDeleteI finally had an opportunity to catch up on today's events. I watched the first part of Chris Matthew's show. He was asking Sarah to come out of her bunker and stop hiding. Frankly, I don't care if she ever comes out of her bunker. I don't want to her see her again or listen to her screechy voice. The woman is toxic. She brought nothing but negativity and division since she was introduced.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for this country to heal. Sarah will always be a reminder of one of the worst political climates in the US since the 1960's.
Interesting that the Loughner statement seemed more sincere than the Palin statement.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSarah's been MIA before this happened... Either she already had a mental breakdown (she never responded about the rumors of Todd and the "affair"), or she is recovering from another plastic surgery.
3:22 PM
____________________________________
It is eerie that no messages from SP herself have been posted anywhere. I don't think she's been silent this long in the past.
BTW: Whenever I go to Walmart I always try to move her books behind some other ones on the stand so they can't be seen. It seems the least I can do.
The state of Arizona made these cuts to mental health, and to funding for transplants- at least two dies after being taken off transplant lists. As for gun laws, the state legislature made them so lenient, I don't think one needs a concealed permit.
ReplyDeletePima county has to uphold these laws; they didn't choose to.
CO almost Native
There is an excellent discussion on the Daily Dish today.
ReplyDeleteHere is a wonderful insight and a strong argument against the Right's whine that they are not responsible for the effects of their own threats and violent images.
"The 'Politicized Mind' Of Gabrielle Giffords
So why, one has to ask, does this person with mental illness, carefully select for assassination an already targeted and demonized congresswoman, rather than, say, a supermarket, or a workplace, or a school? We don't know precisely yet - but it sure is relevant to ask that question. Why not shoot up the animal shelter he was fired from? Or the classroom he was banished from? In fact, it is a kind of bizarre suppression to avoid the obviously political fact of the target Loughner selected."
Oh, I see. It is the fault of Pima County that these people were slaughtered....
ReplyDeleteTHis is only one piece of puzzle.
Did Pima County fail to get needed funding from the State of Arizona to fund mental health programs?
In 2004, did Pima County fail to vote in favor of the continuing the national ban on the sale of assult weapon type ammo clips for hand guns or was that a national issue?
Does Pima County actively support the anti-American rhetoric heard from some Talk radio Hosts and political figures from other parts of the nations?
The blame game must end ....
Grow-up and accept responsiblity for your actions.
Good story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47399.html
Melanie Daniels:
ReplyDeleteWhat planet do you live on?
Anon 3:14 Regarding the child Christina Green:
ReplyDeleteI have seen nothing to suggest that the child was ambitious...what I have seen and read was that she was a compationate caring human being.
Hell, I didn't post the Jeff Perron crap
ReplyDeletebecause I agreed with him!
Keith just retweeted this:
ReplyDeleteGabrielle #Giffords #Arizona shooting prompts resignations frm REPUBS http://bit.ly/hOcqXn threaten by local #teaparty thugs
Link contained in the tweet:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2011/01/11/20110111gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-resignations.html
District Chairman Miller, a Republican, has handed in his resignation from fear. He mentions verbal attacks and internet blog posts from some local members with TEA PARTY TIES!!! Other Republicans have resigned too.
I notice it says hes in Legislative District 20 includes parts of Chandler, south Tempe. Is this not the area where Bristol just bought?
With all due respect, people forget that shit runs down hill. The funding crisis in this state that leads to a multitude of problems for our citizens in counties across Arizona begins and ends at the legislature. Pima County did not "set itself up" for this tragedy. People who were dropped from the mental health programs/services due to appropriation at that state level, not the county. The governor signed a bill that slashed the mental health funding to a dangerously low level.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, at the Department of Health Services, state public health and behavioral health programs watched as their budgets were reduced by 47 percent — to $143 million from $270 million in 2010.
I'm not excusing the cuts. I'm horrified by the cuts. I'm just asking that your readers understand that our county had VERY little control over this funding cut.
PS: Rachel Maddow covers this topic in one of the last segments in tonight's show.
Regardless of how you spin it, the FACTS remain the same.
ReplyDeleteA younger relative commented that the events in Tucson did not represent the United States of America that they had grown-up in. Probably not. They are too young to remember the strife this country experienced during the 1960s and earlier.
Growing up in the 1960s, I witnessed the violence of the civil rights issues, the assasination of the President of the United States of America, as well as that of Martin Luther King jr., Robert F. Kennedy, and many others.
Does this history condon what is going on now? No. Is the current climate of violence and political unrest the same? Not at all.
The difference is the way in which the messages of hate and evil are distributed and spun by the news media.
In 1964 and 1968, the world as described in the novel "1984" did not exist. Today it does.
In the 1960s, the "news media" provided access to the facts. Today, the facts are hard to find. Instead, we are fed a constant diet of "opinion" in which the facts are spun into a web of misinformation.
History does not make what is happening now right. It just means we have a lot to learn.
It does today. And it has for a while.
No one can learn from the past unless you study the past. THis is why public education is so very important and the very reason why the right wing has been working for the past thirty years to destory it.
Tea Party members RESIGNing in fear of their lives!
ReplyDeleteThe only evidence that suggests that the Tucson assasin was anti-tea party comes from the tea Party and Fox News.
It is called covering your ass.
The Huffpo piece is a bit misleading concerning mental health cuts in Arizona. My firm (in Pima County) has a significant caseload of court adjudicated mental health clients. Of the over 25 SMI clients in our caseload who were receiving mental health services through the state, all but 3 were cut from the rolls. Those 3 are still in the system because they meet the financial eligibility requirements. The rest were dropped because they didn't. Does this mean those who were dropped are not receiving mental health services? No it doesn't. It means that they are now paying privately to obtain their mental health care as they can afford to do so. The individuals dropped were not just summarily dropped. Exhaustive efforts on behalf of the state mental health vendor services (CPSA) were in place to make sure that those who would no longer receive state assistance had transitioned to private practices. And all of my SMI clients still receive state subsidized medication assistance which provides their psychotropic medications at either a co-pay of no more than $5 a script or,for generic meds, free. Not one of my clients fell through the cracks. Should any of these individuals require emergency services the state will continue to provide that.
ReplyDeleteSo what about Jared Loughner? Under Arizona law, the school, his parents, neighbors, law enforcement or any concerned citizen could have petitioned for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation but they didn't. They could have called the mobile crisis team to intervene, but apparently they didnt. Even with budget cuts those evaluations and the petitioning process to obtain them has not been disrupted. If, under a 72 watch and evaluation, he was found to be gravely disabled or persistently and acutely disabled, the mental health court could court order treatment. The only way that happens is if someone starts the process. As far as we know Jared was never seen formally in the mental health system. The services are there and accessible despite the budget cuts.
Please visit the SAMHC website to learn more about mental health in southern AZ.
http://www.samhc.com/
eh, We still cannot blame violence on inflammatory rhetoric. It has to come from within and crazies have been committing heinous crimes since the dawn of civilization. or just about. Like I said, Humans are natural killers. .
ReplyDeleteSomeone suggested Palin is being trained to be nicer, softer and will come out w/a new image. Who in the hell would believe a new image when she has spent two years (not to include what she showed herself to be in Alaska)being a racist, saying horrible things about President Obama, being devisive and saying certain men have 'limp dicks'! (Probably learned all about that issue by being married to Toad!)
ReplyDeleteShe'll never ever get my support!
I watched a beautiful speech made by Senator John Kerry tonight on C-Span...he talked about Congress and the gridlock...what we need to do as a nation...how jobs can be created if the parties would work together. He gave comparisons as to U.S. standings against other countries regarding education, medicine, inventions, etc. It was interesting and I suggest everyone watch it if it's run again tonight. He did a marvelous job!
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein was NOT the monster.
ReplyDeleteHe was the manic-depressive doctor who was gleefully building his perfect man one day, and then vilifying his grotesqueries the next. The doctor was also the true monster of the story.
The "creature" was intelligent, reasonable, and social. He was worthy of admiration.
None of these qualities describe Sarah Palin.
The "creature" was not born of woman, and was thus free from sin (in the world-view of that era), and so Dr Frankenstein was setting himself as equal to God, or perhaps even better. This is why he got all depressed and tried to kill his creation. Hiding the deed doesn't avert judgement, but it is the first thought of small boys everywhere.
None of this describes the Republican Party or the deep-pocketed backers, preachers, bankers. They are adept at playing God and feel no compunction about casting judgement. Do they feel guilty? About ANYTHING? Do they feel shame? Remorse? Dr Frankenstein was despicable, however, he had a conscience. The Koch brothers, Malek, Ailes, Graham and the rest are below despicable.
If they had the skill of Dr Frankenstein, the Republicans would have spent the last several years building the most perfect of candidates: intelligent, reasonable, social, and worthy of admiration. They didn't.
Instead, they thought they had the perfect vehicle for their theocratic oligarchy. But they bought a car based on the paintjob and failed to inspect it. A wee bit of a steering problem tied them in knots and they are now in a ditch with more than their wheels spinning.
They need a vehicle. Even if they winch Palin out and slap a fresh coat on paint on her, that won't fix the steering problem. Or the screaming camshaft, overheating radiator, faulty transmission, predestined manifold, and cracked block.
And yes, I recommend reading Mary Shelley's book.
Some suggest Palin is being prepped with a new kinder, gentler image; it is not going to happen as you can't change the stripes on a snake.
ReplyDeleteChris Matthews suggested that Palin should come out and say something. If she does, she will be slapped with a pie to the face because no one wants to look at the face of evil. The best thing she can do is fade away because she will never be accepted again.
I am positive she will be sued and see her day in court. The more she aggitates people then the more lawsuits she will face.
Such a beautiful child. Horrific loss.
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