Giffords Still Alive and in surgery

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is in surgery in critical condition after being shot at a public event Saturday.

Several media outlets reported that Giffords had been killed, but a UMC spokesperson and C.J. Karamargin with Gifford's office confirmed the congresswoman initially survived the attack and is in surgery.

This is supposedly the shooter's youtube channel

and this appears to be by him too

made back in october

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, speaking about Arizona:

"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.

"It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. And that's the sad thing of what's going on in America. Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."

At what point does Glenn Beck's name get mentioned?

I just returned home from a candlelight vigil outside of University Medical Center where Congresswoman Gifford and 10 other shooting victims are being treated. The atmosphere here in Tucson is one of shock and disbelief. Tonight there are five vigils planned. A dear friend of mine is on Gabrielle's staff and my thoughts were full of panic when I first heard the news. Fortunately, she is safe and alive but grieving heavily over the loss of life today.

So many things NEED to change, but first and foremost Arizona gun laws need to be seriously addressed. The suspect had serious mental health issues as well as a criminal history yet was still allowed to purchase a firearm, no questions asked.

I have so much more to say...right now my heart is heavy and I just don't know what to say about the state of the world right now. Honestly, I'd like to take the nearest shuttle to a new planet.

Keith Obermanns take on yesterdays tragedy. I adore this man.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/...mann/#40983401

While I do understand this sentiment, stricter gun laws won't change anything. Over the years States and the Feds have passed hundreds of gun laws and crimes committed with guns continue to stay the same or increase.

Anybody who wants a gun can get one regardless of legislation. I can walk out my door and get a gun in half an hour. I will be buying the gun on the street, not in a gun shop. Gun laws are for law abiding citizens. Criminals/extemists don't give a shit about the laws and they have access to guns on the street.

Legislating who can have a weapon based on mental status is a huge ass problem. You can't just blanket say if you are mentally ill you cannot own a gun. It ain't that easy. I would venture that half of the folks on this site could not buy a weapon if mental illness was an exclusion criteria.

What MUST be addressed is the climate of hate and fear being created by extremists who continue to get a bully pulpit from the mainstream media. I know Walter Cronkite is rolling in his grave. His kind of journalism seems to be gone.

They make me sick!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_806319.html

If Westboro got no more publicity, I wonder what they would do?

I don't care if they go to any funeral for anyone.....stop talking about them.....stop saying where they will be........ignore them in the media. Let the cops deal with them where ever they show up.

"They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

~Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)




To me, ignoring is not a viable option.

I feel like quoting the They came is like using a sledge hammer to shell pecans.............

Wesboro Church is made up of about 30 or so folks with most of them being close bio family. They have been around at least 20 years spewing their vitriol at funerals and other events. They are not newsworthy. The membership is stable over those years. They are not a growing grass roots or corporate movement.

I think we have forgotten what 'news' means. There was a time when the News Department of TV and radio stations was a stand alone department that did not have to make a profit or have high ratings. The news was too important in a democracy.

Today the News Department is in the Entertainment Department. The news must turn a profit and have high ratings. I doubt Walter Cronkite would be a news anchor today. What is reported is driven by that need for profit and ratings.

Can we call that Toughy's Law which is a corollary of Godwin's Law?

These are the groups that I would like to see the media take a long, hard look at.

I also think that journalists have forgotten what their jobs are, as well. Over the next few days we're going to be put through the usual spectacle cycle. Several people will make comments on national TV about the violent rhetoric in modern political discourse. There will be denials that statements about 'second amendment remedies' or maps with the names of members of Congress iin the crosshairs have any corrosive or poisonous effect on our discourse. Equivalencies will be made to the left-wing radicals of the 60's (and here a valid point will be hard to argue against) but there will be a suggestion that since the left-wing radicals got away with it (which they didn't, by the way) now it's the turn of the right-wing radicals. The news media will paint almost precisely this picture of things because, well, false equivalency has become the new American pastime.

Absolutely! I doubt that Cronkite, Murrow, or Daniel Shchorr would be able to work today. Perhaps it's time for the media to recall that it is unofficially the Fourth Estate and is the *only* industry granted explicit Constitutional protections.

Cheers
Aj

March, 2010--Media Matters
 

Meet Daniel Hernandez - the intern credited with saving Gabby Giffords' life



The fact that he is Latino and gay in intolerant Arizona - and also a hero - is not escaping media attention. He's also only 20 years old and already has the composure and leadership skills beyond most seasoned politicians. I hope he stays on the political radar.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture13-10.png

omg what a f**ckin nightmare

I'm confused. Did you just call him ugly? I really hope I misread you, cuz that is totally irrelevant.

Newly-elected Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) gets it right. I hope the backlash from the anti-drug law and order folks don't get him to change his mind. From his inaugural address:

For violent and repeat offenders, we will make you pay for your crimes. For other offenders who want to change their lives, we will provide the opportunity to do so with Day Reporting Centers, Drug, DUI and Mental Health Courts and expanded probation and treatment options. As a State, we cannot afford to have so many of our citizens waste their lives because of addictions. It is draining our State Treasury and depleting our workforce.

linklyloo

And here you go -

Thanks Nat, I feel much better knowing that someone has found the link. I guess the countries that already allow gays are either heathen or don't have any more birds.

Wow.

I don't live in Arkansas, but I do work for a natural resources management agency that is in touch with wildlife officials there regarding this recent incident. The red-winged blackbird is notorious for having poor night vision. There were reports of fireworks in the area. Wildlife biologists surmise the birds were flushed from a roost by the sound of the fireworks. In flight, they were probably confused by both the sight and sound of the fireworks. This caused them to fly lower than normal, thus hitting trees, buildings and other structures. The necropsy results on the birds show they died from blunt force trauma, similar to striking something at a high speed. Their toxicology reports don't show anything toxic or unusual.

Birds and fish die off in large groups all the time for a variety of reasons that have to do with a sudden, significant change in their environment (air or water temperature change is a huge stress factor for fish) or from something contaminating their environment. Most wildlife is highly adaptable to environmental change, though that is going to be put to the extreme test for some species as we watch climate change progress.

Why are there so many reports of this lately? That is a uniquely human phenomena involving awareness. Once we are all aware of something significant, we become hyper-aware for a period of time and take notice of things we normally wouldn't. That and until the tragic incident in Arizona, it was a relatively slow news period (around the major holidays in most countries) and things that normally wouldn't make the news made the news.

Jake

Gay intern credited with saving Giffords’ life
 

Gay intern credited with saving Giffords’ life

Daniel Hernandez Jr., a 20-year-old University of Arizona student who’d been working as an intern for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for only five days, is being credited with saving her life after she was shot on Saturday.

Hernandez, who confirmed that he is gay in an interview with Instant Tea on Sunday morning, is a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. “She’s been a great ally to the LGBT community,” Hernandez said of Giffords during the brief interview across a bad connection.

According to the Arizona Republic, Hernandez was standing about 30 feet from Giffords during the “Congress on Your Corner” event outside a Safeway store near Tucson. When the gunshots began, Hernandez ran toward them and began checking the pulses of people who’d been hit. When Hernandez got to Giffords, he used his hand to apply pressure to the entry wound on her forehead. He pulled her into his lap and held her upright so she wouldn’t choke on her blood.

Daniel Hernandez is shown with Giffords in this image from his Facebook page.

Hernandez used his hand to apply pressure to the wound until someone brought clean smocks from the meat department of the grocery store. He stayed with Giffords until paramedics arrived, then climbed into an ambulance with her. On the way to the hospital, he squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. From the Republic:

When they arrived at the hospital, Hernandez was soaked in blood. His family brought him clean clothes because the FBI took his for evidence.

He waited at the hospital while she went into surgery. He needed to tell police what had happened. He overheard people walking by talking about how Giffords had died. He also heard this on NPR. Later, he learned she had lived.

“I was ecstatic,” he said. “She was one of the people I’ve looked up to. Knowing she was alive and still fighting was good news. She’s definitely a fighter, whether for her own life, or standing up for people in southern Arizona.”

The fact that Hernandez was nearby and able to react quickly probably saved Giffords’ life, said state Rep. Matt Heinz, D-Tucson, and a hospital physician. He talked to Hernandez at the hospital after the shooting.

Eight hours after the shooting, Hernandez stood with Giffords’ friends and staff and told them what had happened. The tall, strong 20-year-old said, “Of course you’re afraid, you just kind of have to do what you can.”

They hugged and thanked him. Later, he sat with his mom and sisters and told them about his friends and the staffers who had died that day.

“You just have to be calm and collected,” he said. “You do no good to anyone if you have a breakdown. … It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots, but people needed help.”


http://www.dallasvoice.com/meet-gay-...e-1060085.html

I agree. But tell me this:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4738632_n.jpg

Is THIS irrelevant?

Lol, maybe irreverent. ;)

It made me giggle.

I'll count that as a win. :)

The Pope finally addresses a pressing issue!

Pope rails against rise of un-Christian names

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/4073582.bin

The Pope has warned parents against giving children celebrity-inspired names and urged them to turn to the Bible for inspiration instead.

While names such as Sienna and Scarlett have become fashionable in recent years, Pope Benedict XVI called for a return to tradition.

During Mass at the Sistine Chapel, he said: "Every baptised child acquires the character of the son of God, beginning with their Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit causes man to be born anew in the womb of the Church." He added that a name was an "indelible seal" that set children off on a lifelong "journey of religious faith".

...

Monsignor Andrew Faley, the assistant general secretary to the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said: "The name is not just a label but it moves us into a deeper significance of what it means to be human as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

"Naming children after perfumes, bicycles and countries is putting a limit on their potential. They are not merchandise or commodities.

"When I was a parish priest, if I didn't agree with the name I'd suggest they should give the second name of a saint."

I swear the Pope is like the Tony The Tiger of Catholocism. His antiquated suggestions are a prime example of why Christianity is laughed at.

I want this to be satire, I really, really do.

Cheers
Aj

I know, right? I mean I get that "Apple" and "Blanket" as names for children is incredibly obnoxious - but to say that it limits their potential and endangers their souls?

Really?

The Pope needs a hobby.

I'm assuming (and I don't like that) that he's talking specifically about first names?

A lot of Christians get married and someone usually changes their name, though last name. Does that mess up their faith and or journey? What if a Christan woman marries a Jewish man and takes his last name? Does that automatically seal her to hell?

Maybe I need more coffee.

In the past, before he became pope, they didn't call him "the rat-singer" for nothing ... I wonder if he's bothered to read of global disasters, the rise of poverty, etc. for which he could use his considerable world position to influence. Just my $0.02.
That one, he's always been a dufus.

LMAO! Wax thinks I need more coffee. Sorry folks!

I think you could have ended the question at 'Jewish man'.

Tanker carrying 2400 tons of sulfuric acid capsizes



http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/play...p/?cl=23837854

Thanks theo, I don't see the word ugly anywhere in my post. What I see is crazy ass with a look that there is something terribly wrong, and who killed a child among others and I think that's fucking goddamn relevant.

OH, cuz Prince Micheal II is way less obnoxious. ;)