How Palin Is Responsible For Rep. Giffords' Being Shot

Or, as I like to call it, "Palin Derangement Syndrome On Steroids."

No doubt, you have already heard or read that many in the media made the leap that Gov. Sarah Palin is responsible for this assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, one of the truly good politicians. Yes, because Gov. Palin had a map with crosshairs for those districts to target in 2010, it is all her fault.

Never mind that the DLC had one similar, and its was up before Gov. Palin's. Oh, no - pay no attention to that. It might momentarily impede the self-righteous, sanctimonious meme that it is all Palin's fault. Can't have that.

And never mind that Jared Lee Loughner is one seriously deranged dude, who had already been visited by police several times for making death threats. Or that, according to people who know him, he is actually a leftist-leaning liberal. We all know how much THOSE people, those Lefty communist-types do whatever Palin wants them to do, right? Right. Snort.

All of this was recently captured in a Facebook exchange I had with my Obot follower sister. It all started with me writing this "incendiary" comment. Okay, ready? It's really provocative, so hold onto your seats:

What a senseless, horrendous, cowardly act, this shooting of Rep. Giffords, members of her staff, a Federal District judge, and innocent bystanders. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones this day, including the parents of the 9 yr old girl, and Judge John Roll. I pray for the speedy and... complete recovery of Rep. Giffords, her staff, and others fighting for their lives after this attack.

I included a link to The Hill, "Politicians React To Shooting Of Rep. Giffords." Perhaps that is where it started. Who knows? What I got was this exchange:

Sister, I've read some of the comments on the news sites about this, including "how dare you associate Sarah Palin with this shooting!" Um... maybe because on her website, she has Gabrielle Giffords depicted in a rifle's crosshairs? Public figures, while not personally responsible for pulling the trigger[s], need to remember to communicate responsibly.

How many more shootings do we need to have happen before this country WAKES UP and says NO MORE?!

Me,And the DCCC had the same kind of map before Palin did, so it surely is not Palin's fault, nor is it a Tea Party thing, as some have tried to claim. This was a deranged 22 yr old who opened fire on a crowd for whatever his own screwed up reasons were. The BIG question is how someone so completely unbalanced was able to purchase a gun. THAT is the issue, as opposed to trying to blame Palin for this despicable act.

Me, As I continue looking at reports on Giffords, I don't understand why Palin is being blamed for this when Loughner was a far leftist, who claimed the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf as his two favorite books. I doubt those are two of Palin's faves. Wasn't it Obama who instructed his followers, "if they bring a knife, we bring a gun"? Or a DailyKos blogger who wrote, just two days ago, that Rep. Giffords was "dead to" him? So, are they to blame? No. The one to blame is Loughner himself, not anyone else but him.
Sister, I'm on the DCCC mailing list, and I sure don't recall seeing anything with gunsights on it, or talk about reloading.

And yes, how someone that unstable was able to buy a gun is a very good question!

Me, I'll send it to you. It most definitely was. The DLC had one, too. Heck, DailyKos targeted Rep. Giffords in 2008. Again, to blame this on Palin is ridiculous - the kid was a far lefty, not exactly a Palin follower, I'd wager.

Seems like a reasonable wager, does it not? I mean, really - from all reports, this young man was not exactly the kind to dvr "Sarah Palin's Alaska," or anything. Well, evidently, I am wrong:

Sister,Hitler was as far right as they come. And it doesn't matter what Palin's fave books are, it's the words coming out of her mouth and the graphics on her website. (Those were just taken down today, a little late, if you ask me.)

...Palin is not the ONLY person spewing hatred, but in this particular case,
she did spew hatred directly at this particular Representative.

As did Markos at DailyKos. He targeted her back in 2008. And he's pretty left-leaning. But I digress. I guess I should be amazed she conceded that Palin isn't the ONLY one hate-spewing, though that continues to assert that Palin IS engaged in hateful rhetoric.

But wait, it gets better, albeit a bit repetitive (I know, I know, I should stop banging my head against the wall):

Me By all accounts, this young man was a far Leftist. That DailyKos targeted Giffords, even claiming she was dead to him two days before the shooting, that doesn't figure in at all? Or Obama telling his followers, "if someone brings a knife, you should bring a gun"? Honestly, I don't think it should - but you sure shouldn't try and pin this one on Palin. (The DCCC had their bulls-eye one up for a long time, too - but I guess that's different.)

Me, As for Hitler being "far right," he advocated a centralized government, a National Socialism (hence, "Nazism).

And that, dear friends, got me this response from a childhood friend:

With all respect, somehow Hitler doesn't come to mind as someone to defend. I think a take home from all of this should be a recognition that words have power. There is far too much violence and hatred in political speech these days. It serves no good and only weakens this country.

Defending Hitler? By defining what Nazism is?? That kind of "logical" leap defies, well, logic:

Me, Good grief...I am not defending Hitler. Don't know how you made that leap. My sister said he was far right, which is incorrect, in her attempt to connect Sarah Palin to this murderer who listed Hitler's book as one of his faves, as well as the Communist Manifesto. From all reports, Loughner is a liberal, so the attempted connection to Palin defies logic. That was ALL I was saying - I was not defending Hitler in any way, shape, or form...

So you see, ladies and gentlemen, if you try to point out that the person responsible for this heinous act is the one responsible, not Sarah Palin for some map she did MONTHS ago, you are a Hitler apologist.

Wow.

Thankfully, my friend just wrote back and said this:

My apologies. It read that way. My view, whether the shooter was far left or far right in the center of apolitical, the tone of political speech here has become increasingly bellicose, hateful and intolerant. Words have power. It creates... an atmosphere in which violence can occur. So no matter which "side" uses it, it creates and contributes to conditions for violent actions. Whether it influenced this guy, I hope this serves as a wake up call for the country to step back and change the way we talk to and about each other.

True that. Though, still, the machinations people go through to resist in any way not blaming Palin for this, which ends up with someone reading a simple definition as an apology for Hitler, is staggering. Good grief. That should tell them something, shouldn't it? I know, stop banging my head against the wall.

It seems that people have completely lost sight of what is most important in all of this: a US Representative had an assassination attempt against her, one she has miraculously, so far, survived. In the meantime, though, a member of her staff was murdered, along with a Federal District Judge, John Roll, and several others. I just learned this morning, the 9 year old girl, Christina Greene who died, was born on 9/11:

[snip] A neighbor was going to the Giffords event and invited Christina along because she thought she would enjoy it, said her uncle, Greg Segalini.

Christina had just been elected to the student council at her school. The event, held outside a Safeway supermarket north of Tucson, was an opportunity for constituents to meet Giffords and talk about any concerns they had related to the federal government.

"The next thing you know this happened. How do you prepare for something like this. My little niece got killed-took one on the chest and she is dead," Segalini said outside the girl's house.

Christina was involved in many activities, from ballet to baseball, Segalini said.

"She was real special and real sweet," Segalini said. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

So sad. It is a tragic, horrible, disturbing situation, resulting in a home-grown terrorist attack on one of the People's representatives, and innocent bystanders. That there has become this extreme level of vitriol directed at Palin, or anyone else, is a failure to look at how we treat each other, the height of the vitriol we are willing to tolerate, the amount of hatred we are willing to spew at each other from the safety of our keyboards.

Rep. Giffords is the best type of politician. She listens to her constituents, and thinks for herself. I hope and pray for a full and speedy recovery for her, and all those who were shot during this rampage.

And for those whose lives were lost, my deepest sympathies and condolences to their families. This should never have happened, and we cannot allow it to happen again...

We have become so disconnected from one another, it is heartbreaking. I brought back the conversation that this should not be about Palin, but about Rep. Giffords and the others in this attack. Another friend, a retired military chaplain, wrote the following:

In the end I think we will learn that this was simply the deranged act of a very disturbed young man. It reminds me to "love GOD (higher power) with all my heart and soul, & to love my neighbor as I love myself. On these 2 commandments hang... all the law and the prophets."
in many ways I think I (we) have lost love for neighbor because I (we) have wandered away from the ability to genuinely properly love myself (ourselves). Just a thought... In many ways I think fear and "terrorists of all kinds" are winning. I pray I am wrong!!!!

...One day at a time...NAMASTE

Amen to that.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

By now, I imagine you have heard of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, from the Tucson area (she was born and reared there). It is a tragic, tragic tale of a deranged 22 year old man (Jared Loughner) opening fire on a public meet and greet the Representative was doing to be present for her constituents. Miraculously, Rep. Giffords has come through the surgery she had following the shooting, and her doctors expect her to recover.

Rep. Giffords is someone for whom I have a great deal of respect not only for some of her positions, but for the way she works to truly be a representative of the people. She is one of those rare politicians for whom the letter after her name is not the primary signifier. Recently, she was speaking about a bill she has put forth in the House recommending that the members take a 5% pay cut, and - get this - "lead by example." Wow. What a concept. Here she is discussing her plan:



Rep. Giffords was also instrumental in pushing Obama to provide more troops for the Arizona border, a much needed move (though more needs to be done). She is embraced by those on both sides of the aisle for the way she conducts herself, and the way she conducts the work of the people whom she serves.

Giffords is an amazing woman. That some psycho felt compelled to attempt to silence her voice is reprehensible, to put it mildly. I hope, and pray, for her speedy recovery. I pray for strength for her husband, NASA Astronaut, Mark Kelly, as he provides support and comfort to his wife during this difficult time.

To those families who lost loved ones this day, my heart goes out to them all. It is just a shock beyond imagining that such an event, going to meet their representative in a grocery store parking lot, could end in such tragedy. To the family of Federal District Judge John Roll, my deepest sympathy for this senseless loss.

All of their names are not yet known, but to the family of the 9 year old girl, my heart goes out to you, as well as to the others whose lives were lost this day.

My prayers go out to all of those who were wounded, and who are fighting for their lives. This tragedy should never have happened, not in this country, the impact of which is captured in this statement:

[snip] "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve," said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a statement. "Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society....This is a sad day for our country." [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Amen to that.

Again, my thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Giffords as she fights to survive this senseless shooting, and to all those, including three members of her staff, who were shot.

And to those who lost their loved ones, I cannot imagine how impossible this must be for you now. Please know that we are with you, we stand by you, we pray for you, and our thoughts are with you all...

Up, Up, And Away...

That would be the price of gasoline these days. I don't know about where you live, but I do know I went away for a week, and came back with the gas prices higher than when I left. We are closing in on $3 a gallon here.

The Washington Examiner had an editorial on this very issue, "Obama's $5 A Gallon Gas Just Ahead." The editorial reminded readers of one of Obama's statements ignored by his supporters, though not by those of us who had our eyes wide open, and our ears, too. And that was this:

Most politicians play word games to cast themselves in the most favorable light, so perhaps it's understandable that few people took it seriously when President Obama unaccountably said during his 2008 presidential campaign that energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket" under his program.

With gas steadily approaching $4 per gallon and projected by federal Energy Information Administration experts to hit $5 in 2012, it's time to accept Obama at his word. The costs of heating and cooling our homes and offices, keeping gas in the cars and trucks that get us to work and the grocery store, and generating the electricity that keeps our laptops humming are heading skyward because Obama thinks that's what is best for us. It's a classic illustration of liberals using government to do to us what we would never do to ourselves. [snip]

Remember that pithy little statement by Obama? It should have cost him a few states, including Pennsylvania, but for reasons beyond me, it didn't. Anyway, this is what Obama said about "Cap And Trade" back in the day:



Again, don't know about where you live, but I can tell you, our electric costs have been on the rise since Obama took office, and I fear it will only get worse.

When prices escalate for products like gas, it necessarily changes how people live, what they can do, and where they drive. We are comfortable financially, but when prices were high not that long ago, it did change where we drove, how often I went to see my horse, Jordan (which is one of the highlights of my week), or up into Charleston, or any number of places. I just spent $38 filling up my tank on Thursday, and I still had between 1/4 - 1/2 of a tank left (I drive a Sienna, which gets decent gas mileage). When gas goes up like this, it means, for some people, the difference between being able to drive to work or not.

So what has Obama done to affect gas prices? This:

[snip] Here are just some of the ways Obama has constricted U.S. energy exploration and development, thereby forcing prices upward and making America more dependent on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other costly, unreliable foreign oil sources who bear this country ill will:

»?Reimposed bans on oil and natural gas drilling in America's outer continental shelf that were previously reversed by a Democratic-led Congress and a Republican president. Experts estimate there are at least 130 billion barrels of oil and trillions of feet of natural gas to be harvested from these areas, but Obama won't allow it.

»?Even before the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster was known, Obama imposed a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that cost thousands of jobs and effectively ended drilling in both deep and shallow waters there. Although officially lifted, slow-walking federal bureaucrats have yet to approve new permits and are busily issuing costly new requirements that are certain to stifle most, if not all, drilling in the Gulf for years to come. A third of America's oil production comes from wells in the Gulf.

»?Reversed a Bush administration decision that opened millions of acres of public lands in the western parts of the nation to careful oil and natural gas exploration and development, then invented an entirely new classification that puts those and millions more acres not previously covered off limits.

»?Appointed an energy secretary -- Steven Chu -- who said in December 2008 that Americans should pay the same prices as Europeans for gas. Gas in Europe then averaged around $8 per gallon.

Maybe now people will believe that Obama meant exactly what he said in 2008 about making us pay much more for energy. If they don't, they surely will in coming months. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Maybe. One can only hope, though the blinders and earplugs seem to be in plenty for too many.

So, what are things like where you are? Are gas or other energy prices affecting your daily lives? Feel free to talk about this, or anything else going on (reading the Constitution in the House? Repealing Obamacare? Pelosi claiming that NOW House Democrats will focus on jobs though they did blessed little to address that issue while controlling all three houses? Obama calling the Eagles owner to thank him for giving Michael Vick, the dog torturer, a second chance?).

And TGIF...

Let The Revisionist History Begin - Again

The new Congress will be sworn in, likely by the time you read this. There is a major shift in power in the House, from the Democrats to the Republicans. Speaker Pelosi returns to simply Congresswoman Pelosi, and Speaker-Elect John Boehner will be sworn in.

But you know Nancy Pelosi did not go quietly into that good night, oh, no. She could not just leave the stage gracefully. Rather, she unloaded this piece of fabrication about the work of the House under her leadership before she left:



Say what? We have gone over the $14 TRILLION dollar mark under the complete and total leadership of the Democratic Party, and she is claiming that "Pay as you go" was their mantra? Maybe "Pay as yourselves and your cronies as you go out the door," but as this Fox News article highlights, she is full of hooey:

[snip] When the Pelosi Democrats took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the national debt stood at $8,670,596,242,973.04. The last day of the 111th Congress and Pelosi's Speakership on December 22, 2010 the national debt was $13,858,529,371,601.09 - a roughly $5.2 trillion increase in just four years. Furthermore, the year over year federal deficit has roughly quadrupled during Pelosi's four years as speaker, from $342 billion in fiscal year 2007 to an estimated $1.6 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2010.

Uh, yeah. Nice attempt at revisionist history there, Nancy, already trying to blame the Republicans for what you and your party did all by their own selves (as we say down South).

But wait, there's more revisionist history for you ahead. You know how All Of Obama's Men are talking about the necessity of raising the debt ceiling, to not do so, in Austan Goolsbee's words would be "insanity" and "catastrophic"?? See for yourself here:



Yes, it would be "catastrophic," sheer "insanity," complete folly!!!

Want to guess who was agin' raising the debt ceiling before he was for it? One guess and you got it - yes, Senator Barack Obama:

[snip]“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”ii [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

I couldn't agree more with then-Senator Barack Obama - America DOES deserve better.

Yes, it's a big day as power shifts back to a two-party system, without Speaker Pelosi at the helm. Feel free to discuss your observations on this shift, what you hope to see accomplished with the 112th Congress, or anything else that's on your mind today.

How To Ensure A TSA Sexual Assault

Have a knee replacement. Yep, that seems to do the trick alright. It doesn't matter if you come up to the security area in a wheelchair, or using a cane, the result is the same: a sexual assault in front of God/dess and everyone. It doesn't matter if you say, "Hey, I had a knee replacement. Let me roll up my pants' leg and show you my half a foot long scar." Nope. All that gets you is a "Step over here, please, and put your arms out while I run my hands all over your body, including your buttocks and up into your crotch."

And note to TSA: it does not make it the least bit better for your employees to tell you what they are doing to you as they are doing it, whether it is with the back of their hand running over my butt, or the front running up my pants' seam. It is still a stranger running her hands all over my body in public.

All because I have bad knees, and am trying to rectify that situation by getting them replaced. Wow.

I suppose I should be thankful that the TSA employees who had their way with me changed their gloves. That seems to be a problem with some of the agents. And guess what that can get you? Oh, it's a long list, as several doctors have tried to highlight to Congress:

[snip] Syphilis, lice, gonorrhea, ringworm, chlamydia, staph, strep, noro and papilloma viruses all are part of the possible fringe benefits when airline passengers next go through a full hands-on pat-down by agents of the federal government's Transportation Security Administration, according to doctors. [snip]

Oh, yippee!! And all of this is included in the price of an airline ticket? Wow!
But wait, there is more:

[snip] Now two doctors - and several others - have confirmed that there is the definite possibility that passengers will be able to catch whatever someone in front of them in line was suffering from via the latex gloves TSA workers use.

"There is no doubt that bacteria (staph, strep, v.cholerae etc.) and viruses (noro, enteroviruses, herpes, hepatitis A and papilloma viruses) can be spread by contaminated vinyl or latex gloves," Dr. Thomas Warner of Wisconsin told WND in a letter to the editor.

"If a traveler has diarrhea and is soiled, as can and does happen, the causative agent can be spread by this method since bacteria and viruses in moist environments have greater viability."

He continued. "The traveler readjusting clothes can easily get the infectious agents on their hands and therefore into their mouth, nose or eyes."

[...]


"Anything can be transmitted. If there are open wounds and they [TSA agents] are not aware, there's syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, lice, ringworm."

Worse yet would be for people whose immune systems are compromised by treatments they may be having, including cancer patients, she said. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Isn't flying just great these days?

Obviously, this does not affect everyone, but there are many of us for whom, unless these procedures are changed, will be subjected to this kind of invasive - and believe me, it is invasive - pat down just because we want to are travel and have had surgery. If the agents were willing to accept a visual confirmation; or to use the good ol' standby, the wand; or to have a wipedown of our hands put in for testing of hazardous materials, that would be one thing.

But that isn't how it works. So all because I had a knee replacement, I was forced to stand alongside everyone going through security, with my arms outstretched, treated like a potential terrorist, while undergoing an embarrassing, offensive pat-down.

Do we need security procedures? Absolutely we do. But there has to be some middle ground between standard x-ray machines, walk through scanners, and full body - and I do mean full body - pat downs. A wand would have highlighted to the TSA instantly that, yes, indeed, the area was confined to my KNEE, not my butt, not my crotch, and not around my breasts. But, no - that is apparently too old school for the TSA these days. They prefer physically invasive, open handed pat downs instead of the easier, as well as quicker, solution of using a wand or opening their damn eyes.

So, yes - I, an American citizen, was forced to endure the new government-sanctioned TSA procedures of physically invasive public pat-downs as my partner, a friend, and I traveled in and out of the country, a wonderful trip for which we had planned long in advance, all because of a knee replacement. Presumably, unless this is changed, something toward which I will have to be subjected every time I fly.

There is something seriously wrong with this picture...