Merged Rep. Giffords Shot In Tucson

[Giz]

This attack has quite literally brought me to tears. I did not vote for Congresswoman Giffords, nor do I agree with much of her politics, yet still I suffer from hearing of her wounds. For an attack against a duly elected Representative of this country is not a personal crime. It is an attack against every person in this nation. The would-be assassin has rejected the one thing that binds all Americans together: liberty. He has rejected the concept of self-governance by attempting to assassinate the Congresswoman. He has rejected that the People ought to choose their own laws by electing Representatives. He has written with gunpowder and blood that his own beliefs of governance are the only ones that can be acceptable. And that makes him a tyrant.

I hope that this is explained to him on the day of his sentencing, so that he may be deprived of the self-consolement of, "I did this for the country!" or, "I helped free people". No sir, you did not. You are a want-to-be despot who has rejected the right of the people to choose their own governance.

This.

 

[Fnord]

And, by the way, the "suspect" is still just a suspect. He hasn't been officially accused of anything yet, let alone being convicted of anything. Just saying.

In that case, the alleged suspect, now in police custody is certainly bananas, batty, bizarre, cracked, crackers, crazed, crazy, cuckoo, daft, demented, derailed, deranged, fatuous, frenzied, idiotic, impractical, irrational, irresponsible, loony, lunatic, mad, maniacal, mental, moonstruck, nuts, nutty, of unsound mind, off one's rocker, out of one's mind, paranoid, preposterous, psychopathic, psychotic, rabid, raging, raving, schizophrenic, screwy, senseless, touched, unhinged, unsettled, and wild!


_{(*Medical diagnostics redacted so as not to insult those who may have actual, medically determined emotional, mental, or perceptive disorders.)}

 

[Thunder]

You need as much medical training to recognize bat guano crazy as you need meteorology training to know if it's raining outside.

calling someone "crazy" is not a medical diagnosis.

calling someone schizophrenic, is.

 

[BobTheDonkey]

I have a license to diagnose. There is a very specific key in those ramblings called "disorganized thoughts". It's not an absolute diagnosis here, you'd need to see the guy in person, but one can say those posts are consistent with the thing you'd see in a paranoid schizophrenic.

So you're a licensed psychiatrist? Or even at least trained in psychiatry?

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Palin probably could not be convicted in a criminal case. But in a civil case, charged with incitement for that map with crosshairs, she may be toast.

Not likely. I don't think any rational mind would conclude that Ms. Palin's use of this symbolic imagery—nor the similar uses that have been pointed out in this thread from left-wing sources—indicated any intent or desire for violence or other criminal activity to be committed.

Only a seriously disordeder mind could possibly have taken any of these uses of this symbolism to mean any such things as…

And yes, words do have consequences and can be criminal.

Threatening assault, murder, robbery, extortion, blackmail, etc...is criminal.

Discussing with someone a conspiracy to commit robbery, assassination, terrorism, is grounds for criminal conviction.

It seems likely that the shooter in this case had exactly such a seriously disordered mind, though there is no evidence that he ever saw—or was influenced by—any of these specific images.

Given that you, also, seem very much inclined to interpret these images in this same way, one must wonder about the state of your mind.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

6) Does not seem to have anything to do with the current tragedy but is being offered as proof without any connection between this loon and any conservative movement. Before the blood was dry people were calling this guy a teapartier. Turns out he was more of a leftist, yet you are still beating the same drumbeat you always do.

To say he was a leftist is a cherry picked lie based on a reading list I think someone said was on his MySpace that included the Communist Manifesto. It also included Mein Kampf. That makes it a wash. His rantings about the currency suggest he's been listening to Ron Paul. That's Tea Party stuff.

It's a straw man to say I have said this is "proof" of anything. I said it illustrated the problems the violence spattered rhetoric created. You are suggesting we wait for the next incident, this one wasn't specific enough for you.

That's why I included #2, is it your position the constant referrals to violent solutions is harmless?

 

[ConspiRaider]

Two more individuals are now being reported as deceased. Dorothy Murray, age 76, and Phyllis Scheck, age 79.

That seems to complete the death toll of 6 (so far).

John Roll, Christina Green, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorwan Stoddard, Dorothy Murray, and Phyllis Scheck (not sure of the spelling).

Thanks for the update, LashL.

 

[Thunder]

In that case, the alleged suspect, now in police custody is certainly bananas, batty, bizarre, cracked, crackers, crazed, crazy, cuckoo, daft, demented, derailed, deranged, fatuous, frenzied, idiotic, impractical, irrational, irresponsible, loony, lunatic, mad, maniacal, mental, moonstruck, nuts, nutty, of unsound mind, off one's rocker, out of one's mind, paranoid, preposterous, psychopathic, psychotic, rabid, raging, raving, schizophrenic, screwy, senseless, touched, unhinged, unsettled, and wild!

 

[WildCat]

Palin probably could not be convicted in a criminal case. But in a civil case, charged with incitement for that map with crosshairs, she may be toast.

Do you think Jodie Foster should have been charged in the Reagan/Brady/McCarthy/Delahanty shooting?

 

[applecorped]

To say he was a leftist is a cherry picked lie based on a reading list I think someone said was on his MySpace that included the Communist Manifesto. It also included Mein Kampf. That makes it a wash.

It's a straw man to say I have said this is "proof" of anything. I said it illustrated the problems the violence spattered rhetoric created. You are suggesting we wait for the next incident, this one wasn't specific enough for you.

That's why I included #2, is it your position the constant referrals to violent solutions is harmless?

Do you have any proof that any rhetoric from the left or right influenced this guy's decision to shoot people? You have illustrated nothing in regards to this particular instance.

 

[Thunder]

Un-****-ing believable. Local CBS tv news prefers to talk about the Jets win first, instead of this attempt at political assassination and the murder of a Federal judge.

The priorities in this nation are ridiculous.

 

[Thunder]

Do you think Jodie Foster should have been chaarged in the Reagan/Brady/McCarthy/Delahanty shooting?

Did Jodie Foster publish a picture of Ronald Reagen with a bullseye on his face?

 

[One Skunk Todd]

I wonder how bat guano became a measure of sanity. Is there some secret manure-based lucidity scale that licensed psychologists/psychiatrists/therapists* use?

*Forgive me, I know there are differences in those words/professions but I don't know precisely what they are.

 

[WildCat]

Did Jodie Foster publish a picture of Ronald Reagen with a bullseye on his face?

Did Palin publish a picture with a bullseye on Gifford's face?

 

[Fnord]

So you're a licensed psychiatrist? Or even at least trained in psychiatry?

Which would you rather see: (1) the alleged perpetrator declared "Non-Compos Mentis" and "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" and medicated into a stupor for the rest of his life, or (2) go through 7 years of trials and appeals before he is finally executed by lethal injection?

 

[Thunder]

Did Palin publish a picture with a bullseye on Gifford's face?

Palin published a map of the USA, with gunsights for every Congressmen she didn't like. You move your mouse over the gunsight and the member's name pops up.

These maps are on page 3 of this thread. Palin removed the map within hours of the shooting.

And the candidate who ran against Gifford in November held an event calling on folks to remove Gifford from office, by shooting at a photo of her with a fully-automatic M16.

 

[Drudgewire]

Un-****-ing believable. Local CBS tv news prefers to talk about the Jets win first, instead of this attempt at political assassination and the murder of a Federal judge.

The priorities in this nation are ridiculous.

If you'd watched the game you would understand. Hell of a finish.

 

[Uzzy]

What I find fascinating is that despite this uncertainty, many of us (myself included) very quickly wondered what this attack means for the fractures in U.S. society. If something just like it had happened in the U.K. or Canada, would anyone even think to ask if it would destabilize the nation, or was a flashpoint in a cold civil war?

If there are any posters from Britain or Canada still reading, would such questions even come up at all?

Nope. The only questions that came up during the last attack on an MP were ones of MP's safety. The Sun's article on the stabbing of Stephen Timms MP is a very straight forward one. I chose the Sun as they'd be more likely to engage in such questions then a Broadsheet, and it's important to note that the attack on Timms was extremely political.

 

[BobTheDonkey]

Which would you rather see: (1) the alleged perpetrator declared "Non-Compos Mentis" and "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" and medicated into a stupor for the rest of his life, or (2) go through 7 years of trials and appeals before he is finally executed by lethal injection?

Actually, I was just calling Skeptic Ginger's claim into question - namely her claim that because she's a licensed health care professional (in general healthcare, if I'm not mistaken), that gives her the ability to use a person's Youtube videos to pronounce a diagnosis, whereas the rest of us are just the unwashed masses whose opinions are irrelevant (unless akin to hers, then they're obviously OK).

 

[gph]

What I find fascinating is that despite this uncertainty, many of us (myself included) very quickly wondered what this attack means for the fractures in U.S. society. If something just like it had happened in the U.K. or Canada, would anyone even think to ask if it would destabilize the nation, or was a flashpoint in a cold civil war?

If there are any posters from Britain or Canada still reading, would such questions even come up at all?

Canada here. I think the difference here is a lack of prominent and radical partisan media. People would obviously view this incident as something to do with politics but there's no left or right media worthy of blame. He'd just be another loon to people of all political persuasions.