Saturday, January 8, 2011
Inciting murder or supporting gun control? Pick your poison
This afternoon outside a Safeway supermarket in the Catalina foothills of northwest Tucson, a 22-year-old man shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in the head at close range. The gunman then fired a dozen more rounds into the crowd that gathered at the public appearance, killing six—among them a U.S. district judge, a pastor, a nine-year-old girl and Giffords' director of community outreach.
Two decades ago I lived three short miles from this shopping center, nestled in the quiet Catalina Mountain foothills that frame the city's northern boundary. Few places in this country could draw less fear in the minds of its citizenry than the affluent Tucson foothills. Which makes today's rampage all the more senseless. Families of the killed and wounded are left grieving in the aftermath of this horrific act. Yet the rest of the nation is left grasping.
Since Rep. Giffords had been at the forefront of the past year's health care bill backlash, the initial response suggested that it may be a consequence of the escalating tone of political rhetoric over the new legislation. Giffords and other Democratic congressmen reported 42 threats and acts of violence in the three months following President Obama's ratification of the Health Care Overhaul in December 2009. Her office doors and windows were smashed last March, possibly an act fueled by the verbal and online attacks waged by right wing leaders. Much of the toxic rhetoric used gun metaphors and imagery to persuade "patriotic Americans" to take extreme yet necessary measures to let those responsible for the health care bill's passage know the err of their ways.
The heightened and hateful shots seemed to resonate the strongest with those on the fringe. We all remember the woman at John McCain's 2008 campaign stop who was convinced Obama was an Arab and therefore cannot be trusted. Whether scaring the gullible with talk of "death panels" or posting the home addresses of congressmen (as a Tea Party member had done) and urging the public to "pay them a visit", the freak speak left those on the left begging for a halt to the inciteful tone. In response to Sarah Palin's mystifying use of cross hairs to identify the congressional districts under attack, Giffords herself said in a March interview, "(Palin) 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."
Aware of the negative implications of any connection, the GOP acted quickly and launched another attack—this time against the sanity of the shooter. Within hours conservatives were painting a picture of a young man with a troubled past, struggling with mental illness and a history of homicidal ideation, schizophrenia and other possible psychoses. Even as the Pima County sheriff was suggesting the gunman may not have acted alone, Fox News was quoting a former high-school student who portrayed him as a "pot-smoking loner." If the gunman were merely gullible, easily swayed or mildly imbalanced, the blood would be on their hands for putting the ideas into his head. Yet if he has a proven history of psychotic or mentally ill behavior as they contend, or if he has a criminal past which kept him from joining the Army two years ago, they can create the "random act of a deranged individual" story.
The problem with this assertion is that the perpetrator legally purchased his murder weapon at the Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson on November 30. So if the right-wing portrayal is to be believed, how on earth was this guy able to buy a handgun? In disassociating the killer from their potentially lethal outbursts, conservatives may be setting up an argument for stricter gun control measures in the state that's the poster child for GOP extremism. That's the danger in painting a prettier picture: you may paint yourself into a corner.
It always takes a traffic fatality for an intersection to get that much-needed traffic light. In a similar sense, it may take the shooting of a legislator, the killing of nine-year-old girl and a half dozen adult bystanders, and the injury of another dozen people to instill some much-needed restraint in the mouths and minds of those on Capitol Hill.
Then again, maybe a dose of self-preservation is all they need. After all, who knows when the laser sight will be on their foreheads.
Two decades ago I lived three short miles from this shopping center, nestled in the quiet Catalina Mountain foothills that frame the city's northern boundary. Few places in this country could draw less fear in the minds of its citizenry than the affluent Tucson foothills. Which makes today's rampage all the more senseless. Families of the killed and wounded are left grieving in the aftermath of this horrific act. Yet the rest of the nation is left grasping.
Since Rep. Giffords had been at the forefront of the past year's health care bill backlash, the initial response suggested that it may be a consequence of the escalating tone of political rhetoric over the new legislation. Giffords and other Democratic congressmen reported 42 threats and acts of violence in the three months following President Obama's ratification of the Health Care Overhaul in December 2009. Her office doors and windows were smashed last March, possibly an act fueled by the verbal and online attacks waged by right wing leaders. Much of the toxic rhetoric used gun metaphors and imagery to persuade "patriotic Americans" to take extreme yet necessary measures to let those responsible for the health care bill's passage know the err of their ways.
The heightened and hateful shots seemed to resonate the strongest with those on the fringe. We all remember the woman at John McCain's 2008 campaign stop who was convinced Obama was an Arab and therefore cannot be trusted. Whether scaring the gullible with talk of "death panels" or posting the home addresses of congressmen (as a Tea Party member had done) and urging the public to "pay them a visit", the freak speak left those on the left begging for a halt to the inciteful tone. In response to Sarah Palin's mystifying use of cross hairs to identify the congressional districts under attack, Giffords herself said in a March interview, "(Palin) 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."
Aware of the negative implications of any connection, the GOP acted quickly and launched another attack—this time against the sanity of the shooter. Within hours conservatives were painting a picture of a young man with a troubled past, struggling with mental illness and a history of homicidal ideation, schizophrenia and other possible psychoses. Even as the Pima County sheriff was suggesting the gunman may not have acted alone, Fox News was quoting a former high-school student who portrayed him as a "pot-smoking loner." If the gunman were merely gullible, easily swayed or mildly imbalanced, the blood would be on their hands for putting the ideas into his head. Yet if he has a proven history of psychotic or mentally ill behavior as they contend, or if he has a criminal past which kept him from joining the Army two years ago, they can create the "random act of a deranged individual" story.
The problem with this assertion is that the perpetrator legally purchased his murder weapon at the Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson on November 30. So if the right-wing portrayal is to be believed, how on earth was this guy able to buy a handgun? In disassociating the killer from their potentially lethal outbursts, conservatives may be setting up an argument for stricter gun control measures in the state that's the poster child for GOP extremism. That's the danger in painting a prettier picture: you may paint yourself into a corner.
It always takes a traffic fatality for an intersection to get that much-needed traffic light. In a similar sense, it may take the shooting of a legislator, the killing of nine-year-old girl and a half dozen adult bystanders, and the injury of another dozen people to instill some much-needed restraint in the mouths and minds of those on Capitol Hill.
Then again, maybe a dose of self-preservation is all they need. After all, who knows when the laser sight will be on their foreheads.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
I'd know that sneer anywheer
Not sure how many snickers this may or may not cause. But I hope it's at least worth a wheeze! I'm not saying they're the spittin' image of each oter. Alls I'm saying is I've yet to see them in the same room together.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
But would Obama's plan cover Obama?
Would he impose a penalty on his own premium? Is this yet another opportunity for the ever-versatile Governmental Immunity statute? And does Governmental Immunity protect public-sector employees from the cancer too?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Knocked-up Daughter Clarification
David Letterman apologized on his "Late Show" Monday night, saying that he by no means had intended his joke regarding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter being knocked up by Alex Rodriguez to involve 14-year-old Willow Palin, the only daughter traveling with Palin at the time.
Rather, the target of his joke was 18-year-old Bristol Palin, who was knocked up last year at 17 by her boyfriend--which by law constitutes statutory rape, even in Alaska. Bristol is the girl Governor Palin exploited throughout her vice presidential campaign last fall, to the extent of setting up Brama-style wedding plans should she and John McCain win election last November. (They didn't, and the young couple broke up shortly thereafter.)
Palin initially scoffed at Letterman's apology before issuing a statement late yesterday accepting it "on behalf of all young women... who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve." Not just those young women exploited by their mothers for immediate political gain, evidently, but all young women. The tone's about as accepting as "I'm sorry you're such an a-hole, Dave."
Of course Palin, ever the politician, couldn't resist another fleeting opportunity to stoke her own flames in the final paragraph: "This is all thanks to our U.S. military men and women putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's right to free speech. In this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect." Regarding the statutory rape of her daughter, now an 18-year-old unwed mother, Palin had no comment.
And as for Mr. Letterman, he owes us all an apology for bringing this woman back into the contiguous U.S., much less the public spotlight.
Rather, the target of his joke was 18-year-old Bristol Palin, who was knocked up last year at 17 by her boyfriend--which by law constitutes statutory rape, even in Alaska. Bristol is the girl Governor Palin exploited throughout her vice presidential campaign last fall, to the extent of setting up Brama-style wedding plans should she and John McCain win election last November. (They didn't, and the young couple broke up shortly thereafter.)
Palin initially scoffed at Letterman's apology before issuing a statement late yesterday accepting it "on behalf of all young women... who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve." Not just those young women exploited by their mothers for immediate political gain, evidently, but all young women. The tone's about as accepting as "I'm sorry you're such an a-hole, Dave."
Of course Palin, ever the politician, couldn't resist another fleeting opportunity to stoke her own flames in the final paragraph: "This is all thanks to our U.S. military men and women putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's right to free speech. In this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect." Regarding the statutory rape of her daughter, now an 18-year-old unwed mother, Palin had no comment.
And as for Mr. Letterman, he owes us all an apology for bringing this woman back into the contiguous U.S., much less the public spotlight.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
2,000,000 leaps of faith
How astonishing was it to see the humanity that decended upon Washington D.C. yesterday.
Every moment of this breathtaking campaign has blown away the one before it. Watching the crowds grow with every week of the primary season. Waiting in a line that stretched around Joe Louis Arena, extended behind Cobo Hall and Cobo Arena and ended just past the Renaissance Center, just to see him in person and hear him speak. Being told I had arrived late for an Obama rally in downtown Detroit was wasn't to begin for another three hours. And he hadn't even won the nomination.
The junior senator from Illinois ground the Clinton machine to a halt, a feat nearly impossible to overstate. Actually, he not only defeated archrival Hilary in the Democratic primaries, but effectively ended her 2012 campaign as well by ultimately appointing her as his Secretary of State. He filled the 72,000-seat home of the Denver Broncos to accept his party's nomination. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan couldn't even do that this season. In debate after debate, he stood toe-to-toe with John McCain, an American military hero if ever there was one. And he filled Grant Park at 10pm on a chilly November night as half a million people counted down the seconds until the unthinkable became reality and Barack Obama was projected to become the next President of the United States.
As if that weren't impressive enough, yesterday's magnificent spectacle became the highlight of all highlights, proof positive of the fortitude of human spirit. Partly due to his being the first black man to take the Oath of Office (technically he's of mixed race; even still, he's the first in that category as well). Partly due to a seismic shift in party leadership. And partly due to Aretha Franklin's stunning hat (which, incidentally, was designed by a man who very nearly became my brother-in-law... I'd recognize his style anywhere).
But mostly, yesterday's celebration was the ebbing momentum caused by eight years of corrupt leadership, its atrocities more egregious than any of its predecessors. From enabling the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, to shifting our military attention away from the man who authorized the attack and collapse of the World Trade Center towers, to using misleading and downright false information to lead us into war with a country that hadn't attacked us, to turning our telecommunications industry into spy vehicles for wiretapping Americans illegally and then granting them retroactive immunity, to... you get the idea.
So now the streets have been swept, the grandstands folded and stored, the porta-potties trucked away. Now we officially put our collective faith in the hands of an untested intellectual with a resume of bridging differences and uniting the divided.
If all else fails, at least we can travel the world without having to wear the Canadian flag somewhere on our bodies. Too bad can't afford to.
Every moment of this breathtaking campaign has blown away the one before it. Watching the crowds grow with every week of the primary season. Waiting in a line that stretched around Joe Louis Arena, extended behind Cobo Hall and Cobo Arena and ended just past the Renaissance Center, just to see him in person and hear him speak. Being told I had arrived late for an Obama rally in downtown Detroit was wasn't to begin for another three hours. And he hadn't even won the nomination.
The junior senator from Illinois ground the Clinton machine to a halt, a feat nearly impossible to overstate. Actually, he not only defeated archrival Hilary in the Democratic primaries, but effectively ended her 2012 campaign as well by ultimately appointing her as his Secretary of State. He filled the 72,000-seat home of the Denver Broncos to accept his party's nomination. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan couldn't even do that this season. In debate after debate, he stood toe-to-toe with John McCain, an American military hero if ever there was one. And he filled Grant Park at 10pm on a chilly November night as half a million people counted down the seconds until the unthinkable became reality and Barack Obama was projected to become the next President of the United States.
As if that weren't impressive enough, yesterday's magnificent spectacle became the highlight of all highlights, proof positive of the fortitude of human spirit. Partly due to his being the first black man to take the Oath of Office (technically he's of mixed race; even still, he's the first in that category as well). Partly due to a seismic shift in party leadership. And partly due to Aretha Franklin's stunning hat (which, incidentally, was designed by a man who very nearly became my brother-in-law... I'd recognize his style anywhere).
But mostly, yesterday's celebration was the ebbing momentum caused by eight years of corrupt leadership, its atrocities more egregious than any of its predecessors. From enabling the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, to shifting our military attention away from the man who authorized the attack and collapse of the World Trade Center towers, to using misleading and downright false information to lead us into war with a country that hadn't attacked us, to turning our telecommunications industry into spy vehicles for wiretapping Americans illegally and then granting them retroactive immunity, to... you get the idea.
So now the streets have been swept, the grandstands folded and stored, the porta-potties trucked away. Now we officially put our collective faith in the hands of an untested intellectual with a resume of bridging differences and uniting the divided.
If all else fails, at least we can travel the world without having to wear the Canadian flag somewhere on our bodies. Too bad can't afford to.
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