The official blog of New Mexico GLBTQ Centers and our regional gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community centers. This blog is written by volunteer authors in addition to our Executive Director.
Showing posts with label Jared Lee Loughner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jared Lee Loughner. Show all posts
COMMENTARY: The moment the “Breaking News” banner went up on MSNBC, announcing the tragic shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, the knee-jerk liberal invectives hit the Twitter Face Space.
Of course it was Fox News’s fault.
Of course the blood’s on Sarah Palin’s hands—note the political map she posted during the campaign showing gun sights on congressional districts she wanted to defeat.
And, of course, before we even knew the name of the assailant, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, what triggered him was immediately obvious: He had been brainwashed by the poisoned brew of Tea Party anti-government rhetoric.
Three days later, what’s most amazing to me is how this blame-the-conservatives story line is alive and well, even after the facts have come to light.
Loughner is a mentally deranged wack-ball. A list of his favorite books, according to the Wall Street Journal, included Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto. He had become obsessed with Representative Giffords, a Jewish congresswoman and supporter of Israel.
There has been no evidence or indication to support the accusations and insinuations that he was inspired by the Tea Party.
In fact, he was known to burn the American flag burner, which is hardly a Tea Party ritual.
But why let the truth ruin a good story?
As the National Review points out, the best comparison may be to Sirhan Sirhan, who in 1968 assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy because of Kennedy’s support for Israel.
Truth is, this is the situation lefties have been secretly waiting for. It’s the chance to say that the Right is fomenting a culture of violence that would eventually lead to the death of innocents. See, Glenn Beck is an accomplice to murder!
They conveniently ignore the examples of so-called violent incitement by liberal commentators. Remember how Keith Olbermann, back in 2008, joked about using goons to get Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race against Obama? He suggested getting, “somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."
To blame Sarah Palin for this shooting rampage, as they are doing, is, at best, intellectually dishonest. At worst, it’s its own form of hate speech. Even Barbara Walters said on The View this week that she feels bad for Sarah for all the fingers pointing menacingly in her direction. Come on, Sarah Palin is enough of a stupid joke as a politician that Democrats should want to help her get the next Republican presidential nomination.
I find it absolutely disgusting that liberals would try to exploit this horrific event for political purposes. It’s too bad for them that Congresswoman Giffords is a true moderate. She’s a strong supporter of Second Amendment gun rights, and is even herself a former Republican.
The people who have more to worry about, in terms of their safety, are conservatives. Some well-known conservative speakers require security details to accompany them on speaking engagements on college campuses. Bill O’Reilly talks about receiving constant death threats.
If we’re going to speculate on root causes for Loughner turning into a murderous sociopath, why aren’t we talking about the extreme violence in today’s video games and movies? Whenever there’s a school shooting, don’t we always point to guns and killing being glamorized by Hollywood? The Left doesn’t want to go there when they see an opportunity to seek revenge on the party that just shellacked them in the November election.
This is an extraordinarily sad story for the people injured and killed, as well as for our country. But as a new American citizen, who is proud to be part of what this nation stands for, it hurts me to see those on the Left trying to use this horrific event as a means to smear those with whom they disagree.
While the world focused on the tragic Arizona shootings, another horrific crime took place in New York City. The New York Post has reported that a Portuguese male model tortured and murdered his “sugar daddy” in a Manhattan hotel. For more than an hour, Renato Seabra, 20, beat Carlos Castro, 65, before he castrated the older fashion journalist with a wine corkscrew.
Seabra (pictured) said he murdered the journalist “to get rid of Castro’s homosexual demons”. The suspect then declared, “I’m not gay anymore!”
Like the Arizona assassin, Jared Loughner, there is no doubt that Renato Seabra is profoundly disturbed.
However, that does not absolve those who placed the dangerous idea that homosexuality is attributable to demons in Seabra’s head. Where might he have gotten such a notion?
We can start with the “ex-gay” organization Exodus International, where its President, Alan Chambers, once wrote, “One of the many evils this world has to offer is the sin of homosexuality. Satan, the enemy, is using people to further his agenda to destroy the Kingdom of God and as many souls as he can.”
Chambers also told a crowd of social conservatives, “We have to stand up against an evil agenda. It is an evil agenda and it will take anyone captive that is willing, or that is standing idly by.”
Given this harsh rhetoric, it is understandable that an unbalanced individual distressed about his sexual orientation might resort to violence. After all, Chambers clearly states that homosexuality is evil and then offers a remedy, which is to “stand up” against the perceived evil spirits and not stand “idly by”.
In Jeff Sharlet’s latest book, “C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy”, a Ugandan man justifies supporting the death penalty for gay people because, “They” – the gays – “are trying to end the human race.”
His comments sound strikingly similar to Focus on the Family’s founder James Dobson, who once told The Daily Oklahoman newspaper that same-sex marriage will “destroy the earth.”
This week, Pentecostal preacher Cindy Jacobs warned that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has caused God’s wrath, including the “potential that there is something that actually happened in the land where a hundred thousand drum fish died and also where these birds just fell out of the air.”
It is irrelevant whether Sebra or Loughner were directly influenced by the “spiritual warfare” of these preachers or the Tea Party’s vitriol. What matters is that the constant demonizing of certain groups of people – whether minorities, liberals, or employees of the federal government – sets the stage for bloody reprisals.
Social conservatives would likely counter that sanguinary acts come from the hands of deranged individuals. Technically, this is true – however public figures generally understand that a small percentage of their audience is unhinged from reality. So, providing fiery rhetoric that can incite mentally ill people to take criminal actions is grossly irresponsible and an abdication of moral leadership.
A perfect example of this disconnect is Rush Limbaugh. Even as he defended right wing extremists today from accusations that their rhetoric led to the Arizona massacre, blogger Jim Burroway provided a photograph of a Limbaugh promotional billboard in Tucson painted with bullet holes and the headline, “Straight Shooter”.
Such violent imagery was in line with Sarah Palin’s infamous graphic targeting vulnerable Democratic legislative districts with crosshairs. As we now know, critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was one of the legislators in Palin’s gun sights.
Unfortunately, the media tries to draw a moral equivalence between the rhetoric of the left and right, which is inaccurate and unhelpful. This bogus media attempt at “balance” obfuscates the reality that the vast majority of alarming rhetoric comes from Republicans and Tea Party adherents.
The root of the problem is people like Sarah Palin who say, “Don’t retreat – instead reload.”
It is people like Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) that inflame old passions by hinting at secession.
It is the Republican Party that wins power by attacking immigrants, bashing Muslims, and using anti-gay marriage amendments to drive voters to the polls.
It is House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who allowed the healthcare bill to be portrayed as a step toward communism.
It is former House Majority Leader Dick Armey who helped organize the bitter Town Hall health care meetings designed to intimidate legislators.
It is the GOP that disrespects the office of the President by acting as though Bill Clinton and Barack Obama lack legitimacy.
My intent is not to say that most Republicans are bigots, nor are I implying that the names I’ve mentioned are directly responsible for causing deaths. However, they have soured the political climate in America by consistently catering to bigots, pandering to religious extremists, serving as apologists for militia kooks, and entertaining the wild fantasies of sick conspiracy theorists. Instead of restoring sanity, they have treated these crackpots as if they were legitimate, even respected, constituencies.
It is time America stops living in denial and considers the possibility that over-the-top bombast may lead to a body count.
Tucson residents hold vigil outside the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the aftermath of Saturday's attempted assassination and mass shooting.
It is not often that I find it necessary to set aside my press credentials and lend an opinion to public discourse on any given subject that I report on. However, that said, I need to comment not as an American which I am not, nor as a Canadian which I am, but rather as a human being and responsible adult living in a divisive and polarized society here in the United States.
Earlier today, former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, issued a video statement in response to the tragic assassination attempt on the life of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which resulted in Rep. Giffords being critically injured, six persons left dead, including a nine year old child and a sitting federal judge, and 13 others seriously injured.
In the initial hours as law enforcement commenced their investigative work, the Sheriff of Pima County, Ariz., in a press briefing, made an impassioned statement regarding what the good sheriff felt was of a contributory circumstance to the shooter’s actions — the elevated vitriolic rhetoric that has been seen, heard, and utilized in the American political process particularly over these past three years.
Commentators, reporters, and the public immediately took positions both pro and con on the sheriff’s remarks, which by the way, he has consistently maintained accurately reflect his viewpoint through the course of the unfolding aftermath in Tucson.
During the coverage of this tragic event, myself, colleagues, and others in the blogosphere and media included a particular graphic that had been employed in the campaign by the political action committee headed by Palin, advocating specific “targeting” of opposition congressional districts including Representative Giffords in the last election cycle.
The graphic(s) were clearly depicting a series “gunsight crosshairs” superimposed over various congressional districts including Congresswoman Giffords’ district. This was intentional on our part to illustrate, in part, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik’s assertions.
Dupnik has been under relentless fire from conservatives since his impassioned and impromptu plea for an end to hateful and violent rhetoric. So much in fact, as ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer reported last evening on “World News Tonight,” the Sheriff and conservative hard line radio pundit Rush Limbaugh have traded barbs.
Palin has faced criticism for images that look like gun crosshairs to identify the districts of Democrats who were vulnerable in the 2010 elections, that of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot on Saturday.
Responsibility lies “not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election,” Palin said.
Palin placed blame on the media.”[E]specially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn,” she said. “That is reprehensible.”
I want to highlight specifically the former governor’s choice of using the term ‘blood libel’ when attempting to deflect responsibility for her own rhetoric and her critique of the media.
By using the term “blood libel” to describe the criticism about political rhetoric after the shootings, Palin was inventing a new definition for an emotionally laden phrase.
Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-semitism and violent pogroms against Jews.
Given that Congresswoman Giffords is Jewish, its absolutely reprehensible to ‘coin’ a term to use in a public statement such as that made by today by Palin.
Instead of taking ownership and accountability for the mere chance that the troubled and obviously mentally at risk shooter might have been influenced by such rhetoric, Palin, and in fact nearly all of the so-called conservative right, have attempted to blame the poisonous atmosphere that surrounds the American political landscape on the opposition and those who decry such vitriol.
The New York Times reported this morning:
Ms. Palin was not the only one to respond to criticism Wednesday. Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed Republican who lost her Senate race against Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, also issued a statement defending herself against criticism.
“Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people’s Constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant,” she said in the statement, according to media reports. “The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger.”
Ms. Angle said during the campaign that voters could pursue “Second Amendment remedies” if the political process doesn’t work for them. In the wake of the shooting, those remarks have been criticized anew.
But Ms. Angle said in her statement Wednesday that: “Finger-pointing towards political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known – that the shooter was obsessed with his twisted plans long before the Tea Party movement began.”
I see this as a massive effort to minimize the reality of this entire tragic event which no rational thinking individual cannot but help wonder what may have influenced the shooter’s decision, contributing to his apparent twisted mental state.
“We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults,” she said.
When is it acceptable to put gun sights on a political opponent in campaign literature, to encourage 2nd Amendment “solutions” and wanting your supporters to be “armed and dangerous?” This is definitely NOT nonviolent rhetoric, and this in no way “condems” violence.
I thought about embedding the former governor’s video recorded remarks, and decided that I am not going to be a party to further enabling her to spread a message that contains such a vile use of that term, attempting to redefine blood libel, in her efforts to be a ministrant to her core audience and followers and justify without holding herself accountable in a continuation of irresponsible political rhetoric.
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Federal prosecutors are assembling a case against suspected killer Jared Lee Loughner that portrays him as a man with psychological problems who was nonetheless competent enough to plot an assassination.
Mr. Loughner appeared Monday in federal court—his head shaved, shackled at the waist and dressed in a beige jail jumpsuit—to hear the government's charges of murder and attempted murder against him.
Federal prosecutors will try to show that Mr. Loughner planned the Saturday attack that killed six people, gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz) and injured 13 others.
During the hearing, Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson asked Mr. Loughner whether he understood the charges, which could carry the death penalty. "Yes, I understand," he replied in a loud voice.
Mr. Loughner was assigned two federal public defenders, including Judy Clarke, who had represented Theodore Kaczynski, the so-called Unabomber, as well as Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. She stood beside Mr. Loughner (pronounced LOFF-ner) at the hearing, frequently resting her hand on his shoulder.
Investigators are still trying to piece together the events leading to Saturday's shooting. Mr. Loughner tried that morning to buy bullets at a Wal-Mart store but was turned away, and then purchased some at another Wal-Mart, say people familiar with the matter, who relayed the preliminary findings of law-enforcement officials.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Mr. Loughner wasn't turned away from the first store but left before completing his purchase. "We stand ready to provide any information or video surveillance footage we may have to investigators," the company said in a statement.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage that allegedly shows Mr. Loughner in line Saturday to speak with Ms. Giffords in front of a Tucson supermarket, according to people familiar with the matter. He is seen standing behind U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, who was fatally shot moments later, these people said.
Interviews with friends, as well as online comments attributed to Mr. Loughner, suggest the 22-year-old high school dropout had struggled with mental-health issues.
Officials say Mr. Loughner had psychological problems but plotted his attack in a deliberate and orderly manner—buying a Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol in November and bullets the morning of the shooting. He wrote notes that suggested a grudge against Ms. Giffords over a perceived slight during a 2007 public event.
Mr. Loughner's parents told investigators they didn't realize the severity of their son's mental problems, say people familiar with the matter. Campus police had been notified of his disruptive behavior during classes at a community college. He was expelled in October.
Mr. Loughner has a petty criminal record, but investigators have found no evidence he was ever treated for mental-health problems.
In October 2008, Mr. Loughner was idling at a stoplight in a green 1969 Chevy Nova lent to him by his parents when he leaned out of the window to scrawl graffiti on a street sign, according to a police report.
After his arrest, Mr. Loughner helpfully drew the symbol he had inked on the sign in the police officer's notebook: a design that looked vaguely like a combination of the letters C and X. Mr. Loughner told the arresting officer it meant "Christian," and he confessed to other acts of graffiti vandalism, the report said.
Mr. Loughner paid restitution and attended a diversion program as punishment, a court administrator said.
About a year later, Mr. Loughner applied to be a volunteer dog-walker at a local animal shelter. He went through several hours of training and worked for several weeks in early 2010. But he was asked to leave when he refused to obey orders to keep dogs away from a contaminated area. "He was not listening," said Kim Janes, the center's manager.
Federal authorities have charged Mr. Loughner with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and a count of attempting to assassinate a member of Congress. More charges are expected, officials said.
The shooting highlights longstanding worries by federal officials of so-called lone-wolf attacks by individuals unconnected with any group.
The FBI in 2009 created a new counterterrorism initiative seeking to focus attention on such attacks. FBI Director Robert Mueller mentioned concerns about lone attackers Sunday, citing the Internet as a source of hate speech. "That absolutely presents a challenge for us, particularly when it results in what would be lone wolves or lone offenders undertaking attacks," he said.
The FBI's concerns are illustrated by such high-profile attacks as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta, and the series of bombings carried out over nearly two decades by Mr. Kaczynski, who lived in a remote cabin in Montana.
Don Borelli, a former counterterrorism official with the FBI, said investigators worry about lone wolf suspects because they are so hard to catch before they strike.
"In situations where you have a guy just hatching a plot in his mind and putting his rantings on the Internet, and he has the ability to get a weapon legally, that's a huge challenge for law enforcement,'' said Mr. Borelli, who now works at the Soufan Group, a global security consultancy firm.
—Charles Forelle and Stephanie Simon contributed to this article.
Is Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged mass murderer who shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, a right-wing extremist?
It’s hard to say. When you look at the Internet material he purportedly produced, the first impression you get is that the 22-year-old now in custody for the shooting of 19 people in Tucson was completely out of his mind, or at least mildly deranged. His writings will be virtually impossible for most people to understand, what with his references to unexplained numbers, his fondness for weird syllogisms, his unexplained references and his apparent semi-literacy.
That said, there are some clues.
At one point, Loughner refers disparagingly to “currency that’s not backed by gold or silver.” The idea that silver and gold are the only “constitutional” money is widespread in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement that produced so much violence in the 1990s. It’s linked to the core Patriot theory that the Federal Reserve is actually a private corporation run for the benefit of unnamed international bankers. So-called Patriots say paper money — what they refer to with a sneer as “Federal Reserve notes” — is not lawful.
At another, Loughner makes extraordinarily obscure comments about language and grammar, suggesting that the government engages in “mind control on the people by controlling grammar.” That’s not the kind of idea that’s very common out there, even on the Internet. In fact, I think it’s pretty clear that Loughner is taking ideas from Patriot conspiracy theorist David Wynn Miller of Milwaukee. Miller claims that the government uses grammar to “enslave” Americans and offers up his truly weird “Truth-language” as an antidote. For example, he says that if you add colons and hyphens to your name in a certain way, you are no longer taxable. Miller may be mad as a hatter, but he has a real following on the right.
Loughner talks about how you “can’t trust the government” and someone burns a U.S. flag in one of his videos. Although certain right-wing websites are already using that (and his listing of The Communist Manifesto as one of his favorite books) to claim that Loughner was a “left-winger,” that does not strike me as true. The main enemy of the Patriot movement is certainly the federal government. And so-called Patriots have certainly engaged in acts like burning the flag.
Finally, I think Loughner’s reading list, although it included children’s books and a few classics, had an underlying theme — the individual versus the totalitarian state. Certainly, that’s the explicit central theme of Ayn Rand’s We the Living and Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, among others. I would argue that that’s the way Loughlin seems to be reading The Communist Manifesto and Hitler’s Mein Kampf — as variants of a kind of generalized “smash the state” attitude.
Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates, which does similar work to that of Hatewatch, points out in a post earlier today that Loughner also makes a reference to a “second American constitution.” As Chip notes, that is commonly understood to refer to the Reconstruction amendments that freed the slaves and gave them citizenship, among other things. Chip says that “raises the question of a possible racist and anti-immigrant tie” in the Arizona shooting.
On top of that, Fox News is reporting on an internal Department of Homeland Security message suggesting some tie between Loughner and American Renaissance, a kind of white-collar racist group.
I can’t speak to those allegations. Outside of what Chip pointed out, I didn’t see anything that suggested racial, anti-Semitic or anti-immigrant animus in Loughner’s writings. Certainly, there’s nothing I saw at all reminiscent of American Renaissance, which focuses heavily on the alleged intellectual and psychological inferiority of black people.
At this early stage, I think Loughner is probably best described as a mentally ill or unstable person who was influenced by the rhetoric and demonizing propaganda around him. Ideology may not explain why he allegedly killed, but it could help explain how he selected his target.
One thing that seems clear is that Giffords, who was terribly wounded but survived, was the nearest and most obvious representative of “the government” that Loughner could find. Another is that he likely absorbed some of his anger from the vitriolic political atmosphere in the United States in general and Arizona in particular. Perhaps no one made that point better than Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, speaking to a press conference yesterday. “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 has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”
Last year, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) went around her Arizona district talking to constituents about health reform. Arizona State Rep. Steve Farley, also a Democrat, went with her, often sitting onstage looking out at seething audiences. Now that he's back and forth between his Tucson home and the hospital where Rep. Giffords lies gravely wounded after being shot in the head on Saturday, Rep. Farley draws a connection between the violent rhetoric and the literal violence.
"You'd go to these health-care town halls, where you get 2,000 screaming, hissing, booing, shouting-down-everybody people on the right, and you got the sense that there was this kind of primeval allure to being in a mob," Rep. Farley tells us. "It's driven by politics, and not rational politics at that."
The suspect, Jared Loughner, now stands accused of two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, the Arizona Republic reports. Six people were killed, and another 14 injured. Loughner, 22, shows signs of having been mentally unstable.
Rep. Farley says that it's unlikely Loughner acted out of political motivations, at least in the way that most folks understand politics. But he argues that violent political rhetoric has an effect on people like Loughner. "They're loners and they're looking for something to belong to, and those big angry mob things, they're a rush," Rep. Farley says. "It doesn't matter what we believe in -- we've got to tone it down. Because this is a democracy, and we can't govern if we don't respect each other."
The good news now, Mr. Farley reports, is that he sees signs in Tucson that people of all political stripes are pulling together and calling for peace.
Federal investigators are looking for more information on the background of Jared Lee Loughner, who opened fire at a public event in Tucson Saturday, killing six and critically wounding 14, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
According to a memo obtained by Fox News, the Department of Homeland Security is researching whether Loughner, 22, has ties to the conservative publication American Renaissance, which the DHS described as antigovernment, anti-immigration, anti-Semitic, and anti-ZOG, or the so-called Zionist Occupation Government.
Jared Taylor, the head of American Renaissance, told Fox News that the DHS's label was "scurrilous" and that there were no internal records that Loughner was a subscriber, or attended any events.
According to Politico, Loughner may not be pegged to any political faction. While some items in his YouTube and MySpace profiles show his obsession with the gold standard and hate for the federal government (representing the far right of American politics), he also recently "favorited" a video on YouTube of a burning American flag, which some affiliate with the far left of American politics. However, mental illness may also have played the ultimate role in the shooting. Loughner was suspended from Pima Community College in 2010. Administrators sent a letter home to his parents that said he would only be readmitted to the school if he obtained "a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the college does not present a danger to himself or others," according to ABC News.
Investigators are also looking for another man who may have been involved with the shooting. The person of interest has been identified as a white male, between the ages of 40 and 50, with dark hair, CNN reports. Security cameras caught an image of him at the scene of the shooting.
Giffords, a gay rights ally in the House of Representatives, had emergency surgery to treat the bullet wound to the head. Latest reports say that Giffords remains in critical condition but is now able to communicate using simple commands, although still unable to speak.
(THIS IS ACTUALLY A COPY OF NEW YORK TIMES' LIVE BLOG FROM EARLIER TODAY)
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and SARAH WHEATON
The flag flew at half-staff at the Capitol on Sunday.
Representative Gabrielle Giffords remains in critical condition after being shot in the head at a meet-and-greet in her Tucson area neighborhood Saturday. Police now say that 20 people in total were shot and that six people were killed in that shooting, including federal judge John Roll.
This live blog will try to capture the latest developments throughout the day.
We'll be back tomorrow, where we'll be watching the moment of silence at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, an update on Ms. Giffords's condition at around noon E.T., and Mr. Loughner's court appearance at around 4 p.m. E.T.
Sarah
7:08 P.M. |Drugs Kept Loughner Out of Army
The Times's Thom Shanker reports: A military official said Sunday that the suspect was not accepted by Army recruiters because he failed a drug screening test.
6:26 P.M. |Bill to Ban Crosshairs
Representative Bob Brady of Pennsylvania told The Caucus he plans to introduce a bill that would ban symbols like that now-infamous campaign crosshair map.
"You can't threaten the president with a bullseye or a crosshair," Mr. Brady, a Democrat, said, and his measure would make it a crime to do so to a member of Congress or federal employee, as well.
Asked if he believed the map incited the gunman in Tucson, he replied, "I don't know what's in that nut's head. I would rather be safe than sorry."
He continued, "This is not a wakeup call. This is a major alarm going off. We need to be more civil with each other. We need to tone down this rhetoric."
5:19 P.M. |Concern and Condolence From Space
Last night, Scott Kelly tweeted from the International Space Station: "I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, words of condolences and encouragement for the victims and their families." The astronaut is the brother-in-law of Ms. Giffords, and the twin of her husband, Captain Mark E. Kelly. Captain Kelly is also an astronaut, and he was scheduled to take the helm of the space station in three months, though that is now in doubt, the A.P. reports.
4:25 P.M. |Bloomberg on Arizona and Gun Violence
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York took to Twitter to reiterate one of his signature positions: "As I said in church today, the tragic shootings in AZ are a terrible reminder of gun violence in America. My prayers are with the victims."
4:10 P.M. |Evidence of Premeditation Detailed
Jared Lee Loughner's house in Tucson.
The federal complaint outlines discoveries from the investigation since the shooting on Saturday. In a search of Mr. Loughner's home, authorities found a note in a safe with a handwritten note saying, "I planned ahead," "My assassination," and "Giffords," as well as what appears to be Mr. Loughner's signature. Investigators also found a note, dated Aug. 30, 2007, addressed to "Mr. Jared Loughney" from Ms. Giffords's office thanking him for attending a "Congress in Your Corner" event in Tucson.
The complaint also details how Judge Roll came to be at the event. He received a call about it on Friday, and he came to speak to Ms. Giffords about the volume of cases at his federal district court -- bearing out the hypothesis offered by his colleague, Judge Alex Kozinski, to The Times's John Schwartz.
A Glock semi-automatic pistol that Mr. Loughner purchased on Nov. 30 in Tucson was recovered at the scene, according to the filing.
The United States Attorney in Arizona has filed five charges against Jared Lee Loughner: three charges of attempted murder (of Ms. Giffords and two members of her staff) and two charges of murdering federal employees (Judge Roll and Gabriel Zimmerman, the other Giffords staff member).
Mr. Loughner's first court appearance is scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. in Phoenix.
3:26 P.M. |Security Briefing for Congress
In a conference call with members of both parties, Mr. Boehner said that he had the Sergeant at Arms, Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct an "in-depth security overview" for members of Congress on Wednesday, as well as for district directors.
2:52 P.M. |Sheriff: Second Suspect Was Cab Driver; Not Involved
My colleague Marc Lacey reports the following about the second suspect in the Arizona shooting:
The Pima County sheriff said on Sunday that the search for a second person had ended. He said that a man seen in a security video shortly before the suspect shooter went on his spree had been found and interviewed and cleared of any involvement in the shootings.
Investigators said that the second man was a taxi driver who drove the suspected gunman to the scene. Upon arriving there, the passenger said he did not have change and he and the taxi driver went into the supermarket for change and the two then walked out together and separated.
2:43 P.M. |Obama Calls for Moment of Silence Monday
President Obama will delay his scheduled trip to New York on Tuesday and will call for a nationwide moment of silence at 11 a.m. on Monday, the White House announced Sunday.
"Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern standard time, I call on Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, including those still fighting for their lives," the president said in a statement. "It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart."
The president will observe the moment of silence with White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House, the statement said.
The president had been scheduled to travel to a General Electric battery factory in Schenectady on Tuesday.
In addition, the president issued a proclamation ordering that flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims of the shooting.
Here is the proclamation:
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on Saturday, January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, January 14, 2011. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
2:39 P.M. |Conservatives Take Issue With Links to Rhetoric
Erick Erickson, a leading conservative blogger, argues on Redstate.com that the media and left wing commentators are putting conservatives in danger by accusing them of being complicit in the Arizona shootings.
"By perpetuating the lie - by even treating it as a legitimate topic of consideration to revisit the accusations of violence and hate the media tried to run with prior to the November election - that the right and the tea party incited this evil act, the left and media may very well incite violence against the right," Mr. Erickson writes.
Mr. Erickson's post is similar to others on conservative websites which have taken issue with the argument that the heated political rhetoric may have influenced the gunman in the incident.
"The shooter is neither left-wing nor right-wing. He is crazy and evil - a word not used enough," Mr. Erickson writes. "The guy is very clearly not of the tea party movement, not a Dittohead, not led by Sarah Palin, me, or anyone else on the right."
He adds: "But the media, at least as of this morning and its accumulated coverage so far on this matter, could not care less. The media is intent on yet again exploring right-wing rhetoric and tea party hate. Left-wingers yesterday were falling all over themselves to blame everyone on the right for the horrific shooting."
Jack Shafer, writing in Slate, agrees with Mr. Erickson that the political rhetoric is not to blame.
He writes: "For as long as I've been alive, crosshairs and bull's-eyes have been an accepted part of the graphical lexicon when it comes to political debates. Such "inflammatory" words as targeting, attacking, destroying, blasting, crushing, burying, knee-capping, and others have similarly guided political thought and action. Not once have the use of these images or words tempted me or anybody else I know to kill. I've listened to, read-and even written!-vicious attacks on government without reaching for my gun. I've even gotten angry, for goodness' sake, without coming close to assassinating a politician or a judge."
"From what I can tell, I'm not an outlier," Mr. Shafer adds. "Only the tiniest handful of people-most of whom are already behind bars, in psychiatric institutions, or on psycho-meds-can be driven to kill by political whispers or shouts. Asking us to forever hold our tongues lest we awake their deeper demons infantilizes and neuters us and makes politicians no safer."
Those arguments anger those on the left. In a Twitter message, Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, called Shafer's article "nonsensical crap."
2:08 P.M. |Canada Offers Official Condolences For Arizona Shooting
Condolences continued to pour in Sunday for Ms. Giffords and the others shot in Arizona. Here's one from the foreign minister in Canada:
Canada Offers Condolences After Tragedy in Arizona
(No. 11 - January 8, 2010 - 11:30 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the shooting that took place this afternoon in Arizona.
"On behalf of the government and all Canadians, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of federal judge John Roll and the other innocent victims of this senseless act of violence. In particular, I offer sympathy to the family of the young girl among the victims, whose entire life was ahead of her.
"I would also like to wish a quick recovery to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and to all others who were injured.
"Canada stands with the people of the United States, our valued friend and neighbour, in this time of grief.
"Regardless of where they occur, attacks against democratically elected officials affect and undermine the safety of us all."
2:01 P.M. |Shooting Renews Debate Over Gun Control
The shooting in Arizona has once again sparked debate over the issue of gun control and the availability of guns like the one that Jared Laughner allegedly used in the incident.
Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a Democratic colleague of Ms. Giffords, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that gun laws "have to be examined."
And in an online posting, Paul Helmke, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, wrote that "we can and should do more to address the easy access to high-powered guns that make it too easy for dangerous and irresponsible people to disrupt and destroy the lives of innocent Americans, and political leaders who are simply trying to serve their communities and our country."
Jim Brady, the former White House press secretary, and his wife, Sarah, issued their own statement, according to USA Today. The statement reads: "We know the deep pain and horror that all the family members and loved ones who have been made victims by this man and his gun are going through. We wish we didn't, but we know it too well."
Jim Brady was shot in the head during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
But Republican lawmakers said Sunday morning that new gun laws are not the answer to stopping shootings like the one in Arizona.
"It's probably about a very sick individual and what should have been done for that person," said Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on Fox News Sunday. "But the weapons don't kill people. It's the individual that killed these people."
Mr. Paul noted that Ms. Giffords, while a Democrat, is an avid supporter of gun rights in her state.
"Interestingly, Representative Giffords was a defender of the Second Amendment and is a defender of the Second Amendment," Mr. Paul noted. "So no, I don't think that plays into this at all. Really, I think they are unrelated."
1:38 P.M. |Couric to Anchor CBS News From Tucson Monday
Katie Couric, the CBS News anchor, becomes the latest media personality to head to Tucson in the wake of the Arizona shootings. A spokeswoman for the network emails that Ms. Couric will anchor Monday's broadcast from Tucson.
UPDATE: ABC's Diane Sawyer will also film her news program in Tucson on Monday.
1:35 P.M. |Sheriff: Loughner Was at 2007 Event With Giffords
F.B.I. Director Robert S. Mueller III and Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on Sunday.
The suspect in the Arizona shooting, Jared Loughner, was apparently at a similar meet-and-greet event with Ms. Giffords in 2007, authorities said Sunday.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told reporters that "there was some correspondence between Giffords' office and him about a similar event and he was invited to attend."
Sheriff Dupnik said he did not know anything more about the 2007 event or why Loughner would have been invited to it.
1:27 P.M. |Woman Tried to Stop Shooter as He Tried to Reload
The alleged shooter in Arizona was attempting to reload his weapon when a woman grabbed the gun's magazine and ripped it away from him, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told reporters Sunday.
Mr. Dupnik said the woman was injured as she attempted to stop the suspect, who then tried to put another magazine in the gun, but the spring in the magazine failed.
The sheriff said that allowed two men to subdue the suspect until authorities arrived.
1:24 P.M. |F.B.I.: Domestic Terrorism Charges Possible in the Future
Mr. Mueller, the director of the F.B.I., said it is possible that the suspect in the case of the shooter could be eventually charged as a terrorist under the nation's domestic terrorism laws.
"I am not at all going to preclude the possibility that additional charges might be brought under the domestic terrorism statutes as the investigation continues," Mr. Mueller said.
1:20 P.M. |Rabbi: "This Is Our Time to Draw Together"
My colleague, Sam Dolnick, reports from Tuscon about a vigil Sunday morning for Ms. Giffords:
In Tucson, more than 100 people packed into the reform synagogue Congregation Chaverim Sunday morning for a prayer vigil for Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was a member, along with the other victims of the shooting.
It was the synagogue where Ms. Giffords, Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman, had her wedding to Navy captain Mark E. Kelly, officiated by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron in 2007.
The congregation brought out dozens of extra folding chairs, and congregants, their arms around each other swayed back and forth as they sang mourning prayers for the dead and wounded. Dozens of the people in the congregation knew Ms. Giffords but many others who didn't know her said they admired her and came to paid their respects. Some of those who gathered were not Jewish.
Rabbi Aaron was fighting back tears from the bema, as she talked about Ms. Giffords and asked the congregation to hold "Gabby's radiant smile" in their mind as they prayed. "This is our time to draw together," she said, adding that Ms. Giffords "has made such a difference in our Tucson community. May these prayers reach out to every person in this city of ours."
She concluded, "May we see each other in a new and different way. May we learn to truly listen to each other."
The service at the small multigenerational synagogue was one of many prayers and vigils going on today in Tucson for the victims of Saturday's shootings.
1:15 P.M. |Democrats Cancel Push Back Against Repeal Efforts
The shooting in Arizona continues to have impact on the political conversation in Washington.
Organizing for America, the political arm of President Obama and the Democratic National Committee, on Sunday announced that it was postponing plans to fight back against the Republican efforts to repeal health care legislation.
On Saturday, Republicans in the House announced they would delay the repeal efforts that had been scheduled for this coming week.
Here is the email from Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the DNC:
The events in the advisory below have been postponed due to yesterday's tragedy in Arizona.
***** MEDIA ADVISORY FOR JANUARY 10-12, 2011*****
Organizing for America Volunteers to Call On Members of Congress to Oppose Repeal of the Affordable Care Act
Activists will hold press conferences, host phone banks urging Congressional leaders to vote against repeal of health care law already benefitting millions of families and small businesses
Washington, D.C. - With Republicans planning to vote on legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act next week, OFA volunteers across the country will hold 71 press conferences in key districts around the country next week calling on Members of Congress to defend the tens of millions of Americans who are already benefiting from this historic law. OFA activists will hold press conferences outside the offices of Republican Representatives highlighting people in their communities who have been positively affected by provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Volunteers will also host phone banks to urge Republican Members of Congress to vote against repeal.
A repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be detrimental to tens of millions of Americans and blow a hole in the national deficit. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, 5,615,000 people with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage, 3,765,298 seniors would pay more out of pocket for prescription drugs, and 24,658,000 young adults would no longer be able to stay on their parents insurance. On top of the harm to Americans, the Congressional Budget Office has projected a repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit over the next ten years.
For more information on how the Affordable Care Act is impacting communities around the country, you can go to http://progress.barackobama.com/healthcare.html.
1:12 P.M. |FBI Director: Charges to be Filed Sunday Afternoon
FBI Director Robert Mueller said there is "no information at this time to suspect any specific threat remains" in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona.
He declined to speculate about a motive for the shooting. And he did not comment on questions about laws in Arizona that allow people to carry concealed weapons.
He said his agency was working with other agencies to "ensure that justice is done."
Regarding the "person of interest" that was announced by the Pima County sherff, Mr. Mueller said they are trying to identify a man they believe entered the store with the suspect. He said they do not believe the second individual is involved in the actual shooting, "but we need to identify him."
Mr. Mueller said he believes that charges in the shooting will be filed Sunday afternoon.
"I do believe he wil be charged with the assault on the congresswoman, the killing of Judge Roll, and the assault on the other staffers," Mr. Mueller said.
He said there have been discussions about the possibility about other charges that may be brought in federal or state court.
12:59 P.M. |VIDEO: Mother of Girl Says She Was "Robbed" of Princess
Roxanna Green, the mother of the nine-year-old girl who was killed in the Arizona shootings, said she was called by a friend to say that she should get to the hospital quickly on Saturday.
"We just all rushed over there," Ms. Green said on Fox News (see video below). "They told us the bad news, that she had a bullet hole through the chest. They tried to save her but she just couldn't make it. I saw her right after that. I spent a lot of time with her and said goodbye to her."
Ms. Green said she was "trying to be positive and strong, because that's what Christina would want." But she was clearly upset.
"I can't even put it into words," she said in the interview. "I can't express the devastation and hurt and how we were so robbed of our beautiful, beautiful princess."
12:41 P.M. |No Labels Group Calls For More Civility, Respect
No Labels, the group formed to promote a middle road in politics, issued a statement Sunday.
"The horrific act of violence that occurred Saturday in Arizona has shocked us all to our core and spurred many Americans to ask some hard questions, both about this specific incident and the larger political forces that may have contributed to it. We at No Labels believe this kind of conversation, as painful as the circumstances surrounding it are, is in the best interests and traditions of our country. At times of crisis, when our fundamental democratic values are threatened, we come together as Americans and directly confront our challenges.
But for our country to move forward from this tragedy, we have to talk carefully as well as candidly. We do not yet know all the facts behind this senseless act, and it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to rush to judgment or point fingers of blame at the moment, as some sadly have already done. This is no time for self-aggrandizement or partisan point-scoring -- that's part of the problem, not the solution.
It is clearly, though, a time for self-reflection, as Sheriff Dupnik eloquently put it. Based on the immediate and intuitive reactions of so many Americans, we know enough to say that something is deeply wrong with our political discourse -- and that with this incident, a dangerous line has been crossed. As we grieve for those who died and pray for the recovery of those who were injured, we hope this moment of mourning will lead us to engage each other with more civility and respect and see each other not as opponents or enemies but as Americans."
12:32 P.M. |Fox: Alleged Shooter May Have Ties to Racist Group
Fox News is reporting that the suspect in the Arizona shooting may have been influenced by American Renaissance, which the news channel describes as a pro-white racial publication.
On its Web site, Fox News cites an internal department of Homeland Security memo that says the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, may have ties to the publication or the group that puts it out.
According to Fox News: "The DHS memo states that there is "no direct connection" between Loughner and the group, "but strong suspicion is being directed at AmRen / American Renaissance. Suspect is possibly linked to this group. (through videos posted on his MySpace and YouTube account.). The group's ideology is anti-government, anti-immigration, anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti-Semitic."
Officials at the Homeland Security department said Sunday morning they do not believe the document is from their department.
The network reports that the group's leader, Jared Taylor, denied ever having heard of Loughner until Saturday.
12:19 P.M. |Giffords Able to Follow Simple Commands; In Coma Now
Gabrielle Giffords was able to respond to simple commands -- like squeezing her hand or showing two fingers -- after two hours of surgery Saturday night, but her injuries are very serious and she remains in critical condition, her doctors said Sunday.
Speaking in a news conference at the hospital, her doctors said the bullet went through the left side of her brain, from the back to the front, but -- importantly, they said -- it did not cross into the right side of her brain.
The doctors said Ms. Giffords remains unable to speak on a ventilator. She is in a medically-induced coma but has been woken up a couple of times to be examined by the doctors.
The chief of neurosurgery, Michael Lemole, said that he is "cautiously optimistic" about her recovery, but he said that recovery could take months or longer depending on how the next few days go.
"The things that are most concerning to us is if the bullet crosses from one hemisphere to the other, from one side to the other," he said. "That was not the case."
11:49 A.M. |Shooting Dominated National & International Headlines
The headlines in papers across the country -- and even in some papers across the world -- were striking. Here are a few of them.
11:32 A.M. |President Orders Flags at Half-Mast; Talks With Kelly
President Obama spoke to Mark Kelly, the husband of Ms. Giffords, Saturday night and expressed "his deep concern and full support," according to Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman.
The flags at the White House have been ordered to half-mast, Mr. Shapiro said. Mr. Obama was briefed on the shootings again Sunday morning at about 9 a.m. by his top homeland security adviser, John Brennan.
11:23 A.M. |VIDEO: Speaker Boehner Makes Remarks Saturday Morning
House Speaker John Boehner directed that the flags on the House side of the Capitol fly at half-mast in honor of Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, an aide to Ms. Giffords. Mr. Zimmerman was one of the people killed in the shooting Saturday.
Here are Mr. Boehner's comments:
11:15 A.M. |Palin Advisers Respond to Criticism About Target Map
One of Sarah Palin's top aides responded Sunday to mounting criticism that she had helped to incite the kind of violence that exploded in Arizona at a meet-and-greet by Ms. Giffords, wounding 20 and killing six.
In the wake of the shooting, many people drew attention to a map of the United States that had been part of one of Ms. Palin's Web sites that showed targets on the districts of lawmakers who supported President Obama's health care legislation.
Ms. Giffords was one of the targeted lawmakers, as she noted in an interview on MSNBC last year.
In a radio interview Saturday night, one of Ms. Palin's top aides, Rebecca Mansour, said of the map of lawmakers: "We never, ever, ever intended it to be gun sights." Ms Mansour said attemps to tie Ms. Palin to the violence were "obscene" and "appalling."
"I don't understand how anyone can be held responsible for someone who is completely mentally unstable like this," Ms. Mansour said. "Where I come from the person who is actually shooting is culpable. We had nothing whatsoever to do with this."
She added: "People who knew him said that he is left wing and very liberal. But that is not to say that I am blaming the left for him either."
Ms. Mansour, who helps run SarahPAC, Ms. Palin's political action committee, made the remarks to Tammy Bruce, a radio talk show host, on a podcast made public on the internet. Ms. Bruce is introduced at the beginning of her show as "a chick with a gun and a microphone."
Ms. Bruce complained on her show that liberals were incorrectly politicizing the shooting by blaming conservatives.
"We all know that the liberals, there's something wrong with them," Ms. Bruce said. "The reaction on the left was to start blaming somebody."
Ms. Bruce added that: "Saying that a mass murdering crazy guy is representative somehow of the political dialogue going on, especially with the non violent Tea Party movement....and yet there are attach this to the tea party and other politicians."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly attributed a Twitter message to Ms. Palin. The message was actually from a parody site designed to look like Ms. Palin's Twitter feed.
