Mr. Wow Blog
Mr. wOw Watches History Being Made — And It’s Not a Good Thing
12:00 am | January 12, 2011

Author: Mr. Wow | Category: Point of View | Comments: 120

AP

Will the tragic shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords ensure the election of Sarah Palin?

I will be brief (ish) because I am too angry and dispirited to belabor what I feel must be obvious to intelligent Democrats/liberals out there. The events of the past five days — the terrible shooting in Arizona, which left six dead and many wounded (most gravely, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who took a bullet through her brain and is still fighting for her life) — has confirmed only one thing. Sarah Palin will most definitely run for president, and thanks to the liberal media and the flock of blogging sheep they encourage, might just win.

The immediate crucifixion of Sarah — it was she who was responsible for the Arizona slaughter — did only one thing. It elevated this woman who has made a career out of victimization to new heights. No matter Palin’s often ugly rhetoric, or her “gunsight” map of Democratic foes: there was not, right from the start of this terrible event, one single shred of evidence that this young mental case assassin even knew who Sarah Palin is. (I refuse to use his name.) Indeed, the pot-smoking killer had it in for Giffords back in 2007, a year before Palin herself was in the political crosshairs, raised to glory by the shameless John McCain.

And yet, not only was the Internet alive with people blogging and condemning Palin, but her name flew off the lips of Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and dozens of other liberal pundits, commentators and editorial writers. Oh, no –nobody “reputable” actually said: “She’s responsible.” But in every reference to her, it was implied.

And I knew it would happen as soon as word came of the shooting. Minutes after the story hit online, conservatives in general and Mrs. Palin in particular were blamed.

I don’t like Mrs. Palin. I think she is cold, ignorant and scary. But wildly street smart. She knows how to woo her base and always escape criticism.

From the moment she appeared on the scene, the left has handled her incorrectly, lavishing her with negative attention, totally clueless that with every attack, she rose higher. Now, she has been essentially accused of murder. The political capital she will reap from this is incalculable. She need only look stricken at her next public appearance, and utter a few words that boil down to her usual “why me?” Her supporters are rabid. Not many millions, but millions enough. Enough to turn an election.

As for this being a “teachable moment” to tone down overheated rhetoric on both sides – well, what a bowl of steaming hypocritical crap that is. Spare me. Ugly talk has always been a part of politics. Go back and read what they said about each other back before the Civil War, for instance. Hair curling!  The vitriol has been pitched to a new level with the election of a black man into the White House — and those who hate that fact are not going to think and speak more carefully because of the Arizona horror. By the time the real campaigning begins for 2012, this talk of “civil discourse” will be long forgotten.

One last thing. Representative Giffords supports the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. Soooo … she was attempting to commit suicide, right?   Ridiculous? You bet. Just as ridiculous as laying the blame at Mrs. Palin’s feet.

If this woman becomes president, I know who to blame. And it ain’t conservatives.

Okay. This wasn’t brief (ish)  I’m too pissed to be ish.

Comments:
  • Mr. Wow, I disagree:  I think that the extremist right-wing reaction to the public’s reaction to the shooting may serve to alienate their small but annoyingly loud ranks even further from the bulk of Americans, who, I am glad to say, have shown a lot of common sense in the past couple of days.
     
    Yes, the accusations flew almost instantly.  It has been very, very interesting to watch reader comments on the various articles.  Those  who find fault with the shrill political rhetoric and violent imagery invoked in our political circles far outnumber those who pooh-pooh any connection.  There is also a small but growing number who say that one cannot blame politicians/the media directly, and we do have a right to free speech, BUT we should recognize that words have consequences; and even if it turns out that this shooter was not at all influenced by our toxic political atmosphere, it still would be worthwhile to return to a more civil, adult, cooperative discourse.  We should be able to disagree without calling each other traitors or calling upon gun imagery and exhorting followers to “take back” this or that.
     
    It is also worth noting that the majority of commenters say that most of this steady stream of hate, hysteria, violent rhetoric, gun imagery, and the like come from the Right.  The Left is not innocent, but the volume and tone is far lower from that side.
     
    These are the public’s perceptions.  And the Right is doing very little soul-searching; to the contrary, they are minimizing liberals’ concerns (which had been voiced nearly a year ago), as well as the public’s concerns.   They are attempting to paint themselves as “victims,” saying that “politicizing” the shooting is “obscene.”  Glenn Beck tells Sarah Palin to get protection for her family.
     
    Well, they should think again.  No one likes to have their concerns minimized or dismissed, and no one likes people who, when called out on their behavior, blame everyone else.  The swift public blame on the toxic political atmosphere is probably not entirely accurate, but it is very revealing:  the public is sick to death of it, largely because for years now, Congress has accomplished next to nothing, preferring instead to wallow in thoughtless, selfish, and increasingly vile partisanship.
     
    The Right ignores the public’s concerns at risk of their seats next election, because – right or wrong – the public perceives that the Right is increasingly bad for this country.

    1:00 am | January 12, 2011
    • Anais P

      Lila, well said! The right is doing everything possible, including blaming the victim, as the Tucson Tea Party founder did (he said Giffords should have had security), to escape criiticism. Instead of doing public soul-searching, making apologies for contributing violent rhetoric to the public discourse, or taking ANY responsibility for the violence which they ADVOCATED (“taking Second Amendment remedies,”  “don’t retreat, reload”), they are making things even worse. The Tea Party is taking the tacky step of trying to raise funds on this tragedy, and Sarah used the term used in association with anti-Semitism, “blood libel,” to make herself out to be the victim. Do these people have no shame? I like and respect Mr. Wow, but I think he may be wrong. The American people are fed up to their eyeballs with violence, guns and the rhetoric that goes with them. Either Sarah’s political career is toast, or the American people are incredibly stupid.

      7:00 am | January 13, 2011
    • Mahulda Fite

      Lila, the “public’s reaction” was against the liberals.  Almost 70% when polled did NOT think “political rhetoric” –left or right–had anything to do with the shootings.  Conservatives didn’t rush to “blame” their political enemies.  It is the liberals and bigmouth dems who are further alienating most Americans.

      The liberals should have kept their mouths shut until they had a clue as to what actually happened, but to think they are capable of any decent behavior is wishful thinking.  What should Palin do? Just sit there and let them essentially call her a murderer.  The left attacks, and conservatives are supposed to remain silent. If they defend themselves, they are “trying to make it about them”. The liberals dragged Palin into this and she is not about to let them take another victim. 

      Just listen to the loudest and most hateful voices, they always come from the left.

      7:23 pm | January 13, 2011
  • Maggie W

    Just as people cannot help but glance at the National Enquirer while in the grocery line, so it goes with Sarah. She is the star of an ongoing soap opera, and Americans can’t help but tune in. Her crassness and northwest frontier persona are refreshing to a certain segment of the electorate, but Sarah would never survive the primaries and the debates. The continual media clusters on the campaign trail would not be as gentle and kind as FOX.
    Mr. WoW, Sarah will not be a serious contender in 2012. She will only deflect from those who are serious contenders. This will be huge problem for the Republican old guard.
    Jared’s focus was on Ms. Giffords. There is nothing whatsoever to indicate he thought about Sarah Palin one way or the other. Sarah is a lightning rod, so it comes as no surprise the spotlight fell on her and the Tea Party. Sarah’s constant military and revolutionary jargon are no gimmick… that is truly who she is. It would be impossible for her to tone it down. At present, her silence is quite loud and what little has been said is silly. We’ve all seen her map. Her staffer’s suggestion there were only “surveyors’ symbols” is sheer nonsense. This is vintage Sarah. Rather than following the lead of other politicians and making a heartfelt statement about the tragedy of such senseless deaths, she has gone into victim mode again. Sarah has missed an opportunity to step up. Americans notice; indeed they do.

    1:37 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Maggie…I think most Americans notice the vast tundra bewtween Mrs. Palin’s ears.  But the smaller group that worships her…I worry. 

      Perhaps I worry too much.  In any case, I was not happy to identify myself as a liberal over the last six days.  Democrats just can’t help mucking it up.  No matter what absurd victim-speech rolls out of Palin’s mouth now, the Left will only have itself to blame as her “stardom” rises ever higher.

      11:39 am | January 12, 2011
    • Kathleen August

      Mr. Wow, I’m not clear on what you are blaming the Liberals/Democrats for.
      Palin and her ilk have finally been called out and Palin has finally revealed what she is made of. Most of us are unimpressed.

      2:37 am | January 15, 2011
  • Harriet Shoebridge

    As a Canadian, I refer to a recent publication, The Heart Does Break, a collection of essays written by Canadian authors on the subject of personal loss and grief.  A favourite quotation, posted on the jacket flyleaf, and one which I know to be true … Closure is a myth.  You learn to live with a hole in your heart.  As someone who spent part of every childhood summer stateside, I am very saddened by what I see happening in your country … dare I say, an empire imploding and the fear that comes with that uncertain transition.  The cunning victims and violent rhetoric serve a need, Mr.Wow, something to do with grief and loss and most assuredly the denial of.  Perhaps, god forbid, it will take a Palin-esque presidency and a backup chorus of violent rhetoric to wake up the American public.      

    5:28 am | January 12, 2011
    • Tee Zee

      Thank you Harriet, how beautiful “learn to live with a hole in your heart”.  I will use that quote.
       

      1:23 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Harriet Shoebridge

        Thank you, to you, for your kind reply.  Posted and to bed, to wake up and wary of misconceptions.  Yes, many up here see America as an imploding empire.  And, yes, many see the anger and fear as a response to.  But, and afterall, this is an American site and perhaps the words, the thoughts, could have remained north of the 49th.  That said, the book is The Heart Does Break and that particular quote is a fit for me.  Counselling, pills, weeping, blah-blah-blah until I finally said, quiet, one session, “I thought that if I talked enough, the words would push the pain away.  And that hasn’t happened.”  My thoughts.  As taken from the book, “Closure is a myth.  You learn to live with a hole in your heart.”  And, perhaps what I could have said, my perception, is that Americans may be trying to push away the sadness of the loss of empire with violent rhetoric and, yes, guns.  Empires come and go, you know.  Just look at the British and French and Italians, to name a few.  Leaving the people, the culture, as unique and quirky and all the stuff of a truly ‘adult’ nation.  But.  Once again.  Thank you … 

        2:18 pm | January 12, 2011
        • nan tucket

          At the most recent elections in November, I vowed if a certain candidate won the gubernatorial race, I would be moving to Canada.  That candidate did win; I am still in the USA, but it still seems like a good idea.

          2:20 pm | January 14, 2011
    • I have long said that if Palin is ever actually elected, I will leave the country.  I was thinking Costa Rica, France or Germany, but perhaps you can recommend some nice real estate up your way.

      8:17 am | January 13, 2011
  • Chris Glass`

    It is all too easy to assign blame to Sarah Palin, the radio announcers who stated that if elections didn’t change things a gun would or others. I stated earlier that the real issue behind this shooting and others is unaddressed mental illness and huge cuts in funding for clinics.
     
    Like you I agree there will be people jumping on the band wagon assigning blame or using it for a political platform. I hope this incident is not a viable way for anyone to build on their ambitions.

    6:18 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Chris…and had it been the other way around–a Republican politico shot–the Right would have been all over it like a cheap suit as well, looking for Lefty.  I really loathe all politicans.   Though from what I hear Giffords is better than most.  I am hoping her makes a full recovery.

      And perhaps when she does, she’ll rethink her position on guns. That nut couldn’t have killed six and wounded twenty with a knife.

      10:35 am | January 12, 2011
      • Baby Snooks

        If not, well, perhaps when she gets shot the next time she’s eating out in Houston along with hubby she might.

        http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7381036.html

        Legal gun owners aren’t necessarily responsible gun owners. And one has to wonder if our district attorney would have accepted charges had this woman been killed. There is something wrong with this country when “law-abiding citizens” begin to fear other “law-abiding citizens” and are afraid to go out to eat because someone may have had too much to drink and start waving their gun around, which happens a lot all around the country which the district attorneys for some reason also refuse to accept charges over since in most cases it’s just a “dispute” and no one actually fired the gun, or they move their coat and the gun may fall out of the coat pocket and accidentally discharge and kill them.  A well-armed citizenry indeed. A very dangerous well-armed citizenry.

        It’s very interesting that the “we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone” doesn’t apply to anyone carrying a concealed weapon as long as they have a permit.  You can’t carry one inside a bar, at least in Texas, but you can leave the gun in the glove compartment when you go to the bar and then take the gun into the restaurant when you go to sober up. 

        The lunatics, as they say, have taken over the asylum.

        7:46 am | January 14, 2011
        • Baby Snooks

          And since I’m already in an outrageous mood I might as well be completely outrageous and wonder if this need for a big gun in the hand on the part of many men is merely compensation for the little gun in their pants? 

          7:52 am | January 14, 2011
        • HauntedLady

          “someone may have had too much to drink and start waving their gun around, which happens a lot all around the country”
          Where is this happening? I think this may be a bit of exaggeration to support a point as this kind of thing is infrequent enough that it would be likely to make the news. I know it’s not happening in this part of the country.

          9:31 am | January 14, 2011
          • Hannah Smith

            Really? It happens in my part of the country every day, and my part is considered extremely liberal (southern California, thank you very much, one of the bastions of those heathen Leftys).

            1:05 pm | January 18, 2011
  • Kathy Ackerman

    While I get your fear — and share it to a certain extent — I don’t necessarily agree with you about how this will play out for Palin.
    I do agree with you that left-wing pundits initially overplayed the “Palin’s responsible” card.  Dumb idea.  But she’s done herself no favors by refusing to address the issues they raised.  Other than posting an initial sympathy blog on Facebook, she’s let her staff handle the issue — who promptly took down that awful map and then made those incredibly lame excuses. (Which, by the way, she received criticism for months and months ago for looking like gun targets — by no less than Gabby Giffords herself, among others).
     
    Okay, I just have to correct something I said.  Palin has now reacted…. in a video statement.  Rather than doing an interview, she bitched about journalists and pundits who  committed a “blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.”
    The Politico link is here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47477.html#ixzz1Ap8oiSvH
    But Palin’s support, while deep, has never been very wide.  The last poll I saw, which was issued in late December, had her support among Republicans at only 49 percent, down from 2008’s 67 percent.  That’s compared to Mitt Romney, who had 59 percent or Mike Huckabee, who had 67 percent.  And that’s just among REPUBLICANS.  Her support from Democrats and independents has always been non-existent.
    I don’t think she’s done herself any favors by her statement, and I don’t think she’ll go very much further.  But it is time for our long national obsession with Sarah Palin to be over.
     
     
     
     

    7:36 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Kathy…Palin doesn’t have to react “properly.”  She need only play the victim card–as apparently she is already doing. 
      Again, with no viable Republican candidates on the horizon, and with Obama so hated by the Right, I can see her elected almost by default.  I am somewhat cheered, however that O’s number have climbed a bit.  And he struck the exact correct note in this situation.
       

      10:40 am | January 12, 2011
      • Eternal victims make lousy leaders.  Good leadership is about the people.
         
        Palin’s style is all about her, i.e., a cult of personality… let’s see, who else cultivated cults of personality… oh, yes, Stalin, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini, Niyazov…

        8:25 am | January 13, 2011
        • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

          You forgot Obama.

          10:43 am | January 13, 2011
    • Mary

      Thank you for posting the link Kathy,  Just read it and will reread it again later, but right now I cannot wrap my head around her statement.  I realy am trying too but right now it looks typical Sarah. 

      12:11 pm | January 12, 2011
  • Bonnie O

    Mr. Wow –  For an entirely different set of reasons, I agree with you.

    Sarah Palin has not spoken (as far as I know) about the shootings nor has she fought back at those who essentially have accused her of being an accessory to murder.  The time for her to speak is not now …. but later when the memorial services have been held, when the President has made his address to the families and to the nation, when some time has passed, then Mrs. Palin should speak and speak with righteous indignation … to an audience that will be in sympathy with her.

    I am still of the opinion that Mrs. Palin is unelectable to the office of President.  But, as time passes, I am finding her to be a woman of substance.  I like her.  She may enter the campaign because her supporters might decide that they will support her or no one.  In order to keep the Tea Party folks more in tune with the GOP than the Democratic Party, Sarah Palin might find that her Tea Party support is not transferable to another Republican candidate.

    The actions of the last few days by those with liberal hell-bent intent to destroy Mrs. Palin, might, as you suggest, lead Sarah Palin to toss her bonnet into the ring of Presidential politics.

    I wish it were not so.

    7:59 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Bonnie…as you know, I do not find Mrs. Palin a woman of substance.  Be that as it may, in the matter of her actually becoming president.  Perhaps very unlikely. 

      But stranger things have happened.  Adam Sandler’s career, for example.

      11:06 am | January 12, 2011
      • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

        LOL!!(about Adam Sandler’s career!)
        I met and spent a day with Mr. Sandler and while his movies are pretty juvenile, he seemed to be an exceptionally nice, down-to-earth person. He often spends time with sick children and donates his time to children’s charities. Just sharing.
        Scarlett

        10:47 am | January 13, 2011
    • Baby Snooks

      Actually Sarah Palin has spoken out quite a bit about the shootings and while I didn’t get into the matter of her latest statement in which she compared the attacks on her and others as “blood libel” others have begun to – that is a term used to describe the false accusations against Jews through the centuries.  So now she is the ultimate victim. The victim of blood libel.  Jews are outraged. And should be.

      Her ignorance speaks for itself.  As does the ignorance of those who defend her.

      The Republican Party “owns” her and the rest of the lunatics and it “owns” what happened in Tucson simply because of its leaders who continue to defend their “right” to scream fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire simply to scare people and win elections. 

      Some of us remember what the Republican Party once was and are disgusted by what it has become.  And what it has become is a synonym for evil.

      3:14 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Ellie P

        Amen

        5:31 pm | January 12, 2011
        • Especially with Giffords and her slain aide both being Jewish.  Ugh.
           
          Let Palin keep the shovel, pretty soon the hole will be too deep for her to see out of, much less climb out of.

          8:27 am | January 13, 2011
      • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

        It never ceases to amaze me that O’Reilly can’t “lump” the 911 attackers into a group as Muslims, but ALL Republicans can be labeled “evil”.
        Scarlett

        1:04 pm | February 2, 2011
  • phyllis Doyle Pepe

    You are correct that Palin was bandied about by many, but the aforementioned Keith and Rachel both said that to connect Palin’s rhetoric with the shooting was not a fact. However, the conversation about political language being loaded with guns and crosshairs along with vitriolic slurs needs to be eliminated. You are probably right that all this talk of civility will be forgotten in time, but let’s hope a few new gun laws will emerge. It’s alarming to me that a nut job like this shooter would be able to obtain the type of automatic weapon and magazine that shoots thirty rounds in a shot. You may be riled over Sarah, but our real anger should be over our gun laws and the lack of mental health interventions.
    P.S. What many people don’t realize is that in the new health care reform is a stipulation that insurance companies must cover mental health care as well as physical care.

    9:12 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Phyllis…in this case I am not so much riled up by Mrs. Palin (I’m always riled by her–that’s a given) as I am by my “own” side, which instantly took a horrifying event and turned it into politcal capital.  The “other” side would have done the same, I know that. 
      Of course it is really a gun issue.  But nothing will ever be done about that.  No matter what the stats are on the thousands killed by guns, they will be forever available to one and all. Right now, somebody with absolutely no right to have a gun is buying one. 
       

      11:03 am | January 12, 2011
      • startingat40@gmail.com

        Gun sales have risen since the shooting. Shouldn’t there have been some type of waiting period after a tragedy like this for people to cool off? It’s scary, sad and depressing that history keeps repeating itself. When are we going to learn?

        9:20 am | January 13, 2011
    • alice ruth

      I emailed my congressman today, asking him to support the proposed bill by Representative Carolyn McCarthy to ban the sale of high capacity magazines for hand guns. I’m also hoping that Wal-Mart customers will consider contacting the company and pledging not to shop there until the company decides to stop selling high capacity magazines.  It’s discouraging to read that high capacity magazine sales have increased by almost 60% in Arizona in the past few days. What possible rationale could explain that?
      In my opinion, Sarah Palin has no chance of securing the Republican nomination for the Presidential race in 2012, but she may well be the spoiler that exhausts the good will and money resources that will be needed for whoever is the nominee.
      Budget cuts at state and national levels over the coming months will most likely increase the misery associated with the lack of resources for mental health care in this country. The ranks of homeless people swell each time states cut funding for programs for the mentally ill in order to “balance” ill-managed budgets. I have little hope that our current political climate will produce any good solutions for either the mental health issue or the gun issue.

      11:04 pm | January 13, 2011
  • Bonnie O

    Mr. Wow – Alas, Sarah Palin did speak out today … or rather she posted her comment and reactions on Facebook to answer those who have attacked her as a “cause” for the Saturday killings.  She speaks of “blood libel”.  She should have waited;  I believe those who would have listened to her (in greater sympathy) in three or four days will now conclude the political rhetoric is “even” and will be more interested in hearing the President.  Hopefully, his remarks will mourn those who have died, and speak of hope for those who were wounded ….. and leave all politics out of his message. 

    9:59 am | January 12, 2011
  • Baby Snooks

    Ugly talk has always been a part of politics.
    ___________________________________________

    That may be but that does not excuse it as so many are attempting to and the response now by Sarah Palin only furthers this curious belief that the founding fathers intended for us to have the right to scream fire in a crowded theater when there is no  And fire and to do so merely to cause panic. And to win elections.

    No one can say what exactly motivated this young man but it is folly at best, or worst, to believe that he was motivated by an event that occurred three years ago. That may have provided a focus for the misdirected emotions at work but be assured that focus was fueled along the way by the increasingly hateful rhetoric in our political discourse.  And that must not be overlooked. Or excused on the basis that it has always been part of it.  It is time for it to be dealt with. It was not the founding father’s intention that we be allowed to scream fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire and to do so merely to cause panic. Or to win elections. 

    I feel sorry for Gabrielle Giffords if she continues to support the unrestricted right to bear arms after she recovers from this. Guns do not kill people. People do. And some people should not have guns. Period.  The rationale that armed citizens somehow protect us all was proven to be false on Saturday in Tucson. It was unarmed citizens, not armed citizens, who prevented this tragedy from becoming an even worse tragedy. Guns do not kill people.  People with guns do. 

    This 2nd Amendment “right to bear arms” was meant to protect the citizens from a tyrannical government and provided the legal right to bear arms so that the citizens would have the means to “remove” the tyrannical government if need be. That was then. This is now.  Our courts have become the bulwark against a tyrannical government. Although one never knows does one? So the “right to bear arms” is a good one.  But that right should be restricted to responsible law-abiding citizens and to those who are mentally stable and, more importantly, to those who respect the Constitution and the rights of all.  Unfortunately most do not respect the rights of all. And would, under the right circumstances, shoot someone merely because they don’t like the color of their skin or their religious beliefs or their sexual orientation. And in fact, every day in this country, many do just that.  And worse get away with it in many cases.

    Be careful that you don’t enable the devil, Mr. Wow, when playing devil’s advocate or become the devil’s fool and I believe you and everyone else are the devil’s fools when you say Jared Loughner did not know who Sarah Palin was.  Even if he didn’t, although I cannot imagine anyone in this country not knowing who she is, no doubt he knew what her rhetoric was. 

    10:03 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear  Baby…I’m afraid my view on guns is rather extreme.  People who hunt for a living should have them.  Period.  And maybe cops. 
       
       

      10:57 am | January 12, 2011
    • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

      Intersting post BabySnooks and I will join Mr.Wow in playing Devil’s Advocate:
      It was unarmed citizens, not armed citizens, who prevented this tragedy from becoming an even worse tragedy.
      But had there been an “armed” citizen at this event, there may have been fewer casualities and the rampage may have been ended sooner. The “unarmed” citizens had to wait for the shooter to reload. An armed citizen could have stopped the massacre much sooner.
      And for further response:
      This 2nd Amendment “right to bear arms” was meant to protect the citizens from a tyrannical government and provided the legal right to bear arms so that the citizens would have the means to “remove” the tyrannical government if need be. That was then. This is now. 
      This same argument could be used by those that are oppossed to “anchor-babies”. I would bet that our founding fathers never anticipated the problems we face today with guns or illegal immigrants breaking the law to have their children born here and become
      legal” citizens through “illegal” means. I believe the law says that one must have “clean hands” to to be compensated or rewarded by the system. Thus, many could make the argument that the Constution should be changed to reflect this and many others would scream “NEVER” just as the many gun advocates yell against any infringement on gun rights.
      that right should be restricted to responsible law-abiding citizens and to those who are mentally stable and, more importantly, to those who respect the Constitution and the rights of all. 
      On this, I agree. But I think we should take this a step further. We should extend this reasoning and level of expectation to drivers of automobiles and to parents. No driver’s license for those that are not law-abiding and mentally stable and NO children to those that are not deemed law-abiding and mentally stable. I say let’s restrict guns, cars, and
      children to those that have been deemed law-abiding and mentally balanced.
      Just my humble opinion on your thoughts and response. I always enjoy your usually thoughtful and insightful posts.
      Scarlett

      When this same logic is applied to the “anchor babies”, you would think that Americans oppossed to children being born here (to law-breaking, illegal parents) being granted citizenship were calling for the mass murder of these children. I believe we should tread lightly anytime we consider changing the Constitution of the United States.

      10:59 am | January 12, 2011
      • Barbara

        Actually, Scarlett, I read a report that there were several armed people there.  From what I recall, a man recounted that he threw himself on the ground when the shooting started.  Then he got out his gun, came around a corner and saw a man standing with a pointed gun.  He was about to shoot the man with the gun when he realized that it was another armed bystander who was pointing his gun at the original perpetrator, who was being held on the ground.  The vignette stayed with me because he said he had to make a split second decision and thankfully made the decision not to fire.  If he had, he would have shot another person who thinks it’s a great idea to walk around armed.
        I just don’t buy into the idea that armed citizens as a whole create more protection.  Who says they have any better judgement than the criminals?  There was a case in Detroit just a few months ago where someone chased a guy who was breaking into his house.  He fired his gun at the would-be robber.  Unfortunately, Mr Brave Householder wasn’t so great of a shot and instead he killed an innocent teen who was down the street.  Mr Brave doesn’t want to be charged with even manslaughter because he was just protecting his property.  (I presume, it’s just too bad about the collateral damage of an innocent teen being killed.)

        8:57 am | January 13, 2011
        • Baby Snooks

          When people take the law into their own hands there is no law. Having a license to carry does not make you the law. That is not a “right” the 2nd Amendment gave to anyone. 

          “I was trying to shoot the shooter” may sound reasonable. A grand jury may not find it so reasonable. And indict you for murder. And honestly, if you took the law into your own hands and shot an innocent bystander, you deserve to be indicted. 

          Enough of the gods, the guns, and the Republicans. 

          1:12 pm | January 13, 2011
          • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

            I rarely come by here anymore, but I wish that I could cause you and several others to have an “Ebenezer Scrooge” type dream wherein you get a “glimpse” of “America Future” where the Godless, gunless, Democrats are left to fend for themselves. The “future” where the god-fearing, gun-toting, tax-paying, hard-working, Republicans have left the “few” working democrats to protect what they have left with their “liberal” books and quasi-pseudo intelligence. Oh, that’s if they can actually see anything from their vaulted, self-righteous perches as the they peer beneath their upturned noses.
            I have grown weary of the self-righteous spouting that is spewed here post after post. But I do respect you’s and other’s right to speak it without feeling the need to constantly remind dissenters how “ignorant” and “ill-informed” and “wrong-thinking” they are. 
            Respectfully,
            Scarlett

            12:47 pm | February 2, 2011
  • HauntedLady

    A lot can happen in a year so, while I understand your point and agree somewhat, I think Palin has not shown much in the way of genuine leadership or statecraft that we look for in our president. I don’t think it’s in her. Palin’s modus operandi is to deny any responsibility for anything and blame anyone and everyone. As for the shooter, he’s mentally ill and could have been set off by a bird chirping or a car backfiring or a horse farting as well as by political rhetoric.
    And the increased hate and vitriol manifested on various blogs and forums are not limited to politics, as easily found anywhere. I know this has always been a violent place but the veneer of civility demanded by face-to-face encounters has disappeared with the anonymity of the internet. It’s sad because this is a great opportunity to converse and exchange ideas with a whole world full of people.

    10:35 am | January 12, 2011
  • phyllis Doyle Pepe

    It’s not strictly that language tinged with violent imagery is dangerous, or that heated denunciations of the motivations of your political opponents are out of line, or even that America’s pervasive gun fetishization is to blame (though our gun culture is insane and bizarre to every single other developed nation in the world) for violent crimes. But when elites don’t just condone but participate in the combination of that violent imagery with the idea that the government represents an existential threat — that representatives of the government are domestic enemies, that your liberty and even your physical safety are in danger — the idea of political violence is normalized. Terrorizing Congress members at town halls and “we surround you” and head-stomping and death threats and all the other bad craziness just becomes “the way we do politics in America.”
    From Slate

    10:38 am | January 12, 2011
  • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

    Mr. Wow, I share your concern and outrage.
    Scarlett

    11:01 am | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Katie Scarlett…thank you, but I know we are coming from different points of concern and outrage.  I hate what the Left did this week, but I am also grimly concerned at the political hay Mrs. Palin can (is already!) making of it.  And who can blame her–she was handed a banquet.
      Let her live and prosper. Just don’t allow her near the White House.  I don’t beleive in Heaven or Hell, but for John McCain, there should be a long sultry Purgatory, at least.
       

      3:07 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

        but I know we are coming from different points of concern and outrage.
        Not neccessarily, for the most part I agree with all that you have said about Palin in this particular article and with your disgust over the way the shooting has been handled “politically”. And I agree that BOTH sides would have handled a similiar situation the same way. And I am also disgusted with the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. Enough is enough.
        But I don’t wish hell (or purgetory) on McCain and I support very limited gun control.(notice I didn’t say NO gun control, just very limited.)
        Speaking of purgetory and hell, have you ever watched a television show called Supernatural? It has great eye-candy and frequently causes me to question good and evil and heaven and hell.
        As always,
        Scarlett

        11:05 am | January 13, 2011
        • Baby Snooks

          One wonders what Scarlett would have done had Rhett publicly called her a “c**t” although one may assume that not only would Scarlett have wished him to hell she probably would have sent him there. 

          John McCain provided the platform along with the Republican Party for this “Backwoods Barbie” who unlike the real ones, god bless them, know how to shoot and skin a moose.  Lots of pioneer women on the wagons along the way in the history of this country. Sarah Palin obviously fell out of the wagon at some point and was left behind. 

          Any possible humor in this aside, the reality is that Sarah Palin may in the end prove to be very good for this country. She will have awakened the American people to how dangerous the Republican Party has become in this country. 

          It should be noted that Gabrielle Giffords left the Republican Party.  No one talks about that. Perhaps they should. Perhaps she will. 

          7:14 am | January 14, 2011
  • Mary

    I don’t believe that Sarah Palin is responsible for the Tuscon shootings, I didn’t believe it over the weekend and I don’t believe it today.  With that being said, when the targets appeared pre-election I said to many and maybe even here, that this was a huge mistake on her part and that if something did happen she would be held to task for it.  Now I fear that someone will use that as a excuse to act on their thoughts or ideas and copycat the shooter and copycat what the media and opinions of others have claimed because in their warped minds they will believe they are supporting Sarah Palin.  

    Decisions made are done and over.  At the time the targets were placed on the election map of Ms.Palins it was quite clear that they were targets.  No one refuted that and further Ms. Palin has made statements and suggestions that could lead any number of nuts that she and by her representation of the Tea Party stood for eliminating the opponent.  It is a sorry fact that this fuels the fire of the people who thrive on violence .  This is not new nor is it unique to the tea party or any other political arena and for that matter we can include the whole of society in one manner or another.  Why else would papers like the Globe, National Enquirer, Star etc . still be in publication today?  People love sensationalism and violence sells. They love the thrill of watching NASCAR races and crashes, they stop traffic to rubberneck accidents and newspapers sell out quickly when a new tragedy faces us.  Would they sell out if the headline was,  “World Peace Reached today”?  We go to war and claim that we want to stop terrorism but yet we ourselves promote it.  It’s just plain crazy. 

    I don’t wish anyone ill will nor do I promote any theory that Sarah Palin is responsible for this Tuscon tragedy.  I do wish she would get a new advisor that will give her some hints on being a bit more cautious of what she says and when she says it.  Overall I think that is her basic problem, however time will tell the future of the direction she takes and so be it. 

    12:02 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mary…a “new advisor?”  Why? The one she’s got has gotten her millions.  And the attention of the entire country.   And he or she wrote a vivid victimized response to all this. (I do not beleive the woman is capable of writing much of anything–she quit her job.)

      The Left has handed Mrs. Palin a great big gift this week.  Her advisors are in hog (or moose) heaven.

      1:47 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Mary

        Yes, Mr. Wow I correct myself on the advisor thingy.  I have read and re read the statement issued on Sarah’s web page and find it totally disgusting and in poor taste.  If a advisor gave this to her and she actually recited or read it and was ok with it, then she has presented further evidence that she is only about herself.

        7:48 am | January 13, 2011
  • Miss Lee

    In part I agree with you.  I doubt the young man that pulled the trigger was aware only of the voices in his troubled head. I also agree that her base will rise up to defend Ms. P.  However, after her comment about “blood libel” and the general firebrand tone of her response, I don’t think she could be elected dog catcher.  Independents elect the president in this country and they are clustered around the center of the political spectrum.  Ms. P has really scared them now and they will turn aware from her and to cooler heads.  The election is Mr. Obama’s to lose.

    12:06 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Miss Lee (I always think of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” when I reply to you!) 

      HAS she really scared them?  Let’s see.  I don’t think so. 

      Happy New Year!

      1:40 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Well, I have been scared of her ever since the “palling around with terrorists” remark from the 2008 campaign.  She has a way of rousing the rabble.  For me, the scariest moment of the 2008 campaign came slightly later, when McCain tried to calm the shrill and unreasonable fears of his supporters – and was booed for saying Obama was a “decent person.”  In my view, the thoughtless mob was on the cusp of being stirred up beyond recall, and McCain was losing control.  It was a mob that wanted to hate someone.
        http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/10/mccain-defends-his-rabid_n_133710.html

        8:51 am | January 13, 2011
        • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

          Kinda like the mobs that “hate” and “boo” Palin?

          11:06 am | January 13, 2011
          • Baby Snooks

            The mobs that “hate” and “boo” Palin don’t have guns in their hands the way the mobs that “hate” and “boo” Obama do.  Very dangerous people in this country and all of them being incited by Sarah Palins and the others who themselves are dangerous. As is anyone who screams fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire. 

            The Republicans own the violence they incite by allowing platforms for people like Sarah Palin.  And there is violence every day in this country incited by them.

            Not all the victims are members of Congress. Some are just ordinary people.Who other people don’t like for one reason or another. And who are looking for a reason to shoot and kill them.  Just because they don’t like them for one reason or another.

            6:06 am | January 14, 2011
          • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

            Of course as always, you are all-knowing (omnipotent) and it’s those awful Republicans that hold a monopoly on hatred and violence! Do you never tire of  being sanctmonious? Scarlett

            12:52 pm | February 2, 2011
          • Different in two ways:
             
            1)  People who boo Palin are from the opposite side of the political divide, not the same side.  McCain was booed by his OWN people.
             
            2) People who boo Palin do so over perceived negative remarks or actions.  McCain was booed by his own people for calling a man “decent.”

            5:34 pm | January 14, 2011
  • D C

    I don’t understand why, if it’s your choice, you would post a photo (albeit not all that flattering) of Silly Sarah. 

    12:37 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear DC….as this post was about Mrs. Palin, it seemed appropriate that her pic should appear.

      Happy New Year!

      1:32 pm | January 12, 2011
      • D C

        I just think the more her face is out there, the more her face will be out there, and there’s really no reason to give this woman one more second.  Her 15 minutes were up as soon as she started that ditzy reality show.  Would someone please plant her butt on a horse and turn said horse in a westerly direction so she may ride off into the sunset and be gone!

        11:14 pm | January 12, 2011
        • HauntedLady

          But that’s such a mean thing to do to a horse.

          11:09 am | January 13, 2011
  • I don’t think so Mr. Wow. People are already tiring of her and anxious to move forward in many ways. She is a connection to the last few years that whether she turned into something even sweeter, she would lose by association to a period of time rather than her rantings. In 2012, people will be looking for fresh leadership they feel is sound rather than being lead by the masses in being convinced. Her fame will only wind down to the history of the times, rather than an open book for the future. She has made solid perpetual ties to what will be discarded. No go in 2012.

    12:59 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Linda…from your mouth to God’s ears.

      I remains nervously alert to…insanity. 

      Happy New Year,

      1:37 pm | January 12, 2011
  • Paul Smith

    National hysterics, and finger pointing is wasting no time in 2011.  The treacly holiday season is officially over.  Mental illness is still the gorilla in the room in America.  Aside from a descent into substance abuse, which often needs the glamour of celebrity to make it sympathetic, problems of the mind are kept in the back of our national closet.  Sorry to say, Ms. Palin nor the tone of our nation’s discourse could have prevented Colombine, Virginia Tech, or the latest bloody rampage.

    1:20 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Paul…yes, mental illness and the ability to get guns!  That’s the real issue here.

      Truth be told, there’s no protection from lunatics, if they want to get you. 
      Despite media hysteria, politcial assassination is a rare thing.  (This all reminds me of the aftermath of 9/11 when the Bush administration kept saying, “Oh, but we’ve had no attacks since…”  As if America was the mid-east, beset constantly by bombings and attacks.)

      Let’s deal with our devotion to guns.  And maybe save a few lives.
       
       

      1:56 pm | January 12, 2011
      • alice ruth

        Now might be a good time to contact your representative in Congress and urge him/her to support the proposed bill by Representative Carolyn McCarthy to ban the sale of high capacity magazines for hand guns. I emailed my congressman this morning.

        11:12 pm | January 13, 2011
      • Baby Snooks

        The Brady Act was supposed to keep the guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and others who represent a threat to others including felons.  The problem is that the data bases are not maintained.  This is a problem with regard to crime statistics. Not everything is reported into a central data base. Organizations that deal with domestic abuse/violence and stalking have called for a national date base, just one, that would be a reliable data base of those who have been convicted in one state and then move to another state knowing their conviction may not show up.  We are a mess because our entire justice system is a mess.  In this case, he wouldn’t have been on the data base.  And would have been able to buy the gun.  And shoot whoever he wanted. 

        It is coming out that as with what happened at Virginia Tech the university knew but didn’t care. University law enforcement should be forced to report incidences to local law enforcement.  And yet they’re not.  Many cases of sexual assault/rape are never reported either. Instead they are handled by the university. Often with disasterous results for the victim.  The things people don’t know. Because they don’t want to know. Preferring to live in a world they view with rose-colored glasses. Until they become a victim. 

        Again, enough of the gods and the guns of the Republicans. And enough, really, of the Republicans.  And, to be honest, of the Democrats as well.  Neither party serves us.  

        One thing that might help is the banning of the “straight party ballot” and of the little “letter” beside each name on the ballot.  Might force the few who vote to actually pay attention to who instead of what  they’re voting for.

        And of course getting rid of the corporate money. Not likely to happen. One of the interesting things about the conviction of Tom De Lay is that prior to the conviction the US Supreme Court ruled that the law he was convicted of violating was unconstitutional. The charges should have been dismissed at that point. But, well, the Democrats love their vendettas and agendas just like the Republicans do.  Neither has any respect for law or the rule of law. Or for the Constitution. But then why should they? The US Supreme Court doesn’t as evidenced by Antonin Scalia announcing that the Constituition does not guarantee equal rights to women. Or to anyone other than those who are, well, him.  Of course him ain’t what the founding fathers, according to his logic, were protecting. They were protecting White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Not White Anglo-Saxon Catholics. 

        Bottom line of that US Supreme Court decision is that this country is no longer “of the people, by the people, for the people” but “of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation” and the corporate interests use the partisan political system to ensure it remains “of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation” and yet the prefer the Republican Party because it shares the belief that profit is a constitutional right and that profit comes before the people. 

        Bottom line of the gun laws is that they believe the best way to take care of the minority problem is to just shoot them.

        We had a mayor in Houston years ago who said the best way to take care of the problem of AIDS was to just “shoot the queers” and of course he was a Republican. He said he was joking. I doubt seriously that he was.  That is the mindset of some in this country. All of them Republicans. 

        People really don’t like the truth in this country.  That is why this country is collapsing finally. Our greatest enemy is ourselves. 

        6:35 am | January 14, 2011
        • Baby Snooks

          And this argument that “criminals have guns so everyone else should as well” is curious simply because there isn’t a gun in this country that originally wasn’t legally sold to someone.  Some of those someones in turn sold them to someone who is a criminal. 

          We have a problem in this country with “arms dealers” and while I don’t believe in the death penalty at this point under any circumstances because any circumstances in our justice system becomes all circumstances and it is becoming growingly apparent that we have executed quite a few innocent people in this country, most of whom were minorities and many of whom were convicted on tainted testimony by law enforcement officers, I do believe these “arms dealers” should be sentenced to life in prison without parole.  As should any law enforcement officer engaged in criminal activity directly or indirectly which is also becoming growingly apparent that many are. 

          We need only to look at Mexico to see where that leads. 

          8:07 am | January 14, 2011
  • Tee Zee

    I agree with Linda, I’m so over the wannabe “victim” Sarah.  What I’m hoping for in a candidate is leadership.  I agree that Sarah Palin is savvy, and in speaking of this tragedy her only concern is for her own characterization. Hey Sarah, does someone need to explain to you, “As you sow, so shall you reap”?
    My heart is with all the families touched by this tragedy.  I can’t begin to imagine how you cope with the loss of a child. My prayers are with everyone coping with loss.

    1:51 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Tee Zee…Nobody explains anything to Mrs. Palin.  They wind her up, they put her out there, they let maddness reign.

      She is Alaska’s St. Sebastian.  Without the creds.

      Although I think she had nothing to do with the Arizona tragedy, believe me, Palin has the conscience of a gnat.  If Mr. Crazy had cited her rhetoric, she’s still slide out of it.

      2:23 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Tee Zee

        St. Sebastian without the creds…I like that…thanks!

        8:16 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Ellie P

      Sarah Palin is a Professional Victim

      5:29 pm | January 12, 2011
  • Mary E. Sayler

    The shooting was basically a gun law and mental health incident.  NO ONE WITH ANY HISTORY OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUY A GUN–NO ONE!  As to Ms P, her method of talking and the images she uses are basically demeaning or violent.  If you are balanced mentally and emotionally this type of expression isn’t a problem but if not it can cause problems for some people.   Columbine and Virgina Tech come to mind.  We as a Country must change the Gun Laws and Mental Health Care to protect all of our citizens not the Gun lobby and makers.

    3:03 pm | January 12, 2011
  • Lizzie R.

    For Palin to come out with this comment today, the day of the Memorial Service, is so like her. Juat another self-serving comment, making it all about her. Not a word of sympathy for those killed, the survivors – nothing .All I can think of is that picture of her  cooly taking down that deer.
    Our sheriff started this bru-haha with the comments he made from the get-go. He was at a conference in California when the shootings occured, and driving back here immediately he had a lot of time to think, and this was the conclusion he reached. He’s 75, has been sheriff for years, always running unopposed. I think, for the situation, it just might have seemed apropriate, and others took it and ran with it. I’m inclined to somewhat agree with it.
    AZ has a very liberal gun law. There used to be a 2 day waiting period to obrtain a firearm. Now you can get a weapon in about 20 minutes. There have been so many shooting deaths here…more so since this liberal ruling took effect. Children have been killed, bar  fights, domestic violence, gang shootings. Small deaths that in the whole of things matter little, The last election brought a very nasty campaign between Giffords and her opponent, involving guns.
    The tragedy has brought the entire city together. They have been standing in line since last night to attend the Memorial Service tonight. When word came out that that group of deranged people from the Westboro Baptist Church were coming to disrupt the funerals of the victims, our Legislature sped thru a bill making this a crime, and hudreds of people dressed in white will shield the familes from any distractions.
    Our governor reduced funding for psychiatric care in the state,  Consequently people  like Loughner could get no treatment. We are forever getting very scary people in the hospital lobby seeking help who we have to call security for, as they are beyond frightening. There is no help for them. There isn’t anything to connect him with anything he heard on any talk show. He had a vendetta  toward her because of an earlier meeting when she could not reply to a garbled question he asked her. His statement was “Kill the bitch”
    People like Palin have fostered hate ever since they came on the scene, and to deny it is a hypocrasy. We cannout have a leader of our country who makes comments like she does. For example, making some-mores, when Michelle Obama is on a childhood obesity campaign, which is badly needed. She was wrong in coming out today with her comments. There are people who love to drive us apart. In this case a city/state is united over this tragedy.
    (Excuse any typos)

    4:04 pm | January 12, 2011
  • Ellie P

    Sarah Palin’s strategy seems to be to piss everyone off.  Animal rights activists, feminists, Jews, etc.  Pretty soon, she’ll only be left with her hard core followers. 

    5:28 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Ellie…Alas, her “hard core followers” number in the millions.

      5:58 pm | January 12, 2011
      • Ellie P

        about 2 million.  that’s not going to win her the presidency

        8:23 pm | January 12, 2011
        • Mr. Wow

          Dear Ellie…let’s  hope not.  But if the Republicans find themselves desperate for a candidate, and Little Miss bobs her head in Alaska…I’m teling you, it could happen.  Probably not.  

          Then again, nobody believed me when I said she’d be around long after McCain lost the run. 

          She’s not responsible for the carnage in Arizona.  But she’s still a pretty bad person. And I don’t mean that as a “blood libel.”

          9:39 pm | January 12, 2011
          • Ellie P

            She’s not the all power political star that the media portrays her to be.  Miller…she couldn’t get him elected in Alaska.  O’Donnell….she couldn’t get her elected in Delaware.  I doubt she’d be re elected in her home state.  Palin’s political star power is a mirage created by the media.  The nonstop media coverage feeds her ego and leads her to think she’s some kind of powerful Republican mover and shaker.  Outside her 2 million followers, she’s not considered qualified to be president.  And forget qualified, she’s too mentally unbalanced to be president.  Clinton, Bush, and Obama have faced worse criticism from the media and their opponents.  I don’t recall them comparing their plight to the Jews. 

            2:33 pm | January 13, 2011
  • Barbara

    So not Sarah Palin’s gun-totin’ talk’s fault but the fault of a lack of mental health care….wasn’t the same Sarah Palin the one who was so vocally against health care reform?  The same reform that was attempting, among other things, to provide health care services to more people?
    I do lay this on all those tea partiers led by Ms Palin.  They want to use gun imagery and then not be responsible when someone acts on that imagery.  They want to cut any semblance of health care reform and then decry the ability of someone clearly deranged to get mental health assistance.
    You can’t have it both ways.  When you use the big boy language, you have to take responsibility for the outcome.

    5:50 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Ellie P

      As usual Palin wants it both ways.  When she uses violent rhetoric and imagery, she calls it freedom of speech.  When confronted by her critics, she screams and holler about her critics denying her freedom of speech.  More hypocritical BS from her.  I don’t see how anyone can call her a ‘woman of substance’ unless the ‘substance’ is hatred.  That she has a ton to spare.

      8:28 pm | January 12, 2011
    • Chip Griswold

      Barbara,
      Doesn’t using that logic indict as many democratic politicians for this as well?  Doesn’t that also indict the TV and movie industry that continually produce shows off attempted assassinations, even of Presidents?  Wasn’t there a movie made with the assassination target George W. Bush.

      I think that’s a pretty broad brush stroke to paint.  Military metaphors, enemy metaphors are used often, perhaps too often, but often.  Even President Obama used some pretty dangerous “imagery.”  Didn’t he say something like, “if the enemy brings a knife, we will bring guns.” 

      I am hoping by “they” you are not singling out one person  you disagree with.  I don’t care for Palin, but she certainly isn’t the first, and I suspect won’t be the last to use this type of thing.

      If we are going to blame those who use imagery of this sort, there’s a lot of blame to go around.

      10:00 am | January 13, 2011
      • Hannah Smith

        Chris,
        I completely agree – there’s blame everywhere, and I recently read a CNN article quoting some who’d lived in the South during the Civil Rights era of the 60s mentioning just how eerily similar the climate is today – with politicians on both sides creating an environment that does have a tendency to engender violent discourse and violence as a result (though I, like Mr. Wow, don’t think the two exist as a direct parallel – there are far more and worse things in this country than a politician with a big mouth).
        That being said, I’d love for the right to come up with more than one Obama quote that fosters violence. Not that one is a pass, ’cause it’s not, but the dozens of Palin quotes – many of which are directly personal – out there really do seem to overshadow this paltry (and vague) Obama one I see keep coming up.

        1:08 pm | January 18, 2011
  • oldsufer

    I cant believe anyone takes sarah palin seriously – I, for the life of me, cannot figure out how in  the world she got this far – I just dont get it. It begs the question, really? are there really  enough people in this country who see her as the actual president – while I will admit she is not that stupid I do believe she does not represnt most women – she does not represent me and Im a republican – perhaps she should move to the midwest and run for school board – but president !?  come on lets get smart.

        This is a wounded country – a country that is strong but a country that is losing its spirit. People actually say out loud – this country has lost its hope -it has lost international respect -it is going to fail and then what? well,  I dont believe it at all,  this country of ours is still the greatest and the proof, for me, is reflected in how many people want to come into this country versus how many people want to get out  !!!  america is going to be ok – if we start thinking and above all respecting the office of the president and more over one another…

    sarah paliin – really?    

    3:48 am | January 13, 2011
  • Chip Griswold

    Normally I read each person contribution here.  Gonna skip it today, cause digesting a lot of Palin hate is just more of the same.  Don’t care.

    Mr. Wow,
    I have a lot of conservative friends (lot of liberal ones too).  None of us, NONE, want Palin to run, nor would we vote for her if she did.  The media that bashes her and elevates the loud minority that support her, ain’t gonna get her elected.  I think most of us, and it isn’t some visceral fleeting feeling, recognize that Palin is not Presidential material. 

    I sincerely believe you are getting your blood pressure up over a non-event.  IF Palin were to win the Republican primary, I believe you would witness the largest landslide win by a Democrat in the last 100 years.  Personally, I think in a heated primary run, she will lose and lose badly.

    Chip

    8:25 am | January 13, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Chip, I sincerely hope you are correct.  But please note, my blood pressure was truly raised by the ridiculous rush to judgement that Mrs. Palin was responsible for the actions of that Arizona lunatic. 

      In any case, the slight amount of sympathy I had for Palin on this issue has been wiped away by her statement yesterday.  It wasn’t at all necessary.  She just couldn’t resist putting herself back in the middle of the story.  A simple reiteration of her original brief tweet would have been enough.  And then she really screwed it up with her “blood libel” reference. 

      Anyway, Chip…again, I do hope you are correct.

      Best…

      10:26 am | January 13, 2011
    • Scarlett Ohara Mitchell

      I agree Chip!

      11:10 am | January 13, 2011
  • Janet

    Sarah prayed to God for several days and that’s what she came up with, blood libel?

    8:46 am | January 13, 2011
    • Tee Zee

      Janet, I too found that statement so profound, after praying for several days, that’s her best effort?  She is far too isolated to represent anyone other than herself.

      11:19 am | January 13, 2011
    • Baby Snooks

      She was praying to the Republican god. The one on the dollar bill. Trying to find a way to add some gasoline to the fire and boost her “ratings” so to speak. The only word I can think of besides evil with regard to her and the Republicans is vile.  She should talk about beyond reprehensible. She and the Republicans need to get a grip on reality finally. And a mirror. 

      And I am not too thrilled with the “memorial-turned-pep-rally” for Obama and the Democrats which of course will be used in future fundraising and political campaigns. 

      It was ill-timed simply because such memorials should be after the funerals and ill-advised but then Obama’s advisors were looking for a way to boost his “ratings” as well so to speak, and, well, tasteless.  Not a time to be cheering anything. For any reason.

      Shame on the people of Tucson. And on Sandra Day O’Connor. 

      1:28 pm | January 13, 2011
      • Lizzie R.

        This was NOT a nice thing to say. Tucson is a free spirited community who rallies together in a crisis. The entire Memorial was necessary at the time it was done. You have no idea how this has affected the community. People are  going to both the hospital and Gabby’s office and the flowers/candles/more are simply overwhelming.I doubt if Obama had much to do with the timing, and this was not a Democratic affair, as, you might have noticed the large number of Republicans there, including the audience. People lined up for hours just to get in. There were 13,000 inside the McKale center, plus another 13,000 overflow outside in the stadium. The fact there was a lot of yelling was because there were a lot of university students in attendance, and they yell. Yes, the yelling perhaps might have been for the fact that the entire city has responded  to this horrendous event, and they were responding to the fact of the total togetherness and agreement of all that was said. Criticism is unfair and unkind to be dumped upon a city that has experienced such trauma and grief.

        8:05 pm | January 13, 2011
        • alice ruth

          Well said, Lizzie. I find it puzzling that a number of people have publicly criticized the  memorial service in Tuscon. Surely the people of Tuscon should be allowed to honor the memory of those who died and to celebrate the lives of those who survived in whatever manner is appropriate to them. I watched the service on television and found it to be an uplifting experience, as it seemed to be to those in attendance. Many memorial services that I’ve attended for family and friends have been celebratory, not mournful. It’s the send-off I hope will be planned for me.
          I was mindful throughout the service that President Obama is the father of two young daughters, and I thought his references to the nine year old girl who was killed were comforting, heartfelt, and entirely appropriate.

          11:28 pm | January 13, 2011
        • Baby Snooks

          I disagree strongly as do others simply because the people of Tucson allowed a memorial for the victims to be turned into a pep rally for Barack Obama and the Democrats and fueled the partisan fires even more in the process. 

          There was also this “let’s move on” tone as well.  How wonderful for the families still grieving. “Let’s move on.”  Before they have even buried their loved ones.

          There is not only a lack of civility in this country but a lack of propriety.

          6:42 am | January 14, 2011
  • Chip Griswold

    Okay one more comment:  Does anyone here, anyone, really believe Palin knew the history behing “blood libel?”  She probably heard it somewheres else, repeated it and is clueless about the historical context.  Those who are history buffs will say she should have known; I suspect most people didn’t know prior to her ill-chosen remarks.  Intellectuals will make far too much of this. 

    This is where I agree with Mr. Wow.  Bringing attention to this stuff, brings attention to Palin, and keeps her in the news.  And that, of course, increases her name recognition……….

    9:30 am | January 13, 2011
    • Chip Griswold

      behing = behind.  Have a bad typo day.

      9:31 am | January 13, 2011
    • Baby Snooks

      Does anyone believe someone isn’t “scripting” all of this for her? They KNEW the implication and they also KNEW what the reaction would be.  But then, well, remember that Sarah Palin represents those who believe this is a “Christian” nation.  And I will leave that at that. 

      1:33 pm | January 13, 2011
      • HauntedLady

        I have to agree with you here, Snooks. Without a script, Sarah is about as articulate as Jerry Mahoney or Mortimer Snerd. I realize politicians can’t know everything and need to rely on advisors, researchers, etc., but anyone who seeks to be a leader has to make sure they have good people supporting them and take final responsibility. Palin hasn’t shown any indication of doing either.

        6:33 pm | January 13, 2011
      • Chip Griswold

        I do believe that it is a possibility she is not scripted.  People who tend to have big egos, and particularly those who have had their egos fed by a following (good or bad), tend to think they are smarter than they really are.  I would not be at all surprised is she did this on her own.  I am not so sure she is smart enough to seek or accept the advice of others in situations like this…..but then, I ain’t all that smart either.  So who knows.

        11:04 am | January 14, 2011
  • Chip Griswold

    Okay.  One more, more, final last thing.

    Mr. Wow,
    This was a terrific piece by the way.  It was a thought provoking, honest, fact based appraisal that many should read. 

    Thanks,
    Chip

    9:51 am | January 13, 2011
    • ~ countrywoman ~

      Good afternoon Chip Griswold

      I am always interested to read Mr. Wow’s contributions here too, as well as the reflections from the other posters. 

      I think you are quite correct in that she probably didn’t understand the implications of her “blood-libel” reference, but after watching Ms. Palin’s “State of the Sarah” message,” it appears to me that there is more to it.  I think she has a saboteur in her midst.  While she obviously rehearsed and struggled through the delivery of those words, they were definitely not her own.  And the person who wrote that pathetic whining pity-party for her must surely have known how it would be received at a time like this.  Reminded me of a big kid on the playground teaching a little kid some foul language and then waiting behing the swingset to watch the teacher’s reaction.  She can afford high-priced advisors, but good judgment is something money can’t buy.

      I join with those who wish she would take her inflammatory divisive rhetoric home to Alaska and fade from the public discourse.  Alas, she is a sideshow we can’t stop watching, hence we continue to feed the frenzy.   Popcorn, anyone?

      :-} 

      5:12 pm | January 13, 2011
      • Chip Griswold

        Good Morning Countrywoman,

        “She can afford high-priced advisors, but good judgment is something money can’t buy.” Exactly.

        Perhaps it is my maturing years, but I just think she shouldn’t “tweet” responses.  Just one of many reasons I think she is not Presidential material, or even close to it.  A “tweeting” president just doesn’t …..sheesh I don’t know, but it just doesn’t something.

        If you are correct, and someone is writing words for her, and they are not a saboteur, she really has problems.

        My initial guess was that Sarah Palin could possibly be a little more full of herself than is prudent; and, decides to write her this stuff herself.  In fact, I suspect some of it is almost a not so well thought out response, but more knee jerk. 

        I still think she was unfairly attacked in all of this, which I think is really disgusting.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t admit she fuels the fire – before, during, and after everything.

        8:01 am | January 14, 2011
  • isa

    Mr wow, I have said this before…. Sarah Palin speaks mostly to the fear and anger that people feel.  Because of that, I do wish Sarah were more cognizant of how she is actually affecting people.  But….as President Obama said in his address in Tucson, in the final analysis I also believe that the goodness, the hope and awareness in people’s hearts will outweigh the fear and the possible destruction.   

    I wish you and the wowowow community a Joyful and Sane New Year! 

    2:04 pm | January 13, 2011
  • Elizabeth R

    I don’t hold Sarah Palin personally responsible for what happened in Tucson, and I don’t believe most thinking people do, either.  However, the kind of verbal imagery that she, Michele Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc., engage in is more than “ugly”–it’s destructive and shows our nation at its absolute worst.  Language matters.  It can set a tone that is unreasonable, combative and tends to encourage violence, especially in individuals who may be mentally unbalanced, as the Tucson shooter appears to be.  It can go from free speech (which I support) into the realm of veiled aggression (which I don’t).

    Mrs. Palin has a fiercely protective base of far-right Republicans and tea partyers, fellow mama grizzlies, etc.  They will support her no matter what she says or does.  Although she is young, attractive and highly photogenic (do you honestly think she’d have gotten this far if she weren’t?), very clever and usually politically street-smart, she is deficient in the intellectual capacity, critical thinking ability and personal stability to serve as our nation’s President.  I think most Americans agree.  If I were President Obama, one of my favorite dreams would involve facing Sarah Palin in 2012. 

    7:55 pm | January 13, 2011
    • LandofLove

      Bravo, Elizabeth.

      7:19 am | January 14, 2011
  • elaine s

    I think Sarah Palin has lost her chances at elected office. 

    The Arizona tragedy has drawn many of us together in recognizing we are sick of what she represents.

    As a third party candidate, all she would do is split the vote, ensuring an Obama win.  The Repubicans won’t nominate her, in my opinion, because the mood of the country is shifting away from what she represents.  They are smart enough to recognize she would be a liability.  A contest between her and Obama would be a landslide for Obama. 

    While we can’t blame the right wing hate talk for the Arizona tragedy, we can say that hate talk fans the flames of paranoia.  The shooter is paranoid, and when crazy people hear political hate talk, they hear it in a different way than a normal person does.  Many normal people are sick and tired of all the hateful rhetoric, period.

    Sarah is linked to right wing hate rhetoric and guns. 

    Many people believe the Arizona shooter wouldn’t have been able to do as much damage had he not had a semi-automatic weapon.  Ideally, he wouldn’t have had a gun at all.  Gun laws in Arizona are nonexistent, and that has to change. 

    Nationwide, we need to be careful with our words and we need to make it harder to kill each other by working on sensible gun laws. 

    9:36 pm | January 13, 2011
    • Baby Snooks

      While we can’t blame the right wing hate talk for the Arizona tragedy, we can say that hate talk fans the flames of paranoia.  The shooter is paranoid, and when crazy people hear political hate talk, they hear it in a different way than a normal person does.

      ________________________________________________________

      And they often go and buy a gun and go on a rampage. And so in that sense, yes, we can blame the right wing hate talk.  And should. 

      The Republicans have made it clear they believe the 1st Amendment guarantees the right to scream fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire. And yet believe they should not be held accountable when people are trampled to death in the ensuing panic? 

      6:49 am | January 14, 2011
  • V B

    Send in the clowns

    11:20 pm | January 13, 2011
  • macwoof woof

    excuse me but seems like you as well are keeping the Palin thing going mr. wow.
    out of curiosity do you think the radio announcers that declared the Tutsi to be vermin were less responsible than the ones that wielded the machetes?
    “You have to work harder, the graves are not full,” urged the voice on the radio. In April 1994, when the genocide started in Rwanda, ordinary people were glued to their receivers. In a part of the world where most people do not have electricity, that’s the way information gets disseminated. But in Rwanda that spring the popular radio stations seemed to have only one aim: to incite the Hutu masses to exterminate their Tutsi neighbors.

    11:22 pm | January 13, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mac…you have a point.  However, this post was not so much about Sarah, as it was criticism of the left-wing writers, pundits and commentators who dragged Palin in, and made her part of the Arizona story. 

      Now, she won’t get out of it!  Even miniminally intelligent Republicans like former Bush press secretary Dana Perino, criticized Palin’s glazed, robotic eight-minute video.  “She should have waited for the president to speak, and then said very little” said Dana, although she then went on to shrug off Obama’s remarks at the memorial. 

      On Monday, Palin will appear with Sean Hannity. (Cut to a furious, pouting Greta Van Susteren!)   Mrs. Palin will be in fine form, and her critics critics in the liberal media have only themselves to blame for another fine opportunity for her to do that voodoo that she do so well.

      11:15 am | January 14, 2011
  • Cameron Talbott

    Mr. Wow,
    I agree that this tragedy was followed by self-serving political gaming on both sides.  What a shame.  The real cause of this tragic event was quite similar to the cause of the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech:  an individual identified as mentally unstable with the potential for violence did not receive the mental health care he desperately needed.  That is the issue that should be discussed right now.  Shame on the left, shame on the right, shame on the media who is covering this petty bickering and finger-pointing as if it is news. 
    Responsible journalists would be searching to find out why this individual with known instability and violent tendencies did not actually receive any mental health services.   And they would be advocating for solutions to better manage community mental health challenges so that a tragedy like this does not have to happen again.  Just my pragmatic 2 cents…

    7:24 pm | January 14, 2011
  • Kathleen August

    It’s interesting to watch Ms. Palin and so many others (Angle, Bachmann, Beck, Coulter, etc. etc.) try to run from accountability for helping to create an atmosphere of hate and violence with their irresponsible rhetoric and imagery.
    They claim that the Az shooter was not politically motivated. Really? How do they know? Just because he wasn’t carrying a Tea Party/Palin picket doesn’t mean that he – and, God forbid, other crazies – aren’t INFLUENCED and MOTIVATED to act out in a political climate that suggests such behavior is ok.
    Bottom line, if you have cross hairs identifying the names and locations of your political foes and you use terms such as “reload” to urge a course of action, then you are partly responsible for what happens. And despite numerous complaints about it, including from Giffords herself, Palin did not remove the cross hairs map from her website until last Saturday – AFTER the shootings.
    Most telling in Palin’s video, where she tries to deflect blame onto virtually everyone but herself, is her utter lack of compassion or sympathy. Mama Grizzly only cares about her own ill-mannered bunch – she doesn’t give a damn about anyone else’s children – even when they are shot to death in the attempt to assassinate the woman Palin put a cross hairs on.
    Reverse the situation. What if it had been thew Democrats who had been fomenting hate and violence against the Republicans/Tea Partyers, culminating in a tragedy such as the one in Az. Can you just imagine the reaction of Palin, Beck, et al?
    If Palin had “manned up,” taken responsibility, apologized to the Az families and the American people – she might have a good chance at the Presidency. But her cold, arrogant, self-serving, unsympathetic attempt to lay the blame at the feet of others suggests a disturbing personality disorder.
    She will doubtless remain a shrill and negative presence on the political scene, but as far as candidacy is concerned – I think she’s done.
     

    2:17 am | January 15, 2011
  • Baby Snooks

    No one can speak for the victims better than the victims themselves. And one of the victims has now spoken.  Loud and clear. 

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47620.html

    “It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target,” Eric Fuller said in an interviw with Democracy NOW.

    “Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled — senseless hatred leading to murder, lunatic fringe anarchism, subscribed to by John Boehner, mainstream rebels with vengeance for all — even 9-year-old girls,” he added, referring to the death of Christina Taylor Green.

    “I would put Sarah Palin in first place there. I think, really, she should be incarcerated for treason for advocating assassinating public officials,” Fuller said in an interview with Media Matters. “That map I saw that she published on the Internet had crosshairs on it and one of them was meant for Gabrielle Giffords.”
    Sarah Palin and the rest of the “patriots” including the Republican “leaders” who have defended their right to scream fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire are what is wrong with this country.  Their actions are no different from those in the early days of the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. And they, like George W Bush, believe that if you aren’t with them, you are against them. And are the enemy. And will be “targeted” and “removed” if need be. 

    Divide and conquer. We have been divided and conquered.  But the problem is a house divided always falls. And we will fall. Just as Nazi Germany did.  Although we will fall from within.  No one will need to drop a bomb on us. We have already dropped it on ourselves. 

    5:59 am | January 15, 2011
    • Kathleen August

      I agree. I think too many commentators and officials are either failing to connect the dots – or they want to do what we have done waaay too many times before whenever the Republicans behave unconscionably – starting with Donald Segretti and his dirty tricks right up to the travesty that was the Bush administration.
       
      Each time we are told in so many words that what’s done is done and everybody’s to blame – so get over it. And we have, and no one is ever held accountable – which is why the political climate has deteriorated to this point.
       
      But it’s time we stand up to these sociopathic bullies, call them out on their reprehensible behavior and put the responsibility squarely where it belongs.
       

      11:53 pm | January 15, 2011
  • Baby Snooks

    The real danger of Sarah Palin and “all of this” is that it is making Jeb Bush look quite attractive to quite a few.

    So many snakes. So many snake charmers.  And my observation through the years is that wherever you have snakes and snake charmers you usually have a Bush in the basket manipulating both. 

    9:10 am | January 15, 2011
  • CYNTHIA NEIL

    Dear Mr. Wow,
    While I agree with almost everything you said,I hope I can reassure you on the point about Sarah Palin.  She will never be president.   She may get the Republican nomination ( but I doubt that truly), but even if she did she would not win.  She is self serving, self absorbed and flat out ignorant. And she has done nothing to educate herself about the world she doesn’t know.  The people see this. She mentored O’Donnell because they were birds of a feather.
    Yes the people have been trying to vote people they would “like to have a beer with”. But they have learned that they do not want someone like themselves.   They may learn slowly, but they learn. I truly believe that.

    9:35 pm | January 15, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Cynthia…Thank you for the reassurance.  I’m not terribly reassured, but I’ll try to stay calm.

      11:10 am | January 17, 2011
  • Baby Snooks

    Watching South Pacific this afternoon on TMC I wondered how many others were watching it as well and remembering an America that simply no longer exists.  The war forced us to not only confront enemies without but enemies within.  The enemies within, our prejudices. Our hatred of those different from us.  Who nonetheless were part of us.  United we stood.

    That song. “You Have to Be Carefully Taught.”  The lyrics:

    You’ve got to be taught
    To hate and fear
    You’ve got to be taught
    From year to Year
    It’s got to be drummed
    in your dear little ear
    You’ve got to be carefully taught

    You’ve got to be taught
    To be Afraid
    Of people whose eyes
    are oddly made
    And people whose skin
    Is a different shade
    You’ve got to be carefully taught

    You’ve got to be taught
    Before it’s too late
    Before you are 6 or 7 or 8
    To hate all the people
    your relatives hate
    You’ve got to be carefully taught

    – Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

    Some of us, it seems, were carefully taught.  And taught well.  

    4:44 pm | January 16, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Oh, Baby!  How wonderful to print these lyrics.  I often cite this song, when I’m told that bigotry and intolerance are things of the past.

      11:08 am | January 17, 2011
  • Andy C

    My reaction to her shameless self-promotion was indignation that she dared to use this tragedy as a stepping stone for her career.  The media needs to stop slavering after her and bringing her to national attention.  She only had the right to her opinion, as you and I do, but not as a spokesperson for any group and certainly not on national television.  It angered me so that she dared use this, though why it surprised me I don’t know.  She’ll use anything and anyone to promote herself:  her children, her husband, a pop television show and now a tragedy such as this.  She frightens me because there are those who sit with mouth agape nodding their heads like those little wobble dogs people had in the window at the back of their cars.

    8:00 am | January 18, 2011
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Andy…

      Despite being unfairly blamed to the Tuscon event, this was her moment to show humility, grace and intelligence.  She chose to be her usual arrogant, defensive, tunnel-blind self.  Her base loved it.

      3:06 pm | January 19, 2011
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