Six people died in the Tucson, AZ shooting:
Christina Taylor Green
Dorothy Morris
John Roll
Phyllis Schneck
Dorwin Stoddard
Gabriel Zimmerman
Fourteen others were wounded, but these people — each some mother’s child — died.
These people were killed and injured by a deranged dungheap rat, who probably should have been taken out behind the barn and Ol’ Yeller’d a long time ago.
I do not name this pile of walking fungus-scrapings, as I have seen his smirking face repeatedly on the National Media, and it is clear from his expression that he is enjoying his moment of fame and glory — he shall have none of that from me.
Also notice, do, that I make no mention of his political leanings, aspirations or alleged beliefs. This is intentional, as rabid dogs have no politics — only a disease.
I notice that others have made no such distinction. To these people I have two things to say:
One: have the common decency to stop dancing in the blood and making political hay with their dead bodies long enough for their kith and kin to lay their loved ones to rest. There will be more than time enough for your hypocrisies and your political agendas once the mourning is done.
Two: have a care to remember that when you point a finger at me, you’re pointing the other three at yourself. When you’re running your sanctimonious mouth about the “violent tone of political discord”, you’d better take a good, long look at your side — it wasn’t Republicans who filmed an “art movie” about assassinating President Bush.
And where the hell was your outrage when someone (hint: not a Tea Party member, not a conservative, and not a Republican) shot and destroyed his television because the daughter of Sarah Palin happened to be on a popular dance show? Where was your concern with “civil political discourse”?
Have members of the Tea Party and other conservatives stepped up to, if not over, the courteous line in politics? Oh, yes.
But before you go flapping your sanctimonious, hypocritical cake-holes in our direction, I strongly suggest you take a broom to your own damned side. The lovely Michelle Malkin has a list where you can start.
LawDog
Well said, sir. I particularly like "rabid dogs have no politics — only a disease."
I'm a huge fan and find that you always say what I *want* to…somehow, I always wind up sputtering instead. Wish I could shake your paw in person! God bless.
Lawdog
I am a 66 year old high school only (no college) working man. I was raised in St. James orphanage, and a foster home (Dairy farm) Joined the Army and have worked the rest of my life to provide a better life for my children and grandchildren.
I have also learned that the killer in Arizona has the ability to rationalize his actions without the help of the intellectual elite, most of whom have a poor grasp of reality. The killer is the ONLY one responsible for his actions. The socialist, nanny state types have the need (almost Pavlovian) to spread the blame for a mans evil actions. Blame conservative radio, or politicans. Blame the tool (gun)
Blame everything but the Troll.
Light at the end of the tunnel, we the people are much more aware of this tactic now than in previous decades. Hell I saw it 40 years ago and now find more people agreeing with me. I think there is still hope.
Paul in Texas
Can't help noticing how the hypocritical right is all upset about inflammatory rhetoric from the hypocritical left. So, is it all just harmless free speech, or isn't it?
"rabid dogs have no politics — only a disease."
Indeed. And there is only one treatment for rabies.
Good one LD… GOOOD one!
All I can say is come Nov 2012 if your local congress critter is up for reelection and has acted in an ill mannered fashion about this tragedy. NO MATTER WHAT their political affiliation is send them a polite note saying something like "Remember how you responded to the Tucson shooting? That is why I'm not voting for you"
Neither side has a monopoly on incivility, in my experience. If it had been a Republican shot, fingers would be pointing at the Democrats. Nobody pulled the trigger except the madman with the gun in his hand, and there's plenty of blame for inflammatory rhetoric to go around.
there's another pack of rabid animals that need to be put down. To be honest if this particular bunch of rabid animals were put down I suspect people on BOTH sides of the political spectrum would throw a party. The name of this pack? Westboro "Baptist Church" I put the words baptist church in quotes because it's far from a church. it's actually a family of lawyers who make their way through this world, picketing the funerals of soldiers, rock stars..slaughtered children..causing hate and discontent until someone on the side that's being picketed loses their temper and throws a punch..or a harsh word..and then sues the very victims their antagonizing.
LD, I heartily agree with your post. All I can say is I hope the justice system holds this individual accountable for his actions. I pray for the speedy and full recovery of his victims, the souls that have gone to a better place, and the ultimate punishment for the animal who did this horror.
LD, agreed 100%. We saw this in the aftermath of Katrina as well. You can't imagine how ticked I was at the folks using the coffins of my erstwhile neighbors as soapboxes, while the smell of their unrecovered bodies was still in my nostrils. (I work for a New Orleans area hospital, and was back within a week of landfall.) This time the bat rastards were screeching that the right in general, and Palin in particular, had blood on their hands before Congresswoman Giffords had been put into a stretcher, much less in an ambulance.
Well said Dog
Posted a link to Michelle Malkin list on my site as well.
Thanks for the info and the good works.
Josh.
Dear Lawdog:
Thank you for this post.
In a somewhat related post, I thought perhaps you would appreciate this:
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/2011/Q1/Pershing.jpg
Enjoy.
LawDog, I completely agree with everything that you posted. It's the responses to tragedies like this that reinforce the utter contempt I have for most politicians of any stripe. Something like this should never be used to further someone's political career.
As to the animal that did this, well, as they say, karma is a bitch. He has one hell of a payback coming his way.
I've watched this thing from the inside…I live in Tucson and have for most of 40 years.
Dupnik started out as Sheriff of a large rural county. That county is still as large, but significant parts are anything but rural anymore. Under Dupnik’s leadership, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office as an organization has adapted very poorly to the changes. Their policies and structure are much better suited to rural policing, but the still have to deal with a broad range of very urban challenges. This is Dupnik’s legacy, and his response to this incident clearly shows the political triangulation that has gotten him re-elected multiple times, despite his leadership failures. I’d like to hope that he will retire or be defeated in the next election, but he’s survived too many times to write him off so easily. Perhaps his recent public ass-flashing will hasten his departure, but it might not.
One topic that gets little discussion is the security at this event. It does not appear that Giffords’ staff even considered security in their planning, despite multiple death threats and acts of vandalism to her offices over the last several years. This isn’t too surprising as Giffords’ staff is drawn from the Liberal gene pool, most of whom believe that bad things don’t happen to ‘good’ people like them. What is more distressing is the the PCSO didn’t even know about the event, and thus had no plan for security either. There are so many fails in this…why didn’t they know about the event?…do they not reach out to politicians offices for information like this?…when they found out about the event, did they immediately station deputies nearby or dispatch a team to the event?. Why or why not? A deputy or two stationed at the event might not have prevented Giffords from being shot, but it might have shortened the list of the dead and wounded. Of course in a liberally inclined crowd, it is silly to hope that someone was carrying a concealed pistol, even in ‘cowboy country’…
I listened to part of the “memorial service” on the radio while it was on. With the cheering and applause, that was no memorial service. It was the first event of the “Re-Elect Meeeee in 2010″ campaign. That the entire event was organized by the embattled liberal University of Arizona President (Shelton) as an obvious effort at building political patronage to try to keep his job, is immaterial. And, the Campaigner-in-Chief hit a home run with his speech, as one would expect. But that was no ‘memorial service’, and Obama didn’t come here out of any great concern for Giffords.
From the moment this tragic chain of events hit the news it’s been a political football, and it hasn’t stopped in either national or local news since then.
C
Dupnik started out as Sheriff of a large rural county. That county is still as large, but significant parts are anything but rural anymore. Under Dupnik’s leadership, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office as an organization has adapted very poorly to the changes. Their policies and structure are much better suited to rural policing, but the still have to deal with a broad range of very urban challenges. This is Dupnik’s legacy, and his response to this incident clearly shows the political triangulation that has gotten him re-elected multiple times, despite his leadership failures. I’d like to hope that he will retire or be defeated in the next election, but he’s survived too many times to write him off so easily. Perhaps his recent public ass-flashing will hasten his departure, but it might not.
Amen, Cyberludite.
I'm sorry to hear of your experiences post Katrina. I get that now.
I live in Tucson and have both personal and professional connections to the Safeway where this atrocity took place.
I've had some pretty tart exchanges with Giffords staffer Gabe Zimmerman, as well!
It just sickens me and also frightens me(I'll admit it)a bit to see the condemning hand of "national opinion" slapped down on my city.
We are NOT a bunch of racist gun-toting, right wing lunatics here in AZ.
These are my NEIGHBORS for Pete's sake! And while the scale of this incident pales in comparison to the devastation wrought by Katrina it is nonetheless just as personally traumatic to those of us who live here.
(I won't even comment on Sheriff Dupnik's conduct. I'll just have to mind myself and not be rude next time I interact with a deputy. Not YOUR fault your boss is a flaming jackass and destructive to basic civility in this town.)
In short.
I wish to say to ALL those who feel the need to instigate a "national conversation" about this that and the other, in the wake of the "Tucson Tragedy" to kindly eff off!
We haven't yet had the time to properly bury our dead, much less feel the ABSENCE of our lost ones.
Violence and bloodshed just HURT in ways not treatable at hospital.
It wounds even those who were spared the immediate horror.
I most fervently pray for Representative Gifford's full recovery so that I can vote AGAINST her. AGAIN!
(And no. I don't need a "grief councilor". I'm just going to have to internalize this cloud of anger, shock and sadness.
I don't think that it can be LESSENED in any way.
Someday, that nerve won't be so raw but the burden of sorrow is always kind of there, isn't it?
I think that part of the job of being a grown-up is shouldering that bag and carrying on.
I'm still immature enough to want to bitch about an extra load though!
<>
Uhm,yeah…
Giffords and her staff didn't "fail" to plan for security at this event due to some liberal gene defect.
They thought that it was PERFECTLY NORMAL for a Congresswoman to meet and greet her constituents in the parking lot of a local grocery store.
I agree with that basic assessment!
You simply CAN'T account for the actions of a determined lunatic.
More importantly, you should not even attempt to!
Gabby Giffords was not shot by any one of those poor souls who lined up that bright morning to speak with her.
The constituents of AZ CD8 are just NOT that particularly threatening!
Wanna know WHY the Sherrif's office didn't have that event on their radar?
Because it was boring, banal.
Completely unexceptional, just up till a deranged madman started gunning people down and murdering senior citizens, a federal judge, and a little girl.
What sort of "security measures" would YOU have put in place to prevent this tragedy?
Would having Dorwan Stoddard go through a metal detector and frisked for weapons before he met his Representative have helped any, do you think?
This is nonsense on stilts!
Faugh!
Congress Critters should be accessible to their constituency!
I agree
Also there WAS an armed citizen, on the scene and here is what he did.
Noticed the line for Gifford's event and was interested but decided that he would rather purchase a pack of smokes from Walgreens first before checking things out.
When he heard the gunfire he knew exactly what it was and rushed out to help.
"I had my hand on my gun and was looking for the shooter but I wanted to be careful so then–"
"You had a GUN sir? Why? If you were just going to the store to buy some cigarettes."
"Oh, I always carry a weapon but about that day–"
"You ALWAYS carry a weapon? A gun specifically? Every day?"
"Yeah, of course!"
Anyway, THIS solid citizen saw someone with a gun in their hand and tackled the bloke and pinned him to the wall.
Turns out the gun wielding dude was NOT Jared Loughner but someone who had just wrested the gun away from the shooter.
Joe Zimudie, adrenalin pumping in his veins, confused and alarmed, hand on his weapon, decided to act on imperfect information and tackle the fuck out of the one guy he saw standing and holding a gun.
(Wrong guy, but still..)
Here is what did NOT happen…
An armed citizen did not, I repeat did NOT, start shooting up the joint, though he was armed and ready to help.
He didn't SHOOT the man he saw wielding a gun, even though he "had his hand on his weapon" he elected, instead, to physically tackle this threatening figure as the best way to most quickly neutralize the threat.
Kudos to Joe Zimudie for not only being a brave lad but also, for putting to rest one of the gun grabbers favorite hypotheticals.
What if the average citizen has a gun in a crisis situation? They will end up shooting innocent bystanders and likely get shot by the police as well!
Doesn't work that way.
Joe Zimudie proves that.
More significant than his physical possession of a gun that day, was his reaction.
He was armed.
He was mentally prepared to do whatever it takes to protect others.
Are some young men just borne that way?
I find it a marvel.
I don't want more "nice" with The Enemy — I want the Dead-Elephant bunch to stop trying to play nice with the devil.
We're in a street-fight for the very existence of what little remains of our Republic. You don't "play nice" with the enemy – and there's nothing "civil" about a street fight.
Maybe – if we can engender enough outrage with words, we can avoid the bloodletting that seems more inevitable every day.
NO MORE COLLABORATION!
DD
PS: I feel for Ms. Giffords – I really do – but there are reasons why my previous comment didn't say so:
Aiyana Jones, Eurie Stamps, and literally Thousands of others killed by police in the last 40 years or so.
I have no problem with them killing the bad-guys, but 7 year old girls and other innocents? Heck, even the guy with the couple-joints who was killed for holding a golf-club – when awokened at 3AM by men breaking in his house. He had a grand total of 5 seconds from the first shout until he was dead on his floor, effectively mozambiqued by the entry-man in the stack from a good thirty feet.
5 seconds.
When they're limited to 10-round mags, we can talk about mine.
I grieve even more for the little girl killed in Tucson – but no more than I do for little Aiyana.
I'm frankly tired of the whole circus. Voldemort Jr. is vermin – so's Lon Horiuchi, but he ain't looking at a walk to ol' Sparky.
The reality is that people die and survive grave wounds every day – I don't see a reason why Giffords deserves any more attention than any of the rest – nor any need for further idiotic laws that the criminals and loons will simply ignore while they further limit We The People without cause.
Lastly, I'm simply floored that The Stupid Party has fallen for the "civility" BS. My response to further PC sickness is "F*** you!
Don't expect me to forget what those traitors have done for the last two years, nor the "we won", "slaughter rule" "deem and pass" and etc, nor the filthy slander directed at we nazi/racist/domestic-terrorists who support the Tea-party.
Now that you're on the losing side, you suddenly want civility?
Oh HELL* NO!“
Really effective info, lots of thanks for the article.