Tragic and senseless. Condolences to the Gifford and other families. Hoping for the best for the wounded and their families.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPFfzIkRtpc

A terrible, terrible thing. I offer my condolences to family, friends, and associates, and to the cause of government in our country.
Any info about whether the shooter was targeting the congresswoman specifically?

RIP Congresswoman Giffords and others (currently to be identified), condolences to their families, prayers for all the wounded.

RIP, Rep. Giffords, my thoughts and prayers to you and everyone else involved in this horrific incident. My God…I am shaking about this.

AZ was one of the places where outside Obama townhalls there were people “exercising their 2nd amendment rights,” right?

It would be an amazing coincidence if a Congresswoman just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was targeted for assassination – rightwingers couldn’t get the seat legally, so they got it by force.

I thank Rep. Giffords for her courageous service to our country. May her death not be in vain. It is my prayer that our country will awake from the nightmare path down which it has been headed, and which today has taken a gigantic turn for the worst.

Overwhelmingly sad and unnecessary. I hope the others on Palin’s target map are being protected.

HMMM, “Second Amendment remedies”?…..NO evidence yet, apparently, that the congresswoman was targeted specifically. Speculation doesn’t help, and can lead to erroneous conclusions and rumors. Wait till the evidence is in.

And isn’t it “interesting” that Palin uses the word TARGET.

“We either live together, or we die together.”

i too am shaking – it’s horrific thing to happen, and to one of our own.

very sad day today. hard not to be affected.

She’s the first women elected to office to die in office.

Happier days:

Vows
Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly
By JUDITH ANDERSON

“FRANK CAPRA would have had a field day with the life of Gabrielle Giffords,” Robert B. Reich mused as guests began to gather for the wedding on Nov. 10 of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly.

Mr. Reich, the former Labor secretary, saw parallels in the breezy down-home sincerity of the films Capra directed and the lives of Ms. Giffords, 38, a Democratic congresswoman from her home state of Arizona, and Mr. Kelly, 43, a NASA astronaut and Navy pilot from New Jersey.

So after the ceremony, Mr. Reich was inspired to toast their spirit: “To a bride who moves at a velocity that exceeds that of anyone else in Washington, and a groom who moves at a velocity that exceeds 17,000 miles per hour.”

But theirs was not a whirlwind romance.

“We met four years ago in China, as young leaders selected by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations,” said Ms. Giffords. At that time she was an Arizona state senator and was seeing someone else; Mr. Kelly was married, living in Houston and between space shuttle missions.

They really got to know each other at the next year’s meeting of the group, in Arizona, when Mr. Kelly, who had divorced, and Ms. Giffords passed up an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon. They hiked instead, “talking about our lives and how really hard it can be to be single,” Ms. Giffords said. “I had dated some big players, but they weren’t really nice men, and I was a little gun-shy. Mark talked about his love for his two daughters, about sharing custody.” As they spoke, Ms. Giffords wondered if this conversation was the start of something more.

They began a long-distance phone and e-mail friendship during which she would sometimes coach him on dating other women. (“Call her the next day to say thanks, even if you didn’t have a great time,” she once said.)

Then Ms. Giffords, who had broken up with her boyfriend, contacted Mr. Kelly in November 2004 and suggested an unusual get-together. “I invited him to join me on a tour of the Arizona State Prison in Florence,” she said. “I’d been working on legislation dealing with capital punishment. Mark is the son of police officers — well, he just really wanted to sit in ‘the chair.’ ” And he really wanted to know her better. “She had it all,” he said. “Beautiful, smart, hard working, balanced, fun to be with, and she laughed at my jokes.”

When she began her Congressional campaign in 2005, he began showing up at her campaign stops. Ms. Giffords showed up for the launching of his shuttle mission on Discovery in 2006, and chose a wake-up song: “Beautiful Day by U2.”

And newly married; so, so sad, tears are flowing…

The shooter shot at her first, twice, at point-blank range to the head. Then he fired shots at over a dozen others, most likely emptying his clip.

Don’t forget, she was on Queen Grifter’s PAC “Target list.” Also, her opponent in November was used eliminationistic rhetoric as well.

x2

I was in tears when I heard the news that her wounds had caused her to succumb. A terrible, terrible occurance.

I know many will be tempted to paint some sort of political picture out of it. I would hope people will wait until more facts are known before running in any direction.

While it is near certain the shooting was related to her being a Congresswoman, it will take some time to determine the angle; disgruntled constituent, progressive not liking her Blue Dog positions, GOP voter or just some other insane person.

NO matter, this is a sad day for everyone whatever your ideology.

RIP Congresswoman Giffords. Condolences to the family.

On MSNBC right now, the Sheriff of Pima Co (traveling back to AZ) is saying that the Congresswoman is still alive at this moment (but that there are 5 fatalities confirmed)

The Sheriff was quoting a “SWAT” doctor

Sheriff on MSNBC reporting that she is still alive but in very critical condition. Said their SWAT doctor is there in the room and reported 5 mins ago that she is still alive.

AZ “opinion columnist and cartoonist” – David Fitzsimmons (sp?)on CNN saying now that something like this was inevitable due to the right’s increasing rhetoric in AZ. Says the atmosphere in AZ has gotten so heated and that it’s a gun happy state, a fetish and rabid right. Was amazed she won this last election against a tea party candidate.

Her opponent’s political events:

http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg617/scaled.php?tn=0&server=617&filename=p7w.png&xsize=640&ysize=640

Update II: Sheriff Dupnik says that Gifford is still alive but in critical condition, says he is 100% sure, at 2:29 pm ET.

David Fitzsimmons of AZ Daily Star on CNN just now: The shooting was inevitable because of AZ’s “rabid right-wing” political climate; the amazing thing is that Giffords had managed to win re-election in this climate.

Edit: I see Siun just saw the same thing.

My daughter and grandson lived very near that location but have moved, thank goodness. I really do want them out of Arizona. It’s an awful place now and dangerous and that governor will get lots of face time to say how terrible this is.

Some trolls have soooo little couth, they just can’t figure out when to shut their wingnut mouths.

Hoping all survivors recover

Sheriff Dubnik is not mincing words on his perspective.

Not only is her husband an astronaut but so is her husband’s brother who is in space right now (per Sheriff Dubnik)

Now CNN saying she’s in surgery.

CNN is backing away from their confirmation of her death …

Lead on NPR’s home page is:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman at a public event on Saturday. There are conflicting reports about whether she was killed.

Hospital spokesperson says they will be conducting formal briefing at 1:30 MST

9 people in critical or serious condition

Link to this description?

Also, there’s this, from CBC:

Witnesses described [the male gunman] as in his late teens or early 20s.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/08/giffords-arizona-shooting.html#ixzz1ATSZsWjj

Fingers crossed for Rep Giffords. Condolences to those families who lost someone near & dear to them. So sorry to learn about this terrible tragedy.

A shame that the nasty rhetoric used by the right unceasingly anymore incites such violent actions.

Darcy Slater of Tucson University Medical Center confirms she is still alive and currently in surgery.

I’m watching KOLD-TV. A University Medical Center spokesman just phoned in to tell them that Giffords is in surgery, in critical condition, but still alive.

Waiting for the first rightwingnut to praise and encourage more of this. Then there will be the rightwingnut that says that the Democrats are bringing this on themselves.

MSNBC interviews hospital administrator who says Congresswoman Giffords is in surgery and not dead.

Almost a miracle to survive one high energy round to the head, much less two (if verified), from a high velocity weapon.

Then there will be the rightwingnut that says that the Democrats are bringing this on themselves.

That in 4…3…2…

CNN & Fox have not changed their headlines. Huffpo has.

I wonder if this is someone exercising Sharron Angle’s “second amendment remedies”? I hope not. I surely hope she survives.

James Brady survived.

Swelling of the brain after surgery is a major problem. At least she was responsive when flown out to hospital.

now they are saying there are conflicting reports of her death??
Haze of WAR.</ And don’t fool your self we are in a state of war right now the first deadly shots have been fired…

Brady was shot with a .22 caliber short barreled revolver not at point blank. Low velocity weapon, low engery round.

CNN has now walked back their headline.

This race to be the first to report the story is dangerous at any time, but especially in a fast-breaking story like this. The race is not always to the swift.

So a rightwingnut has shot a Congresswoman for supporting a pos health care bill that was largely written for the benefit of the insurance industry and drug companies, all because people like Cantor and Palin and Beck call it a government takeover of health care?

That is tragic.

I wonder what Jan Brewer is thinking right now…

That’s exactly what I was thinking. A relative popgun compared to what I’m guessing they will find here.

More than likely a 9mm

Rep Trent Frank (R-AZ) is tap dancing as fast as he can in phone interview with MSNBC

MSNBC also reporting at least one of the Congresswoman’s aides killed in the attack

nahant

Damn, I keep forgetting about them damn 15-round mags the 9mm’s have. I’m so used to that 7-round Colt.

Definitely would increase her chances of survival.

I haven’t followed all of the links or read all of the posts yet, but shouldn’t we be just a little careful about jumping to conclusions? It could be that the shooting has nothing to do with Sarah Palin or Sharron Angle or “second amendment remedies” and the shooter could be deranged for another reason.

Just sayin’ ….

I wonder what Jan Brewer is thinking right now…

There’s an oxymoron…

The wingnuts will be tap-dancing as fast as they can with their faux condemnations, “Of course we never meant for anyone to get hurt blah blah blah…”

They should all be in jail for inciting violence. Start with Palin.

heh heh heh heh

They do pack a punch especially at such close range..

He said he was ‘ mortified’….

Then moments later mike viquera came on and described the reactions of congress staffers and others are ‘mortified’.

I hope a producer gets to him with.
mor·ti·fy (môrt-f)
v. mor·ti·fied, mor·ti·fy·ing, mor·ti·fies
v.tr.
1. To cause to experience shame, humiliation, or wounded pride; humiliate.
2. To discipline (one’s body and physical appetites) by self-denial or self-inflicted privation.
v.intr.
1. To practice ascetic discipline or self-denial of the body and its appetites.
2. Pathology To undergo mortification; become gangrenous or necrosed.

My prayers are with Rep. Giffords. I cannot help but think Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Brewers and others in the right wing are responsible for Todays assassination attempt.

Where the hell was the FBI, and Homeland Security when this crap was heating up? Oh, right, they have been running after nonviolent peace activists./s

Condolences to the families of those who have died. Sending healing thoughts to the Congresswoman and her family.

Sorta like Steve King talking about the mendacity of Speaker Boehner…

If he used a 9mm and she was responsive on the way out she just might make it.

Boehner makes a surprisingly strong statement condemning the assassination attempt. (I continue to hope that it’s an attempt only.)

Palin’s website is down. The map is gone. That explanation will be interesting….

And where is POTUS, the leader of Gifford’s party? Boehner’s already released a press statement. WTF?

Bush strongly condemned the 9/11 attack, too, just before he used it to justify doing a lot of evil shit.

Maybe you would be better served by waiting until all information is in before jumping to conclusions. Seems a sane thing to do.

Especially since Giffords voted against Pelosi for Speaker and was known to have a strong stance against illegal immigration. There is no telling the motivation of the person who shot.

That is what I have been thinking and they did get her to the operating room quickly.. very important for recovery..

Actually I think he meant that. He was denied a seat on the immigration committee and was pissed at boner.

Heh — he may have then; KO took it and really ran with it last night though.

whose side are you on

Giffords was very strong for border security — she’s a border congresswoman. She voted for the DREAM act. She represents her constituency, all of us.

I am in complete shock over this assault on one of the remaining liberal voices in Arizona. In my mind, this is the direct result of hate-mongering by the likes of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and other right wing lunatics. It is also the result of Arizona’s gunloving laws which allow anyone to run around with any type of weapon. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Congresswoman and her family.

Rift in Arizona as Latino Class Is Found Illegal
No wonder there is heightened violence in Arizona!

The class began with a Mayan-inspired chant and a vigorous round of coordinated hand clapping. The classroom walls featured protest signs, including one that said “United Together in La Lucha!” — the struggle. Although open to any student at Tucson High Magnet School, nearly all of those attending Curtis Acosta’s Latino literature class on a recent morning were Mexican-American.

Curtis Acosta spoke to his students about their future after Arizona said their Mexican-American studies program was illegal.

For all of that and more, Mr. Acosta’s class and others in the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American program have been declared illegal by the State of Arizona — even while similar programs for black, Asian and American Indian students have been left untouched.

“It’s propagandizing and brainwashing that’s going on there,” Tom Horne, Arizona’s newly elected attorney general, said this week as he officially declared the program in violation of a state law that went into effect on Jan. 1.

Although Shakespeare’s “Tempest” was supposed to be the topic at hand, Mr. Acosta spent most of a recent class discussing the political storm in which he, his students and the entire district have become enmeshed. Mr. Horne’s name came up more than once, and not in a flattering light.

It was Mr. Horne, as the state’s superintendent of public instruction, who wrote a law aimed at challenging Tucson’s ethnic-studies program. The Legislature passed the measure last spring, and Gov. Jan Brewer signed it into law in May amid the fierce protests raging over the state’s immigration crackdown.

No wonder with this kind of bigotry written into Law…

I agree with azcupcake (74): look at TBOGG’s post today where he quotes Townhall.com post from September addressing “the 20″: “…Sarah Palin has a target on every single one”, “targets”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “…knocking off the politicians…”. If I stood on a corner in D.C. and shouted that we should TARGET every Republican that voted against -fill in the blank issue- and KNOCK THEM OFF, there’d be a traffic jam of federal agencies rushing to arrest me! These right wing, hate-mongers will wrap themselves in the 1st Amendment when it comes to their obligation to speak responsibly. But you or I would be arrested for the same behavior! http://townhall.com/tipsheet/JillianBandes/2010/09/27/sarah_palins_take_back_20

A small child is dead, a small child totally innocent; while we will be thinking and writing primarily about Gabrielle Giffords, I believe we should remember this small child, I mourn for what happened.
Two days ago I told my entire family that I am no longer sure that any of us are safe in this country, there is too much division and hatred.
I spoke to a friend who stated that this happened because Congress is not listening to the people. I am afraid this may be how it will be interpreted by many people.
May God have mercy on America

I pray that those still with us recover from this disaster.

It’s too early to speculate on this, we need facts and we need to remain as united as possible. Premature finger pointing will cause needless division which will compound this tragedy.