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    Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Jared Lee Loughner, Arizona Massacre coverage around the Web

    By William K. Wolfrum on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 7:40am | Politics, Media

    As the big news agencies initially fumbled the Arizona Massacre story by reporting that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had been killed by shooter Jared Lee Loughner, online news has shown its strength with numerous takes on the shooting, as well as breaking information.

    Here are some stories you may be interested in from around the Web:

    "Exclusive: Loughner Friend Explains Alleged Gunman's Grudge Against Giffords" (Mother Jones)

    "At 2:00 a.m. on Saturday—about eight hours before he allegedly killed six people and wounded 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), in Tucson—Jared Lee Loughner phoned an old and close friend with whom he had gone to high school and college. The friend, Bryce Tierney, was up late watching TV, but he didn't answer the call. When he later checked his voice mail, he heard a simple message from Loughner: 'Hey man, it's Jared. Me and you had good times. Peace out. Later.'" ... Read More.

    "Thoughts Upon the Murder of Chief Judge John Roll, and the Shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords" (Articleman, Dagblog)

    "You can't stop hatred, you can't stop craziness, but you can stand against it.  We have to reinvent the centrality of that in American public life." ... Read More.

    "Eliminationist rhetoric and the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords: There were plenty of precursors" (David Niewert, Crooks & Liars)

    "It can happen, in fact, because conservatives so thoughtlessly and readily use violent eliminationist rhetoric when talking about "liberals" (to wit: anyone who is not a conservative). They will adamantly deny it, of course, but the cold reality is that this kind of talk creates permission for angry and violent people to act it out." ... Read More.

    "On Extreme Right And Left" (Andrew Sullivan)

    "When you put a politician in literal cross-hairs, when you call her a target, when you celebrate how many targets you have hit, when you go on national television and shoot guns, when you use the language of "lock and load" to describe disagreements over healthcare provision ... you are part of the problem." ... Read More.

    Also, a quick search of Twitter for the name "Giffords" will lead you to plenty of links, conversations and plenty of unpleasantness.

    Please leave any links in comments to stories you recommend.

    --WKW

    Topics: 
    Politics
    Media

    Comments

    I've seen only one report that the only way a mentally ill person could be stopped from buying a gun is if they self report it by checking yes on the ATF form (US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) where it asks "Have you ever been adjudicated mentally ill".

    The widely reported fairy tale that 'the mentally ill cannot buy weapons' should include the phrase "unless they check 'no' on the mental illness box on the form'.


    by NCD on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 11:31am

    So far I've liked this NRO piece best.  Partially because I believed Mark Potok from the SPLC went far past what's known into speculative word-usage-alliance territory, and too many of us being expert in too many areas we really aren't.  And it's got me so upset I don't know whether to wind my butt or scratch my watch.


    by we are stardust on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 7:06pm

    From that NRO article via NYT:

    Some people who study right-wing militia groups and those who align themselves with the so-called Patriot movement said Mr. Loughner’s comments on subjects like the American currency and the Constitution, which he posted online in various video clips, were strikingly similar in language and tone to the voices of the Internet’s more paranoid, extremist corners.

    Those far extremist corners have heated up considerably in recent years. Conservatism as an ideology is certainly not implicit in any of this but the real out-there war-on-reality Alex Jones types are certainly not helping. By this along with the overt racism that has suddenly unloaded with ferocity, there's alot that was hidden beneath the surface that has opened since Obama's election.

    Take for example, this militia group SAFE. Complete with an iron cross in their logo, I've never seen hate groups with such eye-pleasing websites or an ability to appear legitimate. It's easy to see how this stuff could seep into people's heads. The Pima County Sheriff said himself that the southwest is becoming a hotbed for hate.


    by Orion on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 10:05pm