Arizona

UPDATED: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 7:37 AM -- The Daily Mail newspaper in England correctly sums up what is happening with its "cousins" across the pond with the following headline: "How America's Elite Hijacked A Massacre To Take Revenge On Sarah Palin."

Hijacked . . . substitute the word "exploited."
Revenge . . . nope, no substitute. It accurately describes the real roots of hatred in this nation.


**************

Tragic events on Saturday, that have only found myself able to write about this morning.

An update: The Congresswoman remains in an induced coma, and doctors are "cautiously optimistic." A nine-year-old girl is dead, as is a federal judge, and a man who shielded his wife. Several people died on Saturday.

And the organized Left say Sarah Palin did it....

Sigh . . . I don't even know where to start. First, Ms. Palin was in another state, and did not pull the trigger. But already there are calls for restrictions OOPS, not on the shooter, not on Ms. Palin, and not on trans fats or salt, but . . . the United States Constitution.

Once again, the person that did this -- who by the way is in custody -- is only peripheral to the argument. No, the attacks are coming in the way of new bills being prepared by members of the Left in Congress who want to restrict the Second Amendment, and restrict the First Amendment. Translated -- restrict every Americans' access to certain firearms and restrict every Americans' right to speech.

The speech issue is amazing to me. I didn't see much, if any, TV all weekend. Heard some radio and read a little bit online as I was consumed with other matters. But I was alerted by a phone call from a friend last night that the sheriff in Tucson, Ariz. was going on and on about how free speech has gone too far. His comments went so far, that I was informed by others more knowledgable on this stuff than me that he may put some of the case in jeopardy. Defense attorneys may be asking for changes in venue, etc. because instead of giving just the facts as responsible law enforcement officials do, the Pima County sheriff was making political speeches. People were still dying and he is railing against people and movements.

One person pulled the trigger. A very troubled young man.

And in this country, the nation I grew up in and have been proud of, there is supposed to be accountability for criminal behavior. And that accountability is assigned to the person or persons who did "the act," whatever it might be.

To cast blame on the Tea Party movement, to cast blame on Sarah Palin for using an ad mentioning certain liberal politicians are targeted for defeat is ludicrous. How crazy? Well let's see now . . . both the Left and the Right have used the phrase "targeted" for decades. How easy will that be to find? Well in just five minutes this morning I found:

This from the Huffington Post
This about liberals targeting a conservative judge
A story about campaigning advice from Barney Frank (did he complain about news coverage linking him to the word "target?")
And then there's this from MSNBC's Keith what'shisname....
Of course, President Obama in his election campaign "targeted" first time voters....
And let's not forget Obama's statement about "...if they bring a knife, we bring a gun."
And some more stuff on the same topic can be found by clicking here.

Getting the picture?

The list goes on and on. This idiocy about the word "target" being what set this kid off, and blaming it all on Sarah Palin, The Second Amendment, The First Amendment, globalwarmingcoolingclimatechange, flouridated water, or what have you, is all a giant red herring.

The alleged shooter is in custody. There will be charges. The highest profile victim, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a democrat, is a vehement Second Amendment supporter. Know that.

Bills to present for consideration in Congress are being prepared. One would make it a crime to threaten a federal official. Do I think that should be a crime? No, but its damn stupid to make threats like that. What words constitute "the crime?" "I wish?" "I hope?" "I'll get you?" And if such a bill is passed, how will it be used to "target" (oops, there's that word again) political enemies. For it will. Such is the history of such "thought police" types of feel-good laws. A slippery slope, as well meaning progressive are obsessed with being seen as "doing something." So they will write up a lot of stuff that will get lots of press from a complicit, dying legacy media that is desperate to show it is somehow still relevant in a modern world.

Speaking of the media, it is interesting to note that after the Fort Hood massacre, where a serviceman shot several fellow soldiers, that the media rushed forth to say Americans should not rush to judgment about the religion of the shooter, a Muslim. Sort it out first, the media said. But this time, the media is ready to tar and feather Ms. Palin about the Tucson incident. Yeah, BTW, if you didn't know I am a recovering journalist. Am so glad to be out of this business that has become so tainted, and a victim of its own prejudices.

Back to looming feel-good action in Congress. Another bill would ban competition rifles and their accessories, such as high capacity magazines. Even though the high-capacity magazine was not used in a rifle.

Also, know something else. In a conversation with a close friend yesterday we kept coming back to the idea that so many people in Arizona are armed, either openly or have CCWs. Why did someone in the crowd not drop this guy? The word is the incident happened fast. And once the alleged shooter had trouble changing magazines, people jumped on him, knocked his gun away, and so on. One young man who has been interviewed a few places says he ran out when he heard the shots and headed toward the commotion, finger ready to release the safety on his concealed sidearm. He saw that the alleged murderer had been pinned, the gun kicked away, and he replaced his handgun into its holster. I seriously doubt, however, what he was ready to do will get much airplay.

If no one in the crowd happened to be armed, at least thoughtful people who are tired of being bullied by politicians and thugs stepped up, and grabbed this guy. There was a time in this country, prior to September 11, 2001, where a lot of people would just run away like sheep . . . let the bad guys run the place.

I believe, increasingly we have seen an end to those days. This tragedy, and it is horrific what happened, was not worse simply because people stepped up and said "no more."

But that will all be forgotten soon. The drumbeat is going to be for restrictions on Constitutional rights, as the Left likes to do.

Just remember . . . it is President Obama who has used the "bring a gun..." metaphor also. To suggest that Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement is to blame is to show just how vacant the progressive movment idea factory is, just how bereft the organized left is of any meaningful solutions to real issues. Blame the right for hate speech? Look within your own house, my many friends on the left. You have a lot of hate speech in your own tent and you tolerate it to generate donations.

How could this event have been stopped? It has nothing to do with a political ad or images of targets or someone's speech. If this kid had gotten some mental health counseling when everyone thought he was a loose cannon (oh, wait I've used that language again)...THAT might -- I repeat might -- have made a difference.

My condolences to the families who lost loved ones, or who have family or friends injured or fighting for their lives. To the family of Rep. Giffords, I send out my best wishes for her recovery.

And to the father of the little nine-year-old girl who was killed, I pass on my sorrow for your loss. I cannot know how you feel. I am a parent, too, and I would be numb right now if in your shoes. Finally, a thought I want to share with you Sir. My thanks for having the courage to publicly say you do not want more restrictions put on freedom as a result of this ugly, horrible, tragic, meaningless attack. She was beautiful, she is beautiful. And I shudder when I think that people will use her image as a banner cry for their own political agenda.

Incidents like this are extremely rare, but in a free society the second victim is always freedom. The Constitutional protections that so many Americans take for granted. But know this: one person, and one person has been charged with pulling that trigger. Witnesses say there was one person pulling the trigger. A very ill, troubled young man quite detached from reality. And despite the fears of the Left, and its penchant to demonize anything or anyone with which they disagree, they only further demonstrate the intellectual vaccuum upon which they base their bankrupt arguments.

I have to get back to work...