More on the Giffords shooting: heroes, victims, and others
Giffords’ intern, 20-year-old Daniel Hernandez, rushed to give her aid right after the shooting and may have saved her life by elevating her head and keeping her from choking on her own blood.
In the understated manner typical of most true heroes, he later commented:
It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots. But people needed help.
Hernandez was not the only one who acted on that “not best” idea. Fox News has revealed that, after the shooter had fired 31 bullets from the first magazine, a wounded woman came up to him while he was loading the second magazine and tried to wrest it away from him. Although he managed to get it into his weapon, it jammed, and two men were able to take advantage of the moment to tackle and immobilize him.
In other news, Sheriff Dupnick has again used his podium as an opportunity to spout off on his personal political views. Highly inappropriate and highly unusual.
And Gabrielle Giffords is reportedly now able to respond to simple commands like squeezing a hand and giving a thumbs up, indicating that the left side of her brain—where the bullet entered—is still at least somewhat functional.
Here’s more information about the wonderful little girl who was murdered in the incident. In a strange irony, she was born on 9/11.
And here is more about the others who died in the shooting, as well as Judge Roll.
Sad, sad, unutterably sad.
As for the shooter, here’s some more background on him. Not much new. It’s clear there were all sorts of red flags that he was disturbed, but none we’ve heard of so far seem to have indicated any propensity for violence.
Also worth noting: Obama sent the HEAD of the FBI to Arizona to investigate, as though there were not people already at the scene capable of assessing whether additional support were needed. Apparently no one told Obama that a commander’s position is to manage worker’s rather than do their work. As usual the Messiah’s ignorance of proper management procedures glows like a fire.
Bob, I thought that was foolish of Obama also, with him come oodles of aides and senior assistants that will really get in the way as everyone falls all over themselves to assist the director. Unbelievable, especially when the guy is in custody, not like there is some complex conspiracy to unravel
“but none we’ve heard of so far seem to have indicated any propensity for violence.” I beg to differ. The guy is manifestly psychotic, rambling about government “mind control” and his magic ability to control his own dreams, several times disrupted classes in his college so police was called, and eventually got ousted. Looks like paranoid schizophrenic with delusion grandeur and persecution complex in acute psychotic state. All such persons are dangerous and potentially violent, they belong to lunatic asylum and nowhere else.
Reading the dreary history of this loser is depressing and tedious. The devestation he has wrought is so out of proportion to the banality of his existence. Shame there isn’t a law of physics that prohibits such disproportionality.
Loughner was insane, but to find real criminals, the one’s who know what they are doing, look no further than Minnesota’s new governor, Mark Dayton, who remarked about this event that it’s a “grim reminder of what happens when some voices of extremism–their words carry other people’s actions far beyond what is acceptable in civilized society.”
Please notice how the subject changes from Loughner to “voices of extremism.” Loughner has become, in this summation, merely an agent of words spoken by extremists. And it’s even a stretch to say Loughner is an agent. In fact, not an agent at all because he is merely the vehicle since his actions are CARRIED by the moving force of words.
Loughner’s criticisms of government included their control of grammar. Well, I suppose that’s a crazy way of saying government lies.
But Dayton is doing more than just lying here. He knows what he is saying is not true. Dayton knows Loughner killed because he was crazy. Dayton knows Loughner was not carried by extreme words from without, but extreme words within. What Dayton is doing is the exact same thing he accuses of: using words to incite emotion and then violence. He has made an unsupported and extreme allegation and the next thing he is going to say will be that tea party speech needs to be censored.
Sometimes psychiatric diagnostics is hard. Sometimes it is very easy. The following sentence from Jared Facebook entry gives his state of mind crystal clear:
“I’m able to control every belief and religion
by being the mind controller!”
I was shocked by that Dupnik character. He should lose his job. Talk about gross partisanship! Talk about polarization! He should lose his job.
The man oozes sanctimony and fraudulence.
Predictable tripe from Paul Krugman: “We don’t know if the shooting was political, but odds are that it was.” I wonder what kind of calculus he uses to determine the odds? Maybe the bookies in Las Vegas and elsewhere would like to know. I wonder what Dr. Krugman was doing between 2001-2009 when more than a few fellow progs were writing books and producing movies that wished for the assassination of President Bush?
commenting on the surgeons’ conference….the dropped a ton of clinical info for the medically and neuro savvy ear. The fact that she was conscious on arrival means that the bullet did not pass through the center of the brain, nor did it have a significant concussive effect, therefore not direct impact 45-90 degree impact. The fact that she could follow commands before surgery is huge. supports no conussive effect to the left (language) hemisphere and also means that the area around the sylvian fissure of the brain was spared. That’s where the speech and language circuitry is and also the all important middle cerebral artery. Occipital lobe could not be involved either, so she’ll have intact visual world, associative cortex, hearing. The neurosurgeon mentioned minimal bleeding, therefore the great venous structures were not struck (sagital sinus or its tributaries, the bridging veins) or the vein of Trolard. He also mentioned that they did not have to do much debridement of devitalized tissue, and that they got an oculoplastic surgeon involved (for reconstruction of the orbit, prob the roof or orbital rim). THey did not mention that an ophthalmic surgeon was involved, therefore I bet the eyeball is spared). Taking all this info, I bet she was ducking away from the assailant and he shot her tangentially in the top of the head on the left, prob at or in front of the coronal suture. The bullet cut through some of her prefrontal cortex and exited just above her eyebrow. She might have some mild right motor weakness but she will cognitively recover and be back in Washington by summer.
Interesting article you linked Neo. Did you notice the writers left out a certain Manifesto from the list of books?
temporarilyqualmless: if you are correct, that’s wonderful news.
mizpants: I am in complete agreement that he should be fired. And it wouldn’t matter if I agree with what he said or not. The issue is that is was highly inappropriate for him to mouth off like that.
Is Sheriff an elected post, though? Not sure what the protocol would be to fire him.
I listened to some discussion on the news shows this morning and was amazed at the effort by some to immediately turn this to their own advantage. Rep. James E. Clyburn a Dem from SC started complaining about having to stand with the public at airports. He’d apparently like the TSA to rush him through the line.
There’s no question this is a personal tragedy for many people. Is this really a reason to change the nation in ways we may regret? There have been several commentators who’ve warned that governments look for excuses to increase their reach. This might be one.
Remember these two quotes and see if they or something much like them appear in reference to Loughton:
“The barrage of right-wing propaganda apparently combined with an emotional vulnerability . . . to form a particular kind of paranoid adolescent personality.”
“[He} was shaped, and warped, in a very direct way by both the internal and external sides of the deepening crisis of American capitalism–the growth of social inequality and political reaction at home, and the eruption of American militarism abroad.”
The “He” in brackets is McVeigh. I provide the link for context. Please note that wsws stands for world socialist web site.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/apr2001/mcve-a19.shtml
They’ve all had a run at this before. Loughton, however, is going to be much harder to force into the role.
LAG said, “Rep. James E. Clyburn a Dem from SC started complaining about having to stand with the public at airports.”
LOLs. Gee, Rep. Clyburn, none of us like standing in the TSA lines waiting for our intimate encounter with our government either. We also don’t like it because one day an Islamo terrorist is going to recognize what a target-rich environment those lines are.
There will be all kinds of demands for better security for public officials, but little will be made of the need to identify mentally disturbed people and get them the treatment (up to and including confinement) they need. This horrific attack is being exploited by the MSM as a way to attack conservative talk radio and the TEA Party. Not that we shouldn’t have expected such.
Past exhortations by Obama:
They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun.
Get in Their Faces!
I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!
Hit Back Twice As Hard.
We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick
. . . hand to hand combat . . .
It’s time to fight for it.
Punish your enemies.
I’m itching for a fight.
neoneo
just an educated guess, of course. The other thing they mentioned was brain swelling, which happens of course. But they’re not having to do much to control it, as he specifically mentioned that they arenot presently draining cerebrospinal fluid- the first line of defense in problematic cases. They’re also not using hyperosmolar drugs and therapies to “dry out” the brain. I bet she does just fine, unless an infection (not likely) or a thromboembolism gets her (also not likely). I bet they extubate (pull the breathing tube out) in a day or two.
Regarding Daniel Hernandez
That’s what heroes do, rush to the aid of the fallen in spite of obvious mortal peril.
Yes it is despicable to use this tragedy to push a political agenda, I can’t help but think that’s exactly what Obama is doing by making a show of sending in the head of the FBI. Surely as president he has been well-briefed on the gunman.
People just note the headline, “President sends head of FBI to investigate!” which sends a subliminal message that it MIGHT be political…a Democratic lawmaker was targeted etc.
The fact that the crime was perpetrated by an apparent left-wing loon is irrelevant. Let no good crisis go to waste and all that.
Yes, I’m sure that’s a cynical view but that’s been Obama’s M.O. all along.
As far as the crime goes, it’s just very, very sad.
Here’s more (via Hot Air) on Loughner’s behaviour at college. People were afraid of him. Also HA says there was a letter and envelope found at Loughner’s suggesting he may have been planning this for years, ie, pre-Sarah Palin.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/loughners-college-instructor-i.html?wprss=44
Expat, yikes some of the comments at that WaPo post made my eyes bleed. Check this one out:
“It’s just part of living in a health insurance driven health care society where personal freedoms are held above social well-being.”
So apparently this was all the fault of the health care system.
In 2009 there were 5 murders per 100K US inhabitants. Multiply that by the 535 member of Congress and you get, roughly of course, a .027 chance that one will be killed in a given year, or, again roughly, a forty-year interval between violent Congressional deaths.
The attempt on Giffords is the fifthsuch attempt in USA history. (Previously, Rep. Leo Ryan was killed near Jonestown in 1978.)
There does not seem to be a flagrant discrepancy between the mortality-by-violence of Congresspeople and the general population. I caution, yet again, that the foregoing is only a very crude estimate which should not be relied on for definitive conclusions.
I’d rather not think along such chill actuarial lines until Giffords’ situation has clarified–may she make a full recovery–, but the political haymaking by some moves me to speak out, hopefully in an objective nonpartisan manner.
I’m getting very upset by so many in the MSM and Democratic politicians saying the environment for this sort of act has been created by right wing, Tea Party, etc. rhetoric. In other words what these groups have been SAYING.
Why aren’t they calling out the fact that the anger in this country and the vicious environment created by that anger is a result of what the far left politicians have been DOING?
Like arrogantly leaving Republicans out of any part of framing major legislation that affects 1/6th of our economy, passing it without reading it in the night just before holidays, destroying our economy with “I don’t care what it costs.” legislation, possibly doing grave harm to a health care system with a bill that the majority of Americans detest.
All because “We won.”
PLUS the exhortations mentioned above by Curtis.
These people have no shame.
BOYBLUE SAYS F. U.!
Boyblue, the Kos diary writer who wrote two days before the shooting, “My CongressWOMAN voted against Nancy Pelosi! And is now DEAD to me!” also says F.U. to the tea party for daring to besmirch his good intentions:
“However, I have to offer a heartfelt ‘f— you’ to the right-wing blogs,” he writes, “for even mentioning my username here in any connection to that unspeakable and unthinkable horror.”
“However, I have to offer a heartfelt ‘f— you’ to the right-wing blogs,” he writes, “for even mentioning my username here in any connection to that unspeakable and unthinkable horror.”
Sergey wrote
“Sometimes psychiatric diagnostics is hard. Sometimes it is very easy. The following sentence from Jared Facebook entry gives his state of mind crystal clear:
“I’m able to control every belief and religion
by being the mind controller!””
Are you sure you did quote an entry from Obama’s Facebook page by mistake?
Will history repeat itself? Will Laughner be to Obama what McVeigh was to Clinton?
NO!
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!
Every time the left opens it’s foul, lie-encrusted mouth to perpetuate more slander using this meme, more and more independents are going to be turned off. We must counter the accusations with the facts of who Laughner is and the statements and acts of violence by the left.
Curtis Says:
Will history repeat itself? Will Laughner be to Obama what McVeigh was to Clinton?
“The first time is tragedy; the second, farce.” (I refer, of course, to the looneyleft’s reaction, not to the atrocities themselves.)
Come to think of it, both times were farce.
Helvetica,
I hadn’t read the comments, but that is a zinger. It sounds like a rather young ignorant person schooled in buzzwords and devoid of facts and logic. Personal freedom goes before social well-being. Background thinking:Gee, doesn’t that sound like a Tea Party slogan? That’s why those people don’t want Obamacare. And if we had Obamacare there would be no more mad men running around, cause the doctors would make them all well and the evil pharma industry would have to make cheap medicine to cure them. See how smart I am. I passed remedial reading with a C on only the second try. Next year I have to take remedial civics. I hope they don’t want us to learn about law and other hard stuff.
I can’t read WaPo or NYT comments anymore. It’s just too depressing.
Great comment:
I’ve been following politics a long time and I have never seen such a vile and sustained attack on a single person as the Left has done with Palin. And what actually enables them if you ask me, is the indifference from a lot of so-called Conservatives. Every, Republican, politician should be beating their fist on a table right now saying, NO, NO, NO!!!
The Donks only get away with pushing narratives like this because Conservatives let them.
hawkdriver on January 9, 2011 at 8:00 PM
Note from Curtis: I’ve mangled Loughner’s name as Loughton and Laughner in two of my posts on this thread. It is Loughner. (I actually checked on a biggovernment site and got the name Laughner via: 11. AP SOURCES: ARIZ. WOULD-BE-ASSASSIN ID’ED AS JARED LAUGHNER).
There is an intriguing story that Gifford actually uploaded Loughner’s youtube. See atlasshrugs site and start at about halfway down. Also note that Loughner “targeted” Gifford in 2007 before Palin came on the scene.
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/01/arizona-shooter-jared-loughner-targeted-congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-back-in-2007.html
Hong Says:
“Interesting article you linked Neo. Did you notice the writers left out a certain Manifesto from the list of books?”
I was about to comment on this (having consciously looked for it) when I saw Hong’s own comment. That’s right, they left out the Communist Manifesto from the list of the cretin shooter’s favorite books.
It just isn’t convenient for the hate-the-right paradigm.
Sergey, this description fits half the residents of Berkeley. I’m not kidding. Not the students so much, but the long-term residents, a self-selected crew that has finally found a place where they fit in. (Once we answered a knock on our door to find a guy telling us that he’d “eaten a worm, but kept its mate, so they can find out whether it’s poisonous.” Right. Sound of door slamming. Another day in Berkeley. I’ve got a zillion similar stories.)
I don’t find them depressing so much as infuriating that anyone can be simultaneously so muddle-headed and sanctimonious.
Texexec: You took the words out of my mouth. No, you said it better than I would have. Thank you.
I have sent an email to the Pima County Sheriff’s office calling on Dupnik to apologize publicly for his comments. I encourage readers of this blog to do the same. The guy is way out of bounds. WAY out of bounds. F
There’s an obvious connection that I haven’t seen mentioned yet.
Rep. Giffords is Jewish. Her shooter listed Mein Kampf as one of his favorite books.
I would NOT jump to conclusions based on this; we don’t have enough data. I’d just like to point out that, if you want glib explanations and/or scapegoats, I’d find such an explanation much more likely than anything involving Sarah Palin or the Tea Party.
Just sayin’.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Daniel in Brookline, thanks for pointing that out. I agree that more information is needed before a conclusion can be supported, but the possibility is worth knowing.
It’s a possibility that the government, given its reluctance to acknowledge Islamic terrorism in the Ft. Hood shooting, may not be eager to follow up.
When Satan gets a mind, antisemitism ain’t far behind.
We got some power back in congress. Which should be somewhat of a bully pullpit to at least point out, if not launch a full fledged investigation, into the MSM’s ideological driven propoganda 24/7 in this country.
I’m sorry. Had everyone in Tucson been killed, it’s not as big or important a story as a whole nation of 300 million losing their rights and freedoms to tyranny because of a blatantly corrupt press.
Apparently most people find it extremely difficult to maintain perspective in the midst of such a shocking and emotional event. Observing many politicians and pundits reactions a reminder is that it is wise to refrain from making public pronouncements when one’s hair is on fire. Also, reasoning people must deeply discount and forgive the spotlighted rantings of others who are caught up in the moment. Obviously the country is saddened by the event, and wish that the shooting never took place. President Obama should use this as a “teachable moment” and restore perspective.
Stark, you are just plain wrong. There’s been nothing amiss with the statements of conservative politicians and pundits. Most conservatives aren’t finding it extremely difficult to maintain perspective even thought we are the target of incendiary rhetoric that is meant to slander and smear. Slander is like murder because one’s reputation can never be recovered. Those who slander cannot be forgiven by us and it is not our duty to forgive but to fight. Those who murder must pay the price; only God can forgive them.
Moreover, those who are doing the slandering are not caught up in the moment. Slandering is their MO. They do it every chance they get. Wickedness thrives on darkness and you wish to turn off the light!
You need to change your perspective, take up a torch and learn the facts about the killer and the facts or who really is spreading the slander and “incendiary rhetoric.”
The real influence that is at least partly responsible for Loughner: Hollywood.
“Tierney thinks that Loughner’s mindset was like the Joker in the most recent Batman movie.”
Tierney was a friend of Loughner’s.
Hanoi Jane Pins Tucson Shootings on Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Tea Party
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/01/08/jane-fonda-blames-giffords-shooting-sarah-palin-glenn-beck-and-tea-pa#ixzz1AUgdDly5
Mark Penn appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball and said that President Clinton reconnected with his speech after the Oklahoma City bombings, and Obama needs a similar situation to do the same.
and
Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected gunman in Saturday’s Arizona shooting, attended a high school that is part of a network in which teachers are trained and provided resources by a liberal group founded by Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers and funded by President Obama, WND has learned.
The group, Small Schools Workshop, has been led by a former top communist activist who is an associate of Ayers.
and
Federal Judge: Liberal Sheriff, Media Exploiting Attack
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/01/10/federal-judge-liberal-sheriff
The judge, a personal friend of the murdered federal judge John Roll, declined to be cited by name but was brimming with anger at what he termed the “cynicism and downright evil” of the liberal media’s “cynical attempt” to blame conservative talk radio and television for the murder of the only public official not to survive the shootings — the conservative Catholic Roll, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush.
so much more at the link…
If the Left can succeed in smearing Dallas forever as “the redneck city where our hero, JFK, was shot,” albeit by an actual Communist, they’re capable of anything.
I just wish the patriotic contingent wouldn’t go into the automatic defensive crouch and keep talking about the Left’s crazy accusation, even to refute it. It only serves to drive the slander deeper into the public “mind.”
We should pivot and bring all tubes to bear on the opponent, and fire at will (rhetorically, of course!). Keep the focus on Them, on their sleazy tactics, on their habit of lying and slandering opponents.