There are consequences for not doing more to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill. And other weapons.
I suspect that Palin's future political campaign plans are pretty much shot. (pun intended, no need for crosshairs). She and her daughter recently purchased a home here, likely to have another constituency to build. Can't imagine how badly that will go for Bristol, Maricopa is halfway to Tucson.

This is a tragedy beyond tragedy.

Rated.

I'm glad you showed the report here on the violence and vandalism that preceded these incidents. One wonders whether this administration, under its own self-imposed pressure to appear "bipartisan," has taken a pass on effective enforcement against right wing terrorism. Remember the report a couple years back that listed it as a top threat to national security? After criticism from the right, it seemed to disappear. Then, a plane crashes into an IRS building, there are confrontations at town hall meetings, threats, windows smashed, and now this. It's the rise of a fascist movement we're witnessing, including the delusional right along with it (as most fascist movements do--hardly a difficult club to get into).
Rated.

Unbelievable prophetic statement by Gillfords.

Reading tweets on Twitter, it is claimed that Palin has taken down the crosshair page. Maybe Palin grew a conscience today.

by itself, this is just another nutter with a gun, perhaps fleshing out inchoate rage with some t-party nonsense.

but it is significant that these incidents commonly reflect right wing rage. there doesn't seem to be any left wing vigilantes shooting down right wing judges. maybe lefties are lovers...

Link to an on-line petition to indict Sarah Palin for incitement to violence: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/IndictSP/petition.html

I first heard about this when I opened an E-mail from my friend Debi in Tucson. She and her husband were friends of Congresswoman Giffords, they called her Gabby.

I’ve read and listened to viewpoints from all directions today. What I come away with is an understanding of how “unbalanced” our culture is. It angers me to hear people asking us to wait and not jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. Statements like this are part of the problem. It sounds like something from a lawyer for a major corporation who wants us to turn our backs on what is obvious because we can’t “prove” it. Yet everyday, those who hold the power of the media, the political system, the so called religious institutions, make absolutely outrageous claims while simultaneously and deliberately censoring rational critical thinking that would debunk their lies.

It is obvious to me that this happened because a fanatical extreme segment of our population loaded the gun, aimed it and pulled the trigger! It’s no different than the assassinations of the Kennedys, the lynching of Black men in the South, the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. or the brutal murders of members of the LGBT community. Suddenly all the people who poured gasoline on the fire send condolences to the victims to distract us from their complicity. But I won’t be fooled. I’m pointing my finger with all the righteous anger and indignation I can muster.

Many. many many people have warned us that this was coming. Now it’s here!

I wonder what the FBI will find when they go to the shooter's home/apartment/wherever. If they find any references to Sarah Palin's map, the proverbial shit will hit the fan.

I wonder about a few things. I wonder how Sarah Palin will react other than that somewhat conciliatory Facebook entry (and her deletion of an earlier one that said it was time to "reload"). I wonder how the Rush Limbaughs and Glen Becks will react, also the Ann Coulters whose book titles accuse liberals of treason. Will they focus on the unacceptability of the shootings, like John McCain did (to his credit - but this is local for him, so it had to hit home) or will they talk about how unjustified the Democratic backlash is when it comes? I predict the latter, though I hope I'm wrong.

And I wonder if this is the beginning of assassination as a viable American political tool. What will happen the first time a Democratic Congressman or Senator has something like this happen, dies or can't serve as a result, and that state's Republican governor appoints a Republican replacement to the vacant seat? If the result is viable for substantial political gain, the action will be repeated. If and when that happens, I have no idea how I'll react. I wouldn't feel right trying to even the score, but I can hear the arguments from here:

"We have nothing to do with this lunatic. Our violent language was figurative, metaphorical, not literal. We don't encourage murder for political gain."

Will that distance be genuine or cosmetic? I suspect some of each, and I ardently hope that the public rejects cosmetic distance if that's what we get. I also hope the press rejects it with more than lip service, but I don't believe they will and, if we (God forbid) find that they don't, we'll know that they've finally abdicated every bit of public responsibility they used to embrace as the Fourth Estate.

I am terribly afraid of the cynicism of the opportunism I think we're about to see.

I'd be willing to see a law in place stating that if an officeholder is assassinated, the replacement must be from the same political party, just so as to keep the potential political profit from assassination down.

I wonder what the FBI will find when they go to the shooter's home/apartment/wherever. If they find any references to Sarah Palin's map, the proverbial shit will hit the fan.

I wonder about a few things. I wonder how Sarah Palin will react other than that somewhat conciliatory Facebook entry (and her deletion of an earlier one that said it was time to "reload"). I wonder how the Rush Limbaughs and Glen Becks will react, also the Ann Coulters whose book titles accuse liberals of treason. Will they focus on the unacceptability of the shootings, like John McCain did (to his credit - but this is local for him, so it had to hit home) or will they talk about how unjustified the Democratic backlash is when it comes? I predict the latter, though I hope I'm wrong.

And I wonder if this is the beginning of assassination as a viable American political tool. What will happen the first time a Democratic Congressman or Senator has something like this happen, dies or can't serve as a result, and that state's Republican governor appoints a Republican replacement to the vacant seat? If the result is viable for substantial political gain, the action will be repeated. If and when that happens, I have no idea how I'll react. I wouldn't feel right trying to even the score, but I can hear the arguments from here:

"We have nothing to do with this lunatic. Our violent language was figurative, metaphorical, not literal. We don't encourage murder for political gain."

Will that distance be genuine or cosmetic? I suspect some of each, and I ardently hope that the public rejects cosmetic distance if that's what we get. I also hope the press rejects it with more than lip service, but I don't believe they will and, if we (God forbid) find that they don't, we'll know that they've finally abdicated every bit of public responsibility they used to embrace as the Fourth Estate.

I am terribly afraid of the cynicism of the opportunism I think we're about to see.

I'd be willing to see a law in place stating that if an officeholder is assassinated, the replacement must be from the same political party, just so as to keep the potential political profit from assassination down.

Even if this guy was a bleeding heart tree hugging liberal, it would still be linked back to Sarah Palin and her ilk. Aside from the occasional poor use of terminology on the Left, there is no ongoing, pervasive, pattern of violent rhetoric on the that side. The Right's bread and butter is this sort of vitriol.

It doesn't matter whether or not a direct link to be drawn to Sarah Palin and her ilk, what matters is that the violent rhetoric is unnecessary and needs to stop.

http://open.salon.com/blog/greer_mcvay/2011/01/08/blood_on_their_hands_political_contributions_to_mass_murder