Democratic Congresswoman Among 12 Shot in Arizona

Not here, but it's out there.

 

With an attitude like that, you'd make a terrible liberal.

 

Well said.

And to answer Moddy's question ... I think the president's speech was fantastic. It inspired and touched me at a time when I was starting to feel numb -- especially after what I thought had been an uncomfortable memorial due to the tone that didn't feel quite right to me.

The speech reminded me a little of his speech about race -- because I thought he made a sincere effort to see two sides of a delicate issue and attempt to unite when it might have been easier to avoid a topic.

I also think he handled the story of Christina Taylor Green deftly. It could have come off as exploitive, but thankfully I don't think anyone on either side has viewed it that way. For me, even before he mentioned it, that little girl's story was the most compelling reason for us to improve. She was 9 and wanted to go find out how her government works. How can you not want to be able to tell your 9-year-old that her government is filled with people concerned enough with serving their country instead of their agenda that they can respectfully discuss issues?

In keeping it to the confines of one night and one speech as requested, I thought it provided excellent leadership at a time when it was needed most. It's heartening to see some folks from both sides appreciate that effort from their president. It's not as heartening to see others trivialize an attempt at leadership during a crisis by reducing it to an ulterior motive to simply score political points.

And it's just as disheartening to see some of the same folks who applauded the president's message fail to heed it by only recognizing the fault of those with which they disagree. Celebrating the potential gain of political points to me from last night is not much better than claiming it was the sole motivation. Neither is falling into the trap of thinking the worst of the other side while saluting your side for its grace.

On that note, in all of the ways I can disagree with John Boehner, his choice yesterday is not close to one. I don't think the man should be attacked for playing the fine role he did as speaker and offering his own statement of solace. We can't always be ready to assume the worst. It just doesn't serve us well.

 

I read the wire story on Christina Green earlier tonight and it was not easy. In the story, it mentions an emotional eulogy by her father. I can only imagine the courage and heart it takes to get up in front of what turned out to be thousands and eulogize your child. That's one hell of a man.

 

Loughner's 'secret online life' . . . role-playing and sword-clanging

http://blogs.wSportsJournalists.com/speakeasy/2011/01/13/jared-lee-loughners-long-association-with-online-game-earth-empires/

 

I played the hell out of that game back in the day. I liked its sister game, Utopia, better, though.

 

First, I have a distaste for the merlot-slurping traffic cone/smokestack as much as anyone, but I couldn't give a flying fuckity fuck fuck over what John Boehner was doing during the memorial service. I don't care if he was giving blowjobs to tobacco executives on the House floor. I don't expect the Speaker of the House to lead my nation through times of trouble, and I never expected so much arguing over whether what Boehner did was "appropriate." That's the president's job. It's not like when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Franklin Roosevelt, "You know, I don't want to score cheap political points here, so I'll turn it over to the House speaker."

Second, as for the rally atmosphere, trying to judge anyone's reaction to something involving death is always a tough thing. When I first started going to Irish wakes after married a woman of (half) Irish descent, I found it amazing that nobody ever cried there. Of course, I found it weird that there was a dead body all open for view in the middle of the room, and people ate coffee cake around it like it was no big thing. I always felt like I should offer the body some. I didn't want to be rude.

 

OK mom and dad, just humor us all and tell us that you at least tried to have him committed. Any time now.

 

This is from the Times (Jan. 10):

As a rule, violence is less common among people with mental illness than is often assumed; a vast majority are no more likely to commit harm than anyone else.

But studies suggest that a small subset of those with untreated, paranoid psychosis are two to three times as likely as people without mental disorders to get into physical altercations, researchers say.

“Certainly not all paranoids are mass murderers” by a long shot, said Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist in New York, “but almost all mass murderers are paranoid.”

This is from the Wednesday Wall Street Journal:

These tragedies are the inevitable outcome of five decades of failed mental-health policies. During the 1960s, we began to empty the state mental hospitals but failed to put in place programs to ensure that the released patients received treatment after they left. By the 1980s, the results were evident—increasing numbers of seriously mentally ill persons among the homeless population and in the nation's jails and prisons.

Others are unaware they are sick and should be required by law to receive assisted outpatient treatment, including medication and counseling, as is the case in New York under Kendra's Law. If they do not comply with the court-ordered treatment plan, they can and should be involuntarily admitted to a hospital. Arizona has such a provision in its laws, but it is almost never used.

And here's a really great story that provides a lot of background on his mental illness.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-14/loughner-s-dark-personality-eluded-mental-health-scrutiny-before-rampage.html

There are a lot of people out there who need help. I hope the discussion of mental health is substantial.

 

Boehner, in a noble sort of way, may have been thinking about the taxpayer cost of him going. I mean, hell, it's a possibility.

On the other hand, McCain being in Arizona where it's his state, and being at the girl's funeral -- that should have happened. And did.

 

I've always kind of liked Dallas Green, but he was always kind of a hard ass.

Seeing what kind of son he raised, my respect for him has only grown.

 

He used five different handles on that forum.

I wonder how long it took people to figure out each new handle was him. I'm betting not long.