Congresswoman Gabby Giffords Shot in Head

[The Floridian Coast]

I agree with a very early post in this thread that the kid probably was a tool who never read shit so he just thought of all the important books he could think of.

[The Floridian Coast]

Finally, a gunman who is actually a decent shot.

Not hard to fire into a dense crowd and kill people...

[OrangeCats]

That's evidence, certainly - although I'm not sure why we can realistically assert it's evidence of 'social failure' any more than it's evidence of obsession with gun culture, politically motivated assassination, or the fact that Arizona sucks so hard that murder seems like a realistic diversion for a quiet afternoon.

Oh I dunno. Politics pisses people off, Arizona may (or may not suck, I've only ever seen Phoenix ) and people may be obsessed with guns... Heck, somebody might even have all those traits...

But when you cross the line from "Man this really pissed me off!" to shooting at people, all that other stuff flies out the window 'cause it means somebody broke down mentally, and I can easily see that being evidence that on some level society failed... whether you feel like it's because of a gun law problem or a mental health awareness problem or somebody just didn't give this guy enough hugs...

[Dyakovo]

She is going to die, no one can survive to be shot in the head.

Wrong. 5% of people shot in the head survive.

[Teotan]

So the Tea Party is full of Nazi's now? If a radical republican was going to kill a politician, I honestly doubt it would be her, besides between 9 to 11 of her supporters were also shot, that sounds like somthing a mexican gang or drug cartel would set up.

Cease and desist. If we are going in for political theories, it was a hit by the government of Djbouti. Why can't we merely wish for her well-being and offer our sympathy? Why must everything be a political talk-point? This is beginning to sound like the Glen Beck Show.

This is a POLITICAL SIMULATOR FORUM GAME

[OrangeCats]

Finally, a gunman who is actually a decent shot.

Meh. Lee Harvey Oswald did it from much farther away and at a moving target.

(Yes, my boyfriend made me watch Full Metal Jacket...)

[Grave_n_idle]

That's evidence, certainly - although I'm not sure why we can realistically assert it's evidence of 'social failure' any more than it's evidence of obsession with gun culture, politically motivated assassination, or the fact that Arizona sucks so hard that murder seems like a realistic diversion for a quiet afternoon.

Oh I dunno. Politics pisses people off, Arizona may (or may not suck, I've only ever seen Phoenix ) and people may be obsessed with guns... Heck, somebody might even have all those traits...

But when you cross the line from "Man this really pissed me off!" to shooting at people, all that other stuff flies out the window 'cause it means somebody broke down mentally, and I can easily see that being evidence that on some level society failed... whether you feel like it's because of a gun law problem or a mental health awareness problem or somebody just didn't give this guy enough hugs...

Indeed. Maybe he needed more hugs. But why is that a social failure rather than a political one, for example ( - in this specific context of someone shooting a congresswoman).

[Farnhamia]

I hear his favorite book was "The Communist Manifesto", so he's obviously a "fill in the blank".

That would make sense. The Congresswoman he shot did support anti-illegal immigration reforms, so logically, it wouldn't be surprising at all if some left-wing extremist took the initiative to commit this massacre on those grounds. If so, it's only more proof that radical leftism is becoming more and more of a threat in modern western society.

See, this is what happens when you post without actually finding out anything about the subject (bolded parts for your convenience):

Known for her centrist views, Ms. Giffords was elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in the 2006 election. She is an avid equestrian and motorcycle enthusiast, repository of arcane health care data, successful Democrat elected three times in a Republican Congressional district, French horn player and wife of an astronaut.

Politically, Ms. Giffords, 40, is as passionate as she is independent. She is a longtime proponent of gun rights and tough border security — she once put out a news release ahead of President Obama announcing an increase of troops at the border. She also sided with motorcycle riders who favor state legislation to ride helmet-free, as she does.

But she was equally ardent in her support of the health care overhaul last year, and once told a reporter she was prepared to lose her seat to defend it. A comer in Arizona, where she was born and grew up, Ms. Giffords was widely considered as a strong future candidate for statewide office in a state where Democrats ride uphill.

Ms. Giffords, who has been an outspoken critic of Arizona’s tough immigration law, survived a tough re-election fight in November 2010 in part by stressing her strong support for gun rights and for tougher immigration controls, including tighter border security. She narrowly defeated Jesse Kelly, a conservative Republican, amid a general Republican sweep in the state.

Ms. Giffords, whose district covers the southeastern corner of the state, had faced strong criticism for her opposition to the state's immigration law, which is focused on identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants,and for her vote in favor of the Democrats’ health care law. Friends said she had received threats over the years.

She was in favor of tougher border security, though.

[Greed and Death]

She is going to die, no one can survive to be shot in the head.

Wrong. 5% of people shot in the head survive.

Much higher when the bullet only causes damage to one hemisphere of the brain, like in the congresswoman's case.
The question now is will she be able to function as a congresswoman.

[Ashmoria]

yeah but revolutions have to start somehow. and a precipitating event such as assassination is often thought to be that start.

how else do the masses know that the revolution is starting?

You never heard of television? Or Twitter?

ya ya but im not getting out of my lazyboy and loading up my semi-automatic rifle unless i know FER SHUR that the revolution is starting. as one of the posters above said, i hate to miss my wheel of fortune.

[Grave_n_idle]

For example.

If I were to shoot up a congressional event, I should be barred from carrying guns in public again.

What's Arizona's position on death penalty? Pro-, right? This may well result in a 'bar' on breathing.

[OrangeCats]

Indeed. Maybe he needed more hugs. But why is that a social failure rather than a political one, for example ( - in this specific context of someone shooting a congresswoman).

Why would it be a political failure? Politics doesn't produce nuts. Mental illness does and either society succeeds in stopping them or it doesn't. Politics is just a way of looking for someone to blame.

[Rambhutan]

Finally, a gunman who is actually a decent shot.

Meh. Lee Harvey Oswald did it from much farther away and at a moving target.

(Yes, my boyfriend made me watch Full Metal Jacket...)

Do people with the name Lee somehow feel drawn to assassination?

[Grave_n_idle]

Indeed. Maybe he needed more hugs. But why is that a social failure rather than a political one, for example ( - in this specific context of someone shooting a congresswoman).

Why would it be a political failure? Politics doesn't produce nuts. Mental illness does and either society succeeds in stopping them or it doesn't. Politics is just a way of looking for someone to blame.

You say this guy is 'nuts', but I'm not sure that's a valid claim. Is every act of violence evidence of mental illness?

[The Bleeding Roses]

Meh. Lee Harvey Oswald did it from much farther away and at a moving target.

(Yes, my boyfriend made me watch Full Metal Jacket...)

Do people with the name Lee somehow feel drawn to assassination?

Wasn't there a Lee that shot up the discovery channel last year?

EDIT: Yep, James J Lee, radical leftist.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gunman-enters- ... d=11535128

[Greater Americania]

She was in favor of tougher border security, though.

Which was exactly what I was referring to. She was in favor increasing border enforcement and of securing the border, something a leftist which this individual very well may have been, would have an intrinsic knee-jerk reaction to. Such a stance could very well have been motivation for attacking her and those around her yesterday. Given the rise of leftist extremism all across the Western world, this would only add on to the growing trend.

[Occupied Deutschland]

You say this guy is 'nuts', but I'm not sure that's a valid claim. Is every act of violence evidence of mental illness?

No, but this one is. Considering he saw birds on his shoulders that talked to him...

[Farnhamia]

She was in favor of tougher border security, though.

Which was exactly what I was referring to. She was in favor increasing border enforcement and of securing the border, something a leftist which this individual very well may have been, would have an intrinsic knee-jerk reaction to. Such a stance could very well have been motivation for attacking her and those around her yesterday. Given the rise of leftist extremism all across the Western world, this would only add on to the growing trend.

Put those goal posts back. You shot off your mouth and got caught. Be a man and admit it.

[Greed and Death]

If I were to shoot up a congressional event, I should be barred from carrying guns in public again.

What's Arizona's position on death penalty? Pro-, right? This may well result in a 'bar' on breathing.

I think we can agree on that.

[Grave_n_idle]

Do people with the name Lee somehow feel drawn to assassination?

Wasn't there a Lee that shot up the discovery channel last year?

EDIT: Yep, James J Lee, radical leftist.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gunman-enters- ... d=11535128

Hmm... also rather supports the "three names tends to make you an assassin" theme.

[Greater Americania]

Put those goal posts back. You shot off your mouth and got caught. Be a man and admit it.

Admit to what, exactly? It even discusses her stances in favor of cracking down on illegal immigrants crossing the border in the OP's NPR article. You're just voluntarily choosing to ignore the distinct possibility that this Congresswoman and members of her entourage, including a innocent nine year old girl were slaughtered by a leftist.

[Grave_n_idle]

You say this guy is 'nuts', but I'm not sure that's a valid claim. Is every act of violence evidence of mental illness?

No, but this one is. Considering he saw birds on his shoulders that talked to him...

"Most insanity defenses do not succeed. One study found that less than 1% of criminal trials involve an insanity defense, and of those only about 25% succeeded. An insanity defense requires much more than a simple diagnosis of a mental disorder. The “Unambomber” was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, yet still declared competent to stand trial and convicted on 10 counts. An example of a successful insanity defense comes from the attempted Reagan assassination. John W. Hinkley’s lawyers argued that he was a schizophrenic, and that he had not acted on his own volition when he fired at Reagan. Hinkley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and subsequently confined to St. Elizabeth’s hospital in Washington D.C."

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz- ... d-loughner

[Occupied Deutschland]

"Most insanity defenses do not succeed. One study found that less than 1% of criminal trials involve an insanity defense, and of those only about 25% succeeded. An insanity defense requires much more than a simple diagnosis of a mental disorder. The “Unambomber” was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, yet still declared competent to stand trial and convicted on 10 counts. An example of a successful insanity defense comes from the attempted Reagan assassination. John W. Hinkley’s lawyers argued that he was a schizophrenic, and that he had not acted on his own volition when he fired at Reagan. Hinkley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and subsequently confined to St. Elizabeth’s hospital in Washington D.C."

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz- ... d-loughner

Okay, the court-room definition of insanity allows "insane" people to be tried as if they were sane...What's the point?

[OrangeCats]

You say this guy is 'nuts', but I'm not sure that's a valid claim. Is every act of violence evidence of mental illness?

Who knows? What does it matter? No matter how you define mental illness there will always be some who slip through and cause some mayhem just like there will always be people waiting to use them as opportunities to manipulate them for political reasons.

Either that or you gotta show that this guy was sane, which doesn't really follow from the stuff he was spouting right before he went off and it isn't like sane people go on killing sprees.

Kinda like porn. Maybe I can't define it, but I know it when I see it

[Jenrak]

Finally, a gunman who is actually a decent shot.

I understand that the dry and absurd sense of humour is your persona when RPing, NN, but I must suggest that you strongly be careful with your choice of words when in a discussion that focuses on something extremely charged and political such as this, especially considering that in General, the persona is stripped away and all forms of consideration are taken at the value of them being your actual opinion, or at the very least, some semblance of trolling or flamebaiting.

Just be careful next time.