The Aftermath of Tucson Shootings



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Gabrielle Giffords

 The media had a feeding frenze covering the recent shooting of U. S. Congressman Gabrielle Giffords ane the murder of six including a Federal judge and a nine year old girl. Controversy ran amuck with charges that the climate fostering this type of violence was due to gun related references from politicians, i.e. Sarah Palin and Sharon Angle. Naturally, Palin and Angle pleaded their innocence and Republicans and Democrats entered the fray to either defend or denounce each party. Naturally, Fox personalities Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck had their say on the issues.

Personally, I've always felt that the heated rhetoric spawned potential violence.  Warnings given over the past two years and during the 2008 presidential campaign go unheeded. Gabrielle Giffords spoke of confronting violent acts and death threats since Palin marked her with graphics resembling cross hairs on her SarahPAC web page. I also believe that while some Republicans have fully embraced this gun-toting language, some Democrats also are guilty of using similar verbage .

I agree with President Obama that it's time for a change and time to restore civility in our political discourse.  I don't expect this to happen beyond a few weeks, if at all, but I can remain hopeful. As always, time will tell it all. Meanwhile, let's send up prayers for the victims and their families during this difficult period.

Related articles

• Tucson Survivor Blames Shooting On Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sharron Angle (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• E. J. Dionne: The prophecy of Gabrielle Giffords (commercialappeal.com)
• Don't Blame Sarah Palin for Gabrielle Giffords' Shooting (thedailybeast.com)
• Arizona shooting: Spike in death threats against Sarah Palin (dailymail.co.uk)
• FOX News cuts away from 'Giffords vigil' when Sarah Palin's name is mentioned (crooksandliars.com)