It's been a week since the Tucson massacre, or as Nancy Pilosi calls it, a "Tragic ACCIDENT" She was obviously fishing for a word and she picked the absolute worst one in the dictionary for that circumstance. There are no words to express the horror those innocent victims must have felt. Jared Loughner, the "alleged" gunman, (innocent until proven guilty, you know.) was a complete and certifiable loonie and should have been institutionalized. But yet, he was allowed to roam the streets in complete freedom. No parental involvement, red flags for law enforcement that were ignored. We're a compassionate society, you know. We can't just lock up somebody because he may be a threat to others or themselves..
There are so many ways that this tragedy could have been averted, but instead those of us on the right were vilified as if we caused a nut case to pull out a semi-automatic with an elephant clip and almost empty the chamber. He had his run-ins with the law. How could he pass the background check to get the Glock. Why why wasn't there a single member of law enforcement at the event. Pennsylvania State Police escort Joe Paterno on and off the field during the football season, so why doesn't a member of Congress rate the same security. Whether or not her staff requested it is immaterial. It should be mandatory that at least one law enforcement officer be at any event where a congressperson has access to their constituents.
Another question is why did it take so long to subdue Loughner. Even a semi automatic takes a second to reload, let alone pull it out from wherever he had it hidden. Witnesses said he just appeared but he had to come from somewhere in the crowd. 19 hits out of 22 fired. He obviously took time to aim. Nobody noticed him pushing his way through the crowd. And allegedly, he was stopped for a traffic violation on the way to the rally. If the cop who stopped him would have only taken his time to write a ticket. If only somebody in the crowd would have been carrying a concealed weapon, perfectly legal in Arizona. If ONLY.
I had never heard of Gabrielle Giffords before, and no reason I should have, she's not my Representative in Congress and having been re-elected to her third term, she's also near the bottom of the Congressional food chain. In other words, Katie Couric wasn't booking her to discuss anything, although she probably wishes she had so she could have her own stock footage rather than relying stock footage.
And then there's Bernie Sanders, the "Independent" from Vermont. Or should I say "Socialist". Even before it was known whether Rep, Giffords would survive, he sent out a fundraising letter to his constituents asking for money to fight the Republicans who allowed this to happen. Sanders doesn't need funds. He's one of those legislators who will win time after time with minimal opposition.
And to the critics of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, those wars provided the medical knowledge that saved Gabrielle Gifford's life. Many have received the same medical care on the battlefield and lived when they shouldn't have, and went on to recover. It's far too soon to say what degree of recovery she'll have but the brain is an amazing thing, and it can rewire itself to bypass the destroyed area. Only time will tell.
Also time will tell if Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will name an interim replacement while Gabrielle Gifford
recuperates. She can, if a member of Congress is incapacitated, but I doubt she will. With Democrats in the minority, Rep. Giffords vote would not have any effect on legislation, and the Governor would have to name a Democrat, as naming a member of her own party would create very serious problems within her own state government.
The fact is, this was nothing more than a long string of actions by a madman who, if he hadn't succeeded last Saturday, would try again another time. The two words "If Only" are just that. We can't go back and change any event in our lives. Each one of us could one day be in the sights of just such a person as Jared Loughner.
It took Dallas years to get over the stigma of the Kennedy Assassination. The same for Memphis..And Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania where a deranged gunman killed 13, starting with his own family. Jared Loughner didn't just suddenly snap, the acts of last Saturday have been brewing for a long time..The signs were there..But obviously, everybody including his own family believed him to be harmless. Harmless until he killed 6 people he didn't even know. And there are countless more out there capable of the same atrocities. We can only hope that we catch them before they catch us.
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