The media are now in full backlash against the idea that the alleged shooter in Arizona, Jared Loughner, was motivated to shoot Gabrielle Gifford by the violent content of the country’s political discourse. Completely disassociating Loughner’s violence from its political environment at this early stage is as wrongheaded as asserting a direct cause and effect [...]
Jared Lee Loughner’s mug shot.
Tom DeLay, once the most powerful man in the House of Representatives, was sentenced to three years in prison Monday. But it could have been much worse. Per the Associated Press: Senior Judge Pat Priest sentenced him to the three-year term on the conspiracy charge. He also sentenced him to five years in prison on [...]
I’ve been getting some anguished comments about this clip from Reliable Sources, posted on Huffington today. I have three responses: 1. The clip represents only a small part of the interview, much of which was devoted to torching Fox News for its constant promotion of material that isn’t true–i.e. death panels, birtherism and almost anything [...]
National Review‘s Rich Lowry, presumably in an implied defense of Sarah Palin’s crosshairs (or, if you prefer, surveyor’s) map, presents the cover of Saturday’s New York Post. Chait approves. But I think there’s an important distinction here. A long and terrible history exists of people resolving political disputes through violence and murder. No such tradition [...]
I’m with Joe in thinking that the tragic Tucson shootings are being over-politicized, and likewise Jon Chait has wise words on the subject. (I think Jon understates the influence that inflammatory rhetoric can have on the mentally unstable, but then I’m no psychologist.) That said, the most explicit political talk of things like “Second Amendment [...]
The reclusive funder of Jewish settlers’ efforts to “reclaim” East Jerusalem, Irving Moskowitz, began demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel in the occupied Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city yesterday. The hotel is a particularly charged symbol for Jews and Arabs: it was the home of the Mufti of Jerusalem who collaborated with Hitler and opposed [...]
With far too many of my colleagues–and the usual array of politicians and fundraising interest groups–looking to make the shootings in Arizona into a left-right tussle over vitriol and extremism, it might be more profitable for some of us to look in a different direction. Yes, to be sure–and as I wrote a few weeks [...]
Since arriving in Tucson, I have been incredibly impressed with the grace and compassion of the people I’ve met, even as they grieve and grapple with an awful tragedy. Here is a piece I wrote yesterday on the scene at some of the vigils taking place across the city. And, if you missed it yesterday, [...]
Mourners gather at a memorial outside the offices of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona January 9, 2011. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking) –Court documents allegedly show a planned assassination. –A DHS memo suggests law enforcement is investigating ties to an anti-semitic group. Update: A DHS official tells Greg Sargent no such link has been established. –A heroic intern [...]
