Sarah Palin and coincidences - Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in Arizona

Sarah Palin doesn’t believe in coincidences. She wrote these words in Going Rogue and repeated them in her speech at College of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Going Rogue:

Palin posits her faith as the pillar of her career, as if her successes have unfolded according to a grand divine plan. Her selection as McCain's running mate was a "natural progression," she writes in one section. "I don't believe in coincidences," she writes in another.

Live tweet of speech at Ozarks:

Palin is talking about work ethic & pushing one's self to better their lives. "I don't believe in coincidences," she said.

Today, one such coincidence came true.

(UPDATE: According to latest news, Rep. Giffords has survived the attack,

the surgery was successful)

We don't know yet if the shootings were politically motivated, but in a country where carrying a gun is fiercely protected by the Constitution and where weapons are too easily available, publishing a picture depicting crosshairs and making a list of targets is incredibly irresponsible.

I drew attention to the fact that Sarah Palin doesn't believe in coincidences because, according to her own rhetoric, this violent act would translate as "One down, nineteen to go."

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Note by Patrick:

Here is the link to Sarah Palin's infamous "cross-hair" facebook post.

It's also worth revisiting our post on Palingates from March 24, 2010.

Regina wrote back then:

This is frightening. It started with bricks, now they're cleaning their rifles, ready to reload.

The sight of blood seems to excite Sarah Palin, be it the blood of wolves, bears, moose or caribou.

She has moved to human targets... Sarah Palin needs to stop, sit down and shut up.

Here is Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on MSNBC in her own words about the Tea Party-threats against her, the violent atmosphere which is being created and the attacks against her office:

Short link to the youtube clip for tweeting:

http://is.gd/ko7bo

This is a chilling interview.

Rep. Giffords even mentions Sarah Palin and her cross-hair target list in this interview.

The interview aired on March 25, 2010.

Rep. Giffords:

“Sarah Palin has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district and when people do that, they’ve gotta realize there are consequences to that action.”

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Here is the live stream from MSNBC:

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From the police press conference:

"There were several prominent individuals in the crowd."

"There was a poster for Gabrielle Giffords and several flyers."

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The latest reports say that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is still alive.

There are reports that Palin's infamous "RELOAD" tweet has beeb scrubbed, is this true?

This one:

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MORE UPDATES:

Regina wanted to post this earlier, but it got lost because I edited the post at the same time as her:

Sarah Palin was quick off the mark:

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More details about the shooter which have been discovered:

Jared Loughner has been named as the shooter, though it appears that there was at least one more shooter.

He has a youtube account, and it appears to me that this second youtube account which contains only one very, very creepy clip which he favorited in the other account also belongs to him.

He clearly is severely mentally disturbed and does seem to have distinct anti-Government views, also strong views about a "new currency" (gold), which is also a very popular theme in militia-circles. Due to the fact that he cites some "left-wing books" in his youtube profile and somebody else (who hasn't seem him since 2007!) said that he was "left-wing and quite liberal", it now appears that the "meme" by the right-wingers, expressed on websites and comments is that the shooter was just another "evil liberal." This is pure nonsense, and dangerous as well, as the views expressed in his youtube clips have nothing to do at all with being left-wing and liberal, and he cites "Mein Kampf" amongst his favorite books as well.

EDIT: New information confirms that Jared Loughner was not a liberal, but could be more described as a "libertarian", which is a completely different thing.

This didn't stop Sarah Palin's propaganda battalion at Conservatives4Palin to immediately start spreading the false meme that the shooter was a liberal, treating it as a fact, of course:

In his youtube clips, he seems to be obsessed with grammar, mind control, the constitution, federal government and a "new currency." An example (without sound):

Screenshots from his youtube clips:

Jared Loughner also had a myspace-profile, but it was scrapped virtually immediately!

This is a screenshot from his scrapped myspace-profile:

EDIT: Please note that I have removed the screenshot of a facebook profile which I had posted here earlier. It was suggested that the profile picture might not have been Jared Loughner.

In addition, please note that there are "rumors"about a "Palin and Tea Party" related facebook profile floating around, but this was a fake facebook profile which was created yesterday for a "Jared Laughner" by some angry person, after the name of the shooter was first reported as "Laughner."

Here is a genuine picture of him which was published by an online news site:

It's an unspeakable tragedy that this has happened.

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More screenshots from his scrubbed myspace-page have been saved.

This is the most chilling picture he had in his account:

He left this message on myspace very shortly before the shooting, earlier today:

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UPDATE:

According to the latest news, Rep. Giffords has survived the attack, the surgery was successful.

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Sarah Palin was very proud of her "bullseye tweet":

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UPDATE:

CBS News published an excellent article about the shooting and the controversy surrounding Sarah Palin.

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UPDATE:

The "Coalition to stop gun violence" shows a shocking timeline on their website, providing details about politically charged gun crimes and other violent acts, as well as examples of violent political rhetoric. The starting date of the timeline is June 26, 2008, when the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision embraced the National Rifle Association's contention that the Second Amendment provides individuals with the right to take violent action against our government should it become "tyrannical."

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UPDATE:

Note by Regina: I have created a short video which I hope encapsulates our feelings about these events and makes it easier to share them.

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UPDATE BY PATRICK:

Anyone who thinks that this incident will stop Sarah Palin and her fanatic followers is sadly mistaken. Palin and her fans are pathological - rationality or reflection plays no role, but only obsession with their own importance and power.

Sheya from the C4P-site "PalinTV" tweeted this two hours ago:

I doubt very much that this is a "minority opinion." As usual, these people see poor Sarah as a victim.

C4P was quick to spread the lie that the shooter Jared Loughner was a left-winger, a liberal (see my comments and links above). Also, in an appalling interview with Palin's "facebook manager" Rebecca Mansour, Palin's fanatical cheerleader Tammy Bruce ranted over and over again about "disgusting", "reprehensible", "sick", "depraved" liberals who had the audacity to hold Palin responsible for creating an atmosphere of violence.

Sarah Palin won't be stopped by this. Only the exposure of her twisted personality and of her many scandals will finally be the end of her political career. I know that this may be hard to believe, but I am convinced that it's the truth.

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UPDATE:

There is a new development - the Christian Science Monitor and other websites report:

A possible link between Jared Lee Loughner, the primary suspect in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and American Renaissance, the publication of an anti-immigration group, offers potential new insights into what may have caused the 22-year-old Arizonan to carry out the attack, which killed six people and wounded more than a dozen outside a Tucson, Ariz. stripmall on Saturday.

The shooting attack gravely wounded Representative Giffords and killed her aide Gabriel Zimmerman, US District Judge John Roll, a nine-year-old girl, and three others. The hail of gunfire shocked the nation and reinvigorated scrutiny of rancor and anger-fueled debate in American politics.

On Sunday, Fox News quoted a Department of Homeland Security memo that states Mr. Loughner is "possibly linked" to American Renaissance, which DHS says promotes views that are "anti-government, anti-immigration, anti-ZOG [Zionist Occupational Government], anti-Semitic." Both Giffords and Mr. Zimmerman are Jewish.

American Renaissance is the publication of the The New Century Foundation, described by the Anti-Defamation League as a "self-styled think tank." The ADL, on its website, calls American Renaissance a "white supremacist journal and companion Website" that "promotes pseudoscientific studies that attempt to demonstrate the intellectual and cultural superiority of whites and publishes articles on the supposed decline of American society because of integrationist social policies."

EDIT: "American Renaissance" strongly deny that there is a connection between them and the shooter Jared Loughner.

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UPDATE:

The website "bluewavenews" published a good overview about violent Tea Party rhetoric in light of the current events:

Tea Party Rhetoric: “Nothing better than a dead liberal”

This clip speak for itself:

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UPDATE:

Here is a copy of the original federal "Criminal Complaint" against Jared Lee Loughner.

He bought the gun only on November 30, 2010.

Excerpt:

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UPDATE:

Tina Dupuy ("Sarah Palin's enemy list") published a very good new post: At Least Stand By Your Free Speech

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We have received a recording of 911 calls related to the shooting in Arizona. Please be aware that these calls are distressing to listen to.

One caller describes that the shooter Jared Loughner was wearing a "beanie, a hooded sweatshirt and jeans."

Listen here:

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UPDATE:

The ADN posted very graphic pictures from the scene of the shooting.

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Dave Weigel published an excellent take-down of Sarah Palin's "reload-rhetoric" and the "surveyor marks" defence of her fans and her staff:

Among the people who gave the impression that these were targets: Sarah Palin. When she announced the list in a tweet, she wrote "don't retreat, instead - RELOAD!" I'm not an expert surveyor, but I'm not sure what sort of tools need reloading. Jonathan Martin points out that after the election, Palin tweeted about her success (18 of the seats went to the GOP) by saying "remember months ago 'bullseye' icon used 2 target the 20 Obamacare-lovin' incumbent seats?" Throughout 2010, when Palin was criticized for the target map, she either didn't respond or mocked the "lamestream media" for interpreting her gun metaphors as calls for violence. At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, for example, she got big applause when she said "Don't retreat, reload -- and that is not a call for violence!" The media wasn't going to force her to stop using the gun line.

Palin doubled down, and she had a lot of support from conservatives for doing so, because a lot of them considered the "target map" criticism a bad faith attack on her. Were some of the attacks in bad faith? Maybe. But Gabrielle Giffords had specifically raised her concerns about the target map. Palin had many, many months to stop using the "reload" line, or to identify the targets as "surveyor's symbols," and she didn't do that.

Following the suggestion of one of our readers, I tweeted:

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Sarah Palin is an opportunist - cynical and dangerous

Aides to Sarah Palin have asked the Republican National Committee to remove her name from an invitation that suggests she might attend a series of committee fundraising events timed to coincide with next week's Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Though Palin will speak on Friday at the SRLC, a gathering of top Republican officials and an early cattle call for potential 2012 presidential candidates, the former Alaska governor will not be participating in any RNC fundraising event, a Palin adviser told CNN.

It's difficult to make sense of the moves made by Sarah Palin's camp. Some decisions and statements from former aides were already a bit chaotic, but Meg Stapleton seemed more predictable. Since Meg was pushed under the bus by Jason Recher, things have become even more puzzling.

We have to keep jumping back and forth to guess what the master plan might be. What's driving the bus forward? Politics? Money? Religion?

Sarah Palin went rogue on purpose. Without any particular allegiance, she can slip into whatever mode seems more profitable at the time. She supported some Republican candidates and became the Queen of the Teabaggers, pushing her simplistic anti-government agenda. She tried to be the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan, but hasn't mentioned his name in a long time, so perhaps that didn't work out very well.

Sarah Palin has been exploring a number of different avenues since she quit as governor for the good of Alaska. Author, Fox News contributor, TV presenter, speaker, Facebook blogger, twitterer. Her main aim is to stay in the headlines. If a controversy is not readily available, she creates one. And she has props for each occasion. Her family, Alaska, the Republicans, the Teabaggers, God, unborn children, Israel, the military... they are all props.

SarahPac made some eleventh hour token donations to political candidates in order to justify its existence, but in reality it seems to be a nice piggy bank for Sarah Palin and her cronies.

Sarah Palin is a cynical opportunist. If she made her money in the same way as Octomom or the Gosselins, if she grew an extra head and became a freakshow, if she decided to fake another fifteen pregnancies for a reality show, if she made millions of dollars from any of these things, all would be well. The problem is that politics is her main theme. That's why she's dangerous.



This following was no.5 in the top ten 2009 editorial cartoons in the TIME annual competition:



Sarah Palin already appears in several other categories. I hope her targets and inflammatory rhetoric won't find their way into some sinister list in 2010.



She's not the only dangerous person around but seems to be one of the most pernicious and high profile among many. Others may have genuine concerns and are driven by their fears. Sarah Palin's sole motivation appears to be money and she doesn't care about the consequences of her poisonous statements, it's all about her bank balance...

Take the money away and Sarah Palin, with her "servant's heart," would sit down and shut up very quickly.

(Our friend Ennealogic has a very good and very graphic analysis of Sarah Palin's metaphors)
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Sarah Palin: "RELOAD!" - UPDATE!

The call

The targets

Here is the enlarged picture of the crosshair which Palin used in this graphic:

The words and the rifle scopes used on the map say a lot about "violence is not the answer."

Sarah Palin may not be a serious, viable candidate for anything, but her coded words and inflammatory rhetoric are very dangerous. She derailed the debate on the HCR with her "death panels", divided the country with her "Real Americans" speech and now appears to be calling for an armed retaliation against elected representatives of the people.

Rachel Maddow reports on violence that has already erupted:

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This is frightening. It started with bricks, now they're cleaning their rifles, ready to reload.

The sight of blood seems to excite Sarah Palin, be it the blood of wolves, bears, moose or caribou.

She has moved to human targets... Sarah Palin needs to stop, sit down and shut up.

Another violent character HERE.

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UPDATE (by Patrick):

It is safe to say that Sarah Palin is now in serious trouble because of her irresponsible actions which we described in this post.

Sarah Palin has taken one step too far.

Just watch these two new clips below.

Sarah - you are toast, and you thoroughly deserved it.

LINK TO THE FIRST VIDEO

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LINK TO THE SECOND VIDEO

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UPDATE 2 (by Patrick):

Our reader "voiceinwind" reminded us that Sarah should have a look into the Unites States Code before she publishes this type of incendiary garbage:

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 115 > § 2383
Prev | Next § 2383. Rebellion or insurrection

Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

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In addition, the Anchorage Daily News gives an overview of the devastating comments circulating in the media regarding Sarah Palin's dangerous and inflammatory stunt.

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UPDATE 3 (by Patrick):

Please report Sarah Palin on facebook for inciting violence - here are the links:

Does Facebook remove everything that gets reported?

Facebook thoroughly reviews every report we receive to determine whether or not the content violates our Terms of Use. Any content that is considered sexually explicit, violent, malicious or otherwise offensive will be removed. If you received a warning about an item that was taken down, then we have established that it violated these terms.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=12160

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UPDATE 4 (by Patrick):

Many thanks again to our reader "voiceinwind" for roaming throught the statutes!

The Republicans were very enthusiastic about the "Patriot Act". Does Sarah Palin violate it? Well, you be the judge!

USA PATRIOT ACT Act of 2001

SEC. 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
(a) DOMESTIC TERRORISM DEFINED- Section 2331 of Title 18, United States Code, is amended--

...

(4) by adding at the end the following:

(5) the term `domestic terrorism' means activities that--

(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended--

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
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Sarah Palin and Violence

By Kathleen

Sarah Palin has a problem and her problem is with anyone who does not believe in her small town view of an America in which God’s Law is paramount. As she sees it, unless the rest of America falls in line with her view, then they are non-believers and haters who must be stood up against. So deep-set is her belief that she consistently runs with the narrative that because people hate her then she must be a victim. A victim persecuted for her love of a God who will soon reveal his mighty power to all of us. Sarah believes that that judgment day is near as we are living in the “End Times” and she is preparing herself for the battle to come. I don’t have a problem with this. Sarah’s religious views belong to her. Do I think that her views are unreasonable? Yes, I do. But that is my personal opinion and she is more than welcome to take care of her own spiritual soul. I’m comfortable with mine.

However, my concern regarding Sarah is a much more elementary one because she has another shield and it is one which she wields very effectively. She’s not just on a mission for God. She’s on a mission to save America from “big government” and it is the political weapons that she has chosen which most concern me. Fundamentally, Sarah’s supporters see her as a martyr preparing to set herself against a system of “big government” which has lost its way. She has armed herself with language. A language of division, fear and resentment, couched in frustration and one that essentially promotes violence - violence that is on the verge of escalation without reason and which is very close to spilling over into becoming physical, as reported by The Redoubt Reporter:

Jenny Neyman / Redoubt Reporter
Michigan Militia founder Norm Olson, left, and master of ceremonies Bob Bird, both of Nikiski, at last week's Second Amendment/Constitutional Task Force rally in Kenai.

A recent meeting in Kenai, Alaska of the Second Amendment Constitutional Task Force began in a friendly enough manner but soon disintegrated into bitterness and inflammatory rhetoric when Schaeffer Cox, of Fairbanks, announced that “something horrible was going on” as he implied that America was presently run by a tyrant. He went on to say:

“My greatest fear is that they’re not going to hear us until we speak to them in their language, which is force,” Cox said. “… We would be doing a wrong, bad thing if we skipped over all those other forms of force and we jumped right to bloody force, but right now, America is headed to bloody force. If we sit on our hands until it hits the fan and it’s go time, we won’t be able to exercise that warlike force with a clear conscience. So we need to be very faithful with what’s at hand right now.” And:

“I am not opposed to violent, bloody force. I know that is hard to say to a big group of people. It sounds kind of bad but that is something that we’ve got to reckon with. That is a duty that we have as an individual, as people who have families and friends.”

I watched Sarah last night on the Glenn Beck show as she followed Beck's call and denounced the use of physical violence whilst at the same time dropping in her code words of fear, desperation and unheard voices.

Furthermore, in the interview, Sarah reveals to a shocked somewhat bemused Glenn that "she doesn't pretend to be a believer in everything that she reads in the media. Not in the ADN or other aspects of the mainstream/lamestream media." She continues to say, "I won't pretend that everything is taken in context." She's read enough "to know that violence isn't the answer but that there is legitimate frustration with Government today" and thinks that "those who assembled at that meeting in Kenai, what they were saying is that there is some desperation out there in society and citizens want to know what they can do to have their voices heard. Violence is not the answer though."

It’s good to know that Sarah believes that “violence is not the answer”. What I’d like to know is can we now expect to see a change in Sarahs’ violence contaminated rhetoric? Or is she still going to employ the media to inveigh America with her particular brand of shrill and divisive discourse which is designed to limit rational discussion? I watched Sarah closely during this particular interview and I do not believe that we will see any drastic change in her message. You can see it in her manner and in her cold eyes. You can hear it in her venomous responses to Glenn. She understands their violent nature and fears because she is one of them.


Further reading on ADN

(Please read the previous post and help if you can. Thank you)
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