Showing posts with label Gabrielle Giffords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gabrielle Giffords. Show all posts

Sunday, 16 January 2011

The search for a blogging topic.

The 2010 banning of polyurethane suits in swimming competition? All you need to know, here.

Tunisia? My virtual roomie is working that corner, but here's an update.

Gabriella Giffords' medical condition? I'd be willing to bet that even in her current condition, the US congresswoman would score winning points in a political debate with Sarah Palin.

Though the rehab process Giffords faces is daunting, her possibilities for learning anew the knowledge and the skills lost when the Glock bullet damaged brain tissue are excellent.

Palin's cerebrum, however, is an entirely different kettle of ... ah, barracuda. While there's no evidence of physiological impairments, it appears the only thing that $arah has learned recently is a range of new techniques for separating the suckers who support her from their cash.

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

WTF? Honouring the dead? Please explain

Seriously, I really don't understand 'honouring the dead'. Really. Seriously.

When I was 20, my husband of six months was killed in a workplace 'accident'. Four years later, my father died.

I think I know something about death, but I know nothing about honouring the dead.

I watched the big memorial thingy at the University of Arizona tonight. (I lived in AZ for about six months a generation ago and it was nucking futs about guns then.) Obama had a bully pulpit to speak about the national discourse. He didn't have to get political. Though some reference to 'rhetoric' might have been good.

Instead, it was all glurge.

Here is Andrew Sullivan on the glurge-fest.

Obama FAIL. US FAIL. World fucked.

If someone can explain 'honouring the dead', I'd be grateful.

Never responsible, always the victim - update.

$arah Palin, of course.

As others quicker off the mark than I these days pointed out, Palin and her sycophants produced this map, as well as reams of political eliminationist discourse directed at ideological opponents.

Palin has a history of evading responsibility for her actions, as well as shirking her obligations. Over and over, she's blamed others for everything that shines a spotlight upon her intellectual laziness, her egotism, the fabrication of her image and her greediness. Couric allegedly ambushed her; though she (and family members) preened in clothing and luxury items bought by the Republican party during the presidential campaign she refused to wear the issue; she abandoned her job as Governor of Alaska to pursue lucrative proposals yet said it was the media's fault she quit, etc. etc. etc.

Some political observers think Palin's bid for the presidency will be damaged by the Tucson carnage, others believe she'll bounce back.

Andrew Sullivan:

"There is no way to understand the politics of this without Palin. She has long been the leader of the movement that drapes itself in military garb, that marinates in violent rhetoric, that worships gun culture, that has particular ferocity in the state of Arizona, and that never ever apologises for anything." He adds: "My hope is that this horrifying momentary conflation of politics, guns and mental illness will lead responsible figures on the right to eschew the path of Palin."

David Frum:

[...] Palin's response – condolences to the victims and a simple denial of any responsibility – was perfectly fair in reply to opponents who suggested the crosshairs contributed to the shooting. But if she wanted to be a leader, she had to go beyond that, he said. He called on her to express real grief and sincere compassion, be visible, engage in the debate, and challenge opponents [...] "Palin is splashed by that history [the build-up to the Tucson incident] and the challenge is to find something big and generous to speak of in a larger way. So far, she has opted not to do so."

Expect the usual whining from Palin and her die-hard supporters. It will be difficult for Palin to spin that she is - not Gabrielle Giffords and the citizens killed or injured by the shooting - the "real" victim of this tragedy. Nonetheless she'll exploit her own brand of truthiness in her favour.

And also, go read Dr Dawg, Audrey II, Buckdog and Simon.

Update: Palin responds, not as Frum suggested, but in her habitual 'Pit Bull with Lipstick' attack form. Republican Jewish leaders choose to remain silent on Palin's opportunistic appropriation of the term "blood libel".

Grand merci to Jymm.

Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Demand Honesty and Accuracy

It's not just the rhetoric. It's the outrageous LIES and DISTORTIONS.

Pro-choice people have been battling this crap for decades. Now, though, with the cranked-up crankiness of the loathesome Teabaggers and their cheerleaders like FUCKED News, the Tucson massacre was as inevitable as the assassination of Dr George Tiller.

Bruce Gorton puts it like this:
I think the assassination attempt on Gabrielle Gifford was to some extent caused by America’s major political pundits.

And it isn’t hard to see how – they make a habit of doing things like making abortion out to be exactly the same thing as killing babies, immigrants are sold as raping your daughter and stealing your job, and the Democrats as being in support of taxing you in order to do both while killing Grandma.

About 14% of Americans think the current US president may be the anti-Christ. Yeah, I think the guys they rely on for their information may well be a wee bit questionable, and driving the continent towards civil war and anarchy.

And here's a science blogger's thoughts on the matter.
So let's not be so concerned with civility, but instead demand honesty and accuracy. That will serve us far better.

Amen.