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Showing posts with label multiplevictimnongunattacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multiplevictimnongunattacks. Show all posts
Norway killer, Anders Behring Breivik, not Christian, not right-wing

Norway killer, Anders Behring Breivik, not Christian, not right-wing

Ann Coulter has some very useful information available here.

In fact, however, Americans who jumped to conclusions about Hasan were right and New York Times reporters who jumped to conclusions about Breivik were wrong.

True, in one lone entry on Breivik's gaseous 1,500-page manifesto, "2083: A European Declaration of Independence," he calls himself "Christian." But unfortunately he also uses a great number of other words to describe himself, and these other words make clear that he does not mean "Christian" as most Americans understand the term. (Incidentally, he also cites The New York Times more than a half-dozen times.)

Had anyone at the Times actually read Breivik's manifesto, they would have seen that he uses the word "Christian" as a handy moniker to mean "European, non-Islamic" -- not a religious Christian or even a vague monotheist. In fact, at several points in his manifesto, Breivik stresses that he has a beef with Christians for their soft-heartedness. (I suppose that's why the Times is never worried about a "Christian backlash.")

A casual perusal of Breivik's manifesto clearly shows that he uses the word "Christian" similarly to the way some Jewish New Yorkers use it to mean "non-Jewish." In this usage, Christopher Hitchens and Madalyn Murray O'Hair are "Christians."

I told a Jewish gal trying to set me up with one of her friends once that he had to be Christian, and she exclaimed that she had the perfect guy: a secular Muslim atheist. (This was the least-popular option on the '60s board game Dream Date, by the way).

Breivik is very clear that you don't even have to believe in God to join his movement, saying in a self-interview:

Q: Do I have to believe in God or Jesus in order to become a Justiciar Knight?

A: As this is a cultural war, our definition of being a Christian does not necessarily constitute that you are required to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus.

He goes on to say that a "Christian fundamentalist theocracy" is "everything we DO NOT want," and a "secular European society" is "what we DO want."

"It is enough," Breivik says, "that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian-atheist." That statement doesn't even make sense in America. . . .
New piece at AOL News: "Gun Control Debate: Political Opportunists Swarm In"

New piece at AOL News: "Gun Control Debate: Political Opportunists Swarm In"

My new piece starts off this way:

The horrible attack that has left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords seriously wounded and six others dead has not brought out the best in many people. Ugly political opportunism looks to have led many into making statements they will soon regret. Within hours without knowing anything about the attacker's background or motives, many started blaming Sarah Palin and the tea party.

For instance, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that Giffords was a target because "she's a Democrat who survived what was otherwise a GOP sweep in Arizona, precisely because the Republicans nominated a tea party activist." And on CNN, correspondent Jessica Yellin singled out Sarah Palin, saying her "political rhetoric [created] the environment that allowed this instance to happen."

Well, it looks like those who blamed Palin and the tea party for political gain are going to wish they had waited just a couple of days. . . .
I will be appearing on Fox News at 5:15 PM

I will be appearing on Fox News at 5:15 PM

I will be on Fox News at 4:45 to discuss the Arizona killings.

Updates

Calls for gun control are already being made.

"Gun laws have to be examined," Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. He said that "doesn't mean denying guns" but reviewing how they become accessible.

It is not clear how alleged Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner obtained a 9mm Glock pistol with "extended magazine" that law enforcement say was used in Saturday's rampage. . . .


Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) has announced that she will put forward new gun control legislation on Monday.

One of the fiercest gun-control advocates in Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), pounced on the shooting massacre in Tucson Sunday, promising to introduce legislation as soon as Monday. . . .

“My staff is working on looking at the different legislation fixes that we might be able to do and we might be able to introduce as early as tomorrow,” McCarthy told POLITICO in a Sunday afternoon phone interview.

Gun control activists cried it was time to reform weapons laws in the United States, almost immediately after a gunman killed six and injured 14 more, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Arizona on Saturday.

Many said that people with a history of mental instability, like the alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, should not be able to buy a gun — and no one should be able to buy stockpiles of ammunition used by the 22-year-old assailant.

McCarthy said she plans to confer with House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to see “if we can work something through” in the coming week.

McCarthy’s bill will look to protect ordinary people, she said, but did not offer further details.

“Again, we need to look at how this is going to work, to protect people, certainly citizens, and we have to look at what I can pass,” she said. “I don’t want to give the NRA – excuse the pun – the ammunition to come at me either.”

Pennsylvania Rep. Robert Brady, a Democrat from Philadelphia, told CNN that he also plans to take legislative action. He will introduce a bill that would make it a crime for anyone to use language or symbols that could be seen as threatening or violent against a federal official, including a member of Congress. . . .


From Fox News today I learned this.

In discussing the attack on Rep. Giffords, Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Clarence Dupnik claimed: “One party is trying to block the attempts of another party to make this a better country.”


Some information on his ability to purchase a gun.

FoxNews.com has learned that the suspect purchased a firearm legally — and after passing an FBI background check — from Sportsman's Warehouse's Tucson store in November, the company's vice president of hunting operations told FoxNews.com.
Loughner did not present a concealed weapons permit so he was required to pass an FBI background check, which he did "immediately and without incident," said Matt French, speaking from the Sportsman's Warehouse's Utah headquarters.
"To my knowledge, the firearm purchase was without incident," French said. . . . Loughner has multiple arrests but no criminal record. . . .


More on motives. Giffords was hardly an obvious choice for a far right wing group to go after.
According to a leaked memo obtained by Fox News, the Department of Homeland Security is looking into the possibility that suspected shooter Jared Loughner was linked to a white supremacist group called American Renaissance, or AmRen.
AmRen founder Jared Taylor, however, tells Fox he'd never heard of Loughner and that according to his group's records, Loughner never received AmRen publications. His group's events are all held on the East Coast, he said, far from Loughner's hometown of Tucson.
The memo Fox News says was written by someone within DHS says Loughner "is possibly linked to this group. (through videos posted on his myspace and YouTube account.)" The group is "anti government, anti immigration, anti ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti Semitic," the memo said. (Taylor told Fox his group is not anti-Zionist.)
UPDATE: FBI Director Robert Mueller would not confirm any connection between Loughner and any hate group at a press conference. . . .
As a blue-dog Democrat, Giffords walked a fine line between calling for more border security and an end to boycotts over SB1070 while also supporting a path to citizenship for some of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. . . .

Shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Information on the tragedy is still be obtained on the horrible attack on Rep. Giffords. News reports mention an automatic weapon (read a machine gun) being used in the attack. Given the large number of people hurt this is a possibility, but theses weapons are often called assault weapons by the press when they are not. There might have been some armed civilians at the scene, but that is also not clear yet. Armed civilians are referred to as security guards in the past even when that isn't the case.

According to the law enforcement official, the suspect began shouting something before shooting wildly with an automatic weapon. Shots then rang out from the crowd -- a security agent or someone else fired at the suspect who survived. . .


As is quite typical in these attacks, the killer anticipated that he would die during the attack.

On a Myspace page in Loughner's name, he said goodbye to friends just hours before the shooting . . . .


The NY Times has this information on the killer's possible political background.

“As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal. & oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy,” the former classmate, Caitie Parker, wrote in a series of Twitter feeds Saturday. “I haven’t seen him since ’07 though. He became very reclusive.” . . .


KTLA has a discussion over who the killer was. Among, his favorite books were "The Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kampf.{

Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged Tucson gunman, was described Saturday as a politically radical loner. Now an internet trail emerged in which he apparently railed against the US government and told friends: "Please don't be mad at me". . . .

Arizona court records show Loughner has twice been charged with previous offenses. The first, in October 2007, related to the possession of drug paraphernalia. It was unclear what the second, a year later, related to. Both charges were dismissed after Loughner completed a "diversion program".

. . . his favorite books "The Communist Manifesto," "Siddhartha," "The Old Man And The Sea," "Gulliver's Travels," "Mein Kampf," "The Republic" and "Meno."

One former high school friend Tweeted about knowing the accused gunman:

"He was a pot head and into rock, like Hendrix, The Doors, Anti-Flag," she wrote. "I haven't seen him in person since 2007 in a sign language class. As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy. He had a lot of friends until he got alcohol poisoning in 2006 and dropped out of school. Mainly a loner, very philosophical."


Given the attacks on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin by Paul Krugman and Senator Dick Durbin regarding this horrible case, this posting from the Daily Kos is interesting. The Daily Kos took down the original post.



Here is a bizarre discussion where CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin discusses Sarah Palin's responsibility for the attack, saying that the Palin map "allowed" the shooting to occur.
The Democrats have had there own target lists.


Rep. James Clyburn blames Republican Sharron Angle for the shooting.

Rep. Jim Clyburn on Sunday said Sharron Angle's endorsement of "Second Amendment remedies" in her losing Nevada campaign against Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid contributed to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Clyburn, the House assistant Democratic leader, said of Giffords' alleged assailant, Jared Lee Loughner: "It seems like this gentleman was not satisfied with the way the election came out. "There's no way you cannot make that connection (with Angle's rhetoric) unless you want to be stupid."
Angle, a tea party favorite, was the surprise Republican Senate primary victor in Nevada last year.
During the general election campaign, capped by Reid's narrow defeat of Angle on Nov. 2, she repeatedly condoned Americans preparing for "Second Amendment remedies" and urged supporters to "take out Harry Reid."
Clyburn, noting that some of his "most anxious moments" have come in airports, said lawmakers shouldn't be required to pass through magnetometers, which force them to wait in lines that he said expose them to greater threat. . . .


Glenn Reynolds has a nice piece summarizing all this in the WSJ.
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