The shackled suspected shooter in the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat, and the killing of six others showed no emotion and said little during a brief court appearance Monday, while the nation mourned and doctors remained optimistic about the congresswoman's recovery.
Jared Lee Loughner isn't your typical depressed-but-angry rampage shooter, seeking vengeance for a failed marriage, a lost job, or a life that just didn't turn out the way he had planned.
A memorial of ribbons, stuffed animals and flowers grew steadily Monday for the youngest victim of the weekend shooting spree, a third-grader whose patriotism was inspired by a national tragedy on the day she was born - Sept. 11, 2001.
A lobbyist for Progress Energy married to an aide to President Obama was found dead in a car fire at her home near the U.S. Capitol, fire authorities and the company said Monday.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat, was politically vulnerable in the 2010 elections because of her support for Obamacare, but one can misread a political candidate by focusing on only one issue.
In the aftermath of the tragic shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others, it is predictable that some self-centered politicians and political commentators quickly assumed the killer must have been provoked by political comments. Following on that conclusion, they naturally argue (notwithstanding their exposure last week in the House to the reading of the Constitution, including the First Amendment) that whatever political words may have provoked him to his irrational violence should be silenced.
Very few Americans are fans of both "The Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kampf," as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the purported Tucson killer, apparently was. Fewer still post on the Internet fears about "brainwashing," "mind control" and "conscience dreaming"; have long records of public disruption and aberrant behavior; were expelled from community college; or were rejected summarily for military service.
The horrific attacks in Tucson, Ariz., constitute a wake-up call, but not one that requires more action. It requires less.
Doctors treating U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Monday the congresswoman was responding to verbal commands by raising two fingers of her left hand and even managed to give a thumbs-up.
