michelleleung:

tumblrisforlulz:

thedailywhat:

Breaking News of the Day: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was killed this morning along with at least six others outside a Safeway in Tucson during a “Congress on Your Corner” event after being shot point blank in the head. Several others were wounded in the attack.

Giffords, who was the youngest woman to be elected to the Arizona Senate, thus becomes the first female politician to be assassinated, and the first US rep to be killed in the line of duty since Leo Ryan (D-CA), who was shot by the Jonestown cult.

Some are pointing out that Giffords was on Sarah Palin’s gun-sighted “hit list” (above / source), but, though the gunman is reportedly in custody, their motives are not known at this time.

[npr.]

UPDATE: Giffords still alive and in surgery according to a hospital spokeswoman. A press briefing is expected shortly.

UPDATE 2: Giffords’s husband, Astronaut Mark Kelly, says his wife is still alive. AP: One of Giffords’s aides has died.

UPDATE 3: AZ state senator Linda Lopez: “We just heard that she is responding to commands. She made it through surgery.” NBC: US District Court Judge John M. Roll among wounded among killed.

UPDATE 4: Sarah Palin via Facebook:

My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today’s tragic shooting in Arizona. 

On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.

Meanwhile, controversial crosshairs map scrubbed from SarahPAC sites.

UPDATE 5: Gunman is 22-year-old Arizona resident Jared Laughner. Weapon of choice: Pistol with extended magazine. Reports that he may be a vet of the Afghan arena.

UPDATE 6: Tucson man named “Jared Lee Loughner” posted a foreboding YouTube video listing his “final thoughts” (via):

This is so fucking sad. American politics are bullshit.

Republicans are only making themselves look absolutely disgusting. I usually dislike taking one incident out on an entire party, but this just goes way too far. All the more reason to represent myself as 100% Dem, because who the hell deserves to die just because of what they believe in? 

as much as I’d like to blame Republicans, I can’t, because I’m sure plenty of Democrats displayed the same behavior when Bush was in office.  People who put stuff like this up (Sarah Palin, etc.) are disgusting, and the behavior is completely unacceptable, but both sides are guilty.  

The problem is the entire culture in the US.  It’s a culture that glorifies war and violence and where it has become acceptable to make gross personal attacks against each other just because of what they believe in.  People like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly are just two examples of what’s wrong in this country, but people like Keith Olbermann can fit into that category just as easily.  These people spend their days getting people pissed off with lies, and then they wonder why mentally unstable people take it to heart and flip out.  

On a personal note, assholes like Beck and O’Reilly have totally destroyed the personality of some of my loved ones.  They went from being fairly open minded and accepting to being outright racist and prejudiced assholes.  My dad listens to this Christian radio station, which is full of extremists who are not so much different from the “evil Islams!!1!” extremists that they claim will be our downfall.  It’s disgusting and it’s so aggravating to watch/listen to these people.  I just can’t comprehend how these people think the way that they do.

/rant.

Sorry but this whole thing pisses me off.

(Source: thedailywhat)