The Knee 'Jerks'

As the news of the shooting in Tucson was broadcast on the airwaves, I predicted that Rahm Emanuel's words, embedded above, would come into play. I pondered posting this prediction, but again, held back as news was breaking at the moment and faster than I can write and hyperlink a blog entry.

As the weekend progressed, I'm sad to say that I was right. Between Pima County Sheriff Dupnik's irresponsible and partisan speech, the ridiculous Sarah Palin pile-on and the 'holier than thou' attacks of the left wing, the coverage of this shooting has been disgraceful and even worse than I predicted. I use the phrase 'holier than thou' because they write the narrative the way they want Americans to read it, thereby leaving much out. They speak of the incendiary rhetoric on the right, however, they forget to mention some of the left have actively called for violence, some have used rhetoric that one can perceive as stirring up violence, whether from politicians, media pundits or in Hollywood. They also leave out much of the background of Jared Lee Loughner, who acted alone: whether his left-leaning preferences, his reading habits, his sick skull shrine, or the fact that this has been in the planning since 2007!

We're almost sure to see some legislative action in response, in terms of outlawing threats to lawmakers (we hope the term "threat" is specified), or limitations in political speech, a renewal of the "Fairness Doctrine," as well as more entangling gun control laws. Hopefully, Speaker Boehner can bring some sense to the House, as this will be an early test to his leadership.

After hearing Rush's monologue today, it looks like he was right regarding the long term intentions of some in government and the media who have taken advantage of this tragedy. It is my hope that Americans read on their own to find out the omissions left out and hypocrisies put forward, and in turn, respond at the ballot box, with their remote controls and their wallets. Furthermore, I hope that lawmakers can follow the advice of Mr. John Green, whose 9 year old daughter Christina was in the wrong place at the wrong time and one of the six who were killed by Jared Lee Loughner.