EMAIL SIGN UP!
Most Popular This Week
- Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"
- Patent Filing Claims Solar Energy ‘Breakthrough’
- Climate Change's 'Evil Twin': Ocean Acidification
- Disaster Capitalism Strikes as Hedge Funds Circle Near-Bankrupt Municipalities Like Vultures
- Ignoring Bee Crisis, EPA Greenlights New 'Highly Toxic' Pesticide
- Patent Filing Claims Solar Energy ‘Breakthrough’
- Wisconsin Bill Would Treat Organic Milk, Sharp Cheddar, Brown Eggs as "Junk Food"
- Climate Change's 'Evil Twin': Ocean Acidification
- In 'March Toward Disaster,' World Hits 400 PPM Milestone
- Ignoring Bee Crisis, EPA Greenlights New 'Highly Toxic' Pesticide
Popular content
Today's Top News
Sarah Palin Brands Media's Attacks Over Arizona Shooting as 'Blood Libel'
Politician breaks silence on Giffords shooting and lambasts opponents with controversial choice of language
Sarah Palin today accused her opponents of manufacturing a "blood libel" by suggesting her rhetoric and campaign tactics had anything to do with the Arizona shootings.
Four days after an incident which left six people dead and critically injured the congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Palin released a video statement condemning the attack.
She denied that a now infamous campaign map showing Giffords's electoral district in the cross hairs of a gun had influenced the shooter Jared Lee Loughner.
In an attack on her accusers, she said: "Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible."
Palin's bizarre use of language is sure to provoke further controversy. A blood libel refers to a notorious passage in St Matthew where Jews said of the crucifixion: "Let his blood be on our heads." Later it referred to a medieval myth that Jews killed their children as part of a religious ritual. Giffords is Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman.
Palin, who is expected to run for president in 2012, pointed out that her Democrats had used similar target maps in election campaigns: "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle."
Apart from an initial message of condemnation, Palin has been unusually silent since the attack, while debate has raged in America about her role in the use of extreme rhetoric.
In an interview in March after her office had been vandalised, Giffords herself warned there would be "consequences" for depicting her district in the cross hairs of a gun.
After the shooting the Pima county sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, called for an end to "the anger, the hatred, the bigotry" in America.
Palin denied that rhetoric had become more extreme. Her statement, reproduced on her Facebook page, said: "There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal. And they claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated?"
She added: "I've spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened, at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event."
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
187 Comments so far
Show AllI have no love for Sarah Palin, but the political opportunism occasioned by this tragedy has ranged from the completely irrelevant to the shamelessly irresponsible.
Contemporary punditry lives in the world of superficial tactics and interests and caters to the prejudices and McCarthyite leanings of the worst political discourse.
They are indeed a major part of the problem.
Nonsense -- this condemnation of Sarah Palin and the violence of the
right wing is long overdue --
Liberals and moderates have been too silent about it --
And, it must be understood now that if we don't get noisier about it
this right wing political violence and aggression will increase --
not decrease.
.
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
Agreed.
Also agreed. With freedom comes responsibility. Depicting people in cross-hairs is irresponsible whether Sarah or others do it.
Anyone who says otherwise has not worked with groups of people, where one quickly learns that the examples you set and the things you say do matter.
Very good point and my motto, freedom is not free, freedom requires responsibility.
Definitely, long overdue.
So the democrats did try to assassinate President Reagan in the paas.
Didn't Sarah Palin, along with several other hacks (Republican and Democrat), call for, what they admitted would be, the ILLEGAL assassination of Julian Assange? What is the line between advocating for the violent death of a non-violent journalist and a politician? Wouldn't the chances of completely unassociated others getting killed and injured in the process be at least just as great as they were with the assassination attempt of Giffords?
Why isn't Palin's and the others' calls to assassinate Assange part of the discussion of toning down the rhetoric? In fact, why aren't they being prosecuted for such talk?
Yes they did. They went into the media and called for someone to be killed.
This is what William Kristol (one of Palin's neo-conservative supporters and defenders, as he hopes that she will be elected president and serve as the next neocon puppet) published in his own hate-filled rag, The Weekly Standard, on November 30, 2010 (online entry of 8:45 am):
"Why can't we act forcefully against WikiLeaks? Why can't we use our various assets to harass, snatch or neutralize Julian Assange and his collaborators, wherever they are? Why can't we disrupt and destroy WikiLeaks in both cyberspace and physical space, to the extent possible? Why can't we warn others of repercussions from assisting this criminal enterprise hostile to the United States?"
Imagine if a left-wing organization such as Code Pink or Move On had said the same about the Daily Standard. Just imagine what the response would have been.
This is what Palin said about Assange:
In an outburst on Facebook this week, Palin - who once encouraged oil companies to "drill, baby, drill" in the middle of an Arctic wildlife reserve - branded Assange an “anti-American operative with blood on his hands”.
She wrote: “Assange is not a 'journalist', any more than the 'editor' of al-Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a 'journalist'." But in a 2008 US television interview with presenter Katie Couric, Palin herself appeared unable to name the newspapers she reads.
Palin continued: “His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders?"
She claimed WikiLeaks’ financial assets should be frozen "just as we do to individuals who provide material support for terrorist organisations".
She said “cyber tools" should be used to "permanently dismantle WikiLeaks".
******
Source: ComputerWorld UK, December 1, 2010
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business
/3251386/sarah-palin-says-target-
Wikileaks-julian-assange-like-the-taliban/
******
In view of this Palin rant, one may imagine what will happen to Common Dreams if she becomes president. This sociopath must be fully and relentlessly exposed until she has no more political future left.
Who is coaching Madam Palin anyway? Who told her what "Blood Libel" means?
Surely this is beyond her vocabulary.
"Blood libel (also blood accusation[1][2]) refers to a false accusation or claim[3][4][5] that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays..."
"..The libels typically allege that Jews require human blood for the baking of matzos for Passover. The accusations often assert that the blood of Christian children is especially coveted, and, historically, blood libel claims have often been made to account for otherwise unexplained deaths of children. In some cases, the alleged victim of human sacrifice has become venerated as a martyr, a holy figure around whom a martyr cult might arise. A few of these have been even canonized as saints, like Gavriil Belostoksky."
" Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Libel
I'll never forget the Democracy Now program right after New Year's with Julian Assange and Ellsberg, and that led off with the commentary of Bob Beckel, was chilling, Palin equally so, Biden and Obama only slightly-less vicious. If Assange was assassinated I have no doubt there would be victory signs by these same vicious Dems and Repubs -- after all, an "enemy" of the U.S. was destroyed. There wouldn't be any mention of volatile rhetoric. It would be all justified in the guise of now we're all safer. Sleep wouldn't be lost if something happened to Bradley Manning, either. After all, he's a traitor, right, and a danger to our security.
See Glenn Greenwald' article... on Common Dreams.
Actually there is a very real problem with vitriolic speech trying to inhibit the extremists - the Republicans have absolutely latched on to that. Who's the Dem talk show host - oh Stewart - he's not vitriol, he's funny. Even Republicans listen to him.
As far as the Dems picking up on Repub go for the throat tactics - it's about damn time.
Actually would rather not adopt their standards or tactics.
Apparently even Republicans are NOT buying that the hate speech doesn't leads to violence. Raw Story is reporting that four local republicans have resigned due to Tea Party threats. Maybe the Republican party has pushed itself so far right that it may now self destruct.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/fearing-tea-party-violence-arizona-republicans-resign/
I wonder how Palin will spin this one. Maybe a Judas reference against the resigning republicans?
There is a different between opportunism and truth telling. It is simply the truth that political discourse in the US has lost all reason, and that this loss is the direct result of the extremism of right wing populists. Not telling the truth has allowed this to continue, which was an opportunity the right devoutly desired.
Nonsense, It is appropriate to compare celebrities with adult parents. Just as parents must be careful how they conduct themselves, people in high profile must also realize that they are influencing followers.
Sarah knows, very well, that she is inciting the weak minded to become militant.
Sarah is not stupid but she is irresponsible.
It's time to shut down this kind of threatening rhetoric.
Buh-By-Eee, Sarah P. You served your Masters well.
Oooohhhh! This is soooo sweet. I just logged on to FreeRepublic using a slightly altered name of one of our Common Trolls. I can't wait. I plan to use his tactics here...there. Wish me luck.
The only way to stop Sarah Palin is to create an equally insane and unintelligent rival to run against her. The catch would be, however, that the said rival would have radical left leanings. Public interest in Palin and her controversies would fade and the entire system would seem quite silly. While it would be difficult to find such a person on the left side of the political spectrum, the gains to be found by eradicating Palin's popularity would be of infinite benefit to the future of the United States.
Blood libel? Oh, dear... Now if she had hired the right speech writer, she'd have known to call it a 'witch hunt'. Of course, she could have deliberately used that term to create more controversy. She is quite the Drama Llama, eh? I'm sure that she'd like it if more people thought she was solely to blame for an act of terror that had many causes. Yet which even she will not call by its real name; terrorism.
[Palin,{snip}: "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle."]
I didn't know that Sarah Palin was opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was totally unaware that she is in favor of arresting the terrorists who actually commit crimes and putting them on trial rather than bombing Iran or some other country to collectively punish them for the supposed sins of their leaders.
I suppose you learn something new every day...
Wonderful comment --
However, I think she knew what she was doing with the "blood libel" comment --
I think it was intentional -- these are Medieval minded people --
who support Medieval torture, "Crusades" and "blood libel" propaganda.
.
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
Interesting to think about with the Medieval reference. That is very true. I know their souls are of a very low evolution, and the Medieval era sounds about right for where they are at. It makes sense why they are so ignorant, and you cannot get through to them through words. Seems like they have to learn it for themselves. Reminds me of that southern biggot who ran for president -- Wallace. After getting shot and paralyzed and suffering greatly for decades, he cries at what he did to blacks years ago and tries to apologize to them in person as much as he can telling them how wrong he was. And Reagan's guy who was shot in the head during his failed assassination attempt and was reduced to a bumbling struggling man who had and still has to be taken care of like a child. He became a proponent for stricter gun control when before he was a fan of the NRA. Personal experience changes people, but we can't do anything about making that happen faster for some people. It has to come on it's own to them, and it will in time. But in the meantime......ugh...
I agree that she knew what she was doing with the "blood libel" quote, but I think it has more to do with misdirection and framing a discussion than conjuring images of medieval times. That quote has done an exemplary job of pulling our attention away from the real zinger that Karl highlighted above.
Palin - "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle."
We should be holding her feet (and the feet of other regressive talking heads) to fire over this one not the blood libel quote. Does her belief that "acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own" extend to the 911 hijackers too? If so, why are we killing innocent women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Let's revisit her quote in the context of 911.
"Acts of monstrous criminality like 911 stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all Muslims or the citizens of Iraq & Afghanistan, not with those who listen to sermons in mosques, not with writings critical of American imperialism published at home or in the Middle East."
i copied just a bit of what caught your eye,
***
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state..."
***
you know, a lot of people wouldn't notice the hypocrisy.
Exactly, very good point.
This woman is crazed, never her fault. "apolitical"? Yes, the guy was deranged, he would have to have been. His own words have him as subjected to these wingnuts vitriol for a period.
Sarah, he was trying to obey your words when he was reloading. A big thanks to the folks who exhibited bravery in the face of fire to bring him down and hold him. It could have been much worse. They didn't retreat.
The damage is done, Sarah.
The only thing now is how long it will stick to you, whether it is a permanent stain or not on your sorry careerism as a political hack, and whether it will contribute to sinking you once and for all as a presidential candidate.
All the piffle you may spew out in public about this matter has pretty much become irrelevant.
At any time in any country there are individuals who seek to become national heroes. Some of these individuals are mentally deranged enough to believe that if they act out the hatred preached in public they will be held up as heroes. Yes, Sarah, Rush, Glenn and others of your ilk, if you keep preaching your brand of intolerance, you will eventually reach one of those crazies who will all too willingly try to "rescue" the nation from the metaphysical evil you have identified.
I've got no love for Palin, Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or any people of their ilk, ppeters, but one cannot put the blame solely on these people for the unfortunate and untimely shooting death of Congresswoman Giffords, the nine-year-old third-grade girl, or Federal District Judge Roll, and the other people who were killed or wounded at the hands of an unstable person named Jared Lee Loughner. One has to look at the broader picture and ask what there is about our whole society that produces demogogues such as the above-mentioned, and why the Jared Loughners, etc., ending up falling through the cracks when they clearly need mental healthcare, or whatever.
What has produced this?
50+ years of right wing political violence and right wing propaganda of
hatred and intolerance.
What produced this deranged man -- lack of mental health care services --
lack of care for the ill among us.
Neither do we really know if this man acted completely on his own -- and
we will probably never know.
But I do recall some campaign buttons at the Convention held when Ollie North
was running for Governor of Virginia which read:
"Where's Lee Harvey Oswald when you really need him?"
It was Clinton, of course, at that time whose assassination they were wishing
for -- and if you take the time you will find very violent comments and calls
for assassinations by the right wing from many of their spokespersons on the right.
This is no different from the GOP/"pro-life" murders -- and O'Reilly calling
Dr. Tiller "Dr. Killer" and making regular calls for someone to do something about
him!
There is only one way the right wing can rise anywhere -- and that is via political
violence. All history tells us that.
.
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
"put the blame solely"
That's not the point. The point is that it has gone too far. It's not black and white -- blame/not blame -- it's that there are shades of gray and the rhetoric is getting too far to the extreme.
"One has to look at the broader picture and ask what there is about our whole society that produces demogogues such as the above-mentioned,..."--independentminded
***
yes, why do we make role models of the rich, the famous, the athlete and such? i heard just yesterday that people in the spotlight, like palin, must remember they are role models for many.
we should all work harder be role models for our values. that could be the beginning of a more harmonious society.
Since she immediately took the page off her website after the shooting, she must have been 'troubled' by it. So she spends days trying to put the best face (book) on it, and comes up with "blood libel." The best I can say about her is that she is a strange person.
Once again, actions speak louder than words.
Palin is indeed a classic psychopath; thus, in America, she qualifies as a 'leader'.
When she runs for President, she may ask Target to sponsor her run; and, maybe Staples to appeal to her sexually repressed base.
This latest missive from Caribou Barbie should serve as mere reinforcement that she plays to win and fights dirty.
'Know thy enemy,' Sun-Tzu
Sarah has been to political school, she knows that a good offense beats a weak defense. One thing that runs rampant with the wacko right wing is that they ARE NEVER WRONG! They are insanely selfish and self-righteous. I am saddened at the irresponsible statements about me. Hey Sarah! I guess that map with cross hairs on Giffords district was responsible. Giffords herself said that was irresponsible and " THERE WOULD BE CONSEQUENCES" before she was shot. Why Sarah did you delete that map from the net if it was not irresponsible? Sure, JL was a nut case, and I am not putting the entire blame on you, but you should at least apologize to the Giffords, family for that gun sight map!
Agree--but that might be construed by others of her ilk as admitting to some level or degree of responsibility/culpability, and THAT would never do! (Or ever happen!)
What disturbs me the most is that this woman is garnering so much attention. If she is suppossed to be someone who can be a leader in this country, then we're all in a heap of trouble. What scares me more than political rhetoric, is the lies that taken to be true. Hopefully, the tape of Giffords calling Palin to account for her website crosshairs will be shown hundreds of times to put and end to this evil woman.
Im getting a LOT sick of this - and I am LOATHE to defend Palin because I think she sets those of us few conservative constitutionalists back by eons. But I can't stand this, she is NOT to blame for the actions of what is most certainly a deranged lunatic.
And all this talk of toning down the rhetoric, that the talk shows, politicians and others are responsible for driving this subhuman to kill - irresponsible, and counter to our rights to free speech. I hate to mount an attack right now, but when the left demands that the media, bloggers and others 'tone down the rhetoric,' what they really mean is SHUT UP, STOP CRITICIZING US! STOP QUESTIONING, STOP RAISiNG DOUBTS ABOUT US! TRUST THE GOVERNMENT!!!
To parents, this should sound very familiar, like the sound of a petulant child in the midst of a temper tantrum, or a kid on the playground being teased mercilessly by his classmates. Its sad, really, how many of them and many of the folks in media and government are taking advantage of this tragedy to push their agenda (gun control, fairness doctrine) and demonize, if not crimnalize, the opposition.
Kid stuff, indeed. Adults, rational people, know better than to give in to the whining. The answer to this is not less speech, its MORE speech. Its not about less guns, its about respecting the rights of MORE people to have guns to defend themselves against what can only be described as the unpredictable.
Think I'm wrong? Gabrielle Giffords sure didn't. She had a concealed carry license, voted to overturn the DC gun ban and while I don't agree with a lot of her politics, she recognized without hypocricy, that citizens have as much a right to self defense as any member of government.
Let freedom ring, not knee jerk reactionism.
IM not hiding my head in the ground but this kid, as I can't blame the parents, is at an age where he knows right from wrong. Blaming Palin, Rush, Beck et al for this is about as weak as when those morons blamed Judas Priest for 2 kids kissing a shotgun.
Blaming Palin, Rush, Beck, et.al. for this is only weak if we stop with them. We are ALL to blame for what has happened. We live in a society that thrives on violence. From children's toys to video games to Hollywood movies and weekly television show to ongoing wars of Empire, our society is filled to the brim with violent behavior on every front. We live where soldiers are considered "heros" for killing and maiming innocent civilians in distant countries. We live in a society where torture now has a new definition so American citizens can be proud that we torture all those people who "want to kill us." I don't see a great outcry against this, except here on CD. I used to attend peaceful protests against the wars and against ongoing torture and rendition. They seem to have gone away. I can't find any groups of people actively speaking out on this. It doesn't mean they don't exist, for I'm sure they do. I simply cannot find them. Until we demand that this culture of violence end, the killings will continue, whether it's in Tucson, Iraq, or your own front yard. We are ALL to blame.
What about the doctor in Kansas who was shot by a man who subscribed to what Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly advocated: killing doctors who performed abortions? How do you explain that one?
We have the most violent foreign policy since WWII in the world, and it isn't even close. We economically rely on war and are one of the world's largest, if not THE largest, exporter of weapons. We have hundreds of military bases, in numerous countries, have hundreds of times more deaths by guns than any other country on Earth and there is a long, long list of right wing violence in this country in recent decades. Not to mention the violence against black people, native Americans, amongst others. We are a culture, a country, that is swimming in violence. NOTHING from the left, in recent decades, even compares. You'd have to go back to the Weather Underground to find something similar and even that was tame in comparison. The Weather Underground's bombing were symbolic. They would send a package then call the people to clear the buildings out. Donnie Baker, Byron Williams, Joshua Cartwright, Jim Adkisson, James von Brunn, attacks against Mosques and Jewish cultural centers, Scott Roeder, McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, on and on and on. Here is a time line of right wing violence in this country, just from 2008 by the way.
http://www.csgv.org/issues-and-campaigns/guns-democracy-and-freedom/insurrection-timeline
Can we blame the right on the radio and in the media? Are you freaking kidding me?! Of course we can. You don't have a logical argument, you don't. You want to deny responsibility for obvious reasons but you won't convince anyone who doesn't already think like you and agree with you.
Watch out for sHallow, he sounds like a deranged lunatic!
We do not know at this moment if Sarah's map was a contributing factor in the killings but what on earth was she thinking when the decision was made to post the thing? Was there ever any thought about the questions that would arise if something did in fact happen to one of the targeted individuals? Sarah Palin seems unable to envision any consequences of her actions and this leaves me believing that she is totally unsuitable to take the position of a leader.
"..... when the left demands that the media, bloggers and others 'tone down the rhetoric,' what they really mean is SHUT UP, STOP CRITICIZING US! STOP QUESTIONING, STOP RAISiNG DOUBTS ABOUT US! TRUST THE GOVERNMENT!!!" I think what people are saying is that the HATEFUL rhetoric should be toned down and do not believe that anyone is saying that civil criticism should be stifled. The Statement above appears to be a knee-jerk reaction!
Words matter. There are issues here that need to be addressed regardless of who was to blame for the tragedy. I wish that Hallow-point could see the legitimate concerns of others as more than "whining."