Video: Joe Biden says Gabby Giffords suffered 'mortal wound'

In the immediate aftermath of the near fatal shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on January 8, 2011, there were news outlets that erroneously reported she had died. Now, more than two years later, Joe Biden has made the same mistake, saying that Giffords was "mortally wounded" on that day.

Here is the definition of a "mortal wound":

A mortal wound is a very severe and serious injury (almost always a form of penetration or laceration) whether accidental or inflicted intentionally (by either suicide or homicide), which leads directly to the death of the victim.

Ladies and gentlemen, your vice president...

Via Right Pundit:

Was Gabrielle Giffords' husband planning to be a 'Straw Purchaser'

Mark Kelly, the husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), has made quite a name for himself as an anti-gun advocate. Since his wife was shot in the head by Jared Loughner on January 8, 2011 Kelly has lent his face and voice to the anti-second amendment crowd. He has aptly served the Obama gun-control agenda in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings.

Several weeks ago, Kelly testified before Congress and seemed to single out semi-automatic rifles for ridicule for what they do to innocent human beings:



That doesn't seem to square with what Kelly did in following weeks, on March 5th; he purchased an AR-15. Thanks to a timeline, Breitbart's reporting seemed to indicate that once Kelly learned that his purchase of a semi-automatic rifle, along with high capacity magazines, began making the rounds, the husband of the former congresswoman changed his tune and posted the following on facebook:

I just had a background check a few days ago when I went to my local gun store to buy a .45. As I was leaving, I noticed a used AR-15. Bought that too. Even to buy an assault weapon, the background check only takes a matter of minutes. I don't have possession of it yet but I'll be turning it over to the Tucson PD when I do.

Now, let's get on over to the issue of straw purchasing, which was a major component in Fast and Furious. Straw purchasing occurs when the person who buys the gun intends to give or sell said gun to a third party.

While the idea that Gabrielle Giffords' husband buying an AR-15 may represent irony and hypocrisy in spades, the straw purchasing charge may be a bit of a leap. Yes, Kelly signed a form that said he was purchasing the gun for himself and then later posted that he was going to turn it over to someone else but that "someone else" was the Tucson Police.

Far be it from me to speculate but here's my best guess at what went down.

Mark Kelly is taking the anti-gun positions not because he necessarily believes them but because he's become a political pawn and the pressure is overwhelming. On March 5th, he went to the store to purchase an AR-15 with the intent of arming himself. Once he realized that he'd been busted in a moment of palpable hypocrisy, he attempted to cover his tracks by justifying his purchase.

Sorry, Mark.

You've been busted and should start having as much courage on this as you did when you were launched into space.

Astronauts are not supposed to be cowards, political or otherwise.

h/t GWP

Family Research Council shooting and Southern Poverty Law Center's 'Hate Map'

The shooting that took place inside the Family Research Council (FRC) is beginning to look more and more political in nature. FRC, headed by Anthony Perkins, is a socially conservative organization that supports the traditional definition of marriage and opposes gay marriage. One could say that FRC and Chick-fil-A are on the same page.

Floyd Lee Corkins was taken into custody after shooting a security guard in FRC's lobby. It turns out that Corkins has done extensive volunteer work at a gay rights organization and was carrying several Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backpack at the time of the shooting. Oh, and one more thing; the FBI has reported that Corkins made a political statement prior to the shooting.

Via CNS News:

On Wednesday, 28-year-old Floyd Lee Corkins of Herndon, Va., allegedly entered the lobby of the Family Research Council and shot the security guard.  According to the FBI, Corkins had a 9mm handgun, two magazines of ammunition, 50 rounds of additional ammo and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backpack. According to the FBI, he  “stated words to the effect of ‘I don’t like your politics...’”

...The suspect, Floyd Corkins, had been volunteering for the last six months at The DC Center for the LGBT Community. The DC Center released a statement condemning the violence, which was signed by 40 other local and national LGBT groups.

That leads us to the very left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), primarily because of the standard set by the left-wing media, pundits, and movement. The SPLC actually has a 'Hate Map' that identifies entities and individuals it views as being hateful. The FRC is on that map and listed as being 'Anti-Gay'.

First, some context and why SPLC's map is relevant.

Within hours of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting on January 8, 2011, New York Times writer Paul Krugman blamed Sarah Palin for using a map that showed 'crosshair' targets on districts in the country that were held by vulnerable Democrats prior to the 2010 elections; Giffords' district was one that had a target on it and Krugman pounced:

We don’t have proof yet that this was political, but the odds are that it was. She’s been the target of violence before. And for those wondering why a Blue Dog Democrat, the kind Republicans might be able to work with, might be a target, the answer is that she’s a Democrat who survived what was otherwise a GOP sweep in Arizona, precisely because the Republicans nominated a Tea Party activist. (Her father says that “the whole Tea Party” was her enemy.) And yes, she was on Sarah Palin’s infamous “crosshairs” list.

Instead of being fired for journalistic malpractice, Krugman remained a hero to the left. A consequence was that a new, very low standard had been set. Using Krugman's standard, perpetrators of acts of violence could not only escape 100% accountability for their actions but that people who had nothing to do with it could be blamed. In this case, Krugman implied that Jared Loughner shot Giffords because Sarah Palin released a map that was clearly intended to identify vulnerable Democrats to be targeted... for DEFEAT AT THE BALLOT BOX.

Making matters worse for Krugman, as usual, were facts. Not only did Palin's map have absolutely nothing to do with the Tucson shootings but if Loughner was political at all, he was a leftist (he identified the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf as two of his favorite books).

Now, back to Corkins and the FRC shooting. Unlike Palin's map - intended to generate voter enthusiasm in certain districts - the SPLC's 'Hate Map' is quite plainly intended to identify groups with which it disagrees as being legitimate targets of hatred themselves based on their political views.

Via CNS News:

At a press conference on Thursday outside the FRC headquarters in downtown Washington, FRC President Perkins said, “I want to express my appreciation to the groups and organizations that we do not agree with on many public policy issues who have also expressed their outrage at what took place here yesterday. For that, I appreciate it. I appreciate them making those statements.”

“But I would ask them to go a step further and to join us in calling for an end to the reckless rhetoric that I believe led to yesterday’s incident that took place right behind me,” he said.

“And that does bring me to my final point,” said Perkins.  “Let me be clear, that Floyd Corkins was responsible for firing the shot yesterday that wounded one of our colleagues and our friend Leo Johnson.  But Corkins was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that have been reckless in labeling organizations hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy.”

“And I believe the Southern Poverty Law Center should be held accountable for their reckless use of terminology that is leading to the intimidation and what the FBI here has categorized as an act of domestic terrorism,” he said.  “There’s no room for that in a society such as ours that works through differences that we have on issues in public policy through a peaceful means.”

It is probably not advisable for Perkins to say that SPLC gave Corkins a 'license to shoot' because that can take away from his contention that Corkins was solely responsible for the shooting. However, when applying the standard set by the likes of Krugman, it's a valid point.

The FRC shooting appears to be much more politically motivated than the Giffords shooting was. Let's see, the shooter works for a gay rights group, carries 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backpack, proceeds to walk into the lobby of a socially conservative organization, and says openly that he doesn't like the politics of that organization while shooting people.

Yet, Krugman and his left-wing media colleagues are silent.

h/t WZ

DNC Chair Still Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Shooting

There's a difference between spinning to score political points and outright egregious propaganda to further an agenda. Here, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz engages in the latter by attributing culpability to the Tea Party while discussing the Tucson shootings one year ago.

The time for attempting to understand this level of evil is long past but that doesn't make it any less important. The facts on the Tucson shooting came in long ago. Shooter Jared Loughner was an insane individual who was, at best, apolitical. If anything, the evidence points to him being leftist, if political at all, which would place him on Wasserman-Schultz's end of the spectrum.

After all, he listed the Communist manifesto and Mein Kampf as two of his favorite books. The former is at the heart of left-wing ideology and the latter was authored by Hitler, a man who sympathized with Islamists, like the left does today.



h/t Hot Air

OWS'r Arrested for Threatening to Murder Governor

How many OWS miscreants must rear their heads before it becomes patently obvious to more than about 40% of Americans that this movement is full of miscreants? In this case, Nathan Shafer, an OWS sympathizer, threatened to murder South Carolina Governor and Tea Party favorite Nikki Haley on facebook. I keep coming back to the exchange between Piers Morgan and Gabrielle Giffords' husband Mark Kelly, in which the host brought up Sarah Palin as some sort of irresponsible accomplice to the Giffords shooting, despite the Alaska governor having NO connection to that shooting.

Moreover, the shooter, Loughner, was apolitical at best, a crazed leftist at worst.

Contrast that with Shafer, who is obviously political - he is an OWS sympathizer - threatening the life of the South Carolina governor. Wouldn't you like to ask both Kelly and Morgan who's responsible for Shafer's rage?

Here's a news report from KLTV:



h/t Verum Serum

Pathetic: Husband of Gabrielle Giffords 'Targets' Sarah Palin

The husband of Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot last January, is shockingly playing politics with his wife's shooting and 'targeting' Sarah Palin. If you remember, the left began politicizing the shooting within a few short hours; Paul Krugman comes to mind. The left continued to fish for a narrative and found one to beat on. Before the 2010 elections, Palin's team released a map of congressional districts with targets on them to illustrate 'targeted districts.' One of those districts was Giffords. The left actually drew a connection between those targets and the motive of Jared Loughner.

Conveniently absent from the left was the fact that Loughner was not motivated by those targets at all; if he was in the least bit political, he was a leftist (communist manifesto was a favorite book).

Yet, Mark Kelly has decided nearly one year later to go after Palin instead of do the responsible thing and categorically reject that narrative. This is really disgraceful.

Via the Telegraph:

Mark Kelly has spoken candidly about the moment he learned his wife, Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot at a voting event in Tuscon - and his disappointment at not having been contacted by Sarah Palin following the tragedy. 

In a guest appearance on last night's CNN Piers Morgan Tonight show, the husband and father berated Ms Palin's irresponsibility, while Mr Morgan said he found her lack of contact 'extraordinary.' 

Recalling the horrific moments he learned of the fatal shooting in January - and the ensuing misinformation that led him to believe his wife had been killed - the co-author of Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope revealed that he believed his wife's strength saved her. 

But it was the lack of any contact from former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin that was 'surprising' said Mr Kelly.

In order for Kelly to be surprised by the fact that he didn't receive a call from Sarah Palin necessarily means that he accepted the absurd premise that she had any degree of culpability in his wife's shooting. Obviously, the media narrative was effective in this regard. It actually caused Kelly to buy into it to some degree.

No doubt, he was angry and wanted to blame someone; it's human nature, which is what highlights the irresponsibility of the media. The fact remains, however. Sarah Palin had absolutely nothing to do with Giffords' shooting. NOTHING. Logically, why would he call the Giffords? Wouldn't the media exploit that as an admission that she did?

Mr Kelly said that while he believes Ms Palin is not responsible for what happened that day, her actions were irresponsible. 

'You know, this was no surprise to us,' he said. 'Gabby even spoke about it before January 8th, during the election cycle, leading up to the election, in an interview... She made is very clear that, hey, this is what's going on, and this could ultimately incite people to do violent things. ' 

So it wasn't a big surprise on January 8th...having said that, you know, Sarah Palin certainly is not responsible for what happened. But I think the angry rhetoric in an election year is not - it's not helpful.'

Here's all you need to know. "Sarah Palin certainly is not responsible for what happened. But..." This is really, really shameful. The word "but" in that regard means that Kelly is implying Palin had a degree of culpability when she had NONE. Isn't he doing the same thing to Palin that she is allegedly responsible for doing to his wife - putting her in danger? This guy is an astronaut and obviously very intelligent, which is what makes his amazingly dumb behavior all the more troubling.

Here is the video of the exchange via GWP:



 h/t Weasel Zippers

Biden's Most Despicable Gaffe?

Vice president Joe Biden has said some extremely dumb things over the last several years. He instructed a man in a wheel-chair to stand up; he identified j-o-b-s as a three letter word; he somehow thought Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during the 1929 stock market crash and then went on television, which didn't exist at the time, to talk to the American people; he infamously said that the United States needs to keep spending money in order to prevent bankruptcy. There are many, many more but on the night that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to Congress, Biden officially made his worst gaffe... ever.

Via ABC News:

Escorted by her husband and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Giffords exited the House floor slowly, giving a small wave to people as she left. She left the Capitol in an SUV shortly thereafter.

"It's been an emotional few hours," Wasserman Schultz told ABC News' Diane Sawyer on "World News." She said Giffords decided to make the trip to Washington because she "wanted to make sure that her district had a voice in this important vote."

Her appearance on the floor "melted even the hardest hearts," Wasserman Schultz told Sawyer.

"I've never seen more electricity on the floor erupt than when she triumpantly walked up those stairs," she said.

When Biden was asked about what he spoke with Giffords about, he joked, "She's now a member of the cracked head club like me."

The debt ceiling bill passed the House 269-161. The Senate will vote on the measure on Tuesday.

I think that one may even trump his referring to the Tea Party as a group of 'terrorists.'

DID CONGRESSWOMAN SUBSCRIBE TO SHOOTER'S YOUTUBE ACCOUNT?

Safeway shooter Jared Loughner created his YouTube account on October 25, 2010 according to the profile posted on his page. The profile identifies him with the username 'classitup10.' The YouTube account of Gabrielle Giffords indicates that she subscribed to only two other YouTube accounts. One of those subscriptions is to Rep. Ike Skelton; the other is to none other than 'Classitup10' - Jared Loughner. Of all the people out there with a YouTube account whom a congresswoman would subscribe to, why would Giffords subscribe to two of them, with one of them being her shooter?

Click HERE to visit Giffords' YouTube page and you will be directed to a page that looks like the one below. Then click on the subscription icon of 'Classitup10' and it will direct you to Loughner's page:


Loughner apparently worked for Giffords campaign at one point but what explanation would there be for Giffords subscribing to his YouTube account, especially when Loughner was only one of two of her subscriptions? Is this really her YouTube site or was it created by some third party? Corsi is reporting that Loughner once worked for Giffords so does this point to a connection?



Jerome Corsi has more at WND