1/11/2011

Watch The Other Hand

Posted by Brian
Democrats Using Tuscon Tragedy to Push For Gun Control Laws, Fairness Doctrine , and Ban Certain Symbols

The rhetoric from the left continues to boil over in the wake of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  As Rahm Emmanuel once said: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” Some in the Democrat Party are taking that advice and running with it. While the media are beating the drum 24/7 about the "violent rhetoric" coming from the right, they blissfully ignore that Jared Loughner is a complete nut. They do report the facts about Loughner - his rambling internet posts, his occult alter, his obsession with Congresswoman Giffords, etc. - but then ignore all of that and go right back to the narrative of violent rhetoric, talk radio, the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, et.al.
The Huffington Post is stretching the limits of ridiculousness by running an article linking this to the immigration debate.  In an article titled "Heroic Giffords Intern Could Be Asked For Papers Under Arizona Immigration Law" by Elise Foley, Ms. Foley makes the asinine assertion that the man who subdued Jared Loughner, Daniel Hernandez, because he Hispanic, "could be asked for papers at a police officer's discretion" under SB1070, even though the bill expressly prohibits profiling based on ethnicity.  The fact that he hasn't been asked for "his papers" apparently is lost on the this dimwit.
Front and center in all of this is the Sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, who got all of this started with his initial press conference, in which he insinuated that it was talk radio and political rhetoric that was responsible for this.  He made all of these assertions without a shred of evidence, which is disturbing,to say the least, when it's coming from someone who is supposed to be looking at the facts of a case, and not making wild suppositions. If I am the defense attorney for Jared Loughner, I am thanking my lucky stars for Sheriff Dupnik, as he is laying my defense groundwork for me. The Sheriff's behavior in this case has been nothing short of disgraceful, as it is apparent that he has a political ax to grind, and is using this tragedy to milk it for all it is worth.
Meanwhile, in all this cacophony, there are politicians in Washington who are using this circus to push for new legislation.
- Frank Lautenburgh (D- DE) and Carolyn McCarthy are both introducing gun legislation.  Lautenburgh's bill would re-enact the 1994 assault weapons ban, while both his and McCarthy's bill would limit the capacity of clips used to less than 10 rounds.
- Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) is introducing legislation that would make it "a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be viewed as threatening or inciting violence against members of Congress and other federal officials." He said, "You can't just put bull's-eyes or cross hairs on a United States congressman or a federal official", and apparent reference to Sarah Palin's electoral map in which surveyors symbols were mistaken for rifle sights.  Lost in all of this was the Democrat Leadership Council map which have actual bullseye targets on different locations.
-Rep. James Clyburn (D- SC) is trying to revive the "Fairness Doctrine" which is a clear effort to muzzle free speech on the airwaves.  This would be an attempt to silence Limbaugh , Hannitty, Levin, Beck, and conservative talk radio.  Clyburn said the shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech.  Tell me Congressman, just who should determine what the parameters on free speech should be?
Though the shooting of Congresswoman Gifford and all the others is a tragedy of the greatest magnitude, we cannot allow politicians to use this as an excuse to whittle away our rights and freedoms.  Under normal circumstances we need to be alert to what politicians do and how they are affecting us.  In times of tragedy it is even more important to pay attention as they use the tragedy like a magician uses sleight of hand to focus your attention on one thing, while the real trick is being done with the other hand.  In this time of national mourning for the victims of this terrible and senseless act by a deranged individual, try to keep your eye on the other hand.
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