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All federal judges in Tucson have taken themselves off the case of Jared Loughner.
A brief order filed late Wednesday by Judge Raner Collins, on behalf of the other Tucson federal judges and magistrate judges, said, "[I]n order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and because a judge has a duty to disqualify him or herself if his or her impartiality could be reasonably questioned, whether or not such impartiality actually exists, this Court must recuse itself."
Judy Clarke, Loughner's defense lawyer, has been notified by a court clerk that if she wants to claim that every federal judge in Arizona should also be disqualified, she must file a motion promptly.
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For those who can't put two and two together, the reason for the recusal is that one of the victims was Judge John Roll, himself a federal judge and chief judge of the United States District Court in Arizona. It would be improper for any colleagues of his in Arizona to try the case.
Great First Read again this morning. I know there have been some complaints, but the authors here have in fact written about the violent rhetoric all week. I have found this site this week to be mature, thoughtful and quite calming compared to what's out there on other websites. Mark & Domenico & Ali are doing a great job with attempting to analyze how this shooting fits in with what has been going on nationally. Their writing has been quite professional, attempting to look at all sides and their analysis has been terrific.
We're getting one helluva snowstorm today. Just about everyone was given the day off. Everything is shut down. Trees have been knocked down and electricity is going off all over.
We still don't know yet who this shooter admired. We know the books he owned, but we don't know if he read them and what effect they had on him. We know very little. The investigators probably know more than we do and aren't saying anything publicly right now. We do know that this man did not like Rep. Giffords.
As far as Sarah Palin goes, someone talked about her wanting to act like a sort of Annie Oakley in the frontier in Alaska. Sarah strikes me as just that - only it's all a pitiful act and she is someone I would never want near the White House. I'm not much interested in what she has to say. She has zero leadership qualities. Zero.
I've been reading a lot lately about the Indian Wars and it's horrendous how our government behaved. Most of the Indian fighters were veterans of the Civil War. Sometimes there were US military officials who took a liking to the Indians, who felt in many ways were superior to the white man. And usually these officials paid a price for trying to bring peace with the Indians. Their careers were ruined. There was always an excuse for blaming the Indians for something. Rarely did the US military fess up to anything they did. And what they did was so tragic. They rarely kept their word. Same can be said for some of our Presidents and their superior attitude towards anyone who was not white.
So when I see these images of guns and revolutions and Founding Fathers I have to shake my head. Are we not a more civilized nation now? Isn't that what we have always strived for, as hard as it has been at times? I don't ever see in Palin a wish for calm and peace. Perhaps that's the way campaigns are supposed to be. But what is coming out of the mouths of Palin, Beck, Limbaugh is a sort of - How can I get attention? What can I say to rile up my viewers. And what they say is made up nonsense. President Obama has been president for 2 years. Is he starting wars with anyone? Is he disciminating against anyone? Is he attempting to take away someone's freedom of speech? Is he striving for revolution? Is he sending messages to destroy campaign offices of politicians who don't agree with him? No, it is not he who is doing any of that.
Can we do it without the 18th/19th tactics for goodness sakes? Can we have a little honesty instead of BS that people believe because they don't want to take it upon themselves to dig through the nonsense and take it for what it is - nonsense.
To be in politics it requires responsible thinking, responsible actions. I don't see that in Palin and never have. We don't need an Annie Oakley. We need vision for the future. That's what leadership is. Not continually talking about guns. Talk about issues. Real issues. Bombastic rhetoric is easy. Too easy.
And yes, simplistic. Which is all I have ever seen in Palin. Sen. McCain has been very quiet. Will he be there for the president's appearance?
Gun control cannot be fixed. That's what Lawrence O'Donnell reported last night. Too few are too unwilling to take this on. And so we will see this tragedy happen again and again unfortunately. Here in America.
Pat: Well written and thoughtful post.
I do not believe we will see gun control legislation either. Too many GOPTPer's wrongfully think President Obama wants to take away our guns. They will go apoplectic at the thought of gun control. Likewise the conservative controlled Supreme Court will vote down any gun control legislation. They struck down gun control laws in Washington DC and Chicago. They will do it again.
Great post, Pat. Hope you stay warm and safe from the storm.
I think one of the reasons our Presidential elections seem to go on for so long is that the process of identifying leaders who are ready to act on the national and international stages is difficult and we need to know that the candidates are able to act at those levels. Sarah Palin did not fare so well in her initial foray in national politics and this statement of hers tells me she has not grown appreciably in the time since.
Ron & Steeler Fan: Now we have this being reported over @ Think Progress:
"Just hours after 22-year-old gunman Jared Loughner launched a shooting spree at a Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) constituent event in Tucson on Saturday that left six dead and 14 wounded, Legislative District chairman Anthony Miller, a Republican, announced that he would resign his position. In an email to the state’s GOP chair, Miller cited “constant verbal attacks” after his election last year “and Internet blog posts by some local members with Tea Party ties made him worry about his family’s safety.” Many of his Republican colleagues followed him out the door..."
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We need to make this very clear. It is not the liberals or the Democrats who are threatening people.
My cable has gone out, so no tv. I hope my electricity doesn't follow as I would like to be able to follow President Obama's speech on line somewhere.
Pat stay safe and warm. It's even very chilly here in the normally mild south texas. Reportedly 31 degrees and overcast!...but nothing compared to the north east!
Thank you chilled. The funny thing is that when you look out the window it is so quiet and peaceful. The snow looks beautiful as it falls. I have candles going that have such a warm aroma to them. I have my pot of tea. I have my book. But I know tomorrow will be a tough day for commuting. It looks like most people are off the roads, at least where I am. I hope I don't lose my electricity. But those winds are really howling out there and I have a feeling it's just a matter of time. I would hate to miss President Obama's appearance as he speaks live.
31 degrees in southern Texas? My oh my. That's cold for that area!
We are freezing down here, I assure you. I'm wearing my Bruce Wayne overcoat, it's so bloody cold.
Glad you have computer today, Pat and internet and heat, I hope. Here is something I don't understand about this situation. I like to think I'm a reasonable person and I have watched the actions of the right for the past 2 years with concern---phrases like "locked and loaded" "2nd Amendment remedies", targets on websites, etc. And I wouldn't condone it on the left either---didn't like Manchin shooting at the target in his ad, for example. I was concerned when people brought guns to anti-HCR rallies; was concerned at the violence at rallies last fall. Given that back-drop, when I heard the news of Sat.'s shooting, my first thought was that it was a natural outgrowth of this atmosphere. I may be wrong about the shooter, but when so many reasonable people think this way----isn't it time to address the situation?
Steeler Fan: We don't know yet what brought him to this tragic incident. It has been reported that he has disliked Rep. Giffords since 2007. It is also being reported that there were concerns about mental illness. I don't think that someone should be treated for mental illness once they make threats. They should be treated whether there are threats made or not.
As far as what is out there in the air, it is and has been abnormal for a long time now. We saw what was going on with the teapartiers at their rallies. We saw their signs. We saw the guns. We saw the lies about death panels, etc. We see the Chamber of Commerce and the Koch Bros. and Fox standing with them. That is a dangerous road they have all gone down. Most of it is done to protect US corporate interests, with the teapartiers doing the actual dirty work with their threats of violence. A lot of it is racist because of who our president is.
For this not to be an issue is to be ignorant of what can transpire if they're not held accountable. Immediately. Once the justifications are made, people don't feel they need to be held responsible and they have a free ticket to take this as far as they can. Legal or not.
Hate speech is what it all is. And unless Palin and McCain and all leaders of the GOP come out and denounce it, then it will continue. The teapartiers aren't much interested in what President Obama or John Kerry or Vice President Biden have to say.
They have to hear from their supporters like Bill Kristol, etc. Bill Kristol. Did he not do enough damage with his support for the Iraq invasion? How much damage does he want done before he finally speaks up - forcefully against all this hate?
Hate. They need to hate. It is what drives them. I still don't know the answer this question - was anyone arrest for smashing the windows of those politicians who voted for health care reform? I'm going to go and see if I can find out.
btw, did you see former Rep. Patrick Kennedy last night with Rachel Maddow talking about mental illness issues in the health care legislation? He was a fantastic guest.
Jonathan Alter. Eugene Robinson. Chris Hayes. Media Matters. Think Progress. I love these journalists. Professional, clear headed, insightful.
Oh dear. How could I forget to mention Richard Wolffe? The journalist we all got to know in 2008 with his nonstop campaign reporting. He was the one we stopped to listen to as he gave us inside info on candidate Barack Obama and his campaign and all the ups and downs. When I think 2008, I always think MSNBC and Keith Olbermann, Richard Wolffe and Chuck Todd and First Read with Mark & Domenico and Eugene Robinson and Jonathan Alter and Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow and everybody else who comes here daily to offer their opinions. Practically everybody is still here. Which is great.
Great memories for me. So much fun. So much stress. So much on the line. But hey, we won!!!!!!
You make a good point, Pat----the folks on the right won't listen to anyone other than their own. I'm not criticizing them for that---there is a lack of trust on both sides such that I wouldn't listen to words of advice/admonishment from anyone on the right. However, public condemnations by people on the right have been few and tepid. It is almost considered brave when one of them admits the President is a citizen, risking the ire of the birthers. I think the elected officials are afraid of Rush Limbaugh and the other media folks on the right and won't risk taking them on.
OK, Thanks :)
It is a balmy 3 degrees here.
That's totally shorts-weather. Why aren't you outside playing frisbee-golf?