"Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, an aide was killed, and an unknown number of others were wounded when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store as the Democratic lawmaker met with constituents, officials said."
The gunman has been unofficially identified as Jared Laughner. He is in custody.
I checked out his Youtube page earlier today and all I can say is the guy looks a little loopy in my opinion. Obviously since he went mental on all these people, but he looks like he's been planning this or something like this for a while. A favourite video included something about terrorism, and in one of his videos he discussed what the term terrorism is defined as. This is such a sad story. Now there are people claiming Sarah Palin has something to do with it because he idolized her. Pathetic that we're already letting politics into this instead of mourning the loss of human life.
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Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
YouTube has taken down the video. I did see one with a lovely photo of Gabrielle Giffords smiling and riding a horse. I haven't heard about her condition. :(
Thanks for the update, Justice. I saw something briefly this morning regarding the fact that he had been planning this. I hope the judicial system doesn't dink around too long and gets this case going and settled; these poor people need justice (pardon the pun?).
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Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am currently still stunned that this kind of craptastic behaviour still goes on. I, too, hope that the system does right by ALL the survivors and families and quickly for them.
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"....there is no normal life, Wyatt, there's just life..."
Just saw a news update on Gabrielle Gifford's condition (Friday night) -
she is able to move her limbs on both sides of her body (indicating that she will not likely be paralyzed which is always a concern with a serious brain injury). She is also able to track movement with her eyes, both when asked and on her own. She's staying awake for longer periods of time (although still very short, like 15 minutes, still longer than just a couple).
The doctors were very humble about her progress saying it was unusually quick - apparently, because the bullet stayed within one side of her brain, the damage was certainly not as severe as it could have been. Plus, apparently the period in which brain swelling has pretty much passed, so that is one other less worry.
So, even though she's still got a huge way to go, and she's still in critical condition, she is definitely making progress.
I know a lot of people are praying for her recovery, so this is just amazing good news.
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"If I am fool, it is, at least, a doubting one; and I envy no one the certainty of his self-approved wisdom." Byron