Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tuscon

"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
- Ronald Reagan


The Tuscon shooting has been all over the news lately, and I can't help but notice one thing is missing from the coverage: that the shooter is the one who chose to pick up a gun and attack innocent people last Saturday.

More importantly though, you should know about a guy named Dorwan Stoddard. His final act on this earth was to use his body to shield his wife from the attacker's bullets.

Another man, retired Army colonel Bill Badger, was wounded but helped three other bystanders disarm and subdue the shooter.

“Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.”
- Benjamin Franklin


The actions of these sheepdogs should be a larger part of the media coverage in my opinion.

Last, and certainly least, the Pima County sheriff needs to start acting like a professional or recuse himself from the case. There has been no evidence that points to political rhetoric having an impact on this wacko's choosing to shoot up a Congresswoman's meet-and-greet. That the sheriff - an elected official - is using this heinous crime as an opportunity to espouse his own political opinions is as pathetic as it is unprofessional. His statements are in fact the very rhetorical practices he supposedly decries - the kind of rhetoric that indulges our demons, rather than appealing to our better selves.

That's my two cents. And for a closing, I'll repeat what Bob Holler used to say:

"Take care of yourselves and each other. Peace."

3 comments:

  1. A Reagan quote. Really? You should try harder to hide your anger at the sheriff for calling you out!

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  2. Even though some people might not agree with your views, I think your political posts are the best parts of your blog. Keep 'em coming A!

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  3. Lory- Thank you. I'll keep ranting, don't worry ;)

    anonymous- I wasn't trying to hide anything. Sheriff Dupnik is a partisan hack. Plain and simple. He didn't call me or anyone else "out," he made public statements that contained personal opinions rather than facts. By claiming "political rhetoric" contributed to the suspects attack - which directly contradicts the facts - he has inflamed (and albeit temporarily, distorted) the situation. Bring a real argument next time please.

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