Reposting this upon request, with updates
Any reconciliation process must include TRUTH-TELLING.
The indefensible, infamous crosshairs map is referred to as a 'hit-list' because that's what it deserves to be called : a hit-list.
Last Saturday Sarah Palin did not put a bullet in Gabrielle Giffords' head. That terrible deed was done by someone else.
But Sarah Palin put Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other Federal officials in the crosshairs of a gunsight. She exclaimed, 'Reload!' with the unveiling of her hit-list. And she signed her name to it - literally.
Everyone can understand this truth :
If you or I posted a hit-list of names in gunsight cross hairs, declared 'Re-load!' and then at least 11 of the 20 names on our list received serious death threats, had offices vandalized or shot at, and one of the 'targets' ended up with a bullet in her head, and all the 'targets' on our list happened to be Federal officials . . .
. . . well, you can be certain that regardless of our real intentions, you or I would still be sitting in a hard chair in a small windowless room, being asked a whole lot of questions by the F B I and other law enforcement agencies.
Let's re-review Sarah's list :
In March 2010, Palin put up this hit-list on her SarahPAC web site. It's a map with 20 House Representative names in gunsight crosshairs. In announcing this hit-list, Palin said it’s time for conservatives to "Reload !" Notice Sarah's signature on the bottom right. When you sign your name to something, you OWN it.
Updated - - so far I have been able to confirm that 11 of the 20 on the list were threatened and/or attacked.
Vic Snyder (retired, Arkansas-2) received a death threat in the mail in March 2010.
Ann Kirkpatrick (Arizona-1) - her office was attacked in March 2010.
Harry Mitchell (Arizona-5) received several death threats in March 2010.
Gabrielle Giffords (Arizona-8) was shot in the head in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Ariz.
John Salazar (Colorado-3) - there were conflicting reports about a potential threat against him in March 2010, so I'm not including him in the count of those who were threatened or attacked after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Betsy Markey (Colorado-4) received several death threats in March 2010.
Allen Boyd (Florida-2) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Suzanne Kosmas (Florida-24) was threatened in March 2010.
Brad Ellsworth (retired, Indiana-8) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Baron Hill (Indiana-9) received several telephone threats in March 2010.
Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota-AL) was threatened in March 2010.
Charlie Wilson (Ohio-6) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
John Boccieri (Ohio-16) received numerous telephone death threats in March 2010.
Kathy Dahlkemper (Pennsylvania-3) was threatened by mail in March 2010.
Christopher Carney (Pennsylvania-10) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
John Spratt (South Carolina-5) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Bart Gordon (retired, Tennessee-6) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Tom Perriello (Virginia-5) was threatened in March 2010, including the infamous incident when the gas line was cut at his brother's house; the attacker erroneously thought it was Rep Perriello's house.
Alan Mollohan (West Virginia-1) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
Nick Rahall (West Virginia-2) - could not find any record of threats against him after Palin's crosshairs map was published.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
By my count, that's at least 11 of the 20 who were threatened and/or attacked. ( If anyone has additional info I'd appreciate it. )
I will reiterate : If you or I put up a hit-list like this and more than half the people got serious death threats which were all investigated by law enforcement, had their offices vandalized or shot at, and one of them ended up with a bullet in the head . . .
. . . well, you or I would not be scrubbing our little hit-list like Lady MacBeth ('Out, damned spot!') nor would you or I be posting on Facebook about 'prayer, peace 'n' justice' while one of our 'targets' lay in a coma.
Nor would you or I be posting shameless, tasteless, disgusting, truth-less videos on the day of a memorial service for the victims, bizarrely claiming victimhood because of legitimate questions about the wisdom of putting 20 Federal officials in gunsight crosshairs.
You or I would be undergoing extensive questioning by law enforcement in a small, windowless room.
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CROSSHAIRS are used with guns, such as sniper rifles. The ridiculous denial that the gunsight crosshairs on Palin's hit-list map were something else defies basic reality, common sense - and Guns 101. For example, here is a stock photo of a crosshairs graphic image. It looks exactly like the one used on Palin's hit-list :
http://www.canstockphoto.com/...
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TERRORISM is defined as threatening or using violence for political purposes.
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Some final quotes - from an honest Tea Party local group leader in Arizona :
"You have to be very careful what you say. We live in a very polarized environment here in the United States, and while I do believe in the second amendment, no one should be referring to second amendment solutions," said Patrick Beck, president of the Mohave County Tea Party in the northern part of the state.
"I've given many speeches to my group and at different events in my area, and in doing so I'm very conscious of who's listening," he said. "When I look out at the crowd, 99 percent of the people I see are just like me -- average every day Americans who want constitutional government, fiscal responsibility, things of that nature. Every once in a while, though, I see someone -- how should I put it? -- who is getting too excited, who seems a little farther on the fringe...I realized I had to tone down my comments a little bit, less yelling and screaming and more educational."
When asked about the Palin target map, Beck said: "I don't know. It's really easy in the context of what happened this morning to look back and say, I don't know if this was such a bright idea. . . . "
SOURCE:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...