I think most of you know that I live in Tucson. As a resident of this beautiful town, yesterday's shooting is very much on my mind today. I hope you don't mind yet another diary about it.
Mr. Loughner's incomprehensible actions yesterday left the entire city of Tucson reeling and in shock. We've nearly lost our beloved Gabrielle Giffords, and she's not out of the woods yet. The Honorable John Roll, federal judge and friend of Ms. Giffords, was killed as he made a casual after-Mass stop to say hello. Young and old were lost - the youngest, a 9 year old girl just learning about how our government works, and the oldest, a 79 year old.
The candlelight vigil for Gabby Giffords is ongoing. The local news is still 24/7, in spite of those who were so concerned about missing their football games. Businesses are closed, people are subdued, and everyone gets around to talking about the shooting, sooner or later. Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing - Gabby Giffords is real, honest, genuine, and the last person anyone would expect to be a target of an assassination attempt such as this.
More was lost than "merely" human lives. We've lost a sense of trust and of safety. The safe haven of our town, though it is a city with crime like any other, has been violated. A grocery store that has been a frequent stop for many on the Northwest side of Tucson is now forever associated with someone's hate, rage, and probable mental illness, and the anguish of those whose lives he touched with the rotted finger of his Glock.
And yet, I count myself lucky. Rich and I live but three miles from the Safeway, and we shop there fairly regularly. My aunt lives a couple of houses away from me, and she intended to shop at Safeway yesterday morning. She happened to choose to go to Costco instead, or she would have been there at the time of the shooting. Rich was running errands for me, and had a thought that he'd stop at Safeway to pick up some chicken, but realized he'd forgotten to drop something off elsewhere, so he avoided being there - again, he would have been there at the time of the shooting. My sister and her husband were out running errands, and were in the vicinity at the time of the shooting. They got caught up in the traffic jam of emergency vehicles.
Just a moment's decision, a turn of the wheel, and I could have been worrying about losing members of my family. Not to mention my rock, my husband. My eyes are trying to tear up, just thinking of how close my beloved was to being in the middle of the violent insanity in such a mundane location. And I cry for those who have lost their loved ones on such a beautiful day in sunny Tucson.
Every night, we who post Top Comments open the Gmail inbox at TopComments AT gmail DOT com to see our "gifts" - comments of the day as chosen by you. Some days are diamonds, and we get lots of comments. The best of days, our submitters also get their comments in by the deadline of 9:30 Eastern time, tell us who they are, and tell us why they liked the comment they are submitting. We really like that.
Like I always say, we could not do Top Comments without you.
tl:dr - Comments to TopComments AT gmail DOT com by 9:30 PM Eastern with your DKos username and a good link. Commentary optional, but preferred.
The comments:
From edrie:
kudos to jsfox who shows us how language can be used without vitriol and yet make his point succinctly and brilliantly!
From Land of Enchantment:
I recalled cosmic debris is from Tucson, did a search and found a comment worth sharing.
From Crashing Vor:
Responding to the Kudos
offered to FOX News for their coverage of yesterday's horror, beltane
politely declines to applaud.
From asimbagirl:
This comment by Seneca Doane and this response by The Lone Apple highlight with perfect snark the ridiculousness of whatever the hell it is that the Palinites are engaging in regarding the infamous map. They're from BoyBlue's diary - and I'd also like to say that BoyBlue is a class act who got shafted by RW nutjobs, and by Matt Bai, who I'd expected better from.
From bronte17:
m16eib gives us an introduction to Sovereign Citizens' anti-government groups... white nationalist survivalist militia types in this excellent diary on Congresswoman Giffords' tragic incident Sovereign Citizens: The Right Wing Hate Group Behind the Attack on a Jewish Congresswoman by TheFatLadySings.
Make sure to watch that heartbreaking yet instructional video created by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
From ridemybike:
from Claknt67's diary, *marzook posted this comment:
"it's all weirdly symbolic" ..... no doubt!
From ScottyUrb:
Good observation from paxpdx.
From sardonyx:
Everyone should read Call Time, georgia10's return to the front page where she writes about the staggering amount of time that members of congress spend on the phone raising money, and how much they hate doing so. There were so many good comments and comment threads it's hard to pick just one, but an excellent late addition was mattinla's, which among other things notes that the time spent fundraising has been increasing for decades.
From trashablanca:
renzo capetti cuts to the heart of the matter in jotter's High Impact Diaries.
And here's Top Mojo, kindly compiled by sardonyx.
Top Mojo (cskendrick/sardonyx-style) excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, and various pooties:
1) Thank you, BoyBlue by hyperbolic pants explosion — 257
2) Interesting for Bai by RobertInWisconsin — 214
3) Interesting that he doesn't recognize that this by voracious — 185
4) Sheriff Dupnik will be in no trouble he is by buddabelly — 182
5) thanks for saying that. it was mine. by BoyBlue — 163
6) I hope this gets picked up in hte media so that by James Allen — 160
7) Bai's piece is reprehensible by FishOutofWater — 156
8) Add this picture to your diary if you like by Scarce — 154
9) He was a grownup by wenchacha — 144
10) MLK... by grannyhelen — 142
11) Can we scrub any reference to Matt Bai? by Seneca Doane — 141
12) Senseless Killings by JekyllnHyde — 137
13) "Don't retreat....RESURVEY!" by second gen — 121
14) If Republicans and Their Tea Party Sympathizers by JekyllnHyde — 118
15) It is more than setting the record straight; by 4CasandChlo — 113
16) He kicks ass! His press conference brought tears by voracious — 108
17) If only the reflexive Arizona bashers. by DaNang65 — 107
18) If a former liberal VP by christine20 — 105
19) "Crosshairs like you'd see on maps"? by Snud — 102
20) btw - this is one of many moments that by grannyhelen — 100
21) Whoopi said "whatever comes down by Deoliver47 — 99
22) Sarah Palin is obscene and appalling by beltane — 98
23) And this more graphic one by Scarce — 96
24) This is one of the purest, most by angry marmot — 94
25) It was a recent diary... by Addison — 93
26) The footage of the Giffords interview by voracious — 92
27) I have a nine year old daughter. by greycat — 91
28) That's a very nice thought. by Blizzard — 90
29) They all have families, all of them! by Nulwee — 90
30) We need to work every day to make sure by grannyhelen — 90
31) Sorry you got innocently dragged into this by Loquatrix — 90
32) Here's his response, modest by Scarce — 90
Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by BoyBlue — 832
2) Tip Jar by Desert Rose — 605
3) Tip Jar by Julie Gulden — 562
4) Tip Jar by GlowNZ — 524
5) Tip Jar by hester — 489
6) Tip Jar by el fuego — 418
7) Tips for a speedy and full recovery by Clarknt67 — 393
8) Tip Jar. It has gone beyond a joke or a by LaFeminista — 369
9) Tip Jar by byteb — 361
10) Whoopi Goldberg called it by Deoliver47 — 361
11) Tip Jar by Chacounne — 333
12) Tip Jar by bink — 300
13) Tip Jar by Priest Valon — 264
14) Thank you, BoyBlue by hyperbolic pants explosion — 257
15) Interesting for Bai by RobertInWisconsin — 214
16) Tip Jar by Steven D — 189
17) Tip Jar by MsLibrarian — 188
18) Interesting that he doesn't recognize that this by voracious — 185
19) Sheriff Dupnik will be in no trouble he is by buddabelly — 182
20) thanks for saying that. it was mine. by BoyBlue — 163
21) I hope this gets picked up in hte media so that by James Allen — 160
22) Bravo! by Eddie C — 158
23) Bai's piece is reprehensible by FishOutofWater — 156
24) Add this picture to your diary if you like by Scarce — 154
25) He was a grownup by wenchacha — 144
26) MLK... by grannyhelen — 142
27) Can we scrub any reference to Matt Bai? by Seneca Doane — 141
28) Senseless Killings by JekyllnHyde — 137
29) I hope that we celebrate her recovery here by Seneca Doane — 130
30) "Don't retreat....RESURVEY!" by second gen — 121