Originally Posted by davidmash

I have to agree with you. There are over 15,000 homicides each year. Only a hand full are reported, most in passing. If there is a child involved or the murder was exceptionally brutal or other wise unique it may get a bit more attention. I know that in this case we lost a judge, a nine year old, but I have not heard much about the other 4 who died. I have heard enough about the Congress woman to make me puke. Yes I am sympathetic to her plight but she is not unique in her suffering.

Originally Posted by davidmash

The same thing happened with the Holloway girl. Yes she was kidnapped and pardon me for being callous but so what? What made her more unique than the thousands, tens of thousands or how ever many kidnappings there were in the US last year?

Originally Posted by davidmash

What about the traffic deaths? two years ago in 2009 we lost over 30,000 people in traffic accidents. Where is the concern there?

Originally Posted by davidmash

I do not know who picks who is important enough to be on TV and who is not, but I think our priorities and value of human life is certainly jacked up.

Originally Posted by davidmash

When you think about the fact that between traffic accidents and homicides we loose somewhere close to 45,000 people every year and no one seems to be overly concerned about that, it does seem a bit confusing that we are so distraught over 6 more people added to that list.

Originally Posted by Botnst

Uh ...... Sounds like Congress.

Originally Posted by JollyRoger

What is happening now has never happened before in the history of the United States. One small fringe of a political party has used the enormous power of monied corporations to build an enormious media monopoly that makes The Communist Party of Russia at their height look like amatuers. Whenever any given event happens, like Pravada or Goebbels on steriods, the truth of the event must be remanufactured by a 10,000 AM radio stations, a thousand websites and one major TV network to fit a single political viewpoint, all the while following Goebbel's dictum that the best propaganda technique is to claim the otherside is doing what they themselves are actually doing.

We live in a society where truth itself is under fire, and it is driving what is essentially a rich, stable democracy, into ruin by constantly portraying us as a society on the verge of ruin, due to what they claim is a Muslim Communist Socialist black man. Never has outright falsehood held so much sway in this nation. Democrats are Communists, the president wasn't even born here, all bobbing about in a sea of right-wing political disinformation that is leading us to disaster, slurped up by stooges who believe even the most ridiculous story if it confirms their viewpoint, like Mgburg's "The shooter shot Giffords because of Nancy Pelosu". Like the lie that a black man was 3/5's of a man, today we are again a society that cannot live in truth, and unless we start, we are going to destroy this country. The artfulness that Bush used to leaverage this new Falsehood Machine into needless, brutal, fascist war, is only the first step in our walk towards destruction. Why don't you shed your tears for the thousands of Iraqi children needlessly murdered by this machine? Who is next, the American Left? We are starting to get the picture.

Originally Posted by Txjake

If only we as a nation cared as much about EVERY shooting victim as we do the current cause celeb. If only the news would follow the stories of recovery of brave service people as they try to recover from horrific wounds, If only we valued the life of everyone as much as the people the media deem newsworthy. Then, we might grow as a country, and move forward....

I weep for my nation when I see what it has become, a nation of soundbites, media events and people with the attention span of a gnat.

Don't get me wrong: the Tucson event was a horrific occurence, seemingly perpetrated by a madman. However, every day there are people shot, stabbed, abused, burned and otherwise killed that we never hear of. Are their lives of less value because of lack of media marketability? What of the lives lost by policemen, firemen, and those who fight our wars? When do you see 24/7 coverage of that? Seldom, right?

Originally Posted by Jim B.

It is neither one.

It is a plutocracy. The large banks, big pharma, insurance and oil companies and big business bribe the legislature through the system of lobbying, that has been fully entrenched for many decades.

It pervades both political parties but in scope and breadth the Republicans are far far worse.

The public at large is meanwhile distracted and gets whipped up by hate radio, with all that vitriol, and the other media reports on divisive issues like gun control, abortion, gay rights, alleged racism and other hot buttons that make people furious.

The United States is a plutocracy. Plain and simple.

Originally Posted by mgburg

I only heard about ONE of the other victims being buried...and their name wasn't even mentioned in the story...it came back to Gifford's situation and how she was fairing. I'm under the impression that the other victims didn't want publicity for their relatives, but the fact remains that there are probably 99.99999% of the folks on this thread that can't recall, let alone remember, the others victims names without having to go look them up.

And that's the shame in all of this.



How many shades from pure white was she? That seems to be the way it goes...or better yet...who were her parents? How were they connected to society? That makes for better sound-bites...

Same situation there...the more gastly the accident, the more heads that can be turned and ratings points are earned. It's all about eyeballs.

Money, who you/they know, how cute and cuddly, how much blood and those involved...and again, will it grab the viewers' attention? Those are the deciding factors.



It's the way that they died. Not because someone was drinking. Not because someone fell asleep. It makes headlines because it's scarry. Seemingly "normal" body is walking through a public thoroughfare, and *BAM!* - it pops a cork and all hell breaks loose!

"BREAKING NEWS!! THE SAFEWAY SHOOTOUT!! CONGRESSPERSON ASSINSINATED! Film at 11!"

"OOPS! CORRECTION! CONGRESSPERSON CRITICALLY INJURED WHEN SHOT! 9-11 BIRTHCHILD KILLED! DOUBLE-TRAGEDY FOR FAMILY!"

There...it got your attention and the sound-bites-from-Hell-come-a'rainin'-on-down!

And, anyone with an incling (sp?) of an opinion has a microphone stuffed into their face and maybe 10 seconds of eluding-fame to make some coherent comment that will be latched onto as Gospel-fact.

Originally Posted by chilcutt

Is 'Pure White' a Race, like caucasion?

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Actually I believe we live in a democratic republic.

Originally Posted by Emmerich

Why do you limit yourself to "shooting" victims? Drunk drivers kill 3-4 times as many people every year in this country than guns do. Knife deaths outnumber
gun deaths as well. I hear no clamor for knife control or booze control.

Originally Posted by Emmerich

Again you are wrong. Better retake history and this time listen with both ears. Your twisting of facts is very talented, do you really believe them? If so I have a unique one sided coin I can sell you for a song.

Originally Posted by jplinville

This nation ISN'T a democracy, it is a REPUBLIC. Please read up on the difference.

http://lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html

Until you start getting your information correct, the rest of your posts will be deemed as mind numbing ramblings.

Originally Posted by Txjake

good point, and something I totally left out. I was just comparing apples to apples in this instance. There are DWI checkpoints I think, so they try sometimes, though I wonder why the cops just dont sit across from teh bars and nab people as they pull out. Of course, that wont get the home drinker who is on the way to Quik Mart for another suitcase of PBR.....

Originally Posted by PastorJoe

It's a Representative Republic.

Originally Posted by JollyRoger

Ok, so you are ready to say guns should be regulated along the lines of alcohol? His "he hears no clamor for booze control" is a false statement, so how exactly is it a "good point"?