Giffords Updates

More fallout from the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ):

• Giffords'' doctors still guardedly optimistic about her condition.
• Politically, Giffords' district, AZ-08, has been tense for years.
• Creepiest mugshot ever. Jared Lee Loughner - all attempted assassins seem to be referred to by three names. Lee Harvey Oswald. James Earl Ray. Sirhan Sirhan. OK, his middle name was Bishra, but no one called him that.
• Speaking of creepy mugshots...
• Loughner was a registered Independent. "Independent" seems to cover a lot of territory these days, and it doesn't necessarily mean "centrist".
• Gloria Borger and Wolf Blitzer (both of CNN) convinced themselves "both sides do it" (referring to violent political imagery). They bent over so far backwards to agree on this point the tops of their heads are touching the floor.
• Arizona legislature to try to prevent the Westboro Baptist Church, who thanked God for Loughner's shootings, from disrupting the funerals of Loughner's victims. Don't know who the Westboro Baptist Church is? You can check out these loving Christians at their website, www.godhatesfags.com (I'm not kidding).
• Recent History: Republican Robert Lowry, opponent of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) in the the last election, once did target practice using a target with the initials "DWS" next to it.
• Tom Tomorrow, brilliant as usual, this time about gun control.
• We live in a culture that loves guns and loves power - and likes to mix the two on occasion.
• The FBI arrested an individual today who threatened Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO). This person, however, just sounded mentally disturbed, and self-identified as a schizophrenic. I'm betting more of these threats are going to be take seriously going forward. Here's hoping more money can be pried loose from state legislatures to help the mentally ill.