Quote:Why? Because Wolf Blitzer said so?
You're going to need to substantiate that one, monty. Can't let that one go unchallenged.
Wolf who? Loughner was heavily influenced by Alex Jones (tinfoil hat wing of the Tea Party) and Jones' movie "Zeitgeist." He was also tied into the ideology of David Wynn Miller, part of the 'Sovereign Citizen' movement which is undeniably fringe-right.
Quote:Loughner began fixating on a documentary: "Zeitgeist: The Movie."
The movie is a bramble of conspiracy theories involving Sept. 11, the international monetary system, and Christianity.
"There are people guiding your life and you don't even know it," the trailer for the movie intones.
"He wanted to watch it all the time," Osler said. "It was cool at first. But then it got weird. It was all he wanted to do."
Loughner developed a seeming obsession with currency, grammar and literacy rates. They were becoming the objects of his rants and screeds. Those around him didn't understand.
Read more: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

or
Quote:David Wynn Miller (born 1949), also styled David-Wynn: Miller, is a former tool and die welder and current American activist in a tax protest group affiliated with the Sovereign Citizen Movement. ...
Reports appearing after the 2011 Tucson shooting noted similarities between the writing of suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner and Miller's views. Miller stated that he did not know Loughner, agreed with his video postings on government mind control and grammar, but was appalled by his alleged actions...
The Los Angeles Times characterized Miller's political views as "far-right." The Anti-Defamation League described Miller in an article on the Redemption movement.
deltadarlin wrote on Jan 18th, 2011 at 4:55pm:I agree with Marc and BarbaraD (and others) on this, this dude was not quite *right* in the head and the responsibility lies squarely on his head.
That line in all your threads is logically inconsistent - if the person really is deranged, they cannot control impulses and process thoughts like normal people.
In paranoid schizophrenia (as Loughner probably has), the ideological fixation and the perception of a person as a threat really can make a difference in whether a person will take violent action. You and I might be able to filter and process hyperbole ("Traitor!! Destroying our Country and Way of Life!!) while the truly deranged are often not in a position to react logically to such flowers of hatred.
Gifford complained about the large groups of tea partiers that were outside of her office daily, hurling invectives at anyone going into the office. When the health care reform bill passed, the windows to her office (along with several other legislators across the country) were smashed. A group claiming to be a faction of the tea party claimed responsibility and called for more direct action across the country.
It's like repeatedly telling a senile aunt that the Russians are going to attack any minute ... if she has a heart attack or throws herself out a window in desperation, is it strictly her fault??
That's the cowardly, irresponsible nature of the tea party - no platform, no agreed upon code of conduct, no membership list, no real leaders ... it is easy to deny anything when your group is merely a mob.
Quote:As of Wednesday afternoon, the FBI was investigating whether a severed gas line at the home of Congressman Perriello’s brother was related to a comment posted on a local "tea party" website for activists to “drop by” and “express their thanks” for his healthcare vote and to “remember exactly what it is their constituents are saying and how they are telling them to vote.”
The site mistakenly directed activists to Perriello’s brother’s address.
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

or