They must have roamed the internet, thirsty, like wild dogs of the African savannah, until they found it: A popular military veteran’s Facebook site, gently praising the Navy’s christening of the USS Gabrielle Giffords. It was a veritable oasis, drawing in the pack of gundamentalists: There was water here.
Americans for Responsible Solutions, the Super PAC founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, has released its first ad called "Let's Get This Done." The ad is narrated by Giffords, who is seen standing by her husband; it also shows pictures of memorials from several recent mass shootings, including the one that nearly killed Giffords.
"Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important," former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, currently convening hearings on gun safety. "We must do something. It will be hard but the time is now." This is the full text of her statement:
While listening to Aunt Eunice talk about her recent hip surgery and watching Little Cousin Jaydenlynne text furiously over her plateful of unwanted peas, you slowly chewed your turkey and thought about American's politicians and pundits, and how they are spending Thanksgiving. Am I right?
What do you say to a harsh criticism from astronaut-hero Mark Kelly, husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords? You can't call him a jerk or anything. He's astronaut-hero Mark Kelly, husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords! You just have to take it. Hear that, John Boehner? You will just have to take it.
Jared Lee Loughner returned to court today, where authorities established that the accused mass murderer is still insane. According to a government psychiatrist, Loughner believes he killed Gabrielle Giffords, has "several imaginary friends," and lost TV privileges because he thought the tube was sending him messages. When doctors informed him that he is insane, he was reportedly "devastated." [NYT, images via AP]
Republicans in Pima County, Ariz., where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head eight months ago, had a brilliant idea for a fundraiser: Let's raffle off a gun! Who cares if it's the same brand as the gun used in the Giffords shooting?
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords made her first public appearance on Monday since being shot in the head in January, standing and waving to the crowd at a NASA awards ceremony held at Space Center Houston. She didn't speak publicly, but "appeared to chat with people sitting around her, and laughed" at the introduction of her husband's crew. As encouraging as the appearance might have been, Giffords' staff has been attempting to manage over-optimistic expectations; her doctors have said that it'll be at least a year before they have a sense of the extent of her recovery. [ABC News]
After nearly five months of rehabilitation in a Houston hospital, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was released yesterday, and is living at her husband Mark Kelly's home in the suburbs of Houston. She'll now begin an outpatient rehab program at the same hospital. The Arizona Republic spoke to Kelly yesterday:
New photos of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D - Ariz.)—the first to be publicly released since she was shot in the head in January—were published on her Facebook page by her staff on Sunday. In one, the congresswoman smiles next to her mother Gloria; in the other, she faces the camera directly. In an interview this week, Giffords' chief of staff Pia Carusone cautioned against over-optimistic expectations for her recovery, telling the Arizona Republic that her boss still has trouble communicating, and will be in outpatient therapy for months. Even so, it's nice to see the congresswoman's smile.
Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman who killed six people and wounded 12 others including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial today.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' surgery to replace part of her skull and stop fluid buildup in her brain, which sounds like an absolutely terrifying operation, went "very well" yesterday, according to her doctors. But who trusts doctors anyway? Fortunately her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, was able to confirm the good news from outer space today, while bouncing around.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is making her first public outing since being shot in the head in Tucson this January. She boarded a NASA jet in Houston today that's flying to Florida's Kennedy Space Center, the spot from where astronaut husband Mark Kelly will launch into space on Friday as part of the shuttle Endeavor's last mission. You can check out some raw, hazy AP footage of Giffords boarding the plane up top. She walked from her car and up the ramp without assistance.
Think whatever you want about NBC's Law & Order franchise. I know it has its adherents. But I think it's a gross, stupidly written collection of shows that passes off profound human suffering as casual entertainment. Every time I accidentally stumble onto it, some five-year-old is playing with Legos and describing how he was recently raped, while Ice-T and Richard Belzer make wisecracks in the background. How is this acceptable? It isn't.
