Sarah Palin is Defiant and Unremorseful

Sarah Palin has made a statement about last Saturday's massacre. The Facebook post is an attempt to reverse the widespread public perception that Sarah Palin's map -- with rifle sights over Congresswoman Gifford's congressional district -- was an irresponsible abuse of the First Amendment. A video accompanied the post:





Sarah Palin attempts to score a First Amendment point for a selfish reason: to save her political career. Yes, it's true that Sarah Palin has a right to target congressional districts with rifle sights, but should she? With rights come responsibilities.

Sarah Palin is defiant:

“We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults."

At another point, Sarah Palin says that criticism of her is a "blood libel." Sarah Palin is intolerant of criticism, of differing opinion, and cries shrilly, and hurls insults. Sarah Palin hopes to muzzle a discussion of the responsibilites that come with rights. Sarah Palin hopes that you will imagine her among the victims of this massacre.

Sarah Palin's statement is an unprincipled stand on principle.

Sarah Palin's Facebook post is here, or it can be read at The Huffington Post, here.

The New York Times' The Caucus blog has "Palin Calls Criticism 'Blood Libel,'" which contains a link to some thoughtful commentary at Politico's "Palin's 'blood libel' defense fair?"

USA Today identifies Sarah Palin's Culpability in Tucson Massacre

From USA Today's "Our view: After Ariz. shooting, time to tone down vitriol:"

Saturday's tragedy in Arizona was unspeakable, as President Obama put it, but it was not unthinkable. American history is blighted with assassinations and attempted assassinations of prominent figures, often by disturbed young men with motives that make sense only within their twisted minds.

Combine that past with today's overheated political rhetoric and easy access to high-powered weaponry, and perhaps the only question was when, and where, the next unspeakable act would occur.

The heartbreaking answer was Jan. 8, 2011, outside a supermarket in Tucson. A 22-year-old gunman, identified as Jared Lee Loughner, opened fire with a Glock handgun, grievously wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, including federal Judge John Roll and, poignantly, a 9-year-old girl learning about democracy. ...

... With speech comes responsibility, a notion that seems lost on too many players in today's hyperpartisan hothouse. Regardless of Loughner's motivations, his killing spree is a grisly reminder that deeply disturbed people are easily driven to violence, whether by their own personal demons or by others who stoke their anger. When talk-show hosts warn about using bullets if ballots don't work, or candidates speak about resorting to "Second Amendment remedies," they invite risk for the sake of ratings or political gain. As Giffords hauntingly warned in March, after Sarah Palin's political action committee targeted her congressional district using the cross hairs of a gun sight, "there are consequences" to such imagery. ...

In Congresswoman Gifford's haunting words, "there are consequences:"

We need to realize that the rhetoric, and the firing people up and ... for example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is, the way she has it depicted, we're in the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they've got to realize that there are consequences to that action ...

USA Today is the nation's largest daily print newspaper, in terms of circulation.