The fine folks at Reason magazine have assembled a quick compilation of some of the dumbest soundbites about the Tucson shooting:
This easily could’ve been twice as long or more. There’s been no shortage of dimwitted, hypocritical blame-throwing. Isn’t it funny how the same people who screeched about the government for 8 years under George Bush will now say anything to silence complaints about the government? And by “funny” I mean “nauseating.”
Speaking of dumb, the network that once aired a show called Crossfire is now scolding guests for using the term “crosshairs.” CNN might as well say, “This sort of commonplace jargon has nothing to do with the mass murder in Arizona, but now we’re forced pretend it does. We’ve worked so very hard to link the two, despite all evidence to the contrary, and our only alternative would be to admit that the last 10 days have been a cynical attempt to shut you up. Thanks for keeping us consistently in third place, America.” You’re quite welcome, CNN.
P.S. Byron York: “A look at transcripts of CNN programs in the month leading up to the shootings shows that the network was filled with references to ‘crosshairs’ — and once even used the term to suggest the targeting of Palin herself.” Whoops.
P.P.S. In happier news, Jeff Winkler reports on Giffords being upgraded from “critical” to “serious” condition and what that means.