Arizona Memorial Service

[PapaG]

Photo of the President and the First Lady Arriving at the memorial service for the 6 people murdered on Saturday.

T-shirts placed over each chair at today's "Together We Thrive" memorial service.

Can't we just mourn the deceased without making it a campaign/marketing event?

 

[PapaG]

Just watched the part where the President spoke. What the hell is everybody cheering about? Was this a campaign event, or a memorial service?

Very odd...

 

[MARIS61]

Free T-shirts!

That's fairly disgusting. What is wrong with people?

Tell me they didn't do "The Wave".

 

[PapaG]

Free T-shirts!

That's fairly disgusting. What is wrong with people?

Tell me they didn't do "The Wave".

The part where the cameras caught Obama smiling and laughing were just plain weird, and frankly, chilling. Can't wait to see those videos tomorrow, if the pool allows them to be released. What is wrong with this guy?

 

[PapaG]

I have to post this again, because I simply can't believe it, but T-Shirts with the "Together We Thrive" theme of the President's speech tonight at a memorial service were literally given away to those in attendance.

I'm flabbergasted. I've never seen or heard of anything like it in my lifetime in terms of the President giving what should be a somber and measured speech. Instead, "Hope and Change" has been replaced with "Together We Thrive". I guess this was Obama's 2012 campaign kick-off speech?

Liberals, help me out here. What the hell was that tonight?

 

[PapaG]

It was nice to hear Jan Brewer mention the victims of this heinous attack. It only took 40 minutes into the show...

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Just watched the part where the President spoke. What the hell is everybody cheering about? Was this a campaign event, or a memorial service?

Very odd...

The part where the cameras caught Obama smiling and laughing were just plain weird, and frankly, chilling. Can't wait to see those videos tomorrow, if the pool allows them to be released. What is wrong with this guy?

The highlights I just saw people were cheering and the President was smiling when he was talking about some of the heroes from that terrible day and telling everyone the latest medical update on Gifford.

Didn't see anything about the t-shirts but someone how I doubt it was the President's idea to have t-shirts.

 

[PapaG]

The highlights I just saw people were cheering and the President was smiling when he was talking about some of the heroes from that terrible day and telling everyone the latest medical update on Gifford.

Didn't see anything about the t-shirts but someone how I doubt it was the President's idea to have t-shirts.

6 people died. "Gifford" (it's actually Giffords, not that anybody cares) is holding on with a tube down her throat.

Exactly who were the heroes? The sheriff who had no deputies within 20 minutes of a public event involving their US Rep.?

This was a pep rally, and it was disgusting.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

6 people died. "Gifford" (it's actually Giffords, not that anybody cares) is holding on with a tube down her throat.

Exactly who were the heroes? The sheriff who had no deputies within 20 minutes of a public event involving their US Rep.?

This was a pep rally, and it was disgusting.

Giffords' college intern that held her and tried to stop the bleeding and the woman who jumped on the gunman and prevented him from reloading the gun are heroes.

 

[barfo]

I have to post this again, because I simply can't believe it, but T-Shirts with the "Together We Thrive" theme of the President's speech tonight at a memorial service were literally given away to those in attendance.

Oh my god. Someone got a free t-shirt and you didn't.
Guess you'd feel better if they set up a concession stand and sold t-shirts?
I've been to memorial services where they literally gave away alcohol! That's right, an open bar, at a memorial service. Shocking, it was. I had to test it several times to be sure they were really doing that.

I'm flabbergasted. I've never seen or heard of anything like it in my lifetime in terms of the President giving what should be a somber and measured speech. Instead, "Hope and Change" has been replaced with "Together We Thrive". I guess this was Obama's 2012 campaign kick-off speech?

It's flabbergasting, how a president could use a theme of togetherness at a time like this. What he should have been saying is "Get your guns, it's every man for himself now!"

Liberals, help me out here. What the hell was that tonight?

Don't know, didn't watch it. But I don't have any doubts that your description is off by a million miles. Try taking off the shit-colored glasses, maybe things will look a little better.

barfo

 

[PapaG]

Oh my god. Someone got a free t-shirt and you didn't.
Guess you'd feel better if they set up a concession stand and sold t-shirts?
I've been to memorial services where they literally gave away alcohol! That's right, an open bar, at a memorial service. Shocking, it was. I had to test it several times to be sure they were really doing that.



It's flabbergasting, how a president could use a theme of togetherness at a time like this. What he should have been saying is "Get your guns, it's every man for himself now!"



Don't know, didn't watch it. But I don't have any doubts that your description is off by a million miles. Try taking off the shit-colored glasses, maybe things will look a little better.

barfo

Thanks for giving me the liberal perspective, as I did ask for it earlier in the thread. It's about what I expected.

 

[PapaG]

"At the memorial service for the victims of the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, President Obama said that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time after his (Wednesday) visit.

It was the first time she had opened her eyes since the shooting that wounded her Saturday outside a Tucson grocery store. "We all started crying," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a phone interview from Air Force One later Wednesday night. "Other than the birth of my children, it was the most incredible moment I have ever had."

Wow, that's a really enlightening story and gives us all hope and belief... except ...

"she could open her eyes and respond to simple commands Sunday - an encouraging sign"


-University Medical Center trauma chief Peter Rhee, M.D.

Uh oh!

http://sonoranchronicle.com/2011/01/09/giffords-survives-the-night-can-open-eyes/

http://sonoranchronicle.com/2011/01/09/giffords-survives-the-night-can-open-eyes/img_0350/

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/010911_giffords_condition

 

[SlyPokerDog]

6 people died. "Gifford" (it's actually Giffords, not that anybody cares) is holding on with a tube down her throat.

Exactly who were the heroes? The sheriff who had no deputies within 20 minutes of a public event involving their US Rep.?

This was a pep rally, and it was disgusting.

Nightline on ABC is doing a story on the heroes from that day. Just getting ready to start.

 

[PapaG]

Nightline on ABC is doing a story on the heroes from that day. Just getting ready to start.

I'm still wondering how our President took credit in his speech for something that happened on Sunday. Perhaps the most narcissistic moment I've ever seen/heard, in any setting.

 

[barfo]

Thanks for giving me the liberal perspective, as I did ask for it earlier in the thread. It's about what I expected.

It's not "the liberal perspective". It's my perspective (on your posts, not on the service).

barfo

 

[maxiep]

I thought the entire service was a bit uncomfortable. The participants were trying to treat it as a memorial while the students and others in the audience tried to treat it as a pep rally. It could have easily become another Paul Wellstone Memorial and President Obama I thought did a decent job steering it away from that kind of event.

 

[PapaG]

Lies and T-Shirts

I'm simply amazed that he tried to take credit for something that happened on Sunday, and he didn't even credit the medical staff. Either that, or the doctor who addressed the media is a liar...

[video=youtube;R165tiBvbAk]

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

I'm so glad PapaG is back.

Also: nobody really cares about t-shirts. Welcome to America, son.

 

[PapaG]

DNC talking points are now circulating about the "opened her eyes for the first time" lie.

It was a metaphor; the President wasn't being literal.


Uh, OK. Perhaps his speechwriters should do a simple Google search before feeding their puppet such an obvious lie.

 

[PapaG]

I'm so glad PapaG is back.

Also: nobody really cares about t-shirts. Welcome to America, son.

Tacky partisan hacks don't care about T-shirts at a "Memorial Service".

All they were missing is the voice-over guy from ESPN to introduce the show.

"Together We Thrive ... brought to you byyyyyyyyy Hope and Change...."

 

[SlyPokerDog]

DNC talking points are now circulating about the "opened her eyes for the first time" lie.

It was a metaphor; the President wasn't being literal.


Uh, OK. Perhaps his speechwriters should do a simple Google search before feeding their puppet such an obvious lie.

Who knows what is going on because according to this article she could only open one eye because one is bandaged.

Three Democratic colleagues were in the room Wednesday when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time since being shot in the head at a political event Saturday.

The breakthrough, publicly announced Wednesday night during President Obama's speech at a memorial service for the six people who died in Tucson, Ariz., came as New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz were sitting at Giffords' bedside. All three are close friends of the Arizona congresswoman.

The three lawmakers had been telling Giffords about how they'd take her out after she recovered, maybe "for beer and pizza," when Giffords' right eye began to flutter. (Her left eye, damaged in the attack, is bandaged.) Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, leaped to his feet and began encouraging his wife to open her eyes.

"It was the most amazing thing," Wasserman Schultz told "Good Morning America."

"Mark was urging her. 'Can you see me, can you see me?' And she literally pulled her whole arm up as a thumbs-up with her arm. It was amazing," Gillibrand said. "She was reaching out to Mark to hug him. … He said, 'Touch my ring' [and] she touched his ring. She touched his wrist, his watch. It was just unbelievable."


It does sound like a special moment. Was it technically the first time she opened an eye? Who knows.

But I think you're making way too much out of it. Giffords is getting better which is what is important.

 

[PapaG]

Who knows what is going on because according to this article she could only open one eye because one is bandaged.

Three Democratic colleagues were in the room Wednesday when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time since being shot in the head at a political event Saturday.

The breakthrough, publicly announced Wednesday night during President Obama's speech at a memorial service for the six people who died in Tucson, Ariz., came as New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz were sitting at Giffords' bedside. All three are close friends of the Arizona congresswoman.

The three lawmakers had been telling Giffords about how they'd take her out after she recovered, maybe "for beer and pizza," when Giffords' right eye began to flutter. (Her left eye, damaged in the attack, is bandaged.) Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, leaped to his feet and began encouraging his wife to open her eyes.

"It was the most amazing thing," Wasserman Schultz told "Good Morning America."

"Mark was urging her. 'Can you see me, can you see me?' And she literally pulled her whole arm up as a thumbs-up with her arm. It was amazing," Gillibrand said. "She was reaching out to Mark to hug him. … He said, 'Touch my ring' [and] she touched his ring. She touched his wrist, his watch. It was just unbelievable."


It does sound like a special moment. Was it technically the first time she opened an eye? Who knows.

But I think you're making way too much out of it. Giffords is getting better which is what is important.

I found the setting inappropriate, considering this was a supposed memorial for those who were murdered. Also, a quick Google search would have saved Obama the embarrassment of having people question his "miracle moment". The T-shirts were simply over the top tacky; who does that? On the bright side, if it is true about Giffords (meaning Dr. Rhee wasn't telling the truth on Sunday), can we just scrap ObamaCare and set up healing centers, with the Healer visiting them every week or so? Imagine the billions we would save on healthcare costs!

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I found the setting inappropriate, considering this was a supposed memorial for those who were murdered. Also, a quick Google search would have saved Obama the embarrassment of having people question his "miracle moment". The T-shirts were simply over the top tacky; who does that? On the bright side, if it is true about Giffords (meaning Dr. Rhee wasn't telling the truth on Sunday), can we just scrap ObamaCare and set up healing centers, with the Healer visiting them every week or so? Imagine the billions we would save on healthcare costs!

LOL!

The university handed out the t-shirts.

 

[PapaG]

LOL!

The university handed out the t-shirts.

There is no way they did that without getting it cleared by the WH.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

There is no way they did that without getting it cleared by the WH.

So?

You're working soooooo hard to crap all over this.

I'm not an Obama fan but your complaints are petty and ridiculous.

You have been far more disrespectful by claiming there were no heroes the day of the shooting compared to your complaints about t-shirts and eye openings.

 

[Denny Crane]

It did have the feel of a pep rally and it was billed as a memorial service.

I could see it being a solemn bunch of speeches by the president and others, and even some cheering at the good news that Giffords survived and seems to be getting better,

I don't know what they were thinking, the way it was staged.

 

[Stevenson]

Apparently Papa, you were the only one in the country not moved by the President's speech and compassion, by his call for putting aside petty political squabbles.

You are who he was talking to.

 

[PapaG]

Apparently Papa, you were the only one in the country not moved by the President's speech and compassion, by his call for putting aside petty political squabbles.You are who he was talking to.

LOL

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/12/democrats-slam-boehner-for-missing-arizona-memorial-service/

Democrats Slam Boehner for Missing Arizona Memorial Service

Democrats on Wednesday criticized House Speaker John Boehner for missing a memorial service in Arizona for the victims of Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, as partisan sniping continued around the edges of the attack and its aftermath.

Boehner declined an invitation from President Obama to fly on Air Force One to Arizona for the memorial. Aides said he did so to attend a prayer service in Washington in remembrance of the six killed and 14 wounded. Among the wounded was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who survived a point blank shot to the head.

The prayer service Boehner attended began at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and lasted for one hour. Obama departed Andrews Air Force base in Maryland a few minutes after 1 p.m.

But Democrats said Boehner could have attended the rally in Tucson if he had wanted to.

“Don’t you think they could have worked with the White House on timing to make sure he got on AF1?,” a senior congressional aide said. “Hell, as speaker, he could have taken a delegation to Arizona on military air.”

Air Force One took four hours and 20 minutes to arrive, taking off at 1:09 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and landing in Tucson at 3:29 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, which is two hours behind Washington. So if Boehner had wanted to fly on a military transport plane in time to make the Arizona memorial at 6 p.m. MST, his plane would have had to take off from Andrews Air Force base by around 3 p.m. in Washington, putting him in Tucson at 5:30 p.m. MST, with time to motorcade to Arizona University.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, flew on board Air Force One to Arizona so she could attend the memorial, but skipped the prayer service in Washington, sending House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, in her place. Hoyer did not fly to Arizona for the memorial.

Boehner aides said that in addition to attending the prayer service, Boehner had led a tribute to Giffords and the other victims on the floor of the House — where the speaker dissolved into tears during his speech.

“Today, Rep. Giffords’ colleagues on both sides of the aisle honored her and mourned those who were lost. The Speaker felt his place was here in the House, with them,” said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.

Boehner advisers said that the White House invited Boehner late Tuesday night as a courtesy but knew he would be remaining in Washington.

The explanation did not pacify Boehner’s Democratic critics, who said the Ohio Republican chose to attend a reception for Maria Cino, his choice to be chairman of the Republican National Committee, instead of the memorial in Arizona.

“Tell these guys to give me a break. Bottom line: he’s not there and he’s Speaker of the house. He’s not there and is at an RNC event tonight. Period,” a Democratic aide said.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/12/d...ssing-arizona-memorial-service/#ixzz1AwXR87Cp

Apparently members of the President's own party missed the "civility" memo.

And you're right. I'm not 'moved' by the words of a man who talks of toning down political rhetoric that he played a large part in fostering in the first place. Even more when he tells an easily disproved lie to get an applause. I find that disgusting, not moving.

 

[bluefrog]

So?

You're working soooooo hard to crap all over this.

I'm not an Obama fan but your complaints are petty and ridiculous.

You have been far more disrespectful by claiming there were no heroes the day of the shooting compared to your complaints about t-shirts and eye openings.

+ 1

 

[crandc]

Actually, the Doctor was misquoted in PapaG's post (shock!); this was indeed the first time Congresswoman Giffords opened her eyes.

But to the event. These are my thoughts for those interested in actually, you know, having a reasonable sharing of views. A couple of people have already made it clear they do not. In fact they seem to be more angry about what Obama said than they are about the actual shooting. I hope that is an incorrect impression, but it's definitely the one I'm getting.

OK. First, this was a memorial service, not a funeral. It's a distinction. A funeral is where the survivors gather to mourn. A memorial service, and I've been to some that made this explicit, is to celebrate the life of the person/persons. And in this case also to send well-wishes to the injured and salute the heroes. I think this is why President Obama spent so much time describing the six people who died. One was a Federal Judge, but the others were "ordinary Americans", all ages, men and women, different faiths, but all people who should be celebrated for their lives and for their love for others. I admit at first the cheering sounded "off" to me, but then I realized, no, it was appropriate. Because one crazy person with a gun can and does destroy individual lives, but this event showed that no such person can destroy America, as long as we don't allow him (or her) to do so. This was about reclaiming what is best in the country, correcting where we need to, honoring those who represent what is best.

Even at an actual funeral, levity is not always out of place. When my mother, may she rest in peace, died, my siblings and I all gave eulogies. My brother recalled that when he was a boy and had chores, our mother would always leave him a Hostess cupcake or Ring-Ding. This brought shouts of laughter, since, as we all know, as a man my brother is a total vegetarian, organic, whole grain, health nut who would not touch a Hostess cupcake with a 10 foot tofu pole.

I also think of the President's comment about words that heal and words that hurt. And that is why I thought Governor Brewer gave a good talk. I say that although I have loathed her for so many reasons. An unpopular appointed governor, she jumped on immigrant-bashing bandwagon to save her career, spread lies about beheaded bodies in Arizona desert, cut off the tiny amount of funds going to transplants so that, unlike imaginary "death panels" people have actually died while she falsely claimed transplants don't work, and promoted a state law allowing anyone to carry concealed weapons virtually anywhere. Despite my feelings about her and her policies, I still liked her speech. I most sincerely hope she takes her own words to heart and engages in a discussion on immigration that does not scapegoat and at least finds a way to restore transplant funds.

I also think of how President Obama told Daniel Hernandez sorry, no matter what you say, you are a hero. (Hernandez, from his body language, struck me as a rather shy person, then here he is between the President and a former Supreme Court justice on national TV, probably thinking the Spanish equivalent of oi vey!) Now, anyone who ran into bullets and saved a Congressperson's life deserves praise whoever he/she was. But think of it. Who have been the scapegoats in culture wars? Latinos and gays. (The odious Patrick Robertson just blamed the New York snowstorms on NY being too gay friendly and the odious Fred Phelps is picketing Christina Green's funeral, both claiming approval from god.) Hernandez, a gay Latino, could have said "screw it, I don't want to be part of a country where I'm second class citizen and blamed for everything". But no, he said this country can be better than its prejudices.

Honestly, would those slamming Obama prefer that he went to a party fundraiser instead, as the Speaker did? Or that he issue a scripted video proclaiming himself the true victim and reviving anti-Semitic slurs as a former governor did? Or say that Giffords was to blame, as the chair of the state Tea Party did? Or say that the true lesson of the attempted assassination of a Jewish Congresswoman is the need to convert to Christianity, as Erick Erickson did? Words that heal and words that hurt.

And finally, are those who are as SLyPokerDog said, crapping all over this, actually listen to the event? Did you learn anything from the event, and this past week?