As many people — me included — suspected might be the case, the investigation of Jared Loughner, the Tucson shooting suspect, is indicating that he is just a mentally disturbed young man whose shooting spree was not motivated by any recent campaign rhetoric.
The Christian Science Monitor recently published an article about the disconnect between the facts being uncovered and initial statements by many people that attributed Loughner’s shooting rampage to strong political speech. And some of Loughner’s truly odd ideas certainly do not reflect any kind of “tea party” or right wing agenda — unless you think that conservatives object to the rules of grammar as a form of mind control, believe that dreams are an alternate reality, or are convinced that the federal government controls us by having a national currency.
I’d still like to reserve judgment until the investigation is concluded. For now, however, it looks like there is absolutely nothing to the notion that talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin, among others, provided any impetus whatsoever for Loughner’s senseless and murderous attack. Let’s hope that canard gets quickly, and completely, laid to rest.
Webner House 