The efforts of some to connect the alleged Tucson shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, to the Democratic Party led at least one prominent blogger to cite a fake Facebook profile. Earlier today Jim Hoft, a blogger for Andrew Breitbart, published a post entitled "Whoops! This Changes Things- Loughner's Hero Was Barack Obama" (Screenshot seen here). The post argued that Loughner was inspired by Obama. As evidence Hoft cited an Examiner.com post that ultimately cited a supposed Facebook profile of Loughner seen to the left (the Examiner post has evidently been edited since that time). The problem is the Facebook profile was fake, supposedly generated by someone on the right. Hoft's post has now been taken down, and the many people who cited the fake Facebook profile are now desperately trying to cover up any evidence they bought into the story.
A picture of the fake Loughner post can be seen to the left. It has subsequently been deleted by Facebook. Media Matters immediately noticed a problem with the profile, as it was of "Jared Laughner" from Tucson, Arizona, not the "Jared Loughner" accused in the shootings. The profile was cited as evidence of an "Obama-lovin" Loughner by someone on the New Republic's discussion board, who wrote:
"From Facebook for a Jared Laughner from Tuscon, Arizona, the man named as the shooter. People who inspire him include Barack Obama, Saul Alinsky, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Huo Chavez, Noam Chomsky, Mao Tse-tung, Joseph Stalin, and Yassir Arafat. He writes "Fight the Right! Obama and the Progressives will overcome the tyrrany of big business and the racist Tea Party."
Hoft has since admitted that the Facebook profile was inaccurate, but continues to push the theory that Loughner was a leftist. Hoft does not acknowledge that he deleted the post before telling his readers about the inaccuracy. Only after Media Matters ran their report did Hoft admit to the mistake.
Comments
Remember this? Was this as bad as the perceived crosshairs?
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/29/palin.noose/
Hanging Palin in effigy?
yes, it was as bad and if it had been in my neighborhood, I would have tried to take it down.
silfio:
From the Arizona Secretary of State Voter Information Web site:
Jared Lee Loughner
7741 N Soledad Ave
TUCSON, AZ 85741-1316
Political Affiliation of record: REPUBLICAN
Precinct Information: MTN VISTA UU
3601 W Cromwell Dr
TUCSON, AZ 85741
Do you have a link? Until I can actually see it on the State Website I am reluctant to cite it or say it is true.
There are many sources who say the voter registration claim is fake. Until I see better sourcing I do not know how he was registered.
Jim Hoft: "Related... I pulled the last post after several readers pointed out that the Facebook information was inaccurate. Thanks! Unfortunately I had it up long enough for Soros-funded Media Matters to capture some screen grabs."
Duly retracted. So what's the problem?
"The problem, of course, is that the Republicans put up the fake page in the first place."
There ya go, being part of the problem again. One man posts a blog and you refer to him as "all Republicans."
Could you be anymore twisted and disingenuous?
Ah, Anthony Martin and the DiggPatriots playing their disinformation games again.
The quote is from Martin's site... where, of course, he has killed commenting.
any time Anthony starts losing an argument, he starts deleting the evidence of his loss...if he was smart enough to win an argument, he wouldn't have to delete or completely close up the comment section...he knew this was going to be bad for conservatives, so he didn't even try to defend them in debates.
Are we going to have to politicise all crime from now on? Motivation will be reduced to voting partiality. If you steal and rape, you're a Democrat. If you shoot to kill, you're a Republican. Nice.
To paraphrase an old political saying....(probably from the French, so read no further...) "CHOOSE YOUR ENEMIES CAREFULLY, BECAUSE WITH TIME YOU WILL BECOME MORE LIKE THEM."
The guy was registered as an INDEPENDENT and did not even vote in the 2010 elections.
Please also note that, while this is a horrid tragedy, Giffords was no angel by any means. She also spreaded hate and was NOT a fan of Sarah Palin by ANY means, and her family is NOW BLAMING SARAH in this tragedy and it seems to be THEIR PRIORITY as opposed to worrying over their own family member....which I feel is odd and sad too. Giffords father, her husband and her brother in law (her husbands brother) are ALL blaming Palin and the Tea Party. This is IRRESPOSIBLE and honestly, this DOES NOT reflect well on Gabby's family OR her politics....sorry, it just doesnt. When your family jumps into the cesspool as you lay fighting for your life.....I just feel SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?
THEN.....to add insult to injury.....the little girls family is politicizing this too. She was some relation to some movie star and the movie star was on TV saying how our free speech rights should be squelched basically.....and the mother was blaming "rhetoric" too for this horrid tragedy.
I dont think that is the TIME OR PLACE when you have just lost a family member or they are fighting for their lives? But I guess it TAKES A LIBERAL to get their priorities so bent out of shape ?
.....
This guy was a NUT, plain and simple. He had views that DID NOT MATCH either Republican or Democrat views in many cases.....and MADE NO SENSE AT ALL.....the ONES THAT DID MAKE SENSE.....WERE LIBERAL ONES and people who knew him called him a "liberal". Additionally, he was upset with Giffords because she was "too Conservative" for him and he claimed he didnt know she was "A conservative Democrat". He had told people who knew him that.
This guy was OBVIOUSLY possessed with Gabby LONG BEFORE the Tea Party or Sarah was popular.....AND he has NEVER claimed he did what he did cause OF ANYONE in the Tea Party, or Sarah Palin, or Glenn Beck either.
He is anti semite, and obviously the Tea Party is PRO ISRAEL.....and Gabby was Jewish. He is a 9/11 truther, and the Tea Party are NOT 9/11 truthers, he is a flag burner....and Tea Party people do not burn the flag....
IF ANYTHING....he has some "Alex Jones" type beliefs but mostly the guy has beliefs that make sense to NOONE but him. He had mentioned sleepwalking and how he cannot determine if he is sleeping or awake.....the guy isnt living in a reality. He speaks in rants that ...if this is this, then that is that type talk. Reminds me of the word problems in math class......IF Mary is 5, and Joey is 8, how old is Tommy?
As a matter of fact.....he asked his math teacher how people could deny mathematics or something strange....He is a "rationalizer" for his strange rhetoric , rants and beliefs.....He thinks the government is trying to monitor his grammar......
A psycho is a psycho.....this had NOTHING to do with Palin , the Tea Party, Or Glenn Beck.....honestly I feel ANYONE ACCUSED should be ABLE TO SUE FOR LIBEL, SLANDER and DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER of Gabby's family members, the sherriff who made the odd statements, and ANYONE ELSE In the media who CLAIMS.....and BLAMES.....INNOCENT PEOPLE of these murders......
He had also sort of been STALKING Gabby for YEARS and had a letter from an on the corner event from the year 2007, which was LONG BEFORE the Tea Party or Sarah hit the stage as a political figure anywhere other than Alaska. AND it was THREE YEARS before the chart everyone is whining over with the alledged "bullseyes" on it which occurred in May of 2010.
But again, Gabby herself was NO angel or EXAMPLE of how to tone down "hate speech" NOR IS HER FAMILY.....as we can NOW SEE AND HEAR......she spreaded around alot of hate her OWN SELF......what happened is tragic.....but.....for her family to BLAME AND TRY AND DESTROY ANOTHER'S FAMILY OR REPUTATION JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT SOME NUT DID TO HER FAMILY......a nut that had been stalking her for YEARS......is as horrible as the tragedy itsself......
Blaming INNOCENT PEOPLE.....does NOTHING to help this situation.....and will only further DIVIDE the country.
CharlnOhio, you are quite right to step in here and defend Sarah Palin, who is quite innocent of anything beyond talking politics. It seems odd to me, too, that any devastated family would take the time out on Day 1 of such a tragedy to launch into immediate defamation of a political rival. Making political hay while the sun shines doesn't even come close.
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