Comments on: Surely Some Revelation Is at Hand

By: Howard

Howard — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:06:27 +0000

No I am just showing caution of the impulse to turn every servant of the system who is a victim of violence into a saint.

By: Brian Spears

Brian Spears — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:30:33 +0000

Why is it time to look at Giffords’ policies? Are you suggesting that her stands on various issues had something to do with the attack on her? As far as I can tell, this attack had everything to do with the world as it existed in the shooter’s mind and very little to do with Giffords herself outside of the fact that he lived in her district. Proximity, not policy, was the reason she was chosen.

By: Howard

Howard — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:45:33 +0000

Its time now to look at Gabrielle Gifford’s policies and it is a mixed bag.
On the War on Terror she is no different than Bush-Obama she does not seem
to comprehend the war crimes or how drones that she has been photographed with at an airbase slaughter women and children. Sadly she also repeats the crap about 9/11 being an attempt “to destroy our way of life”. No Gabbie the Patriot Act and Homeland Security voted by both Reps and Dems is what is destroying your way of life along with corporate bail-outs and corporate health-care and no obligations to big industry to serve the public interest.

On the good side she is outstanding on SOLAR ENERGY !!
She wants Arizona to be a solar energy powerhouse.
The Silicon Valley of Solar as she puts it.

By: Shenonymous

Shenonymous — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:00:26 +0000

If ever a characterization of the living nightmare that has been the reality of the last few days when insanity became a human being with a gun, the eloquence with which the author of this article spoke was with amazing articulation and sensitivity to the nature that can authentically be abstractly called the contemporary American. Not that all Americans are of the same stripe and most certainly not of the same political bent. I cannot say how much better a review could have been written of these horrid events or their implications for human life from now on out for The Duration. I am encouraged there are some clear seers in the journalistic world after all.

I don’t think Steve Almond was as interested in an “objective examination of facts” as putting those pitiful acts in Arizona into a moral perspective. This event has been examined under a magnifying glass for days on end now and the results are easily found if one really wants an objective examination. An objective examination will continue to go on until some comfortable level of understanding arrives. Frankly, I am more than tired of the objective examination, I am weary. I want to get to the deep heart of the matter of why things like this happen? What twist of emotions enables the kind of action that takes a degree of humanity away from being human.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:21:51 +0000

I’m disappointed that the national conversation is not focused on gun control. I can see how the violent anger of the Right has created a dangerous political climate, but the current media cycle, in both progressive and conservative corners, seems fixated on assigning blame to the other. Progressives are decrying the violent rhetoric of the Right, the Right is playing the victim and accusing the Left (see Palin’s just released video re: “blood libel”).

But both sides are being ridiculous. As if political punditry is what caused this killing– as if everyone cares that much about the media blowhards. There is a certain weird arrogance and insularity to the politicos on both sides assuming their rhetoric must have triggered the killings. Hello? Have you seen this guys videos? I’m pretty sure he was certifiably crazy, and whatever political ideas he had were probably so far out and personal (what’s with all the weird “grammar” ramblings?) that they can’t be fully synced to either Left or Right ideology.

Point being, the real tragedy is that this guy was able to buy a 30 round semi-automatic Glock at a sporting goods store. Imagine if Sirhan Sirhan had used that weapon to assassinate Bobby Kennedy. Everyone in the hotel kitchen would have taken a bullet. We can’t stop crazies entirely but we can at least rein in the amount of damage they inflict. The high capacity 30 clip magazine used by Loughner was banned until 2004, when the NRA cowed lawmakers into not extending the ban. If those lawmakers had a little courage, Giffords would probably still be in the hospital but maybe Loughner would have run out of ammo before he could murder the 9 year old girl.

Let’s not engage in another round of useless partisan bickering or finger pointing. That is only good for Fox News ratings. Let’s focus on gun control!

By: Brian Spears

Brian Spears — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:41:11 +0000

Pray, enlighten us Steve.

By: Steve Shirk

Steve Shirk — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:39:29 +0000

Beautiful prose, but grossly lacking any objective examination of the facts.

By: Karen Tolchin

Karen Tolchin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:19:50 +0000

I feel profound gratitude for Steve Almond’s insights, his eloquence, his humility–yeah, I’m baffled, too, about how the far right convinced America that making sure there are no caps on a child’s medical costs is un-American–and his literary/cultural memory. We need Vonnegut and Yeats right now the way we need clean water and air. I just wish we could replace the braindead megaphone with a big Almond megaphone. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say after Palin’s idiotic “blood libel” comment.

By: Stephen Elliott

Stephen Elliott — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:24:48 +0000

A quick reminder of our comments policy: Your first comment on the site is moderated. After that, comments are unmoderated. Sometimes we will delete a mean posting, but not always. Not if it’s well thought out and the poster is not anonymous. But if an anonymous poster leaves a mean comment we will delete it.

By: Bob F

Bob F — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:24:23 +0000

I am not convinced, after his quote of an historian’s description of “fascism”, that Almond is right to say “America is not a fascist state. We still enforce ethical and legal restraints on our population.” Yes, but do we enforce them on our government, or on our corporation? I’m quite sure that even in the depths of nazism they still enforced the laws of civil society on ordinary people in ordinary situations– even while their government–and their corporations–did the unspeakable.