Arizona man accidentally impales skull

This is one of most genuinely bizarre accidents I’ve ever read about.

I’ve seen one or two in my lifetime, as well. And this one is genuinely miraculous, as well.

It has a “happy” ending!

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Arizona man impaled through skull with pruning shears

By Tim Gaynor | Reuters – 9 hrs ago –

TUCSON, Ariz | Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:27pm EDT

This CT scan of the skull of an Arizona man impaled through the skull in a freak gardening accident is shown in this photograph provided to Reuters August 30, 2011 by University Medical Center. Leroy Luetscher, 86-year-old, accidentally impaled his eye with pruning shears in an gardening accident July 30, 2011. REUTERS/Courtesy University Medical Center/Handout

TUCSON, Ariz (Reuters) – An 86-year-old Arizona man who was impaled through the skull with pruning shears in a freak gardening accident was expected to make a full recovery, his doctors said.

Leroy Luetscher dropped a pair of pruning shears while working in his yard in Green Valley, south of Tucson, on July 30, the University Medical Center in Tucson said in a news release.

The shears landed in the ground point downward. When Luetscher bent down to pick them up, he

President Obama’s State Of The Union address, 25 January 2011

Here is the text of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address as prepared for delivery at 9 p.m. ET.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague – and our friend – Gabby Giffords.

It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party or political preference.

AZ Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot: Suspect posted anti-government messages on YouTube, MySpace

Suspect Jared Loughner is another “anti-government,” right-wing nut.

Tyler Ramsier, 24 graduated from Mountain View High School one year before Jared Loughner, and described him as a loner with few friends, who sometimes wore a trench coat and frequently dressed in dark clothes like the “goth” subculture.

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot: Suspect posted anti-government messages on YouTube, MySpace

by Robert Anglen and Brennan Smith – Jan. 8, 2011 06:00 PM
The Arizona Republic

The 22-year-old suspect in the shooting of U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords and others at a Tucson grocery is Jared Loughner, who lives in the same city.

On MySpace and YouTube web pages, a man who identifies himself as

Bush I Appointee Federal Judge among Tucson dead

Federal judge shot and killed in Arizona shooting

By Daniel Strauss – 01/08/11 04:55 PM ET

A U.S. District Judge was one of the victims of the attempted murder of Rep. Gabrielle Gifford (D-AZ) Saturday.

The judge, U.S. District Judge John Roll, was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by George H. W. Bush.

Roll had been put under federal protection last year after he made a ruling in a civil rights lawsuit.

In 2009 Roll ruled on a $32 million civil-rights case

AZ Congresswoman Giffords (D) Shot in Tucson – Was Palin “Target”

AZ Democrat, Congresswoman Giffords Shot in Tucson

Was SarahPAC “target”

“Don’t retreat, reload.”
– Sarah Palin (R), Twitter post

TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, and 17 others were shot here on Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Ms. Giffords was meeting with constituents for a “Congress on Your Corner” event.

Ms. Giffords, 40, was described as being in very critical condition at the University Medical Center in Tucson, where she was operated on by a team of neurosurgeons. One of the surgeons said that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.

“I can tell you at this time, I am very optimistic about her recovery,” he said in a news conference. “We cannot tell what kind of recovery but I’m as optimistic as it can get in this kind of situation.”

An official with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that six people had

AZ Congresswoman Shot; 6+ Tucson fatalities

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in head

Posted by Max Brantley on Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 12:38 PM

• U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot in the head at point blank range in Tucson today and several staffers were wounded. She was at a public event at a grocery store. The shooter was tackled by a bystander and is in custody.UPDATE: A sheriff’s spokesman has said that Giffords has died, one of at least six fatalities, and at least 12 people were shot. But a variety of sources are saying at 2 p.m. Little Rock time that the congresswoman remains in surgery in critical condition. CNN says one may have been a federal judge.

The New York Times quotes a witness who said the gunman fired at least 20 shots. He was described as a white male in his 20s who was shabbily dressed. The article notes that her House office was vandalized hours after the House approved health care reform legislation, which she supported. She told MSNBC then that she was not afraid, despite numerous threats. “Our democracy is a light, a beacon around the world” because it effects change at the ballot box, not by violent acts.

Regards a topic addressed earlier today, just for the record from opencarry.com

Arizona is one of our “Gold Star” open carry states. There is complete state preemption of all firearms laws, open carry is common and law enforcement is well educated as to its legality.

People with guns may be asked to store their firearms or leave places open to the public in Arizona Though Giffords has supported some legislation supportive of concealed carry, she earned a D from the NRA for overall voting record, such as support for background checks of gun purchasers at gun shows. There is, of course, no way to know if the shooting today was related to gun issues or other hot-button issues that roil Arizona, such as