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(Reuters) - A federal judge has ordered a hearing on Tucson shooting rampage suspect Jared Loughner's petition to stop prison officials from forcibly medicating him with anti-pyschotic drugs. U.S. District judge Larry Burns set the hearing for 2 p.m. on June 29 at the U.S. District Court in San Diego, California. Loughner, being held at a federal prisoners' hospital in Missouri, is not expected to attend, a spokesman for the prosecution said.

In the months since the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, reports about her condition have been sparse. We have learned of a follow-up surgery to repair her skull and that she was recently released from a rehabilitation hospital. Also released were a set of photos. We still, however, do not know the extent of her injuries. Out of respect for the privacy of the family, the media has not delved too deeply into the more common and troubling aftereffects of a serious trauma to the brain. Should the media and the public be so reluctant to demand more information?...

Attorneys for Jared Loughner, accused shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, have filed an emergency motion to block federal authorities from forcibly medicating their client with anti-psychotic drugs. The motion, filed Friday in Tucson, Ariz., federal court, argues that the Justice Department is making "an end run" around Mr. Loughner's right to contest such treatment by misusing the rules governing administering such drugs. [BIG snip] According to the Friday court filing, federal officials took this second route by declaring the defendant a danger to others. This claim only came after Mr. Loughner refused to be medicated in an...

(CNN) -- In the months since the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, reports about her condition have been sparse. We have learned of a follow-up surgery to repair her skull and that she was recently released from a rehabilitation hospital... ...Should the media and the public be so reluctant to demand more information? The Arizona Democrat is not just a private citizen; she is a sitting member of Congress. Do Giffords' responsibilities demand a more searching inquiry into her health? No one is asking this question because it seems moot... ...In reality, the congresswoman is not carrying out any...

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. -- Winston ChurchillThere is history -- a chronicle of human events -- and then there is perceived history. So often, the two are wildly at odds. In 1963, a popular Democratic president was assassinated by a Marxist named Oswald, who had actually defected to the Soviet Union and returned to the U.S. with a Soviet wife, was an active member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and had attempted to assassinate a right-wing general named Edwin Walker earlier in the year. Yet those who write history found...

Senator Mark Kelly? That’s the question in political circles this week. The minute Kelly, 47, announced his retirement from the Navy and NASA Tuesday, the behind-the-scenes speculation that’s been brewing for weeks went public: Will the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords run for office himself? One of Arizona’s Senate seats is open in 2012, thanks to the retirement of Jon Kyl. Giffords has been polling way ahead of any other Democratic candidate, even amid uncertainty about her recovery. Now the name of her Gulf War vet-turned-astronaut husband is in play. “Gabrielle is working hard every day on her mission of...

TUCSON, Ariz. - Federal agents were worried that the gun used to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in the head could have been part of the controversial “Fast and Furious” gun-tracking operation. They learned eventually that it had not, sources said. The “Fast and Furious” operation was a program run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that authorized and monitored the sale of weapons to known and suspected straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels with the stated goal of exposing and dismantling gun trafficking routes. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) held...

Debbie Wassermann has been making an ass of herself for WEEKS in the national press....but Miami "news" outlets haven't been showing her idiocy. FINALLY today, anyone wondering where DWS has gone saw some "coverage" of the chair of the Democrat Party. What news did the Democrat poodle for Obama make? She spoke about wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, of course! She also flip flopped on the Weiner issue.

HOUSTON (AP) -- An aide to wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords says the Arizona congresswoman could be released from her rehabilitation hospital in Houston as early as this month. Chief of Staff Pia Carusone tells The Associated Press that the congresswoman may leave TIRR Memorial Hermann by the end of this month or early July. However, there is no set date for Giffords' release. Her husband astronaut Mark Kelly has said she would continue outpatient therapy in Houston upon her release.

Gabrielle Giffords is nowhere close to returning to Congress. And there remains real doubt about whether she ever will. That appears to be the bottom line of an article Thursday in the Arizona Republic that provides the most complete assessment yet of the wounded congresswoman’s current condition. Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman in Tucson in January. Now, six months later, she still struggles mightily to communicate, although her staff believes her comprehension skills are strong. And it remains unclear just how much damage her brain has suffered. Asked for a blunt description of Giffords’ condition, her...

1- "Guns Save Lives" Censorship Opposed -- in Court The lamestream media told you: The city of Phoenix has censored 50 ads for the educational program of a local gun-safety training association, TrainMeAZ.com. We oppose censorship in all its forms. The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that: Although the "news" media steadfastly censors news about firearms, self-defense cases, new firearm products, the shooting sports and basically anything that confirms that guns are good, save lives, stop crime, and help keep America free -- the media is intolerant of censorship by government, and in this case it's a good thing. On May...

  OBAMA: HOPE, CHANGE, AND THE OCCASIONAL SEX DREAM June 8, 2011 In Part One of my new book -- released this week! -- "Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America," I demonstrate that liberals have all the earmarks of mob psychology. Their myths, slogans, demands for immediate action, messianic goals, demonization of opponents, creation of political idols and occasional resorts to violence -- all this is classic herd behavior. Because mobs are irrational, immature, subject to wild passions and infatuations, they cannot be reasoned with. And they are always dangerous. The mob attributes of liberals we will review...

Deorbit burn scheduled for 1:29am (weather permitting). Landing at Kennedy Space Center scheduled for 2:35am.

The Obama administration, after keeping gun control on the back burner for over two years, is prompting concern among gun rights groups that it's slowly starting to squeeze the trigger on tighter regulation. In the wake of the January shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, President Obama remained mostly quiet on the firearms front as lawmakers clamored for new restrictions. But the president has since made a public call for tougher background checks. The Justice Department launched a series of meetings with officials and advocates to examine gun control policy. And while gun-control bills in Congress have...

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Jared Lee Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial on charges of opening fire Jan. 8 at a constituent event for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, of Arizona, killing six and injuring 13, including Giffords. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns means Loughner, 22, will be sent back to the federal medical center for prisoners in Springfield, Mo., until Sept. 21, when a hearing will be held to determine whether he understands the 49 federal charges against him and can help in his defense. Doctors will try to medicate Loughner to see...

Tucson Gunman Jared Loughner Ruled Unfit to Stand Trial

PHOENIX – A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is mentally incompetent to stand trial, putting the criminal case against him on hold indefinitely. The decision by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns means Jared Lee Loughner, 21, will be sent to a federal facility for up to four months in a bid to restore his competency. Loughner, dressed in a khaki prison suit and sporting bushy, reddish sideburns, was removed from the hearing after an outburst and had to watch part of the proceeding on a TV screen...

PHOENIX – The suspect in the Arizona shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been removed from a court hearing after am outburst during the proceedings. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns had Jared Lee Loughner escorted from the courtroom after Loughner lowered his head and mumbled something loudly, his head inches from the table in front of him. Loughner's words were inaudible to many in the courtroom. The outburst occurred at a competency hearing where Burns was expected to determine whether Loughner was mentally fit to stand trial. Burns says he might allow Loughner back in "if he...

(WPRI) - Patrick Kennedy continues his campaign for support for brain research -- with empathy for the suspect in a serious case of violence: Jared Loughner, the man accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others in a rampage earlier this year. Kennedy, the former Rhode Island representative who stepped down last year, wants to eradicate the stigma attached to mental health disorders. In an interview that aired this weekend on CNN -- an hour-long program called "Patrick Kennedy, Coming Clean" -- he told the news channel's Dr. Sanjay Gupta people with mental problems have been ignored for...