Windows shot out in Congressman Peter DeFazio's office (D OR)

[Speck Tater]

EUGENE, Ore. -- Four shots hit the U.S. District Courthouse in Eugene sometime overnight, and three hit and broke the windows of Congressman Peter DeFazio's office, the FBI said.

More at http://www.kval.com/news/local/67351992.html

[AllentownJake]

1. Why they shooting at the court house or the congressional office?

That is the question. You never know what a nut is shooting at in a situation like this.

[Speck Tater]

6. It seems clear to me. Four shots, 3 into DeFazio's window and one just above his window.

That seems pretty specific. I thought this was a nice, calm liberal part of the country. I don't like it when crap like this happens in my home town.

[movonne]

19. This really surprised me....DeFazio is very well liked by dems and

a great number of repugs in his district...

[Howardx]

2. ok that trumps dobbs spent bullet story

wing nut attacks on federal buildings>spent bullet hitting the side of dobbs house and falling.

[paulsby]

4. lol at the double standard

bullet hits dobb's (rightwinger) house.

NO speculation that it might be some assmunch who opposes dobbs' rightwing ideology.

bullet hits a democrat's office, and the speculation starts immediately that it was a rightwinger.

of course, we don't know who committed either crime, but i find the double standard in speculation very typical

[virgogal]

7. Ditto !

[Howardx]

8. you should educate yourself on the story

"Earlier we reported that CNN's Lou Dobbs claimed that a shot fired at his New Jersey home ought to be blamed on "ethnocentric interest groups" who are "all attacking me." But it turns out that shot may have been little more than a hunter's errant bullet.

Think Progress reports that it spoke with New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones, who confirmed that a bullet had struck the side of Dobbs house -- but that a hunting accident had not been ruled out as the cause.

He pointed out that Dobbs' residence is located in a "very rural" area. "With hunting season starting up," such incidents are "not at all uncommon," Jones told us."


http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/was-gunshot-that-lou-dobbs-blamed-on-ethnocentric-interest-groups-just-hunters-errant-bullet.php?ref=fpb

"State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said Dobbs' wife and his driver were outside the Wantage home Oct. 5 when they heard a gunshot around 10:25 a.m. The home is on a farm about 50 miles northwest of New York City.

Jones said a bullet struck near the roof but didn't penetrate the siding and fell to the ground outside. It was turned over to the state police ballistics unit."

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20091029_ap_bullethitsloudobbsnorthwestnjhome.html


the bullet hit the side of his house and fell to the ground.

[paulsby]

10. none of that changes the double standard

and i DID read about the bullet not penetrating the siding

here's a hint... one of the most common rounds for assassination is .22

this round can be very effective with head shots, but probably wouldn't penetrate the siding.

of course at this point, a hunting accident can't be ruled out

in the office case, there's all kinds of stuff that can't be ruled out EITHER

because we know nothing IN EITHER CASE about who fired the bullet.

it could be a stray bullet in either case.

but in only one case did the politica speculation start.

which is a funny double standard.

i would have predicted it, and boom... here it is

[The Magistrate]

11. If It Would Not Penetrate Siding, Sir, It Would Not Penetrate A Skull

You are ignoring the factor of range here completely, which establishes the likelihood of a random character for the Dobbs incident.

[paulsby]

12. and you are grasping at straws

you are aware that the vinyl siding has a backing, that is thicker? do we know if the bullet actually bounced off the vinyl outercovering, or the inner backing, etc?

we don't. we have a quick blurb from the newspaper, and as somebody who has been to dozens of shootings, and read media reports afterwards, i don't trust the media for nuance like that.

the bullet did not penetrate to the interior, and bounced off the exterior. that does suggest, but doesn't mean necessarily,. that either a particularly weak round was used, or there was significant distance

neither of which rules out an assassination attempt.

[onethatcares]

16. was it vinyl siding or hardee?

that vinyl doesn't hold up too well in freezing climates, it has a tendency to split, crack and craze, and to pop nails out of the sub strate if it contracts or expands too much.

Hell, a lot of bullets would bounce off hardee.

Just sayin, just sayin from my experience.

[paulsby]

18. angle also matters

bullets that will penetrate if coming in at 90 degrees to a surface, will often deflect at much larger or greater angle.

bullets will even deflect off WATER, in some circumstances.

[The Magistrate]

20. You, Sir, Are Clutching A Whole Bale Of The Stuff....

The round bounced off the siding; it was spent, and almost certainly owing to the distance from which it had been fired.

The other instance involved four shots grouped fairly close together, which rules out un-aimed, random fire.

You are beginning with a belief, or rather hope, or even a deliberate agenda, and shaping your presentation to fit, rather than being led by facts to a provisional conclusion.

[The Magistrate]

23. More Information For You, Sir....

'Interviews with the New Jersey State Police yielded a rather different assessment of the events described by Dobbs. In a phone interview conducted yesterday, Sgt. Stephen Jones, a NJ State Police spokesperson, chuckled out loud after he heard about Dobbs' account of the gunfire incident. Jones commented that he "wouldn't classify it as very unusual." He also confirmed that there are hunters in the area, and stated that, "at this time of year hunter complaints go up."'






http://www.huffingtonpost.com/isabel-macdonald/nj-law-enforcement-appear_b_339696.html

[Howardx]

14. pfft

we all know which side assassinates its opponents. less a double standard than bitter experience.

[electropop]

22. You think it was 4 out of 4 stray bullets in DeFazio's case?

Those are remarkably well-aimed stray bullets.

[The Magistrate]

9. Why, Sir?

In one instance, a rural home is struck by a spent bullet during hunting season; a round without sufficient energy remaining to even puncture siding. The chances of this being an aimed shot are vanishingly slim.

In one instance, a government building is fired into, and the rounds group closely on the window of a Congressman's office. That window was certainly aimed at, and the building certainly was aimed at. Feeling against the government in general is certainly likely as a motive, and so is feeling against the man whose office window was shot into.

[Paladin]

15. "Very Typical"

Kind of like your taking the side of a conservative against a liberal at any given opportunity, here at DU. As if there are to be no liberal, Democratic tendencies on a liberal, Democratic chat site. Your routine got old a hell of a long time ago.....

[Howardx]

17. +1

amen to that

[sandnsea]

3. Oh My Gosh

What the hell!! And people here like him. That's going to be some squirrel from Roseburg I bet. My god.

[HughMoran]

5. I'll bet 2 on Dobbs and raise you a DeFazio

What's up with people abusing their gun rights?

[era veteran]

13. I have had weird stalking by guy from that area lately for no reason

Does it have a militia type culture there? I did see a woman from there many years ago. Lots of loggers?

[Bluenorthwest]

21. Peter is one of the very few good people in DC

and he is wildly well liked around here. This is my neighborhood, basically.
He is the single most available and responsive Congressperson I have encountered, and his office staff is great. I really respect DeFazio and he is one of the slim few reasons I am still proud to be a Democrat.