The year following the Tucson-area shooting hasn't been easy for the Salzgebers, for whom the nightmare is all too fresh. Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic

By Dennis Wagner - Jan. 3, 2012 09:52 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Roger Salzgeber was not hit by bullets in the mass murder near Tucson a year ago, but he was wounded nevertheless.

"Some days are better than others," says the 63-year-old retiree, who was among those who held down the shooter until police arrived. "I decided to just move on as best I can. But it's not going well. This is just really, really emotional for me."

Salzgeber says he is haunted by anxiety, anger and cynicism since he and his wife, Faith, survived the Jan. 8 attack outside a supermarket. Six people were killed and 13 wounded at a meet-and-greet gathering for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who is still recovering from brain injuries caused by a 9mm slug.

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When the shooting started that Saturday morning, the Salzgebers were fourth and fifth in line. They dove to the ground and somehow avoided being shot. Twelve months later, they cannot escape memories of the mayhem or a sense of survivor incredulity.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2011/12/14/20111214tucson-shootings-couple-who-escaped-bullets-cant-escape-horrible-memories.html#ixzz1iXAk0jS0

(Note to Mods: I think the upcoming 1 year mark from the shooting qualifies as "really big news." )

There are some pretty bad accounts of several Republican Senators behavior in regards to listening to them on gun control.

1/3/12
Island Trails' 2011 Video Summary
By Kaleo Lancaster,

2011 was good fun! Within our crew, there weren't any major injury(s) like last year. Our crew had a couple close calls, but nobody wen make. (Excuse my pidgin.)

There were a bunch of trails discovered, and lots cleared. And there was certainly a big and obvious surge of new people around the island setting aside their "rubbah slippahs" for some good 'ole hiking shoes. Not that it's a bad thing. Getting sweaty and dirty in the mountains is a hell of a good time when you're with your buddies. But with more people on the trails, mountain rescues were noticeably frequent and all over the news. At one point I remember there being over forty rescues in one month, all hiking related: poor HFD.

With all drama aside, 2011 was definitely the year of exploration for us. From our backpack trek on an outer island, to a gluch with not a single human footprint, to a ridge that only goats trample on, to a spot on a local TV show, and to some pictures featured in Hawaii Magazine, I'd say we covered a lot ground, literally and figuratively speaking.



http://kaleolancaster.blogspot.com/2012/01/island-trails-2011-video-summary.html

More Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/islandtrails

Kaleo Lancaster and company do some really amazing "hiking" - start on the easy trails and don't look down.

By Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner - 1/3/2012


By J.D. Crowe, Mobile Register - 1/3/2012


By Jimmy Margulies, The Record of Hackensack, NJ - 1/3/2012


By Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant - 1/3/2012


By Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune - 1/3/2012


By Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com - 1/3/2012


By Milt Priggee, www.miltpriggee.com - 1/3/2012


By Milt Priggee, www.miltpriggee.com - 1/3/2012


By John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri - 1/3/2012


By Randy Bish, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - 1/3/2012


By Bill Day, Cagle Cartoons - 1/3/2012 - "Headed for Extinction"


By Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen - 1/3/2012


By Osama Hajjaj, Abu Mahjoob Creative Productions - 1/3/2012


By Stuart Carlson, January 03, 2012


By Drew Sheneman, January 03, 2012 - "I'm glad the caucuses are almost, keep getting campaign operatives stuck in my grain chute"


By Tom Toles, January 03, 2012



By Jeff Danziger, January 02, 2012


By Jim Morin, January 04, 2012

Note: All previous editions can be found in my journal.

By Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com - 1/2/2012


By Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com - 1/2/2012


By Steve Greenberg, VCReporter, Ventura. CA - 1/2/2012


By Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com - 1/2/2012


By Taylor Jones, Politicalcartoons.com - 1/2/2012


By Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons - 1/1/2012


By Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons - 12/31/2011


By Pat Oliphant, December 30, 2011


By Tom Toles, January 02, 2012


By Tom Toles, January 01, 2012


By Matt Wuerker, January 02, 2012


By Ted Rall, January 02, 2012


By Jim Morin, January 01, 2012



By Jeff Danziger, January 01, 2012

Note: All previous editions can be found in my journal.

President Barack Obama, left, walks with his daughter Malia as his daughter Sasha carries a family member while leaving the East-West Center after visiting an exhibit about the President's mother's anthropological work in Honolulu Sunday, Dec. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

By Star-Advertiser staff

POSTED: 12:12 p.m. HST, Jan 01, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 10:01 p.m. HST, Jan 01, 2012

President Barack Obama and his wife and friends dined at Nobu's Waikiki tonight on the eve of the first family's departure.

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Earlier, Obama spent New Year’s Day remembering his family’s history.

In the late morning, Obama took his wife and daughters to visit the grave of his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The Obamas then headed to the East-West Center, which is featuring a display on the anthropological work of the president’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The exhibition includes photographs taken during Dunham’s years of field research in Indonesia, as well as her personal art and artifact collection.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/136507903.html?id=136507903

The little girl is his niece Savita Ng (4?), her sister Suhaila Ng is 7 now I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Soetoro-Ng



She's grown