Heath Ledger dies at 28...

[Starky]

From TMZ:

TMZ has learned that 2006 Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has died in NY.

He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe it was not a crime, adding pills were found near his body.

The 28-year-old actor has a two year old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams -- they separated in September, 2007. He plays the Joker in the upcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight."

The NY Times is reporting a masseuse arrived at his apartment and was let in the door by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger's bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom door and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They attempted to wake him, and when they couldn't they called 911.

We're told when paramedics responded the actor was in full cardiac arrest. They attempted to perform CPR on him, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Story developing...

[Hostrauser]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/ ... ound-dead/

Looks to be a drug overdose/suicide.

[IsnipeWithAknife]

too bad he didn't shoot himself because then you can blame the gun

[Hostrauser]

Suicides don't concern me. But I can't say I've heard of many homicide stories where a guy walked into a school and killed a bunch of kids with a bottle of pills, though.

[IsnipeWithAknife]

I blame gun "free" zones + no cops. How do you expect a gun free zone to be free (or safe) when a crazy person can shoot up as many people as he can before the cops arrive. Airports are kept gun "free" because of security. Malls, Post offices, Schools are kept gun free because of law abiding people.

See the flaw there?

anyway, if Heath Ledger shot himself there would be a lot more outrage in the media because they like to blame guns rather than the lack of counseling resources.

My other favorite scapegoat is VIDEO GAMES. We should check to see if Heath Ledger has been playing GTA recently

[Ex Nihilo]

My other favorite scapegoat is VIDEO GAMES. We should check to see if Heath Ledger has been playing GTA recently

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!

they were sleeping pills. i say we blame the entire city of new york!!!! it's the city that never sleeps, therefore he needed the pills!!!

[Gonzofoto]

I blame gun "free" zones + no cops. How do you expect a gun free zone to be free (or safe) when a crazy person can shoot up as many people as he can before the cops arrive.

This response seems designed to incite the readers, by suggesting that we would all be safer if we had a guns “mandatory” policy, in conjunction with a heavy police presence, to address instances of aggression which occur in the public sphere. Given that we are the products of evolution, we all have aggressive tendencies which we aren’t always able to control, and hopefully as a society we can and should try to resolve conflicts through appropriate conflict-resolution techniques (and a properly functioning justice system), and not by the threat of immediate and instinctive on-the-spot retaliatory violence. I am not “scapegoating” guns, but I do think that in terms of the destructive potential they carry, they far outweigh the damage that can be done with most other household objects, and they do affect the psychological makeup of people who use them (precisely by instilling a false sense of security, thus inciting confrontation). Given the stressful nature of life, and the way in which even honest mistakes trigger angry responses (which take the form of violent language, physical aggression, acts of road rage, etc.) and given the reality of group psychology (the mob mentality) which doesn’t leave any room for doubt or restraint (“I had to shoot him/her because I felt he/she was threatening me”), I doubt that I would feel safer by encouraging the free access to guns. Even our law enforcement professionals with all their training are unfortunately all too prone to abuses and mistakes, as evident in acts such as the May 2007 episode in which law-abiding marchers were attacked by the LAPD in the downtown area, and these abuses and mistakes would be magnified if a substantial proportion of the public were toting guns in a self-policing effort. Maybe the way to begin addressing the problem of "crazy persons" who engage in acts of public violence with a gun is to try to make sure they don't have access to guns, instead of glorifying a vigilante mentality.

(It bears repeating that we don’t have enough information to suggest that the actions of Heath Ledger had any criminal intent, and we don’t even know if they can even be deemed a suicide, as opposed to an accidental overdose. Thus, to use the occasion of this death to enter into a polemic regarding gun policies as they relate to criminal acts seems to be unwarranted.)

[Trumpet Man 05]

(It bears repeating that we don’t have enough information to suggest that the actions of Heath Ledger had any criminal intent, and we don’t even know if they can even be deemed a suicide, as opposed to an accidental overdose. Thus, to use the occasion of this death to enter into a polemic regarding gun policies as they relate to criminal acts seems to be unwarranted.)

Agreed.

I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of Heath Ledger, but I do have a great respect for his acting ability and the incredible work he has done over the last several years. I enjoyed his early work in "The Patriot" and "10 Things I Hate About You", and his performance in "Brokeback Mountain" was just absolutely solid. I have been looking forward (as I'm sure a number of people have been) to this summer's "The Dark Knight", and to hear this news today just left me completely shocked and numb. Here was a guy who just kept having great performances, one after another, and his career was just about to get even bigger, and now this has happened. May his family and loved ones find peace as they try to deal with this awful situation.

[FluteOfTheNewWorld]

My other favorite scapegoat is VIDEO GAMES. We should check to see if Heath Ledger has been playing GTA recently

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!

they were sleeping pills. i say we blame the entire city of new york!!!! it's the city that never sleeps, therefore he needed the pills!!!

Haha you present an intresting point. In this day and age i wouldn't be surprised if a lawsuit like this actually happened.

[The Aceman]

I'm sure when the Forefathers of this country wrote the Second Amendment the discussion went like this:

Forefather 1: "Maybe we should rephrase the line 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms,' it could be misconstrued.

Forefather 2: "How could that possibly be misconstrued? Every person has the right to mount a pair of bear arms on their wall" (While pointing out a pair of mounted animal bear arms on the wall)

Forefather 1: "Oh you're right lets keep it phrased how it is"

Vote for Ron Paul in '08

[Gonzofoto]

Vote for Ron Paul in '08

I'm sure that Ron Paul seems like a zealous and principled presidential candidate, but consideration of principles always trumps zeal. Have you read some of the quotes from the Ron Paul newsletters which he and his organization have published in the past? You can find a selection of quotes here: http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=7 ... 262573a129. I won't quote them here, because of their vicious nature.

I doubt that you can use the defense that they were written by other writers who were hired to provide content, since there are far too many of these statements over the decades, and because Ron Paul put his name to these newsletters and thus is responsible for evaluating the content of what is provided to be published. Similarly, he can't use the argument that they were "taken out of context", because I can't imagine any context that could possibly justify the outrageous nature of these quotes. It is possible that someone could try to impute a satiric intent to his articles, a la Stephan Colbert, but from what I have been able to determine, his articles seem to lack this intent and thus must be taken at face value. However much I might agree with Paul with regards to his criticism of the Iraq war, I disagree with his tax policies and I have to completely repudiate him for everything else he has expressed in the past.

[Hostrauser]

Forefather 1: "Maybe we should rephrase the line 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms,' it could be misconstrued.

Forefather 2: "How could that possibly be misconstrued? Every person has the right to mount a pair of bear arms on their wall" (While pointing out a pair of mounted animal bear arms on the wall)

Forefather 1: "Oh you're right lets keep it phrased how it is"

Wonderful "Family Guy" reference.

[The Aceman]

Vote for Ron Paul in '08

I'm sure that Ron Paul seems like a zealous and principled presidential candidate, but consideration of principles always trumps zeal. Have you read some of the quotes from the Ron Paul newsletters which he and his organization have published in the past? You can find a selection of quotes here: http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=7 ... 262573a129. I won't quote them here, because of their vicious nature.

I doubt that you can use the defense that they were written by other writers who were hired to provide content, since there are far too many of these statements over the decades, and because Ron Paul put his name to these newsletters and thus is responsible for evaluating the content of what is provided to be published. Similarly, he can't use the argument that they were "taken out of context", because I can't imagine any context that could possibly justify the outrageous nature of these quotes. It is possible that someone could try to impute a satiric intent to his articles, a la Stephan Colbert, but from what I have been able to determine, his articles seem to lack this intent and thus must be taken at face value. However much I might agree with Paul with regards to his criticism of the Iraq war, I disagree with his tax policies and I have to completely repudiate him for everything else he has expressed in the past.

I have read them, but I also look at both sides of the story, there is plenty of evidence to support what Ron Paul has said, for example:

In 2001, Paul took "moral responsibility" for the comments printed in the newsletters under his name, telling Texas Monthly magazine that the comments were written by unnamed writers and did not represent his views. The magazine defended Paul's decision to protect the writer's confidence in 1996, concluding, "In four terms as a U.S. congressman and one presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this." In 2007, with the quotes resurfacing, New York Times Magazine writer Christopher Caldwell concurred that Paul denied the allegations "quite believably, since the style diverges widely from his own", but added that Paul's "response to the accusations was not transparent." While the newsletters were published under Paul's name and frequently in the first person with personal interjections, most lacked specific bylines for articles. Paul disavowed the writings in a response to a New Republic article, saying that the quotations do not represent his beliefs, and that he has "never uttered such words and denounces such small-minded thoughts." He again noted that he accepts "moral responsibility" for not paying closer attention to writings published under his name. In a subsequent interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, he said he did not know who wrote the articles and stated he "repudiates everything that is written along those lines." Blitzer told Paul that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, because they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign. In the interview with Blitzer, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals—not as part of collectives. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), defended Paul, saying that he has known him for 20 years, saw him as a "free thinker", "very intelligent and very informed", talking about "real issues" that "invite attacks on him", who was "correct in what he's saying", and that knowing his intent, he believes Paul has been misconstrued and taken out of context. The identity of the author of the controversial pieces remains unknown, but Reason magazine identified then prominent paleolibertarian activist Lew Rockwell, who also served as Paul's congressional chief of staff from 1978 to 1982, as "Paul's chief ghostwriter".

[IsnipeWithAknife]

Why do you think massacres only occur at gun free zones? Every time there is some sort of school shooting, the media blames the guns. Nobody ever questions the policy of gun free zones. If heath ledger committed suicide with a gun there is no doubt in my mind there will be a TON more media coverage and at least half the media coverage will be discussing whether or not we need guns.

I'm not arguing against gun control. I think in some circumstances it is appropriate. but I definitely have a problem with the idea of gun free zones and the media use of guns as a scapegoat. The thing is we don't have a very good way to diagnose people with severe mental health issues. If I open carry my firearms people will think I'm paranoid of crazy people. Yet the media and state legislators are willing to blame guns and banning guns from normal people instead of fixing the gun free zone policy. I believe gun free zones can work if implemented right. There is no reason why anybody should have a gun in school. But if you can't just assume an area is gun free. If you want to kill a lot of people, go to a school, mall, or post office. You've got 20 minutes! GO! In my opinion gun free zones without security are just massacres waiting to happen. There is a REASON why these places are always the favorite targets of crazy people

[mkosbie]

How did a thread about the unfortunate and untimely death of Heath Ledger (which had NOTHING to do with guns) turn into a debate about guns and how various presidential candidates view them?