Gabrielle Giffords & Mark Kelly
Gabrielle Dee "Gabby" Giffords is an American politician from the U.S. state of Arizona. As a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, she represented Arizona's 8th congressional district from January 3, 2007 until her resignation on January 25, 2012, after surviving an assassination attempt that left her with a severe brain injury. She is the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Considered a "Blue Dog" Democrat, her focus on health care reform and illegal immigration were sources of attention for those opposed to her candidacy and made her a recipient of criticism from various conservative groups.
Giffords is a native of Tucson, Arizona, and a graduate of Scripps College and Cornell University. Prior to her election to the United States Congress, Giffords served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 until 2003 and the Arizona State Senate from 2003 until 2005, when she resigned to run for the house seat held by then-Congressman Jim Kolbe. She also worked as an associate for regional economic development for Price Waterhouse in New York City, and as CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local automotive chain owned by her grandfather. She is married to former astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Mark E. Kelly.
On January 8, 2011, just a week into her third term, Giffords was a victim of an assassination attempt near Tucson, at a Safeway supermarket where she was meeting publicly with constituents. She was critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head; a total of thirteen people were injured and six others were killed in the shooting, among them federal judge John Roll and a 9-year-old child, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was later brought to a rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas, where she recovered some of her ability to walk, speak, read and write. On May 16, 2011, Giffords traveled to Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of STS-134, the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, which was commanded by her husband Mark Kelly.
On January 22, 2012, Giffords announced her resignation from her congressional seat in order to concentrate on recovering from her wounds, but promised to return to public service in the future. She appeared on the floor of the House on January 25, 2012, where she formally submitted her resignation to a standing ovation and accolades from her colleagues and the leadership of the House.
“Mile by mile, it's a trial; yard by yard, it's hard; but inch by inch, it's a cinch.”
“None of us is as dumb as all of us. It means that when you get a group of people together to make a critical decision, groupthink can set in. There's all this technical information, a critical decision needs to be made, and everyone starts marching in the same direction. There might be some people who think it's the wrong decision, but they don't say anything. They just remain a part of the group. We've learned that groups can make stupid decisions that no single individual in the group would make.”
“A well-meaning team of people can sometimes make horrible decisions that no single individual would make. Groupthink, and an unwillingness to disagree with the bosses, was too often a problem at NASA... None of us is as dumb as all of us.”