I don't think, when it comes to a national leader like this, the mourning and healing should be confined just to those directly involved. However, the main reason I think we should pause for awhile is that there *isn't* any sensible discussion. The hateful political vitriol broke out right away, and hasn't debated even after it was revealed the gunner appears to be mentally disturbed, rather than having a political ax to grind.

I'm tired of knee jerk; granted that I myself have had to bite my tongue hard to keep from responding to the stupider comments, but we should have all given it a rest for awhile.

I agree, the debate must be had -- I for one am eager to tear into those knee-jerk political opportunists who blamed America's conservatives within minutes -- for an act carried out by a young psycho who, it turns out, proclaims himself to be an extreme liberal. They all should have taken a breath: Plenty of psychos claim a cause, but in the end they're just psychos. I'm disgusted at the way people who used this horrible thing for their own ends.

Several of his friends initially described him as liberal, and he described himself as a communist. (Although I've noticed the interviews with his friends have been disappearing even from internet news sites.) I'm not suggesting anyone puts his bookshelf on trial: I have Mein Kampf myself, although despite my best efforts I still haven't been able to wade all the way through it. Boy, Adolf was long-winded.

I disagree, some people need to be torn into when the time comes (metaphorically, of course). I can differ with someone on politics, but I have absolutely no patience for people who jump in while a tragedy is still fresh and try to use it to their political advantage. Those people need to be called on it, regardless of their beliefs -- it's exactly the kind of poisonous politics that needs to be fought against, hard. I'm not talking about the facts of the case, I'm talking about their hateful, knee-jerk reactions to it. Those people owe the whole country an apology.

Fair enough; despite his friends' claims that he called himself a left winger, and his own statements that make it clear he was anything but a follower of conservative ideas, I think it's reasonable to say that in the end he was a follower of the nutjob voices in his own head. But saying we shouldn't have a knee jerk reaction is one thing: refusing to repudiate people who engage in toxic politics for the advancement of their own beliefs is something else entirely. Nobody should get a pass on jumping in while the blood is still fresh on the ground, and agitating for their own political agenda. I'm perfectly willing to engage in civil debate with anyone, but those people need to admit not only that they spoke too soon, but that in their zeal they were just plain wrong.

On a related note, debate over violent imagery will be pointless until that debate acknowledges that it comes from both sides. If everyone wants to talk about Palin's graphic, than they need to talk about Obama statements such as "they bring a knife - we bring a gun", "hit back twice as hard", and "punish your enemies". Frankly, one of the qualifications for insanity would have to be believing that any of that from either side was a call for literal violence, which brings us back to "he was just crazy".

Anyway, I suppose I'm going to have to break down and read Marx, too. I do have some of his writing around here, somewhere, but ... well, I'd rather read Groucho Marx.

Well, it's a rose colored glasses thing with Marx. A lot of what his theories are very good ideas -- in theory. Sharing everything, taking care of everyone ... but then that self interest thing kicks in. The first time you force people to follow along, instead of everyone volunteering, it all falls apart. Individuality is why it never works out whenever his theories are tried in real life.

If we could all just get along ... we wouldn't be human.

Yes ... sad day for everyone, really. The more I hear about the Congresswoman, the more she seems like one of the really decent people left in Washington.