Horrible news yesterday; Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was the apparent target of a man who shot no only her but several bystanders in Tucson Arizona.  As of this moment, at least five are dead.  For most of yesterday, I assumed Rep. Giffords was a Republican because I hadn't heard anyone blame Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck for the evil behavior of one (possibly two) homicidal maniacs.

I have been disabused of this notion, as the usual suspects have now been blamed .

As a person who actually remembers news stories and how they were covered more than fifteen minutes after the next pile of crap hits the media fan, I can't help but conclude that the only way Limbaugh, Beck and Conservatism in general can escape getting blamed for the actions of dangerous lunatics is for the killer to scream "Allahu Akbar" while he's slaughtering representatives of the U.S.A.

Speaker Boehner and Sen. McCain have both made statements regarding this shooting as being not just at Rep. Giffords but at our system of government itself.  While I understand the feeling, I'm not sure that was even true about John Wilkes Booth. 

Let's just assume that they're correct and this attack was an attack on our Republic.

We're at war with 'global terrorism' which everyone KNOWS is a euphemism for Islamic Jihad.  Yet when a Muslim Army Major slaughters over a dozen soldiers on a  base in Texas, yelling the same slogan the nineteen September 11 killers cried as they attacked, no one (in government or the media) calls him  a traitor or  even acknowledges that Islam had anything to do with his behavior.  But when an evil young man (young enough to still be included on his parents health insurance) fires shots into a crowd that happens to include some elected officials, it's an attack on our system of government?

Absolutely everything is wrong with this picture. 

Paul Krugman fears that the next few years will bring more such violence.  This is the standard reaction  of the leftist agenda driven media  which always wrings it's hands over the imaginary future 'backlash' against Muslims every time a terrorist commits an  atrocity, while  simultaneously ignoring the flesh and blood victims of the actual attack.

I fear that the administration will use this crime as an excuse to curtail our First Amendment rights.

Our news organizations and our federal Representatives had better man up and start speaking the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 

I take comfort in my belief that the American people have opened their eyes and can see clearly.  The next few months and years will demonstrate whether or not most of us can recognize the truth when we see it.

"May you live to see interesting times" is a curse, not a toast.

We are certainly living in interesting times.