Giffords Called Responsive After Attack  —  TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who was gravely wounded in a shooting rampage, remained in critical condition on Sunday but has been able to respond to simple commands, and her doctors described themselves as “cautiously optimistic.”

Should We Blame Sarah Palin for Gabrielle Giffords' Shooting?  —  Already, people are pointing fingers at Sarah Palin and her “target map” for fostering the tragedy in Arizona—but Howard Kurtz says military terminology has been part of politics for ages.  —  I hate to say this, but the blame game is already under way.

Violence and threats have no place in democracy  —  The political rhetoric of the country must be changed to prevent acts of domestic terrorism  —  Below:  —  on msnbc.com -  — More from: - TODAY - Nightly News - Meet the Press - Dateline - Morning Joe - Hardball - Countdown - Rachel Maddow - msnbc tv

Bloodshed Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics  —  WASHINGTON — The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others at a neighborhood meeting in Arizona on Saturday set off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and violence in American politics.

Palin staffer calls using tragedy to score political points ‘obscene’  —  The news was barely out today when social networks were erupting, blaming Sarah Palin and the tea party for inciting the 22-year-old alleged gunman who shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona …

A 'SURVEYOR'S SYMBOL'?.... On March 22, the day before the Affordable Care Act became law, former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin (R) published a list of House Democrats with crosshairs, like that of a rifle scope, over their districts.  A day later, she sent a message to “commonsense conservatives” …

It Doesn't Matter Why He Did It  —  Judging from his Internet postings, Jared Lee Loughner is a delusional young man whose inner political landscape is a swamp of dystopian novels, left- and right-wing tracts, conspiracy theories, and contempt for his fellow human beings.

Arizona Suspect's Recent Acts Offer Hints of Alienation  —  WASHINGTON — Jared Lee Loughner had become increasingly erratic in recent months, so much so that others around him began to worry.  —  He had posted on his Myspace page at some point a photograph of a United States history textbook, on top of which he had placed a handgun.

Arizona shooting suspect may be linked to anti-Semitic group  —  THE suspect being held over Saturday's shooting of US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords may have links to anti-Semitic race hate group American Renaissance.  —  An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) …

Violence and politics merge in Arizona  —  The references to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 echoed in other ways.  That horror, which killed 168 people including many children, helped then-President Bill Clinton stigmatize extreme anti-government rhetoric …

Alexander Refuses To Condemn Palin's Cross-Hairs Map, Urges Media Not To Talk About It  —  Yesterday, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot at a campaign event in Tuscon by a deranged gunman who also fired at twenty other people, killing six, including a federal judge and a nine year-old girl.