Exclusive: Loughner Friend Explains Alleged Gunman's Grudge Against Giffords  —  In a MoJo interview, the friend shares a message sent hours before the massacre.  —  Post Comment  —  At 2:00 a.m. on Saturday—about eight hours before he allegedly killed six people and wounded 14 …

DeLay lawyers argue over punishment  —  UPDATED: Travis County prosecutors argued that Tom DeLay should go to prison today.  —  “He needs to go to prison, your Honor, and he needs to go today,” said prosecutor Steven Brand.  —  Brand said the judge could send a message that no one is above the law.

What Palin Needed to Say After Giffords' Shooting  —  The shooting in Arizona shocked the nation into grief - and presented Sarah Palin with an immediate political problem: her now-notorious gunsight map.  —  Palin scrubbed the map from her Palin PAC website, and then issued the following statement on her Facebook page:

The progressive “climate of hate:” An illustrated primer, 2000-2010  —  The Tucson massacre ghouls who are now trying to criminalize conservatism have forced our hand.  —  They need to be reminded.  You need to be reminded.  —  Confront them.  Don't be cowed into silence.

Climate of Hate  —  When you heard the terrible news from Arizona, were you completely surprised?  Or were you, at some level, expecting something like this atrocity to happen?  —  Put me in the latter category.  I've had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach ever since the final stages of the 2008campaign.

Feds arrest person suspected of threatening Sen. Bennet's Denver office  —  Authorities responded Monday to a threat against Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) Denver office, Bennet's spokesman said.  —  The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police arrested an individual suspected of making a threat …

Government-created climate of fear  —  (updated below)  —  One of the more eye-opening events for me of 2010 occurred in March, when I first wrote about WikiLeaks and the war the Pentagon was waging on it (as evidenced by its classified 2008 report branding the website an enemy and planning how to destroy it).

Giffords called for toning down ‘rhetoric and partisanship’ in email to Grayson on Friday  —  Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona said she wanted to promote ways to “tone our rhetoric and partisanship down” in a note she sent Friday to Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

Ashley Turton, ex-Congressional aide, found dead in burning car  —  A veteran Congressional aide who worked most recently as a lobbyist and was married to White House legislative affairs senior official was found dead in her car Monday behind the couple's Capitol Hill home following a low-speed car crash and subsequent fire.

The charlatans' response to the Tucson tragedy  —  It would be merciful if, when tragedies such as Tucson's occur, there were a moratorium on sociology.  But respites from half-baked explanations, often serving political opportunism, are impossible because of a timeless human craving and a characteristic of many modern minds.

Sen. Paul Offers Diagnosis for Accused Shooter  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that, based on Internet writings attributed to a 22-year-old accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), he believes Jared Lee Loughner is a paranoid schizophrenic.  —  Paul has a medical degree from Duke University.

Drawing The Line  —  I see that Senator Rand Paul has weighed in and declared that Jared Loughner was mentally ill (which, as far as I'm concerned, doesn't take a medical degree to see.)  But he also seems to think this means that the fact that he assassinated a Democratic congresswoman is irrelevant …

Sheriff Who Suggested Talk Shows May Have Incited Attack Was Asked by Fellow Democrats to Apologize for ‘Inflammatory’ Remarks on Immigration  —  Sheriff Blamed Violence on Policymakers Who Stopped Institutionalizing the Mentally Ill; Advised Citizens to Get Guns to Protect Themselves

Manchin comments on gun ad  —  Joe Manchin finds himself explaining that memorable ad in which he took a literal shot at the health care cap-and-trade legislation:  —  I've spent my whole career bringing people together, avoiding the rancor of partisan politics, and that will continue …

New Fears Over Sarah Palin's Stalker  —  A man who's been legally ordered to stay away from Sarah Palin is causing a new wave of concern in Alaska — after federal agents learned he plans to visit Sarah's home state in the very near future.  —  TMZ has learned ... 19-year-old Shawn Christy …