memeorandum: Kerry warns against a government ‘too limited to have invented the Internet’ (Pete Kasperowicz/The Hill)

2:05 PM ET, January 11, 2011

Top Items:

Daniel Carty / CBS News:

Poll: Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated — Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll.

Sarah Netter / ABCNEWS:

Ariz. Sheriff Tours Crime Scene, Blasts Limbaugh — Sheriff Clarence Dupnik tell ABC News' Diane Sawyer Gunman Fired ‘As Fast As He Was Capable’ — The Arizona sheriff investigating the Tucson shooting that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded had harsh words today …

Charles Forelle / Wall Street Journal:

Father of Shooting Suspect May Issue Statement — TUCSON, Ariz.—The father of shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner has prepared and may release a public statement, according to a neighbor who met with Mr. Loughner's parents Monday. — Randy and Amy Loughner disappeared from view shortly …

Discussion: Reuters, KTAR.com, AOL News, The Daily Caller, KVOA-TV, Arizona Republic and FrumForum

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Poll: 57% of Americans don't buy media spin on Tucson massacre

Discussion: The Politico, Sister Toldjah, The Sundries Shack, Elizabeth Scalia and NewsBusters.org

David Weigel / Weigel:
Poll: Americans Don't Blame “Political Tone” for Tucson Killings

Discussion: Big Government, CNN and RedState

truth-out.org:
The Wrath of Fools: An Open Letter to the Far Right

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Israpundit, LewRockwell.com Blog, TPMDC and RHRealityCheck.org

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The “Politicized Mind” Of Gabrielle Giffords — David Brooks is astonished, sickened, appalled that an attempted assassination of a sitting congresswoman should be immediately regarded as something possibly ... wait for it ... political. In fact, Loughner must be seen in a context in which politics does not exist:

Discussion: Swampland and National Review

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Politicized Mind — Before he allegedly went off on his shooting rampage in Tucson, Jared Loughner listed some of his favorite books on his YouTube page. These included: “Animal Farm,” “Brave New World,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” “Through the Looking Glass” and “The Communist Manifesto.”

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Washington Post, The League of Ordinary …, Wake up America, Betsy's Page, Taylor Marsh, American Thinker, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Crooks and Liars, FiveThirtyEight, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Commentary and The Daily Beast

Jacob Weisberg / Slate:

The Tea Party and the Tucson Tragedy — How anti-government, pro-gun, xenophobic populism made the Giffords shooting more likely. — There's something offensive, as well as pointless, about the politically charged inquiry into what might have been swirling inside the head of Jared Loughner.

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog, Big Journalism, AmSpecBlog, The Huffington Post, Moonbattery and Right Wing News

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Tea Party Express raising money in aftermath of Arizona shooting

Discussion: TPMDC, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, Liberal Values and CafeSentido.com

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
The Giffords Tragedy: Is the Media Partly at Fault?

Discussion: The Daily Dish and DownWithTyranny!

New York Times:
In Giffords's District, a Long History of Tension

Discussion: CNN, The Caucus and AMERICAblog News

New York Times:

Palin, Amid Criticism, Stays in Electronic Comfort Zone — Under criticism that her political rhetoric had helped create a climate for political violence, Sarah Palin addressed the issue in trademark fashion: via e-mail to the conservative commentator Glenn Beck.

Discussion: Politics Daily, msnbc.com, TPMDC, Hotline On Call, The Politico, National Review, Prairie Weather and The Right Scoop

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Tim Pawlenty jabs Sarah Palin over ‘cross hairs’ — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty used three media appearances in the past 24 hours to offer a careful criticism of potential 2012 rival Sarah Palin. — “It would not have been my style,” Pawlenty said Tuesday on “Good Morning America …

Discussion: The Caucus, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN and Ben Smith's Blog

Washington Examiner:
Paul Krugman's totalitarian temptation

Discussion: protein wisdom

Dylan Smith / TucsonSentinel.com:

Doc: Giffords ‘100 percent’ certain to survive — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is “100 percent” certain to survive, said Dr. Peter Rhee, a surgeon treating her for a gunshot wound to the head. — “As a physician I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for this, but her prognosis for survival is 100 percent …

Discussion: The Hill and Gawker

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Gabrielle Giffords ‘generating her own breaths’

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Washington Post and Associated Press

Eric Lach / TPMDC:
Giffords Doctor: ‘Prognosis For Survival Is 100 Percent’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Feministing

The Huffington Post:

Peter King, Leading Republican, To Introduce Strict Gun-Control Legislation — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, is planning to introduce legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a government official …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly, Valley Fever, Raw Story, CafeSentido.com and FrumForum

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
King: Ban weapons near federal officials attending public events

Discussion: The Politico

Arizona Republic:

Pima County sheriff should remember duty — On Saturday afternoon, with his friend Gabby Giffords in surgery fighting for her life, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik railed against the tense partisan politics - “the anger, the hatred, the bigotry” - that prompted the mass murders outside Tucson, in his view.

Discussion: HillBuzz.org and The Gateway Pundit

TwitLonger:
WikiLeaks — “WikiLeaks: treat incitement seriously or expect …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Mediaite, AOL News, Raw Story, Guardian, CNET News, Mashable!, The Nation and The BRAD BLOG, more at Techmeme »

Jana Winter / Fox News:
Friends, Critics Dispute Arizona Sheriff's Remarks on 'Political …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, News Hounds, Big Journalism and Pajamas Media

Michael Barbaro / City Room:

Blizzard Mystery Solved? Air Bloomberg Was Seen in Bermuda — On the day after Christmas, a request came into the Bermuda airport: a private plane needed to be pulled out of its hangar and readied for takeoff. — The pilots seemed a bit anxious to depart.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, HillBuzz.org, Atlas Shrugs, JammieWearingFool, Gothamist, FrumForum and Gawker

Glenn Beck:

Glenn's letter to the American people, politicians, and media — While Americans are grappling to understand the Arizona tragedy, the absolute vacuum of leadership on both sides is staggering. — We live in a country that has been struck by John Hinckley Jr. and Sirhan Sirhan, Lee Harvey Oswald and Mark David Chapman.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Media Matters for America, Weigel, Salon, Wonkette and National Review

Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Bill Maher: Jared Loughner's Chalkboard Likely Looks Like Glenn Beck's Chalkboard

Discussion: Raw Story

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Glenn Beck: We Must Stand Together Against All Violence (With A Gun In Our Hands)

Discussion: Mediaite, The Wire, The Reaction and GOOD

Bob Herbert / New York Times:

A Flood Tide of Murder — By all means, condemn the hateful rhetoric that has poured so much poison into our political discourse. The crazies don't kill in a vacuum, and the vilest of our political leaders and commentators deserve to be called to account for their demagoguery and the danger that comes with it.

Discussion: DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Confluence, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
Gun control: It's not a political impossibility

Discussion: Firedoglake, AOL News and The Caucus

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

And Speaking Of Krugman And Double Standards At The Times... OK, I am back in Arizona. Pejman has a great piece on inflamed rhetoric which reminds me of this jaw-dropper - a Democratic Congressman who last fall said a Republican candidate for Governor should be shot has a guest piece in today's NY Times talking about civility.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, Moe Lane and A Chequer-Board of Nights …

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Kerry warns against a government ‘too limited to have invented the Internet’ — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) warned incoming Republicans Tuesday morning against cutting back the size of government so much that it cannot contribute to U.S. productivity. — “Do they want a government too limited …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and Weasel Zippers

Mary Katharine Ham / The Daily Caller:

Mark Halperin: Conservatives should turn the other cheek when scapegoated for murder — During a discussion on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” Tuesday, the panel conceded that conservatives and Tea Party activists were unfairly scapegoated in the wake of Jared Lee Loughner's shooting spree in Tucson …

Discussion: Hot Air, HillBuzz.org, National Review and Pajamas Media

Sudeep Reddy / Wall Street Journal:

Downturn's Ugly Trademark: Steep, Lasting Drop in Wages — In California, former auto worker Maria Gregg was out of work five months last year before landing a new job—at a nearly 20% pay cut. — In Massachusetts, Kevin Cronan, who lost his $150,000-a-year job as a money manager in early 2009 …

Discussion: Hot Air, James Pethokoukis, The Foundry and Calculated Risk

Lbentzterp / CNN:

Panel calls for drastic steps to stop future deep water oil spills — WASHINGTON (CNN) - If the government does not take drastic steps, another deep water oil spill like the BP spill in the Gulf could devastate the United States' coast, warned an oversight commission Tuesday in a long-awaited report to the president.

Discussion: The Politico

David Catanese / The Politico:

Talent no longer a sure bet for Senate race — The once likely candidacy of Jim Talent for U.S. Senate in Missouri is no longer a safe bet. — In fact, Republican insiders are now hedging against it. — While close advisers initially signaled Talent would settle on a decision by the end of 2010 …

Discussion: St. Louis Post-Dispatch