America's Enduring Strength  —  Please click here to view the video of this statement.  —  Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims.  No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent …

Police Say They Visited Tucson Suspect's Home Even Before Rampage  —  TUCSON — The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday that left a congresswoman fighting for her life and six others dead …

Boehner opposes new gun-control bill  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-control legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to the weekend shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona.

Illinois Legislators Approve 66% Tax Increase  —  CHICAGO — With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois's State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state's income tax rate.  —  The vast size of the increase …

THIS JUST IN  —  A South Carolina gun and accessories company is selling semi-automatic rifle components inscribed with “You lie” - a tribute to the infamous words of 2nd District Republican Congressman Joe Wilson when he shouted at President Barack Obama during a congressional speech …

Christie: Retired Rudy in “peanut gallery”  —  On Morning Joe today, Chris Christie fought back against Rudy Giuliani's recent claim that Christie should have been in his state during the holiday snowstorm. … And here's the Giuliani broadside from January 7 that prompted Christie's reply.

The false rush to cry ‘balance’  —  So Democrats have noted that Republicans have advocated armed sedition while Republicans have noted that Democrats sometimes attempt to portray themselves as victims in order to stifle debate.  Neither side has a monopoly on virtue.  Balance!

Limbaugh: Loughner has Democrats' “full support”  —  Rush Limbaugh continued to push back against Democrats' criticism of violent rhetoric in connection with the Tucson shootings, suggesting that the suspected shooter, Jared Loughner, was smirking in his latest photo for a reason.

Arizona shootings: ‘Funeral protection zone’ bill signed by Brewer  —  Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed a bill to create a “funeral protection zone” to keep protesters from disrupting the funerals of those killed in the mass shooting near Tucson.  —  The bill was a bipartisan show of support …

Obama Speech to Focus on Serving Country  —  President Obama will focus his speech at a memorial service in Tucson on Wednesday evening on the victims of the attack and on the idea of service to the country, avoiding any overt commentary on the debate over violence and the nation's political culture.

Gabrielle Giffords first photos from her hospital room  —  Due to the overwhelming sympathetic response from the public following the near-fatal shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson on Saturday, her office tonight released two photos from her hospital room in the University Medical Center.

This New York Post story about how Kathleen Parker is soon to be dumped from CNN's “Parker/Spitzer” may or may not be right.  And it may or may not have come straight from Liot-Eay Pitzer-Say, even if it does put me in mind me of all those gossip items Donald Trump used to hand-plant …

AP-GfK Poll: Obama, GOP improve their standing  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans give higher marks to President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans after a holiday season of compromise paid dividends for both, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll.

Glock Pistol Sales Surge in Aftermath of Arizona Shootings  —  After a Glock-wielding gunman killed six people at a Tucson shopping center on Jan. 8, Greg Wolff, the owner of two Arizona gun shops, told his manager to get ready for a stampede of new customers.  —  Wolff was right.

Why John Ensign has it harder than David Vitter did  —  Sen. John Ensign just saw a Republican colleague overcome a prostitution scandal to win reelection.  And he's got to be asking himself about now, ‘If David Vitter can do it; why not me?’  —  Unfortunately for Ensign …

Leading evangelical halts effort to increase political civility  —  At a moment when many Americans are decrying the overheated tone of American politics, an influential evangelical voice said Tuesday he is folding a project he helped found to increase political civility.

“Blood Libel”  —  I should have said this a few days ago, when my friend Glenn Reynolds introduced the term to this debate.  But I think that the use of this particular term in this context isn't ideal.  Historically, the term is almost invariably used to describe anti-Semitic myths …