....the denial is a river in Egypt.....

I have been feeling for a long time now, probably since Palin started this vile rhetoric in September 2008, that we are headed towards another civil war. or more accurately, to finish fighting the first one. Living in the south, you feel the civil war more so than any other part of the country I have lived in. granted, I grew up on air force bases and was pretty sheltered from civilian life. but since McGrumpypants introduced half wit to our political scene, it has been going downhill. I hope I am wrong. I hope we, as a nation, pull ourselves out of this. I am not hopeful. I think it will depend on if the media keeps doing its poor job of calling the GOP on their rhetoric and finally stops the 'both sides do it' crap. that's just what it is...crap.  Read Paul Krugman's new post here.

Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It’s hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be “armed and dangerous” without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P.

And there’s a huge contrast in the media. Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won’t hear jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist at The Washington Post. Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will.

So will the Arizona massacre make our discourse less toxic? It’s really up to G.O.P. leaders. Will they accept the reality of what’s happening to America, and take a stand against eliminationist rhetoric? Or will they try to dismiss the massacre as the mere act of a deranged individual, and go on as before?
If Arizona promotes some real soul-searching, it could prove a turning point. If it doesn’t, Saturday’s atrocity will be just the beginning.