So, it seems there were at least two friendlies at the site with loaded weapons, one drawn, one about to be drawn, but neither of them could react fast enough to stop a crazed shooter from getting off some 30 rounds, killing six and wounding more than a dozen others. And they almost shot each other.

Arizona is one of the worst states in the nation at delivering mental health services, and cut back significantly on its mental health programs during the Great Recession in order to balance their budget.

Tuesday’s Opinions page in the Washington Post is dedicated almost entirely to the tragic shooting in Tucson on Saturday. A screenshot of a portion of the Opinions webpage shows us the lineup of writers and their topics. In addition, one of the three editorials by the Post’s editorial board also addresses the issue and has the title “Gun control: It’s not a political impossibility”. To summarize, then, we have Eugene Robinson and the editorial board arguing for improved laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, Dana Milbank hitting the violent rhetoric from Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck for their contributions to politically-based violence and threats of violence while George Will, Michael Gerson, Richard Cohen and Marc Thiessen all write columns that are telling America to stop blaming conservatives for the violent political landscape that they have created with their incendiary language and actions.

Meanwhile, God bless Sheriff Dupnik.

Answering a few questions as to how violent ideas “just” happen.

Sammy Kershaw – Third Rate Romance

Sarah Palin’s political value isn’t as shiny as it was three days ago.

While there seems to be some growing intellectual consensus in support of slightly reforming Senate rules to modestly reduce obstructionism, the idea of returning the Senate to its original intent of a majority rule chamber is still labeled too radical. In reality there is nothing radical about merely bringing back the original Senate rule that allows a simple majority to end debate. Actual radical reform would be completely eliminating the Senate and making the country a more egalitarian democracy, with the House as a unicameral legislature.

Between California and Illinois, you’re looking at about $45-48 billion dollars to balance budgets, between tax hikes and program cuts. The anti-stimulative effect of that almost totally wipes out the $55-60 billion in stimulative measures that aren’t just extensions of current law in the tax cut deal.

Yeah, that’s one tightly run GOP operation, I’d say. What a bunch of knob-polishers politico are.