Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Two points need to be kept in mind in the wake of the shooting in Tucson. First, there is overheated rhetoric on both sides of the political aisle. That progressives don't see the heat on their side doesn't mean there isn't any. Has anyone watched MSNBC lately? Does the phrase "Worst Person in the World" ring a bell? Has anyone read a column by Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, or Paul Krugman at the New York Times? Has anyone been reading left-wing blogs? Second, using overheated rhetoric is not the same as, or the cause of, violence. Those who commit acts of violence are solely responsible for them.