House of Reps. member Giffords shot in Arizona today

A federal appeals court slashed punitive damages -- from $108.5 million to $4.7 million -- Tuesday for abortion doctors whose names and addresses were put on "Wanted" posters and a Web site that crossed out the names of slain physicians.
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A federal jury in Portland found in 1999 that the American Coalition of Life Activists had violated the plaintiffs' rights under a federal law prohibiting the threat or use of force to impede access to reproductive services. The appeals court upheld the verdict in 2002, saying the defendants had crossed the line between free speech and violent threats, but ordered reconsideration of the jury's $108.5 million punitive damage award.

The trial judge then reaffirmed the punitive damage award, saying the defendants' conduct had been reprehensible.

The official, who has been briefed on the investigation, spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the case.

This is untrue. If it was a random politician, maybe. But the fact is it wasn't; it was someone who was specifically targeted by the right-wing using violent rhetoric. Recently.

When people who are on targeting lists start showing up dead, it's not irresponsible to speculate as to whether the list was responsible for the death or not.

Or to decry such lists and rhetoric no matter what the eventual truth of the disturbed individual is.

It's not irresponsible to use the focused media attention to point out how violent right-wing rhetoric is, whether it had anything to do with this event or not.

Sorry, she's not claiming the crosshairs were surveyors' symbols.

She's correctly claiming that the graph was not used to suggest the individuals listed should be, literally, shot.

I wouldn't be lynching Salinger either.

Notice how u run away from questions that u can 't handle, coward.

Good afternoon. I concede that I don't watch the Sunday talk shows on tv, most of which will be broadcast from AZ this week. Tough questions are earnestly not asked and then adroitly not answered.

Your take on the point of the Gergen piece is quite different from mine.

Can't control the weather. Can control violent rhetoric. This is a false analogy.

I doubt my friends here can find violence tinged quotes from elected Democrats, but have at it.

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama said at a Philadelphia fundraiser Friday night. “Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.”

If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s going to be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2.”

Barrack Obama

Bill Maher : You could have went to New Hampshire and killed two birds with one stone.
John Kerry : Or, I could have gone to 1600 Pennsylvania and killed the real bird with one stone .

(that Senator Charles Schumer) “will put a bullet between the president’s eyes if he could get away with it.”

New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi

“I yield myself two minutes. Madam speaker, I, first of all, I’m just amazed that they can’t figure out — the Republicans are worried that they can’t pay for insuring an additional 10 million children. They sure don’t care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you’re telling us today? Is that how you’re going to fund the war? You don’t have money to fund the war on children. But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if he can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President’s amusement.”

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Ca)

"I want to go up to the closest white person and say: ‘You can’t understand this, it’s a black thing’ and then slap him, just for my mental health" — New York city councilman Charles Barron

I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for . . .

Howard Dean

You think you are big enough to make me, you little wimp? Come on. Come over here and make me, I dare you. You little fruitcake.

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Ca)

Davis and the Jews, No Good for the Black Belt

Alabama Democratic congressional incumbent Earl Hilliard, on challenger, Artur Davis:

On top of that, our country spends over #$550 billion a year on "defense,"

I think this issue sort of pisses of those who look at the left and right and see nothing but equivalence. It highlights the laziness of that worldview.

we are a country at war with a determined adversary

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country.