left or right, there's no need to be an asshole

Someone who was clearly batshit insane shot a bunch of people in Arizona at a political event. Not the first time, not the last time. Some on the left are trying to blame Sarah Palin graphics and partisan bickering, but as David Brooks points out in the Times, that's nonsense. As my girlfriend and Jon Stewart have both said, it's just like people who blamed heavy metal music for violence and suicides. Tragedy should not be thought of as an opportunity to try to score cheap political points. Alas, it always will be.