Thanks for your words, azfiddle. I am amazed and impressed TE moderators have allowed 5+ pages of this to continue, and that is probably due to the restraint most have shown, even if it has gotten "political" here and there.

No one deserves to be the recipient of violence, regardless of their beliefs. I do believe the politically-tainted, violence-promoting rhetoric washing over this country the last few years especially--regardless of whether those promoting it "mean it"-- has had the potential to affect those who are lonely, confused, and vulnerable to it, and this can have catastrophic effects, and I personally believe that is what occurred this last weekend in Tucson.

Personally, I am so tired of finger-pointing or needing to have some stance, but I do wish for a more compassionate society (perhaps naive!) as a result of this, and I thank Gabby Giffords (about whom I knew little til 3 days ago) for her good work before this event, and I honestly have been holding in my heart a wish for her complete recovery (or something close to it) so that she can have the opportunity engage in conversation with those who mindlessly "targeted" her, and therefore allow the deeper healing to happen.