Free Republic

The right bears the brunt of responsibility for this poisoned atmosphere, but it by no means has a monopoly on hate-inspiring political speech. The resulting hyper-partisanship is bad not because it encourages political assassinations but because it debases discourse and fuels anger, incivility and stubbornness. The deliberative bodies that run government can only function smoothly if they're composed of reasonable people willing to act in the interest of the nation and capable of compromise; does that sound like today's Congress? Saturday's shootings don't justify an attempt to, as a Wall Street Journal editorial put it Monday, "rule certain people and...

A bullet blasted through a Plexiglas window at KPFT radio early this morning, missing a woman's head by about 18 inches, said general manager Duane Bradley. The bullet was fired while another staff member was talking to three people at the station's front door, about 12 feet from the smashed window, Bradley said. The station is located in the 400 block of Lovett. No one was injured in the shooting, Bradley said. Bradley said the sometimes-controversial station airs blues, folk and other types of music as well as "alternative" programming about gay and lesbian issues and a program geared toward...