And I won't pretend I'm not a little hypersensitive about the issue given recent events (given what's happened since then it's probably a very good thing for Adam that I DIDN'T inform Norwegian authorities about his statement he was coming here to kill me for my beliefs.... ) Part of what angers me is politicians who respond to political violence with what amounts to no more than "that's too bad, but so what?" and seem to take it as personal challenge to use even more violent rhetoric. On the other hand, making people angry isn't a crime, and shouldn't be. Provoking violent anger, however, does seem to fall within the definition of reckless endangerment, whether intentional or not; just because someone is too stupid to REALIZE it's dangerous to text while driving doesn't absolve them of guilt or preclude prosecution for it. We probably can't establish a comprehensive standard, draw a line to easily identify what approaches, skirts and crosses it, but that's why we have juries.

The court of public opinion is a much easier matter; to recycle a favorite reference to your source, "just don't look, just don't look." To be clear, I'm not saying ignore it and it will go away, but when people negligently rather than deliberately provoke violence we should restrict our attention to calling them on and condemning it, then politically ostracize them as beneath our contempt, let alone support. A slip of the tongue is one thing; everyone makes mistakes and mispeaks, but a pattern of such behavior represents (at least) an indefensible lack of judgement in a would be leader.

Unfortunately, one of the things that appears to have changed in modern American politics is that calling a politician on shameful language is dismissed as a purely partisan opposition attack, and things that would have resulted in red faced public apologies a generation ago now result in brazen defiance. If tomorrows papers criticize me calling my opponent a puppy rapist that's just more typical "gotcha" politics from the MSM, so I should stand by my puppy rapist accusation and not give in to media tyranny from Them. What alarms me is that that kind of attitude isn't shunned, but instead increasingly supported. Even Ron Paul (no friend of the Fed or stranger to populism) said Perry went too far in calling Bernanke a traitor, but the comment still did nothing to slow Perry meteoric rise in the polls; if anything it HELPED--just as he intended. He got the reward he sought at no cost, and as long as that's how these things go he'll have plenty of company. I didn't need Hoffas recent comments to tell me he and his organization are a blot on the record of organized labor, that, particularly in light of things like what happened to his father, they justifiably frighten the general public, but it's a fine argument for rescinding the great political power with which he clearly can't be trusted.