To see an elected representative who is זרע ישראל shot is a horrible experience. One can only hope that Gabrielle Giffords will survive and live to speak.

After responding emotionally to this event, the most reasonable step - when searching for a cause or explanation - is to discuss Mental Health in the United States. All the anecdotes and evidence available indicate that the murderer was mentally unstable. (I'm afraid that without a formal diagnosis, "mentally unstable" is the only terminology appropriate, though it is a rather broad assessment.) In all likelihood, he was not being treated. The fellow was living in his parents' house, and one can point to them for not being aware of his condition. Nevertheless, he was a 22 year-old man, not a boy. The parents, however, live in a world where mental health - and mental health treatment - are still too taboo.