Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is still in critical condition in a Tucson hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the brain. The Congresswoman was the main target in a shooting rampage on Saturday morning as she met with constituents at a local Safeway grocery store. Also victimized - a federal judge - John Roll - who was killed along with 5 others - including a 9-year-old girl. 14 people were injured in the attack.

When a Member of Congress is targeted for assassination - it's a big deal. What separates America from more volatile countries in the world is the peaceful transition of power. When one side loses, it doesn't bring tanks or march troops on to Capitol Hill to reclaim power. Instead, the newly elected majority is granted legitimacy by the minority. But in the years following 2008, coinciding with the rise of the Tea Party, a dangerous notion was propagated within the Conservative community. That notion was that somehow President Obama and this Democratic majority were illegitimate and were a threat to the American way of life. And from that basis, some of the most vitriolic hate speech in decades was hurled across the radio and television. And when a government loses legitimacy, then political violence can seem like not only a rational, but a noble cause to the unbalanced and the obsessive. Sadly, when that notion is taken even further and popularized on a larger scale - it can also incite the sane of mind to violence as well. If things don't change - this could be where we are headed.

Saturday's political massacre is not a call for censorship - it's a renewed call for responsibility within our media. While stoking fear and broadcasting the sensational may be a recipe for high ratings and high profits for our corporate media outlets, it can also breed the violence our country witnessed in Tucson on Saturday. Television and Radio CEOs need to make a choice in the coming days - profits or patriotism. Our Democracy is at stake.

-Thom

(What do you think they will choose? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 9pm and 11pm... What We Know About Alleged Attempted Giffords Assassin Jared Lee Loughner (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Need to Know: What We Know About Alleged Attempted Giffords Assassin Jared Lee Loughner? With Mark Potok, Director Intelligence Project-Southern Poverty Law Center.

Who is Gabrielle Giffords With Eleanor Clift, Senior Writer-Newsweek and Contributor-The Daily Beast.

Who is Jared Lee Loughner With Nick Baumann of Mother Jones Magazine.

The Becking of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Possible Racist and Anti-Immigrant Tie to Alleged Arizona Assassin With Chip Berlet , senior analyst at Political Research Associates and co-author of "Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort".

Giffords shooting and SarahPAC with Lee Fang, Reporter/blogger at Think Progress.org.

Daily Take: Neil Boortz video

Now you can read all of Thom Hartmann's "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" for free online. Truthout is publishing weekly installments over 12 weeks.

Read Chapter Nine: Put Lou Dobbs Out to Pasture today.

Capitalism vs Socialism - which is the real life "Wonderful Life?"

Welcome to the United States of FEAR

Workers Seize a Factory

Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace?

Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help?