Today’s Gun Deaths

Appalled at the Senate’s failure to even pass background checks without a national registry, I went on line to see again how many people had died by gun shot since Newtown.  The total is 3507 or more.

I found that out by asking the question “How many gun deaths since Newtown?”  It turns out that it is not easy to find out, but Slate and @GunDeaths are putting up a daily “interactive tally of crowdsourced gun deaths.”

Today, April 17, while Republicans failed to pass the gun background check bill and Rand Paul implied that the good folks from Newtown who came to Washington to lobby for the rest of us were props, and their presence was emotional blackmail, at least six people were shot to death.  They were all men, and all named, except for one unknown victim from Nixa, Missouri.

Here, for the record, as they say about war deaths on television, are five new names that can be added to the list of more than 3501 gun deaths since Newtown:

Treyvon J. Burton, of Concord , North Carolina.  He was 19.

Herman Bryant of Orlando, Florida.  He was 31.

Kyle Kelley of Brook Park, Ohio.  He was 25.

Thomas G. Manuel of Genesee, Michigan.  He was 22.

Alfred Enu-kwesi of Long Beach, California. He was 19.

One more, from Nixa, Missouri.  His age and name are not yet known.

Add this to the two women, eleven men and one teenager who were shot to death yesterday, and the four women, five men, one thirteen year old and Dylan Samuels of Brooklyn who was just one year old on April 15.  Then add the 187 others who were shot to death between April 1 and April 14.  The 10th (25 dead) and the 13th (23 dead) were particularly bad days.  It is not a pretty math problem.

Slate and @GunDeath want you to report any gun killings you know of so they can insure a more accurate record.  I think the names of gun victims from the previous day should be read aloud into the record in both houses of Congress every single day until they get the message.

UPDATE APRIL 18:  The final tally on Slate/@GunDeath’s page for April 17 is fourteen, not six, including two women and an 8 year old child.  This is just one day.  One day since Newtwon.

I Find Myself Standing with Fox News

For the first time ever, I find myself standing with Fox News.  Surfing the channels, I saw that the talking heads at Fox agreed with me that President Obama’s comments about Kamala Harris were no big deal  — they acknowledged that she was pretty good looking and lamented that many in the country are still so incredibly PC.

Personally, I would like to be as good looking at Kamala Harris, and also as “brilliant, dedicated and tough, making sure everybody gets a fair shake”  — the things Obama said before he commented on her beauty, and before he noted that they had been good friends for a long time.  The world didn’t know they had been good friends for a long time, but since he told us that it seems like we should believe him.   Good friends say this kind of thing about each other.

It seems to me, based on my simple observation of Kamala Harris, that she cares about how she looks and takes care in presenting herself to the world.  So, while I doubt that Obama would say of someone who wasn’t all that attractive that they were “the worst looking AG in the country,” I imagine that Kamala Harris was not thinking, “dammit, he dismissed all of the good things he said about me by commenting on my looks.”  For sure, he didn’t say “but she is the best looking AG …”

While I am no longer of the opinion that Barack Obama is my new bicycle, I do believe he is human and that is one of the thing that makes him attractive to us.  I surfed the web to see what the rest of the media world was saying. While found myself agreeing with comments that Obama’s comment seemed “wolfish” and “flirtatious,” I realize the most of my liberal and feminist cohort do not agree.

I grew up in the 60s and Gloria Steinem spoke at my graduation from Smith College in 1971.  (btw, she used the word “vagina” and caused my father and my husband-to-be to walk out of the ceremony).   I definitely believe that woman are the equals of men and should be treated as such.

I also think that had Obama not made that comment, the world would not have been abuzz with the news of her brilliance, dedication and toughness.  Kamala Harris couldn’t pay for this kind of public relations.  Instant fame:  who knows the name of their state’s attorney general, let alone the AG of any other state?

Frankly, if I were Obama I would be worried about that comment when I got home.

Wedge Sneakers

The audience is oohiing on this morning’s “View” while someone from Macy’s shows their spring collection.  I am wondering if I were in my twenties again if I would be dumb enough to wear the shoes they are showing.

The shoes are huge wedges, including wedge sneakers, believe it or not, with studs on them …they look like goth dog collars gone wrong, and they look super dangerous.  I hope that the fad passes quickly, because 40 years ago, when I worked at Punahou and was a permanent (three days a week) substitute in Barack Obama’s fifth grade class, I wore wedges like those and I cannot count on one hand how many times my ankle twisted and they brought me to the ground.

On one occasion at Punahou I tripped coming out of the administration office and fell flat on my faces, glasses flying.  No one helped me, and it did not teach me not to wear wedge shoes, alas.

As you can see from the photo to the left, the wedge sneakers are not cheap — at least these aren’t.  I couldn’t find a photo of the medieval looking silver pair shown on the view, but I am sure you can find them at Macy’s.

You Should Know About The Elders

This weekend, a thoughtful essay by Jimmy Carter on the treatment of women by the world’s religions and his own difficult decision to leave his Southern Baptist faith made its way around facebook.

Carter wrote the essay under his title as an “elder” — part of a group called “The Elders,” formed in Johannesburg in 2007.   The Elders is comprised of “independent global leaders working for peace and human rights.”  Really familiar names include Carter, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.  The Elders has a group of donors –an advisory board — that includes Richard Branson and Pam Omidyar, one of the founders of E-Bay.  The Elders are supported by a small, but obviously polished and experienced team based in London.

Have you heard of The Elders?  I had not.  The Elders supported the Arab Awakening/Arab Spring. They are against Child Marriage, in support of women’s rights, and work for peace in the Korean Penisula, The Middle East and Burma.  Tags on their website theelders.org include “activism and protest,” “conflict,” “education,” “Iran,” and “Cyprus” among others.

The Elders began as an idea between Peter Gabriel (flautist of rock band Genesis) and Nelson Mandela, based on the concept of the “village elders” who have traditionally been the keepers of wisdom in their cultures and communities.  The Elders are independent of the pressures of elected office.  They can open doors for people and speak out for causes that affect all of humanity.  They are the voice of wisdom.  They speak with moral authority.

Although I had not heard of the group, I have certainly heard of each of the members of The Elders and the impact their lives have made on our chaotic world.  It is comforting to know that these men and women who have “walked the walk” are working together to move our world toward peace and  respect for human rights.

It also reminds me that there are many, many individuals and groups working towards this goals, and that the path to hope is never hopeless.

Mark Tells The Easter Story

When Mark lived in Sicamous, near Salmon Arm, in Canada he taught very young kids.  Approaching Easter one year, he grew concerned that there was so much focus on bunnies and eggs, and hunting eggs and buying bunnies.  He thought someone ought to tell them the story of Easter;  the reason for the season.

So he began by talking about the painful walk down the Via Delarosa, Jesus carrying the cross he would be crucified on.  Then, he told them about the nails, driven into his arms and legs.

Finally, he told them about the crown of thorns.  The room was silent.  Everyone was wondering when he would stop, and they could get back to eggs and bunnies.  ”A crown of thorns,” he shouted.  ” C’mon guys.  What do you think would happen?  They put a crown of thorns on his head and hammered the thorns into his skull.  So what would happen?!”

Silence.  Then from the back of the room a small voice “Brain damage?”