Honor the Memory of Catherine Violet Hubbard

Catherine Violet Hubbard is being buried today in Newtown.  You’ve probably seen her picture — the little girl with bright red hair and bangs.

For those wishing to honor her memory, her parents Jennifer and Matthew have requested donations to the local animal shelter because she loved animals so much.  You can donate at http://www.theanimalcenter.org/donate.htm or by mail to The Animal Center, P. O. Box 475, Newtown, CT 06470.

I am hoping to use this blog to help generate donations from all 50 states plus some other countries.

Was Adam Lanza Afraid of Being Committed?

The latest reports say that Nancy Lanza was in the process of becoming Adam’s conservator so that she could have him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, that he had become aware of this, and that his shooting of her and the Sandy Hook victims was in response to his fear of being sent away.

The reports also say that Mrs. Lanza felt she couldn’t handle him anymore, that she was feeling desperate.

As for why he chose the children he did, there are also reports that he believed his mother loved the school and those children more than she loved him.  Apparently, she had volunteered in the Kindergarten last year, and those children were now the first graders he slaughtered.

Enough Is Enough

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, both of whom have A ratings from the NRA, are saying that we need new gun laws after Newtown.

Warner says, “Enough is enough.  … [T]here are ways to get to rational gun control.”

Manchin says, “This awful massacre has changed where we go from here.”

It means a lot more having folks like Warner and Manchin on board than just those you’d expect like California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Yesterday I posted that this felt like a Sputnik moment to me.  This morning I’m thinking that another, and maybe better, analogy is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911.

146 garment workers, almost all of them young Italian and Jewish immigrant women in their teens or early 20’s, died when a fire broke out in their factory, and they were locked in because the factory owners feared theft of materials.  Many jumped to their deaths to escape the heat and flames.

Within two years, New York had passed 60 new labor reform laws, and the horrific Triangle fire was instrumental in the development of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.

The final six victims of the fire were positively identified only last year, the centennial of the tragedy.

Quote of the Day

“This is our first task, caring for our children.  It’s our first job.  If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right.  That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

“And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations? …

“I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer’s no.  We’ re not doing enough.  And we will have to change. …

“We can’t tolerate this anymore.  These tragedies must end.  And to end them, we must change.”

President Obama, Newtown, Connecticut