At Bluesky, author/historian James Fallows presents the front page of his local newspaper on January 5, 2024.
Oy.
Convince me the gun lobby is not trying to make us all targets for gun violence.
https://bsky.app/profile/jfallows.bsky.social/post/3kiakrii7zg2m
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children, Guns, Politics, Violence | Tagged: children, Gun Safety, James Fallows, Legislation, Politics | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
A Nextdoor member complained that autos kill people, so we should ban some autos, just like calls to ban some guns. ‘It would be fair, no?’
I responded: Auto deaths are down from past years, and are much lower than the rate 30 years ago. Consider some of the rational safety steps taken to cut auto deaths, and ask whether they would not be applicable to guns, to reduce deaths.
1. A license is required to operate a vehicle, whether one owns the vehicle or not. Proficiency in vehicle operation must be demonstrated in a written test and driving test done by the state.
2. A license is required for the vehicle. In Texas, licenses must be renewed annually. Vehicles must undergo inspections for safety, and to be sure they meet air quality standards on emissions.
3. Drivers and owners are required to carry liability insurance, to pay for medical costs and property damage, or deaths, in the event the vehicle causes damage or injury.
4. There are numerous safety devices in vehicles; brakes must be maintained, by law; tires must be kept in good working order. Seatbelts are required for drivers and all passengers. Airbags are now required on almost all vehicles, passive injury-prevention devices. Bodies of cars and trucks must be built to preserve cab integrity and reduce injury in event of collision.
5. There are many safety warning devices. Vehicles must have working headlights and taillights, turn signals, emergency signals, running lights and horns. Law requires drivers to signal their intentions to other surrounding vehicles and pedestrians.
6. In almost all cases, vehicles must give way to pedestrians.
There are not exact analogs to all those safety devices and procedures in guns, but many would improve gun safety considerably.
There are about half as many vehicles as guns in the U.S. (educated guess); most of them get used every day. Most Americans ride in a vehicle every day.
Let us say there are 150 million vehicles driven 300 times a year. That’s 45 billion uses (mileage is not calculated). Of those 45 billion uses, 40,000 lives are lost every year. One death for every 1,125,000 uses.
300 million guns (again, educated guess; it’s a bit more than that); most guns get used how often? Once a year? Twice a year?
600 million uses, and 45,000 deaths, with guns. That’s one death for every 13,333 uses. Gun deaths are about 8 times more frequent than auto deaths, per use.
Obviously, guns are [at least] 8 times as dangerous as cars. Let’s consider that, too.
How can we bring gun deaths down?
While you’re at it, how can we bring auto deaths down?
Some time after I posted my response on May 10, 2023, the original poster took his post down. BESMART has good policies for gun safety in America. Maybe check out their suggestions, and support their work, at BeSmartforkids.org.
2 Comments | children, Guns, History, Safety, Second Amendment | Tagged: BeSMART, children, Gun Safety, Safety, Second Amendment | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Santayana was right.
Damn it.
Adam Zyglis in the Buffalo News, Cagle Cartoon syndication
The pedant force pushes me to note Santayana’s quote is a little different (see the upper right hand corner of this blog):
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
(The Life of Reason, vol. 1: Reason in Common Sense)
The thought is not lost. Zyglis is right.
Tip of the old scrub brush to Editorial and Political Cartoons on Twitter, @EandPCartoons.
2 Comments | 100 Milestone Documents of U.S. History, Cartoons, Education, Guns, History, Santayana's ghost, Second Amendment | Tagged: children, Education, History, Santayana's ghost, Second Anendment | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
How does the 2016 GOP campaign shape our children? Trees misshapen by constant wind or cold are known as krummholz in German. A reminder of the old saw that, as a twig is bent, so the tree grows. This is a Banner tree, in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, bent by prevailing winds from the west. Photo by John Spooner – flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5007578
What examples do our children take from our quadrennial elections? What lessons have they learned in 2016?
Do our kids adopt these attitudes into their daily lives?
What do your kids’ teachers say they see? What do you see?
7 Comments | 2016 Elections, Advertising, Campaigns, children, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton | Tagged: advertising, Campaign 2016, children, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Business Insider captioned this, “This photo is everything.” White House photo (probably by Pete Souza)
For President Barack Obama’s 55th birthday on August 4, 2016, Yahoo! News put together a compilation of photos of the President and kids.
Kids love President Obama. They get it.
Enjoy, and share.
More:
3 Comments | children, President Obama | Tagged: children, President Barack Obama | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
In 1961 a little girl named Michelle wrote to President John F. Kennedy, expressing her fears that in a nuclear exchange, the Russians might bomb the North Pole, and Santa Claus might be lost.
President Kennedy’s response was human, and fatherly.
We should work to spread that spirit this season, and all seasons.
Tip of the old scrub brush, with pine-scented bubbles for the season, to the John F. Kennedy Library.
Leave a Comment » | children, History, Holidays, John F. Kennedy, Nuclear weapons | Tagged: children, History, John F. Kennedy, MAD, Nuclear weapons, Santa Claus | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Found on Twitter:
Deep thoughts on Twitter, about children, childhood, recess and play. https://twitter.com/IntThings/status/464766923201576960
Leave a Comment » | children, Education, Humor, Outdoor Recreation, Teaching Resources, Technology | Tagged: children, Education, Humor, Outdoor Recreation, Technology, truth | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
From Twitter: “Another e.g. pic to show that school transport in Asia needs attention on health & safety aspects pic.twitter.com/Mn2FbSSELX”
Do you think the students have wi-fi to finish their homework on the way to school?
(This is not necessarily representative of all Indian school buses.)
One wonders at the stories behind such “buses” and their use. It might make an interesting geography assignment, to find out how students get to school in other nations. What is the most exotic, bizarre, dangerous or luxurious ride?
More:
7 Comments | children, Education, India, Safety, Transportation, Travel | Tagged: Bal Mandir, children, Education, India, Safety, School Bus, Transportation, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Maurice Sendak, to his death, held on to some of his childhood concerns; and he worried about how we teach our children to deal with the world, and those scary things.
From Blank on Blank, PBS Digital Studios.
How do kids make it? “They want to survive,” Sendak said. “They Want To Survive.”
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Leave a Comment » | animation, Books, children, literacy, Literature, Parents | Tagged: animation, Blank on Blank, children, Children's literature, Maurice Sendak, Parents, PBS | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Can your students write this well? This kid was 12:
Letter from 12 year-old John Kennedy, asking his father for a raise in his allowance, in 1929. Click image for larger view. Photo from Peter Lenahan
Found the image at the U.S. Scouting Service Project site, part of their celebration of the history of Scouting.
John Fitzgerald Francis Kennedy, President of the United States, was a Scout in Troop 2 in the Bronxville, NY, from 1929 to 1931. This letter was written when he was 12 years old in 1929.
Transcript: A Plea for a raise
By Jack Kennedy
Dedicated to my
Mr. J. P. Kennedy
Chapter I
My recent allowance is 40¢. This I used for areoplanes and other playthings of child- hood but now I am a scout and I put away my childish things. Before I would spend 20¢ of my ¢.40 allowance and In five minutes I would have empty pockets and nothing to gain and 20¢ to lose. When I a a scout I have to buy canteens, haversacks, blankets, searchlidgs [searchlights] poncho things that will last for years and I can always use it while I cant use a cholcalote marshmellow sunday with vanilla ice cream and so I put in my plea for a raise of thirty cents for me to buy scout things and pay my own way more around.
Finis
John Fitzgerald Francis Kennedy
Contributed by: Peter Lenahan, Bronxville, NY
1 Comment | Boy Scouts of America, children, DBQ sources, Historic documents, History, John F. Kennedy, Parents, Presidents | Tagged: Boy Scouts of America, children, DBQ, Historic documents, History, John F. Kennedy, Parents, Presidents | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Picture from the end zone (a favorite place for true Green Bay fans) during a football game at Lambeau Field, with weather much like tonight’s game. (photo via Tumblr for FullMetalStarterJacket). This is a color picture.
Dad texts the kids:
“You guys got what you need to stay warm [at Lambeau Field in Green Bay]?”
Kids answer:
“We have plenty of green body paint.”
Leave a Comment » | children, Parents | Tagged: children, Football, Lambeau Field, Parenting | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Why would people fail to inoculate their kids against measles, and thereby contribute to deadly epidemics?
There was this guy in Britain, Andrew Wakefield, who published a study suggesting a link between measles vaccines and autism. But it turned out his research didn’t support that claim. Then it turned out he was under contract to produce a paper that made that claim regardless the science, for a lawsuit.
A page from Darryl Cunningham's graphic account of measles vaccine hysteria, "The Facts in the Case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield." TallGuyWrites (Darryl Cunningham)
Darryl Cunningham created a concise, 15-page graphic accounting of the story of how the misdeeds of one physician led to a world-wide, child-killing panic. If you do not know the story, go read it. You should be troubled by the story it tells. Be sure to read it through. Cunningham is thorough in his debunking of the hysteria the anti-vaxxers promote, and you should know it all.
Another page from Darryl Cunningham's graphic story, "The Facts in the Case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield" about the motivations behind the hysteria.
Then send a copy to Jenny McCarthy, or anyone else who carries the torch of ignorance-based hysteria against vaccines and in favor of disease.
Dr. Wakefield’s original paper was retracted by the publisher — it’s no longer considered valid science. It’s a hoax. No subsequent research confirmed any links to autism. Serious, large-scale follow-up studies revealed no connection whatsoever between measles vaccine and autism.
Measles is a nasty disease, tough to eradicate, and working hard to come back and get your children and grandchildren. Don’t be suckered.
Andrew Wakefield created a hoax. Those who rely on his study rely on bogus science, voodoo science. History tells us that, if we stop the fight against measles, people will die.
Would you contribute to publishing this comic for distribution in pediatrician’s waiting rooms?
More:
Leave a Comment » | Books, children, Disease, Health care, History, Hoaxes, Public health, Voodoo history, Voodoo science | Tagged: Andrew Wakefield, Autism, bogus science, children, Graphic Novel, Hoaxes, Measles, Science, Vaccines, Voodoo science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Wonderful film from 2007, by Hyun-min Lee. I found it on PBS World this weekend, and then found a YouTube version.
Watch it with your young children.
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsS4Tk-lrxo]
Leave a Comment » | animation, Cartoons, children, Video and film | Tagged: animation, Cartoons, children, film, Hyun-min Lee, Mothers, The Chesnut Tree | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Is it true that kids can’t get insured in Texas if their parents have two vehicles? I mean, this is Texas, the anti-mass transit state — how can you get a kid to the emergency room for the high-cost health care if you don’t have two cars, one for work, one for the family?
How is the insurance weather where you are? Share the news:
1 Comment | Geography - Physical, Geography - Political, Government, Health care, Legislation, medicine, Politics, Public health | Tagged: children, geography, H.R. 3200, Health care, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Kathryn sings with the Arlington Master Chorale. Last week they performed for the Texas Choir Directors Association Convention in San Antonio. Randy Jordan leads and directs the group.
Before the San Antonio performance, they sang the program at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Arlington, a beautifully spare performance space suited well to a hundred good, mature voices.
Joan Szymko‘s “It Takes A Village” made a stunning and rousing finale for the concert. The piece opens with the choir tapping their chests for a heartbeat rhythm, which by itself stirs an audience when performed by so many. It features a simple melody and lyric, though inspiring when done en masse or with a good solo.
And it packs an integral political message. The text is that same phrase that became a watershed between conservatives and liberals in the 1990s.
Cut to the chase: Hillary Clinton was right, and so especially was the Children’s Defense Fund right, and Jane Cowen-Fletcher right, about our collective obligation to raise the next generations. When pared down to the basic claim as sung by a good or ambitious choir, it’s an inspiration.
It takes a whole village to raise the children.
It takes the whole village to raise one child.We all — everyone — must share the burden.
We all — everyone — will share the joy.
Some music is best experienced live, and this may be one. There are several recordings of this piece available on YouTube, not one done so well as the Arlington Master Chorale last week in my opinion (the choir directors loved it, too, I hear).
Here are two performances of the piece, each done very differently from the other. Until some enterprising group makes a more polished and better recorded video of the Arlington group, these will have to do (there are other versions on YouTube).
It is particularly spine-tingling to hear and see it performed by our children. When sung with gusto, the thought transcends and soars over politics. Song tells truths of the heart that politics needs to hear, and feel, and experience.
The Oklahoma All-State Choir
Oklahoma All-State Choir
Performed by the 2009 All-OMEA Mixed Chorus (Oklahoma All-State Choir).
Clinician: Johnathan Reed
Accompanist: Ron Wallace
Mt. Eden, Tennyson High and Hayward High Honor Choir at Chabot College (California)
Are there good, commercially-available recordings of this song? Please note them in comments. If you are a commercial music producer, I recommend the Arlington Master Chorale’s performance for recording.
2 Comments | children, Citizenship, Famous quotes, Good Quotes, Music, Parents, Quotes | Tagged: Arlington Master Chorale, children, Choir, Famous quotes, It Takes A Village, Joan Szymko, Music, Parenting, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 