Tag Archives: Elementary school

February 1, 2013 · 12:22 PM

Sandy Hook Elementary Children to Sing at Super Bowl

This will undoubtedly be something worth watching…

The New York Times

Twenty-six children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., will sing at the Super Bowl to honor the 26 children and school staffers killed in a shooting massacre last month.

The children will be shown live singing “America the Beautiful” before Alicia Keys performs the national anthem. USA Today reported that the N.F.L. confirmed the performance.

The Super Bowl is more than a game; it’s a national event. But is there a touch of exploitation in the move? Maybe even a hint of political commentary? Some readers at ProFootballTalk.com seemed to think so, although they may change their minds if they watch the children sing.

In the YouTube video above, Ingrid Michaelson led a children’s choir from Newtown in a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

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January 7, 2013 · 5:07 PM

America’s Craziest Sheriff Sends Vigilantes To Arizona Schools (Posse Comitatus)

Thousands of armed vigilantes in Arizona schools.  What could possibly go wrong? (Sheesh!)

Think Progress

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will begin sending armed “posses” to patrol around Arizona schools today, in response to the shooting less than a month ago at Sandy Hook elementary school.

Arpaio made a name for himself by abusing the civil rights of undocumented immigrants — and fordetaining a six year old undocumented child. Now he’s heeding the NRA’s advice that every school needs a “guy with a gun” and is sending out volunteers “with questionable pasts” to guard students:

Arizona’s 3TV reports that Arpaio’s volunteer force is comprised of around 3,000 members, some of which have criminal pasts.

According to CBS5, Arpaio’s office has provided a list of more than 50 schools in unincorporated Maricopa County that will be patrolled by the posses, which are in charge of providing all of their own weapons and equipment. The volunteers will not actually be posted on school campuses, but will instead monitor the areas around the facilities.[...]

The program is getting started as Arpaio prepares to be sworn in for his sixth term on Monday. The volunteer patrols will kick into full gear on Wednesday, and will be rolled out with a press conference.

Arpaio has thought of less friendly uses for firearms in his recent past. Back in November, the sheriff decided to arm his deputies with automatic weapons to stop “illegal aliens” “attempting to escape” his county.

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January 4, 2013 · 4:03 PM

Former NRA President: Banning Assault Weapons Is Like Banning People of Color

Am I the only one who has the feeling that right-wing zealots from all facets of the political spectrum are imploding?

They are using the craziest excuses to justify their twisted logic.  It’s both incredibly humorous and downright scary…

Think Progress

The National Rifle Association has repeatedly thumbed its nose at calls for stronger gun safety measures after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Current NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre shocked many by attacking these efforts and calling instead for armed guards in every school. Still, on Wednesday, past NRA President Marion Hammer took the lobbying organization’s pro-gun radicalism to new heights.

On NRA’s news show, Hammer warned that gun owners are “in for a massive fight like we’ve probably never seen before,” in which the government will take guns away “in order to control the masses.”

When asked about proposals to ban certain kinds of assault weapons, Hammer also charged that guns are suffering discrimination similar to racism against people of color:

HOST: And they even admit it’s about banning the ugliest guns. They admit it.

HAMMER: Banning people and things because of the way they look because of the way they look, but here they are again. The color of a gun, the way it looks. It’s just bad politics.

Watch it:

Despite a string of mass shootings and casualties in recent years, the NRA’s clout has effectively stifled conversation about America’s gun violence problem. But with the public’s renewed horror at the deaths of 28 people in Newtown, most of them children, the gun lobby’s grip may be slipping. Democrats introduced a slew of gun safety bills on the first day of the new Congress that would ban high capacity clips and drums, certain kinds of assault weapons, and close the gun show loophole that allows people to buy guns without a background check.

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December 17, 2012 · 1:01 AM

Anonymous hits Westboro Baptist Church over Sandy Hook picket plans

Anonymous hits Westboro Baptist Church over Sandy Hook picket plans

I’m beginning to think Anonymous is not such a bad group after all.  Especially in this instance and thwarting Karl Rove’s alleged voting irregularities via his GOTV operation…

Salon

The ever-hateful Westboro Baptist Church has not failed to deliver in the wake of the Newtown school massacre. The Church, notorious for picketing the funerals of fallen troops with “God Hates Fags” placards, announced Saturday that they would picket Sandy Hook elementary school, where 20 children and six adults were shot dead Friday.  Tweets from the Phelps family suggest they believe the horrors in Connecticut are a punishment from God for gay marriage.

Hacker collective Anonymous was swift to respond, releasing private information of  Westboro members including email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. This video, decrying the church for spreading “seeds of hatred” was also released. It warns, “We will destroy you. We are coming.”

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December 16, 2012 · 11:27 AM

Watch: The Year of Mass Shootings

Mother Jones

2012 was the bloodiest yet. Here’s a video collection of our reports on gun atrocities.

[Friday's] shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut reminded the staff here at Mother Jones that we’re tired of updating our data on mass shootings in America. But we continue to work through the heartbreak because we hope our findings will contribute to a solution.

We’ve spent much of 2012 researching American gun violence dating back 30 years. Our stories and research cover a variety of angles, which are highlighted in this video. So please share and learn more…

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December 14, 2012 · 7:55 PM

Mike Huckabee: Newtown Shooting No Surprise, We’ve ‘Systematically Removed God’ From Schools

Mike Huckabee School Shooting

I cannot believe that a “man of God” can say this about the Newton shootings.  Not a word of condolence to the parents of the deceased children slaughtered bu a deranged gunman.

 

The Huffington Post

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) weighed in on the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, saying the crime was no surprise because we have “systematically removed God” from public schools.

“We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools,” Huckabee said on Fox News. “Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?”

This line of reasoning isn’t new for Huckabee.

Speaking about a mass shooting in Aurora, Colo. over the summer, the former GOP presidential candidate claimed that such violent episodes were a function of a nation suffering from the removal of religion from the public sphere.

“We don’t have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem,” Huckabee said on Fox News. “And since we’ve ordered god out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn’t act so surprised … when all hell breaks loose.”

Adam Lanza, 20, is the suspect in a school shooting that left 27 dead Friday, including 20 children. Lanza is reportedly the son of a teacher at the school where the shootings occurred.

 

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· 7:11 PM

Citizens Rally In Front Of White House To Demand President Obama Take Action On Gun Control

Think Progress

More than 150 individuals held a vigil in front of the White House this afternoon to grieve for today’s tragic school shooting in Connecticut and encourage President Obama to take real, meaningful action on gun control.

Strangers exchanged hugs and prayed for the victims and their families in the shadow of the White House approximately an hour after President Obama addressed the shooting, fighting back tears in an afternoon statement. Many attendees held signs saying “Enough is enough” and “Today is the day”.

Photos from the event:

 

 

Andy Pelosi, a father of two elementary school girls who lives near Newtown, Connecticut, spoke passionately about the tragedy. “No children, no teachers, no staff should have to worry about going to a school in the United States of America and be gunned down,” said Pelosi. “No parent should have to worry when they put their children on a school bus in the morning, like I do and like many of you do, and worry about is my child coming home at the end of the day.”

Watch his remarks:

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· 4:05 PM

Today Is NOT The Day To Talk About Gun Control, Today Is The Day To Finally DO SOMETHING About It!

I couldn’t agree more.  Like millions of Americans, I am so upset over yet another massive assault on innocent citizens.  The author of this piece accurately express the feelings of millions of Americans at this time.

Global Grind – By Michael Skolnik

I am absolutely sick to my stomach. My hands shake. My heart sinks. My mind is numb. We are all sick to our stomachs. We all shake with the deepest sadness we possibly can imagine. An unimaginable sadness.

The faces. The small, innocent faces. shocked. terrified and confused. The small Sandy Hook elementary school children know not of this life. They know not of this disease that has plagued our nation. They know not of the violence that has sickened our soul. They walk towards safety without prayer, as they have not learned that prayer yet. They walk without knowing that they lost TWENTY TWO (maybe more) of their brothers and sisters, who have left this earth before they could even understand that it was round.

We are on this planet to protect our children. That is our job. That is our number one priority. And we have failed today. The teachers did everything they could. They did not fail. The parents did everything they could. They did not fail. The principal did everything she could. She did not fail. The police did their absolute best. This not about them. This is about us.

We are speechless, but we will not be silent. Not is these UNITED States. Not in this god bless America. Not in this land of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We don’t care about politics. We don’t care about Republicans. We don’t care about Democrats. We don’t care about the National Rifle Association. We don’t care about the pundits on television. We don’t care about the ones who tell us we have to wait.

Today is not the day to talk about gun control or mental health care. Today is the day to finally DO SOMETHING about it.

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· 1:24 PM

Elementary School Shooting In Connecticut

As a grandmother of elementary school age children, this totally breaks my heart.  

I won’t use the pictures of surviving children being led from the school in question, but I will illustrate my opinion about assault weapons.

Think Progress

Multiple people — including children — werekilled on Friday morning when at least one gunman opened fire in an Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, CT. The school’s principal was apparently the target of the attack, according to MSNBC.

Children were reportedly told to run out of the building with their eyes closed after the incident occurred Friday. TIME reports that one teacher was shot in the foot. The extent of other injuries is not yet known, but MSNBC reports that the apparent gunman has been killed. Reports from the Hartford Courant suggest that the shooting took place inside of a kindergarten classroom.

One gunman has been identified by CBS news as the father of a student. A second gunman is apparently still at large, according to a local ABC affiliate.

According to Hartford Courant reporter Dave Altimari, the gunman was “heavily armed” with “multiple weapons when he entered the school.” He was also reported to be wearing camouflage. Two handguns were recovered from the scene.

The Sandy Hook school serves children in grades kindergarten through 4th. The entire school system in the area is now reportedly on lock down.

UPDATE

ABC News points out this chilling statistic: There have been an estimated 31 school shootings since the shooting at Columbine in 1999.

UPDATE

CBS News now is reporting 27 people are dead, including 18 children. Up to 20 children may have been shot. The AP adds that one whole classroom of students is unaccounted for.

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