Lyrics: "There But For Fortune"

Reposted from a blog posting by Beth Kotkin, HERE.


"There But For Fortune" original words/music by Phil Ochs
updated lyrics written by Beth Kotkin

"Show me a playground, show me a park
Show me the classroom wall where the bullets made their mark
And I’ll show you a young child, with so many reasons why
There But For Fortune may go you or I

Show me a woman who leaves on the run
Show me an angry man who is grabbing for his gun
And I’ll show you a young wife with so many reasons why
There But For Fortune may go you or I

Show me a veteran who knows no one cares
Show me the trembling hands pull the trigger in despair
And I’ll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There But For Fortune may go you or I

Show me a country where guns are in style
Show me the families who have lost their dearest child
And I’ll show you some young lives with so many reasons why
There But For Fortune may go you or I"


The mp3 music file for this song can be found at the original posting.

Poem: "Massacre Message" by Madeleine Begun Kane

Shared from Madeleine Begun Kane's website:


Massacre Message (Limerick)
by Madeleine Begun Kane

Mindless murder and mayhem in schools.
U.S. mall assaults -- gun wielding ghouls.
We seek a solution,
But hear: "Constitution!"
We need leaders -- not NRA tools!

President Obama speaks about the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre

(this is a repost from Kid Shootings blog)


Today, President Obama gave some remarks about the massacre of 20 young children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut, by a lone gunman, Adam Lanza.

Below is the video and transcript of the President's remarks:

Transcript: 

This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller.  I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families. 

We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years.  And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would -- as a parent.  And that was especially true today.  I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.  

The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.  They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.  Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams.  

So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost.  Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain.  

As a country, we have been through this too many times.  Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children.  And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. 

This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another.  But there are families in Connecticut who cannot do that tonight.  And they need all of us right now.  In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans.  And I will do everything in my power as President to help. 

Because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need -- to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories but also in ours. 

May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

Thank you, Mr. President.  Now let's change our pain and anger into action to stop this from happening again.

UPDATE (12/16/12):  President Obama visited Newtown today, to offer word of condolence in person.  HERE is the full video of his speech there.  In his words:

"What choice do we have?" Obama said. "Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?" 

In a vigil for the fallen, in a moment of grief that spread around the world, Obama conceded that none of his words would match the sorrow. But he declared to the community of Newtown: "You are not alone."

I have a feeling that there will actually be action behind the words, this time.  The American people demand it.
.

State Legislators Will Sponsor Bill To Ban Assault Weapons In Oregon

An announcement from Ceasefire Oregon:

On December 14, a day of national tragedy, and a day when Oregon was still mourning the victims of the Clackamas shooting and preparing a vigil in their honor, a group of Oregon legislators came forward to take a stand against assault weapons.

Ceasefire Oregon volunteers went to the Capitol today in search of legislators who would sponsor a bill to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons—weapons whose only purpose is to kill as many people as possible very quickly. Twelve Oregon legislators stepped forward today to sponsor such legislation in the 2013 session.

The first to step forward were Representative-Elect Jeff Reardon and state Senator Rod Monroe, in whose district the Clackamas Town Center is located. Joining them in support of legislation to get assault weapons off our streets were Senators Ginny Burdick, Jackie Dingfelder, Mark Hass, Chip Shields, and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, and Representatives Peter Buckley, Lew Frederick, Mitch Greenlick, Tobias Read, and Carolyn Tomei.

Senator Ginny Burdick, long a leader of the fight against assault weapons, has already prepared legislation to ban the oversized ammunition magazines that make these weapons so horrifically deadly. In the coming months, Ceasefire Oregon will work with the sponsoring legislators to craft a bill that will also ban assault weapons. 

All of our work today was conducted under a shadow of shock and profound sorrow as news of the Newtown massacre began to filter in to the legislative offices. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Newtown.

We salute the legislators who stepped forward today, and we expect that many more will join them in the coming weeks, as we all begin the long, difficult task of bringing our nation out of this unending nightmare.

Anatomy Of Another "Law-Abiding" Gun Owner Turned Mass Murderer

This Tuesday, December 11, just before 5PM, around ten-thousand men, women, and children were shopping and socializing at the Clackamas Town Center mall, near Portland, Oregon.  Santa had a line of children with shy gift wishes.  A woman was shopping for a hat for her young son.  A man was setting up a business kiosk.  A teen girl was socializing with friends.  Throngs hustled through the corridors, looking for just the right Christmas present.  It was a moment reflected in thousands of malls and shopping centers all over the country.  The holidays were on their minds, not thoughts of gun violence or the 84 people lost to guns every day in America.

But that changed in an instant.

Jake Roberts, another "law abiding" gun owner --
until he wasn't

By all accounts, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts was a fun and pleasant young man.  One acquaintance had only good things to say about Roberts:

An acquaintance of Roberts (who just wanted to go by her first name, Brittany), said she remembers the young man as jovial, popular and nice to classmates at Milwaukie High School. She said he loved skateboarding. 

She saw no indicators of any problems in high school, nor in seeing recent updates of him on Facebook. 

“I am as astonished as anybody. I would have never, ever, ever thought this would happen,” she said. “As far as I knew, he was happy.” 

She said Roberts was never a loner and never showed any signs of violence. She said she had a couple classes with him toward the beginning and middle of high school, but lost track of him by senior year. 

"He was a popular guy. Lots of people liked him, loved him. He was really nice,” she said. “He had so many friends."....
"It's just weird," said Ken Hargove, who partied with Roberts. "Four days ago we were hanging out with the guy. We had a drink with him, were laughing and having fun, you know, and then all of a sudden we heard this happened."

His mother described him as "loving and caring."  A co-workers said of Roberts, "He seemed fine. ... He's always a very even-keeled kid." A friend of Roberts' boss said, "He was always just joking around with customers. ... I've never seen him act out of hand or poorly toward anyone."  Neighbors and friends described him as happy, nice, and normal.  Officials at his old high school said of him, "He was known as a soft spoken and polite young man who was often eager to be helpful."  His ex-girlfriend said of him, "Jake was never the violent type.  His main goal was to make you laugh, smile, make you feel comfortable."

But while there seemed to be no obvious warning signs, Roberts was aimless and adrift.  According to his mother, Roberts had failed to enter the Marines after high school due to a foot injury, then changed his demeanor and quit talking to her.  After the injury, "[E]verything kind of fell apart for him," according to a family friend.  At the end of November, he abruptly quit his job at a sub shop.  According to his roommate, Roberts sold nearly all of his belongings and announced that he would be flying away to Hawaii, citing an inheritance.  But they never saw the plane tickets or any sign of an inheritance.

Screencap of a photo from Jake Roberts' Facebook page

And Roberts was into guns: 

The only odd moment Riley could recall came about six months ago when she and her boyfriend were at Roberts' apartment "and he was pulling out guns and showing them to us." 

She recalled seeing two handguns and what might have been a .22-caliber rifle. 

Still, Riley didn't find it alarming. Roberts said he used them for target practice out in the hills, she recalled.
....
Eshbach said Roberts had bought a pistol about a year ago, and used to shoot it in the woods when he went camping. 

"A lot of people are thinking he was fixated on things like that. That couldn't be further from the truth," Eshbach said.

Screencap from Jake Roberts' Facebook Page

Roberts' Facebook page didn't really fixate on guns or extremism.  Just a weird profile header suggesting "cancelled" dreams, a mention of "shooting" as an interest, and a single picture of him doing target shooting with a handgun.

But this fateful Tuesday, there was an unfortunate juncture of Roberts' aimlessness and his interest in shooting and guns.

There were few warning signs, even at the end.  His roommate said he left with "a weird look on his face."  A neighbor said he was carrying a guitar case and tore out of the driveway in his 1996 green Volkswagen Jetta. 

Roberts then, according to his roommate, stopped by his best friend's home:

"He came in and hung out for a minute and told him that he had to go and that he didn't want to," she said, and added that he gave her brother a bracelet that he always wore, and hugged him. "He told him he was just going somewhere south, somewhere warm and not to tell me or my boyfriend that he had left until the next day."

Kristina Shevchenko, age 15, wounded

Jake Roberts:  An aimless young man with an interest in guns, with no job and no future, sells off all of his things, makes wild statements about going away somewhere exotic, and then gives away a precious gift.  Sounds to me like a person about to commit suicide.  Why didn't anyone wonder this?

Obviously, he had more in mind than just suicide. 

And inside that guitar case, apparently, was an AR-15 semi-auto assault rifle that he had stolen from someone he knew.  I wonder:  Was the gun legally obtained by that other person? How was it secured? Had they bothered to keep it locked?  Was the theft reported to the police?  Did they notice it missing at all?

Why are such weapons even legal at all?

And then Roberts arrived at the Clackamas Town Center mall, donned a hockey mask and load-bearing vest filled with multiple ammo clips, and loaded his assault rifle.  He then walked into Macy's, proclaimed "I am the shooter," and opened fire, going store-to-store and through the food court. (HERE is a chronology)

When the shooting had stopped, and ten thousand panicked shoppers had cleared the building, the sad results were clear:  Steve Forsyth, 45, a kids' sports coach, father of two, and owner of a marketing business had been setting up a business kiosk and was shot to death. Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, a hospice care professional who had a wide network of friends, had been shopping for a hat for her 13-year old stepson.  Despite the best efforts of medical professionals who were in the crowds, she died from her wounds.  And a 15-year old girl, Kristina Shevchenko, who had been socializing with friends, was shot in the chest and critically injured with a punctured lung.  Luckily, it appears she will survive.

The only thing that seemed to have stopped the carnage was that his gun jammed.

Steve Forsyth and Cindy Ann Yuille, killed

And Jake Roberts, who had just a short while earlier said his last goodbye to his best friend, ran through some back corridors, then shot himself to death.  Law enforcement found him dead 22 minutes after the first 911 call.  It was an inglorious end to an aimless life.

Today, the blood is cleaned up and the Clackamas Town Center will re-open.  A candlelight vigil will be held.  The bullet holes will be filled.  The NRA will refuse to comment, while sympathetic pundits will repeat NRA talking points about arming everyone as a "solution."  And, with the exception of four families broken with grief, society will move on, trying to forget about the other 81 people who died from gunfire that day ... until the next aimless, suicidal gun owner commits the next shocking mass murder.

Ceasefire Oregon Seeks State Legislative Sponsors For Assault Weapons Ban in Oregon

THEY WILL CALL UPON STATE LEGISLATORS FRIDAY to “SHOW SOME COURAGE”

Ceasefire Oregon will go to Salem on Friday, December 14, to seek legislative sponsors for a measure to ban the sale of assault weapons in Oregon. Ceasefire Oregon’s objective is to have Oregon join the seven states and the District of Columbia that have enacted laws banning assault weapons (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York).  

The Oregon Legislature is scheduled to convene for a one-day special session called by Governor John Kitzhaber to pass a corporate tax bill for Nike. “We’re hoping to find a legislator in Salem with the courage to sponsor a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in Oregon,” stated Penny Okamoto, executive director of Ceasefire Oregon.

In the immediate aftermath of the Clackamas Town Center shooting on Tuesday, December 11, the group issued a renewed call for enactment of an assault weapons ban. On that day, shooter Jacob Tyler Roberts killed two mall patrons and injured one before killing himself. Authorities say Roberts carried an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle and was wearing an ammunition-loaded vest. Reportedly, the weapon jammed at one point, lessening the death toll. Ceasefire Oregon issued a similar call for a ban on assault weapons following the massacre in Aurora in July 2012.

Okamoto noted that state Senator Ginny Burdick’s proposed legislation to ban oversized ammunition magazines represents a major step in the campaign to stop the mass killings associated with semi-automatic weapons. “We need more legislators like Ginny Burdick. Congress has failed to act, and the President has failed to lead. The Oregon Legislature needs to show some courage and protect our citizens from these weapons. Next time, the gun might not jam,” said Okamoto.  

At the end of the day, Ceasefire Oregon will issue a statement identifying legislators who have agreed to sponsor a ban on assault weapons in Oregon.

For more information, call Ceasefire Oregon at 503.220.1669 or visit www.ceasefireoregon.org.

A Statement From Ceasefire Oregon On The Clackamas Mall Shooting

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CLACKAMAS MALL SHOOTING, CEASEFIRE OREGON CALLS ON CITIZENS TO DEMAND SANE GUN LAWS

The gun-massacre nightmare revisited Oregon today. Our thoughts are with everyone who was shot and their friends and families.

We do not know all the facts yet, but a few things are already clear. Our communities can never be safe while the gun industry profits from arming the deranged and the dangerous with increasingly lethal weapons. As long as weapons that belong only on battlefields are sold in our communities, the lives of ordinary citizens will continue to be sacrificed as mere collateral damage by the gun lobby and the politicians who turn a blind eye to the carnage.

The outrage must outlast the news cycle if we are to stop the bloodshed. Penny Okamoto, Executive Director of Ceasefire Oregon stated, “This kind of terror will continue in America until our legislators stand up to the gun lobby and put the lives of our families over the profits of one industry. Ceasefire Oregon has been working to ban assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines. We have also been working to require background checks for every gun sold.”

When asked about the action people can take, she added, “Call your senators and your representatives, on the state and national levels. Call the White House and demand action! Do it in memory of today's victims, and in defense of tomorrow's."



Contact: Penny Okamoto
ceasefireoregon@gmail.com

For more information call Ceasefire Oregon at 503.220.1669 or visit www.ceasefireoregon.org.