Things that make no sense (or very little)

You ever look at or listen to something or someone and think, 'That makes no sense!'? Well, maybe it's because we're in the midst of another presidential election cycle, but I've been thinking that a lot lately. So I've compiled a list of things that, to me, make no sense, or very little sense (listed in no particular order). Feel free to add your own things via the Comments.

Things that make no sense (or very little)....

• Sarah Palin
• Donald Trump
• The electoral college
• The Bachelor
• Daylight Savings Time
• Why some months have 31 days, others have 30, and February has only 28
• What constitutes a catch in football
• Most of football (though I still like watching)
• What is considered a penalty in hockey (or why you can beat a guy up and it's not a penalty, but raising your hockey stick too high is)
• What constitutes offsides in soccer
• Why women volunteer for stuff only to complain how much they hate volunteering. (Do they not understand what "volunteer" means?)
• People who smoke
• The stock market
• The real estate market
• Why men still get paid so much more than women for doing the same or similar jobs
• Why cats must rub up against everything, knock sh*t off counters, and sit in front of your computer monitor while you are trying to work or read. (OK, I kind of understand this one, but still.)
• Why dog owners treat their dogs better than they do their spouse or children (most of the time)
• Why people keep pythons as pets
• Why it can be 70 degrees one day and snow the next
• Why people continue to live in places that are known to repeatedly flood or be subject to tornadoes
• Why people eat food that they know is bad for them. (OK, I kind of get this one, too, but....)
• Why it costs so much to attend college
• Why some people refuse to accept facts
• Why you can do all the right things and still be wrong

Fewer semi-automatics, more mental health care

My daughter’s school is about 20 minutes away from Sandy Hook Elementary. When I arrived at school midday (I volunteer in the library), there were two cop cars outside. Despite them, I had no problem walking into the building that houses the library -- no checking in anywhere, no locked doors. Sent a chill down my spine.

At the time I arrived, I had no idea that an entire classroom of kindergartners, as well as several teachers and administrators, had been mowed down just a few miles away. I only learned that shortly before I left the library.

Many of the teachers who work in our district live and have kids who go to school in Newtown. I cannot imagine the fear they felt.

I heard that Obama brushed away tears as he talked about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. I also read that he said now was not the time to talk about gun control, or words to that affect. But if not now, when?

How many innocent people -- too often children -- have to die before politicians take a stand against the NRA and pass tougher gun and ammo control measures? I'm not saying the government should strike down the Second Amendment (though I would not object). But it's time to put a ban on semi-automatic weapons (the weapon of choice for mentally deranged killers), limit the amount of ammunition one can purchase, and institute strenuous background checks. Yes, that won't solve the problem. But it's a start.

And while the pols are at it, how about making it less expensive for Americans to get mental health care? Maybe if we made it easier to get mental health care and more difficult to buy guns and ammo, we could avoid another tragedy like the one that took place today... and the one in Aurora... and the one in Tucson... and the one at Virginia Tech... and the one at Columbine.

More about the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy here.

UPDATED 12/15/12: More food for thought: "Twelve facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States" by Ezra Klein of The Washington Post (via Balloon-Juice.com). I found these two paragraphs particularly telling and tragic:

If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. “Too soon,” howl supporters of loose gun laws. But as others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t “too soon.” It’s much too late.