Sunday Roundup

The Mayans turned out to be wrong about the end of the world, but there was still a lot of gloom this week as we watched the procession of funerals for victims of the Newtown shooting. On Thursday alone, services were held for four six-year-olds and one seven-year-old. In an attempt at establishing some normalcy for those kids who survived, officials are recreating their classrooms at a nearby school, right down to the art on the walls and the placement of desks and backpacks. That's good for the children; the rest of us need the exact opposite. We need to break the all-too familiar routine of gun-victim funerals and leaders who helplessly throw up their hands. On Wednesday, the president announced that Joe Biden would lead a task force on gun violence. It's a step in the right direction, but only if it results in legislation that makes a week of wrenching funerals begin to seem utterly unfamiliar.