[Bill Hook]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,101569,00.html

[El Tejon]

I did not think it was possible for the USA to become any softer. I was wrong yet again.:eek:

[Thumper]

What a pack of idiots.

Principal's (Steven Howard's) email: showard@tfs.k12.nj.us

[TarpleyG]

Does everyone's kid suffer from ADD/HDAD or am I just imagining it? It's a cop out, plain and simple.

They tried diagnosing my little brother as having ADD a couple of years ago because he was bored in school. No magic pill will fix that. My parents took him out of that sissy school and haven't looked back since.

As always, blame something/someone else.

GT

[Bill Hook]

I think some folks really are hyperactive, which means they do, by default, have problems paying attention. But the rest sounds like hooey. They have ADD in numerous flavors, which contributes to the feeling that it is a crock.

[Desertdog]

The kids need to unite, and each and evey day, EVERY ONE OF THEM should draw some kind of illegal drawing. Bring their illegal nail files and sit around and file their nails during recess. When they play, play shoot um up games.
It should end this silly business when the students are all expelled, and then they can fire the teachers and principles.

[Edward429451]

Scott's mother said school officials described the drawing as "not the work of a normal mind."

TYPO!

Should read...

Scott's mother said school officials described the drawing as "not the work of a normal sheeple's mind"

[P95Carry]

Sheesh .......... I have about had it with all this ''PC'', zero-tolerance'' crap ...... it is gettin way outa hand.

:fire: :banghead: :cuss:

[Bill Hook]

Scott's mother said school officials described the drawing as "not the work of a normal mind."


Who gets to define "normal"?

As a gun owner, I'm sure I must have some sort of 'penile" fixation that I must over-compensate for with my firearm, or so I've been lead to believe by leftists.

Was it not a common tactic in the USSR to jail the opposition in mental hospitals, as "mentally imbalanced"?

:barf:

[BigG]

Switch the facts around a little bit and the affected party would be screaming "censorship!!!" What a bunch of hypocrites we have in public life today. :rolleyes:

[Henry Bowman]

and then they can fire the teachers and principles.
I think you meant "principals." They abandoned all principles long ago.:neener:

[Tempest]

I've got mild ADHD, and all that means in my life is that I multitask better than most! :neener:

Seriously, the absurdity of this is absolute! These froot loops are seriously attempting to turn out classes-full of automatons, lacking in creativity, imagination, patriotism or initiative (other than turning in their classmates to the gestapo when they see a green water pistol in their locker)

Sad. Really sad.

[Jonesy9]

PC run amok! yeah it sucks that some kids have blown away a bunch of their classmates and teachers over the years but seeing Columbine in every little drawing is ridiculous. get over it!

[owen]

I seem to remember some stick figures carved on the wall of a cave in France that depicted PEOPLE KILLING ANIMALS!!

Those cave men must not have had "normal minds"

In fact, I am going to expand on this and send an email.

owen

[Devonai]

"Truth be told, I'm more upset that he'd insinuate that I'm mentally unstable," he said. "I'm the class clown. I'm not a bully."

That's a pretty adroit comment for a 14 year old. I'm glad it ended up in the article. It makes the kid look far more rational than the principal.

[grampster]

-----Original Message-----
From: Besser, Dick [mailto:RHBesser@aaamichigan.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:40 PM
To: Steve Howard
Subject: Suspension of student for a drawing.....VERY disapointed in
you......


Excuse me sir, but after reading the news reports regarding this
incident, if they are accurate, with all due respect, the only mind that is
not normal in this case is yours.

Rather than the knee jerk over-reaction that you displayed in this
incident, perhaps you should contact the NRA and have them present their
Eddie Eagle program to you with an eye toward introducing it into your
school. Then the children would be introduced to the proper use, safety,
and care of firearms, as well as learn the joys of the shooting sports such
as trap, skeet, high power target, handgunning etc. to say nothing of
learning about personal responsibility. A side benefit would be that you
would learn the importance of personal safety, the truth about the
historical perspective of firearms in our society and dispell once and for
all the left wing propaganda that demonizes freedom in our country by
promoting the lies about firearms and their value. You might also learn
that a stick person poses no immediate threat to anyone.


Cordially,

Richard H. Besser
OOPS MY MOUSE IS TRIGGER HAPPY, IS ON SHORT BURST OF THREES. HEH HEH


-----Original Message-----
From: Besser, Dick [mailto:RHBesser@aaamichigan.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:40 PM
To: Steve Howard
Subject: Suspension of student for a drawing.....VERY disapointed in
you......


Excuse me sir, but after reading the news reports regarding this
incident, if they are accurate, with all due respect, the only mind that is
not normal in this case is yours.

Rather than the knee jerk over-reaction that you displayed in this
incident, perhaps you should contact the NRA and have them present their
Eddie Eagle program to you with an eye toward introducing it into your
school. Then the children would be introduced to the proper use, safety,
and care of firearms, as well as learn the joys of the shooting sports such
as trap, skeet, high power target, handgunning etc. to say nothing of
learning about personal responsibility. A side benefit would be that you
would learn the importance of personal safety, the truth about the
historical perspective of firearms in our society and dispell once and for
all the left wing propaganda that demonizes freedom in our country by
promoting the lies about firearms and their value. You might also learn
that a stick person poses no immediate threat to anyone.


Cordially,

Richard H. Besser


-----Original Message-----
From: Besser, Dick [mailto:RHBesser@aaamichigan.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 2:40 PM
To: Steve Howard
Subject: Suspension of student for a drawing.....VERY disapointed in
you......


Excuse me sir, but after reading the news reports regarding this
incident, if they are accurate, with all due respect, the only mind that is
not normal in this case is yours.

Rather than the knee jerk over-reaction that you displayed in this
incident, perhaps you should contact the NRA and have them present their
Eddie Eagle program to you with an eye toward introducing it into your
school. Then the children would be introduced to the proper use, safety,
and care of firearms, as well as learn the joys of the shooting sports such
as trap, skeet, high power target, handgunning etc. to say nothing of
learning about personal responsibility. A side benefit would be that you
would learn the importance of personal safety, the truth about the
historical perspective of firearms in our society and dispell once and for
all the left wing propaganda that demonizes freedom in our country by
promoting the lies about firearms and their value. You might also learn
that a stick person poses no immediate threat to anyone.


Cordially,

Richard H. Besser

[grampster]

Official Press release from the Tinton Falls Schools October. 29, 2003

We have just completed interviews with Fox News and WWOR, setting forth the position of the Board of Education. We explained that the drawing is not as represented by the student to the media. It is merely two stick figures, one with a helmet and one with no markings. The figure with the helmet had a pistol and a knife and is attacking the other figure. It is quite graphic and bloody. Moreover, above the head of the stick figure is the name of another student at the Middle School, not the Taliban. It is quite evident that the drawing depicts one student attacking another student, who is named. It is not an attack by an American soldier against the enemy, as represented by the offending student. We also explained that the penalty could have been ten (10) days, but was limited to five (5) as a reasonable penalty. The administration acted properly, taking into consideration the rights of all students, not just the one student that committed the act. In the post-Columbine, post-9/11 era we must be very careful, address all threats, and protect all students. That is the message we attempted to convey to the news media, and the message that should be addressed to all parents, students, and interested parties. The young man in question may think this was a joke or a prank, but actions of this nature are taken very seriously and there are consequences that must be accepted.

[jimpeel]

Dear Sir,

A few years ago I wrote and published an article on zero-tolerance entitled "The Death of Goodness in America".

Below, I include the text of that article for your perusal.

Sincerely,

Jim Peel
Kimball, NE

<start>
The Death Of Goodness In America

by Jim Peel

I was exiting a local warehouse club recently and was greeted at the door by the obligatory person who checks your receipt against the goods in your cart. I thought “Treat everyone as though they are a thief and no one can complain.” I later heard the President say on television that we have reached a level of zero-tolerance in America. I thought “Treat everyone as though they are a criminal and no one can complain.” The two were inexorably linked in my mind.

Most Americans can tell you that the death of common sense occurred years ago. What most fail to realize is that the death of goodness accompanied it.

Mandatory sentencing, due to the unwillingness or inability of judges to act against criminals, is one aspect of the equality in justice that has removed all semblance of cognizant thought from the process. Judges have their hands tied when it comes to sentencing; unable to differentiate between persons who broke the law with malice or those who simply fell astray. Any consideration of the motive of the accused is removed and everyone is treated as though they had heinous intent. Everyone is lumped together as a single evil entity.

Not even the President of the United States is exempt from this madness. Under the laws, as written, he has no choice but to impose sanctions on any nation that errs on any side but our own. The result is that the United States now has sanctions on many countries including some of our closest allies. Regardless of their true intent, all who err are treated as though they have the basest of intentions.

In the drunken logic of the modern bureaucrat the equality of treatment for all far outweighs the quality or fairness of that treatment. All things must be treated on an equal basis regardless of right or wrong. The problem is that when you treat all things equally you must always err on the side of evil over goodness. All things are viewed in their worst light. Of course this allows the bureaucrat of the moment to shirk any duty to fairness and relieves them of any, and all, responsibility for any, and all, decisions at any, and all, levels; i.e. the law is the law and it is out of my hands. Neat, concise, to the point.

Zero-tolerance is the primary example of this wrongheaded thinking. Everything is treated as equally bad and everyone is treated as equally evil. Under the guiding principles of zero-tolerance everything is at its worst. Every knife is a weapon. Every drug is a restricted drug. Every action contrary to the wishes of the authorities is evil.

When a girl picked up her mother’s lunch in error one day in Longmont, Colorado she didn’t realize there was a paring knife in the bag. Upon discovery of same, she brought it to the attention of her teacher, and was immediately expelled from school under zero-tolerance.

When a Providence, Rhode Island teenager used the screwdriver on his Swiss Army knife to tighten the screw on a computer case at school he was immediately suspended under zero-tolerance.

When a Denver, CO student handed out lemon drop candies to a few of his fellow students he was met with a barrage of criticism after the school panicked and called out the police, fire department, and paramedics. He was suspended under zero-tolerance.

When a girl in another city gave a girl at school an aspirin for “ladies cramps” she was immediately suspended under zero-tolerance.

What all of these kids have in common is that they were deemed to be the worst of persons with the worst of intentions; even though they were good kids and their intentions were good. They also share the common thread that it will be long and hard to bring them back to whatever respect they previously had for the system that wronged them..

What is the underlying cause for this anomaly in our nation? What has caused us to become so suspicious, so paranoid, so distrusting? In a word; litigation. Our litigious society has driven us over the brink and into the abyss from which we may never return. We now are so paranoid that if we treat one person in one manner, and another in another, we will be sued for the inequality of our actions. One, or the other, will sue us because of their real or perceived injury at our hands and we will do anything to prevent it; even the destruction of an entire generation of our children and their respect for the laws of the nation.

When we treat everyone as a criminal, a ne’er-do-well, a druggie, a purveyor; we also create hostile, disrespectful, angry human beings that will at some point live up to those expectations. We instill in the young that there is no goodness.

The time has come for the people of this nation to realize that zero-tolerance, and like laws, are destructive to our nation and our system of laws and government. The people of this nation must realize that it is time to do away with these destructive laws and return to the common sense approach to the laws that built this nation. Only through the destruction of these laws can we as a nation return to a system that seeks out and reveres goodness.
<end>

[Bill Hook]

Official Press release from the Tinton Falls Schools October. 29, 2003


BS.:rolleyes:

[Old Fuff]

I think they have offered some excellent arguments ........

And truly made a good case ..........

For more private, charter and home-schools.

[Andrew Rothman]

How about a little thought here.

If this middle-schooler drew this picture with YOUR son's name over the "attackee" stick figure, wouldn't you be worried?

(even the first Fox New story included this: "Officials said they were concerned because his drawing contained a reference to another student who they feared might have been a potential target. ")

Is it at ALL possible in your minds that the school acted appropriately?

[Bill Hook]

How about a little thought here.


No. This is hardly the same as a written or verbal threat.

You're right about the "little thought" aspect, as that is exactly how the school officials arrived at their decision to suspend the kid.

[Desertdog]

Is it at ALL possible in your minds that the school acted appropriately?

In my mind, absolutly, NO.
Being of sound mind (I think), and good memory, when I was in school, most boys had their pocket knives on them, often brought toy guns to school to play cops and robbers, and cowboy and indians at school during recess and after school.

[gunsmith]

I have something similar,it's called CRS
(cant remember stuff):neener:

[gunsmith]

please!

[standingbear]

chaulk another one up for the "thought police."we cant have kids running about playing army or drawing wars can we,afterall,theyre going to be mass murderers or something awful when they grow up so we send the lot of them all to juvy hall to be reeducated(learning to smoke along with some other bad habits),suspend them and break up the home.what a bunch of crap.no wonder theres so many problems...geeesh.

[jimpeel]

Go to: http://refdesk.whitepages.com

Under "Find a business" enter Tinton Falls Middle School

Under "City" enter Tinton Falls

Under "State" choose New Jersey

[Don Gwinn]

Does everyone's kid suffer from ADD/HDAD or am I just imagining it?

You are just imagining it. Actually, everyone's kid is part of the "Autism Spectrum." ADD is, like, so last year.



1. If the school's press release is accurate, then the suspension was appropriate. I work with some very disturbed kids, and if my little buddy T.D. were to threaten someone's life in this manner I'd have nothing to say about a suspension. Hell, they suspended one of my other kids for that long for pulling a fire alarm, and they were right to do it.

2. I can't help but question the veracity of their claim, given the fact that the psychologist says there was no threat--or, for that matter, no problem with the picture at all.

[StuporDave]

How about a little thought here. If this middle-schooler drew this picture with YOUR son's name over the "attackee" stick figure, wouldn't you be worried? (even the first Fox New story included this: "Officials said they were concerned because his drawing contained a reference to another student who they feared might have been a potential target. ") Is it at ALL possible in your minds that the school acted appropriately?

In a word, No.

This is a kid doodling on his notebook. I did it, you did it, everybody here did it. I did the same kind of doodles in school except sometimes it was the teachers or principals name over the "attackee" stick figure. And guess what? I never killed anyone! Not one person! Ever! And neither do 99.9999999999999% of all the people who doodle on their notebooks.

It's a bunch of PC scare the sheeple crap, plain and simple.

I've already had to deal with this "zero-tolerance" (or is that "zero-intelligence")crap when my son was 13. To the tune of ten thousand in legal fees and a railroaded expulsion and conviction for my son.

If this doesn't stop we're going to have an entire nation of people who are afraid of their own shadows. When I was in middle school (not all that long ago, I'm 38) if I was caught drawing that, it would have been crumpled up and thrown away, nothing more.

Sorry for the rant. This subject matter, for obvious reasons, gets me going.

Dave

[spartacus2002]

My 1st grader's teacher is trying to get him kicked out of class because he has mild ADD. She sent home a check-the-block form where she checked off as many things as she could think of, including: "Expresses Morbid Thoughts."

Care to guess what they might be?

(Here's a hint: "Up from the depths, 30 stories high, he breathes out fire, he stands in the sky, G_____!!")

[Bainx]

If this doesn't stop we're going to have an entire nation of people who are afraid of their own shadows.

I'm afraid its already happened. With the exception of a probable small percentage of the population, we basically have "A Nation of Cowards", IMHO. Why else would we as a nation allow this mind-set to rule our lives?
I suppose that the drawings I sketched in grammar school of U.S. planes shooting down Nazi planes gave me extreme hatred of the German people....NOT.