Wal-Mart Turns in Student’s Anti-Bush Photo, Secret Service Investigates

[Kelvin Mace]

http://progressive.org/mag_mc100405

Selina Jarvis is the chair of the social studies department at Currituck County High School in North Carolina, and she is not used to having the Secret Service question her or one of her students.

But that’s what happened on September 20.

Jarvis had assigned her senior civics and economics class “to take photographs to illustrate their rights in the Bill of Rights,” she says. One student “had taken a photo of George Bush out of a magazine and tacked the picture to a wall with a red thumb tack through his head. Then he made a thumb’s down sign with his own hand next to the President’s picture, and he had a photo taken of that, and he pasted it on a poster."

An employee in that Wal-Mart photo department called the Kitty Hawk police on the student. And the Kitty Hawk police turned the matter over to the Secret Service.

On Tuesday, September 20, the Secret Service came to Currituck High.“At 1:35, the student came to me and told me that the Secret Service had taken his poster,” Jarvis says. “I didn’t believe him at first. But they had come into my room when I wasn’t there and had taken his poster, which was in a stack with all the others.”

At the end of the meeting, they told her the incident “would be interpreted by the U.S. attorney, who would decide whether the student could be indicted,” she says.

Folks, Wal-Mart has got to pay for this. And when we get Bush out of office, the Secret Service needs to cleaned up.

[smoogatz]

1. What irony.

In a lesson about first amendment rights, the kid learns first hand about the New American Police State. Welcome to Bushworld, kiddo.

[cantstandbush]

111. So we want to export our brand of "freedom and democracy?"

i think some lawyers should take this case all the way to the SCOTUS and make them rule. Do we have freedom of speech or don't we?

[TankLV]

114. Can we then assume the kid aced this assignment?!

Sure looks like it!

[TankLV]

115. Can we then assume the kid aced this assignment?!

Sure looks like it!

[smoogatz]

2. Kick and rec n/t

[Roland99]

3. Not defending this move, but, aren't photo dept. employees now trained

to look for things like that or child-sex photos or other things like that? The photo dept. employee most likely didn't know who took the photo.

[5X]

6. The employee may not have known, but

what was reported was an anti-bush photo,
not child porn.

Shame on wal-fart if this is their training,
and shame on the employee if not.

[Roland99]

42. Sorry, I can't fault the employee for reporting it.

But, once the SS found out what the story was, it should have been dropped.

[Kelvin Mace]

50. I'm sorry

could you explain to me WHY the employee should have reported it?

[Roland99]

52. As I said in another post, the employee doesn't know if the photographer

is another John Hinckley or not. It appeared to be a threatening photo to them. They didn't know it was a kid doing a school project.

[Kelvin Mace]

55. Give me a break!

This person is an idiot. A thumbtack in the forehead with a thumbs down is NOT a physical threat. The person just wanted to cause trouble to someone who blasphemed his god.

Comparing this to the dozens of letters Hinkley sent to Jodie Foster is not even on the same page.

[Roland99]

59. You know not of what you speak.

[Kelvin Mace]

64. Really?

If people want to behave like idiots, just about anything can be viewed to constitute a threat. 90% of the Bush comments on this board could be viewed as a "threat".

This was not a picture of Bush with the eyes burnt out with a cigarette, swastikas carved into the cheeks with a razor blade, and a target painted on his head. This was a thumbtack. To compare this to kiddy porn or a legitimate threat is beyond the pale.

[Roland99]

68. No, it wasn't those things. It was thumbtack thru the forehead

with a thumbs-down. I can understand how someone could perceive that as a threat and notify their supervisor.

I'm sure there are other things they see day-to-day that get reported but we don't hear about.


When you've been involved in situations of threats/violence to family/friends, perhaps you'll understand.

[Kelvin Mace]

74. If it was a picture of some non-descript individual, you might have a

point, but this was a picture of the most protected man on the planet in a time when he has pissed of most of the country. If Laura Bush had turned in the film, you would be on firmer ground.

I am willing to bet money that when this guy's identity finally comes out, he will be a rabid Bush-lover. This guy was not motivtaed by concern for Bush's safety, he was motivated by malice, as was the Kitty Hawk police and the SS.

[The Doctor.]

86. Been reading this exchange...

I get what Roland99 is saying which is that any threat should be taken seriously. Then the matter becomes the judgment call of an uninformed Wal-mart 'would you like fries with that' employee.

You cannot fault someone for erring on the side of caution, but I'd be willing to bet you are right... the employee is probably a born again Bushtian.

I also agree that if every negative commentary on Bush were taken seriously, the SS would have a list of every name, address, phone number, family member, and personal hygiene habit of every DU member.

Oh... wait...

:scared:

[Kelvin Mace]

88. Yep

To me there are several points to evaluate. Fiven the level of protection Bush enjoys, that picture would not motivate me to act even if were a president I really liked. It would have to me MUCH more graphic for me to act.

[sui generis]

106. oh yeah, hey Secret Service, I am the Evil Thumbtack Killer!

I studied for decades with an Ancient Korean Master of The Holy Way of Chung Mucky Ducky Thumbtack Fu

:evilgrin:

I have taken these photos of my evil plans and sent them to Walmart because I couldn't afford a digital camera.

durr.

:silly:

ACTUALLY, this was voodoo. You see, I studied sympathetic magic for decades with an Ancient African Sangoma and have cursed the Red Thumbtack of Brain Death. When I shove it in this poster president will turn into an idiot. (Sui Generis, Journal of a Voodoo Assassin, 1999).

See. It worked.

even more :silly:

[The Doctor.]

148. I just nearly fell out of my chair thanks to you!

Even though I saw it coming from a mile away...

I guess it's true what they say about antici...........


























.........pation.

-And the same goes for VooDoo no doubt.

:+

[readmoreoften]

160. What's the picture like?

Is it a close up of Boosh's face? If so, it would be literally impossible to NOT have a thumbtack through his forehead.

What evidence is there in this story that the thumbtack is symbolizing anything? Maybe it's just holding up a picture.

[Peace Patriot]

173. Hey, it was RED (commie pinko fellow traveler) push pin! If it had been

a blue push pin (meaning Bush is a secret liberal), or a yellow push pin (heh, heh), or god forbid a green push pin, or a false clear push pin, it would not have activated the Secret Secret. They get daily briefings, you know, on the meaning of the colors of push pins that people use to nail Bush.

[Megahurtz]

177. ROFL!!!!!!

:rofl:

[Andromeda]

182. Bwahahahahahahaha....

The "Red Thumbtack of Brain Death?" I guess it did work!

[sui generis]

104. I'm still waiting for them to visit

It's funny - I'm sure that the SS had to roll their eyes on this one too and say "oh no not again".

At any rate, there are yahoos in the SS no doubt. There are also people like me who are constitutionally incapable of being intimidated by anyone for any reason whatsoever.

The twain rarely if ever meet. Their job is much easier with scared school kids.

[Jamastiene]

163. They probably already do. Put on your tinfoil hat, I'm getting ready to

say something paranoid.

I think there are CIA types watching me at college. There have been instances of new teachers taking over classes I am in that seem to have no clue about the subject. A new electrical teacher that blew the probe jacks on the oscilloscope and an english teacher that spells heroes, "heros" and swears up and down that there should be no commas most of the time. He can't even read without saying words wrong. Of course, they could just be the teachers getting hired because of the Bush education system. Either way, I got the criminal justice teacher and some new guy following me around at school now. And I have said some of the nastiest things about Bush and his cronies on here.

I don't care. If they are threatened by me and the SS "questions" me, I hope I get camera time. I'm going to call them pussies for being threatened by some timid little thing like me. I'll make Manson look sane. :evilgrin:

[left hand man]

166. That seems like a small threat to me-not like "vote from the rooftop"

Maybe GWB3 is gonna be BB in the next few years.1984 is here.NOW
Vote from the rooftops.

[Megahurtz]

176. You are absolutely right.

If this pic was sent directly to the White House, for example,
maybe there would be some grounds for viewing it as a threat.
But since this is the guy's own personal photo,

with a thumbtack no less

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:scared:

:sarcasm:

Then really.....give me a fucking break.:eyes:

[girl gone mad]

110. Let's get some perspective.

If it had been a picture of Barbara Streisand instead of Bush, I'm certain no authorities would have been notified.

A thumbs down in front of a Bush photo is really not that threatening, to anyone who hasn't drunk the kool-aid.

[Kelvin Mace]

118. Exactly

Insert Michael Moore, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, etc.

Jesse Helms made a more direct threat:

"he better watch out if he comes down here. He'd better have a bodyguard."

I don't recall the SS kicking in Helms' door over it.

[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

117. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Demeter]

78. Those are Promises, Not Threats

and quotations out of history and the Constitution.

[maryallen]

100. N.C.: Jesse Helms' Country ....

It COULD have been the employee dropping the dime ---

One of Jesse's devoted constituents, don'tcha know???

[Jamastiene]

164. I live in NC and you are right. They are like that here. You don't even

have the right to disagree politically with them. You learn to keep your mouth shut. You'll be blacklisted. Forget getting a job here or going out in public without being harrassed if you speak against Bush publicly in any way. Trust me. I know FIRSTHAND.

[anotherdrew]

105. WHAT? you can too fault them fer crissake! there's nothing to report

thumbs down to bush so what?

[damntexdem]

124. Nonsense! It's bad enough that they can help censor any photos.

All I can say is: thank goodness for digital cameras.

[left hand man]

167. say "Amen,BOTHER!"

[koopie57]

172. I'm curious about the other photos on the roll

I kinda think this employee had visions of being a hero or something. But, I don't know, it is just a thought that occurred to me.

[Kelvin Mace]

14. Huh?

I don't care if Osama bin Laden took the picture, for the SS to "investigate" this is jack-booted thuggery, pure and simple.

Why would it matter WHO took the photo?

[redqueen]

44. No kidding... a thumbsdown next to a picture?

:wtf:

How can anyone defend this being even reported, let alone INVESTIGATED?!

Idiots.

[Roland99]

47. Probably the thumbtack thru the forehead

As far as the employee knew, it was another John Hinkley-type.

[Kelvin Mace]

53. Huh?

You think a thumbtack is an implied threat?

Would YOU have turned this person in?

[Roland99]

58. I probably would have reported the photo to my supervisor, sure.

Same as if it had been a picture of anyone else.

The job I'm leaving after today deals with victim notification and I've had many conversations with law enforcement officers. Something like this, generally, should not be taken lightly.

BUT, once the SS found out the story, it should have been dropped and not pursued.

[chat_noir]

93. only negative on that roll that was developed??

How about the other 23? Were they all suspicious? No pictures of family and/or friends?

We need more information.

[madmark]

94. Thumbtacks are not lethal; ask Mankind

[nothometoday]

141. Say that at 2:00 A.M. when you step on one...

You'll be looking to kill somebody;)

[redqueen]

65. That makes absolutely no sense.

A thumbtack through a photo is in no way, shape, or form analogous to a gunshot.

Good God.

[Roland99]

69. Who said it was?

[redqueen]

70. What did Hinckley use? Thumbtacks?

Arrows?

Lawn darts?

[Roland99]

97. Symbolism lost on people nowadays?

[redqueen]

108. No.

However, as I said before... interpreting a thumbtack on a picture as a symbol for a gunshot?

That's way more than a stretch, don't you think?

Additionally, when you consider the thumbsdown in that farfetched interpretation, it would appear that the artist is saying that shooting bush is a bad thing, would it not?

[TankLV]

120. But roland said he wasn't saying that! So it has to be something else.

[Kelvin Mace]

129. To me,

a thumbtack is symbolic of a device needed to hold a picture up.

Now, if it had been a knife...

[redqueen]

133. That's what I'd say.

I guess everyone reads stuff into what they see differently.

[AZBlue]

156. Exactly! He pinned it to the wall....didn't phone in a bomb threat.

I bet this kid is sitting in his little interogation room saying, "Dude, how else was I going to get it to stick to the wall? My little sister used up all of our tape!"

[Andromeda]

183. I can understand where Roland is coming from....

He just has a different outlook on this. You could interpret this kind of thing as a threat.

You don't really know what is in somebody else's head and it could have been something that wasn't harmless.

[TankLV]

119. Then how is it in any way shape or form dangerous?

What other meaning could YOU infer with the thumbtack.

WE didn't even conider such a thing, but YOU seem to infer something great and sinister with this picture/poster.

Just what is so evil about it, then?

Please explain your thoughts on the subject.

WE really don't see it.

[Tight_rope]

139. Get a life...I swear you take things out of context too much!

It was just a thumbsdown to the fucking Chimp not a gun pointed to his head. I wonder what you would say if the kid had a picture of the dumbass Chimp and was pointing a gun to the picture.:spank:

[Bassic]

76. I mean no offense

But you do realize that this is completely ridiculous, right?

According to that logic, everyone who even say's they'd kick Bush's ass in the heat of a rant needs to be investigated too?

[0007]

127. I agree this is completely ridiculous, Roland's not thinking

right today.

[Roland99]

137. No. That's not a valid apples-to-apples comparison.

It's obvious that many people don't realize what law enforcement officials (and certain corporations that train certain types of employees) recognize as a possible threat.

[Straight Shooter]

90. If bush's forehead was in top middle of photo, where else to put the tack?

This is nuts. Remember Eminem's Mosh? Didn't he have a pic of bush with knife stuck through it?

Maybe a thumbs down by someone's photo is the Secret Service way of identifying someone who needs to be eliminated. Maybe they think the kid stumbled onto one of their tricks. That sounds like something ridiculous they would think up.

Maybe bush will order the military to quarantine the school. Sure don't want this kind of thinking to spread. :eyes:

[Vinnie From Indy]

99. Your post is silly beyond words

One need only Google Image the word "Bush" alone or with any other word like "Idiot" etc. and you will see an ocean of altered Bush photos that make a thumbtack through the Wal-Mart Bush photo look like a loving valentine card.

[MADem]

135. A knife, maybe...but a thumbtack used to hold the photo to a wall?

On edit--Guess the kid shoulda used DUCT TAPE!!!

[auburngrad82]

34. So they saw a photo of Bush and immediately thought "kiddie porn"?

That's a hell of a lot more likely than the kid being a threat to the pResident.

[alarimer]

54. Another very good reason for going digital

You don't have to deal with asshole photo developers.

[Roland99]

61. Good point. Photo printers aren't that much.

:)

[raysr]

155. A fundie Bush supporter

in the photo dept no less.

[McKenzie]

4. WTF ?

boy oh boy - that is right outta the Third Reich. Ooops, I forgot about our nice political leaders over here having people convicted for expressing their democratic right to dissent.

Dangerous times...very very dangerous.

[UpInArms]

8. Wal-Mart employee = Good German

also, does our Secret Service have nothing better to do? We are paying these guys to harass based on what???

[Kelvin Mace]

15. The initials SS become so appropriate these days.

we would all re-create this photo and mail it to the SS with an a copy of the First Amendment.

[ninkasi]

91. Good idea...

Besides, some editorial cartoons are far more "threatening", if looked at through the paranoid eyes of some right wing Bush followers. The poster seems completely innocuous to me. Remembering when Clinton was president, can you imagine the outraged howling which would have greeted a Secret Service visit for a photo of Clinton substituted for that of Bush?

The truth is that the Bush administration has succeeded in making too many of us believe that because we were attacked on 9-11, everything we cherished before that has got to change. That's nonsense. We need to adhere to our first amendment rights even more closely now; we have seen how dangerously fragile our democracy is, and every one of us should be guarding it and reinforcing it now like our lives depended on it. They do, in this new Bush-world.

[left hand man]

168. your last paragraph is the best I have read on here. Well said.

[McKenzie]

19. some good news about Wal-Mart in the UK

they own ASDA which is a big supermarket chain. I don't have the link to hand but suffice it to say WM are crying about the superior perfomance of Tesco (another biggie over here) and demanding an enquiry into anti-competitive practices. Poor WM, I feel so...deliriously happy that the union-busting bastards are pissed.

<edit> speling

[redqueen]

45. Thanks for the good news.

Makes me so happy to hear those greedy bastards are having problems. :D

[Tempest]

71. Wal-Mart = Stasi

The Stasi were German citizens who volunteered to turn in their friends and neighbors who were considered anti-Nazi.

And like in Iraq, they used their power to turn in rivals and those they had issues with.

[NervousRex]

159. Stasi...

...were the East German secret police...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi

[CAcyclist]

181. I wonder if Wla-Mart is getting paid by the gov't to do surveillance.

Because Banfield (PetSmart's veterinary division ) has a contract with the gov't to report animal cases of potential bioterror reportable diseases , even though the local public health boards already require certain diseases to be reported and nobody's paying us.

So maybe walmart has a contract with the Secret Service to report all anti-bush pictures.

[quaoar]

5. When we get a real president again

he/she should visit Selina Jarvis' class.

[rodeodance]

10. so, this Wal marty person loves Jr?

......An employee in that Wal-Mart photo department called the Kitty Hawk police on the student. And the Kitty Hawk police turned the matter over to the Secret Service.

[Kelvin Mace]

16. The Kitty Hawk police obviously have a problem

with the First Amendment as well.

[OKNancy]

7. Just so people don't worry about the student

The student was not indicted, and the Secret Service did not pursue the case further.

---
Left out of the snip

[Cha]

11. Smart of them not to "indict"..

Might get the natives restless..I wonder how the student feel now about our "Bill Of Rights"?

Thanks for the info.

[Kelvin Mace]

17. Thanks,

I was over my quota of grafs. <g>

[lonestarnot]

39. So make another yet better poster!

[Cha]

9. And this is getting it

even more attention. Keep it up fascists..I stopped shopping at walmart two years ago and all my family and friends know it..when I ask them where they got something ..they hesitate before they say sheepishly "walmart".

I'll be relaying this latest gestapo outrage..you can bet on it.

[rodeodance]

12. and the SS actually went to the HS!!--can you believe this!

.....On Tuesday, September 20, the Secret Service came to Currituck High.“At 1:35, the student came to me and told me that the Secret Service had taken his poster,” Jarvis says. “I didn’t believe him at first. But they had come into my room when I wasn’t there and had taken his poster, which was in a stack with all the others.”

At the end of the meeting, they told her the incident “would be interpreted by the U.S. attorney, who would decide whether the student could be indicted,” she says.

[Kelvin Mace]

21. This is thuggish intimidation

by bullies with small genitalia.

[Pithlet]

41. That's the part that gets me.

I'm sure morons are turning in stupid petty crap to the police and secret service all the time. That the SS did't just roll their eyes and say "Thank you for your concern" and quietly drop the matter is what surprises me. That is ridiculous.

[thecrow]

72. Don't they have better things to do?

Like securing our borders and ports?

[sunnystarr]

79. Our tax dollars at work!

I'm just shaking my head ... not that it really surprises me in the mockery of democracy that we now live in.

[The Doctor.]

85. You know... I'm seriously considering a project...

So what if we all went out and took pictures that were 'subversive' but not illegal and all had them developed at Wal-Mart?

I'm seriously considering taking pictures of my kids in the tub or a picture of a photo of Bush with a poop-toupe and a butterknife in it or something (art that makes a statement) in the hopes that I'll get the chance to sue Wal-Mart later for public humiliation and detracting from my public image.

Causing someone to lose clients is pretty serious for a picture of their kids in a tub.

[mongo]

95. It's a great idea

Although I wouldn't take any "tub pics" of your kids - that will get you into court for sure, and a big expensive hassle at the very least.

And you would lose in your suit against Wal-mart. Photo processors are required to contact the authorities by law.

[The Doctor.]

101. There was a time when parents could take pictures of their children

so that they could cherish every memory.

I should like to have a look at that law as well to determine how much, if any discretion is afforded the photo processor.

If the term 'suspect' or 'appears' is in there, then one can certainly make a case that the technician was not properly trained to recognize or determine what is or is not 'suspicious appearance'.

In negotiations, the Wal-mart attorneys would certainly recognize that jury selction would not work in their favor.

The case would likely be settled, but if it made it to court, a jury of 50+ grandmas would likely be sympathetic.

Sure I'm no lawyer, but people are likely to recognize the unfettered censorship of an inhuman Wal-mart/police state alliance.

[Kelvin Mace]

121. Actually, I don't want to put money in their pocket.

Let's just get their address and mail them subversive pictures along with copies of the Bill of Rights.

[Debau2005]

13. Yet another reason,

That I DO NOT shop at Walmart. I have added this to my list of Walmart grievances that I email people when they ask why I will not shop at Walmart, or use items purchased at Walmart.

I get SO tired of people telling me it saves them a "buck". I will pass 10 Walmarts, and pay more for items from a store with more respect for it's employees, customers, vendors, local economy, local environment, etc. The list is endless....

[rodeodance]

18. what is it-when 'adults' do such stupid things and cause turmoil for other

The student was not indicted, and the Secret Service did not pursue the case further.

“I blame Wal-Mart more than anybody,” she says. “I was really disgusted with them. But everyone was using poor judgment, from Wal-Mart up to the Secret Service.”

A person in the photo department at the Wal-Mart in Kitty Hawk said, “You have to call either the home office or the authorities to get any information about that.”

Jacquie Young, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart at company headquarters, did not provide comment within a 24-hour period.

[Kelvin Mace]

24. When I want cheap prices

I go to CostCo. They manage to have cheap prices, yet still pay their employees fairly.

[FizzFuzz]

56. Wish we had a CostCo here.

I've been avoiding Mall Wart for several years now; feels good when I get to tell people about them.






edit: Hi KelvinMace :hi:

[left hand man]

169. I live in Ga. also--- wish more of ya'll lived in my small town.

[zalinda]

20. Has anyone sent this to Keith? n/t

[rodeodance]

23. hey great thought. Lets all do!!

[rodeodance]

27. [e-mail]

[fujiyama]

22. I have stepped foot into Wal Mart oncee

and I vow to never again, unless it is an absolute emergency.

[Kelvin Mace]

26. I would not step foot in Wal-Mart if I were on fire and

they were giving away free fire extinguishers.

[jazzjunkysue]

25. Indicted for free speech. Wow. Welcome to Lenningrad.

[OKNancy]

29. The student was not indicted

From the article:
The student was not indicted, and the Secret Service did not pursue the case further.
---

In this case, to me, all the blame belongs on the employee of WalMart.
The Secret Service did their job as necessary, and decided it was bunk.

[rodeodance]

30. it is toss up as to who has less brains-the employee or the FBI who act-

ually followed up on this!!!!

[bleedingheart]

28. Walmart is nothing more than extension of Communist China...

[calmblueocean]

36. Absolutely right.

Why the American people can't see this is beyond me.

[bpilgrim]

31. Plenty of anti-bush photos here --------- ---------- > LINK

http://GlobalFreePress.com

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[intheflow]

32. I'm so glad they published the teacher's name.

But not the Wal-Mart stoolie's name. That way Jarvis can get death threats for being subversive while teaching the constitution, and the Wal-Mart employee can still go on living thinking s/he's somehow served her country.

Aargh! I'm having an angry morning!! :grr:

[Kelvin Mace]

35. Here is her email address

I suggest we send her an email telling her we are proud of her for standing up to the SS and we've got her back.

[e-mail]

School home page at:

http://www.currituck.k12.nc.us/schools/cchs/

[intheflow]

51. Good call, Kevin!

Will do. :thumbsup:

[tomg]

144. Great idea. My wife and I are both

teachers, and we sent her a note of thanks. Like teachers don't have enough crap to deal with ( cut backs in funding, underprepared kids, "No Child Left With a Mind" acts, assessment, "accountability," recruiters in schools, the occasional loon on the school board) without having Maxwell Smart coming into the classroom doing a Joe McCarthy imitation.

[converted_democrat]

33. Our country is fucking crazy.........n/t

[superconnected]

37. In other words, we're all going to be indited.

Not supporting Bush is apparently a crime in the Secret Services' eyes.

You've gotta love the small minded mentality of the person who reported the kid to the secret service, and the agents who responded. Eeew. Mom look! Real morons!

Bell curve - exactly the same amount of people on each side of 100. Yep half the population is under 100. AND there are the same amount of 120's as 80's walking around. Let alone the same number of 140's as 60's. If you suspect you are dealing with a 70 when you get to a rw extreme wacko republican, you probably are.

[Cronus Protagonist]

75. Ain't that the truth

We who live in the rarified air above 110 tend to forget that at least half the population are semiliterate morons. I have to remind myself of that fact every day, but usually I'm reminded by something one of them does, as in this case.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[IA_Seth]

113. ok, ok....

What is the significance of the 86 43 button?

I am sure I am suppose to know but I am drawin a blank here.

[KDLarsen]

80. That's a freaking scary graph..

.. I took a semi-professional IQ test a while ago (in the sense that it was a watered down version of the one Mensa uses), and apparently I have an IQ of 156. That would put me in the top of that graph - yikes :blush:

[spanone]

38. Welcome to Bush*world. Don't make fun of Der Fuhrer.

[Mr_Spock]

40. Fucking WalMart Nazi's

When are people going to learn to STAY OUT OF THAT PLACE.

I haven't set foot in there for 1 1/2 years now and I don't miss the place at all.

BOYCOTT WALMART!!

[superconnected]

49. Walmart is just the company the rw nazi happened to be working at

They don't exactly get the higher educated of the poplulation.

The real problem here is the Secret Service for responding as they did. The United States is at fault.

W's nazi mentality has spread through the walmart minimum wage workers.

btw, most republicans are poor. Ppl keep forgetting that and thinking the 2% that have money are just like their voters. Their voters are middle america and have the lowest incomes and educations compared to the blue states. At election time I was posting charts on the education distribution in america. Other people posted on the income. You could clearly see the red and blue state and wher ehtey stood

[alarcojon]

63. Agreed, the secret service is the real problem

though there is also a problem with a mentality that any criticism of Bush is a matter of national security. Wonder if this employee listens to Oxyboy?

That said, how could the SS waste resources to pursue this? On a scale of 1 to 100 for credible threats to the president, a thumbtack through Bush's head has got to be about a 1.00000000000005

[sadiesworld]

43. Wow, talk about a civics lesson. n/t

[American in Asia]

82. Yeah - pretty darn ironic, huh?

Guess they left the "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and the Bill of Rights out of those folks' education somewhere along the line.

At a minimum, sending the SS there to "investigate" was a major waste of our tax dollars. But the purpose was clearly to intimidate (in my opinion, or they would have looked at the poster, laughed, and left). That he got nailed for "dissent" on a school project about his right to dissent is pretty damn sad. If it were my kid this happened to, there'd be plenty of hell to pay somehow, some way.

I wrote the teacher to thank her. I hope this gets plenty of attention. This young man deserves an apology from his government, and praise for his exercise of those fundamental rights of all Americans that were hard-won, and should be treasured by everyone, whether folks agree with the opinions being expressed or not.

[Kelvin Mace]

130. I think this story is now the definition

of irony.

[The Stranger]

46. It is illegal to question a minor without a parent or guardian present or

consenting.

[Kelvin Mace]

48. Yeah, I was thinking just that

[canichelouis]

57. Any other links to this story

AP/newspapers, etc?

[Kelvin Mace]

66. Not that I can find at the moment...

[aintitfunny]

92. I found these, not much, but something

Same article at both sites:


http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/12732441.htm

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3894109&nav=23ii

[november3rd]

60. This is one sick country

First of all, why would a kid want to portray the President in such unflattering terms? Why would the Secret Service care what a high school kid, or anyone, for that matter, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina thinks of President Bush? Why would Wal-Mart want to turn in a paying customer's work to the secret police? Why isn't this story plastered all over the front pages of every newspaper in America?

We are totally out of touch with reality. Whenever opportunitis to "get real" arise, we use them merely to fortify the bubble of American media delusion and weaken the importance of common sense and ordinary human experience.

How much money has been wasted on this bs so far?

This is as bad as the New York City police dispatching helicopters and hundreds of motorcycle, patrol and undercover police to try and disrupt a few hundred bicycle riders in the Critical Mass on the last Friday of every month. That effort costs millions every month -- just so people don't get the idea that they have the liberty to exercise their right to ride a bicycle on the streets.

It's about control of perception, and a perception of power: the fear-based society.

[Oilwellian]

77. Why would a kid want to portray the President in such unflattering terms?

Uh, because the kid was practicing his 1st amendment right and expressing his opinion of Captain Bunnypants?

[KDLarsen]

84. I think it was a retorical question..

.. as in, what could Bunny Pants possibly have done to create such a deep amount of disrespect in a young students mind.

[AnneD]

112. Guess this is

one kid that gets left behind....

[goodboy]

62. But Pat Robertson can call for the murder of a foreign Head of State...

:hypoocrisy:

[alarcojon]

67. and now O'Felafel, too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4972240

[MisterP]

136. and the nuking of the State Department, don't forget

[Bassic]

73. Indicted?

Indicted for what? :wtf:

Is this going to happen to anyway who refuses to follow his whims too?

[earth mom]

81. * is TOTALLY AFRAID of the majority of the population.

Orders to check out any hint of disapproval by the anyone and everyone came directly from him.

Remember the inauguration? All that armed military might?

* knows beyond a doubt that the majority of the population doesn't like him and that display on inauguration day only proved what we all knew: that he did not win and the election was STOLEN!

A popular president elected by the majority would not be this paranoid.

[genieroze]

83. The link can't be found

[Kelvin Mace]

89. Was up ealier

I quote the article extensive on my blog:

www.thoughtcrimes.org

[Megahurtz]

175. Gee, I wonder why they disabled the link?

:sarcasm:

[The Doctor.]

87. If the SS bothered to investigate ALL the derision Bush has caused...

They would have at least Ten Thousand instances for every one case worker.

[LynneSin]

96. Just another reason to boycott Wal-Mart

Obviously privacy means nothing to them!

[arwalden]

98. " Wal-Mart has got to pay for this." ... Really? - Why?

<< An employee in that Wal-Mart photo department called the Kitty Hawk police on the student. And the Kitty Hawk police turned the matter over to the Secret Service. >>

Sounds like an over-reactive idiot employee is the start of this.

[Kelvin Mace]

122. I cannot believe that a Wal-Mart "manager" wasn't aware of this

Also, Wal-Mart has failed to condemn this categorically, so they condone it.

[reprobate]

102. Sig Heil, Fuhrer George! Fuhrer George? Doesn't seem to work, does it?

[niyad]

103. what brain-dead, brown-shirted loyalty to the chimpboy-- I haven't

shopped at wally world in years, and am going to make sure everyone i know finds out about this. talk about hysterical, paranoid, police-state bs.

[Emillereid]

107. When do we call it fascism?

When a woman can be bounced from an airline for wearing an anti-Bush shirt? When a school project on the Bill of Rights depicting anti-Bush sentiments elicits a Wal-Mart worker to rat out an innocent student? When the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty is turned on its head as American Jose Padilla is imprisoned for years without any evidence or trial -- and the man who will lead the Supreme Court says that's OK by him? Etc. Etc.

So guys, when do we name this corporate imperial state for what it is?

George Carlin is right -- fascism has come to American wearing a happy face!

[Kelvin Mace]

125. I've been calling it fascism

for years now. Yet our "leaders" on the Left claim such things are "inappropriate".

Interesting. When did the truth become inappropriate?

[Emillereid]

154. I know what you mean. But no matter -- a rose by any other name........

or should I say a turd by any other name would stink just as much!

[tandem5]

109. Anybody want to start a website...

where we all submit our own tack-in-the-head-thumbs-down pictures... or perhaps we all pick a day where we send our undeveloped photos to Walmart - make them call the FBI a few more thousand times.

[Kelvin Mace]

123. Actually, we could drop of film with many subversive images

no reason to pick it up though. I think I'll sign mine T. Jefferson.

[triguy46]

126. An amendment to the flag amendment

'...and no thumbtacks through the head of a picture of *.' Put an end to that once and for all!!!

Indicted? for frickin what????

"They hate us for our freedeom." What frickin freedom might that be? By the time * gets through there won't be any. Fascista!

[speedingbullet]

128. Threat?

Maybe he should have taken a picture of Bush's likeness in the toilet, or would that be construed as a threat to drown him?

[sakabatou]

131. Freedom of speech, gone!

[troubleinwinter]

132. Now wait a minute....

this cannot be true.

I have a picture of the prdedzit on my bulletin board at work.

I honer him by puting a pin him on my board foe to everybdy sees.

Lookhe is honer.

Put lots of pins in prdrdinet to show he is smert prdesdident.

[drfresh]

134. I'm already boycotting Walmart

Proud say I haven't shopped there in months. Me no likely the Walmart.

[AuntiBush]

147. That's the TIcket. Same. Here!

[Tight_rope]

138. And my damn tax dollars are being wasted on bullshit like this....

:wtf: :mad: :argh: :spank: :grr: :banghead:

[melody]

140. Ooooh, now there's a dangerous radical for ya

Aren't we glad the Slave-Mart's moronic, underpaid employee was there to save the day?

[0rganism]

142. What better way to learn about the Bill of Rights than this?

The student took a somewhat vapid class project and turned it into a Life Lesson. A+.

[roguevalley]

143. Indicted for what. THE FUCKERS!

[Hotep]

145. wal-mart freaks out over student

Welcome to Nazi Carolina! Can't expect much from idiot hicks freaking out over a photo of their beloved god.

[Bravo411]

146. It's the symbolism ....

The fact that it's a thumbtack doesn't mean anything. In the photo it looks like and symbolizes a hole in the head. The color red could also be interpreted as blood. He could have used a black thumbtack, but it would still be interpreted as a hole in the head. Had the student used double sided tape to put the pict on the wall, then there would be no issue. It could not then be construed as inciting a violent act against the president.

I think that the student could have come up with something a bit more creative and taken his message up to the line without crossing it and thus breaking the law.



Posted by Bravo411
http://bravo411.blogspot.com

[Caretha]

152. Take your "creative" and .....(leaving that to your imagination)

You said:

"I think that the student could have come up with something a bit more creative and taken his message up to the line without crossing it and thus breaking the law."

Which law would that be? Have you lost your mind? The kid stuck a red thumbtack in a picture of the president. That's against the law? I beg to differ and IMHO you need to get a grip.

If you want to argue the point - please point me to the law that reads "any person or persons are perpetrating a crime when they take a picture of the President and put a red thumbtack in it. To clarify this law of the land, it is okay to stick a yellow, green, orange, purple, lavender or pink thumbtack in a picture of the President". So Saith the law!
:eyes:

[Bravo411]

170. Here you go ...

§ 871. Threats against President and successors to the Presidency



(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(b) The terms “President-elect” and “Vice President-elect” as used in this section shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained from the results of the general elections held to determine the electors of President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2. The phrase “other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President” as used in this section shall mean the person next in the order of succession to act as President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 19 and 20.


So, yes it is against the law to threaten the President. Granted it was a thumbtack, it's what the thumbtack symbolized in the image that is the issue. If he drew a picture of a gun blowing his brains out, would you then argue that it's not a gun but ink?

Granted the thumbtack thing isn't as far over the line and the above analogy, it can still be construed as Bush should have a hole put in his head, and that's where the problem lies. Had you looked at the poster, would you know that it was a thumbtack? No. But you would get the symbolism of it.

[Megahurtz]

174. So again, it comes down to perception,

what is perceived as a threat by one person may be different to another.

It looks like this is the only word in the U.S. Code that they are expanding on
(or most likely blowing out of proportion)
Personally, I wouldn't view this incident as a threat in general.

There is so much overreacting these days to anything that anyone says, does, paints, wears etc.

Must we all become paranoid that if we look wrong at someone sideways they may become offended somehow and complain and we may be arrested and charged???:shrug:

This is all getting so out of hand!:banghead:

[Bravo411]

178. I agree ....

The problem is with the possibly perceived message.

Personally, I think that the student was walking a thin line. Sure his toes may have been over it, but he was still on the line. I think that they made way to much over it. And for the person at Wal-Mart that felt they needed to turn this guy in, well this kind of shit happened during the Nazi rise to power and a lot of it was people turning in other people over trivial shit.

[Megahurtz]

179. And I bet that this student had NO idea

that something like this would happen as a result of his photo.
Yikes! And regular people were playing "Citizen Police" during the Nazi rise to power?
It looks like history is repeating itself.:scared:

[AintIgreat]

149. Screw Walmart I rather pay extra to shop at Target.

Target is cleaner, bigger, they sell nicer stuff.

[tuvor]

150. No one's interested in seeing the photo before passing judgment, huh?

"I don't need to see it. I've READ about it!"

Sounds like the classic rightwing argument for not watching a lot of the stuff they've made up their minds about.

Or perhaps someone could explain the difference to me.

[cascadiance]

151. So who's next? These cafepress shops? They seem more "in question" to me

http://www.cafepress.com/cp/browse/v0.1/design_details.aspx?p=1&id=7289548&q=kill%20bush&opt=&fpt=&c=&hlv=t



http://www.cafepress.com/cp/browse/v0.1/design_details.aspx?p=6&id=7774902&q=kill%20bush&opt=&fpt=&c=&hlv=t

[paineinthearse]

153. Cross-posted in the NC forum

posted by BurgherHoldtheLies

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=170&topic_id=5735&mesg_id=5735

[AZBlue]

157. Just another reason to continue my WalMart boycott - walmartsucks.org n/t

[katamaran]

158. I got my local TV station to do a story on it tonight!

I sent the link to the story to a few friends in the media and they're making it the second story in the 5pm newscast tonight (after the girl from Richmond's body found story). It happened in their TV market, so they were very intersted in it. If there's an online link to the story, I'll post it later. It will air on WVEC 13 (ABC) in Norfolk VA.

[katamaran]

161. Link to local news coverage

Got my local ABC affiliate to cover it.

http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_100605_secret_service_nc_project.1024ca154.html

Secret Service investigated civics project

(CURRITUCK CO., NC) - A high school civics class project caught the attention of the U.S. Secret Service. It called for Currituck County High School students to create a photograph to best illustrate the Bill of Rights. One senior used a photograph of President George Bush with a super-imposed ‘thumbs down’ next to him. It was hung up using a thumb tack in his head.

The Secret Service got involved when that student developed a roll of film at Wal-mart in Kitty Hawk. An employee apparently was alarmed by the photograph and contacted police, who then contacted the Secret Service. Agents visited the school and the boy's home. They took his school project and interviewed his teacher.

(snip)

In a statement to 13News, an agency spokesperson would only say, "We certainly respect artistic freedom, but we also have the responsibility to look into incidents when necessary."

(snip)

The teen has been cleared of any wrongdoing and the students say they’ve gotten a real lesson on our rights.

[Realityhack]

162. So this is what its like to live...

in the first stages of a facist totalitarian military police dictatorship... hmm... totaly F#cking sucks if you ask me.

[McCamy Taylor]

165. WTF? If they indict the kid the class will learn a great lesson as the

ACLU takes his case and they get to follow it through the courts. Should be a real learning experience for the whole school district.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

171. Good. Grief.

How soon until we develop our own version of the Stasi citizen corps? Or have we already?

[OKthatsIT]

180. OH YEAH?