Monday, June 30, 2008

A Great Source of our Founding Father's Opinions

I recently found out about a website (www.consource.org) that is dedicated to compiling documents from the times of our founding fathers, before and after the Revolutionary War, the establishment of our Constitution, etc etc.

These include the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of The United States of America, the Bill of Rights, The Federalist Papers, journal notes from the conventions and congressional meetings regarding these important issues.

It even has a section showing us SOME of the sources used in the recent controversial DC vs Heller case.

I encourage you to take advantage of this site, which is making documents previously unavailable to the average citizen, readily readable by anyone right here online. Not every source has been incorporated into this site, but they are working on it over time, including taking information one might have on such documents.

A Monday Quote

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."

-George Bernard Shaw
from Mrs. Warren's Profession (1893), act 2

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."
from Everybody's Political What's What (1944)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Dihydrogen Monoxide- It's Everywhere!

Has the idea of thinking things through, asking a few questions, and practicing some common sense become a little too much to ask?

What's wrong with America? How about what's right?

A Few Thoughts from Glenn Beck

The last few days I haven't read the newspaper. I read it on Sunday and that's when I said, you know what, I'm not going to read the newspaper until I have to go back to work, because I read this story from the Associated Press. Everything seemingly is spinning out of control. Washington, Associated Press: Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Airfares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism. Horatio Alger, twist in your grave.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance. The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year's presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order and hope. Even so a battered public seems discouraged by the onslaught of dispiriting things.

Let me tell you something, America. That's where I stopped reading because this is nothing but a lie. I know how you feel because it's the way I feel. I know that you say to yourself, how are we ever going to get out of this. Where is that person that is going to lead us out of this? I feel the same way you feel when I fill my tank with gas. I feel like you do every time I watch television and I listen to John McCain or Barack Obama speak. When I hear that they are making a priority of finding biodegradable balloons for the Democratic National Convention, I think to myself, that's your priority? Biodegradable balloons? When I hear that they have just passed a bill in the Senate to bail out 400,000 more people out of bad mortgages, these are people that were too risky for government loans and they're allotting each of these people $750,000. If you're too risky for a government loan, why are you buying a 3/4 of a million dollar home? I feel the same way you do. But maybe I have something that you don't because I rarely have this when I'm away from people. But when I travel around the country and when I hear the voices of the average person in talk radio, when you call in, I know where our strength really is. It's in you.

Now, we're looking for a leader, but since when did America start waiting around for a leader? It shows that the lie of our government in the last 100 years has really taken root deep inside of you. We're pioneers. All the way from the pilgrims to today we're pioneers. We were people that took chances. We were people that took risks. We were people that did the unthinkable and we still are. But every step of the way the government is in there and the media is in there telling you that you're not. Well, you are. You are a pioneer. You are the leader of your family. You are the leader we've been looking for. The media is focusing on what everything -- everything that's wrong with America, and I play a part in that. I think I give you a different spin than the rest of the media. I tell you what's wrong with America and what's really causing it, and it ain't you. So let me tell you some of the things that are right with America because we still lead the world in the principles that matter most, the rules of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from an oppressive government, although that one's slipping by the wayside rapidly.

So let's talk about our economy. For everything that I've said about the economy and how much trouble we are in, I have also said look at the body blows this economy has taken since 9/11, one right after another. Body blow, body blow, body blow. Consider that California has the same GDP as the entire country of France. Illinois has the same GDP as the entire country of Mexico. New York has the entire GDP of Brazil. Florida, the same as South Korea. Texas, the entire GDP of Canada. Michigan, the GDP of Argentina. Missouri, the GDP of Poland. The projected GDP of the U.S. in 2007 is just shy of the next four biggest economies on planet Earth combined: Japan, Germany, China, and Great Britain, combined. That's how big this company of ours is. When you think of it just that way and you think of it as a company whose earnings are bigger than Japan, Germany, China and the U.K. combined, you think to yourself maybe we should get somebody who knows a little something about business to run this country.

We topped the world again in technological economic innovation. World survey found 77% of Americans are very proud of their nationality. We're tied with those from Ireland. Canadians come in second at 60%, British 53%. 43% of, oh, the gods of Sweden are very proud of their nationality and only 20% of Germans. So what's right with America? Well, you know we talk all the time about nut job college professors, liberal indoctrination. But the truth is while all of that's going on, our universities are still ranked among the highest in the world. We attract over half a million foreign students every year. They leave their country to come here to study. We open up the same colleges and universities to over 80,000 foreign professors, scholars, educators. We've always wanted and continue to want the best and the brightest to teach and educate, our best, our brightest. That's a part of what makes America great. It's not us versus them. We seek out talent. We invite talent. We don't care about their nationality. We don't care about their race. We want them here. Unfortunately those in Washington are now forcing us to ship their best and their brightest back home. But even with that happening we still have over 250 Nobel Prize winners. We have more than double the number of Nobel Prize winners than the British who have the second highest number of Nobel Prize winners. Double number two. More Americans have been awarded the Nobel Prize than individuals from the next three runner-up countries combined. We have more students studying at universities and colleges, about 14 million. More than India, Japan and China do combined. Even though their combined populations dwarf ours, it's not only the number, but the reality that anyone can go to the best colleges and universities in America. Anyone can go to college. The doors of the university are not reserved for the select, those with the right family connection. It's not reserved only for the children of the political elite, but your son or daughter, the son or daughters of farmers, the son or daughter of a radio deejay or a baker. They can all go to college, top tier college universities, if they work hard. And education isn't just formal in America.

What's right with America? People are allowed to have the freedom to go and do. Americans invented the cotton gin. It revolutionized the world. Isn't it funny that the government didn't come up with the cotton gin. As we talk about illegal immigration, what was the argument against abolishing slavery? The South couldn't pick the cotton. The South couldn't get it done. Their economy would collapse. We fought the Civil War. The cotton gin replaced the slave. Bifocals were invented by Benjamin Franklin. Meat could be stored all year in a refrigerator after an American inventor, Oliver Evans, drafted the plans for the refrigerator. The sewing machine was American. Safety pin, telephone, incandescent light bulb, cash register, Ferris wheel, crayons, bubble gum, photocopiers, the artificial heart, the automobile, the first flight airplane. Coca-Cola. By invented the Popsicle.

Healthcare, our healthcare, oh, have you seen the stories on healthcare? Let me give you the true story on healthcare. In 1900 the life expectancy in America was 50 years old, life expectancy. You were dead by 50. Today it's more than 75 years. But it's more than just living longer. Our healthcare system, our prescription drugs have allowed us to lead and experience more fuller lives. In too many countries it appears that people who are just too old, just too old, have nothing to do but wait and die. Consider this. The vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, has had four heart attacks, four. He's not only active. He's the vice president. What a commentary on a broken healthcare system. People want to focus on the negative of our healthcare. Say, yeah, but the benefits are only for the rich. Really? Unfortunately the facts don't prove that out.

In 1900 a rich person lived to 60. The poor person died at 45. 15 years separation. Today the life expectancy of an affluent person in America, a rich person, 78 years old. Poor person, somebody who lives in the gutter in America, 74. A four-year difference. Yes, the rich have advanced and they have benefitted, but the poor have advanced and benefitted even more, and that is what makes America great. Right now in the United States we spend roughly $2 trillion on healthcare. We spend more than any other country in the world per capita averaging $4,631 per person. That's more than Switzerland, Germany, Canada and any other country in the world. Heart disease, we haven't conquered it but we're beating it. Death by heart disease, fallen 67% in the last 50 years. The much talked about Canadian system, consider that 400 Canadians in the full throes of heart attack or other cardiac emergency have been sent to the United States, over the border because no hospital can provide lifesaving care that they require there in Canada. In the United Kingdom one in eight patients wait more than a year for hospital treatment. The British government just recently set a new goal, to keep wait times to less than 18 weeks. That, by the way, is four months. In Canada almost a million citizens, a million citizens can waiting for necessary surgery and more than a million Canadians can't find a regular doctor. You think our healthcare is so bad, let me show you the healthcare system up in Canada that everybody wants us to have. In a small town in Norwood, Ontario, they have a drawing every week. Every week they have a drawing. Somebody wins, somebody who lives in Norwood Ontario, somebody wins the right to go see the town's doctor. Congratulations. You are a winner in the Canadian healthcare system.

July 4th Is Coming! July 4th Is Coming!

Independence Day, July 4th. The birth of our nation, as the Declaration of Independence was written, signed onto by American Colonial Delegates, and submitted to the British. It would mark the beginning of a long struggle to separate ourselves as free men and women, out from under the heavy handed rule of the Crown located across an entire ocean.
Today, the 4th of July means many things. An extra day off for workers (day off number 2387 for the year for federal workers and bankers) Sales with major discounts from every type of retailer imaginable. A day of solemn reflection on the actions of a few men, willing to sacrifice their lives by penning what might be considered treasonous literature, followed by the actual sacrificing of men's lives in the name of these foreign ideas of freedom. To kids, it often means parades, candy, and local celebrations with rides and attractions.
To me, it is the last two ideas. Mostly because I find myself working most holidays, and have no need to go buy "a top quality mattress at crazy low prices from some idiot on the tv box who calls himself completely insane for trying such a never before heard of sale." (Like 50% off never happened before) I already have a mattress, and probably only because I have a wife...I always found comfort in an old beat up couch anyways.
But most importantly for me, on a low-level personal need, it has been 5 years since I have been able to participate in any 4th of July celebrations. Mainly...fireworks. I had been helping put on a private fireworks display for a few years, then I started my current job. But this year, as mentioned in a previous posting, I have proactively opted to take more time for family and life outside of work. So this year, I again get to help in blowing things up.
Now this may not seem like much, but to those who know me, they already know I am a pyromaniac. (my credentials include setting my parents living room on fire in one house, their yard on fire in another, multiple "campfires" in the old ravine, lighting my shoes, armhairs, eyebrows, and God only knows what else into a nice flaming extravaganza)
You would also know that I enjoy explosions, and being the reason for them. As with all shows I have put on, people have enjoyed the displays, as much as I have enjoyed putting them on. Although, in a tribute to the troops, and a line from our national anthem-- "And the bombs bursting in air"-- as the show goes on, things can get a little scary. Artillery rounds with multiple breaks being put in hot tubes, tend to cook off the fuse line a bit sooner than anticipated. I have been seen running from this mishap I helped to create in order to keep all my body parts intact, sometimes dodging multiple rounds as they disperse in all directions. The adrenaline kicks in, the heart pumps really fast. I find myself excited and scared to death all at the same time. Roman candles fall from their post and begin shooting errantly, multiple launch "mini-missiles" rock from their stand with the force created from the explosion initiating their launch. Pretty soon, it's like I imagine a firefight in combat to be. Projectiles small and large whizzing through the air in all directions, exploding at unpredictable points and intervals. Naturally, my mom begins to fear not only for her safety, but mine as well. But she won't dare come out, for fear of being hit with a little fireworks action herself. It is the greatest thrill in the world for me and my underused adrenal glands, knowing full well that I could burn and/or decapitate myself.
One week from tomorrow, I get a chance to experience this all over again. And with much tighter spacing than ever before, I get to see how many neighbors of my parents I can scare, as well as how many house will come close to falling prey to the ever-constant onslaught of some light artillery shelling! I can't wait!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Hateful, Selfish, and Conservative; Compassionate, Selfless, and Liberal?

Generally speaking, Conservatives are usually well off and are most definitely more selfish and less compassionate than liberals.

-Quoted from earhtpal on a post by helenl (a great read which can be found at--http://helenl.wordpress.com/)

First question would be, what makes this assumption to be true or false?
Are we conservative because we are well off, or are we well off because we are conservative? Do the two even technically correlate with each other? (I'll get to the second portion later)

Let's say conservative are as a rule well off. Were we born well off, and naturally became conservatives, or because we were conservatives we were predestined to become well off for ourselves? Maybe, in order to gain more money, the only thing needed, is to become conservative. then we'll all have money, as a general rule. Instead of being rich, we'll just all be normal everyday conservatives. I have to say, I do not fit this mold. However if I end up CHOOSING to become rich, maybe I should blame it on the fact that I became conservative, and finally practiced what I preached. Yes, ten I too, could grow my own money trees, drink expensive champagne, and wipe myself with $100 bills, just because I can.

Of course, now you have to look at the opposite end of the spectrum: Liberals.
Liberals would, by this statement, be more likely to poorer. So, were they born poor and therefore liberal? Or did they choose to be liberal, and therefore become poor? Is it maybe, that liberals are poor because they CHOOSE to be? Maybe that they purposefuly avoid the high paying end of things. in order to go after the more societally-benevolent and low paying jobs. Of course, then this obviously means George Soros (Billionaire liberal) wouldn't fit the mold either. Maybe he should give all his money away toward actually helping the poor liberals and live like them, rather than creating more money machines, which only serve to enhance his own elitism, that pump messages out to captivate his liberal audiences, who meanwhile still find themselves in need of life's basic necesities, all which Soro's has in abundance, and amazingly enough doesn't share...but he's a philanthropist (which by some definitions just isn't the same)

In both cases, lets look at it as a matter of choice. If conservatives are choosing to become filthy stinking rich, while liberals are choosing to work for less money, then what's the argument? Let's say you got the choice everytime, that literally everyone got to choose whether or not they wanted to be rich, or be poor. (Funny, that sounds like the entire premise of the American Dream)
The liberals would have no right to complain because they took the very road that they knew would lead them to Poorsville. Yet, if they did complain and tried to force the conservatives to give up their money, wouldn't the complaints from Castle Richness be even more validated because they specifically chose to earn their money, knowing full well that all they had to do was pick the right path?

Today in America, everybody, and I mean EVERYbody, has an equal chance at great success in their lives, by whatever means they define it. The question is, do you want to work for it, or do you think everything you need should just be handed to you on a platter, whilst you lay about? And how do we define "need"?

1. Is it clean drinking water, and vitamins and minerals enough to keep you alive, maybe some bread for substance and carb-driven energy?

2. Is it top notch healthcare, plentiful food on your table everyday, and a big house with enough space to live comfortably? Is your food catered, do you go to the store to get it, or do you grow it all yourself? Does the Big house have enough bedrooms so everyone has their own, maybe even guest rooms, or is it just a simple abode with a couple bedrooms, a bath, a kitchen, a gathering place and a dining room, and maybe a yard? Do you really even need a yard? As a matter of fact, do you even really need a house? An Apartment? Maybe just a tent for shelter from rain?

If you answered yes to one....welcome to the work camps of the Nazi war machine. Was that really fulflling the "needs" of humanity?

The objective answer to needs really can't be objective, but rather subjective. For instance, I could take my rifle, shotgun, and a hunting knife, and trek into the wilderness. I could survive indefinitely and healthily. Could You? Or do you need more to live?

Now to the second half Generally Speaking,conservatives are... "most definitely more selfish and less compassionate than liberals."

Conservatives donate to charitymore so than liberals do. By ratio and by sheer numbers of dollars. It was brought up that rich people donate to philathropic causes, poor people just share. Now if a poor person shares what they have, how many people benefit from it? Since it's person to person, I'd say a few to a dozen, rarely ever more than that. If a rich person donates to a charity, how many people benefit from it? I would say anywhere from one to several thousand. The charitable donation is often funneled through an organization that solicits donations from many, to help many. Be it for food, or clothing, or disease research.
But is one greater than the other? I would say no. I might even say the poor person sharing may mean more to the recipients, knowing that their helper didn't have much to give. But is the help received from the "sharing" anymore effective than say Joe Millionaire's $1000 "charitable contribution"? Again I would say no. It all helps the recipient the same. They all receive the same benefit regardless of who it came from, and how well off they were.

Consider also this. The well off pay more in taxes, while the worst of the poor will never pay dime one. In fact the latter would most likely be supported by the taxes paid by the former. Should the poor complain that his lifestyle is being paid for by someone else? I should hope so...I should hope that he has enough pride to let the complaint sink into his very consciousness, that he might work his way out of such a situation. And not that he should sit back and complain that the rich guy still isnt paying enough (despite giving up over 50% of his income to taxes in one form or another, often which never pay for much of anything he'll ever benefit from himself).

Less compassionate? This seems to be more conjecture than fact. For every mean-spirited conservative you can name, I can probably name 2 very compassionate conservatives that would make some of the most compassionate of liberals look like Scrooge. And if I wanted to turn the tables on liberals with the same statement, I'm sure anyone could do the same to me. People are people, political idealists on opposite ends of the same political ideology don't make the personality different. Compassion comes in many forms, just as hatred does. One could say that conservatives are nothing but warmongers, while one could say liberals are nothing but Godhaters. Both statements can be true when applied to select people, but when placed against the whole population, you would find the statements to be vastly false.
After all, for an absolute statement to be true, it must apply every time and without exception. But it only takes one example of falsehood to make the absolute statement false.

So with all that in mind, do incomes and political ideology truly coordinate? And if so, how can one argue with the other when it comes to economics?

Friday, June 20, 2008

A Little Friday Fun With VERY Localized News

Terrorist Flight Taken Down Over Domestic Shores


This report just in, and will probably never be aired or printed by the mainstream media.

Recent flights over sovereign territory by terrorists have escalated as of late. To date no terrorist has been found to have conducted further acts of terrorism, other than the blatant harrasment of our border defenses coupled into aerial intel probes.

Today we can proudly say that our military arm reacted to a clear and present terrorist threat within our airspace, and downed the enemy with precise targeting measures that eliminated the possibility of any collateral damage.

A source within the administration speaking on condition of anonymity, as he was not cleared to make public comment, confirmed the altercation, the military's response, and subsequent recovery of the now deceased terrorists body.

Colonel Beauregard Sterling Lovell, Supreme Commander of the Mookified Armed Services was personally responsible for overseeing the operation and was credited with singlepawedly eliminating the threat.

At approximately 0945HRS, An enemy Wren was spotted making incursions back and forth over the coastal base known simply as "The Deck", making touch and go landings on the "cooling zone", which is known to most civilians as a wall mounted AC unit. Also known as a localized seasonal global warming combatant, this unit was feared to be endangered by terrorists.

The low flying Wren fighting bird, who had previously made deliberate passes at the Colonel's head, once again harassed Colonel Lovell. This time with much different results than previous incidents. With fine bones, stealth like movements and cat-like reflexes (pun intended), the Colonel leapt to action, bringing the enemy bird down, and quickly killed the terrorist. Reports are that the body was personally delivered to the kitchen of General and President Mike "Mookie" Lovell. It was quickly dismissed as a poor specimen for lunch and discarded in the way that the administration deals with the deceased enemy combatants: Unrespectfully dumped off the shores of the Democratic Republic of Mike Lovell.

No further comments could be obtained, and the Administration has yet to issue a direct official statement.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

America's Discontent?

No matter what your political convictions are this is eye opener. What a thankless people we are!!! Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

"The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?'

A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?


Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discha rge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Jay Leno

Monday, June 2, 2008

Outrage of the Week- NRA Newsletter

Outrage of the Week

Friday, May 30, 2008

Outrage Of The Week



This week’s outrage comes to us from Winchendon, Massachusetts where, in yet another case of “zero-tolerance” enforcement defying common sense, fourth-grader Bradley Geslak was suspended from Toy Town Elementary School for bringing a Memorial Day souvenir to school.

According to a May 29, Telegram.com article, a uniformed veteran gave the 10-year-old two empty rifle shell casings from blanks used during the town’s Memorial Day celebration Monday morning. Bradley gave one of the empty casings to his grandfather and kept the other as a souvenir. The trouble began when he took his souvenir to school the next day.

“He was just playing with it at lunch,” explained Crystal Geslak, Bradley’s mother. “He wasn't showing it to anyone; he had it in his hand and was playing with it.”

A teacher saw him with the harmless piece of brass and confiscated it. Ms. Geslak was then called at work and told to come and pick up her son, who had been suspended for five days!

Ms. Geslak arrived at the school to find her son in tears. “I was totally shocked. I couldn’t believe this was happening,” she said. “It was just an empty shell, not even from a real bullet. A sharpened pencil would be more dangerous than this piece of metal.”

“He was so proud to have been given them. His dad’s a veteran, his uncle’s a veteran, both his grandfathers are veterans. Memorial Day is a big thing to us. It’s a very important holiday and we have a big celebration every year,” Ms. Geslak said.

Ms. Geslak, who will be forced to miss work in order to stay home with her son, says she is worried about what having a “weapon-related suspension” on his school record will mean to his future.

To add insult to injury, the family says a school official told them that the shell would not be returned, and that the next step might involve assigning a probation officer to Bradley! Yes, you read that right, a probation officer.

A young boy punished over a harmless souvenir. By any standard, that’s outrageous.


If you’d like to express your concern over this incident, please visit http://www.winchendon.mec.edu/. To leave a voice message for Brooke Clenchy, Superintendent of Schools, please call 978-297-0031.