Two issues (or more) of the day to discuss. Seriously, what is wrong with people?
Issue #1: Seriously, who is handling Hillary Clinton's campaign? Are they tone-deaf or are they just trying to sabotage her campaign? Here is a video that she just released on her stand on "campus rape" that has since been removed from her official campaign site, but as things on the internet never really go way, here is the LINK
Here is the text of the 18-second PSA that has since been taken down:
Issue #2 - Okay, you may have seen all over the news yesterday about a Muslim student at a Texas High School who was arrested after bringing his latest engineering project to school - a small briefcase with a digital clock apparatus - LINK. Now, full disclosure, I graduated from the MacArthur High School in Irving Texas. And frankly it makes laugh that people are questioning the issue. The 9th-grader took proudly took his latest project to his engineering teacher and the teacher allowed him to carry it around without thinking. His English teacher was appalled and called the local police. Frankly, I question the stupidity of the engineering teacher who allowed a kid named Ahmed Mohamed to walk around the school with an briefcase with a clock that looked like a "terrorist bomb" device from any episode of NCIS and not think "Hum, that might cause a problem to an English teacher who doesn't know Ahmed or engineering."
Okay, I am horrified that the MacArthur Cardinals and the Irving Police Department are now in the NY Times, but seriously, wouldn't common sense question this? If someone name Billy Bob was carrying around a clock shaped like a gun wouldn't someone do the same thing? Irving has a large Muslim community and a mosque, but come on. I mean, A kid named Ahmed Mohamed carrying around a briefcase with a a circuit board clock in it. As I have stated openly on Facebook for the last few hours, how was anyone other than Ahmed and that stupid engineering teacher to know that this wasn't something to be concerned about? What if it really was an incendiary device? Isn't it better to look stupid than trying to explain how killing 1200 students and teacher could have been prevented if someone had just said something? Thank goodness Obama has invited Ahmed Mohamed to the White House and all of those stars are rooting for him to make him feel better. But what if...
In case none of this interests you, did anyone watch the Republican debate?
Issue #1: Seriously, who is handling Hillary Clinton's campaign? Are they tone-deaf or are they just trying to sabotage her campaign? Here is a video that she just released on her stand on "campus rape" that has since been removed from her official campaign site, but as things on the internet never really go way, here is the LINK
Here is the text of the 18-second PSA that has since been taken down:
“I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault: Don’t let anyone silence your voice. You have the right to be heard. You have the right to be believed, and we’re with you."What were they thinging?? How can someone who's husband is a known sexual predator and who has she herself spent years demonizing her husband's victims send any kind of "message" to survivors of sexual assault? Are her campaign people just insane? Needless to say the Twitter-verse exploded with outrage...hence the PSA was taken down. It is mind-bending to say the least.
Issue #2 - Okay, you may have seen all over the news yesterday about a Muslim student at a Texas High School who was arrested after bringing his latest engineering project to school - a small briefcase with a digital clock apparatus - LINK. Now, full disclosure, I graduated from the MacArthur High School in Irving Texas. And frankly it makes laugh that people are questioning the issue. The 9th-grader took proudly took his latest project to his engineering teacher and the teacher allowed him to carry it around without thinking. His English teacher was appalled and called the local police. Frankly, I question the stupidity of the engineering teacher who allowed a kid named Ahmed Mohamed to walk around the school with an briefcase with a clock that looked like a "terrorist bomb" device from any episode of NCIS and not think "Hum, that might cause a problem to an English teacher who doesn't know Ahmed or engineering."
Okay, I am horrified that the MacArthur Cardinals and the Irving Police Department are now in the NY Times, but seriously, wouldn't common sense question this? If someone name Billy Bob was carrying around a clock shaped like a gun wouldn't someone do the same thing? Irving has a large Muslim community and a mosque, but come on. I mean, A kid named Ahmed Mohamed carrying around a briefcase with a a circuit board clock in it. As I have stated openly on Facebook for the last few hours, how was anyone other than Ahmed and that stupid engineering teacher to know that this wasn't something to be concerned about? What if it really was an incendiary device? Isn't it better to look stupid than trying to explain how killing 1200 students and teacher could have been prevented if someone had just said something? Thank goodness Obama has invited Ahmed Mohamed to the White House and all of those stars are rooting for him to make him feel better. But what if...
In case none of this interests you, did anyone watch the Republican debate?
34 comments:
GOPDebate thoughts?
Carly won, hands-down.
Rubio came in second.
Trump was Trump
Bush was better than last time.
But good-bleeping-God was that thing long!
Kit - Bless you for watching it. I am not ready for them yet, but apparantly somebody was as it was the most watched event on CNN ever. Yeah, and to think they weren't going to let Fiorina participate.
I dunno. Circuit boards, wires, batteries. These things are so commonplace in the modern world that I find it asinine that they would be assumed to be a bomb, just like I think it's asinine that kids get suspended for bringing miniature Lego guns to school.
I missed the Republican debate. Due to my work hours at 8PM I am often asleep.
Saw headlines about the Muslim kid, didn't bother to read the articles until now. The kid sounds really smart but also really dumb. His engineering teacher warned him not to show his device to anyone else, so what does he do? He shows it to an English teacher.
Kid is smarter than most people (including me) and will probably go on to do great things, but engineering talent and common sense are two different things.
That being said, while calling the police was the rational thing for the school to do, the decision of the principle and the police to try to keep his parents out of it while they pressured him to admit to being a terrorist was a bad move.
Law enforcement taking shortcuts is something almost nobody cares about if the person getting cut is either guilty or even just plain unsympathetic but when it happens to someone sympathetic and innocent (if naïve) a crapstorm ensues.
Oh yeah, as tryanmax mentioned, the suspension was nutty. The school could have apologized and explained its position to the parents (We did what we thought was right, but we're glad we were wrong and welcome your son back!) but instead they chose to double down (He's suspended for the honest misunderstanding!). Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Two questions re the McCarther High student
—Did the student tell them the Engineering teacher gave him permission?
—Was the Engineering Teacher contacted after finding the supposed bomb?
Also, from what I can gather Anthony is right about the school stupidly doubling down on this. They had a misunderstanding and, once they figured this out, they should've just let the kid go. Now they are digging themselves even deeper when all they had to do was release this joint press release with the local police department:
"Given the number of mass shootings and bomb threats at schools and other facilities in recent years we reacted in a way that we felt was in the best interests of the school. When it was discovered that it was not a bomb we and that the entire event was the result of a misunderstanding we sent the kid back to class."
They could add or detract as they felt necessary.
"Yeah, and to think they weren't going to let Fiorina participate."
I know!
Judging by twitter, this was the response from the typical conservative male:
LINK
I hope to say more on the debate tonight but for now, this sums a lot about her up:
"What also makes Carly fascinating is that she’s gotten to this point without ever holding office and without a huge profile among Republicans. Ben Carson has been a grassroots favorite since he rebuked President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast years ago. Donald Trump is Donald Trump. And Jeb Bush is the frontrunner’s frontrunner—the son and brother of presidents. Carly? She was a surrogate for McCain in 2008 and a failed candidate for senate in California in 2010. And now she’s on the Republican main stage, outperforming two term governors."
LINK
Also, its odd that the school didn't evacuate at any point given the concern the device was a bomb.
Kit,
Who isn't outperforming two term governors? The deadliest sin in the current Republican primary is holding or having held office :) .
The deadliest sin in the current Republican primary is holding or having held office
Ain't it the truth?
I feel bad for the kid and I agree with Kit: the big problem here is zero tolerance policies that seem to negate common sense.
But I've seen conservatives asking, "Well, what about the kids who make gun sounds or draw weapons and get suspended from school? Where are their White House invitations?!?!"
I would argue that building a clock and cutting a gun shape out of notebook paper are TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS!! And no one's stopping the NRA from giving any of those kids scholarships. Or gun manufacturers from inviting them on factory tours. Etc.
(Then again, this kid is really into science and tech. Not all kids who play with toy guns or violent things - which would be most of them - are "gun enthusiasts.")
Scott, Whoaaaaaa! I think what this school district did was obnoxious and wrong and probably racist. (I point out, by the way, that they are most likely leftists too.)
BUT...
Realistically, what you said is entirely wrong. Think about it. On the one hand, a kid brings to school something that kind of sort of looks like a bomb. Given the number of bombings and school shootings, if there is doubt, then it makes sense to freeze the situation and call the authorities until everything is sorted out, lest he attach the wires to the pipebomb you haven't seen yet and he blows up a dozen kids. That is the sad truth of the modern world.
On the other hand, a kid who cuts out a gun out of piece of paper is entirely harmless. A paper gun cannot hurt anyone in any way. To overreact to that is obnoxious and politicized. It would be as utterly stupid and indefensible as suspending a kid for bringing an animal to school just because they drew a unicorn.
So the truth is that the kid with the paper gun deserves a much greater apology than the kid who inadvertently triggered a scary situation.
"the kid with the paper gun deserves a much greater apology than the kid who inadvertently triggered a scary situation."
On that, I agree w/ Andrew.
Andrew - It's frustrating to me because I know these people. They were just trying to not have to explain why 1500 students and teachers were killed because they didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Maybe they went overboard, but if it were a student with gun shaped object but harmless, I would imagine the response would have been the same.
And you know, when Obama sticks his nose in incidences like this, it causes a media shit storm to rain down. The police and school officials were screwed the minute someone called it in. No matter what they did or didn't do, they are screwed for just trying to be overly cautious. I am sure the lawsuits have already been filed and the family will claim their little genius was being persecuted because he is Muslim and his mother wears a burka. Not that he was carrying something that looked like a incendiary device to an English teacher. They will settled for millions, go on all of the talk shows, he'll get his day with Obama and Mark Zuckerberg and play the victims.
But the kid that got detention for wearing the American flag on his t-shirt that was against the dress code a few towns over, gets bubkus.
Andrew -
I'm not disagreeing with you, but my problem is with some bloggers on the right wondering why the paper gun kids aren't getting showered with accolades. It's like, "No one's stopping you from reaching out to them and giving them a few bucks!"
THAT is my problem with the reaction and the point I was trying (in vain, perhaps) to make.
I agree 100% - a paper gun is harmless and the overreaction in those situations is even worse.
Sorry Scott, I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying there was something wrong with drawing a paper gun, but there wasn't in this case. Neither kid should be harassed, though I can understand why they would be cautious in the "bomb" case... even if they botched it, overreacted and went full-retard when exposed.
Bev, Obama needs to learn to STFU because he only causes problems when he sticks his nose in these situations. A real president would know that. Presidents need to be careful what they discuss.
In terms of this situation, I understand what they were thinking. Just as you say, they are hyper-cautious because the modern world has shown that kids will try to kill other kids. But they really over-reacted and mishandled this.
Andrew -
No worries... this time. :-)
And considering Obama loves to chime in, I'm wondering if there's any goodwill to be had if any of the Republican candidates were to chime in on social media. They don't have to talk about the arrest - just compliment the kid's skills, brighter future, talk like that.
(The fringe would hate it, but whatever.)
Andrew......"Obama needs to learn to STFU because he only causes problems when he sticks his nose in these situations. A real president would know that. Presidents need to be careful what they discuss"
You are assuming that this Obama character even understands what being President means. I see him as using the office as the ultimate 'community activist' for the world, not as the American President.
January 21st 2017 can't come soon enough
Bob
Well, it all just goes to show that you just can't win no matter what you do. They either do too much and are branded ignorant, racist hicks. They don't do enough or don't do it fast enough (see Great Ebola Scare of 2014/Dallas) and they are still branded ignorant, racist hicks. And cops are executed in cold blood...and the cops are called ignorant, racist hicks who probably deserved it. You just can't win.
Does anyone see why people are so angry?
Bev, I think honestly that the problem is that people aren't doing the right thing or smart thing anymore... they are doing the bureaucratic thing or the petty tyrant thing.
Look at this kid. What they should have done is taken him somewhere private and investigated what this clock was. Once it became clear that it wasn't a bomb, they should have explained to him why they had an obligation to investigate (to protect other students), cleared him, and let him go with a thanks for his cooperation.
Instead, they treated him like he was guilty and then attacked to try to hide their mistake... a typical bureaucratic move. Once you end up in their crosshairs, no amount of force is too much, it's all robotic, and then they get pissed when you prove they are wrong.
That's what's wrong here.
And that attitude allows the tyrants like the t-shirt people to impose their own sick views.
It's all the same problem: 0% good judgment.
Andrew,
T-shirt people?
The people who gave the kid detention for wearing an American flag on his t-shirt.
Bob, Agreed. Obama doesn't have a clue what it means to be President and he doesn't seem to care either.
"...I think honestly that the problem is that people aren't doing the right thing or smart thing anymore..."
I get that. And you are correct. But what is "the right thing or the smart thing" when trial lawyers, the media, politicians, and political pundits are preying on and praying for these kinds of situations to make themselves famous? Really who IS that smart or that right that what they do can't be twisted to look bad for the sake of opportunity? It is really easy to arm-chair quarterback after the game is over,
Bev, That is the name of the game these days, cynical arm-chair quarterbacking. It's disgusting to me. But I think that people can escape its clutches by simply being reasonable in how they act. The people who get dragged into the news almost always tend to be people who acted irrationally or in an extreme manner where a reasonable person could have solved the problem without everything blowing up.
And even when reasonable people have been dragged into the news by the cynicism machine, they generally do pretty well because the public sides with them very quickly.
If you act rationally, you will almost never get into real trouble.
And Bev, to be clear, I HATE the cynicism. I have no respect for it. It is idiocy and hate pretending to be wisdom. It is destructive and biased. It is immoral.
My biggest concern is the idea that a circuit board = possible bomb. Frankly, it's a dangerous idea. A bomb doesn't necessarily look like anything, but one thing is certain, a circuit board is not a bomb. It is as incidental a part of a bomb as the backpack that it might be put in. As ubiquitous as circuitry and circuit boards are, training people to think of them as bombs is about as useful as trading them to think of backpacks as bombs.
But Tryanmax, we already are trained that backpacks can potentially carry a bomb. That is why no one is allowed to carry one on Mew Years Eve in Times Square or to any sporting event with out a thorough inspection. Add a circuit board or a pressure cooker and voila...
Bev.....I'll have to try the Mew Years Eve in Times Square!
Bev.....I'll have to try the Mew Years Eve in Times Square!
Bob - It's just like New Year's Eve in Times Square, but with kittens...;-)
Actually, if you never been to Times Square on New Year's Eve, you should put it on your bucket list. It's really fun to do once.
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