I heard that a teenager was questioned by the Secret Service after she posted an icon saying "Kill Bush" on her myspace page. My companions were up in arms over it, saying that's a violation of free speech and how dare they scare her, et cetera. I don't see how she was charged with any crime or how this how this disrupts anything but her school day. Yes, it's silly that the Secret Service had to investigate a 14-year-old, but even they say it's silly: (link)

When I was 16, Speed was a big hit in theaters. One day my friend and I drove past a school bus, and for laughs we scribbled "bomb on bus" on a scrap of paper and held it up to the window. I absent-mindedly put the scrap in the back window of my car and left it there until a few days later when I was pulled out of class by the dean and questioned over my "bomb threat." They knew it was just a dumb kid being a dumb kid, and I knew they were just doing their job by asking about it.

Now, if that teenager wants to make a real killing, she should put her artwork on a CafePress t-shirt and soak in the free publicity.


Three Replies to Silly Caucasian Girl Likes to Play with Samurai Swords

Lori Lancaster | October 25, 2006
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Denise Sawicki | October 25, 2006
I probably mentioned at the time, Scott, that a guy I knew in high school suffered a similar fate shortly before the 2000 election. He had printed an article in his college newspaper saying he advocates the killing of the winning presidential candidate (whichever one was to win) because he felt the vice-presidential candidates were better. It was meant to be a "Modest Proposal" style satirical piece but of course the Secret Service took it seriously. He was banned from attending a presidential appearance later, because of it. I can't find any links to that story in the news anymore though. I wonder if this 14-year-old will have a similar ban on her head.

I guess at the time I was extremely dumb and didn't realize these kinds of words were a big deal but I do understand now why they have to investigate. :P

Jackie Mason | October 26, 2006
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Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Bill$

Saving up is hard to do. I'm spending every dollar I have after the holidays to move Kelly here next week, then we have to move again in two months to a larger place. And I have more than a grand to pay in taxes. Go »

This Blog Post Definitely Doesn't Conform to NPOV Standards

I once coined a rule that you couldn't read more than three complete articles on Wikipedia without running into a reference to some obscure joke from The Simpsons, Monty Python, or most commonly, Family Guy. Seriously: I just now clicked two links and landed at Anarcho-syndicalism of all things, and sure enough, there's Holy Grail in the "trivia" section. Should it be plural like that, since no one is ever going to enter another item of trivia? Go »

Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

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Garfunkel and Oates

Kelly and I had a good time last night taking out two old friends for their birthdays to see Garfunkel and Oates in Tampa. I'm only familiar with the duo's songs, so it was refreshing that only maybe a third of the show consisted of music. The rest was stand up comedy, storytelling, audience interaction, and a weird extended commercial for their sponsor Monster Energy Drink, tall boys of which were being handed out for free, because that's just what my heart needs at ten o'clock at night. Go »

Fossil

The soap says Cambria & Taylor. "Is that trilobite soap?" "What are you talking about?" Go »

Where the Hell I Have Been All Year, Part II

I have a job! It sounds silly to keep that a secret, and yet I did for two years. I was fearful of being dooced for the slightest remark, since nearly anything can be interpreted as inappropriate with enough reasoning. Go »