Wal-Mart Turns in Student’s "Bill of Rights" Project; Secret Service Investigates

I think the issue was the *gasp!* thumb tack through Bush's head in the picture. Next thing you know there will be bans on thumb tacks.

I sure wouldn't mind ripping that idiot Wal-Mart employee a new one. Some people read waaayyyyy too much into things.

I guess I better change the wallpaper in my living room, then... Darn!

I don't understand why everyone is getting their pantie in a bunch over this.

1) Walmart employee (probably making min wage) sees a poster with a tac through the presidents head and finds it suspicious. He calls the police to make sure it isn't a problem.

2) Police call secret service because it is their field, not the local cops.

3) Secret Service investigates, presents case to US attorney, and the case is thrown out.

That is the law working and the constitution being upheld. Why don't you praise what happened instead of acting like something bad happened?

Mad Man you have any relatives who lived in Germany in the 30s? These are the same tactics they used to decensitize the public to these types of things. It's all a delicate process in order to get the public to accept Billigerent Nationalism, more commonly known as Fascism. It starts with minor inconvienences like this, then it gets progressively worse until we are back to concentration camps for foreigners and dissenters. Tell me if this strikes you as familiar.

1. Quanteening Protests to dedicated "zones"

2. Kidnapping citizens deemed to be a "threat"(the USA isn't alone in this one in the west either)

3. Driving it into the head of the youngins that protest and dissent is a privlidge and not a right(you have to get a Protest Permit in order to protest in the protest zones)

4. Military Personell when push comes to shove don't give a crap about the Second Ammendment as was plainly obvious in NOLA when they disarmed 80 something grandmothers on National TV

5. Jailing of reporters who fail to rat on their sources

Shall I continue Of course this is not the exact pattern of all Facsist states, the feel of it is similiar according to people who lived through this before.

Wal-Mart's role in this is insignificant in the sense that the rabble-rousers intimate. Photo processing personnel have for decades been encouraged to look at photos processed and to report crimes that might be documented therein.

Murders and child rape have been exposed because idiots thought that they would not be found out because of automated processors. The technician at Wal-Mart deserves a certificate of recognition for reporting what would very easily be interpreted as a threat to the President.

The lesson for all here is this: Don't have processed incriminating photographs and if you even suggest harm to the President of the United States, expect a visit from the Secret Service.

[edit on 2005/10/5 by GradyPhilpott]

Yay, that was the point I was trying to make, no matter what, if you look threatening to the president, the Secret Service is obligated to check you out.

Grady: Seriously now, did you do that to that cat?

That's not my cat. I found that picture on photobucket and could not resist.

Can you describe how they should tell a potential threat from one that is "not worth investigating?"


Can I take from the way you post this story that the S.S. should:

-Distrust all Walmart employees, and never investigate any leads they provide
-Not look into cases involving minors
-Not interview the person that another citizen thought might be a credible threat?



So what do YOU think the threshhold for investigation ought to be?

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

Can you describe how they should tell a potential threat from one that is "not worth investigating?"

I absolutely can. When these cases were popping up all over the country prior to the election for complaints like my neighbor has a commercial bumper sticker that says "Bring Back Beheading" with a Picture of "King George" with a rather obvious punitive tattletale aspect having nothing to do with valid concerns of citizens, quite a few of us seemed to come to the reasonable consensus that one of the measures the Secret Service should use to evaluate a citizen's seriousness is the informed possibility of a nominal fine for spurious complaints.

I take the Secret Service's duties seriously. As I should. I pay for it. So like crank calls to 911 or the Fire Department, people should have some realization of the severity of response to their reported concerns.

Since all complaints are investigated, I think there should be more than just two possible outcomes: Serious threat or not a threat... PLUS spurious allegation with a portion of the investigation fees coming out the yahoo's banking account.

Call in a false fire right now and see what happens when the Fire Department shows up. Hint: You dont get a medal.

Originally posted by LordBucket
Personally, I'd say the lesson was learned...far more accurately than the teacher intended.

nicely put.
we can see that the members of our class here have some different views. bush lovers are scared of children(probably a well-based karmic fear).

Something similar to this actually happened in a town close to here, but regarding hand guns. It goes to show the ridiculous attitude some people take regarding firearms possession. I first became aware of the story while reading AN OFAH magazine, and found it appalling. While this obviously didn't go so far as the investigation which you mention in your original post, I think it still says something.

Here's an excerpt:

June 3, 2005
Dear Sirs:

I am writing in regards to an incident that occurred last evening, June 2, 2005 at your Wal-Mart located at 35 Molson Park Drive, Barrie, Ontario, L4N 9H5.

I took a disposable camera in to be developed at approximately 7:00 pm and was told that they were running a little late and that it would take approximately an hour and a half and to come back at about 8:40 pm.
....
On the film were pictures of 12 handguns, a photo of my place of residence and pictures of two of my children. After getting in touch with my husband for his required PAL number (Possession Acquisition Licence) which allows him to own the handguns, giving the information to the police officer, and after my husband speaking with the officer, a check was done which confirmed all the handguns were registered.

In the process of trying to reach my husband, Mr. Manning told me that if I had informed him as to what was on the film and provided him with the number (I assumed he was referring to the PAL number) there would not have been a problem.

I asked Mr. Manning when it became policy for Wal-Mart to contact the police when pictures of firearms were taken, as I have developed many photos of a similar nature in the past at the same location without any incident.
.....
The following day, June 3, 2005, my husband contacted Wal-Mart Molson Park Drive and asked Mr. Manning if it was store policy that the police are called whenever a firearm is involved in a picture. His replied in an arrogant manner that it was not store policy, but that it was his personal agenda to call police whenever a gun appears in a picture.

More here...

[edit on 5-10-2005 by parrhesia]

Originally posted by parrhesia
The following day, June 3, 2005, my husband contacted Wal-Mart Molson Park Drive and asked Mr. Manning if it was store policy that the police are called whenever a firearm is involved in a picture. His replied in an arrogant manner that it was not store policy, but that it was his personal agenda to call police whenever a gun appears in a picture.

Oh wow! Just wow! Now that guy needs a FINE.

Originally posted by RANT
Oh wow! Just wow! Now that guy needs a FINE.

I know.

I go by that store at least once a week. I've half a mind to go in and give this Mr. Manning a good smack. What an idiot.

This whole thing is just silly. The local police didn't want to deal with so they pushed it off to the Secret Service thinking they would make a few phone calls at most and here they come into town ready to bully a student and his teacher. Unbelievable!

I wonder if anyone here has considered what a picture of a red thumbtack (not a pushpin) would look like in a photograph?

A picture with a red dot on someone’s forehead. (Think: laser sight)

What if he had drawn in crosshairs? would that have meritied the same response?

Originally posted by HowardRoark
I wonder if anyone here has considered what a picture of a red thumbtack (not a pushpin) would look like in a photograph?

About like any of the thousands of readily available GoogleTM images of the same or worse.

Like this

Call Walker Texas Ranger.

Or this obvious threat to have retro genetic code engineering performed on him by a Paint Shop Monkey Terrorist.

Call the AMA!

Or this blantant teen angst cry for HELP.

Call the Secret Service!! Danger, danger everywhere!!

Or this rather bizarre fantasy to fill Bush full of bullet holes while surrounded by dickheads! (wow, that's filthy, don't click on that)

Call Larry Flynt!!!



[edit on 5-10-2005 by RANT]

Really filthy. Link killed.

[edit on 5-10-2005 by RANT]

Originally posted by HowardRoark
I wonder if anyone here has considered what a picture of a red thumbtack (not a pushpin) would look like in a photograph?

A picture with a red dot on someone’s forehead. (Think: laser sight)

What if he had drawn in crosshairs? would that have meritied the same response?

what if he had drawn him with a gaping hole in his head? what the fork is freedom, anyway? what is 'free expression'? what is "political satire"? what is "metaphor"? what is "poetry"?
what colour are brown shirts?
what if reality wasn't an insant fore/replay of a virtual enviroment?

Uh isn't that last bit a little over ATS rules? Funny but rules...

So I play a Half Life 2 Deathmatch game and a guy in the game has a handle of GWB and I kill him, do I go to jail?

Originally posted by Full Metal
So I play a Half Life 2 Deathmatch game and a guy in the game has a handle of GWB and I kill him, do I go to jail?

Funny you should say that, I play Ultima Online on a free shard and my thief is named George W Bush. I can't tell you how many times people have killed my character then sent me an instant message saying they only did it to add my head to their collection(you can keep heads and they are label by the name of the person whose head it was). So, should I report those dozen of people to the SS? After all, they only killed me because of my name and they told me so.

vas

Originally posted by sardion2000
Mad Man you have any relatives who lived in Germany in the 30s? These are the same tactics they used to decensitize the public to these types of things. It's all a delicate process in order to get the public to accept Billigerent Nationalism, more commonly known as Fascism. It starts with minor inconvienences like this, then it gets progressively worse until we are back to concentration camps for foreigners and dissenters. Tell me if this strikes you as familiar.

I am sorry, but I have a hard time believing that a min wage worker at a walmart is involved in a conspiracy to bring about a fascist rule in this country.

I have a very easy time believing that someone saw a picture with a pointed object in the head of the president with a thumb pointed downword and decided to report it to the authorities.

This is just a citizen showing concern. It is no different then when I was 13 years old and walked back after school to my house only to find I was locked out. So I climbed up on the roof and got in throug my upstairs window. Someone saw me do this and reported it to the cops. They showed up, checked it out, gave me a hard time, and left.

You all are looking for a problem and there isn't one.