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Texas High Schooler Kicked Out of School for Wearing John Edwards T-Shirt

Posted by GottaLaff at 1:00 PM on October 3, 2007.


GottaLaff: Pete Palmer, a sophomore, says he didn't think he was doing anything wrong wearing the political shirt to school.
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This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

First, let me apologize for linking to Fox, but they did inadvertently give Edwards a little air time, so here it is:

A Texas high school sophomore's parents might sue after the school booted the student from campus for wearing a John Edwards for 2008 president T-shirt.
Pete Palmer, a sophomore at Waxahachie High School, says he didn't think he was doing anything wrong wearing the political shirt to school.
The school prohibits clothing with political slogans.
"It's a First Amendment constitutional right that people have fought and died for and I don't know why he should give it up just because Waxahachie thinks it would be okay or neat for him to do so," [his father] Paul Palmer said.
He's right, you know. Despite what the school rules are. Despite what the Bush administration says when they stifle dissent at every turn. Despite the freedoms they've taken away from us for the past 7 years or so.

Digg!

Tagged as: youth, election08, civil liberties, edwards

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog


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yeah...
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Oct 3, 2007 1:18 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Keeping political speach out of schools (which, with an 18 year old voting age means silencing political speech by VOTERS in a government institution) just won't fly in court.

There is simply no good argument against it that even comes close to the level of justifying such a step.

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They might as well learn early
Posted by: orwellwasn'tdreaming on Oct 3, 2007 1:52 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
that the only political speech allowed is that in favor of the administration. Why waste time rehashing stories of those bygone days of freedom of speech when kids could be reading the bible?

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IS OUR CHILDREN LEARNING ?
Posted by: VZEQICVA on Oct 3, 2007 2:17 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How do educators find the time for this crap? ANNA

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» it's hard to put food on your family Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
Just wait...
Posted by: chaoslegs on Oct 3, 2007 2:45 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
what is that noise. Oh the silence from the pundits and think tanks that will defend the right to give money and advertise for elections, while not showing up for this kids right to wear a t-shirt. Yeah, there is no money it. So they will stay at home and let the ACLU take care of it.

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My son too...
Posted by: channing on Oct 3, 2007 5:46 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
7th Grade Science Academy, with an overwhelming consensus among the students that TWO Named Teachers needed to GO. My son takes it completely upon himself to write a Petition, one for each teacher, and During Lunch Hour, sat down on the floor with both petitions and began collecting signatures... the sheet was Filled Immediately (in his words), and a large crowd waited for their opportunity to sign. Up walks the designated Gestapo, the "Lunch-Room Monitor", Demands that he Cease this disruptive but creative insurrection, to which my son Declares his Constitutional Right to Petition and Free Speech. The Gestapo replies that those rights do not exist On School Premises During School Hours and Swipes the two petitions from the floor (being much "bigger") and hauls my son to the principle's office for a 3 day suspension.

I was called to pick him up, and explained that, if anything, my son should have been given an Award for Constitutional Enactment, Bravery, or Peaceful Problem-Solving... the Gestapo's Sentence Stands!

That was the last time either of us went to that school.

Today, this same district enacted a Law that allows them to Prosecute Parents for late or missing class time... know why? Our wonderful Land of Lincoln decided to pay state subsidies for school-districts according to "hours in session". It's an easy equation, POLICE STATE IS THE ANSWER TO CHILDHOOD!

Now a few years down the road they wonder why their In-School Crime Rate is still going up and they are requesting More Police Officers, but it certainly can't be that Children Detect the need to Fight Fire With Fire, now could it?

Public School Prison, nice introduction to Fascism!

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Yeah, but this is Texas...
Posted by: chuff8 on Oct 3, 2007 6:48 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm a native Californian living in Texas, a state on the slow march back to the Dark Ages. The sad thing is a majority of Texans (read conservative) are as happy as proverbial clams with stuff like this. What's wrong with America is right with Texas.

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» Tell me about it. Posted by: dkm
» RE: Tell me about it. Posted by: mviscid
Edwards believes that 2nd graders can determine
Posted by: Nugeman on Oct 3, 2007 7:59 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
their own sexual exposure. Quoted right out of his own mouth. How old are second graders? What an assinine comment. This guy should be kicked out of school for supporting this looney tunes presidential candidate.

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» link, please... Posted by: hurricane hugo
» RE: Personal attacks are the norm Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
» RE: Personal attacks are the norm Posted by: sui_generis
» RE: Personal attacks are the norm Posted by: blitzmesser
The Bible
Posted by: dannrusso on Oct 4, 2007 6:20 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I always think its funny when people say you should read the Bible...more often than not when (conservative) people talk about the Bible they are talking about selected passages

have you ever read the Bible?

1. LOTS of sex (prostitutes, concubines, incest)
2. LOTS of hypocritical rules which all cancel each other out
3. LOTS of anti-governmental behavior...

hell yeah I want to live like Jesus said - knock over the tables in the temple and start a revolution so that people 2000 years from now will talk about me and how I wanted peace in the world and realized that no earthly government would ever be able to give it

:-)

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» RE: The Bible Posted by: kewpie
» RE: The Bible Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
» but Jesus died for your sins... Posted by: Bearzerker
Sieg Heil! Selective Bible reading! Sieg Heil!
Posted by: frank69 on Oct 4, 2007 8:23 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Don't read the Beatitudes because Jesus talked about PEACE!
Don't read the Song of Solomon - way too much SEX!
Don't read what Jesus said about ADULTERY and stones!
And on, and on, and...

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Figures... it's Texas
Posted by: outlander55 on Oct 4, 2007 9:00 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I bet if he were wearing a Thompson for President T-shirt, it would have been just fine. I hope the kid doesn't get the death sentence.

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» RE: Figures... it's Texas Posted by: willymack
High school experience
Posted by: frank69 on Oct 4, 2007 9:01 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I attended a private Jesuit high school: Fairfield College Preparatory School - "PREP." We wore jackets, shirts with a tie, and dress trousers. Not uniforms - our own clothes.
We did, however, learn how to think for ourselves.
I well remember the Army-McCarthy hearings which were televised in 1954 during my Junior year. The English teacher, Fr. McCarthy (no relation to the infamous junior senator from Wisconsin), did say he admired the Senator. He assigned a paper to be written on the hearings. I wrote a paper condemning Senator McCarthy by using exactly what I seen and heard of the hearings. Father McCarthy complemented my paper and gave me an A.
I had four years of Math, English, and Latin Daily. Two years of Spanish. One year of Chemistry, and one of Physics. Two years of History. Religion once a week. Speech as a Freshman. A Shakespeare Play every year. A novel every year including a paper on it. Except in my Junior year we read another play: "Green Pastures," instead of Hawthorne's "House of Seven Gables." Hooray!

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» RE: High school experience Posted by: AMERICAN VETERAN
Yes, but...
Posted by: daniel347x on Oct 4, 2007 11:40 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...for alot longer than the past 7 years.

Bush aggravates it. But media domination of public discourse and control over dissent has been with us for decades.

Highlighting the sickness of the Bush administration is very important. Downplaying the sickness that has been with us for 50 years is very sad.

Dan Nissenbaum

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Education is important
Posted by: Schroeder on Oct 4, 2007 12:14 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and we all know that children need to be educated to think in a 'certain way'. Edwards is entirely too democratic in his thinking and far too willing to embrace those this administration finds unimportant. Edwards shouldn't be displayed on anyone's T shirt, especially in Texas.

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Where is education in all of this?
Posted by: tymefornew on Oct 4, 2007 12:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Why are educators put in this position? So much time is wasted on dress codes and freedom of speech issues like this one. I wore uniforms my whole life and think it would make life much much easier. I've been to countless School Board meetings that focus on length of skirts, flip-flops or no flip-flops, tee shirts with writing vs. without writing and on and on... I strongly believe in our contitutional right to free speech but don't adults realize that there is a time and place for everything? I don't wear political tee-shirts to work, not because there is a rule but because it isn't appropriate. That is what we need to teach our kids in this situation, there are behaviors and dress appropriate to different situations. When did we stop teaching that, an why?

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Why am I NOT surprised by this?
Posted by: bettyn on Oct 4, 2007 3:12 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's Texas. You can bet your *** if that kid wore a Bush shirt, they'd look the other way.

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a suggestion to the kid
Posted by: Doubtom on Oct 5, 2007 12:17 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Since you're already suspended why not test the school's administration by showing up with a Bush t-shirt? I would!

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» wouldnt work now... Posted by: Bearzerker