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SINCE 1994 and reaching at least 43,787 subscribers, this is the 987th weekly issue of Randy Cassingham's... THIS is TRUE: 12 May Copyright 2013 http://www.thisistrue.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZERO TOLERANCE -- MIGHTIER THAN A SWORD DIVISION: Two second-graders from Driver Elementary School in Suffolk, Va., were suspended. The 7-year- old boys' crime: using pencils as "guns." They pointed the writing instruments at each other and made "shooting noises," which violated the school's zero tolerance policy prohibiting "look-alike guns." That's "intimidating and threatening," said school spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw. "It doesn't have a place in the classroom." She added that doing the same thing with fingers is also forbidden, as is drawing a picture of a gun. "It's an effort to try to get kids not to bring any form of violence, even if it's violent play, into the classroom," Bradshaw said. "There has to be a consequence because it's a rule." (RC/Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot) ...As a rule, I'm beginning to dislike government school spokesdroids. ZERO TOLERANCE, SCIENCE DIVISION: Polk County, Fla., school officials said Kiera Wilmot, 16, committed a "serious breach of conduct." A local prosecutor said Wilmot committed a felony: "possessing or discharging weapons or firearms" on campus. What did Wilmot do? She put toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in an 8 oz. bottle near a lake by her school and watched it explode. Wilmot called it a science project, and said she'd only expected it to produce smoke. Principal Ron Pritchard said Wilmot was "a good kid" and had been "very honest" about the incident, and that no injuries or damage to school property resulted. Nevertheless, Wilmot was arrested and expelled. "In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment," said school officials in a press release, "we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules." Scientists have rallied behind Wilmot online, posting essays in her defense and tweeting about what they'd blown up in school. "Most of us didn't become scientists because of something that happened in a classroom," Danielle Lee explained. But police said Wilmot's science teacher hadn't known what she was doing. (AC/WTSP St. Petersburg, Toronto Star) ...Because it's only science if the authorities approve -- just ask Galileo. ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- SPAM USED TO SIMPLY BE AN ANNOYANCE Now it's organized crime trying to get control of your computer. Once they have that, they can use it to send more spam -- AND get into your bank accounts. You MUST not ignore this threat! Take 15 minutes to read the free Spam Primer online, or buy the even-more-complete $2.99 ebook. The Primer could save you EVERYTHING: http://www.SpamPrimer.com ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- LAST WEEK's newsletter: http://www.thisistrue.com/lastweek.html ZERO TOLERANCE, UNEQUAL TREATMENT DIVISION: David "Cole" Withrow, a senior at Princeton (N.C.) High School, was expelled from school and now faces felony charges because he accidentally brought an unloaded shotgun onto school property. The Eagle Scout and Honors student had gone skeet shooting, and after arriving at school he realized he had never taken the gun out of his pickup truck. He called his mom to come get it, but school officials overheard the call and called the sheriff; they say their zero tolerance gun policy mandates expulsion. "Administration reacted promptly and the proper procedures and protocol were followed," says school spokeswoman Tracey Peedin Jones. "The law is very clear when a person knowingly and willingly brings a weapon onto educational property." Students and community members both protested, pointing out that two different school officials accidentally brought guns to local schools in recent years, but they were neither fired nor arrested. One was an assistant principal at the same school, who brought a loaded handgun to school. A teacher at another school also brought a gun, and decided to resign. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office confirmed that when it comes to guns on campus, school officials are normally charged with a misdemeanor, and students are "automatically" charged with a felony. (RC/WTVD Durham) ..."No state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." --14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. UNARMED, NOT DANGEROUS: Steve Simonar, 55, was pulled over in Saskatoon, Sask., Canada, and asked why he was not wearing his seatbelt. "Nobody ever gave me a seatbelt ticket because, you know, I can't wear one. I can't put it on," Simonar says. He lost both arms at the shoulder in an electrical accident in 1985, and has always been exempt from the seatbelt law. His cars are specially modified so he can drive with his feet. Saskatchewan Government Insurance has approved of every one of his modified vehicles, and he has a letter from his doctor saying he needs to be exempt from the seatbelt law, but SGI is now requiring a special exemption issued only by themselves to get a pass. Simonar says he wasn't notified of the change, and Saskatoon Police gave him a $175 ticket, even though it's rather obvious he'll be granted an exemption as soon as he applies for it. "I'm a rare bird," Simonar says, "and that's what kind of makes this whole thing stupid. I'm the exception to the rule and it has to be treated that way." Police spokeswoman Alyson Edwards shrugged it off. "Wearing a seatbelt is the law," she said. "We can't just simply look away and say, 'drive on.'" (RC/Toronto Star) ...Isn't that exactly what happens with a warning? WHO COULD HAVE POSSIBLY ANTICIPATED SOMETHING GOING WRONG HERE? "Houston Teen Injured When Plan to Blow up Turtles with Homemade Bomb Goes Awry" -- KHOU Houston, Texas, headline DID YOU FIND an error? See http://www.thisistrue.com/errata.html THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS: MS-Mike Straw, AC-Alexander Cohen, RC-Randy Cassingham. I WRITE WEIRD STORIES. I get weird e-mails from readers. I get weird *complaints* from readers. And now: weird "unsubscribe" comments from readers: http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-unusual_unsubscribes.html THE FIRST THREE STORIES this week have been THE most-suggested stories of the past 10 days. They're more examples of how we are making being bright -- or just being a child -- more and more punishable by law. Which will have WHAT effect on us in the long run? Well, kids grow up and, for example, become cops who ticket armless drivers for not putting on their seatbelts. (Or judges: Simonar has been to court before, for not putting money in a parking meter. He appeared before a judge to show why he can't put coins in a parking meter. The judge found him guilty, suggesting he use his *teeth* to put coins in the meter. Picked up from WHERE, exactly? He apparently didn't have suggestions for that. And remember, this is Canada: the U.S. doesn't have a monopoly on the ZT mindset!) There is an update already on the second story, about the girl charged with a felony for making a "bomb" in an 8oz bottle. The State Attorney's office announced it extended "an offer of diversion of prosecution to the child" -- essentially, a probation-like program of community service. Then, "The Polk County School District will take the State Attorney's decision into consideration in determining what, if any, further disciplinary action is appropriate," said a spokeswoman for the school district. Meanwhile, former NASA engineer Homer Hickam (whose book "Rocket Boys" was made into the film "October Sky") offered to pay for a scholarship for Wilmot to the United States Advanced Space Academy. She has accepted. Details: http://bit.ly/11L53J3 I have said over the years that what will REALLY turn the tide on zero tolerance is for enough people to push back. That pushback is slowly, but surely, gaining momentum. o o o WHEN PEOPLE UNSUBSCRIBE from This is True, they have the opportunity to leave comments. Most don't, and oddly some think they "have to" (I mean really: "No comment."?) And of course some use it as an opportunity to protest -- like when I tell the truth that they don't want to hear. And then there are the weird ones. Continues: http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-unusual_unsubscribes.html MAN SPENDS $2,600 trying to win $300 video game (and then he gets mad). Man says he didn't think it was the police pulling him over for a traffic violation (and then it gets REALLY weird, since it's in Florida). Man gets into tussle with flight attendant; it's now in court to see who gets the last laugh. Man leaves scene of accident; his next victim is the definition of irony. Man gets in tussle with clerk at tractor supply company; the employee gets the last laugh. Another example of school obliviocy: zero tolerance for the kids, massive tolerance for adult employees. An example of WHY it's illegal for felons to possess firearms or ammunition. PLUS the results of the May Reader Tagline Challenge. Take that, add it to this free edition, take out the outside ads, and what you have is the Premium edition. Try a four-month "Sample" of expanded issues for just $10! For details see http://www.thisistrue.com/upgrade.html THE LATEST POSTING TO JUMBO JOKE: Warning: Read This Warning (supposedly true warning labels from real products). http://www.JumboJoke.com ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- LOSING SLEEP TRYING TO DECIDE ON A NEW BED? Memory foam or latex mattresses/toppers, airbeds or waterbeds, innerspring coil or futon mattresses, all without sales hype: NOT affiliated with any store or manufacturer. Just personal experience and research so you can get a non-biased perspective on your options. http://www.TheMattressLady.com ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- TEN YEARS AGO IN TRUE: When cop arrives to quiet down a loud party, the women partygoers start to undress him. http://www.thisistrue.com/8619 And don't forget http://i.thisistrue.com for a new story every day on your Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, or other web-enabled phone! THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to Al Fritz. An engineer, Fritz started a new bicycle craze -- and a new sport -- with the Sting-Ray (I had one!) See http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com/al_fritz.html for his story. -- Honorary Unsubscribe archive: http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com YOU CAN REALLY HELP TRUE: Send this issue (in its entirety, please) to a friend with your personal recommendation. A friend told YOU about this newsletter, right? Pass the favor on! Thanks. TIRED OF BEING TOLD WHERE TO GO? "Get Out of Hell Free" with our popular and (in?)famous cards, created in response to a reader telling Randy he was doomed. http://www.GOOHF.com SUBSCRIPTIONS to "This is True" are free at http://www.thisistrue.com Published weekly by ThisIsTrue.Inc, PO Box 666, Ridgway CO 81432 USA (ISSN 1521-1932). TRUE is available to newspapers as a regular feature column. "This is True" is a registered trademark of ThisIsTrue.Inc COPYRIGHT 2013 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved. 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