14-year-old Texas boy arrested for bringing homemade clock

[Cow Poke]

And the circle is complete. We've gone all the way from "It's a possibility that this kid wasn't actually just intending on making a clock, as he says, but was trying to make a hoax bomb" to "The evidence that this kid intended to make a hoax bomb is so significant, so incontrovertible, that those who disagree clearly 'got took' and only continue to disagree out of irrational hubris."

You're being silly, Sam. I think this is your official Tweb meltdown, and it's sad to see.

In the past, I've argued pretty strongly against you, and even joked that you're "Mr Charts n Graphs". That's because, Sam, you often were able to produce solid arguments that made me back off my high horse. Charts and Graphs and those annoying FACT thingies. Perhaps I haven't thanked you enough for that. You were "Mr Just-the-Facts-Ma'am".

This issue, though, your entire case is emotional. You ignore facts, you ignore reason, you ignore context. You just keep digging in deeper.

[Sam]

You're being silly, Sam. I think this is your official Tweb meltdown, and it's sad to see.

I'm not the one accusing a 14 year-old kid of making a fake bomb without any evidence for the claim, Cow Poke. Personally, I think resorting to that accusation show phenomenally poor character. I guess we'll both have to be disappointed at each other today.

[Sam]

By all means, PLEASE give me some facts to support the accusation, Cow Poke. Please give me a good reason to believe that the accusation that the kid intended to make a hoax bomb has merit. I am quite desperate to have some cause to believe this very strong accusation isn't being leveled at a 14 year-old for no good reason.

[Cow Poke]

I'm not the one accusing a 14 year-old kid of making a fake bomb without any evidence for the claim, Cow Poke.

Personally, I think resorting to that accusation show phenomenally poor character. I guess we'll both have to be disappointed at each other today.

wow

[Cow Poke]

By all means, PLEASE give me some facts to support the accusation, Cow Poke.

Do you PROMISE to work through this calmly? Let's both turn down the drama dials, and work through it?

[Sam]

Do you PROMISE to work through this calmly? Let's both turn down the drama dials, and work through it?

[Sea of red]

I'm shocked

Well, Sam and I are apart of left-wing conspiracy.

Yes, actually you can. Somebody can do something stupid to get attention without INTENDING to hurt or scare others. It's just dumb to assume otherwise.

But that's the thing, you haven't shown that either is actually the case, and have instead just used your own personal views as evidence. Where can you show that he intended on it looking like a bomb? There is no a shred of evidence to support the claim out side that being your perception of the situation.

Nope. And that would never fly in a court of law. You have to SHOW INTENT. There is nothing to show that he intended to cause panic. It's entirely possible it was just a dumb thing that he didn't think through.

So how can he construct a device made to look like a terroristic weapon and not be charged with a crime? You're arguing that it was his objective for to appear that, so how can you not argue that? Sorry, it's just a contradiction in your own argument.

If he INTENDED to cause panic, then, sure, the entire dynamic changes. I don't think any of us is claiming that. I know I'm certainly not.

It doesn't matter if he didn't intend for it to cause a panic. If he knew it looked like a bomb - and that was his intention - then that's a crime. Just like you can't walk around with a fake gun in an airport; you can't bring something you intend to appear as bomb into a school.

[Sea of red]

Do you PROMISE to work through this calmly? Let's both turn down the drama dials, and work through it?

I think you should take your own advise. You're the one righting in all caps, generalizing people, name calling, and bringing up stuff totally unrelated to this event to get at your perceived political opponents.

[Sea of red]

You're being silly, Sam. I think this is your official Tweb meltdown, and it's sad to see.

In the past, I've argued pretty strongly against you, and even joked that you're "Mr Charts n Graphs". That's because, Sam, you often were able to produce solid arguments that made me back off my high horse. Charts and Graphs and those annoying FACT thingies. Perhaps I haven't thanked you enough for that. You were "Mr Just-the-Facts-Ma'am".

This issue, though, your entire case is emotional. You ignore facts, you ignore reason, you ignore context. You just keep digging in deeper.

^
A beautiful projection, Cow Poke.

Everything you have said so far has absolutely no evidence backing it up. For you, this is about politics; those nasty left-wing commies that you can't stand. You've been bringing up past happening that are totally unrelated to this and hoping like hell, that maybe some story will come along that confirms your unfounded beliefs. All you've got is an opinion that unfortunately for you, is not backed up in facts.

It's a shame. You're normally a calm guy away from this political stuff. But the moment you perceive a story that you feel puts you up against liberal people, you go into this fully loaded assault, without taking the time to listen to your opponents.

[Adrift]

Well, he's not the only one that see's what you're doing - I see it too. You can't say the kid knowingly created a device to look like a bomb and then just back away like that doesn't imply malice on his part.

What are you talking about? I'm sincerely confused. Why can't I say that a kid knowingly created a device to look like a bomb, but did not intend malice!!? To say that I can't say that is the craziest thing I've ever heard.

If he knew it looked like a bomb then he was trying to cause a panic , and the entire dynamic of this story changes.

You never in your life played with a toy gun? Never played spy?

Your and Sam's position on this topic just defies my comprehension. I simply don't understand why you both don't get this.

[rogue06]

As an aside, I noticed that Obama never invited any other child to the White House after they were the victims of over zealous zero-tolerance laws. Like the second grader who was recently suspended for nibbling on a Pop Tart until it resembled a gun. The school refused to relent and he was suspended for a few days.

School-Suspends-a-2nd-Grade-Student-For-Eating-a-Pop-Tart-Into-a-Gun-Shape.jpg

Or around the same time a kid wrote a story about traveling through time and killing a dinosaur and was suspended because in the story he used a gun.

But neither of them were arrested you say.

Then how about the incident in the county where I live where a High Schooler known to be an avid fisherman was arrested after a random search of vehicles a small fishing knife was found in the tackle box kept in the kid's truck. Some accounts say that the truck wasn't even on school property but was adjacent to it. I used to work less than a quarter mile away from that school and if where these reports say he was parked are accurate he definitely was not on school property. The student was forced to make bail and news of the incident caused several state legislators to call for an examination of zero tolerance laws.

And speaking of off school property, three Middle Schoolers in Virginia were expelled for a year for the crime of playing with airsoft guns "near" -- as in over 70 yards/64 meters away from -- a school bus stop, on the front lawn of one of the boys. By all accounts they were shooting at anyone including each other, or even aiming it at anybody. They were using a tree for a target. While they weren't arrested police were called in to investigate. FWIU school officials eventually relented under community pressure and eventually allowed them to return.

Finally up in New York they seem to be in the habit of arresting students for doodling. In 2007 a 13-year-old wrote "Okay" on her desk and police handcuffed and arrested her for it. In the same school over a dozen students were arrested for putting stickers on walls. In 2010 a 12-year-old girl was also arrested and led out of school in handcuffs for writing "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10" in green marker on her desk. She missed three days of school due to her arrest.

[Sam]

What are you talking about? I'm sincerely confused. Why can't I say that a kid knowingly created a device to look like a bomb, but did not intend malice!!? To say that I can't say that is the craziest thing I've ever heard.

You never in your life played with a toy gun? Never played spy?

Your and Sam's position on this topic just defies my comprehension. I simply don't understand why you both don't get this.

intentionally

[Catholicity]

You know what my guess is? He went scrounging around a junk shop, took apart an old clock, found some scrap parts, and rebuilt a similar device in the casing of a pencil board. Its kind of a smart way to do the project. He more or less built off a model without intending for it to look like a bomb. but people are dumb enough to go crazy and run three miles with it.

[Sam]

The Pop-Tart case gets bandied around a lot but the very notable difference between that and this case is that the kid in the Pop-Tart case had a history of disrupting behavior, according to the examiner who reviewed the suspension:

[rogue06]

The Pop-Tart case gets bandied around a lot but the very notable difference between that and this case is that the kid in the Pop-Tart case had a history of disrupting behavior, according to the examiner who reviewed the suspension:

Nobody ever denied that he chewed the pop tart into the shape of a gun Sam. What is absurd is that he was suspended for his pop tart shaped gun.