Soldier complains to Fox News about kids' letters to him

[KurtNYC]

There was a social studies assignment at JHS 51 in Brooklyn to write a letter to someone serving in the US armed forces. The kids were allowed to write whatever they wanted, apparently.

Here are some excerpts:

One girl wrote that she believes Jacobs is "being forced to kill innocent people" and challenged him to name an Iraqi terrorist, concluding, "I know I can't."

Another girl wrote, "I strongly feel this war is pointless," while a classmate predicted that because Bush was re-elected, "only 50 or 100 will survive."

A boy accused soldiers of "destroying holy places like mosques."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148364,00.html

The soldier, Jacobs, is stationed near the DMZ in South Korea and speculates that the letters were coached although it seems like quite the opposite was the case. More likely the letters were sealed and sent without ever being reviewed by school officials. Leave it to Fox to cover a story this anecdotal and small and with their unique Fox slant :-(

[bryant69]

1. Well this story proves that we need to shut down the entire school system

Nothing could be clearer. Homeschool all children or send them to prep schools. Better we raise a generation of illiterate dopes than that they engage in acts like this. And there's no time to corroborate this story; begin the dismantling immediately.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Cocoa]

4. or else privatize the school system

if Wal-Mart were running this school, this never would have happened.

[Kansas Wyatt]

27. No, it's too late for that....

It's already in the news, therefore we must close all schools and divert all education funding to the Defense Department. Haliburton is already working on a re-education project (no bid contract).

If we do not act now, we may have to end up bombing ourselves to save us from our 'freedom' hating selves.

[LeftyMom]

44. Homeschools create illiterate dopes?

Do you have any evidence to back that up? All the evidence I've seen suggests that homeschoolers read more books than schooled children and that thier reading skills tend to be superior.

[elehhhhna]

49. brilliant. just brilliant.

I know a well crafted post whn I see one.

[Arkana]

2. This is the kind of story the sleazes at Faux live for

They'll cover it ONLY on a slant, and decide that those EEEEEEEEVIL LIBRULS are brainwashing kids into *gasp* thinking for themselves!

It does suck that a guy in South Korea ended up getting them, though.

[RebelOne]

34. Yes, and sleaze Hannity was ranting about it yesterday

on the radio. "Is this what we are teaching our kids?" "Accusing our troops of blowing up mosques and Iraqi civilians." Etc., Etc. He loves stuff like this, so that he can rave about the evil liberals.

[WLKjr]

3. Students at school hate our freedoms! eom

[DougieZero]

5. The father is the best

He was on Hannity complaining about this and Alan said something like:

"Sir, I read these letters and they may disagree with the Iraq mission, but they thank your son and have kind words (the son is stationed in Korea) for him.

The father (an ex-soldier himself) seemed really confused. He was like:

"They can't say that... They can't say that... Huh?... They can't say that about Iraq... That's giving aid and comfort to the enemey... They can't say that... The school needs to apologize"

[KurtNYC]

8. I was suspicious about that

Fox presented half-sentences out of only 3 letters. I don't watch Fox so I didn't see the segment you describe.

[Cocoa]

6. the kids make very good points

but sending them to the soldier doesn't make much sense, the Pentagon and the White House are the ones who should be reading these letters.

[atreides1]

13. The Pentagon and the White House would just ignore them.

Sending them to the Pentagon or the White House would futile. If the soldiers start to get the idea that not all Americans buy into the hype that the adminstration and its media minions are selling, maybe
they will start to ask questions as well, they might even start looking for their news on the internet instead of watching Faux.

Stranger things have happened!!!

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. This is what happens when

you don't have fundamentalists programming the kiddies at school. They use their brain. THAT will have to be changed. Pronto!

[Poppyseedman]

9. These kids were 6th graders.

I have a 6th grader, he doesn't understand beans about what's going on anywhere else besides his school and home unless I inform him.

If you are going to write a soldier a letter who is defending our nation and trying to make political points that they have no control over, it's pretty over the top. It's smarmy. Soldiers need comfort, support and encouragement, not a political statement from a 12 year old.

The teacher obviously coached them.

You want to make a political statement about the war, write bushco, cheney, rumhead a letter expressing your outraged feelings and they should.

Not the solders. They are just doing their job.

[seabeyond]

11. your 6th grader doesnt know what is going on in the world

boy my boys do. they hear soemthing they talk it. they read. they look for things. one is 4th grade one 1st. they are all over the place. and not jsut bush, but with everything all over

[Poppyseedman]

16. I didn't say he doesn't know what is going on in the world

I said he doesn't understand what's going on. Big difference.

He has lots of opinions and probing questions.

Some are very cogent, some are very child like, just what you would expect from a 12 year old.

[seabeyond]

22. i would give it to the kid that asks the probing question than adults

that dont know shit yet go out and vote. only listen to fox, or say we arent to question our leader

[justiceischeap]

14. Just for the record

I was a very precocious 12 yr old, hell when I was in 2nd grade I knew the name of the cities mayor. It may be that they were coached but it's also very possible they weren't. Again, they only read three letters. And if those kids that wrote those letters have parents that are against the war, they will know that and probably hold the same views.

[KurtNYC]

17. Brooklyn has lost a lot of young men in the Iraq occupation

And according to Alan Colmes (see above, #5) the letters were supportive.

I think it is possible to say something like "I feel strongly that this war is a lie which is all the more reason that I pray for your safe return." In a Fox news story that sentence becomes simply "I feel strongly that this war is a lie"

Brooklyn's losses pictured here: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/iraq/ny-iraqsoldiers-searchresults.cdbresult?PageURL=ny-iraqsoldiers-searchresults.cdbresult&Lib=turbine_cdb_lib%3Aresult_doc_id+result_doc_rank+document_id+cdb_num+cdb_01_txt+cdb_02_txt+cdb_03_txt+cdb_04_txt+cdb_05_txt+cdb_06_txt+cdb_07_txt+cdb_01_date+cdb_08_txt+cdb_11_txt+cdb_12_txt+cdb_13_txt+cdb_09_txt+cdb_01_num&SortBy=COMPOSITE_RANK+desc%2Ccdb_05_txt%2Ccdb_04_txt&PageSize=10&Page=1&MinCoarseRank=500&QueryType=CONCEPT&Query=&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_01_date=&turbine_cdb_lib__cdb_08_txt=New+York

[CottonBear]

21. When I was in 6th grade I kept up w/ Watergate.

My (Republican) dad was a newshound. He watched the nightly news, all of the Sunday talk shows and read the paper daily. I watched along with him and developed an interest in politics and current affairs. He did not try to influence my political views. He did provide a good example of being an informed citizen.

Your statement is disturbing: "I have a 6th grader, he doesn't understand beans about what's going on anywhere else besides his school and home unless I inform him." Why can't you let him have free access to the local, national and internatinal media? Are you scared of what he might read or hear?

[Poppyseedman]

29. You can calm your fears. I am not disturbed.

I find it absolutely amazing you have read into my post that I deny my son "free access to the local, national and international media"

We watch the news together almost every night.

Yes, I inform him on why things are the way they are, though historical insight and perspective of being around about 38 years more on this planet then he has.

You just let your kid believe anything he reads or hears ? Pity them

[drdtroit]

32. "The teacher obviously coached them" . And why do you assume that?

Perhaps the students have parents that are involved in their lives and find it important to discuss important issues. i know my folks did. These kids are in Brooklyn and we tend to be a bit more progressive here than other parts of the nation.

[ieoeja]

33. Not their parents?

If you seriously believe the teacher in Brooklyn coached these kids, I know how you can get revenge. There's an old bridge that is of vital importance to the vitality of the Brooklyn economy. If you had the power to close that down, there is a good chance the economic fallout would cost this teacher his or her job.

And you CAN have that power. I happen to be in possession of 51% of the Brooklyn Bridge Company stock. If you want your revenge then I won't stand in your way. Heck, I'll sell it to you for 20% below market value just because I like to see a person become empowered.

So call 1-800-IMSTUPID. Have a major credit card ready. Must be 18 years or older.

Get your revenge now. Call 1-800-IMSTUPID and you can own the Brooklyn Bridge. Why are you waiting? Call now!



"The teacher obviously coached them." Yes, it is obvious that the public education system is to blame. It can't be something they heard at home. Children only learn during school hours. That's why it is paramount we teach them religion in school.

[Poppyseedman]

42. The simple fact that the teacher

apologized for his actions tells me he had a least a little bit to do with the content of the letters sent to the soldiers.

I'm sorry to see that you are having some sort of delusions about the Brooklyn bridge. When you own 100% of it, I'll buy at a 20 % below market

Thanks for the deal of a lifetime.

[phylny]

36. The teacher coached them?

You don't live in New York, do you? I grew up in New York, and we were taught to read news and form opinions early.

I have a seventh grader who knew what was going on last year in 6th grade, and knows what's happening now in 7th grade.

While I think it's a bit harsh to write anything but warm fuzzies to a soldier, I think the children have a right to write anything not vulgar. After all, we teach freedom of speech, we should live it.

[Poppyseedman]

43. I grow up in the Bronx.

Don't live there now, thankfully.

I also was taught to read news and critically think and even form opinions that were not in lockstep with group think.

Does that fact the teacher apologized, tell us he had a little bit of influence over the content of what was written.

Why else would he apologize. To make Sean Hannity all warm and fuzzy?

[phylny]

45. Could the teacher have apologized because

1) He felt he used poor judgment in not editing the letters to retain only the warm and fuzzy ones?

2) The principal told him he had to?

I think that your assumption that the teacher had influence over what was written is flawed.

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Blah, blah, blah, blah. . .

Did they blow up a mosque? Dod Says Yes.

Are innocent civilians being killed? DoD Says Yes.

Are we achieving the mission as originally described? DoD Says No.

Which part of the information in these kids letters was NOT the truth.

So, you don't tell your children the truth, huh? Think about that for a moment, please. You have a sixth grader and you don't think that 12 year old can handle the facts? Hmmmmm.

The Professor

[phylny]

39. It strikes me that the soldier missed a great opportunity for

dialogue and instruction. It would have been great if he'd have written back and answered these questions. Even if the answers were ones that I'd have a hard time justifying - something about military structure, what his unit was doing to HELP people, now they tried to minimize damage - what a wonderful example he, an adult, could have given this child.

[ProfessorGAC]

40. Yes. That Would Be Far Better Than Having His Daddy. . .

. . .whine to Faux Snooze.

I hear constant carping about the lack of reporting about the good things we're doing. So, complaining to Hannity and the rest of the gang that can't shoot straight (regarding the truth) is the way to fix that?

One last point: Maybe that soldier should have expressed to the kid how many people have electricity now that didn't have it before the war! Ooops! Forget that. The answer is none. In fact, DoD reports that they have returned regular electric power to 98% of the people who had it before the war. IOW: We're still doing repair work of the damage WE did. That's not progress. That's damage control.


The Professor

[bettyellen]

41. your kid needs to get out more........

"just doing their job"
don't go there, it seems you don't get out much either if you don't know the history of that one.....

[FreedomAngel82]

47. They're not defending our nation

They're over there because it's their jobs whether they agree or disagree. When they signed their name on the contract they gave their life to the government and whoever is the president. If they were "defending the country" why aren't more people joining the army? Why aren't any of the "patriotic" freepers going over there? It sucks about what happened but I don't trust the MSM on this story (or anything for that matter). The father could've been bribed to go out and make this bigger than what it was. I saw him on Scarborough's show and on his show he acted all innocent and said he didn't want to go to court and wasn't sure what he was going to do but he wanted a public apology from the mayor and then they were talking about how Guiliani wouldn't have let something like this happen. :eyes:

[seabeyond]

10. i didnt coach my boys, really i didnt

they came to conclusion of this war on their own, listening to news, which i didnt know. internet. and they came to bush is murdering and for the oil. i know i didnt coach them to this, because, i dont say either of the two. what i believe is one thing, but have never said out loud to boys

i think some have to come from what adults are saying, but really kids can process information and come up with their own., they are not brain dead

[bettyellen]

12. it's a disturbing story, you should read pitts take on it here......

http://forum.truthout.org/blog/

[KharmaTrain]

15. Watch Frontline...

I didn't see a military that was strong and in control. I saw one that was scared and holding on for life...literally. The worse things got, the more "patrotic" and religious the rhetoric gets as these people attempt to justify where they are and what they're doing.

You could see the "1,000 yard" stare in their eyes...living in a dehumanized existance...and one they will bring back home. We're still dealing with a generation who still haven't shook that image 30 years later (those that still remain alive and/or sane). I had such mixed emotions...anger and pity...digust and sorrow. Is this the real American I believe in?

Remember, in the military and wingnut world, the is "war time"...despite the fact none has been declared by Congress...and any hint of questioning or rockin' the boat is "unpatriotic" and must be supressed for whatever national security phobia you want to place on it. Washington would look at this military and be dismayed at how the politicans have ruined it and Eisenhower would just say "I warned you about the military/industrial complex..."

[Cocoa]

20. this story made me think of Frontline too

there was a part (that looked a little staged) where the soldiers were talking about the protesters. One guy said, "instead of protesting, why don't they enlist?"

Which of course doesn't make much sense, but I don't really think that matters. It seems natural to me that the soldiers wouldn't exactly be on the same page as the war protesters. And in any event, I'm skeptical about how spontaneous some of the stuff in that "Frontline" was.

[KurtNYC]

23. I saw that Frontline last night - fascinating and disturbing

It was the longest piece I have yet seen on the Iraq occupation. And that quote about 'why don't they enlist" stuck out in my mind also.

It cleared military censors but still seemed to show a war that was proceeding remarkably like Vietnam -- going on patrol and getting shot at, daily.

[Cocoa]

26. the unit had to abandon its reconstruction efforts

that's something we haven't heard much about lately, the reconstruction.

Remember all those stories about the stuff that was being done? Remember Bob Arnot wandering around Baghdad on MSNBC?

I wonder if people have any clue how much things have deteriorated?

[KharmaTrain]

24. There Was A Camera...

These guys knew they had an embed with them and were probably chosen since they were more "loyal" or more "filmable" than others.

I give these kids...and under those fatigues are 19, 20 and 21 years olds...a lot of slack in what they say or think in the nutcracker situation they're in. I doubt there were any who wanted to be there or joined the military with the thought this is where they'd end up. They're trying to survive.

So far I really haven't seen that much protesting about this invasion. What dissent out there is very measured and what is being stated...especially for what they can see or read are facts that aren't in dispute, just in interpretation.

I've watched Frontline for years and consider this the best news/documentary series on television, period. I found the program fascinating as it gave a glimpse to the "grunt" work these guys do...and the period of boredom punctuated by moments of terror these guys face on a daily basis.

Cheers!

[FreedomAngel82]

48. Protestors should enlist?

WTF? That's insane. Anybody who should enlist are the people who are FOR the war. Duh.

[Blue_Tires]

18. great memories

I was in 8th grade during gulf war I, and since I grew up in a huge patriotic military town (Norfolk, Va) our english teacher gave us the assignment of writing essays about the war (the 'best' ones would be forwarded on the troops)

So i just laid into them...I wrote Bush should be arrested, and that the black man shouldn't be dying in a white man's war, and that no one should kill or die for oil.

incendentally, the essay was given back to me to re-write, and i wrote a tamer version...lol

[mairceridwen]

25. you sell out!

(kidding)

[WilliamPitt]

19. My response

http://forum.truthout.org/blog/story/2005/2/22/20927/7034

[Justitia]

28. Sounds a little "Parlockian" to me. Anyone else? -eom

[Canuckistanian]

30. Bad Kids! Send them to a re-education camp.

And put their parents under strict surveillance. We can't let this kind of thinking occur.

[Stirk]

31. Even assuming that Fox isn't lying, what is this supposed to reflect?

It's not the "liberal" school system. These kids would be repeating what they hear at home, or even- *gasp* their own opinions.

Oh... maybe that's why Fox is outraged.

[liveoaktx]

35. Oh, but Channel One propaganda to captive students is okay

http://teenadvice.about.com/library/warzone/blC1iraqwarcoveragehp.htm

[paineinthearse]

38. .

:nopity:

[Disturbed]

46. Kids say the darndest things.

Why did those letter end up in S.Korea instead of Iraq or Afghanistan?

The teacher might have wanted to keep his job?

[Coventina]

50. Whaa!!! Whaaaa!!!! Some kids said some mean things to me

What a baby!
He's an adult for Heaven's sake!
He's getting all butt-hurt over some letters from children????

And what? Kids are not allowed to have opinions?

This whole situation is stupid!!!!

[Coventina]

53. And another thing I just thought of!

Would Fox cover the story if the letter had said stuff like

"I hope you kill lots of Arabs and make them suffer because they attacked the World Trade Center" and other such stuff?

I'll betcha 1) The soldier wouldn't complain about it and
2) Fox wouldn't be interested in making it a story.

[elehhhhna]

51. Damn that trendy Free Speech to HELL!

[Jehanatu]

52. Grr...

:wtf:

Damn it. Leave it to Faux to report on something this fucking small and insignificant. But, then again, this is Rupert Murdoch we're talking here. I suppose that explains it.

Funny thing is, for a while, they weren't allowed to broadcast in Canada, but AL JAZEERA was. You get where I'm going with this?

:bounce: