Did you need some snazzy new wallhangings, you thieving shitbums?

[Marlitharn]

This is the kind of gall that makes me want to beat the offender down with a heavy blunt weapon. Is nothing sacred anymore? (Don't answer that.) I hope the PA's office does upgrade the charges against the little fucks. Throw the book at them, I say! Again! Harder!

I can't wait to hear what excuse they'll try to give. "Oh, your Honor, we were driving down the road, and we looked up and there they were, waving proudly in the pre-dawn breeze! Our hearts were suddenly filled with love for Country, for State, and for Missouri's Brave! The sight moved us to tears, truly it did, your Honor! We just had to take them home as an eternal reminder of the moment!"

I keep telling myself nothing would surprise me anymore, and then, WHAM! Damned if something surprising doesn't come along.

[China Guy]

Why this should be upgraded to a felony escapes me.

[Typo Negative]

I agree, but they should be run out of town on a rail.

[CRorex]

Umm

Wasn't flag burning a legal form of protest, or am I just on crack?

Heck, if I was a teen-ager I'd try to steal the flag and replace it with a pirate flag (arrrrrg!) for the 4th

Throw the book at them?

Yeah, they tried to steal something worth less than 100$ and didn't hurt anyone. Lets give them 5-10 in a federal prision. While we're at it, lets give jail time to those school kids caught with asprin, or who point chicken fingers at teachers.

[Myron Van Horowitzski]

Flag burning is legal, CRorex, but only if it's your own flag.

While I agree that there's a difference between stealing a flag (or in the same vein, a grave marker) and stealing a garden gnome, I don't think it should be a felony, either.

And while I agree that these kids have met the criteria for shitbumage, I'm squeamish about any move toward legislating worship of a piece of cloth over and above what that cloth symbolizes.

[Larry Mudd]

Maura M. Mudd is no relation of mine. Unlucky name though -- she's already got the stigma of being associated with someone convicted (wrongly, I tell ya!) of conspiracy & treason & all that, but the numerologically inclined with observe that M.M.M. = 13.13.13

Felony theft-of-flag? Sounds like a load of jingoistic bollocks to me, but then I'm suspicious of anything but the quietest of nationalism.

Felony interfering-with-a-memorial? I can get behind that.

Dipshits.

[Smeghead]

I really like the word "shitbums".

[PunditLisa]

Oh hell. I thought this was a thread about the Tyco CEO.

[Marlitharn]

Okay, now that I've slept I can see I wasn't as coherent as I might have been. My beef with the shitbums in question is their gross lack of respect. The memorial is brand new - dedicated in May - and it means a lot to a lot of people. It took less than two months for these three to say, "Well, to hell with everybody else, to hell with the memories of all the people this memorial was set up to honor, I need me a flag!"

On reflection, I'm probably with Larry Mudd on this one...much as I'd like to see the brain-dead little shits making gravel at Leavenworth, that's just my emotions talking; felony flag-stealing is kind of an iffy area. But fucking with a memorial meant for people with more honor and courage than these three can ever hope to have really pisses me off.

[CRorex]

Look, its a FLAG.

They didn't deface the memorial in anyway. If they defaced it, I can understand the level of ire. But bloodly hell, its a flag.

[Arden Ranger]

Actually, they stole all three flags, not just the national flag. The custom made flag was specificly made for the memorial, so I would say they did deface it when they removed it.