Here's something you might be interested in.
I thought for a brief moment about blogging on another NFL player that's gotten into trouble. Donte Stallworth, who had actually gotten himself into trouble with my girlfriend. No...not an illegitimate kid or anything like that. She's just made the mistake of drafting him the last two years in fantasy football, only to have him sitting on the bench. And, he might be sitting on the bench a lot longer, after killing someone while driving drunk.
The weird thing was that he only got 30 days in jail. I'm guessing his NFL punishment will be longer than that. But I'm so tired about complaining each blog about thug losers and sports.
Instead, I want to focus on students.
My beef with this whole thing started about five years ago. A student at UCSD, who got mostly A's, was driving in a residential area. A 3-year-old ran onto the street. He killed the baby and pulled over. And then immediately took off. The police were called, and the family of this baby kept explaining that this driver didn't do anything wrong. They said their toddler always did that, and they kept trying to correct the problem.
The police said the second you flee from an accident, it is a problem. Even if you aren't at fault. And yes, that is a great law. But, this poor student is not only going to have to live with that the rest of his life...he had a month left before graduating. And instead, he got more time in jail then Stallworth will, when he did something that WAS his fault.
The latest is this San Ysidro High School student. Elphbert Laforteza, who is 18, decided to do a senior prank. And unfortunately, it wasn't just toilet papering the school or moving furniture around.
He filled up 2-liter bottles with chemicals that made them explode.
The police are now charging him with possession of a destructive device in a public place, possession of the ingredients to make a destructive device, and possession of a destructive device. And all that is a maximum of 13 years in prison.
And where were these "bombs" placed? Inside trash cans on the last day of school. Not a single kid was hurt.
Now, should the kid be punished? Of course he should. Maybe make him and his family pay for the police and firefighters that had to come out. And any damage done to school property.
Give him probation, and maybe 100 hours of community service. Make him take a class that shows the dangers of...I dunno...they probably have videos that show kids with missing limbs. I mean, they had enough of those videos in drivers ed that show the dangers of drunk driving.
My girlfriend heard that he had a full scholarship to a college. Or maybe it was the Air Force Academy or something like that. I have to think that's now ruined.
I hate the idea that a good student is probably going to have his life ruined by one bad decision.
I wouldn't have sympathy if he was involved in an armed robbery. Or, even if he wasn't armed, but was caught stealing a pack of gum out of a liquor store.
I really don't understand why the DA's office can't look at this case and think seriously about going easier on the kid. Right now, he's an outstanding member of society.
Give him a year or more in jail, and we're probably throwing someone back out into society that will be a problem.
I thought for a brief moment about blogging on another NFL player that's gotten into trouble. Donte Stallworth, who had actually gotten himself into trouble with my girlfriend. No...not an illegitimate kid or anything like that. She's just made the mistake of drafting him the last two years in fantasy football, only to have him sitting on the bench. And, he might be sitting on the bench a lot longer, after killing someone while driving drunk.
The weird thing was that he only got 30 days in jail. I'm guessing his NFL punishment will be longer than that. But I'm so tired about complaining each blog about thug losers and sports.
Instead, I want to focus on students.
My beef with this whole thing started about five years ago. A student at UCSD, who got mostly A's, was driving in a residential area. A 3-year-old ran onto the street. He killed the baby and pulled over. And then immediately took off. The police were called, and the family of this baby kept explaining that this driver didn't do anything wrong. They said their toddler always did that, and they kept trying to correct the problem.
The police said the second you flee from an accident, it is a problem. Even if you aren't at fault. And yes, that is a great law. But, this poor student is not only going to have to live with that the rest of his life...he had a month left before graduating. And instead, he got more time in jail then Stallworth will, when he did something that WAS his fault.
The latest is this San Ysidro High School student. Elphbert Laforteza, who is 18, decided to do a senior prank. And unfortunately, it wasn't just toilet papering the school or moving furniture around.
He filled up 2-liter bottles with chemicals that made them explode.
The police are now charging him with possession of a destructive device in a public place, possession of the ingredients to make a destructive device, and possession of a destructive device. And all that is a maximum of 13 years in prison.
And where were these "bombs" placed? Inside trash cans on the last day of school. Not a single kid was hurt.
Now, should the kid be punished? Of course he should. Maybe make him and his family pay for the police and firefighters that had to come out. And any damage done to school property.
Give him probation, and maybe 100 hours of community service. Make him take a class that shows the dangers of...I dunno...they probably have videos that show kids with missing limbs. I mean, they had enough of those videos in drivers ed that show the dangers of drunk driving.
My girlfriend heard that he had a full scholarship to a college. Or maybe it was the Air Force Academy or something like that. I have to think that's now ruined.
I hate the idea that a good student is probably going to have his life ruined by one bad decision.
I wouldn't have sympathy if he was involved in an armed robbery. Or, even if he wasn't armed, but was caught stealing a pack of gum out of a liquor store.
I really don't understand why the DA's office can't look at this case and think seriously about going easier on the kid. Right now, he's an outstanding member of society.
Give him a year or more in jail, and we're probably throwing someone back out into society that will be a problem.