Teens confess to vandalizing campaign signs [which were for Bush]

www.duluthsuperior.com ^ | 09/16/2004 | Mark Stodghill

[esryle]

The three Duluth boys say they want to apologize to man for spray painting his lawn signs supporting President Bush.

"We did it."

Three Duluth teenagers walked into the Duluth News Tribune on Wednesday afternoon, opening with these three words. The boys said they were responsible for vandalizing Bush campaign signs and painting a swastika and the word "Nazi" at a London Road residence last weekend.

An hour later, the three boys traveled to the Lakeside-Lester Park police station, where Sgt. Scott Campbell was waiting to talk to them.

The teenagers told the News Tribune they meant no harm to Bob James, the homeowner and Bush-Cheney supporter who erected the signs. They said they spray painted the signs and the swastika on James' sidewalk but had nothing to do with the vandalism of two of James' vehicles.

Friends and supporters of James and the Republican Party of Minnesota had offered a $2,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the vandalism.

While the teenagers were remorseful for what they did to James, they stood by their contempt for President Bush. They said they left a phone message for James on Wednesday and twice went to his house to apologize, but he wasn't home. They planned to try again later Wednesday.

"It was not an act of hate," said Dustin "Dusty" Dzuck, 17, a senior at Denfeld High School. "My mom called me a terrorist. It wasn't terrorism; it was activism. It was for a cause.... The whole thing is, basically, I just wanted to get the word out there that in my opinion Bush isn't doing this country any good."

Dzuck said his actions bothered him more when he learned James is an Army veteran.

Dzuck's two accomplices didn't want to be identified. One said he is a 17-year-old senior at Denfeld and the other said he is a 16-year-old junior at East High School. Both said they are sorry for what they did to James and his property. They called their actions "immature."

James was in no mood to accept an apology when reached Wednesday evening.

"Too little, too late," he said. "At the age of 16, my boys knew what right and wrong were and this is dead wrong. The swastika and Nazism in reference to President Bush or myself is not going to be tolerated."

When asked what he would say to the boys if they visit him, James said: "I'm going to turn them around and send them back to police. Now it's a police matter.... If they were truly remorseful they wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Because it is a juvenile matter, no information regarding the police investigation was available Wednesday.

Dzuck said he did most of the spray painting and admitted that he had vandalized the signs once before, leading James' son, Kyle, to chase him. He tried to explain why he used the swastika and the word "Nazi."

"The connection between the Nazi party was Hitler used nationalism as a way to motivate his cause and we feel that Bush is doing the same thing," he said. "I was really sickened by that. We have no connection to the Nazi party at all. We're anti-fascist and anti-racist."

The three teenagers said they didn't want to be characterized as John Kerry supporters. They said they simply want someone other than Bush to lead the country.

Dzuck said he's a bassist in the Denfeld jazz band and has written articles for the school newspaper.

He said his mother guessed that he was involved after she saw him reading a newspaper account of the vandalism and realized he had stayed at the home of a friend Saturday night. They committed the vandalism about 4 a.m. Sunday.

"This kid came over to my house yesterday with the paper and said, 'Dude, you have to check this out.' " Dzuck said. "My mom came in the room and asked me what we were reading. I told her. She asked if I had anything to do with it. I lied to her and said no.

"Today, I was going to my car at school and noticed my mom in the parking lot. She got in the car and she was like, 'I know it was you.' "

Like many teenagers, Dzuck said he has "kind of a love-hate relationship" with his mother, but he also respects her and credits her for the action he took Wednesday.

"The main thing that drove me to apologize is my mom. Mom has a horrible grasp on me," he said.

[steplock]

Write an essay showing the parallels between the NAZI party and the DNC!

From an earlier source on here ....

Read closely, and be honest with yourself as you answer along with these students.

---

In previous years, and on the first day of class, I have given my new students a ballot, indicating that "it is time to elect the leader of a great nation," and offering them two candidates, A and B.

Candidate A is identified as "a well-known critic of government, this man has been involved in tax protest movements, and has openly advocated secession, armed rebellion against the existing national government, and even the overthrow of that government. He is a known member of a militia group that was involved in a shoot-out with law enforcement authorities. He opposes gun control efforts of the present national government, as well as restrictions on open immigration into this country. He is a businessman who has earned his fortune from such businesses as alcohol, tobacco, retailing, and smuggling."

Candidate B is described thusly: "A decorated army war veteran, this man is an avowed nonsmoker and dedicated public health advocate. His public health interests include the fostering of medical research and his dedication to eliminating cancer. He opposes the use of animals in conducting such research. He has supported restrictions on the use of asbestos, pesticides, and radiation, and favors government-determined occupational health and safety standards, as well as the promotion of such foods as whole-grain bread and soybeans. He is an advocate of government gun-control measures. An ardent opponent of tobacco, he has supported increased restrictions on both the use of and advertising for tobacco products. Such advertising restrictions include:

[1] not allowing tobacco use to be portrayed as harmless or a sign of masculinity;
[2] not allowing such advertising to be directed to women;
[3] not drawing attention to the low nicotine content of tobacco products; and,
[4] limitations as to where such advertisements may be made.

This man is a champion of environmental and conservationist programs, and believes in the importance of sending troops into foreign countries in order to maintain order therein."

The students are asked to vote, anonymously, for either of these two candidates. I employ this exercise only every other year, at most, so that students will not have been told to expect it. Over the years, the voting results have given candidate B about 75% of the vote, while candidate A gets the remaining 25%.

After completing the exercise and tabulating the results, I inform the students that candidate A is a composite of the American "founding fathers" (e.g., Sam Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, etc.). Candidate B, on the other hand, is Adolf Hitler, whose advocacy for the programs named can be found in such works as Robert Proctor's The Nazi War on Cancer.
< snip >

The Hitler Test
by Butler Shaffer
26 September 2003

Butler Shaffer teaches at the Southwestern University School of Law.

[Constitution Day]

On the bright side, they're too young to vote.

[Lunatic Fringe]

"The connection between the Nazi party was Hitler used nationalism as a way to motivate his cause and we feel that Bush is doing the same thing"

Hmmm, do they consider FDR a "nazi"?

[april15Bendovr]

They should right an essay on how or who they got indoctrinated by.

[hellinahandcart]

"The connection between the Nazi party was Hitler used nationalism as a way to motivate his cause and we feel that Bush is doing the same thing," he said.

Now, where do you suppose three dumb high-school boys could possibly have picked up this garbage?

Do we think their high-school teachers followed this line of thinking to its natural conclusion and accused FDR of being no better than Hitler? After all, the US was pretty darned nationalistic during WWII. FAR more so than we are today.

"I was really sickened by that. We have no connection to the Nazi party at all. We're anti-fascist and anti-racist." In other words, he was so sickened he was forced to go out and behave like a fascist.

This kid is a pathetic, useless turd. I don't see him improving.

[Truth29]

I hope the property owner goes after the kids and their parents for damages that the young democrats will have to work off over a very long time.

[dvldog03]

"The connection between the Nazi party was Hitler used nationalism as a way to motivate his cause and we feel that Bush is doing the same thing,"

Do you know a lot of teen aged kids that can come up with that on their own? I wonder where he heard it??? Someone should remind the teachers at Denfeld high school that their job is education, not indoctrination.

[soccermom]

Good for the mom! Most moms would cover for their brats.

[ahayes]

"It was not an act of hate," said Dustin "Dusty" Dzuck, 17, a senior at Denfeld High School. "My mom called me a terrorist. It wasn't terrorism; it was activism. It was for a cause.... The whole thing is, basically, I just wanted to get the word out there that in my opinion Bush isn't doing this country any good."

Well, at least the mom seems to have a grasp on reality. Hopefully this will get through to the kid. It should help being before a judge!

[kenth]

It wasn't terrorism; it was activism. It was for a cause....

Example one of why the left in this country doesn't have a problem with terrorists.

These kids are perfect examples of the mentality of the left. The sad thing, the voting age leftists, whether 18 or 80 all think this way, as children. If they can't have what they want, in this case America, they'll break the toy so no one can have it.

[martin_fierro]

[Question_Assumptions]

"It was not an act of hate," said Dustin "Dusty" Dzuck, 17, a senior at Denfeld High School. "My mom called me a terrorist. It wasn't terrorism; it was activism. It was for a cause.... The whole thing is, basically, I just wanted to get the word out there that in my opinion Bush isn't doing this country any good."

At best, it was vandalism. Destruction of property is not activism.

Time again for a link to one of my favorite Thomas Sowell essays.

[null and void]

My car got mildly vandalized yesterday.

I have a sign in my rear window (see tag line) expressing lukewarm support for Bush and disgust for kerry.

While we were at the Monterey Bay Aquarium someone thoughtfully deposited their used gum on the roof.

Lib-uh-rhuls...

[rabidralph]

While the teenagers were remorseful for what they did to James, they stood by their contempt for President Bush.

This Dan Rather thing is contagious.

[LIConFem]

"...and painting a swastika and the word "Nazi" at a London Road residence last weekend..."

"It was not an act of hate...

Huh???

[Don Simmons]

"Teens" do an excellent job of representing the mindset of the democratic party. Immature, whiny, impressionable, reactive, and short-sighted.

Way to go guys.

[WestTexasWend]

Someone needs to be sure these punks are made this man's personal slaves. Hard physical labor...chopping wood, lots of granite-slab walkways, maybe digging a large pond,
heck, maybe put in a root-cellar...for at least a year. Two hours every weekday, 8hrs on Saturday, 6 on Sunday.

[MindBender26]

Location: Duluth, MN
Influences: Blink 182, NOFX, Anti-Flag
Similar Artists: So the Story Goes, Five-0, Acitone

Ace High is a punk band from Duluth MN comprised of former members of Duluth local bands So the Story Goes, and Five-0. Members: Andy Pletcer Joe Dunbar Dusty Dzuck Josh Woodard Ace High wants to get back to the routes of punk and just play some amazing music,while having a great time.

The question is, who are these kid's teachers?

[Gunder]

"The whole thing is, basically, I just wanted to get the word out there that in my opinion Bush isn't doing this country any good."

Gee, you stupid punk. How about writing a letter to the editor or putting up your own lawn sign? How about standing on a street corner and talking to people? How about behaving like a calm, rational, civilized person?

I fear for our country.

[no dems]

Too bad they're not in Texas. Here you can be tried as an adult at 17 and you go to big boy jail and share a cell with Big Bubba.