Somebody within Brownback's administration saw the unfriendly message and didn't like that a high school student didn't care for the governor. Brownback's office whined to the Youth In Government program, which contacted Shawnee Mission East principal Karl R. Krawitz. And Krawitz, apparently hoping to teach kids to keep their thoughts to themselves, was not thrilled that one of his students had the audacity to engage in political speech. The principal ordered Sullivan to write an apology to the governor for her rude tweet. The Washington Post reports that Sullivan said Krawitz even gave her talking points to hit in her letter.
On Sunday, Sullivan said she wouldn't apologize to Brownback. "I would do it again," the 18-year-old told the Post. She added that she hoped her tweet would spark a dialogue about free speech and even went as far as saying she would sit down and talk with the governor. But that doesn't appear to be in the works. Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag told the Star that constructive dialogue requires mutual respect.
As for how the governor's office feels about essentially tattling on a student for having an opinion, Jones-Sontag told the Star, "It was important for the organization to be aware of the comments their students were making." She added, "It’s also important for students to recognize the power of social media, how lasting it is. It is on the Internet."
We've also learned just how petty elected officials can be.
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I think a teen aged girl didn't like what she was hearing and made a poor choice of words in expressing herself. Should she applogize? Sure right after Brownback and his staffers explain to tax payers why the $*&# they are wasting money monitoring social networks !!!!! WTF!!!!! Nice job Gov. Another good example of how screwed up our goverment is as a result of piss poor politics.
she started this all we have rights im a student from the district she had many chances to say it in person but never did i am in us gov with one teacher that went on the trip
This country is headed for civil war.Conservatives are sick and tired pf the liberals and what they want. Liberals just want to keep on be hypocrites and attacking the country with roving mobs and dangerous actions. So the camels back will break and soon. The tea party was but the start.
I think everyone on here should just start tweeting bad things about Brownback. Let's get #brownbackblowsalot trending!!
Brownback's staffers, including the ones who posted on this blog above, need to find something else to do. Let's face it, Brownback's party has called the current president everything under the sun. Stooges like Limbaugh and Fox news can call an elected president a socialist nazi, but one teenager says that Brownback sucks and suddenly we have abolished polite society???
Republicans started the hatemongering in the 90's. They can live with the results of their actions. Personally, I think Brownback sucks ass and is setting Kansas back a decade or two. I would like to encourage his staff to call me as I would enjoy giving those loafing assholes sucking up the public gravy a piece of my mind.
There was this interview with her on smwest.com: http://smwest.com/2011/11/28/tweet/
Look, the US president has a secret service force that tracks you down on FaceBook for anti-Obama shit that goes a little far. The Kansas Governor, be it a Brownback, or a psycho-lib Sebelius also has a security detail. They, if anything, wanted to let this girl know, and apparently the rest of the world, that they actually
are watching you. The girl is a snot-nosed little bitch from KC, and probably somebody-important's daughter. She's a moron, and that deserves a nice firmly placed slap. Brownback, if anything, should NOT be connected to this. They should also give her some type of probation, like not participating in school activities, or "detention" if that exists anymore. The head of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, or the Kansas State Patrol or some warrant officer DID THE RIGHT THING in notifying the school. The parents of the girl should go into hiding. They should be ashamed of her activities. The girl also tried to win LIBERAL MEDIA support, but... her attempt is lame. Really. Just lame.
Who cares? Why is the Governor monitoring high schoolers' twitter accounts? Nobody knows...Why are all the political dumb dumbs having a hissy-fit over freedom of speech? Nobody knows that one either. I'm not sure, but I do not believe the government has attempted to censor her twitter comment. Her principal wanted her to write a note of apology. I don't see that as government censorship. I do not, however, think the school should require her to do so. Perhaps she should just stop lying, and perhaps she should find a better reason to stick it to the man. My generation is irritating...
God. I am a Shawnee Mission East student, and I personally know that this report has been skewed. Brownback did not throw a "hissy fit". The student was there on an East sponsored field trip, and this student was actually not supposed to be there. (she was one of the two who did not complete the necessary assignment on the trip). Brownback's administration noted the tweet, and as it was made on an east field trip, they politely noted this to Principal Krawitz, who called down the student for a short talk about writing messages on twitter during school time, and insulting a member of government to his face during school time. He suggested that she write a letter of apology. She chose not to. Krawitz wasn't telling this child to quit political dialogue, but not to insult a government official DURING SCHOOL TIME on the internet.
Just last year, my brother was a student at Mission Valley Middle School, which made headlines because of it's fight to the death not to close. He, referencing the districts decision to close Mission Valley, called the Superintendent a "d-bag" (except without the censorship). He was slapped with an In School Suspension. You can't just go around saying government officials "blow a lot" during school time. That's misconduct on school property. And that's all that this story should have been. But yet again, the media blows it out of proportion. Most SME students share my belief. Krawitz is a great principal, and he is extremely in support of a student's right to expression. He constantly holds off against restrictions on students free speech, and he fought our last regulation to ban wearing of hoods on heads, however he lost to the district and it was forced upon us. This should not be an issue.
She's right, he does blow.
I don't have any respect for Brownback, but she's also a liar because she didn't really do what she said she did, and I have ZERO respect for liars, and therefore, by extension her.
So a big FAIL for both of them... the morons always capture the limelight and the other morons just follow them along like the sheep they are. The bleating is deafening.
Ill admit the girl acted immaturely but geez Fidel (Brownback) --you need to calm down!!
i thought you had the right to publish an opinion about public officials here in America...
allow me to translate for the conservatives i have seen posting here:
th' damn dumm Washinton elitist bastard wasted my valuable tax $$$ lookin at the interwebs at lil gurls while i losted my job to a idiot stupid-faced immugrant an not fer the guns, - brownback hate baby Jesus too...
I just wish they would let the girls at The Shady Lady go back to wearing pasties instead of bikinis----Oh wait, wrong topic!!
Enter the "Brownback" definition contest: http://bringdowntheregime.com/post/2011/11…
How about Emma apologizing to the people she lied to in the tweet. She claims to have said these things and then admits she just made it up. Definately starving for attention.
Having been a high school teacher, I always gave discipline to students who misbehaved on field trips. This is a different sort of situation; is expressing your opinion while on a field trip on your social media site misbehaving?
I know the principal spent the weekend just wishing it would all go away. He is in a now in situation
The issue here is the monitoring of constituent's social media sites and seeking punishment . Brownback's office has some explaining to do to its constituents.
Don't tell me let me guess, her parents are Occupy Wall Street idiots who think beating on a drum and squatting in public parks is going to solve complex economic issues.......I can see this girl will be on welfare soon.
This girl is as big of a joke as Brownback is. Why this is even getting press amazes me. She's obviously the type that loves drama, watches reality television, and is another suburban white girl that thinks she's black. She is an obvious idiot.
Wow - both Brownback and Krawitz are total losers and they are the ones who should be doing the apologizing. Brownback sounds incredibly paranoid to have staffers monitoring for any whispers of dissent.... sounds more like a dictatorship than a democracy.
Hey principal Karl---You have no right to monitor one of your student's right to free speech. Fuck you and that piece of shit Brownback!
Hope he's monitoring this message:
Sam Brownback is a piece of shit and the world would have been better off if he'd had died in the womb.
Apologize?
Not until the good governor leads by example and apologizes for all the insults he slung at his opponents during his last campaign. Its only proper, right?
And furthermore, what a waste of $$$ having a PAID staffer do nothing but monitor the cyberwaves for trash talk.
Thank goodness for the other 49 states.
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