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George W. Bush says Kanye moment 'disgusting'

November 3rd, 201002:53 AM ET

 

Bush says Kanye moment 'disgusting'
CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

(CNN) – Long before rapper Kanye West ruined musician Taylor Swift's night at the 2009 MTV Music Awards, he single-handedly caused one of the lowest points in George W. Bush's presidency.

That's according to the former president in an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, during which he said West's unexpected outburst during a 2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon amounted to "one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency."
 
"That [means] 'he's a racist,' " Bush tells Lauer in an upcoming interview, according to the Today Show Web site "And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now. I resent it, it's not true."

Pressed if Bush meant to say that the West moment was more difficult for him to deal with than witnessing the devastating destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, Bush said no.

"I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well," Bush said.

"There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."
During the widely-viewed 2005 Concert for Hurricane Relief, West said in an unscripted moment said that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Telethon producers quickly cut West's microphone before he could say more.

Entry #3,434

Fox is top-ranked network, ends CBS winning streak


Associated Press
November 2, 2010

Fox is top-ranked network, ends CBS winning streak

DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

Even though Fox ended CBS' season-opening winning streak in the ratings, there have been few reasons for its executives to be gleeful this fall.

The Nielsen Co. said Fox was the top-ranked network last week on the strength of the World Series. No other network had beaten CBS this fall.

Otherwise, it's been a tough season for Fox, which has seen its viewership drop by 14 percent from last fall. By comparison, NBC and CBS are up, while ABC is down 3 percent, Nielsen said.

Some of Fox's established series have lost viewers this year. "The Simpsons" is down 9 percent from last fall and "Lie to Me" is off 27 percent. Most damaging of all is "House," a bona fide critical and commercial success that has seemingly fallen off the map. Its audience is down an alarming 35 percent from 2009, according to Nielsen.

Fox's new series "Lone Star," about a con man living with two women, was a disaster that was canceled after two episodes. Neither of the two new comedies, "Raising Hope" or "Running Wilde," have been hits, although "Raising Hope" has earned a full season's order of shows.

Even though the World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants helped last week, its average of 14.3 million viewers put it second only to 2008's Phillies-Rays series as the least-watched on record.

Fox's poor start this year is magnified because the network did unusually well in the ratings last fall, said Brad Adgate, an analyst for Horizon Media.

"They had such a strong fall last year that they hoped to build on that," he said. "They're back to where they were two, three, four years ago."

Rough autumns is something of a tradition at Fox, which has rebounded strongly with the return of "American Idol" in January and, in the past few years, a new season of "24." But "24" is done, and "Idol" faces some questions about its continuing popularity with the exit of Simon Cowell and the remodel of its panel of judges.

The bright spot for Fox is the blossoming of "Glee" into a genuine hit and cultural force; its ratings are up 47 percent over last fall. Fox has the Super Bowl this winter, too, which guarantees gigantic ratings. Despite the tough fall, the network notes that it is still a close second to CBS in ratings for 18-to-49-year-old viewers, Fox's target audience, with the best part of its season to come.

ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" was the most popular show on TV last week. ABC's second-season comedies "Modern Family" and "The Middle" both had their biggest audiences ever.

For the week, Fox averaged 12 million viewers (7.1 rating, 12 share). CBS had 11 million (6.8, 11), ABC had 9.2 million (5.9, 10), NBC had 6.6 million (4.0, 7), the CW had 2.2 million (1.4, 2) and ION Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a prime-time average of 4.3 million viewers last week (2.1 rating, 4 share). Telemundo averaged 820,000 (0.5, 1), TeleFutura had 680,000 (0.4, 1), Estrella had 270,000 and Azteca had 190,000 (both 0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.1 million viewers (5.3, 11). ABC's "World News" was second with 7.4 million (5.0, 10) and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.5 million viewers (3.7, 7).

A ratings point represents 1,159,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 115.9 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Oct. 25-31, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 20.41 million; "NCIS," CBS, 20.18 million; NFL Football: Pittsburgh vs. New Orleans, NBC, 18.11 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 15.99 million; "Dancing With the Stars Results," 15.93 million; World Series Game 4: San Francisco vs. Texas, Fox, 15.54 million; World Series Game 1: Texas vs. San Francisco, Fox, 15.01 million; "The Mentalist," CBS, 14.76 million; "World Series Pre-Game Show," Fox, 14.68 million; "The OT," Fox, 14.31 million.

Entry #3,433

Obama's final narrative: A negative mélange of historic proportions

Obama's final narrative: A negative mélange of historic proportions

Paul JJ Payack
11/01/10 12:48 PM ET

The final narrative for President Obama, 24 hours before the midterm elections has evolved into a negative mélange of historic proportions.  This was reported by the Global Language Monitor (GLM), which has been tracking the narratives that have dominated the perception of the administration and its handling of both its achievements and crises. 

In July, the President’s five most prominent narrative arcs included being out-of-touch or aloof; being responsible for the ever-increasing deficit; not responding with enough vigor or authority to the Gulf Oil Spill; the victory of pushing through Healthcare Reform; and gaining a reputation as a Chicago-style pol.  The President’s Oval Office Address on the Gulf Oil Spill seems to have been the temporal demarcation point between a positive or negative narrative carrying over into the 2010 Mid-term Election.  Since that time there are many who contend that Obama’s narrative has been shaped by forces largely out of his control. And indeed, this may be true.

In the following months no single narrative has risen above the others; on the contrary the five Obama Narratives have largely blended into a largely negative, yet muddled, story line.  The result has been an admixture of these five narratives, resulting in an unfortunate amalgam for the president and his party to overcome.

GLM has also been tracking political buzzwords for the last three election cycles. An analysis of the Top Buzzwords of the Mid-Term Elections completed yesterday, and published in a separate release, lend support to these conclusions.

Below is a list of the Obama narratives that have evolved through the last year.

1.     Obama as out-of-touch or aloof

This has only grown stronger over time.  Professorial has now been added to the mix, which is often considered condescending by certain academic communities.

2.     Obama and the deficit

Words linking Obama to deficit have steadily increased as those linking Bush to the deficit have declined.

3.     Obama and the Oil Spill

The completion of the relief well apparently did not provide the president with relief from the issue.  In fact, the President now has more negative ties to the Katrina inundation of New Orleans than George W. Bush.

4.     Obama as HealthCare Reformer

The president’s signature achievement has been largely avoided by members of his party for fear of the overall negative reception to the program adversely affecting their personal chances of (re-)election.  The mistake is explain away the frustration with how the bill was passed, where many had a first-hand look at congressional (and presidential) wheeling dealing as it best (or worst).

5.     Obama as the Chicago-style pol

This usually conveys the ability to make things happen -- though in a stealthy, force-your-hand manner reminiscent of the days of cigar-filled back rooms.  Even this has been undone by the ongoing public perception of Obama's seeming inability to get things done (in spite of the things he actually did).

GLM has been tracking political language for the last three election cycles   As we have detailed over the last two years, while in the midst of the positive media frenzy of the election and inauguration, we were already finding the elements of anger and outrage as one of the highest on record.    At that time, GLM examined the global print and electronic media for the seven days after the following events:  the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the start of the Iraq War, and the week after the Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, and the awarding of the AIG bonuses.

The ranking of ‘outrage’ found in the media was surprising, even startling.
   1. The AIG Bonuses, 2009
   2. The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
   3. Hurricane Katrina and the Inundation of New Orleans, 2005
   4. The start of the Iraq War, 2003

During the last several months our analysis shows that anger and rage largely have been replaced by frustration and disillusionment.    In fact, our continuing NarrativeTracker analysis has found what appears to be a major disconnection between what is reported in the media and what is being discussed in Social Media and the rest of Cyberspace.  This includes a number of Media Memes that resonant among the media.  For example:

1.     Outrage in the Electorate

To a large extent, the rise of Outrage in the electorate (accompanying the AIG bonuses) was overlooked while the focus was on the ebullience accompanying the Obama election and Inauguration.  Only this year have ‘anger’ and ‘rage’ become a focus -- while the citations show that the electorate has moved beyond this Media Meme to ‘disappointment’ and ‘frustration’.

2.     The Great Recession

The electorate makes no distinction between Recession and Great Recession.  In fact, the Great Recession Media Meme is found to be used only in the elite media, while the electorate seems to believe that something far larger is taking (or has taken) place.  The analysis shows the underlying belief to be that that economy has undergone a structural change that will take years to mend, if ever. (They knew this when Bush tried to explain why the US, according to traditional definitions, was not yet in a recession, and again know this as today's economists try to explain how the Great Recession is now over because we grew 2 percent in the last fiscal quarter).

3.     The Idea of Insurgency

The consensus is that there are now about one hundred, or fewer, congressional seats in play, which means that some 77 percent of the seats are basically locked in.  The idea of insurgency makes great headlines (and ensures a plethora of more great headlines as the future unfolds).  But the fact remains that a minimal number of congressional seats are now in play.

4.     The Tea Party

Tea Party ‘members’ have turned out to be older, better educated, and far more influential than their originally portrayal.  If the war in Afghanistan is fighting the last wars (the Surge in Iraq and the Vietnam ‘quagmire’ then viewing the Tea Party as anything other than a grass roots movement, was a mis-reading of the Obama ‘insurgency’ of ’07 and ’08.

5.      The 24-hour News Cycle

The 24-hour news cycle is true only insofar as the headlines constantly shift.  But the deeper currents are a much more prevailing force that apparently actually drive and shape events.  Focusing on the swirling froth of the ever-changing headlines, allows many to miss the structural changes that are occurring below – much like a tsunami is only apparently when the submerged wave finally hits the shoreline.

Paul JJ Payack is the rresident and Chief Word Analyst at The Global Language Monitor in Austin, Texas.

Entry #3,432

Bank robber drops wallet

Police: Destin bank robber drops wallet, arrested

 

October 30, 2010 09:06:00 AM

JEFF BARKER

Florida Freedom Newspapers

DESTIN — A 26-year-old man was arrested a day after he robbed Union State Bank at gunpoint.

Jorman Sampaio of the 3800 block of Indian Trail Road walked into the bank on Airport Road about 10 a.m. Thursday and demanded cash, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release. Armed with a silver handgun, he made the employees get on the floor and left with about $6,000.

Click to see photos from the scene

http://nwfdailynews.emeraldcoastphotoswest.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1105807&CategoryID=28208&ListSubAlbums=0

Sampaio fled on foot and dropped a surgical-style glove near the bank’s door, the release said. While investigators processed the scene, a man found Sampaio’s wallet at the intersection of Main Street and Kelly Avenue, along the most commonly used direct route between the bank and his home.

Investigators used the image from Sampaio’s ID card to create a photo lineup. One employee identified him with 80 percent confidence, another with 50 percent confidence, a third narrowed it down between Sampaio and another subject and a fourth was unsure.

When lawmen executed a search warrant at his home, they found a surgical glove consistent with the one found at the bank, a silver semi-automatic handgun and cash.

He was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail in Crestview.

Entry #3,430

Man robs bank offers bystanders $1,000 for getaway ride

Man robs Capitola bank; offers bystanders $1,000 for getaway ride

Alia Wilson
Santa Cruz Sentinel
10/30/2010 04:14:30 PM PDT


   

  

 

CAPITOLA - Police are searching for a man who robbed a bank on 38th Avenue Saturday then apparently offered bystanders $1,000 for a quick getaway.

Around 11:40 a.m., the man entered a bank on 38th Avenue and demanded $20 and $100 bills from a teller, police said. The man then jumped onto the counter and pushed the teller, opened the till and stole an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

Police said the man was not armed.

Witnesses told police a man less than a block away from the bank around the time of the robbery was acting suspiciously and offering $1,000 for a ride to Santa Cruz.

Capitola Police, California Highway Patrol, sheriff's deputies and Santa Cruz Police searched the surrounding area but did not find the man, police said. They are also looking for anyone who may have given the man a ride.

"That $1,000 belongs to the bank," Capitola Sgt. Mark Gonzalez said.

The robber was described as a white man in his 40s or 50s with brown hair and a thin build, wearing blue jeans, a gray zip up sweatshirt and black shoes. The man was unshaven, had yellow teeth and appeared to have bad hygiene, police said. He left behind a green Pacific Wave hat and cell phone charger, police said.

Police believe the man may be a transient, Gonzalez said.

Entry #3,429

Randy Moss to be waived by the Vikings

Moss to be waived by the Vikings

                                                                                                                 Monique Walker
Globe Staff  
 
November 1, 2010 04:50 PM

 

 

 

FOXBOROUGH -- Randy Moss will be placed on waivers by the Minnesota Vikings, a day after another entertaining press conference by the receiver following the Vikings' 28-18 loss to the Patriots, but the team has still not formally made the move.

Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network first reported that Moss had been waived, but later amended his report to note that coach Brad Childress, who has final say on the 53-man roster, informed Vikings players that the enigmatic receiver was being let go, but did not tell the front office.

"[He said he] just wanted to give everybody a heads-up and say this is what's going on, and that's it," Vikings linebacker Ben Leber told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune "He didn't really dive into any details, and just said that's what we're going to go with."

Moss's agent, Joel Segal, confirmed to the Star Tribune via e-mail that Moss, who remained behind in Boston yesterday to visit family, was "very sad" to find out about being waived.

"He has and always will remain fond of the fans in Minnesota. We will let the process of the waiver wire take its course and we will move on from there."

Any team that claims Moss would be responsible for the remainder of his $6.4 million. Segal told the Star Tribune that he has already heard from the Dolphins and Seahawks about his client.

While Moss has been made aware of his situation according to Segal, his status is uncertain until the Vikings officially place him on waivers. His name did not appear on the waiver wire released by the league this afternoon, according to Fox Sports's Jay Glaser.

Once Moss is officially waived, teams will have the chance to claim him over the next 24 hours. If you think the Patriots would be on that list of interested teams, they would have to wait awhile. Thirty other teams would have to pass on Moss before the Patriots would have a chance to bring him back to New England. The team with the worst record, Buffalo, would have the first chance to claim him.

Patriots receiver Wes Welker had a common reaction to the news that his former teammate was being let go after less than a month with his former team.

"Yeah, absolutely," Welker said in the Patriots' locker room when asked if he was surprised to hear the news. "Randy is obviously a great player so that’s a tough deal if it is true. Who knows? But I find that hard to believe."

Asked if he'd be open to Moss returning to the Patriots, Welker said: "You know that’s all Coach (Bill) Belichick’s decision. So whatever he decides we’re open to as a team and I’m sure he’ll do what’s best for the organization."

Welker wouldn't say whether there was any relief in the locker room after Moss was traded.

"I wouldn’t attribute it to Randy or anything like that," Welker said. "We’ve got a lot of guys coming in and working hard and doing their job and young guys getting better every week. It’s paying off for us, we just need to keep it going."

While the Patriots are 6-1 -- and 3-0 since trading Moss -- the talented Vikings are free-falling, dropping to 2-5 after yesterday's 28-18 loss at Gillette Stadium.

Moss didn't help matters when, in a postgame press conference, he praised the Patriots and Belichick while suggesting the Vikings coaching staff didn't utilize his advice on the Patriots' schemes.

"The bad part about it is you have six days to prepare for a team, and on the seventh day, that Sunday, meaning today, I guess they come over and say, 'Dag, Moss, I guess you was right about a couple plays and a couple schemes they were going to run,'" he said.

"And it hurts as a player, that you put a lot of hard work in during the week, and at the end of the week, Sunday, when you get on the field, that's when they acknowledge about the hard work that you put in throughout the week. That's actually a disappointment."

Shalise Manza Young, Greg A. Bedard, and Chad Finn of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Entry #3,428

Mother arrested after sons had pens with powerful explosives

Bond is set at $50,000 for penbombing suspect's mother

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Charlotte Observer

Monday, Nov. 01, 2010

Tracy Bauguess

Tracy Bauguess

 

A judge on Monday set a $50,000 bond for an administrative assistant whose sons are accused of packing a pen with powerful explosives, injuring another student at a Charlotte alternative school.

Tracy Bauguess, 37, was charged with three counts of malicious use of explosives causing injury and one count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction after investigators found dangerous amounts of an unstable explosive in her house.

She was originally given no bond. But on Monday, Judge Regan Miller reduced her bond to a total of $50,000.

Police say her son, 16-year-old Jessie Bauguess, sent a fellow student at Turning Point alternative school to the hospital with burns and other wounds when he packed a pen with a powerful explosive and took it to school. He's being held in jail under $47,500 bond.

Tracy Bauguess' other son, whose name hasn't been released because he's 15, appeared in juvenile court two weeks ago, but the outcome wasn't made public because such proceedings are closed.

Bomb squads shut down Bauguess’ neighborhood in northwest Charlotte and probed the house with robots for two days, carrying out controlled detonations of the explosive TATP that they found there. Three firefighters were hurt as some of the material they were testing exploded. Their injuries were minor.

At Tracy Bauguess' bond hearing on Monday, a prosecutor argued that Baugess knew what her sons were experimenting with explosives. They said explosives were found throughout the home off Mount Holly Road where the family had lived for four months.

"Chemicals were all over the house, in plain view," said Assistant District Attorney Madelaine Colbert, who said investigators found a hole in Tracy Bauguess' bedroom, apparently caused by an explosion. "She knew her son had been having trouble with the teacher. Neighbors had been hearing for a long time explosions coming from the residence … She was aware of what was going on."

But Baugess' attorney, Jacob Setzer, described his client as a harmless administrative assistant and single mother, who never knew her children were in danger or endangering others. Setzer said she voluntarily allowed investigators to search her home and turned herself in shortly after learning authorities had issued warrants for her arrest.

Setzer said the case had been sensationalized.

"This is not some type of Columbine issue where guns are found throughout the house," Setzer said. "She still doesn't know what the chemicals are. I don't know what the chemicals are," Setzer said.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/01/1803911/bond-is-set-for-penbombing-suspects.html#ixzz143T2LUTI

Entry #3,427

Alcohol most harmful drug followed by...

Study: Alcohol 'most harmful drug,' followed by crack and heroin

 

CNN Wire Staff

November 1, 2010

2:42 a.m. EDT

The Lancet, a British medical journal, lists alcohol as the most harmful drug among a list of 20 drugs.

The Lancet, a British medical journal, lists alcohol as the most harmful drug among a list of 20 drugs.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The study uses a new scale to rank the harmfulness of 20 drugs
  • Alcohol is the most harmful overall, according to panelists
  • A co-author of the study has said horseback riding is more dangerous than ecstasy

 

London, England (CNN) -- Alcohol ranks "most harmful" among a list of 20 drugs -- beating out crack and heroin -- according to study results released by a British medical journal.

A panel of experts weighed the physical, psychological and social problems caused by the drugs and determined that alcohol was the most harmful overall, according to an article on the study released by The Lancet Sunday.

Using a new scale to evaluate harms to individual users and others, alcohol received a score of 72 on a scale of 1 to 100, the study says.

That makes it almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco, according to the article, which is slated to be published on The Lancet's website Monday and in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were the most harmful drugs to individuals, the study says, while alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others.

In the article, the panelists said their findings show that Britain's three-tiered drug classification system, which places drugs into different categories that determine criminal penalties for possession and dealing, has "little relation to the evidence of harm."

Panelists also noted that the rankings confirm other studies that say that "aggressively targeting alcohol harms is a valid and necessary public health strategy."

The Lancet article was co-authored by David Nutt, a professor and Britain's former chief drug adviser, who caused controversy last year after he published an article saying ecstasy was not as dangerous as riding a horse.

"So why are harmful sporting activities allowed, whereas relatively less harmful drugs are not?" Nutt wrote in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. "I believe this reflects a societal approach which does not adequately balance the relative risks of drugs against their harms."

Nutt later apologized to anyone offended by the article and to those who have lost loved ones to ecstasy. He said he had no intention of trivializing the dangers of the drug and that he only wanted to compare the risks.

In the article released by The Lancet Sunday, ecstasy's harmfulness ranking -- 9 -- indicates it is only one eighth as harmful as alcohol.

The study was funded by the London-based Centre for Crime and Justice studies.

Entry #3,424

Tiger Woods loses No. 1 overall ranking

Tiger Woods loses No. 1 overall ranking for first time in 623 weeks; Lee Westwood takes top spot

 

Dave Goldiner
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Sunday, October 31st 2010, 3:09 PM

 

Tiger Woods is no longer top cat.

 

The disgraced golfer lost his No. 1 spot in the weekly World Golf Rankings Sunday, capping a dismal fall from grace on and off the golf course.

The once undisputed king of the links spent 281 straight weeks, or more than five years, in the coveted top spot and has been in first place for 623 weeks during his storied career. He is now ranked No. 2.

Lee Westwood, 37, of England, took over the top spot, becoming the first European golfer to be No. 1 since Nick Faldo in 1994.

Despite failing to win a major in his career, Westwood has been the most consistent golfer in the world with one tour win and runner-up finishes in the Masters and at the British Open.

Woods' days in the No. 1 slot were numbered once he suffered a knee injury last year that kept him out of major tournaments.

The Thanksgiving weekend domestic meltdown that led to the breakup of Woods' marriage and his exposure as a serial cheater kept him off the tour for months more.

He has struggled ever since to regain his top form.

The ranking is based on points accumulated during a two-year period, meaning it has taken awhile for Woods' slide to knock him from his perch.

German Martin Kaymer looks set to stay at No. 3 after finishing way back in the pack at a Spanish tournament this weekend.

Feel-good Master's winner Phil Mickelson sits at No. 4.

All four top golfers are bunched close together at the top of the rankings and Woods could regain the No. 1 ranking if he can regain his dominance.

Woods and the other three top golfers are all scheduled to play in this week's WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/10/31/2010-10-31_tiger_woods_loses_no_1_overall_ranking_for_first_time_in_623_weeks_lee_westwood_.html#ixzz13zcRzdqu

Entry #3,422

Boy, 4, expelled from school for long hair

Now what would Jesus 'do?

Heartless school's 'tress' code

CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

Last Updated: 7:25 AM, October 31, 2010

Posted: 1:13 AM, October 31, 2010

 

He's a hair-etic.

That's the harsh ruling of a strict New Jersey Catholic school that booted a 4-year-old be cause his hair was too long -- even though his angelic locks were to be donated to kids with cancer.

Little Jack Szablewski, who has never had a hair cut, needed to grow his straight blond tresses at least 12 inches before he could donate them to the Childhood Leuke mia Foundation in memory of his grand dad and a child of a family friend who died of the cancer.

But now his saddened mom, Renee, 47, says she's lost faith in St. Dominic's, of Brick, NJ, and the school principal who barred her son from attending his part-time prekindergarten class for failing to meet the dress code.

Angel Chevrestt

UNKINDEST CUT OF ALL: Four-year-old Jack Szablewski has been expelled from St. Dominic's Catholic school in Brick, NJ, for growing his hair to donate to cancer-stricken kids.

Szablewski said the paro chial school admitted Jack in 2009 knowing he was growing his hair for a cause but then revised its dress code in September to re quire that all students have short hair -- no exceptions.

"They gave us two weeks to get his hair cut or he was going to be suspended. I immediately put his hair in a ponytail and measured it; it was exactly 12 inches with no room to spare, which is the minimum required to donate," she said.

Frantic, Szablewski set up a Sept. 30 appointment at Ferrazz Salon in Hoboken and invited the press as a way to highlight the family's causes, including getting involved in bone-marrow drives.

But a severe storm was battering the East Coast, and the family was forced to cancel over safety concerns. When Szablewski took Jack back to school on Oct. 1, she was turned away in the rain and told not to come back until he was shorn.

"I feel we are being punished for teaching our son it is better to give than to receive," Szablewski said.

Not only that but the Diocese of Trenton has agreed with school Principal Carol Bathmann that there's no more sanctuary for little Jack -- even when he cuts his hair now.

"The Szablewski child is completely innocent in this matter and was never the subject of any disciplinary action, such as suspension. It is Mrs. Szablewski's failure to uphold her agreement to have the child's hair cut after being given 13 months to do so," according to a statement from the Diocese.

Szablewski insists she didn't find out about the new hair rule until after the school accepted her $2,500 tuition fee.

"I felt like a criminal when I was told he could not come back to school," she said. "I was very angry. She really knocked me off my pins. I really wasn't expecting that. They are trying to bully us out of a parish we belonged to since 1990."

In addition, although Jack attended only seven days of school, the Szablewskis were returned only $1,000. They haven't cashed the check.

"Here we are, trying to do a good thing. According to the school handbook, you are suspended or expelled for defacing property or possessing weapons, but this was an act of charity," she said.

"I found it quite appalling that an assistant principal said to me, 'You are the one who chose to make your son different.' I thought that was very un-Christlike. I was so disgusted my spirit was broken.

"One thing I want to stress is I love my church and I do love my faith. It's not about the church; it's about the people who have the power and abuse authority."

Jack still has a date in the barber's chair.

"I will be happy when somebody is going to have my hair," the spunky 36-pounder said in the family's Ocean County backyard.

In fact, right before school started, Jack raised $1,711 selling candy for a St. Dominic Church fund-raiser.



LINK TO PHOTO:

  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/now_what_would_jesus_do_h6FDQYe7VMNri5ilyU1tfM#ixzz13zUhwBKG

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