Army Recruits Autistic Teen

Of all the sick, twisted things this government has done, this is a new low. (Don't worry, I'm fairly sure they'll have a new low again tomorrow). According to The Oregonian:

"When Jared first started talking about joining the Army, I thought, 'Well, that isn't going to happen,' " said Paul Guinther, Jared's father. "I told my wife not to worry about it. They're not going to take anybody in the service who's autistic."

Brenda [Jared's mom] said she spoke to Cpl. Ronan Ansley and explained that Jared had a disability, autism, that could not be outgrown. She said Ansley told her he had been in special classes, too -- for dyslexia.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, there's a big difference between autism and your problem,' " Brenda said.

Desperate for soldiers much?

Two days after the article was published, the Army let Jared out of his service commitment. What a coincidence! They get exposed by the press... only then do they do something about it. If it weren't for the media, Jared would be on the front lines in Iraq right now.

During a recent family gathering, a relative asked Jared what he would do if an enemy was shooting at him. Jared ran to his video game console and killed a digital Xbox soldier and announced, "See! I can do it!"

With Bush's approval rating at an all-time low (some sources say he's reached the high 20s), and the war droning on, I realize its tough for military recruiters out there. But maybe hanging outside the Special Ed classes looking for fresh meat isn't exactly the way to be building the army of the future.