This Week in Stupid

By Joanna Miller in News on Oct 6, 2006 7:15PM

It’s been a tough week for Dennis Hastert, and Chicagoist wants to do our part to help him out. That’s why we’re dedicating this installment of This Week in Stupid to the Speaker. Hopefully these tales of stupid from his home state will help him find a way out of this mess. Or not.

• When you’re in charge, ignorance is not a good excuse. David Inserra, Maine South High School’s top football coach, admitted this after he realized a phrase he put on signs in the team’s locker room was a Nazi slogan. The signs said “Work will set you free.” The Nazis posted the slogan, “Arbeit macht frei” in German, at the entrance to Aushwitz and other concentration camps. Inserra said it was an honest mistake, but he should have known better. He has been suspended for one game.
• And when you do get caught doing something stupid or ignoring someone else’s stupid behavior, a good apology is key, even if the crime was especially disgusting. Take Vandale Amos Willis. During his trial on drug charges, this 28-year-old Chicago man spread his feces around a courtroom in Duluth. On Wednesday, he apologized to the court. “I’m going to take full responsibility for everything I did in Duluth,” Willis said. “I want to apologize for everything I did in court. I’m sorry, your honor.” Now that is what taking responsibility looks like.
• If you’re going to try to blame something on your enemy, be sure you have a good plan and that it's going to stick. A Downers Grove woman faces up to 15 years in prison for persuading her 14-year-old son to plant drugs in a classmate’s backpack. Back in March, Christine J. Marmolejo, 39, devised the plot to embarrass the other boy’s mother, a longtime adversary. After her son planted .88 grams of weed and 6 tablets of clonazepam, she called police to tell them the other boy was in possession of illegal narcotics. Police quickly figured out her scheme and placed her under arrest. Marmolejo was placed on home confinement until she was found violating the terms of her bail by shopping and going to a tanning salon.
• Learn what you can from the unfortunate circumstances of others. In this case, the lesson is that you can stand in front of an oncoming train and flip it off all you want, but it’s still going to run you over. Unfortunately, an 18-year-old Kenosha, Wis., man learned this the hard way. Authorities say Andrew J. Grosenick was likely intoxicated when he was struck and killed by a train last Friday. So, is this whole Foley mess the equivalent of a political, career-ending freight train for Hastert? We'll just have to wait and see.