another one, we learned that sarah palin will invoke old glory in her book that's coming out. it's a celebration of american virtues and strengths. and finally, one more to tell you about. isn't that a beautiful american flag? that's a painting of an american flag. way to cash in on the stars and stripes. on tuesday a nearly 50-year-old painting by jasper johns, titled "flags." sold for $26 million at auction. that set an auction record for the artist. let's get to the heart of the matter. reuben is a cnn contributor columnist. and chris is also running for secretary of state in kansas. ruben, let's start with you. i read your column that you wrote on all of this. you say that you were prepared to cut these students a break. you thought at that principal had acted incorrectly. but since then, you've actually changed your mind. you've gone around 180 degrees.