This is the scariest story Ihave read in a long time

From the Albany Times-Union

VALLEY FALLS -- Some veterans in this community resorted to some medieval punishment after a village man burned the American flag on a pole in front of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

The young man, whose name was not released, was duct taped to the pole by veterans for about six hours last Sunday with a sign around his neck accusing him of being a flag burner.

A picture of the punishment is posted on http://www.facebook.com/VFWFans and the VFW's national Web site http://www.vfw.org.

He was pilloried while the village held its fall youth soccer picnic, which included a long parade of children passing the man tied to the pole.

''He'll never disrespect the flag again, I can tell you that,'' post Commander Nick Normile, a Vietnam War veteran, said today.

Normile said the man came into the post's bar last Friday night on Poplar Avenue for a drink but was turned away because he had no ID.

Angered, the man went outside, lowered the flag which hung for a time in Iraq, and set it on fire with a cigarette lighter.

Upset with the destruction, Normile and other post members went to find the man and came across him Sunday.

They gave him some options.

''Let's just say we gave him three options and he took number three,'' Normile said. ''I would rather not say what the first two were.''

A spokesman for the national VFW organization did not return a call for comment.

The flag will be properly disposed of during a ceremony in the near future, Normile said.

I have no words for this. It's assault and maybe a bunch of other things. Sounds like they threatened him , too.

What were these people thinking?

The paper has a comment thread, and there are only five comments, most of them supportive of what they did.

I cannot believe the national organization is proud of this.

Wow. Just wow.

Edit: I just checked out a map, and this place is 27.5 miles from my house. We have driven past it a number of times.