MySpace Suicide Case

Today, a Missouri woman, Lori Drew was indicted for allegedly cyberbullying a 13 year old girl in 2006.  Prosecutors claimed she created a MySpace account as a means of contacting this young girl, Meagan Meier, formerly a friend of Ms. Drew’s daughter.  The ‘contact’ entailed sexually toned conversations aimed at drawing the young girl into the fictional character’s life.  Over a period of time, Ms. Drew allegedly began taunting Ms. Meier and as a result claimed by the federal prosecution, Ms. Meier committed suicide.  The questions now stand whether the prosecutors performed honestly as well as whether or not they correctly applied the proper statute for the resulting indictment.

Already admitted by the Missouri law enforcement, is the fact that they were unable to bring forth enough evidence to constitute charges being brought to court, however since MySpace, based in Beverly Hills, CA, has a server there, the federal prosecutors involved in the case brought a federal statute into play.  This statute is most often relegated to prosecuting fraud cases occurring across state lines.

Fraud… murder… the two have next to nothing in common.  Yes, Ms. Drew acted abominably, and yes the fact that a, then 48 year old, woman felt it necessary to taunt a 13 year old young girl is outright insane, but attempting to prosecute under the pretense of fraud due to her creation of a false MySpace account, leaves much to be desired in coming to terms with the entire situation.

What then of the parents who name-call or verbally abuse their children, or those that project negativity to their children, resulting in their acts of suicide and attempted suicide?  Would the law apply here?  Making a child feel worthless is indeed wrong, but is it the proper statute in this case?

Megan, the only person that can actually give her true account, is deceased… never able to speak for herself again.  What would she say?  Where does it all end?  Sending Ms. Drew to prison for…?  Murder?  Cyberbullying?  Too many people are far to free with acts that infringe on the rights of others, but when/should the state or federal law step in to right those wrongs?

I’m sure Megan’s family might feel some vindication or closure, but following the laws that are now growing more and more indistinct in their boundaries leaves us wondering where do the crimes end and the laws begin?  Setting precedence, whether intended or not, is what this case will do and not necessarily in a healthy or helpful manner.

Making someone miserable through actions or words is wrong in any way, shape, or form, but to be sent to prison for the actions of another under a statute designed for an entirely different scenario is stretching things a bit.

So tell me… is it right or wrong?  Was the courts decision correct, or did they stretch the legal limits to produce a ‘solution’ to a horrifying problem.  You tell me.

 

Child Support Enforcement Agency — Fact or Fiction?

For those of you who are familiar with the whole custody litigation process, bothering to accept the governments’ offer to ‘assist’ you in collecting child support owed is one endeavor you are better off avoiding.

The expense for the court procedure, alone, can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, leaving you to wonder exactly where all the money went (especially if you were represented by a less than mediocre attorney). Following the finale when the judge, playing the almighty God, determines who gets primary custody, full custody, or no custody at all, you finally feel a rare chance to relax.

In the mail it comes… an ordinary envelope containing a seemingly innocent piece of paper offering assistance in collecting the child support payments that were ordered by the court. Why not, you think, what’s the worst that can happen?

Prepare yourself for another ridiculous round of unnecessary litigation procedures. Not only is this agency a separately functioning arm of the city government, but they also must ‘re-establish’ parental rights, custody, and whether child support payments are in fact owed.

Yes, my friend, the entire litigation process you only just sighed in relief for being finalized, is going to begin all over again. Not to be forgotten are the payments you must make to the Child Support Enforcement Agency once they have commenced the litigation process. Translation: You are going to pay them to re-do the entire process.

Where’s the inter-agency communication? Do the courts actually hold any power over any situations? It makes a person wonder exactly what the world is coming to when some people are working three jobs to afford child support, and receiving only minimal visitation rights, and then there are those that make no payments, and the courts cannot ‘find’ them while they are granted full visitation rights.

Where’s the justice? Where’s the balance? Most importantly of all… where’s the common sense?

 

HDTV — What Is It?

Introduction to HD
High-definition television, being more popularly referred to as HDTV, has rapidly risen in ranks in the fascinating world of technology. Whether or not you are knowledgeable on the currently popular brands or models, one thing remains evidently clear — HD holds the technology market for now.
Time used to be we simply paid a visit to our nearest television retailer and chose a product that matched our decor, or offered a larger viewing screen. Now it can seem as if your life nearly depends on the decision you make in reference to which model you are going to purchase. Perhaps understanding some of the key words and labels before you shop for your television would assist you in your endeavour into the realm of technology.
We begin with the name. You know the meaning of HDTV, as previously explained, what next? HD is a broadcasting system in digital form that is comprised of a higher resolution ratio when compared to the former television systems. Having been introduced in the United States in the 90′s, HDTV requires less bandwidth when the proper amount of video compression is made available. This results in “digital” broadcasting.
Previously, the most generally used format for viewing television was with the use of CRT (cathode ray tube) sets. These are comprised of radio waves that vary constantly which are translated into sound and pictures by the television receiving these radio waves. Analog signals are carried over air, by satellite, or through cables connected to the television. When using a regular television, the digital signals are converted to analog signals.
The mechanics of the televisions are that CRT sets accept signals from broadcasters that display approximately 480 visible lines of pixels. This translates as lower quality due to the electron gun painting a mere 50% of the lines during each pass of the screen. The quality is further lowered when the signal must be converted to analog format from video format. Because HD television has been created to display approximately ten times the number of pixels an analog TV displays, this heightens the level of quality. With such a high number of pixels being displayed, the result is a clearer and more defined picture.
HD television also rates a much higher aspect ratio when compared to the standard televisions being produced. Standard is sized by a 4:3 aspect ration, meaning it is four units wide and three units high. The HDTV boasts a 16:9 ratio which is highly similar to a movie screen, making it the better quality choice for your viewing experience.

 

Is Pornography Becoming a Part of Sam Walton’s Legacy — Wal-Mart?

Did Sam Walton have porn in mind when he began the Wal-Mart chain? I have a difficult time believing he did, but it makes you wonder what the world is coming to when you can pick up the latest fashion magazine and view soft core porn in your grocery store of all places!

Far be it from me to throw the first stone, I’ve been guilty on many occasions of picking up one of the top featured magazines out of boredom, but does this mean I condone the wrong? Certainly not! Sex sells — that’s why the magazine editors are making the top bucks, but it doesn’t make it correct.

We need to stand and combat this outrage that threatens to educate our young (and not so young) children by such titles as:

“Angel and Eight Other Sizzling Positions. So Hot, You’ll Burn A Hole Through The Bed.” April’s cover of Glamour teased children with, “What Men Think About Your Orgasm Face.” Cosmopolitan graphically details sexual foreplay in order to
“make him plead for mercy – and beg for more.”

These and many more are the pride and joy of such magazines as Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and shockingly, Sports Illustrated.

Why are we allowing this to be forced on us and our children? These stores are blatantly making a statement that they have no regard for children or for the various ages that pass through those aisles on a daily basis. Regardless of the fact that Ted Bundy stated that his exposure to pornography at an early age led to his rampant acts of rape and murder in his later years, this is an outright violation of our principles and beliefs as a society. Demanding a change of the display contents, or at least having the offending material covered with a binder allowing only the name of the magazine to be visible is our right, and quite possibly our chance at keeping our children out of trouble in the future.

http://www.afa.net/pornography/MagazineLayout.pdf provides excellent information on how you can help in the fight to combat pornographic content in your local grocery store and other retail establishments as well. Unless we want multiple “mini-Ted Bundy’s” populating the earth in the future… acting now would be the wisest decision.

 

How profitable is fake news?

Just when you think the local news stations won’t go any lower than they usually do, we find out the latest video news releases (VNR’s) are quite possibly fake. As if the news isn’t already discouraging enough, the news stations feel the need to worsen the situation by lying to us? Talk about bringing new meaning to the phrase “adding insult to injury.”

With over 100 local stations allegedly reporting false newscasts by use of fake VNR’s, the Center for Media Democracy (CMD) and the Free Press have requested the FCC to discipline these stations to the full extent of their ability for their less than honorable actions, but to date only one station, a cable channel, has been reprimanded and fined.

Not only do young, impressionable people view these stations, but everyone else as well, leaving us all to wonder if the laws were truly made for the lawless, or if they were made simply for show.

If the television stations have to lie about the simple, unimportant news… what bigger issues are they misrepresenting? For the full story,  http://www.freepress.net/fakenews/

 

Bush Signs Stimulus Bill…???

Apparently President Bush has signed a bill that was passed rather quickly through Congress, might I add, in less than four weeks — this included the initial discussions concerning the bill and the actual enactment. Isn’t it amazing what the lure of money can do?

The process involved with the IRS actually cutting these checks has allegedly already begun, promising these new found “booster shots for the American economy” as stated by President Bush, to be sent out by the end of summer. What exactly is the rush? How can this amount of money, upwards of $150 billion, be gathered (from where?!) and processed so quickly.

Whether or not single taxpayers receive their promised $600 reimbursement for having a cap of $75,000 or married couples filing jointly receive their $1,200 if their cap is under $150,000 remains yet to be seen, and by the way Mr. President… how exactly will that be carried out concerning the same-sex couples that claimed media attention not too long ago…?

 

Am I the Only Lost Person On Here…? ><

Apparently I’m so far behind the crowd in blogging that I’ve completely lost any form of knowledge concerning it.  As a former blogging-addict, I can honestly say… it’s SO not like riding a bike… when you drop it for a couple of years… it seems gone and gone and gone.  *sighs* ah well… we’ll see what happens.