CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions, released a list of corrupt members of congress yesterday. Evidently, they have done this twice before making this the third annual release. This list is made up of the ‘most’ corrupt members of Congress. I am sure there are other corrupt members who have managed to escape this groups close scrutiny.
The group placed their list on their website beyonddelay.org, along with each members’ transgressions, as analyzed in light of federal laws and congressional rules, which, in their words, “documents the egregious, unethical and possibly illegal activities of the most tainted members of Congress”.
“Every year CREW creates this compendium of corruption to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said. “With the third edition of Beyond DeLay it has become abundantly clear that many public officials believe that the rules don’t apply to them.”
Members of the Senate:
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)*
Members of House:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)*
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)*
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)*
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)*
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)*
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)*
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)*
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)*
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)*
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)*
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)
Dishonorable Mention:
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
* These members, according to the group, are already under federal investigation.
That is a seriously long list for individuals who are supposed to be looking out for American citizens well-being.
Voter apathy is way too high, and it is individuals like this that feed the belief that no matter who we vote into office we are going to ultimately get screwed so why bother voting.
The American public is tired of putting people into public office who think that ‘voter trust’ is a license to financially better their own lives ahead of Americas best interest. You are put into ‘public’ office to advance the causes of the American citizenry, not to further your own selves at our expense. It does not matter how you justify your actions to yourselves or your constituents, if the American public looses as you gain then you are a corrupt public official and as such should be banished from holding any public office.
Please, curb your greed and put America first.
I applaud CREW’s effort to take on the responsibility to force oversight of these elected officials. Hopefully, those other members who read this list will think twice and check their conscience before committing any act that thickens the cloud of moral bankruptcy that hangs over the head of every American politician.
Let’s help this group further its efforts. If you find your representative on this list write them a letter. Be courteous and respectful of the office and inform the person that you learned of their transgression through CREW’s list and that you will not tolerate their behavior. Remind them of your power to vote against them in the next election. We may not have the power to predict who will go bad once they are in office but when we learn of those who did do bad then we do have the power to replace them.
For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565 or nseligman@citizensforethics.org.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
John David R. Atchison, child predator
Another low-life, scum-bag federal employee who abused our trust. This guy is an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida when he was caught by an undercover police officer posing as a mother offering her 5-year-old child to Atchison for sex.
According to authorities, Atchison made contact with a detective working undercover for the Macomb County Michigan Sheriff's department's.
In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents."
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."
The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.
Atchison, a member of the Florida bar association since 1984, lives in Gulf Breeze, Fla., near Pensacola.
He is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth athletics organization.
He described himself online as a family man. His wife is a science teacher at Gulf Breeze High School.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Department and the FBI were a part of the investigation.
This story was posted on commongate.com on September 18, 2007.
According to authorities, Atchison made contact with a detective working undercover for the Macomb County Michigan Sheriff's department's.
In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents."
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."
The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.
Atchison, a member of the Florida bar association since 1984, lives in Gulf Breeze, Fla., near Pensacola.
He is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth athletics organization.
He described himself online as a family man. His wife is a science teacher at Gulf Breeze High School.
The Macomb County Sheriff's Department and the FBI were a part of the investigation.
This story was posted on commongate.com on September 18, 2007.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Americans: ‘fatter and dumber’
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel made this statement on an online Democratic candidate forum yesterday, Sep 13, 2007. He said that American people are getting fatter and dumber.
He may not win any votes making this statement, but he is absolutely correct in his assessment. I will take this opportunity to add two other adjectives that immediately come to mind, ‘Apathetic’ (which is why politicians can get away with the crap they do) and ‘Lazy’ (which is why immigrants have gained such a foothold in the U.S.). There are several others but I will spare you my take on the full picture of what we have become.
Look around you and make your own honest assessment of your fellow Americans, and yourself.
What is the percentage of overweight people around you? Do you see more overweight people than you did, say, 10 years ago or even five? How many people do you know who exercise regularly? How many eat balanced diets? How many eat at fast food restaurants? Are you overweight? Do you exercise regularly?
Ask high school level questions of those people you know. How many people can do math beyond simple addition and subtraction, without using their fingers? Multiplication and, especially, division really tax most peoples minds. How many people can tell you who our first three presidents were? How about geography, how many people know what the capital of Pakistan is, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or even where these countries are? These countries are part of current events so it is not unfair to ask these questions.
How many people do you know punctuate their speech with these words: “like” and “you know” and “kind of” and “sort of”? Here’s an example, “I was, kind of like, blah blah blah, like, sort of blah blah, you know?” High school English teachers everywhere cringe when they hear high school graduates speak like this. But then again there are more and more high school teachers speaking like this too. Have they given up and just going with the crowd to get along? Do they realize they have lost the battle to educate kids who see no real reason for going to school other than the fact that they are forced to be there. Or is it that this is what they have been exposed to all their lives and therefore this is all they know of how to speak?
Seriously, our overall education has been going down the tubes for a very long time. Kids don’t see the importance of learning anything from school. It is up to the parents to instill in them the need to learn everyday, everything they can about everything. How many parents really care about education? Very few. Their only incentive to go to school is to get it over with so they become adult and do ‘fun’ adult things, like drive their own car, and drink legally. These are not very lofty goals. These kids have no idea what it means to be an adult. They see their parents go through the routine of leaving in the morning to go to work somewhere and then there is food on the table and they get clothes to wear and they might get an allowance for some menial job around the house. But they don’t really know the real reason for an education.
How many people do you know actually pick up a newspaper or browse the internet for real, meaningful news of current events? I am not talking about the entertainment section or the fashion news or sports. I’m talking real life hard hitting facts about the state of our world and nation that affects each and everyone of us. How many people turn to a radio for other than the latest top musical hits, this being the only reason they ever turn on a radio?
How many people turn on the television for any real news? Actually this question is unfair, because there is nothing worth learning on commercial television. Even the news programs have turned to an entertainment slant. The only exception is Public Television and they have to beg for money to keep them going. In general, television has become a vast wasteland of meaningless entertainment geared toward the lowest common denominator. The number of commercials have become obscene. Advertisers have become obnoxious in their attempts to sell us inane, meaningless crap that none of us really need, especially new cars. Have you seen the proliferation of ‘reality’ shows? This concept is one of the biggest piles of dung that television has ever produced. And the fact that they are so popular goes a long way toward telling just how dumb we Americans have become.
How many people do you know actually vote? And of those people, how many make informed decisions about a candidate or issue based on what they read and not what they accidentally heard in a ‘sound bite’ on the radio news at the top of the hour while waiting for their music to come back on?
There are people who can recite sports stats about all of their favorite athletes and cannot tell you who our vice president or speaker of the house is. There are people who can tell you the names of every person their favorite celebrity has ever screwed or screwed over but can’t tell you why we are exploring outer space. And there are way too many people who think that looks count for more than anything else. Unfortunately, these very same people get into positions of hiring people and hire only ‘pretty’ people or sexually promiscuous people who are under-qualified for the position while the person who has spent their life educating themselves for that position go unrewarded and under-valued.
These are all basically intelligent people, they just don’t see any reason to apply themselves beyond what they need to get by on a daily basis. Those people who do have a genuine desire to get an education are already so far ahead of those who just go through the motions but things have gotten so bad that even education does not guarantee you success.
Why do we need to know current events? Why should we be as healthy as we can be except to satisfy our own narcissistic reasons? All you have to do to get a job is ‘look good’ and ‘suck up’ to the right people. Then when you are in the door, all you have to do to ‘climb the ladder’ is to ‘look good’ and ‘suck up’ to the right people. This is very cynical, I know. But I have been bypassed during my working life by these people and I know many others who have been as well. Education does not have as high a value as ‘looking good’ and ‘sucking up’. Just look at Hollywood to see what I mean. You get the vast majority of those people away from their cue cards and their writers and see just how under-educated and shallow these people really are.
Let’s face it America, we are getting fatter, we are getting dumber. It is a fact that only we can change. Do we have the drive to make that change? Sadly, I don’t think so. And this is where those other two adjectives I spoke of earlier, “Lazy” and “Apathetic”, come into play. If we had the drive to keep ourselves fit and well educated we would not have let ourselves go in the first place. I challenge everyone to prove me wrong but I’m not going to bet on it happening.
He may not win any votes making this statement, but he is absolutely correct in his assessment. I will take this opportunity to add two other adjectives that immediately come to mind, ‘Apathetic’ (which is why politicians can get away with the crap they do) and ‘Lazy’ (which is why immigrants have gained such a foothold in the U.S.). There are several others but I will spare you my take on the full picture of what we have become.
Look around you and make your own honest assessment of your fellow Americans, and yourself.
What is the percentage of overweight people around you? Do you see more overweight people than you did, say, 10 years ago or even five? How many people do you know who exercise regularly? How many eat balanced diets? How many eat at fast food restaurants? Are you overweight? Do you exercise regularly?
Ask high school level questions of those people you know. How many people can do math beyond simple addition and subtraction, without using their fingers? Multiplication and, especially, division really tax most peoples minds. How many people can tell you who our first three presidents were? How about geography, how many people know what the capital of Pakistan is, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or even where these countries are? These countries are part of current events so it is not unfair to ask these questions.
How many people do you know punctuate their speech with these words: “like” and “you know” and “kind of” and “sort of”? Here’s an example, “I was, kind of like, blah blah blah, like, sort of blah blah, you know?” High school English teachers everywhere cringe when they hear high school graduates speak like this. But then again there are more and more high school teachers speaking like this too. Have they given up and just going with the crowd to get along? Do they realize they have lost the battle to educate kids who see no real reason for going to school other than the fact that they are forced to be there. Or is it that this is what they have been exposed to all their lives and therefore this is all they know of how to speak?
Seriously, our overall education has been going down the tubes for a very long time. Kids don’t see the importance of learning anything from school. It is up to the parents to instill in them the need to learn everyday, everything they can about everything. How many parents really care about education? Very few. Their only incentive to go to school is to get it over with so they become adult and do ‘fun’ adult things, like drive their own car, and drink legally. These are not very lofty goals. These kids have no idea what it means to be an adult. They see their parents go through the routine of leaving in the morning to go to work somewhere and then there is food on the table and they get clothes to wear and they might get an allowance for some menial job around the house. But they don’t really know the real reason for an education.
How many people do you know actually pick up a newspaper or browse the internet for real, meaningful news of current events? I am not talking about the entertainment section or the fashion news or sports. I’m talking real life hard hitting facts about the state of our world and nation that affects each and everyone of us. How many people turn to a radio for other than the latest top musical hits, this being the only reason they ever turn on a radio?
How many people turn on the television for any real news? Actually this question is unfair, because there is nothing worth learning on commercial television. Even the news programs have turned to an entertainment slant. The only exception is Public Television and they have to beg for money to keep them going. In general, television has become a vast wasteland of meaningless entertainment geared toward the lowest common denominator. The number of commercials have become obscene. Advertisers have become obnoxious in their attempts to sell us inane, meaningless crap that none of us really need, especially new cars. Have you seen the proliferation of ‘reality’ shows? This concept is one of the biggest piles of dung that television has ever produced. And the fact that they are so popular goes a long way toward telling just how dumb we Americans have become.
How many people do you know actually vote? And of those people, how many make informed decisions about a candidate or issue based on what they read and not what they accidentally heard in a ‘sound bite’ on the radio news at the top of the hour while waiting for their music to come back on?
There are people who can recite sports stats about all of their favorite athletes and cannot tell you who our vice president or speaker of the house is. There are people who can tell you the names of every person their favorite celebrity has ever screwed or screwed over but can’t tell you why we are exploring outer space. And there are way too many people who think that looks count for more than anything else. Unfortunately, these very same people get into positions of hiring people and hire only ‘pretty’ people or sexually promiscuous people who are under-qualified for the position while the person who has spent their life educating themselves for that position go unrewarded and under-valued.
These are all basically intelligent people, they just don’t see any reason to apply themselves beyond what they need to get by on a daily basis. Those people who do have a genuine desire to get an education are already so far ahead of those who just go through the motions but things have gotten so bad that even education does not guarantee you success.
Why do we need to know current events? Why should we be as healthy as we can be except to satisfy our own narcissistic reasons? All you have to do to get a job is ‘look good’ and ‘suck up’ to the right people. Then when you are in the door, all you have to do to ‘climb the ladder’ is to ‘look good’ and ‘suck up’ to the right people. This is very cynical, I know. But I have been bypassed during my working life by these people and I know many others who have been as well. Education does not have as high a value as ‘looking good’ and ‘sucking up’. Just look at Hollywood to see what I mean. You get the vast majority of those people away from their cue cards and their writers and see just how under-educated and shallow these people really are.
Let’s face it America, we are getting fatter, we are getting dumber. It is a fact that only we can change. Do we have the drive to make that change? Sadly, I don’t think so. And this is where those other two adjectives I spoke of earlier, “Lazy” and “Apathetic”, come into play. If we had the drive to keep ourselves fit and well educated we would not have let ourselves go in the first place. I challenge everyone to prove me wrong but I’m not going to bet on it happening.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
What is the real goal of this Iraq War and who is behind it?
Why are we still in Iraq? Why did we go there at all? Was it really to remove Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction? If that was the case then we have no business being there because there are no weapons of mass destruction.
Was it to remove Saddam Hussein from power? Mission accomplished, lets go home and resume our lives.
Was it to get control of Iraq’s oil resource for our own use? Not going to happen. Lets go home and work on alternative sources of energy like we should have been anyway.
Was it to fight terrorism? The only reason there are terrorist in Iraq now is because the U.S. brought them there by attacking Iraq. Let’s go home and protect our borders better and fight them here. I guarantee you they will not have the same will to fight us on our own turf.
Was it to show the world that we are truly the only world power and the rest of the world should recognize us for it? That isn’t working because if we truly are the only world power then we would have ‘won’ in Iraq by now.
Was it because war times have historically strengthened the U.S. economy by putting more Americans to work? Look around, we are losing jobs to cheaper foreign work forces. So, I don’t think that goal was achieved.
Was it so George W. Bush could ‘avenge’ his father for not taking out Saddam during the first Gulf War? Maybe he will some day decide to be candid enough to actually admit that there is more truth to this part of the story that he has ever let on.
As an American citizen, I am deeply confused about why we are there and why we stay.
The politicians and generals have all lied to us about how the war is progressing, all you have to do is read alternative news sources and listen to the troops who have actually served there to know that is true. Since they are lying to us about what is really happening there, they want something out of this war than what they are leading us to believe. Traditionally, 'winning' a war results in us marching away as the victor while people shower us with thanks and goodwill for relieving their suffering from the dictatorial rule of some madman. That, clearly, is not what is happening in Iraq. Therefore, a different goal has been set for Iraq.
The Pentagon, Haliburton, all of their subsidiaries and all of the other U.S. based contractors are making a lot of money off of this war. Profits they could not have dreamed of during a peace-time economy. As is usually always the case, if you follow the money trail you will learn the real reason behind why people in power do what they do.
Before this war started, Bush's handlers did not have an exit strategy. They did not plan for one because they knew there would be no exit. Why? One reason is that they planned to build military bases in Iraq to control the Middle East. This would extend America’s role of policing the world. If you are going to be the world’s police force you have to have police stations throughout the world.
Another underlying reason for not leaving is because of the oil reserves there. Bush's cronies at Haliburton and others would continue to make profits.
Just look at the fact that we still have military bases in Europe and Japan almost six decades after World War II. The U.S. does not give up strongholds easily. We will stay in Iraq indefinitely.
U.S. military and foreign policy does not account for the possibility of helping Iraq gain democracy and then leaving them to ‘sink or swim’. The U.S. military and foreign policy is to conquer and control. This alone is why the Middle East will never give up fighting the U.S. on their soil. The Middle East belongs to them, they will fight for it until their dying breath.
This policy of ‘American internationalism’ believes that we should dominate the world economy. Adherence to this policy will lead to the downfall of American power. Bush is stretching our grip too far. We should take a lesson from the Roman empire. They tried to stretch their control over the entire known world and their civilization fell apart. If we continue on this same path we will duplicate their fate.
The Pentagon budget is increased every year at the detriment of the U.S. domestic economy. Our educational system is suffering, our healthcare system is suffering, our citizens are suffering, except for Bush’s millionaire cronies who are profiting from this insane need to stretch U.S. control around the world.
Bush is currently working to expand the global missile defense system. This is the ‘big gun’ that will be used to back his idea of the Americanization of the world.
Our military has been undergoing the transformation to a police force long before George W. was inserted as president. The basis for this policy was born from a document drafted in 1992 by the defense department when, current vice president, Dick Cheney was defense secretary. That document saw the United States imposing its will and keeping world peace through military and economic power. When leaked in final draft form, however, the proposal drew so much criticism that it was hastily withdrawn and repudiated by the first President Bush.
The greatest danger that springs from the U.S. becoming the world’s police force is that all of our financial power and military might will be dedicated to maintaining that role. Once we become the world’s police force all our allies will back away and redirect their spending on domestic issues.
George W. Bush certainly did not campaign for this type of foreign policy while running for president but he has been doggedly pursuing it ever since. He is being led by conservative groups and he is only their ‘mouthpiece’. This says a lot about American politics today. The big lesson here is that it does not matter which person we the voting public elect as president, it is the groups behind the scenes who really decide this countries policies and we never have a say on who populate those groups.
Was it to remove Saddam Hussein from power? Mission accomplished, lets go home and resume our lives.
Was it to get control of Iraq’s oil resource for our own use? Not going to happen. Lets go home and work on alternative sources of energy like we should have been anyway.
Was it to fight terrorism? The only reason there are terrorist in Iraq now is because the U.S. brought them there by attacking Iraq. Let’s go home and protect our borders better and fight them here. I guarantee you they will not have the same will to fight us on our own turf.
Was it to show the world that we are truly the only world power and the rest of the world should recognize us for it? That isn’t working because if we truly are the only world power then we would have ‘won’ in Iraq by now.
Was it because war times have historically strengthened the U.S. economy by putting more Americans to work? Look around, we are losing jobs to cheaper foreign work forces. So, I don’t think that goal was achieved.
Was it so George W. Bush could ‘avenge’ his father for not taking out Saddam during the first Gulf War? Maybe he will some day decide to be candid enough to actually admit that there is more truth to this part of the story that he has ever let on.
As an American citizen, I am deeply confused about why we are there and why we stay.
The politicians and generals have all lied to us about how the war is progressing, all you have to do is read alternative news sources and listen to the troops who have actually served there to know that is true. Since they are lying to us about what is really happening there, they want something out of this war than what they are leading us to believe. Traditionally, 'winning' a war results in us marching away as the victor while people shower us with thanks and goodwill for relieving their suffering from the dictatorial rule of some madman. That, clearly, is not what is happening in Iraq. Therefore, a different goal has been set for Iraq.
The Pentagon, Haliburton, all of their subsidiaries and all of the other U.S. based contractors are making a lot of money off of this war. Profits they could not have dreamed of during a peace-time economy. As is usually always the case, if you follow the money trail you will learn the real reason behind why people in power do what they do.
Before this war started, Bush's handlers did not have an exit strategy. They did not plan for one because they knew there would be no exit. Why? One reason is that they planned to build military bases in Iraq to control the Middle East. This would extend America’s role of policing the world. If you are going to be the world’s police force you have to have police stations throughout the world.
Another underlying reason for not leaving is because of the oil reserves there. Bush's cronies at Haliburton and others would continue to make profits.
Just look at the fact that we still have military bases in Europe and Japan almost six decades after World War II. The U.S. does not give up strongholds easily. We will stay in Iraq indefinitely.
U.S. military and foreign policy does not account for the possibility of helping Iraq gain democracy and then leaving them to ‘sink or swim’. The U.S. military and foreign policy is to conquer and control. This alone is why the Middle East will never give up fighting the U.S. on their soil. The Middle East belongs to them, they will fight for it until their dying breath.
This policy of ‘American internationalism’ believes that we should dominate the world economy. Adherence to this policy will lead to the downfall of American power. Bush is stretching our grip too far. We should take a lesson from the Roman empire. They tried to stretch their control over the entire known world and their civilization fell apart. If we continue on this same path we will duplicate their fate.
The Pentagon budget is increased every year at the detriment of the U.S. domestic economy. Our educational system is suffering, our healthcare system is suffering, our citizens are suffering, except for Bush’s millionaire cronies who are profiting from this insane need to stretch U.S. control around the world.
Bush is currently working to expand the global missile defense system. This is the ‘big gun’ that will be used to back his idea of the Americanization of the world.
Our military has been undergoing the transformation to a police force long before George W. was inserted as president. The basis for this policy was born from a document drafted in 1992 by the defense department when, current vice president, Dick Cheney was defense secretary. That document saw the United States imposing its will and keeping world peace through military and economic power. When leaked in final draft form, however, the proposal drew so much criticism that it was hastily withdrawn and repudiated by the first President Bush.
The greatest danger that springs from the U.S. becoming the world’s police force is that all of our financial power and military might will be dedicated to maintaining that role. Once we become the world’s police force all our allies will back away and redirect their spending on domestic issues.
George W. Bush certainly did not campaign for this type of foreign policy while running for president but he has been doggedly pursuing it ever since. He is being led by conservative groups and he is only their ‘mouthpiece’. This says a lot about American politics today. The big lesson here is that it does not matter which person we the voting public elect as president, it is the groups behind the scenes who really decide this countries policies and we never have a say on who populate those groups.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
What is it with today’s youth?
Youth has always done outrageous things in an attempt to find their place in society.
Some of the foolish things they do are just too difficult to understand. It falls into the category of what were they thinking. Some can say they weren’t thinking at all but just going with the crowd, or going with the moment.
Don’t they understand that they will be adults someday and what they do could come back to haunt them?
For instance, I saw a video the other day of a high school girl standing in front of her high school running for class president and she stripped! Right down to nothing on at all. What was her reasoning for doing this? Someone in the audience had a video recorder (cell phone or camera) and posted it on the web. What a surprise!
Another disturbing example of teenage ‘low-moral’ behavior is the teens who were filming themselves going through a drive-up window at fast food restaurants and throwing cold drinks on the person in the window. How the hell is this fun?
There is a long list of stupid things that teens do. We have all heard them. Some have even participated in them when they were teens.
Vanessa Hudgens, plays Gabriella in Disney Channels “High School Musical” has nude photos circulating around the web. What was she thinking when she allowed someone to photograph her in the nude? Now that she is becoming more well known she wants to apologize. She says "I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me." "I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends." What is her reasoning for apologizing? Does she feel she needs to apologize for herself or for Disney or for her fans? Or, is her ‘timely’ apology directed at any possible future product endorsements that she could lose if she doesn’t offer an apology?
I’m sure that this young woman does not really feel the need to apologize for herself to anyone. That sentiment would require higher moral standards than she has thus far exhibited.
I’m sure she doesn’t give two cents for what her fans think of her as long as she has fans. Her head is so full of herself right now while she is riding the wave of ‘stardom’ that she cannot think outside herself. And no one around her is allowing her too. Especially Disney’s lawyers and publicist.
It’s not that I am just picking on her, but it seems all teenagers are getting like this. What happened to teaching them respect for themselves? What ever happened to the concept that respect is something to value?
Her publicist is tasked with putting up the appearance that this was just some unfortunate silly indiscretion made by an inexperienced youth who is unschooled with the way of the real world. It is nothing more than whitewash orchestrated by Disney’s legal team geared toward Disney’s future. Disney could not care less about her as long as she is making money for them.
I’m sure Disney told her she has to apologize over threat of being booted off of this money making venture, but we all know they would rather ‘suffer’ the ‘perceived indignity’ of supporting a person of ‘loose moral values’ than to lose any money or time it would take to find a replacement. Once again, money rules the day. The only reason Disney is making her apologize is to put up the appearance of maintaining morals because Disney is based in family entertainment. Disney thinks they stand to lose a lot of money if families boycotted them for supporting someone who poses nude.
Therefore, this apology is bogus.
The reasoning for publicly apologizing (or even apologizing at all) is beyond this teenager, and most other teenagers, to envision on her own. She, like most of her peer group, wasn’t thinking of her future when she posed nude. Most teens don’t see how their actions affect their future, or affect others. They live by the motto ‘if it feels good, do it”. Believe it or not this attitude is wrong and can come back to bite you hard.
Is it old-fashioned of me to think it is wrong to publicly display your nude body? Is this what is becoming the new moral standard?
There once was a time when being of good moral character had more value. Today it is only the appearance of good moral character that matters. Today, money and fame have pushed that antiquated belief of ‘good moral character’ aside.
It’s too bad that this young woman (and way too many others like her) doesn’t see the necessity of having good morals before being faced with having to make the decision about whether or not to allow someone to photograph her.
This society has fallen to such a distastefully, low moral state that all she has to do is apologize for her actions (no matter how insincere) and everyone falls for it. This does nothing for setting a good example for today’s youth. It only perpetuates the belief that anyone can do what she did and simply apologize for it and all will be well as long as you appear glamorous. If Ms. Hudgens was not in the spotlight associated with Disney she would not have to make an apology and no one would care.
This is why the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Brittney Spears get into trouble and still keep their ‘fans’.
We as parents need to teach our children not to put themselves in this situation, and give them good reasons not to. We need to get back to when morals actually mattered for the sake of morals and not how you can financially better yourself from just appearing to have morals.
Some of the foolish things they do are just too difficult to understand. It falls into the category of what were they thinking. Some can say they weren’t thinking at all but just going with the crowd, or going with the moment.
Don’t they understand that they will be adults someday and what they do could come back to haunt them?
For instance, I saw a video the other day of a high school girl standing in front of her high school running for class president and she stripped! Right down to nothing on at all. What was her reasoning for doing this? Someone in the audience had a video recorder (cell phone or camera) and posted it on the web. What a surprise!
Another disturbing example of teenage ‘low-moral’ behavior is the teens who were filming themselves going through a drive-up window at fast food restaurants and throwing cold drinks on the person in the window. How the hell is this fun?
There is a long list of stupid things that teens do. We have all heard them. Some have even participated in them when they were teens.
Vanessa Hudgens, plays Gabriella in Disney Channels “High School Musical” has nude photos circulating around the web. What was she thinking when she allowed someone to photograph her in the nude? Now that she is becoming more well known she wants to apologize. She says "I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me." "I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends." What is her reasoning for apologizing? Does she feel she needs to apologize for herself or for Disney or for her fans? Or, is her ‘timely’ apology directed at any possible future product endorsements that she could lose if she doesn’t offer an apology?
I’m sure that this young woman does not really feel the need to apologize for herself to anyone. That sentiment would require higher moral standards than she has thus far exhibited.
I’m sure she doesn’t give two cents for what her fans think of her as long as she has fans. Her head is so full of herself right now while she is riding the wave of ‘stardom’ that she cannot think outside herself. And no one around her is allowing her too. Especially Disney’s lawyers and publicist.
It’s not that I am just picking on her, but it seems all teenagers are getting like this. What happened to teaching them respect for themselves? What ever happened to the concept that respect is something to value?
Her publicist is tasked with putting up the appearance that this was just some unfortunate silly indiscretion made by an inexperienced youth who is unschooled with the way of the real world. It is nothing more than whitewash orchestrated by Disney’s legal team geared toward Disney’s future. Disney could not care less about her as long as she is making money for them.
I’m sure Disney told her she has to apologize over threat of being booted off of this money making venture, but we all know they would rather ‘suffer’ the ‘perceived indignity’ of supporting a person of ‘loose moral values’ than to lose any money or time it would take to find a replacement. Once again, money rules the day. The only reason Disney is making her apologize is to put up the appearance of maintaining morals because Disney is based in family entertainment. Disney thinks they stand to lose a lot of money if families boycotted them for supporting someone who poses nude.
Therefore, this apology is bogus.
The reasoning for publicly apologizing (or even apologizing at all) is beyond this teenager, and most other teenagers, to envision on her own. She, like most of her peer group, wasn’t thinking of her future when she posed nude. Most teens don’t see how their actions affect their future, or affect others. They live by the motto ‘if it feels good, do it”. Believe it or not this attitude is wrong and can come back to bite you hard.
Is it old-fashioned of me to think it is wrong to publicly display your nude body? Is this what is becoming the new moral standard?
There once was a time when being of good moral character had more value. Today it is only the appearance of good moral character that matters. Today, money and fame have pushed that antiquated belief of ‘good moral character’ aside.
It’s too bad that this young woman (and way too many others like her) doesn’t see the necessity of having good morals before being faced with having to make the decision about whether or not to allow someone to photograph her.
This society has fallen to such a distastefully, low moral state that all she has to do is apologize for her actions (no matter how insincere) and everyone falls for it. This does nothing for setting a good example for today’s youth. It only perpetuates the belief that anyone can do what she did and simply apologize for it and all will be well as long as you appear glamorous. If Ms. Hudgens was not in the spotlight associated with Disney she would not have to make an apology and no one would care.
This is why the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Brittney Spears get into trouble and still keep their ‘fans’.
We as parents need to teach our children not to put themselves in this situation, and give them good reasons not to. We need to get back to when morals actually mattered for the sake of morals and not how you can financially better yourself from just appearing to have morals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)