Should ’sexting’ be decriminalized?
Good news! Our courts are going after child pornographers with a vengeance, using technology like cell phones and social networking sites to locate and trap these heinous criminals and throw the book at them. The only glitch in this admirable fight for justice? The “scum” appear to be our own kids.
Youthful hormones and high-tech communication have dovetailed as of late, and “sexting” is the result — racy pics teens send each other via cell phone. Think this dangerous and vile behavior is part of an edgy subculture? A recent survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned pregnancy claims that 20 percent of our teens are involved in “sexting” activities. “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity,” Einstein once said, making me wonder if he saw this one coming.
I’m shocked by how widespread this activity has become and grateful to live in a community filled with adults who are “on it” in a big way, from academic and home life consequences to strict monitoring of teen behavior. Still, I’m more shocked by the way the law has swooped in, labeling young, impulsive teenagers child pornographers.
Really? That’s how we fix this? A boy in Texas is arrested on child pornography charges for simply having a racy photo on his phone. A 14-year-old New Jersey girl posts explicit pictures of herself on MySpace and could be forced to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.
Even Maureen Kanka, Megan’s mother, is appalled. “This shouldn’t fall under Megan’s Law in any way, shape or form” the mother of the raped and murdered Megan Kanka declared, understanding that the MySpace exhibitionist needs help, not an avalanche of legal restrictions that will ruin her life forever.
Legislators in Vermont are trying to stop the madness, creating a bill that would remove the most serious legal consequences for “sexting” kids, such as a lifetime on the state’s Internet sex offender registry. Unfortunately, Vermont’s governor is disinclined to support such a bill, feeling that decisions about these charges should be left up to prosecutors.
Either Gov. Douglas hasn’t been reading the same stories I have, or he thinks the best way to deal with tech-crazed, impulsive teens is to brand them child pornographers and sex offenders. Makes me kind of wonder if our legal system has exceeded our humanity…
Should ’sexting’ be decriminalized?
Making young teens register as sex offenders is foolish, but decriminalization is not the solution — especially for those who pass along sexual images without consent. Let’s not ignore the most relevant question: is this new and exploding behavioral trend good, bad or neutral for those involved and the public at large?
Many must believe it is neutral, or even trivial, if they prefer no systematic consequences. But it is flat-out wrong and dangerous, often with life-impacting consequences for those involved. Especially for the female subjects who are left with their reputation in tatters and future in doubt, while the teen male traffickers get off scot free. As Vicki Courtney, author of “Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter,” e-mailed me, “Girls are often convinced to do this for the guys to get their attention. Then in a break-up situation the guys often use it against them later. If you legalize sexting, the guys come out as the clear winners. The girls pay.”
One of the main reasons teens do this is that they don’t think it is a big deal. And how will they ever recognize that it is, without systemic consequences? Most of these same kids would never steal a DVD from a store. They may be tempted to, but they know it is wrong and that they’ll be caught and punished. Being 15 years old and stupid is no excuse.
Passing along someone else’s sexual image is far worse than stealing – yet Andy wants to make being “young and impulsive’” a legal free pass.
By contrast, Kari Glemaker, national director for iCare, pointed out in a recent interview that, “If you shoplift as a minor, there is still a consequence, just not as big as for an adult. Similarly, my county is looking to define sexting as a misdemeanor, without jail time if there is no other criminal background, possibly with a fine or community service, as well as awareness classes. To say there should be no legal consequence until age 18 is ludicrous.”
Andy and other parents agree that sexting is a big deal, but that we shouldn’t treat it as such. I say if we don’t treat it as such then teenagers will never realize it is a big deal.
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455 comments Add your comment
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
8:13 am
First!
Mara
April 24th, 2009
8:19 am
Second!
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
8:19 am
“Still, I’m more shocked by the way the law has swooped in, labeling young, impulsive teenagers child pornographers.”
“Andy and other parents agree that sexting is a big deal, but that we shouldn’t treat it as such. I say if we don’t treat it as such then teenagers will never realize it is a big deal.”
actually, I agree with both of you –
I agree with Andi that the prosecutors who want to brand these kids as child pornographers (which will follow them for LIFE) is outrageous. But I also agree that something needs to be done to show these kids that it is a Big Deal.
We discussed this pretty thoroughly a couple of weeks ago, so I don’t want to duplicate too much … my point then is what it is now – this should be treated as a crime of sexual harassment. The victim needs to go through some kind of education process (”The Intertubes are Forever 101″) and the perpetrator needs to be punished, whether community service or a fine, and be made to attend some kind of seminar about harassment/bullying/assault.
most importantly, PARENTS need to be involved – the court should require the replacement of the kid’s phone with a non-camera phone.
ByteMe
April 24th, 2009
8:34 am
I think this all comes back to our stupid draconian Georgia laws that label someone a “sex offender for life” for actions that the rest of us would label as “stupid” instead of “criminal” or “dangerous to others”.
Our legislators need to come to grips with this. Of course, they won’t.
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
8:36 am
Byteme – sadly, stupid isn’t limited to GA …
Mara
April 24th, 2009
8:47 am
okay, on topic…today is quite a day. I actually sort of agree with Shaunti!! I do think that this behavior should have consequences because regardless of the age of the person disseminating the pictures, they’re still sexual imagery of underage persons. And I suspect it’ll only be a matter of time before some of these children are being paid to take pictures of themselves and post ‘em online. It isn’t hard to imagine any number of young women building their own websites and potentially making quite a bit of money posting images of themselves. They could even make it a public site and solicit donations instead of requiring a membership fee! If we DON’T assign consequences to this behavior now, we may as well scrap the kiddie porn laws.
that said, labeling them as sex offenders isn’t exactly accurate either so maybe we need to re-think the definition of ’sex offender’, too.
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
8:55 am
(and Bruno thinks we never agree with Shaunti … )
Lyrazel
April 24th, 2009
8:59 am
I do agree that the current state of sex offender laws needs revisions for lesser sexual crimes. Sending nudes of children is illegal and must stay illegal and must be prosecuted.
Charge the parents as accessory to child pornography (which they are because they bought phone, internet, computer and do not supervise children).
Parents have to teach their children how to use electronic devices and what happens when they dont use them according to law. If Donny is posting photos of little sister Beth in the shower as a joke Donny needs help, needs counseling not just his phone privilege revoked. If Betty is showing her breasts to her friends on MySpace parents need to get involved both with Betty. If parents cannot control their children the courts must.
Phones that do not have cameras or texting capability should be given to children and when they are proven responsible they can pay for themselves phones that text and show photos.
Sexting? Is that where they text dirty words at each other?
Wes
April 24th, 2009
9:00 am
Is it just me or does everyone agree on this one? Shaunti’s first line was “Making young teens register as sex offenders is foolish”. Andrea was talking about the Vermont legislature only removing the “most serious legal consequences”. No one was talking about decriminalization. It doesn’t seem there’s much of a debate here.
Mara
April 24th, 2009
9:16 am
Wes – No one was talking about decriminalization. It doesn’t seem there’s much of a debate here.
and yet the headline for the topic is still “Should ’sexting’ be decriminalized?” LOL!
Gale
April 24th, 2009
9:17 am
I agree there is little to debate. I like Lyrazel’s comment about charging the parents as accessories to the crime. Parents and children offendersneed to be in a responsibility and consequence seminar. Too many teens do not understand what underage sexual behavior means in terms of the law. If that photo taken as a lark ends up on my phone or computer, I may be charged as a sex offender. The kid who did it does not understand the seriousness of the crime.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
9:19 am
I (as usual, being of superior intellect) have the answer! All the little teen hotties that insist on publishing thier naked bodies must be publicly spanked.
Kinda like “islamo-facist” meets “Roman Polanski” kinda thing…
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
9:21 am
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
9:22 am
“it’s too late to fall in love with Sharon Tate”
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
9:27 am
GtG –
did you happen to notice that the braintrust here at the AJC PULLED my pirate joke (and your response to it) yesterday???!!!
now, I ask you … WHAT was so offensive about it that it required moderating??? hmmmm????
“I like Lyrazel’s comment about charging the parents as accessories to the crime.”
the more I’ve thought about that idea, the more I agree with it … and don’t want to limit it to just sexting – I’d like it applied to ALL juvenile mayhem. Talk about encouraging parents to play a role in their kids’ lives – a few fines/community service, THAT will get them paying more attention to what their kids are up to!!
Gale
April 24th, 2009
9:36 am
Y’know, I think they actually did that in one community where I was living at the time; in Ohio, I think. The parents put up a big fuss about it. I don’t know if it was eventually overturned, or is still in place. Mostly the issue was financial responsibility for vandalism. Since the root cause here is parenting, maybe that is the solution. Parents and offending child can go out picking up trash on the roadside every weekend for a while. Think of the bonding experience. Without Ipods, vidio games or phones, they might actually talk.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
9:50 am
Talk to your children? What a novel idea! You are Brilliant Gale! Pirate jokes must be non-PC now EXPAT: You know how sensitive them liberals get when you try and use humor!
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
10:04 am
“EXPAT: You know how sensitive them liberals get when you try and use humor!”
AHEM!!! are you saying that I’m not liberal or that I don’t have a sense of humor, Mister??? huh?! huh?! huh?! them’s fighting words!!! ARGH!!!
Sam
April 24th, 2009
10:24 am
Absolutely not! Imagine all those philanderers that jump on the phone with the GF or BF they met on the internet the moment they get away from their wife or husband every morning trying to send photos of their privates from their phone cams while super speeding on Atl’s interstates. Don’t we have enough electronic lunacy without adding another?
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
10:25 am
aRRRRRRRRgue? Not today!
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
10:27 am
Sisters
Though I don’t really understand her
I love my sister, her name’s Miranda
The boys from uptown they can’t stand her
The more she denies them the more they demand her
But she just wants to lay in bed all night
Reading Raymond Chandler
She got high heel shoes
She sings the blues
She says abracadabra when she goes down on you
She got a sister and her name is Anita
Anita got one peculiar feature
Every time that they come to meet her
She turns out like a jungle cheetah
She got spiked shoes
She hums the blues
She says razor when she goes down on you
There’s another one that makes a trio
Her name is Sally but they call her Cleo
She’s a Leo
She got a flat in Soho
She breaks the ceiling
Every time she twirls her mojo
She ain’t got no shoes
Never had the blues
She ain’t never gonna go down on you
wish that all the girls were my sister
Then all their dates would call me Mister
You know, sisters are the only ones that talk to me true
Hey, you could be my sister too
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Wally)
April 24th, 2009
10:28 am
HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY!
JokesOn
April 24th, 2009
10:42 am
Charge the parents as accessory to child pornography (which they are because they bought phone, internet, computer and do not supervise children).
As we talked before, I agree with this direction. One thing should be noted though: In most states the parents are not liable for accidents much less criminal offenses. The determining factor for both is whether the parents had foresight that the incident could occur based on past information.
If we make the parents criminally liable, whether they had knowledge or not, how does that change the process when little jimmy steals a car?Or beats up bobby?
The slippery slope created changes a lot of other issues. That is why I am in favor of of restricting the child from having a cam-phone. If the parents then provide him/her with one they ARE then liable.
Lyrazel
April 24th, 2009
10:46 am
Ok so they dont want us to fill this important blog with jokes. I can see the reasoning, jokes tend to clutter the minds of posters and upset sentimental nostalgia of sailors in argyle socks going AYYYE MATIE–but by blocking jokes insinuates the derogatory hot dog placement comments were ok. I suppose we need proper authority to post jokes here but not to be rude.
Long ago lived a seaman named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man, not a wally, who showed no fear in facing his enemies. One day, while sailing the seven seas, a look-out spotted a pirate ship and the crew became frantic. Captain Bravo bellowed, ”Bring me my Red Shirt.” The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain’s red shirt and whilst wearing the bright red frock he led his men into battle and defeated the pirates.
Later on that day, the look-out spotted not one, but two pirate ships. The captain again called for his red shirt and once again, though the fighting was fierce, he was victorious over the two ships. That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day’s triumphs and one of the them asked the captain, ”Sir, why do you call for your red shirt before battle? The captain replied, ”If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood and thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid.”
All of the men sat in silence and marveled at the courage of such a manly man as Captain Bravo. As dawn came the next morning, the look-out spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirates ships approaching from the far horizon. The crew stared at the captain and waited for his usual reply.
Captain Bravo calmly shouted, ”Get me my brown pants.”
Free the Press! Keep em’ coming! Happy Friday!
USinUK
April 24th, 2009
11:15 am
Lyra –
That’s one of my favorites (and “Get me my brown pants” is my favorite reference quote when things are going badly)
hooray!!
or should that be aargh!!!
American Mommy
April 24th, 2009
11:43 am
I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of cameras in phones, although they can be an asset if you’re in an accident. Previously always a “leave the lights on!” person, I now realize that cameras are everywhere. What a deterrent to free expression and spontenaety! The “don’t let kids have camera phones” ship has sailed. Even the cheapo-freebie models have cams in them now, and as a parent, I want the kids to be at the other end of a phone number at all times. (And glad we didn’t have them when I was young! Haha!)
There’s still no substitute for talking to our children and imparting wisdom of the world. “If your boobie pics make the rounds, here’s how your life is going to change, and here’s what the boys will be doing and saying:….” Also, “A person who cares about you would not expose you to the embarassment of pictures like that. Respect yourself and others will too. Give it up, and it’s gone.” And, “Pictures like that are everywhere for anyone to see. There’s no value in free and easy. You know what’s more rare and valuable? Non-slutty kids who respect themselves. That’s what they’ll be looking for when they tire of the give-it-away girls.”
Then there are the Big Brother is Watching You lectures about how there’s some sort of record for everything we do. EVERYTHING. Times have changed, but are they better? Kids today can’t get away with what we did, but obviously, having your every move watched, policed, and recorded hasn’t made them inherently more moral, nor has it significantly reduced crime. Hmmmm…….
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
11:54 am
Lyrazel, when did this become IMPORTANT? I thought this was a blog? Have fun! Live a little!
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
12:38 pm
Barry thinks “enhanced interogation techniques” are torture! What is really torture is lookin’ at his FUGLY wife. He says dogs can’t sleep in his bed, where does Michelle sleep?
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
12:40 pm
Barry Song of the Day!
Can’t Get Enough of Your Love
(Spoken)
I’ve heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby
Oh no
But I don’t know about that
There’s many times that we’ve loved
We’ve shared love and made love
It doesn’t seem to me like it’s enough
There’s just not enough of it
There’s just not enough
Oh oh, babe
(sung)
My darling I, can’t get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don’t know, I don’t know why
Can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh, some things i can’t get used to
No matter how I try
Just like the more you give, the more I want
And baby, that’s no lie
Oh no, babe
Tell me, what can I say?
What am I gonna do?
How should I feel when everything is you?
What kind of love is this that you’re givin’ me?
Is it in your kiss or just because you’re sweet?
Girl, all I know is every time you’re here
I feel the change
Somethin’ moves
I scream your name
Do whatcha got to do
Darling, I, can’t get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
I can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh no, babe
Girl, if only I could make you see
And make you understand
Girl, your love for me is all I need
And more than I can stand
Oh well, babe
How can I explain all the things I feel?
You’ve given me so much
Girl, you’re so unreal
Still I keep loving you
More and more each time
Girl, what am I gonna do
Because you blow my mind
I get the same old feelin’ every time you’re here
I feel the change
Somethin’ moves
I scream your name
Do whatcha got to do
Darling, I, can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh no, babe
(Spoken)
Baby, let me take all of my life to find you
But you can believe it’s gonna take the rest of ny life to keep you
(sung)
Oh no, babe
My darling I, can’t get enoug of your love babe
Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
Can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh my darling I, can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh babe
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
I can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh babe
Lyrazel
April 24th, 2009
12:55 pm
I feel I have entered a red-velvet lounge…….
My sarcasm is subtle, Gandalf–guess you learnt good how to speak Australian!! LOL Johnson
Pair o’ johnson outboards and you may be a pirate gnome!
Barry has a beautiful wife.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
1:14 pm
Barry White or Barry Manilow?
Gale
April 24th, 2009
1:16 pm
The only problem with trying to impart wisdom to teens is that they already know everything and they are absolutely sure -their- friends would -never- do anything like that. If the talks start at about 6 months, the respect talk at 15 my not be necessary.
American Mommy
April 24th, 2009
1:43 pm
Gale, I have the world’s BEST spawn! I’d like to take the credit people give me for that, and yes, I was always honest and relentlessly imparting knowledge and respect from day one, but what I really feel is blessed and grateful.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
2:04 pm
My Children are the Spawn of Satan! Just kidding, they are fine young men, but I like that term, SPAWN OF SATAN!
Lyrazel
April 24th, 2009
2:15 pm
Michael Phelps got photographed with a bong (proves he did not understand the power of cell phones with cameras), the new way to get your identity stolen is from scanning Facebook pages for age/date/sex/address conveniently located–you post party pix—-and its seen by your boss 8 years later on a google search.
Instant is difficult for even adults to understand–some of you might have facebook pages. Have you ever tried to completely remove yourself from facebook? I have tried.They keep the husk of it–so its available if we go back. How long can a mistakenly sent email haunt one’s career? How much data can come back to haunt us we have yet to discover, so how DO we teach children to respect boundaries yet to be declared when the technology keeps changing.
I mean is it child porn to take an adult’s photograph and change it in Photoshop to look like a 7 year old?
JokesOn
April 24th, 2009
2:30 pm
Lyrazel,
Good questions! Unfortunately nearly all “adults” are incapable of addressing them in any depth because of the knee jerk reactions.
JokesOn
April 24th, 2009
2:32 pm
SPAWN OF SATAN
Funny to picture evil Satan swimming up stream and jumping the rapids. Thanks for the visual!
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
2:41 pm
The Other Jack
April 24th, 2009
2:51 pm
Kind of a Duh?!?!. Isn’t it? Yes, it is a big deal but branding them for life is not the real answer. I do wonder how prevalent this is becoming. I have a hard time believing that lots of kids are doing this.
Running. Everyone have a good weekend.
Gale
April 24th, 2009
3:27 pm
Interesting question, Lyrazel. I assume you mean morphing an adult in a sexual situation to a child image? I would think that would qualify as child pornagraphy. We got worried about the directions of child pornagraphy laws a while back when they were planning to include animations. If you have ever seen Japenese animations or comics, you will understand. They like to portray the characters as high school age. It is not considered pornagraphy in Japan. But some of it can be pretty suggestive.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 24th, 2009
3:28 pm
Well, the ones you’ll see dancing at the Pink Pony in 3 or 4 years will…
david wayne osedach
April 24th, 2009
3:29 pm
It is “the me” narcissistic generation. And yes they have stolen CD’s from the store.
study history
April 24th, 2009
4:56 pm
I see a pattern. Before the 1930s men were arrested for going topless in America. In the 1950s parents though rock n roll music was harmful (there were even bans on it). Interracial marriage was very illegal & taboo. Many other things could land you in jail. I imagine a story was probably in Reader’s Digest warning parents about the dangers of rock n’ roll. Now parents are saying sexting is harmful. This pattern shows that America is still cooling off from its Puritan-type past. Sexting is not harmful. Here’s one reason: When was the last time you heard of someone being raped in a nudist resort? Probably never. Laws based in religion are harmful because they cost taxpayers thousands of dollars & are part of the reason why America has the world’s highest prison population.
JokesOn
April 24th, 2009
5:34 pm
study history,
Although loosely presented, I understand where you are coming from; hence why my first reaction was to simply notify the parents.
randyboise
April 24th, 2009
6:20 pm
SEXTING: BIGGEST CON JOB EVER PULLED ON AMERICAN ADULTS.
We are not talking about sending dirty messages, (that is true sexting), we are talking about sending naked pictures of teens – PORNOGRAPHY. Hundreds of thousands of adults are in prisons for doing exactly that, so welcome aboard teens! Teens cannot act dumb and say they didn’t know. Most teens are smarter technically than adults in this area. They have been sending porn for as long as cameras have been in cell phones, 10 years. Society cannot throw away an adult for innocently looking at porn on their home computer screen, then say ’silly teen’ to a minor and let them go free for exactly the same act on a cell phone. Many of the naked teen pictures that adults are going to prison for now where created by willing teens sending them! They get caught…and suddenly it’s called sexting.
Very few adults that look at porn at home go out and commit a crime, in fact, it’s more likely that a teen looking at a naked picture on a cell phone or home computer will commit a sex crime because they do not have the restraints that an adult does (hopefully).
Teens have been doing this for ten years (at least), and sending them to all U.S. states and around the world – catch on, they are breaking the law, no excuses, or make it legal for all to do. And what if a child in another state where it’s legal sends one to a child in Texas? All states should be legal, or none. Home computers have been sending porn (to and from minors) for 20 years, the cell phone just got cameras 10 years ago, now they send porn on cell phones – no difference, they just changed the name out of denial.
If I rob a bank in a VW, or rob a bank in a Chevy, is there a difference? I robbed the bank! I sent porn! A modem in a cell phone and a modem in a home computer are the EXACT same vehicle of transmission. ALL use Interstate phone lines, so the federal government should say ‘no’ to sexting, period. Or any parent can simply say it’s their child’s phone. You know that families swap phones to go shopping, on a trip, etc. The parents will be in possession of the phone with naked pics in the memory, or hidden in a file, but they are in possession of child porn and should be charged as well. Legal for all, or legal for none.
And if u think it’s an innocent act, why don’t they send a picture with clothes on? They are trying to get the other person excited and groomed for a future sexual situation. Grow up America, ALL naked picture-senders get a “record”, or none; selective prosecution is unconstitutional…. If you want to see that sending porn is legal for teens, then you MUST let the hundreds of thousands go in prisons for the exact same thing! It’s all sexual in nature, period. Just changing the name to sexting doesn’t make it moral (or a lot of bars will quickly be re-named churches), and I can rob a bank and simply change the words to ‘early withdrawal’ and it’s legal – NOT!
This opens the door to making/selling/using drugs by 15 year olds and saying the exact same excuse (just a silly teen, let them go)! Stealing a car! Shooting a gun! Robbing someone! So let all porn makers/senders/lookers go or start building larger juvenile jails – because they are criminals. There is NO WAY that parents can control their own children on this, or most subjects any more.
Parents are pressuring the prosecutors to let their children go because of sexting, fine, silly teen, slap on the wrist, but how about the adults that simply looked at teen porn free on their home computers with no ill-will in mind? They lose a spouse, house, job, career, families, friends, savings – it’s all the same thing, pornography, and parents are in denial if they defend it.
And do you really expect a teen to legally send porn for years, then they hit 18 and cannot do it any more?! That would be like telling teens that they can drink all they want in public for free, then at 18 they are criminals if they do it. MOST Homo sapiens will become addicted to a thrilling thing if they are allowed to do it unrestrained, and America’s teens are no different. The prisons are full of people that simply looked at porn and their lives were ruined (they didn’t make it, they didn’t buy it), now an entirely new generation will be legally aloud to create, send, and receive naked pictures of minors.
One news article in Vermont said that sexting was simply a fad…. We are dealing with hormonal teens that now have a way to make, send or receive anything they want, period. Wait until they grow up, you WILL NOT believe what type of society we have then! And well over 50% of children are molested by their own siblings or friends, wait until those pictures get out…. The Gennie is out of the bottle. Don’t believe me? Try taking a cell phone away from a teen….
If teens can change the name of sending porn to ’sexting’, I can change the name of illegal drugs to ‘happy time.’ Happy days are here again…and when a teen gets caught with drugs (happens a thousand times a day in the U.S.) their new defense will be that they re-named it, just like making porn has been changed to sexting. Adults are sooooo stupid….. And when a kid slaps their mother, it will be re-named ‘corrective measure’. And when a boy wets his bed and a father kills him, it will be re-named ‘fair punishment.’ And when a girl shoplifts, it will be re-named ‘temporarily borrowed’. I knew that kids were getting smarter with technology, but adults aren’t supposed to lose their brains – don’t you see the con job being played on the American adult?!
JokesOn
April 24th, 2009
8:20 pm
randyboise,
Sorry, but many years now there has been a division between crimes perpetrated by an adult versus a child. That is why the courts have to decide in cases whether to try them as an adult or child. That seems well founded to me.
Dave M
April 24th, 2009
8:45 pm
My daddy used to say, “Act like a wh0re, get treated like a wh0re.” The teens who are sending pictures of themselves out into the public domain, and that IS what they’re doing, should be charged with solicitation. If the images in question originated with the sender, she (or he) is the responsible individual. If their picture eventually ends up as an on-line captured pin-up in the bathroom or next to a pervert’s bed, they just need to learn to recite, “Fool’s names and fool’s faces always end up in public places.”
chip
April 24th, 2009
10:16 pm
I am horrified at the thought of kids sending other kids nude pictures of themselves, a girl at my daughter’s school filmed herself performing a sex act, over half the highschool and their parents received the email with the video attached. If you want to stop the kids from sending the pics hold the parents responsible for what is on their child’s phone, after all I am the one who is legally responsible for my teens phone bill.
Edwin Burgh
April 24th, 2009
11:26 pm
“We are not talking about sending dirty messages, (that is true sexting), we are talking about sending naked pictures of teens – PORNOGRAPHY. Hundreds of thousands of adults are in prisons for doing exactly that, so welcome aboard teens!”
As far as I know, there are no adults in prison for sending naked cell phone pictures of themselves to other adults, nor should there be. The question here is whether or not teens who sends naked pictures of themselves should fall under the umbrella of “child pornography”. Adults, you see, can participate in sexual activity with other adults without fear of legal reprisal, despite what the Puritan zealots who sometimes like to make a fuss about everyone else would like to see.
This is a thorny issue, for sure. The age of consent in Georgia is what, 16? So…should teens who are otherwise legally able to engage in sexual activity with each other be prosecuted for…participating in virtual sexual activity? I think not.
This is one of those gray areas. I don’t see the law pursuing teens over the age of consent for sending naked pictures to each other. I certainly see parents who care about their children snatching away their i-Phones faster than they can text “OMG!”. I certainly see EXISTING laws on child pornography being enforced, so that if a teen (and CERTAINLY an adult) forwards a picture of someone ELSE to others, they could be prosecuted (though not as a sex offender – there is a difference between being a sex predator and being a stupid 16 year-old boy who wants his friends to see who he’s getting busy with).
We need to STOP using knee-jerk all-encompassing regulations that allow our prosecutors and District Attorneys to turn off their brains. Police those behaviors that are damaging to others. Do not police those behaviors that are not. And let parents tear the pants off of their children when they find them “sexting”.
Sloppy Unruh » Blog Archive » Sexting - Messy, Unquiet Blogging…
April 25th, 2009
1:16 pm
[...] Should ’sexting’ be decriminalized? | Woman to Woman – Good news! Our courts are going after child pornographers with a vengeance, using technology like cell phones and social networking sites to locate and trap. [...]
The REAL GodHatesTrash, Superstar
April 25th, 2009
5:19 pm
Douglas, the Goobernor of Vermont, is your typical GOP moron.
Intellectually, he’s Perdoofus’s twin.
Bruno
April 26th, 2009
1:54 pm
“and Bruno thinks we never agree with Shaunti ”
Well, so glad to see you coming around!! Shaunti needs love, too!!
Per the topic of the week–All I can say is that I’m glad I’m not a parent.
USinUK
April 27th, 2009
7:32 am
B-dog –
“Per the topic of the week–All I can say is that I’m glad I’m not a parent.”
boy-howdy, do I second that emotion. I never thought I’d be looking back on the 80s as an age of innocence …
dave –
“My daddy used to say, “Act like a wh0re, get treated like a wh0re.””
yeah. and I’ll bet he had equally pithy little saying about boys misbehaving … somehow, I doubt it. I’ll bet he was one of those guys who wrote off harrassment, abuse and date rate as “boys being boys” … (and, hey, if the girl was wearing anything other than a burkha, she must have been “asking for it”, right???)
don’t you think a lot of the younger girls are getting pressured by their “friends” and “boyfriends” into doing this? do you honestly think they WANT their pictures passed around the school?
it’s the passing the pictures around that makes it harrassment not soliciation
criminey, throw a quarter on the table and buy yourself some humanity.
Lyrazel
April 27th, 2009
8:41 am
Should parents be given an optional monitoring capability that allows them to view not just text but images sent to & from their children’s phones? Would you monitor your children and declare privacy happens at 18 in your house–or would you trust?
If a 14 year old girl sends a photo of her nakedness to her 14 year old boyfriend and he in turn sends it to his 20 friends–who commits the crime? Who should be arrested and charged as a juvenile pervert? Could the parent of the girl sue the parent of the boy–or vice versa? If the victim of this crime is the receiver of unrequested data (friends) can another parent take both to court?
A consequence is that police are now monitoring teen pages, videos and catching crimes like burglary, vandalism, drug selling, underage drinking because of the pride the kids have in showing what they got away with and ease of technology. Is this sort of monitoring legal?
Gosh I am glad all I had were Polaroids to contend with!!!!!!!! You knew the pix was gone when you cut it up and got developer bleed all over your scissors!
USinUK
April 27th, 2009
8:54 am
Lyra …
“Should parents be given an optional monitoring capability that allows them to view not just text but images sent to & from their children’s phones?”
I never thought I would say this, but A RESOUNDING YES!!! Good grief, the things that kids are sent – I’d almost say that parent’s should be able to monitor kids’ e-mail and chats, as well …
“If a 14 year old girl sends a photo of her nakedness to her 14 year old boyfriend and he in turn sends it to his 20 friends–who commits the crime? Who should be arrested and charged as a juvenile pervert? Could the parent of the girl sue the parent of the boy–or vice versa? If the victim of this crime is the receiver of unrequested data (friends) can another parent take both to court?”
good gravy. you would almost need to develop an entirely new branch of the judiciary system to address issues related to technology (and, sadly, technology being what it is – any judiciary branch would always be about 10 years behind)
“Gosh I am glad all I had were Polaroids to contend with!!!!!!!! You knew the pix was gone when you cut it up and got developer bleed all over your scissors!”
hahahaha … it sounds like you have a LOT of experience with this
Scalia
April 27th, 2009
9:41 am
There wouldn’t be a problem if parents would stop bying their students that kind of expensive phone. Go to wal-Mart, and by a cheap phone for 40 bucks. You can text, but you cannot receive pics or take them. It really isn’t that hard.
There is no reason why a 15 year old should have an iphone or a Blackberry.
AW
April 27th, 2009
10:53 am
USinUK, nicely put at 7:32.
USinUK
April 27th, 2009
11:29 am
AW –
thanks!
Scalia –
“There wouldn’t be a problem if parents would stop bying their students that kind of expensive phone. Go to wal-Mart, and by a cheap phone for 40 bucks. You can text, but you cannot receive pics or take them. It really isn’t that hard.”
ha! even better deal – got my top-up phone from Virgin for right around $20 … no pics, but you can text … plus, top-ups would keep the kid in check usage-wise.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 27th, 2009
12:20 pm
Bruno, good point! SET EXPECTATIONS ACCORDINGLY! Would you ladies let your baby girl have a picture phone? If so please take them away!
USinUK
April 27th, 2009
12:35 pm
GtG …
“Would you ladies let your baby girl have a picture phone? If so please take them away!”
ahem … and the boys??? they get phones, but girls aren’t allowed???
all or none, my friendly … all or none.
Lyrazel
April 27th, 2009
12:55 pm
hahahaha … it sounds like you have a LOT of experience with this
USinUK–sorry actually no. I just always look like idiot in photos hence so much destruction. Some people can photograph well and others never make more than a goofy expression like me. I am far too much a prude–to ever allow anyone wielding a camera–to find me compromised.
JokesOn
April 27th, 2009
1:04 pm
USinUK,
ahem … and the boys??? they get phones, but girls aren’t allowed???
all or none, my friendly … all or none.
Ahem…If you have two kids (regardless of gender) and one has proven to be trustworthy and the other not-so-much, you would restrict both based on ones behavior? Really?!?
And more on topic, I do not hear about a bunch of penis pics getting sent around. Is this not worth weighing into your decision?
USinUK
April 27th, 2009
1:13 pm
Jokes –
“Ahem…If you have two kids (regardless of gender) and one has proven to be trustworthy and the other not-so-much, you would restrict both based on ones behavior? Really?!? And more on topic, I do not hear about a bunch of penis pics getting sent around. Is this not worth weighing into your decision?”
sorry, Jokes, but what on earth makes you think that it’s ONLY the girls who are taking the pics of themselves – the boys are taking the pics of their girlfriends, too, then forwarding them around. and just because you haven’t heard about penis pics doesn’t mean that they’re not out there.
as for treating your children based on their trustworthiness, I agree with you that you SHOULD base what they are allowed to do on their behavior. but this particular issue also involves kids being sent files unsolicited, and (if their phones are synced with those of their friends), possibly unintentionally sharing files they have received.
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 27th, 2009
1:21 pm
EXPAT: I thought everyone out there was smart enough to know better than to trust a teenage male! What do you think this group is anyway? A bunch of dummies?
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 27th, 2009
1:22 pm
oh, if your daughter is under 16, she shouldn’t be alone with a boy anyway. SET EXPECTATIONS!
JokesOn
April 27th, 2009
1:33 pm
sorry, Jokes, but what on earth makes you think that it’s ONLY the girls who are taking the pics of themselves – the boys are taking the pics of their girlfriends, too, then forwarding them around. and just because you haven’t heard about penis pics doesn’t mean that they’re not out there.
I have seen a few specials on the issue and none of them have reported guys sending self pics. That does not mean that there are none out there, only guys are currently not part of the epidemic going on.
as for treating your children based on their trustworthiness, I agree with you that you SHOULD base what they are allowed to do on their behavior. but this particular issue also involves kids being sent files unsolicited, and (if their phones are synced with those of their friends), possibly unintentionally sharing files they have received.
Meh. That is like removing a pc from the internet because a friend might send them a porn pic. If you have a child that is well adjusted and responsible, he/she deserves the right to handle the rare forwarded pic. Also, phone pics can easily be sent to an email address…you gonna remove that too? Otherwise, mom and dad should not have cam-phones either; especially since they WOULD be convicted of child porn. I am pointing out what I find Overkill in your premise of “all or none.”
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 27th, 2009
2:56 pm
The Nobama’s had a garden put in on the White House grounds. How much time do you think FUGLY spends tending it? Wanna bet some poor SS guy does the weeding? Fugly is such a witch! Poor Barry!
Gandalf, the White! (AKA Big Johnson!)
April 27th, 2009
2:57 pm
The Barry NoBama presidency…100 Days of Failure!
Lyrazel
April 27th, 2009
4:15 pm
JokesOn: And more on topic, I do not hear about a bunch of penis pics getting sent around. Is this not worth weighing into your decision?
JokesOn, of course. Imagine getting such an image on your phone? So what would you do if someone accidently sent you a tween pix–call police or delete? I think the issue can never be resolved until citizens understand how they are supposed to respond if they find such on a, their kids computer phone, b, our own computer/phone. I think a revisitation of the adult sex crime laws is imperative and this issue needs to be decided by the courts before children are punished under adult penalties and adults are punished for children behaving childishly. Boy or girl is =
Talk to Your Kids about ‘Sexting’, a Dangerous Trend : WhatHappensNow.com Blog
April 27th, 2009
5:03 pm
[...] here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s view on decriminalizing sexting pro vs [...]
JokesOn
April 27th, 2009
5:35 pm
So what would you do if someone accidentally sent you a tween pix–call police or delete?
If it was a wrong number, I would simply delete it. If I knew the parents or they were easily available, I would inform them – not the cops.
I think the issue can never be resolved until citizens understand how they are supposed to respond if they find such on a, their kids computer phone, b, our own computer/phone.
A person finding the image is not gonna be the BIG issues IMO. The issues that will effect a person heavily is when daddy starts his powerpoint presentation and his sons gf’s boobs pop up on the screen in front of 100 co-workers/clients (this happen a while ago, except the pics were playboy centerfolds). I would like the law to result in this: The guy gets checked out. If they (son and gf) admit to the pics being from them, the case gets dropped. All that happens after that is all parents are told of the activity.
I had a sub on my pool team say “check this out,” and before I knew it was showing me a pic of his gf’s boobs. The guy was 18 and I have no idea how old his gf was. I did abruptly explain that I did not need to see such things; following up with “I do not think you really should be taking pics of your gf’s boobs, especially with your cam-phone which could get lost.” He replied that she sent it on her own one night after a date. Not sure what I am stating this for except to relay ONE instance (that I personally believe occurs in the majority) of how these things get played out and are considered (by the teens) as not a big deal.
I think the cops or people should tell the parents and leave it at that. Or at most, after x (3?) number of times, the parents must replace the phone without a camera. If it happens again on a cam-phone the parents knew about, then charge parents with something equal to public nuance or such.
Bruno
April 27th, 2009
7:59 pm
How about a shout out for Bea Arthur, who passed away over the weekend, everyone? I think that her role as “Maude” helped make feminism part of the mainstream in the 70s. Her toe-to-toe slugfests with Archie Bunker were classic.
F(X)
April 27th, 2009
9:34 pm
I dearly loved Bea Arthur. Maude, and then later, Dorothy on The Golden Girls, were wonderful characters. She will be truly missed. Though I never imagined that a right-wing narcissist would have enough humanity or empathy to mourn her loss.
Sniper
April 27th, 2009
10:14 pm
F(X),
Some people talk the talk, but are actually missing legs.
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
4:13 am
Bruno –
Fun fact about Bea Arthur – did you know that she was a Marine?? She volunteered as a med tech before WWII. I was never a huge fan of Golden Girls — too much like Designing Women, where women became iron-clad archetypes, rather than showing that most women have ALL those characteristics within them. However, BA made Golden Girls worth watching – she knew how to deliver a punchline! and she kicked butt on Maude (right-on Maude!!)
… I just hope she fired her manager after the disasterous Star Wars Christmas Special …
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
7:42 am
Jokes –
“He replied that she sent it on her own one night after a date. Not sure what I am stating this for except to relay ONE instance (that I personally believe occurs in the majority) of how these things get played out and are considered (by the teens) as not a big deal.”
yeah. because 15 year old boys would never say “c’mon, baby, if you loved me, you’d send me a picture … I won’t show it to anyone, I promise”
are young girls stoooopid enough to send nekkid pics unsolicited? of course they are. but, going by what I’ve read, it doesn’t look like a majority.
Eric
April 28th, 2009
7:51 am
Yes, technology has clearly superceded our humanity. I’m so glad I don’t purchase all the latest gadgets which seem to get so many people into trouble!!
Chris Broe
April 28th, 2009
8:42 am
Einstein married his cousin. He didn’t need no cellphone photo of her with no panties on. The ignorance of mentioning Einstein in a beefcake piece like this…….
The solution to sexting is to immunize sexters with a digitally enhanced photo of aging pop star britney spear’s cellulitic booty. I know it cured me.
Sex is for the young. The old are too disgusted with humanity to have sex. Bones are not sexy. That’s why the woman to woman blog is as useless as Tim Wooten/Gay Bookman, (but then I repeat myself). Hasn’t anyone else notice the total equivalence in the total irrelevance of all four blog-warts?
The day they sold the first xerox machine, some chick made a copy of her butt. Fact. SO what? Don’t you all wish that silly pictures of weenies and buns were our only problem? We’d have utopia. Christ would come back and say, “Good job, no, great job! You have peace on earth and good will toward men! Wow! What’s this? A perverted filthy picture of a pimply butt? You’re all going to HELL!!! Oh, vengence is MINE!”
We’ve got nearly unsolvable problems, and a cellphone image of a 14 year old’s rear cleavage isn’t one of them.
Prioritize Andrea. Read more, Shaunti. Tea-bag more too, whatever that means. I won’t accuse you of writing with a crayon, but rather I’ll leave you with this harmless joke: Ellen called: She wants her lipstick back.
Jklol.
The Other Jack
April 28th, 2009
9:35 am
Any comments on the Obama administration acting like a banana Republic and wanting “truth hearings” on terrorist hazing . . . er . . . . “torture”? pelosi, even though she was a member of several committees that discussed the issues, swears she didn’t know. (If her mouth is moving, she is lying)
So is everyone ready for abortion doctors to be tried for mass murder if Roe v Wade is ever overturned?
Is everyone ready for Clinton to go to prison for allowing Bin Laden to get away when we had him in our sites?
Is everyone ready for the trials that says that FDR is a mass murderer for pushing the development of the atomic bomb?
Is everyone ready for the trials that say that Truman is a mass murderer for ordering the dropping of atomic weapons on two civilian occupied cities?
JFK for illegally ordering combat troops into Viet Nam? Should he be tried postmortem as a mass murderer?
I say Bring on the “TRUTH” hearings. Let’s let all the information out. Let’s get ready to imprison any Congress person that approved this. And while we are at it, let’s take a close look at what happened to American prisoners under Clinton.
Goebbels was a proponent of injecting the idea of the NAZIs doing something completely outrageous and then backing off, claiming “See, aren’t NAZIs nice? We did not do what we threatened to do. The dims would be terrified to put people like pelosi on the witness stand. The batting eyed air head would fall apart So once again, this is the dims following the king of political propaganda.
The Obama administration. Bringing the ideas of a Banana Republic to America. You dims must be very proud.
The Other Jack
April 28th, 2009
9:37 am
Chris Broe
So . . . we need to have all the world’s problems solved before we can worry about 12 year olds sending naked pictures of themselves. I see.
And you are actually allowed to vote? Right?
Damn. With complete imbeciles like this having the power to vote, it’s no wonder we are where we are in this country.
JokesOn
April 28th, 2009
9:44 am
are young girls stoooopid enough to send nekkid pics unsolicited? of course they are. but, going by what I’ve read, it doesn’t look like a majority.
Maybe/maybe not…heck, thousands of females flash their boobs for a necklace of plastic beads each year. Doesn’t seem like it takes much coercion, if any, for many women out there to show off their stuff. But, back to the point, you would deprive everyone of a cam-phone in your family out of gender-fairness without considering whether some of the people involved are actually responsible.
This is part of the knee-jerk reaction that I mentioned in the beginning (and that Archie and I usually stay away from because of the instant heated-ness it brings on the board). The first thing you seem to latch onto is “well, which guy got her into his mess?” Each person is in control of ONE thing, their own actions – and those actions do not hinge on another persons actions. That is an excuse/rationalizing.
So, back to my point with you, the all or none notion seems quite reactionary.
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
10:11 am
ah, yes … like the swallows to Capistrano, another day, another opportunity for TOJ to start squawking “nazis! nazis! Goebbels! Goebbels!” … squawk-squawk-squawk …
Patrick Leahy is the loudest voice calling for a non-partisan commission – not Obama.
“So is everyone ready for abortion doctors to be tried for mass murder if Roe v Wade is ever overturned?”
compare and contrast:
Torture = Illegal
Abortion = Legal
“Is everyone ready for Clinton to go to prison for allowing Bin Laden to get away when we had him in our sites?”
you mean like Bush did when we had him cornered in Bora Bora???
“Is everyone ready for the trials that says that FDR is a mass murderer for pushing the development of the atomic bomb?”
wow. so EVERY country that has the bomb is going to go on trial in your fevered imagination? or just FDR??
“Is everyone ready for the trials that say that Truman is a mass murderer for ordering the dropping of atomic weapons on two civilian occupied cities?”
yeah. and are they going to dig him up? or go to his graveside to hold the trial? and exactly who are they going to call as witnesses? in your delusions, are they going to make the skulls “talk” like little hand-puppets??
“JFK for illegally ordering combat troops into Viet Nam? Should he be tried postmortem as a mass murderer?”
may I refer you to SEATO, which, while it didn’t require us to come to the aid of our ally, was established as a multi-lateral defense mechanism against the spread of communism in SE Asia … there was nothing illegal about our involvement in VN
“The Obama administration. Bringing the ideas of a Banana Republic to America.”
um. Banana Republic??? exactly how many Banana Republics hold non-partisan investigations?? please, tell us. do.
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
10:18 am
Jokes –
“But, back to the point, you would deprive everyone of a cam-phone in your family out of gender-fairness without considering whether some of the people involved are actually responsible.”
you’re right – I should have made myself clear. IF the laws are drafted/enforced in such a way that ANYone who possesses or forwards these images is prosecuted, then, NO, I would not want to let any children of mine have a picture/video phone. As I mentioned earlier – Bluetooth enables automated file syncing – kids could have pictures on their phone and unwittingly forward them to their friends, making them guilty in the eyes of the law, regardless of their intent or innocence. frankly, it just wouldn’t be worth the risk.
maybe that’s a knee-jerk reaction – but it’s how I feel (hey, I’m with Bruno on this one – it’s stuff like this that makes me glad I’m kid-free)
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
10:28 am
“The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention . It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.
The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called ‘universal jurisdiction.’ Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”
Ronald Reagan’s signing statement, UN Convention on Torture
1984
JokesOn
April 28th, 2009
10:32 am
you’re right – I should have made myself clear. IF the laws are drafted/enforced in such a way that ANYone who possesses or forwards these images is prosecuted, then, NO, I would not want to let any children of mine have a picture/video phone. As I mentioned earlier – Bluetooth enables automated file syncing – kids could have pictures on their phone and unwittingly forward them to their friends, making them guilty in the eyes of the law, regardless of their intent or innocence. frankly, it just wouldn’t be worth the risk.
I understand what you are saying; but, do you not realize that you can send to email as well. There are cameras on nearly all laptops sold now which are being used as well. And, there are wardrobe malfunctions in the superbowl….etc.
You would have to live in a cave to actually shield yourself or kids 100%. Or, you could trust your kids individually based on if they have earned it.
But we seem to have made each of our points clear and I understand where you are coming from even if I would allow a little more risk involved since it (risk) seems to be an unavoidable part of the human experience.
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
10:48 am
Jokes –
“You would have to live in a cave to actually shield yourself or kids 100%.”
this is why I don’t have kids! (well, that and I’d rather be retiring at 65 rather than paying for university …) I’m the aunt who constantly winces when the kids are running too near sharp corners, who puts my hand between the kid’s head and the bottom of the table (when they’re playing around under the dining room table). I’d be too tempted to wrap my kid in bubble-wrap the day it was born.
JokesOn
April 28th, 2009
11:07 am
USinUK,
Always nice blogging with you; especially when we disagree.
Have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd7ZA-SyqW0
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
11:08 am
Jokes –
“Always nice blogging with you; especially when we disagree.”
right back at ya, my friend!
will check out the video when I get home – thx!!
Gandalf, the White! (!)
April 28th, 2009
11:58 am
EXPAT! Waterboardin’ isn’t torture, we’ll it wasn’t before Barry outlawed it. Don’t you understand the difference between fear and danger? Anyway, we are weaker now that Barry has taken the balls away from our interogators. Maybe he should throw open the border to swine flu, that will bring his nationalized health care sooner.
USinUK
April 28th, 2009
12:21 pm
GtG –
… did you say … BARRY???
You know I can’t smile without you
I can’t smile without you
I can’t laugh and I can’t sing
I’m finding it hard to do anything
You see I feel sad when you’re sad
I feel glad when you’re glad
If you only knew what I’m going through
I just can’t smile without you
You came along just like a song
and brightened my day
Who would of believed that
you where part of a dream?
Now it all seems light years away
And now you know I can’t smile without you
I can’t smile without you
I can’t laugh and I can’t sing
Im finding it hard to do anything
You see I feel sad when your sad
I feel glad when you’re glad
If you only knew what Im going through
I just can’t smile
Now some people say happiness takes
so very long to find
Well I’m finding it hard
leaving your love behind me
And you see I can’t smile without you
I can’t smile without you
I can’t laugh and I can’t sing
I’m finding it hard to do anything
You see I feel glad when you’re glad
I feel sad when you’re sad
If you only knew what I’m going through
I just can’t smile without you
heading home … have a good night!
The Other Jack
April 28th, 2009
12:35 pm
USinUK
When the democrats stop acting like NAZIs, I’ll stop calling them NAZIs. Deal?
–compare and contrast: Torture = Illegal Abortion = Legal–
It’s all a matter of definitions. Torture=making a person think they are drowning? Being put in a box with insects? Sleep deprivation? No. Torture = cutting a person’s arms off and then throwing him in a swimming pool. Being put in a box with fire ants after the person has been properly cut up so they are bleeding really well. Having fingers cut off, toes broken, nails pulled out. The only thing more disgusting than the democrats discrediting the pain and suffering that our soldiers have endured at the hands of real torture is the blind sheep that would support them for doing so.
The definition of murder is abortion. It’s legal now, but the point I was making is if the Obama administration wants to act like a Banana Republic dictator and make laws regressive, then it would apply to any situation, like if Roe vs Wade would be outlawed, the regressive law would state that the abortion doctors must be held responsible for the laws they broke, even though it was legal at the time. Sounds barbaric and uncivilized, doesn’t it? Reality about the dim party, meet USinUK.
–wow. so EVERY country that has the bomb is going to go on trial in your fevered imagination? or just FDR??–
No. Just the ones that actually used the bomb to kill innocent civilians. I actually heard yet another babbling liberal sheep saying: Put people in boxes with insects? That’s not what we do as a people. LOL!! No. We flatten major cities full of women and children with atomic weapons in order to protect our country. That’s what we do as a people. Grow Up Liberals before you get us all killed!!!!!!
–um. Banana Republic??? exactly how many Banana Republics hold non-partisan investigations??–
Non-partisan huh? LOL!!! So will Nancy Pelosi and all the other democrats that were members of the commissions be investigated? She is insisting that she won’t. What do you think will happen?
In a banana Republic, it is a common practice to put the defeated administration on trial. You can blabber about non-partisan all you want, but until I see the bat-eyed pelosi in handcuffs, it’s just more democratic bullsh!t.
.
Gandalf, the White! (!)
April 28th, 2009
12:35 pm
EXPAT: Isn’t Barry M torture?
Gandalf, the White! (!)
April 28th, 2009
12:37 pm
So after you spend a few trillion bucks, is that when you start with the tax hikes? 100 days of foolishness. 100 days of fail policy. 100 days of kiss the butts of dictators. 100 days of shame. For the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed to be an American.
Gandalf, the White! (!)
April 28th, 2009
12:39 pm
TOJ! FDR didn’t use the bomb! Jesus brought him home! Thank you Jesus!
Gandalf, the White! (!)
April 28th, 2009
12:54 pm
THE BARRY OBAMA PRESIDENCY: SO FAR? HE SUCKS!
The Other Jack
April 28th, 2009
12:57 pm
Gandalf:
–TOJ! FDR didn’t use the bomb! Jesus brought him home! Thank you Jesus!–
this is what I wrote:
“Is everyone ready for the trials that says that FDR is a mass murderer for pushing the development of the atomic bomb?”
I know that he didn’t get to pull the trigger.
My point is that America’s first commitment is to it’s citizens. These complete fools that are allowing the gutless democrats that were installed into leadership of our country by the media, to claim that we need to follow the army field manual when interrogating our enemies need to have their loved ones about to die unless we can get information from some nut-case.
What do you think Nancy Pelosi would approve in order to save a member of her own family? That gutless shrew was ordering that Union reps be thrown off her vineyards while she claimed to support Unions in her campaign for Congress. She is a lying, brainless twit that will say anything in order to keep the divide between the parties.
The Other Jack
April 28th, 2009
1:15 pm
Gandalf
–So after you spend a few trillion bucks, is that when you start with the tax hikes? 100 days of foolishness. 100 days of fail policy. 100 days of kiss the butts of dictators. 100 days of shame. For the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed to be an American.–
The best thing to me is what is coming out about his lack of speaking skills without a teleprompter. The only thing that he was actually good at, and he was reading every word. His skills were an illusion, which every democrat in the world was drooling over. I think this says volumes about why democrats are so likely to believe the mainstream media. They love the magic, the illusion. Unfortunately, they love it so much that they can’t believe that it is magic, an illusion.
Mara
April 28th, 2009
1:52 pm
torture as defined by the United Nations Torture Convention of 1984, which the United States is a signatory: “Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”
for the more simple minded, Dictionary.com: the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
maybe chubby should ask John McCain if he was actually tortured by the V.K….cuz I never heard any stories about HIM being cut up an put in with fire ants, and he seems to STILL have both his arms.
And yet everybody seems to agree that Americans were tortured. And that the North Vienamese methods of torture seem to have an uncanny resemblance to Bush’s “Verschärfte Vernehmung” techniques.
Mara
April 28th, 2009
2:03 pm
oh, and regarding FDR and The Bomb…at the time there were no laws nor treaties regarding the use of atomics or atomic weapons. Nor were there any treaties and agreements regarding the niceties of waging a ‘civilized’ war (treatment of prisoners, ‘non-combatants’, etc)
You propose a false equity between actions taken in the past which at the time, were considered legal and acceptable, and the ILL-legal and UN-acceptable actions of the last administration. Shriek and stomp all you want, the truth will come out eventually and then Bush and his cabal will be judged as they deserve.
AW
April 28th, 2009
2:11 pm
TOJ’S right! Nobody rocked that teleprompter like Ronald Reagan! Wooo-HOOOOOO! Man, he was good! Nobody jacked up the deficit like Reagan either… until GWB, that is. I suppose it was necessary to pump billion$ into the pockets of private contractors without any real oversight or accounting in a country that didn’t attack us — otherwise, GWB wouldn’t have ordered and perpetuated it, bless his heart. He loves America — his version of it, anyway. But this new guy.. well.. he’s going TOO FAR! Reading a teleprompter… AS IF! Reagan he ain’t, that’s furshur. And now, spending money trying to actually solve problems for AMERICANS? You know, our first commitment? OH, the apoplectic state I could reach, if Glen Beck weren’t there to do it for me (thank God for Beck, although Jeff Beck he aint.) Who does this new guy think he IS anyhow?????
Oh yeah. The President. Mr. President. As an AMERICAN, I’m going to respect the office AND the man, unless and until such time as he produces major, massive, unprecedented eff-up-ed-ness approaching (who could ever exceed?) the level of the eff-up-ed-ness GWB produced.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!