Saturday, February 21, 2009

Smashing Good Times

Bernie Madoff, a man who had been arrested for a Ponzi scheme was the inspiration for a toy called “Smash-me Bernie”. This is a small figurine in which Bernie Madoff is in a devil’s uniform, and it comes with a hammer so that you can smash the figurine. After the toy’s success, the company that made the toy, ModelWorks, also offers a custom “smash-me” doll for those who have not felt the harsh scheme of Bernie, but may have felt ripped-off, or ticked-off by someone else.
Now, if I were to purchase one of these toys, I would want one of George W. Bush. I have never been a fan of this man, or the way he had run our country for the last 8 years. We are now in a big economic downfall, and our troops are still in Iraq for reasons unknown. I think that all of this is pointless, and I am really unhappy with the way things are going. I don’t know who ultimately is to blame for all of this, but I can only assume that George W. Bush is the main cause. Mind you, I am neither democratic, nor republican. I simply want a good man to run our country the way it needs to be run. George did not provide us with what we needed. We are suffering from the pieces of the mess he created, and did not clean up. Therefore, I would really love to own a “smash-me Bush” doll, so I can take a golden hammer, and smash the doll. Then again, I don’t think I would smash the doll since I spent one-hundred dollars on it. I might just leave it on display for everyone to laugh at?

Greed Is Good

We all tend to agree that greed is an awful thing. It is listed as one of the seven deadly sins, and we often loath greedy people. But is greed really that bad?

After reading an article in class, it is known that greed is not bad at all. Greed is what made our Country what it is today. People make business plans, but others will turn them around to gain more money, and pocket the money they have made. Wealthy people will get big bonuses when they do not need them. Work becomes based on how well one leads rather than how well one works. Maybe we see this as bad because these people are making more money than we are? They have the brain power to come up with how to make more money, while we strive on day to day life just earning enough to put a roof over our heads. Of course, people who work hard are being screwed out of something they had planned, but in the end, the man with the thicker wallet, and high charisma, is the man who will be walking away with even more money. Shareholders are the ones who tend to come out better than the stockholders, or anyone else in an organization or a business. Most people are greedy, if not all. We all have a desire to gain more than someone else. We all have to survive. However, it is not always good. There are times in which greed is bad. Take example, those who make promises to invest other people’s money, and pocket every cent. This is not good, and it is very dishonest.

After viewing a movie clip from the film, “Wall Street”, we learn that our antagonist, Gordon Gekko strongly believes that greed is right and good. He believes greed is what America’s power is based off of. It is known that money is power. The more money a man has, the more powerful he is. Because America is ‘greedy’ and we strive off of our freedom, we have the free reign to gain money, or lose money. America is powerful because of its greed, and this is something I kind of believe.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The MySpace Hoax Comments

“It’s very sad to see that some would feel no remorse for an act like this. Legally I don’t think there is a way to directly prove that the defendant was the cause of the young ladies death. I do however believe the comments she wrote were libel and played a key role in her suicide but still cannot directly say it was the sole cause.” -MySpace Suicide Have At You Studio

It is very sad. Especially since the girl was so young and she had so much to live for. It’s a shame that she suffered the way she did, and it’s horrid that someone so much older than her, could act so immature, and create a fake MySpace page to begin with. I also agree that the crime fits a Libel crime.

“Had the creator been another teenage girl, the incident still would have been sickening but not quite has harsh as it seems due to the fact that the profile was created by another teenage girl's MOTHER. If you are the mother of a teenage girl, you should not still be interested in petty middle school bullshit. Not only did her actions cause a young girl to kill herself, they also set a horrible example for her own daughter.” -MySpace Hoax Love In the Sky Designs

I couldn’t agree more with this comment. She was an adult, who really should not have acted so childish. Because of this mother’s childish behavior, and concern about her young daughter’s brief struggle as a teenage girl, a young girl, about her daughter’s age took her own life. What would this mother have done if her daughter took her life due to a MySpace hoax?

“In all, I feel that Megan’s parents are to blame in this situation. If they did not allow Megan to start a MySpace account, this would have never happened. Secondly, if an apology is what they need, then the other mother involved should be the better person and do so. After all that’s happened, Mr. and Mrs. Meiers have filed for divorce. It’s sad that all of this could have been prevented. What we should learn from all this is basically the way we raise our children. In today’s society, we need to be more in tune with what our children do. We need to keep them close and grounded. I think we’ve lost sight of that.”-MySpace Hoax Gone Awry Flip Beats Productions

This is quite intriguing. I have to agree with this quote. When I was growing up, my parents were very strict. They kept an eye on me and my siblings, and we were not allowed such things as MySpace, or the internet, partly because it wasn’t around at the time. In any case, I think parenting plays a big role in the loss of Megan, however, not completely. This should have never happened, and maybe, Megan just needed more attention from her own parents, and maybe it was a cry for love. We will never truly know.

“Megan Meier could be described as ordinary. Based on readings, she was an emotional, bubbly, preteen girl addicted to MySpace - which reminds me of my little sister, who is at that funny stage of life. Regardless, this kid suffered from depression amongst other things; she was medicated, but even then, she was impressionable. What happened to her was the result of someone taking advantage of that impressionable nature.”-The MySpace Hoax Houndimation-Just a Touch of Magic

This is very true. A lot of younger generations are addicted to MySpace, which is very unhealthy. This reminds me of a story I had heard, similar to this, but not quite. A young girl had been talking bad about another on MySpace, and a group of girls beat her up over it. It’s ridiculous. It’s just MySpace. Now, because the girl was depressed, and “impressionable” as mentioned in the quote, it was easy to take advantage of her emotions. Unfortunately, it ended badly, and by the hands of a parent. It’s just so baffling that people let this online people connection take so much control of their lives.

"Used Cars" List of Crimes and Torts

Due to my absence on week 4, I was not here to completely understand the blog assignment. However, after looking at several of my fellow classmate’s blogs, it seems that they had to make a list of crimes and torts that were present in the movie called, “Used Cars”. This is a list of the torts and crimes that occurred in the movie:

1. Slander
2.Attempted Murder
3.Hit and Run
4. Perjure
5.Destruction of Property
6.Lying under Oath
7.Underage Driving
8.Driving without a License
9.Speeding
10.Sexual Harassment
11.Assault
12.Trespassing
13. Not wearing a seatbelt
14.Reckless Driving
15.Libel
16.False Advertisement
17.Child Endangerment
18.Bribery
19.Defamation
20.Conversion