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10/19/09
Should probably be MySpace-d out page...
[www.myspace.com] #balloonbrat
10/18/09
"It's uh- uh- a flying saucer."
"It's a flying saucer."
"Yeah."
You have to give the dispatcher credit for not hanging up at that moment. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
What's annoying is that the media and authorities (more so the authorities) wasted resources, and now want to spend even more going after someone who lied. There's not a whole lot of harm done aside from making the cops look like morons, so I don't see how they can charge him with much.
Oh wait, they're a bunch of butt-hurt police who want revenge. Pathetic on both the authorities' part and the tacky dad.
EDIT: The only fair thing I can think of is paying restitution, but that would bankrupt them (probably) and it wouldn't be good for the kid.
10/18/09
As for Misleading authorities being the only charge to hold any water, you really think Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor couldn't hold water? They encouraged and made their kids lie. If that doesn't fit the bill what would? #balloonbrat
10/18/09
As soon as I saw it I was like.. wtf? How stupid are these reporters and police. This is freaking impossible. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
Typically for the delinquency of a minor, the kid has to commit a crime. I guess it can fit if the child's lying is misleading authorities. However, they're all butthurt for feeling duped, just like the idiots crying foul over this and then glazing over the ever-growing shitstorm in the middle east.
Really, all that happened was a few resources were wasted, that otherwise would have likely gone to paying these guys to put pot-heads behind bars. Big deal.
10/19/09
"...the sheriff's department contacted a specialist at Colorado State University to determine whether it could carry the child."
And what did this specialist determine?
"Based on the dimensions for the balloon that Heene provided at the time, the specialist "determined that it was, in fact, possible for this balloon to have launched," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters Sunday."
Only after getting it on the ground and their hands on it, and measuring and weighing it, did they realize that it couldn't have lifted off with #BalloonBoi inside, because the craft weight 18 lbs more than what #DoucheDad said it did. #balloonbrat
10/20/09
Having a basket or not means nothing. I knew there wasn't a kid because of the behavior of the balloon, but still wasn't 100% shure.
Wasting resources is still a crime, and the moron behind it should pay for that. It's just that simple.
Who do you think ends up paying for that waste of resource? Yeah, you.
And if a bunch of idiots sees this as a good idea for advertising campaings, soon you'll be living in a city were cops can't tell which call is true and which isn't.
And then you'll have a bunch of crimes that could be avoided only they weren't because cops were occupied with yet another hoax.
THIS is why the guy has to be punished. It's not as harmless as you're trying to imply. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
#DoucheDad outsmarted you. HAHAHA #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/19/09
10/19/09
From your article:
"The reason, according to the sheriff, is that the contraption weighs 18 pounds more than what Heene said."
So minus that extra 18lbs, it COULD have lifted #BalloonBoi . So IT WAS capable. Just not in the current configuration. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
well, it's Greased Lightnin'! #balloonbrat
10/18/09
("Aqua-tonic?? Sheesh, kids these days...)
Edit: stoopid hidden comments....
10/18/09
Is #DoucheDad expecting us to believe he launched a balloon crammed with the electronics/batteries to emit one million volt charges, and
A) Didn't check these electronics before this attempted flight, so as to see if anyone was in there, or
B) Couldn't know if his son AND all of this equipment could fit into the small electronics bay of this balloon.
Look, Save #BalloonBoi and ship #DoucheDad , Octo-Mom, and Jon + Kate to a deserted island crammed with cameras and let us vote when we want the Harlem Globetrotters to visit and play them for a bag of rice. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
and really, the description was accurate. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
regardless, my main point was, just because the person calling is describing something in a seemingly odd way ( in this case "ufo shaped") doesn't mean that the 911 operator should just write it off as a prank call. And i'm glad that she didn't.
Don't get me wrong, the dad is a dick for using public resources to promote himself, but i dont like the idea of 911 operators brushing things off just because they sound unusual. Every call should be considered a genuine issue unless it is found out to be otherwise. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
but it looks like you are right about it being a compliment, i had initially read the statement as a shock that bordered insult. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
Seriously, I mean no malice towards anyone in this particular comment thread. 911 Operators have been known to ask questions that appear dumb from the other side. I once hit a deer and the 911 operator asked if I could check to see if it was alive. I said to her "Look, I've seen enough "When Animals Attack" to know if I do go over there, he's probably going to wake up and kick my ass". #balloonbrat
10/18/09
I generally like police and people associated with the police. There are a few bad apples (bad in various ways) out but i think most of them will help you as best as possible. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
Where is her looming criminal charge? #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Because she willingly took part in the whole thing, and helped lie to the police. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
Apparently this was planned for a long long time. They were all in on it, definitely. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
Because she sat by and watched him plot this for months if not years, if the witness is to be believed, and then willingly participated. Why do you assume she is abused or was controlled into this? There is no reason to believe this. Not everyone woman who happens to be in a bad situation involving a man was forced into it, nor abused.
The witness even attests that Richard was never the angry type and his children weren't afraid of him. Doesn't sound like an abusive control freak to me, just a freak. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
[gizmodo.com] #balloonbrat
10/18/09
You mean the video in question as being staged as part of the stunt? The video that potentially has no real bearing on actual behavior from these folks? #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
Cursing because your project floated away (like he didn't want it to) wouldn't be uncommon, nor is it really a sign that he is mentally dominating his wife like a puppet. #balloonbrat
10/19/09
10/19/09
Which is why I am astounded everyone is pinning the entire responsibility on the father without question, which is my point. It seems many people are assuming the wife is ABSOLUTELY not responsible for her own actions and must have been forced to go along with it, for some reason.
It is bias, and none of us have any knowledge with which to really ascertain who is and is not responsible here. and should really assume they are all capable of being responsible until we get proof otherwise.
But, they will probably still crucify him alone and ignore her due to some BS. #balloonbrat
10/19/09
10/19/09
And why do you think she was opposed to this and had nothing to do with helping, or implementing them? #balloonbrat
10/19/09
10/19/09
That's what I said earlier. WE DON'T KNOW.
Yet we have loads of people stepping up to crucify one culprit and ignore what could be another. #balloonbrat
10/19/09
10/19/09
I just want to say I love this Reply notification. Major improvement. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
I think he should be put on probation, he should pay a huge fine and hopefully overtime but don't break up a family just because the dad is a spotlight junkie and the media is more than eager to enable him. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
Three kids that need a dad and not necessarily this one. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Paying for the typical government over reacting to any situation to justify its disgusting existence?
Bravo! #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
And the hundreds of people needed to make that assessment?
Priceless and typical. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Criminal charges should be filed, and the guy should do some time and some community service. Yet the costs involved should be incurred by the police departments. Perhaps it will be a lesson in handling the situation as it exists, rather than giving into the craziness involved when the national media goes into a frenzy over a story. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
(1) If you are going to involve a child, you know exactly how this plays out. We've got examples going back at least over 20 years, to the coverage and response to Baby Jessica.
(2) Part of the story is that this guy specifically wanted national media attention.
We've apparently decided, as a society, that when a kid falls down a well or goes up in a balloon or goes missing in Aruba, we will freak out if authorities don't do everything in their power to fix it and we want coverage of every second of it. (Now we may have misplaced priorities there, for sure, but that's what we ask of our police and our journos.)
Heene was fully aware of this background. He didn't act in a vacuum. It's like felony murder charges. If you take a gun to a bank robbery, you are on notice that those things tend to end badly; you don't get to say "Oh, I didn't plan on things turning out this way!"
[Edited to correct Henne to Heene. Henne is the Dolphins' stupid QB that beat my Jets last weekend.]
10/18/09
What I'm saying is that as a society, punishing him for the cost isn't the real issue. My father raised me to believe that when possible, you treat the disease, not just the symptom. In this case, punishing Heene for the full cost won't fix the overall problem-- that our 24-hour news doesn't deliver relevant news, it simple sensationalizes stories that have very little relevance to peoples' lives.
Should he pay for his crime? Most assuredly. Yet if there is also a very real cost to police departments when overreacting to these sorts of problems, they'd be less likely to do that. Rather than throw caution to the wind when the media shows up, they might deal with the media firmly, but politely, and simply get the job done.
Yes, he played into the way society works, but again, perhaps the greater "we" should ask ourselves how we can avoid getting played again. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
The problem is that the only way to address things the way you suggest is to convince people not to watch this stuff obsessively and not write angry letters to the mayor, the press, etc. when authorities take a reasonable approach.
The well known adage in NYC is "avoiding the cover of the NY Post."
As a government official, you are much more likely to end up on the cover of the Post and/or losing your job due to public outcry for making a reasonable decision that ends badly than you are for doing "too much" and wasting everyone's time and resources. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
We called that a Post-sandwich in college (even though we were in Massachusetts, the NY Post was still a staple read), and if nothing else, it's wildly entertaining to discuss.
I realize that it's all cyclical- the cops are forced to overreact by a media that demands sensationalism in order to sell their stories to a customer base that demands up-to-the-minute coverage and feeds on overreacting, who in then turn on police departments who don't overreact, forcing them to overreact to the media....etc, etc.
What I'm saying is that it's gotta be somebody to take a step back and just say "enough". The media isn't going to stop it, they have to make money. The public SHOULD stop it, but since we often get our news from the TV, it's not like we have a choice of what's on (at least, not directly). The only other options is the institutions of our government...sadly, they are often more interested in catering to the media than to the public, because the media controls their destinies. Even with the publics' true best interest at heart, the media can skew it and turn a good decision into a bad one. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
It's risk-reward and personal responsibility. You want to be a public idiot and start the cycle? Go for it. But if you screw it up, it's on you.
[gawker.com] #balloonbrat
10/18/09
This guy's book deal in 2 years will probably make me cry. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
(1) Gov't: Gets their costs back.
(2) Media: Gets the eyeballs.
(3) Public: Gets its fun, stupid story. (See our earlier comments below.)
(4) Dude: Took a (weird) risk and gets rewarded.
Well, everyone except for you and me, who would have preferred that the time and energy was spent debating and solving more important issues, but that simply isn't (nor has it ever been) the way the world works. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
The sad thing is we live in a media-obsessed culture that rewards behavior like this. It's the same concept behind the school shootings. Kids looking for attention see "gee, everybody hears about this for weeks". We reward the behavior we seek to nullify by giving them exactly what they want.
Balloon Boy is becoming yet another overblown story like the saga of Octomom. Seriously, why do we care anymore? At best, this was one kid trapped in a hot air balloon.
I realize I'm feeding the beast by commenting on it (thus rewarding Gawker by increasing views, thus increasing their revenue) but can we please just realize is that all this is is some idiot who wanted to be famous?
Calls for his death, hopes he gets raped, all those are overblown. Let's hope he gets the one punishment that he truly deserves-- to be utterly forgotten. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
(Also, I will contribute to your contribution to the problem by promoting your comment!) #balloonbrat
10/18/09
yeah, he's guily. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
10/18/09
I don't know how they could prove it though - other than the kid and the other guy who says he was a crackpot, there's no "proof" that he orchestrated this is there? At least, nothing that could stand up in court. #balloonbrat
10/18/09
(1) He released the balloon.
(2) Footage of mock shock that the tethers weren't attached.
(3) Testimony and documentation that he had planned to attract national media coverage by using a balloon in a similar fashion.
(4) Plentiful video evidence that he craved said attention.
(5) Not sure you would get testimony from one of the kids, but if you did, that.
(6) CSI style evidence regarding ability of child to get up into the garage beams on his own (depending on how it turns out)
(7) Unknown evidence from search warrant.
(1-4) plus any part of (5-7) seems like enough to me. #balloonbrat