Congress Now Blaming MySpace For Troubled Children
from the gotta-stop-it dept
On the same day that MySpace becomes the top site online and a bunch of political types try to launch a MySpace for politicians it appears that our elected Congress Critters want to figure out what to do about the MySpace issue. This, right after solving the gambling problem apparently. Earlier this year, we noted some talk in Congress about banning social networks and blogs from schools and libraries that take federal money -- but today even more proposals were discussed. In the discussions today, the same Congress folks who were just blaming video games for everything wrong with kids, are now saying that "MySpace.com has been a center of drug activity, of gang activity, and of Internet predators." After again suggesting that these sites be banned from schools and libraries, they discussed solutions such as forcing some sort of third-party age verification on these sites. That, of course, sounds good to Congress people who don't seem to realize that won't actually do anything other than perhaps push kids to move to some other site adults have even less control over. Oh well. As long as they can head home for election season claiming they're working hard to protect the children, even when their actions tend to make things worse.
Reader Comments (rss)
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I propose taking away computers from children until they are 18.
No computers in schools will save a bundle.
First Post!!!
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Re:
so making our kids as computer illiterate as granny is really going to push development as were hoping, a better idea, would be to take paper away from politicians over age 25......
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when will our congress work for us and when will we as a people stop letting them get away such actions
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best solution
The best solution to this problem is to imprison the kids at their homes. No computers, no tv, no phones, no visitors, no friends, no windows. There's no way they can get drugs or be in gangs or be victim to predators (unless of course their parents are the ones to do that). See everything works out fine!
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Re: no compys in schools...
I say we take computers away from politicians...
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Why stop there?
If we believe in the business school dogma of free markets that Techdirt so eagerly promotes, why not allow ebay to buy and sell children? Don't we want to live in a world where business school legends are made from entrepreneurs who make their first billion from selling millions of children to sexual predators... I mean, adoptive parents?
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Re: Re:
Haha. I agree with that.
God, the proposed legislations of late are going to screw us all in the end...
Glad to see we've elected the brightest to office...
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MySpace.com
MySpace has an age regulation. People need to be more active in what their kids are doing....I have a MySpace account and so does my daughter and I know everything that is on her account. Should we just lock our kids up, take away everything? What will this prove? NOTHING! It only helps the lazy parents not take responsibility for their parenting or lack there of.......
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lol
Seriously, I think they should just tell Congress and all those other federal bullshit dumbasses that they cannot do anything about what goes on in the internet. Yes, they cans till hunt for child predators, but when they start to try and basically shut a site down because millions of people go to it and some happen to be pedos (though I am defending Myspace, I still think it's just a site for childporn anyways). They just ned a lot of people on Myspace's side to keep checking up on new members's profiles and block the porn/pedo ones.
That's my two cents.
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I blame Congress For Troubled Children and think it is high time congress fix the problem that they have foisted upon us. Booyah. Let's begin with a intensive Spay/Neuter program for elected officials and then expand the program to include Hollywood movie stars.
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MySpace Causing Faulty Children?
MySpace is just the flavor of the week for the critics and parents who refuse to take personal responsibility for not knowing how to raise their own children; this month it's MySpace, in the 90's it was violent video games and professional wrestling, in the 60's & 70's it was drugs - I am of the opinion that if parents and "good-church-goin'-folk" want their children raised "right", then they, THE PARENTS, not the mass-media, or game developers, or web-site managers, need to take responsibility for their own children and monitor what they are doing on-line. If you know your child is talking to someone they shouldn't be, BEFORE they go out and meet that person, I'm pretty sure there would be less rapes and murders, and the like, because some parents group was out at the public lynching of...(insert flavor of the month here), instead of at home taking care of their children. I'm not so naive as to think all parents should lock children in their rooms until they are 21; if you feel the need to lock the computer down when you're not home, then do it. If you feel you have to get rid of the computer, then do it. I would work on changing the behavior of the child first, before I go giving my stuff away. - you want to help your child - talk TO them, not AT them! and one more thing, if you will actually listen to what they say, you might learn something.
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Parents are to blame
Its not myspace.com or games its parents not teaching there kids what is right or wrong. The other problem is the Government saying that that we can't spank out kids to make them mind.
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Lazy, nieve, ignorant parents!!!
I think it should be required that you pass a test before you can have kids period. Like a drivers license. Boys at the age of 10 should get a routine viscectomy (can do it with lasers now without an inscision) and then have it reversed when they later pass the test and get a license to have children. Then we can limit the amount of knuckleheaded parents there are, and we probably wouldnt have so many issues. It all comes down to the parents!!!! If people whould just take interest in their kids lives, instead of letting the TV and internet be their babysitters, then a majority of this would not be a problem. Just think about all the problems that could be avoided if there were less misguided kids running around.
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Re: Re:
LMFAO dead on!!!!
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Myspace
Maybe politicians should start working to develop resources to help parents raise their children. Preventing access to social networking sites is not the answer. It is time for us to start understanding the internet and online living. Once we do, we can raise our children in a way that will help them function in the online world. This new world isn't going to go away. We need to understand it and develop ways to survive in that world, just as we do in the "real" world. This includes teaching our kids how to interact and behave in cyberspace. We can't pretend it is a virtual world. Parents need to parent in cyberspace just as they should in society. The problem is in the parenting and supervision, not the technology.
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Woot! Just another blame the parents party here.
Weee! I can tell you, it is not the parents so stop trying to blame them. It IS the politicians. Keep on track here, no need to point at parents, some of us actually do raise our kids.
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Of course!
I think we should take politicians away from the government, honestly. Well, we should take the government away from the government. And run a real democracy, not a frikken limited democratic republic thats slowly turning into a fascist state. Haha, taking away these internet sites is a clear violation of the bill of rights, so yeah. Duh.
Z
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What, mid-term elections? Oh, my. You want me to pay attention to what "depends" wearing political puppet who claims to be some mythical defender of our children's virtures?
Bunch of B.S - If you have not taken the time to choose your canidates for real reasons. If you wait for them to tell you who to vote for with these bogus PR campaigns on any hot point the media provides at the last minute . . . do the rest of us a favor and stay home.
As for myspace - sheesh I remember when rock and roll - and dancing and then Midnight movies and Shopping Malls were going to bankrupt the morality of our youth.
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Re: MySpace.com
I dunno, this age regulation thing at MySpace? It has to be meaningless inasmuch as MySpace has no way to check anyone's age. I mean, isn't that a truth that has been establilshed. MySPace says you cannot join up unless you are fourteen or whatever, but everything I see on the web indicates there is no way they can tell your age, or want to even tell your age, so they say, well, that's it, fourteen or you are eighty-sixed. B ut since they can't tell, what the hell does it mean to say they have a limit, one they cannot enforce even sh0ould they want to? Or am I wong, do I merely not understand that??? Since, y'know, if they can't really tell your age, how meaninglessis it to say you have to be fourteen? Can this be explained to those amongst us like me who have difficulty with numbers, b ecause they are not my friends?? Al MacLeese from Hallowell Maine which is having an annual celebration this week, and everyone is invited. almac hallowell, union and water.
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The GD presidents said...
Millions of peaches, peaches for me
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Once upon a time
Once upon a time both parents did not have to work full time to earn a living, nor worry that their job would not exist tomorrow or that they will not get enough hours this week.
In that fantasy period one parent could stay home and do some 'parenting'.
Just to be picky....
>>even when they're actions
'they're' (they are) should be 'their'
See, my parents taught me good.....
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us govt is broken
What makes a successful politician in our system does not make a good law maker or an productive leader. We need to fix this disconnect soon before it all goes (even farther) to hell.
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Bad Parenting
It never seems that congress wants to ever impose laws to be a good parent aside from providing a hygenic house, dont beat your kids, and feed the bastards. Aside from this you can pretty much get away with anything. Unless you live in California and your rat bastard child gets a lawyer for himself and sues you for not letting him have enough television time, making him do chores to earn privlages and twisting it to child labor infractions. Anyway point is that parents need to teach their kids how to invest their time so that it becomes intellectualy beneficial. Spending time reading the mindlesss chain letters via MySpace = a waste of time for anyone. Let your kid constantly read about all the new materialistc crap their friends are getting and the only thing it'll result in is a person who's believes that gucci watches and prada shoes (they make shoes right?) are what they NEED. Instead of a well rounded education and the cognative abliity to speak without the word "like" and "ya know." Sure MySpace is a cluster F of nothing but material greed and advertisment out the A; however, would you really expect anything main streem to differentiate from the norm?
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Agreed
I agree to the laser nattering and un-nattering (if you will) after passing the parenting tests. It sounds really fun and it should fall right between the lines of limiting our liberties and increasing national control, which is the main goal of this government for the next decade, and therefore it should be passed immediately into a law. Brillinat!
I want to be your partner for selling the vasectomy kits on myspace and ebay. =)
Also the Bill of Rights comment is absolutely true. Isn’t myspace a place of free, peaceful assembly? Soon anything without nationalistic overtone will be prohibited and we will start coming out at night to form big, marching swastikas and raid homes of immigrants - they are to blame for our children! Those Mexicans and their degrading morale, bean burritos!
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I dunno, My Space seems to attract a lot of pedophiles. But I am sure thre are many more...What happened to PARENTS being in charge? I personally would make sure I know EVERYTHING my child is doing on the computer! You Can take it away! Parents who aren't aware, are the parents of children that can get into trouble. Let's face it, when we were teens we wanted to check things out. We didn't know the consequences. so parents,,,GET INVOLVED!!!!
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Stupid Humans
Heres a thought instead of trying to point the finger at which human made the mess try making an effort to clean it up. If you dont like what your children are doing on the internet they have this magical place called google.com sure you may possibly have heard of it maybe. Try taking some time out of that busy schedule you keep and doing some research, there are millions of sites on the net that will show you how to control what your children are looking at. Its not that difficult an unskilled ape could do it why cant you. Just quit your bitching and finger pointing and do, you do have that much brain power i assume. and if not most of you have superhuman bill paying power your the one contributing to your childs internet habit. And as previously stated if you are not intellgent enough to TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN, go to the great and mighty google and put forth the effort or let your children get adopted and get yourself fixed because you dont deserve to have them.
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There goes the neighborhood...
Social networks banned... the COPE act annihilates net neutrality... Listen, I've been using the WWW since Mosaic and never do I say, "man, I wish the internet would go back to the way it was ten years ago" because the web was an ugly grey-backgrounded, slow, random information wasteland. But I guarantee that if legislative measures continue their course, we will be sitting around our computers in 2016 saying the same thing. Sure, in 2016 we'll probably be absorbing Pepsi commercials through interactive, hive-minded, mind-reading nanobots or something, but we will long for the days when the Web as a 'neutral' space where media was truly democratic.
More to the point, all these whining parents and moral wang-wavers need to cork it. It's the kids that shoulder the mental burden during transitional times in media and communications development. When telephones became popular, do you have any IDEA how many pedophiles came out of the woodwork? Same for terrorists, salesmen, collection agencies... get the drift? It's like the gates of hell opening up every time a new communication tool takes off.
Bottom line: With great amounts of information comes great responsibility. Parents: no matter how hard you try, children using a computer without your direct supervision will be able to view pornography, learn how to build a bomb, look at pictures of an autopsy, view video of a beheading, flirt in a chat room with a stranger, post provocative pictures of themselves and God knows what else. Unless you know more about computers than your kid (I'm guessing you don't) then any filtering or blocking you attempt will only make the kid better at evading your control. Or you could move to China.
So, parents, stop whining and start watching -- your kids. It's all about timing. When your child starts to get curious in sex... be there first with 'the birds and the bees' before your kid learns all he needs to know about sex from GoldenShowers.org. Do you want your kid to be a virgin all his life and then pee on his bride on their wedding night?
And by the way, I've watched ass implant surgery on cable TV for the past four nights straight and I saw Chloe Sevigny's breasts, so it's not just the Internet you've got to deal with here. But for us adults, it makes the Time Warner bill a little easier to take.
Good luck and read some Lawrence Lessig if you can't C.O.P.E.!
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Uhhh...
Time and time again we see this, just quit debating it. Kids would continue to do drugs, join gangs, and waste free time on other senseless activities if MYspace was gone. And to those who support the continued limitation of video games and websites, I say this; don't forget about the people that acually use these mediums to stay in touch with friends and family and are innocent bystanders in the constant ban on anything too "unlimited".
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Re: Stupid Humans
Spot on, Spock. Common sense which has seemingly become uncommon. Al MacLeese, Hallowell-b-the-Kennebec.
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Congress blames MySpace as the seed of juvenile de
So once again congress has found another "it" that is the one single solitary reason behind the state of the youth in our country, MySpace.com.
20 years ago, it was music. 10 years ago, video games, now, its the internet!
How come no one ever blames parenting or the state of family in our country today? The continual decline of the "Family Unit" in this country is expressed implicitly by the acts of our younglings. More children are being raised by adults abused as children, this nasty cycle continues and exponentialy grows. Focus on parenting as the source of many childs anguish, not the internet. Just another excuse for the government to make more rules.
Government is charged and ready to rule and mandate every aspect of our lives, terrorism is only accelarating this process.
As a citizen, you must ask yourself this; what country do you want to leave for your generations to come?
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Televise This
A Japanese TV show with a crime solving scene, similar to "Unsolved Mysteries", will be cancelled soon because the director of the show made off with the money and went into hiding with a 17-y.o. girl.
Link
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I hate stupid parents who think that they are cool
What is a parent doing on MySpace? Stop trying to be "hip." Your kid is still a whore.
And you are fat.
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Get involved with your children
I can understand blocking sites such as myspace from schools etc. because that is not the purpose for computers in school. I'm kind of for that.
Parents need to spend more time with their kids. Take them to a ballgame. Get them involved in things outside of the home that they are interested in. Do things with them. The more time you spend with your children and stay busy doing things with them the less time they will have to wind up in some type of trouble . I know you can't watch every move your child makes but you can at least put forth the effort to spend as much time with them as possible.
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Re: Re: no compys in schools...
I second that...
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proposition
I'm getting kind of sick of always hearing that the big G wants to block this, limit that, etc. I propose that is G wants to really see where the problem lies, develop their own site as direct competition, or their own phone service, or their own school, all as direct competition to the "mainstream" ones. Do a landmark study of 2-3 years and see what sort of business they have with their limitations vs. "mainstreams". Instead of passing laws that they haven't got a clue about, let's see if they can do better
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Not going to work
As long as there's internet access kids will find out alternatives to post their pictures/movies all over the net.
Look at youtube.com-- it's starting to get worst than myspace.
Young kids shakin' their ass on cam, in there room while their parents are probably watching tv in the living room.
Go away congress. Turn off the internet if you want to solve problems... Better yet, send out packets to parents in the mail lol.
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MySpace.com is blocked...
My children are not permitted to use any URL containing "myspace" blocked by my routers firewall...
The main reason we did this was not because we did not trust them (altho they were spending some late nights chatting on odd occasions) but its mostly because of the number of predators that use such sites...
If the kids want to chat with friends there is a billion IM programs... I dont see the benifit of a social network site except to allow anyone on the internet to see your personel profile for their own reasons rather then yours...
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Re: Re: no compys in schools...
I say we take the country away from the politicians.
It's obvious (to me at least) that they are wandering around in the dark trying to plug in the lamp that will give them some illumination. Spouting enough garbage to make it look like they "care" and are trying to identify the problems etc.
The main problem I have is that with our govt there is no real choice for "democracy". 2 parties who are so far right or left that its absurd.
Then you have the obscene thought of "electing" someone based on their "popularity". Not sure about you folkes, but I thought that shit was gay when I was in High Shcool. I cant imagine someone's motivation for even going through the motions.
Power you say?
Eff that, you still have to bend over to let some guy plow you, because in politics, there is always someone standing behind you to ram it in. (and I DONT mean a knife).
When it comes to with kids, what it all boils down to is 2 things:
P. A. R. E. N. T. I. N. G. (Raise your kid, dont let the internet and TV do it).
&
There will always be someone who takes a meaningless statistic and blow it up to scare everyone into conformity.
Most kids are good, some are bad, just like any group of people.
The difference is the media blitz that takes things out of proportion. Cant blame them though, we as a society eat that shit up.
Sad for us.
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Re: MySpace.com
Linda,
You hit the nail on the head.
Responsibility. You have it, take it.
I like my freedom, I dont want "mother government" telling me to clean my room, or how long i can talk on the phone, or what sites I (or my kids when I eventually have them) can/can't visit.
NO thank you very much.
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Re: Woot! Just another blame the parents party her
I guess someone has a little rotten egg in the basket and is feeling picked on.
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Re: MySpace Causing Faulty Children?
Do you have kids? Didn't think so. The old adage that it takes a villiage to raise a child is very true. I currently have 3 teenage boys, and one 11 year old girl. Personality and breeding do account for something too. There are several dynamics at work. Not to mention that teenagers are always right, parents are always wrong, and if they are going to do something (that they want to do and have decided to do) then they are going to do it without telling mommy and daddy. Forbidding them to do things only alienates them from you and sends them down that slippery slope. It is not easy at all to raise children in a society where everyone else's kids get and have everything, especially when you can't afford to buy them a video IPOD. It is true that good moral teachings can sway children to the white-helmet side, but guess what - parents spend less time with their kids than teachers, and a most of all, their schoolmates. It is not the individual parent of the individual child that is at fault, it is all the parents. All the parents have influence on all the kids. This all of a sudden makes it a social problem and not a parenting problem. It really annoys me when ignorant people don't see the big picture. Some parents certainly can be blamed, but that is not the problem. The problem is a social one, and that is the responsibility of the leaders of the community to fix.
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It isn't the politicians, its us.
We always say, "Well those yahoos up in Congress are screwing us yet again, blah, blah, blah, well why don't we, the citizens do something about it, the Declaration of Independence says :
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.
Why don't we follow the advice, if the government is becoming destructive, then isn't it time that we do something about it?
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When will people learn
We have the same problem with limited thinking in the small town I am from. First was issues of the local "cruise" where kids would drive around in circles and stop and talk to each other. The town had a fit. Never mind the fact that we knew where the kids where and what they were doing. Arguments could be made about traffic issues though, so OK, we let that go. Now however in their infinite wisdom they decide to shut down the local Internet Cafe because drugs and alchohol "could" be introduced. Not that it has been intorduced, but could be. Now the kids are off on the back roads partying. Half the time parents don't know where, or what they're doing. The point I am trying to make is that limited thinking only makes matters worse. The old saying "Better the devil you know..." applies to this. MySpace has may have questionable aspects to it, but improve it. Don't ban it and force the kids to lesser known and even more insecure alternatives.
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MySpace Corrupting kids at school....
Once again Congress has found another Target to blame... Why does seem like every time something bad happens to a child it happens at school?
Why does it take an act of Congress to keep our kids safe?
Why can't teachers and parents keep control of our children while they are and home or school?Computers at school should be used for educational purposes only! There should not be access to chat programs, cell phones, pagers, or other wireless devices connected to the Internet. Children are in school to learn.
Willingness to learn in school should be a priority, after certain age if a child is unwilling to learn or is disruptive in class they should be removed from the school. On the other hand teachers unwilling to teach should also be removed from the schools, if teachers feel they're being underpaid for the work they do "WE" should setup a system for teachers to get discounts in the cities or towns that they teach in. (Not to say that we should GIVE things away to them, but discounted to help them out)
Schools should be a privilege. I feel there are much better ways to keep their children safe, keeping them active in school as well as church should keep them too busy to get into serious trouble.
The best way but not necessarily the easiest way is to have the parents state involved with their children from the beginning. By removing discipline and replacing it with timeouts is not working. Children these days have not learned the key aspects of respect, by calling their teachers by their first name for that fact other adult’s buy their first name has not taught them the level of respect that's needed.
If everything bad happens at school shouldn't schools be to blame should we pass legislation against the schools to shut them down?
In Michigan in order to help keep our children safer from pedophiles are required to live more than 1,000 feet from school property, why can't we do the same for convicted drug dealers, convicted drunk drivers, and other people convicted of heinous crimes?There is a side note in this article from the Detroit Free Press from June 30, 2006
It is not the fault of MySpace.com the problem starts at HOME.
I admit I'm not the best father, but I will not be asking a lawyer to file a lawsuit against Sponge Bob Square Pants...
My Children will not be watching that show or others like it…
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...
I propose taking computers away from Congressmen until they become adults.
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Re: Re: no compys in schools...
i disagree. i liked the idea of fighting DRM and internet control by giving an Ipod to your congressman. its apparent by the actions of the senator in alaska and the congressman in pensylvania, that we need to send them computers and video games too. they dont seem to have any real idea how they work.
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Pros and Cons
If con is the opposite of pro, what is the opposite of progress?
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Re: Pros and Cons
America! No wait! Congress!
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Re: Re: no compys in schools...
I say we take computers away from politicians...
Are you kidding? Most of 'em are too old to use 'em anyway. I wish I were kidding....
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Take money away from politicians
Vote for people who make Government smaller and weaker, and return the power of choice to the individual, local, and state levels.
Then Congress can become a harmless circus instead of the dangerous comedy of errors it is today.
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MySpace ruining our kids
DuffMan sez - thank god for MySpace! Have you seen my bodacious beauties?
http://www.myspace.com/duffmansez
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Re: Once upon a time
"Just to be picky....
>>even when they're actions
'they're' (they are) should be 'their'
See, my parents taught me good....."
Just to be picky
Your parents didn't teach you good
They taught you well.
If there's one thing I hate, it's somebody trying to insult somebody for spelling, and screwing up themselves.
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Kids will be kids....
I just think that the "dysfunctional family" has entered the computer age....the kids that find trouble on MySpace probably would find it some other way if it were available... I heard that there is now concern over gang activity on myspace and online..that they do not actively recruit online, but invite to parties where drugs and recruitment occur...25 years ago...my parents had concerns about gangs and my exposure to them...but then it had to do with where we hung out, who our friends were. yes, it is probably easier for predators to get online and lure children (the ones who are seeking something like acceptance and caring that they probably arent getting at home) than it used to be, but heck, I am near Seattle and in the last month we have had a pedophile arrested while practicing with his churce choir (a licensed foster parent by the way) and another that was a boy scout leader.
I have an 11 year old daughter and her internet access at home is restricted and supervised, but she also understands why and I am scared to death that there are pedophiles on every corner, but I am not going to keep her out of activities because of it....but her dad chaperones school events and carnivals and camps with her...at this point she doens't mind, in fact she is proud of having an active parent. We try to give her the tools she needs to use her own judgement and no topic is too taboo to discuss at home so she knows she can always ask questions.
Parenting is not a job for everyone, but it is a job and I agree that there should be mandatory birth control until you can prove you are ready to be a parent!
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Mandantory birth control and Myspace
Hold up here now, mandantory birth control??? Isn't this the same violation of one's freedom as banning Myspace is? Come now, surely you are jesting!
Myspace may be a bad place and is obviously a breeding ground for much that the majority finds foul in the world, but to allow censorship of it is giving away a huge chunk of our freedom and opens the door for a whole lot of black markers. We censor or eliminate myspace because it is offensive, soon, you start censoring religious material, no matter the denomination, then you hit a place like say...techdirt because it promotes the sharing of free ideas.
Hmmm, sounds ridiculous? Then ponder on this, when the Nazi's began exterminating Jews...who did they get rid of first? Political leaders, teachers and other free thinkers.
On the mandantory birth control issue: Honestly it sounds neat to talk about it but think of the ramifications of such an action! No consequence sex among the youth will mean such an incredible boom in venereal disease that it would make your stomach turn. Let's not forget the possibility that sterilization doesn't always work and is not 100% reversible.
It doesn't take a village to raise a child, and stay at home mom's still exist. I am one of them. It IS the parent's responsibility and one does have to make sacrifices to provide a good life for your children, but the options are there. Wake up and smell the dirty diapers folks, when you had that baby you were committed to spending the remainder of your life devoting your time to that child. "But I still have a life" lines are crap, and they're just a cop out so you don't have to deal with it. Grow up cuz it comes with the territory!
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Idiot
"Just to be picky
Your parents didn't teach you good
They taught you well.
If there's one thing I hate, it's somebody trying to insult somebody for spelling, and screwing up themselves."
You're a moron. How did you not see the inherent sarcasm in replacing the word well, with the word good so that the original author could make light of the fact that you do not have proper grammatical skills? You are the poster child for someone who needs to get out more. 'Tard.
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No Myspace in schools
I am all for blocking social networks and blogs from schools. Computers aren't in school for those reasons and I hardly think kids will become "computer illiterate" from lack of using Myspace.com. Teachers do enough babysitting as it is -- it's parents who should be supervising their kids while they're on the internet. Teachers shouldn't have to worry about whether or not students are being responsible while using the internet at school.
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MAKES NO SENSE
Im SO sick of all this Myspace crap.
READ THIS RIGHT NOW. THE ONLY REASON THERE ARE CHILD PREDATOR PROBLEMS ON MYSPACE IS BECAUSE YOUNG MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS/GIRLS(and even some high schoolers...) GET MYSPACES AND WHEN A CHILD PREDATOR TALKS TO THEM THEY HAVE NOT BEEN TAUGHT TO IGNORE THEM. IF PARENTS WOULD JUST TAKE THE TIME TO TEACH THESE KIDS HOW TO HANDLE MYSPACE, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
Tell me, is it easier to stop EVERY SINGLE predator on myspace by shutting it down completely, OR is it easier to simply teach the possible victims how to handle them? YOU DECIDE
Which way is more fair to the adult users of myspace?
Which way is more fair to the band users of myspace?
Why completely shut down myspace for the mistakes of unknowing young children???
I say,
TEACH THEM
ANY kid who doesn't know that letting a person hes/shes never seen before come INTO HIS/HER HOUSE is a BAD IDEA doesn't even deserve a myspace profile in the first place!
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My.space
The real problem with troubled minors, is that we live in a society where both parents have to work, or parent/s are not involved.
Some people even believe that the Government should be more involved in homes, I believe those people are the sheeple of our society.
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Re: MAKES NO SENSE
Wasn't rule number one when we were growing up, DO NOT TALK TO STRANGERS?
My two sense. (intentional word swap)
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Re:
That is a tupid idea, We can revoke valuable tools from our children because of our mistakes. I agree we need tp proect them but not create a illinformed generation. The world is dangerous, they need to know the realities, and be able to sustain and flourish within that reality
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open question to parents that think the gov't shou
what's the verbiage of the legislation that would have kept that 16 yr old girl from tricking her parents into getting her a passport so she could travel to ISRAEL to meet that guy from myspace?
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A teacher's perspective
Hi. Well our school district already blocks lots of sites, MySpace included. My problem with the bill is that ANY site which allows you to create a profile or website will be banned. I have kids email assignments to me using Yahoo mail. Yahoo lets you create profiles. I used to give my students email addresses from my web account- then the school blocked SMTP. I have kids make blogs using blogger and blog on tech news. They won't be able to do that. They block all image and file hosting websites, so I can't have them post images on their blogs that way anymore. I teach them to make websites. I won't be able to do that. They're taking about 15% of my class and throwing it in the garbage. Guess I'll just let them surf the net and screw around instead. I'm so sick of going to work each day and feeling like they're actively trying to work against me. I try to be creative and make things fun to keep kids interested. ALL the kids in my class are on MySpace on their free time. BIG TIME! So because of that I can't teach them how to make a webpage in class? They are all still doing myspace in their free time anyway. They all have Xanga's, and have their Xanga updates emailed to them. So although the school blocks Xanga, they still read them via email. The kids aren't stupid, and neither are the sites. Block MySpace and kids will still be able to check it out. MySpace emails you when you have new comments. If they blocked MySpace they could email the comments directly to you. I'm almost at the point where I feel like pulling the jacks out of the wall and saying screw the internet in class. It's nothing but a headache when you have administrators and tech people who don't give a damn about having a good class, they just have this wild fear of "internet predators". Hey, how about this, instead of letting the child molesters out of jail after a few years, let's lock them up for life? Look at the internet for how many sex offenders walk our streets. I've seen kids access these offender registries, and they are scared of these people. They are amazed when they find out they walk the streets as free men. Why not work on putting these monsters in jail for life, rather than banning MySpace? How about mandatory life in prison for having sex with a child? Why isn't anyone pushing for that? Why not teach kids internet safety instead, since there will always be danger on the internet, from websites or email or whatever. Child sex abuse has been around long before the internet, and hasn't increased with the advent of the internet. I don't see a whole lot of people addressing the larger issues here.
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Re: MySpace Causing Faulty Children?
ME Doss,
Thanks for taking the trouble to say exactly what i wanted to say and saving me the trouble.
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Don't they have any REAL work to do?
Of course it's an election year, and the politicians are pandering to their "base". Apparently their "base" prefers to let the govt do all of their thinking for them rather than have the freedom to make their own choices. They claim they are not for big-govt, but then they bloat the govt with these unnecessary "protections". I for one would prefer it if they would focus their efforts on guarding our borders, enforcing our existing laws, and improving our relationships with foreign govts. I'll parent my own children according to my family's values and beliefs. The govt should stick to it's REAL job of managing national resources and representing We the People (rather than the Corporations).
Any legislation related to this is just an exercise to see how much they can censor and control the internet. The internet scares them for a number of reasons, and they would do anything to kill it or scare people away from it. The govt is only interested in squashing our civil liberties with all of these "security" actions. If they're not using terrorism as the excuse, then they change the tune to "save the children".
Here's a project I could endorse, how about "saving the children" from all the aggressive advertising which comes with any children's television, movies, even clothes? How about making certain that ALL public school curriculums include Life Skills (banking, credit, health, nutrition, etc) lessons to prepare them for adult life (unfortunately, many parents won't teach these to their children, and more often than not, the parents themselves don't know anything about these areas and can't teach their children)?
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...and before MySpace and video games it was...
this "blame it on the latest thing" way of ignoring our problems is not a new sport. i might argue it is our national sport instead of baseball because we've engaged in it for so long...
before we blamed video games & movies for all manner of ills afflicting teens, before we blamed Marilyn Manson for Columbine, etc. ... we blamed it on "violent" cartoons (like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck & The Roadrunner? can you see a good cartoon on TV these days? NO) and stuff like the 3 Stooges.
before that we blamed Black Sabbath and various other metal bands (like Twisted Sister?? get real.).
before that we blamed comic books and pulp novels.
...and the list goes on...
i point this out to help those that would yawp things like "back in my time it was different" and "oh the good old days". BULL. there were no "good old days" -- they are a myth.
the root cause of all of this CRAP is that people really do not want to accept the responsibility of having screwed things up. the parents of the Columbine kids didn't fail to do their job, it was Marilyn Manson and video games and a "culture that glorifies violence". that kid in NY who ballooned to 300+ pounds eating fast food 3 meals a day was the victim of the fast food industry, of course it couldn't be the weak-willed parent who fed him the crap instead of feeding him something more wholesome (and maybe less of it), oh no can't be that...
frankly, part of the reason MySpace is popular (and for the record, I have a MySpace & I'm almost 50) is that society in general has become way more mobile, kids have friends at school on Tuesday and those friends are moved to another city on Thursday, kids no longer are able to just hang out after school as they run from soccer to Sylvan to dance to home... at least on sites like MySpace they can stay in touch, swap gossip, share silly photos of their toes, stuff that kids will do with friends.
the fact that a few kids have had bad experiences where the bad thing was somehow related to an online social networking site (either being accosted by predators or in a Michigan case, running off to the Gaza Strip to be with some guy) is no different than being accosted by a flasher in the parking lot at the mall or the movies. there are kids who because of their behavior and reactions to what goes on around them will become prey or predators. that is just the way it is. it has happened that way since well before video games, computers and mobile phones were even dreamt of. it will happen long after the Internet fades into the dustbin of history.
MySpace is like a gun. if you point a gun at your foot and pull the trigger, you may blow your foot clean off. same with social networking tools and the Internet, you can do good things like keep up on your favorite band, share your goofy pictures, send silly bulletins to your friend list or you can put up alluring cheesecake photos and make plans to see that guy who "really understands me" in meatspace. when you point the tool at your foot and pull the trigger, there are consequences and all the sanctimonious pontification and bad laws written by all of the legislatures in this land can't change it.
(this got double-posted - followed the link about video games from this entry and ended up posting it there too...)
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Re: Lazy, nieve, ignorant parents!!!
John, I've been saying that for years. If you want to adopt a dog or a cat an animal shelter, you have to give references and be approved to adopt one. Why is it tougher to adopt a pet than it is to have children? What the hell is wrong with this world?
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Who cares
Why does everyone care so much? MYSPACE sucks! It's a stupid useless site for people who have nothing better to do with their lives. Who gives a crap about your lame survey about what animal you are or kind of hat you would be. And no I don't care all your personal information anyway. AND NO!! You don't know Incubus personsally so take them off your friends list and stop pretending that you're cool. I'm for shutting the site down simply because it's completely useless! I can't believe people actually use this thing. Is that really the pinacle of entertainment? Shooting myself in the foot sounds nearly as fun. The fact that there are more than 90 million members only confirms the fact that america's average IQ is quickly falling to the level of Forrest Gump. Everyone on myspace are a bunch of losers. Get a life people!
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Whats with all the finger pointings.
We should not allowed people with IQ below 100 to use the computer, that would solve some problems.
Parents should teach kids what is wrong and right since theyre little so that when theyre 12 or 13 they can tell which is wrong and which is right. Just talk to your kids about it oh say 10 mins a day.
Its not myspace's fault that kids below the age's limit still signup to their website.
Congress had to do something, or else everyone gonna blame things on them. Not that they made the right choice but still they did something.
Its not parent's fault their kids ignore the parents (Assuming the parents actually taught their kids).
Everyone tries to do something their own way so not much progress is being made, why dont the kids, parents, websites, and the governement work together so that if it doesnt work we can try something new, its better than everyone blaming everyone else.
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Re:
When (WE THE PEOPLE!!!) Stop electioning the same ones over and over.
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Re: Once upon a time
Good lord! Listen to yourself - "when I was your age, I had to raise 16 kids while your mother and I worked 4 full time jobs...you'd better appreciate that x-box!"
Are you defending "myspace.com", which is just a hunting ground (create an account and see for yourself), or defending a lifestyle which requires one to limit his/her parenting abilities? Well, it's the American way, I suppose.
Herein lies the problem: people talk to friggn' much about what they should/would/could do versus doing it... that said, i'd better quit typi....
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Forget MySpace
Just get them damn kids off my Lawn! with their hulahoops, and thems Dan Fogleberg records....kids these days! Just Box their ears!
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Old People...
How about taking cars away from old people?
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History Repeating
When I was little playing with GI Joes, Power Rangers and watching wrestling were all going to lead me down a path of violence and murder. However, my parents made sure to take TWO MINUTES to make sure I understood that what I saw wasn't real and that I should do these things. Teenagers have always scared the hell out of adults because we don't understand them. Those news stories about the highpitched ringtones only kids can hear being used in school... they were developed to repeal those little savages. What it boils down to is if you don't understand your teenagers, talk to them. Skip your next botox injection, pilates, or dare I say it... American Idol. Teenagers turn to friends because family is so hard to relate to at their age, so make an effort to know what they're doing. If it comes down to it get your own myspace page just so you can monitor your kids activities. Congress has fallen short too many times when it comes to running our nation. Our kids are far too important to put into the hands of a bunch of windbags more worried about party lines and poll results to care about what America really needs.
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Re: A teacher's perspective
So, install wordpress on a local server, problem solved.
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Though experiment
Imagine you just fell through a wormhole from another century.
Imagine you don't know what MySpace is, and you never heard of the internet or Google etc.
Then re-read the article paying attention only to the concepts and words, the universally human elements, that you understand..
Did you do it? Are you scared yet? You should be.
Banning social networking? Of children?
By what cascade of twisted pathologies did we ever get to this state where it is possible to openly discuss this with a straight face and not be labled as someone who is fundamentally sick?
I think al these "politicians" have very serious unaddressed issues.
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myspace
i dont blame anyone except for the parents who don't police there childern enough. as far as congress getting involved w/ it now, makes it good for election time don't u think ??? bullshit !!!!!!! congress need