Why, Emma? WTF? I don't get it! I died a little reading that. She always seemed so eminently sensible with a good head and a good heart. I'm deeply disappointed that she went through the mental gymnastics to excuse what Polanski did.
I feel so sorry for Jon & Kate's judge. His wife dies of cancer, and the very next week he has to listen to these two hateful idiots yap at each other?
@slauza: I thought that too. She was giving him the first two hours, and she would have the second two hours, and since it's her night, she'd be getting the kids ready for bed afterward. So there would be no bloodletting in front of the kids. And what 9 year-olds have more than a four hour party with 6 5 year-olds in attendance? None. Four hours is a very long time. He was pissed because he would have had to drive ALL THE WAY FROM NEW YORK!!! 2 hours for a birthday WOULD BE A WASTE OF HIS TIME! That video would be great evidence for Kate. You can't move hours away from where your kids live, and then bitch about how long it takes to get there.
The other interesting tidbit on the video was that when asked if he had any plans for the girls' birthday, he said he was thinking about getting a cake or something. Cue my Amy voice "Really Jon?" Two days until the party and you are considering possibly a cake? I bet Kate had a cake ordered three weeks ago, birthday present shopping done 10 days ago (presents from her and the other kiddos), and is back at home getting the house ready for the party. Part of being a responsible parent is being aware of all the little things that have to get done, and getting them done.
@IowaJezebel: A big YES! to everything. Also, the latest report says Kate was offering Jon extra time with the kids Saturday & Sunday in exchange for spending only 2 hours with them on their birthday.
The thing that bugs me the most is the "I own half the house, I can do what I waaaant..." crap. Threatening to stay longer than he is welcome seems really abusive to me. He has absolutely no understanding of how difficult/traumatic it might be for Kate to have to allow him into her home while she is there. His behavior this week has been so aggressive, so threatening, so self-righteous. I'm afraid he's turning into an abuser before our eyes.
@joops: That "I own half the house" bullshit stuck out to me as well. He's thinking in terms of *his* rights and *his* convenience, when he should be thinking about what's best for the kids. And the kids will be happiest if their parents can pull off a measure of civility. And on their birthday, no less!!
This whole Gosselin situation gets more and more surreal every day. If only it were (like somebody on here always suggests about Speidi) some kind of performance art on the self-absorption of artificial celebrity, that'd be so fantastic and hilarious. But it's actually about a bunch of sweet little kids getting thrown into a shit storm they will never be able to escape, so instead it's so sad.
Have any of you ever watched those honeymoon clips of Jon & Kate in Disneyland? It's so depressing. Obviously they were too young, their personalities don't match that well, w/e, but you have to wonder if they could have worked some of those things out if they had fewer children and didn't impose a media circus on their lives.
@Ms. Crankypants: Thanks for linking to the two petitions, I was interested in seeing the language. And I don't really understand the SACD one...I mean, you email to "free roman polanski @ whatever" so I guess they're keeping it simple, but there's no declaration of intent or anything beyond that...seems strange. At least the other one, though still reprehensible to me has some sort of "mission statement" or what have you.
Anyway, this issue continues to kill me a little every day. good times.
I remember the good old days when shows like "Entertainment Tonight" were actually about enertainment.
Jon Gosselin sitting on the ET panel with Donny Osmond and discussing who should be voted off Dancing with the Has-Beens is pretty much all the proof I need that the world is indeed ending in 2012.
I am befuddled(?) that Michael Lohan can see the wrong that Jon is doing to his family, yet he's completely blind to the wrong he and his wife have done to their own children.
I know making fun of something Michael Lohan says is taking candy from a baby, but adding 'from a legal standpoint' to your opining does not a credible statement make in your case buddy
This Roman Polanski thing has just about driven me up the wall, for several reasons, many of them conflicting. On the one hand, I am glad that rape is being treated seriously enough that it is something that is being discussed in the news, instead of how shamefully it was viewed at the time of the assault in question, as though the victim has anything to be ashamed of in such an extraordinarily painful circumstance. But in the same breath, I am disturbed that this rape is only notable because of the celebrity angle, and that so many people are getting bent out of shape because of their belief that he got away with rape because he was a celebrity, when in fact after he made a plea deal and admitted that he assaulted the woman in question the prosecuting attorney had every intention to not uphold the bargain made, which is why Polanski fled in the first place. And then I think, what is the point of owning up to something, anything, Roman, if you only want some sort of deal out of it, doesn't that just make it seem like you're only begrudged to be honest about having so hurt someone so young only because you get something out of it for yourself?
Then I step back for a moment and realize that this is a singular event that took place thirty years ago that news outlets are only "caring" about NOT because they want to reduce the number of rapes in the United States, or limit a criminal's ability to flee the country and seek sanctuary elsewhere to avoid prosecution, but instead because it's juicy and celebrity-laden and its self-riteous viewers can be scandalized about a situation that most wouldn't care about otherwise if it weren't in their daily gossip columns. And by feeding into this frenzy we're not making rape any less shameful for those victimized, nor are we bringing awareness to the plight of those who have suffered at others' hands, we're just feeding into the celebrity-industrial tabloid complex and letting ourselves get to a fever pitch over someone many of us didn't even think about and hadn't thought about in some time before he was arrested in Switzerland.
I think justice should always be served. But this whole tedious frenzy about who is supporting him and who is not, and the villainizing of people who are supporting him, many of whom are doing so because of the political nature of his arrest rather than any stance they might have about rapists and the right of a victim to see their attackers go to trial, is a bit ludicrous. But I am commenting about this in a gossip column roundup item on a blog, so I suppose I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I just wish we could all take a moment and be more proactive about the positive things we would like to see come for this in terms of rape and the awareness people need to have about what constitutes it, how someone was hurt in a very real way and others continue to be hurt to this day, rather than all this celebrity worship/fallen idol horse shit. I wish I were more eloquent about this topic, which is why I've largely stayed out of these threads, but I just think we're all smarter than that.
@ampersandparade: I think this is getting coverage because it is a celebrity case, but it is also a sign of how rape cases in the media have changed things. 30 years ago Polanski could have gotten a short sentence, but its pretty unlikely he'd get a short sentence if it happened now. I don't really care which rapists they single out, making rape part of the public discourse is important and these salacious celeb stories push rape to the forefront.
@ampersandparade: For me, and I suspect many others, it's not an issue of " celebrity worship/fallen idol horseshit" but rather that these individuals have failed to understand that a child was raped and that the rapist should not be able to get away with it. It's the diminishment of and excusing of his crime w/bullshit about being a victim of crime himself, being a great artist, and about the allegedly mishandled prosecution & the judge when anyone with access to the internet can easily read the pre-sentencing transcript and see that when he plead guilty the sentence was yet to be determined & that he was fully aware of that fact. Additionally, any judicial foul play should be addressed through the appeals process & not by running away.
Also the pleas for compassion for his victim by not putting her through this ring hollow, Polanski could have put an end to her ordeal a long time ago by returning to the U.S. and being sentenced; instead, he chose to continue to make films knowing full well that whenever it was time to promote them that the case would come up and she would be re-victimized. It's not the state's relentless pursuit of justice which is without concern for her; rather, it is his continued evasion of it.
@ampersandparade: Perhaps a minor point, but you're wrong about the legal facts surrounding his plea. It wasn't that the prosecutor wasn't going to honor the deal. The judge was to sentence him after he did an in patient psych review. The judge was expected not to give him prison time but indicated before sentencing that he planned to, allegedly because he was given pictures of Polanski cavorting with underage girls.
The judicial misconduct here, even if it were sanctionable, which it may have been - would NOT warrant dismissal of the charges. They just probably would have brought a new judge in to sentence him.
The sad thing about this case is that the celebrity/genius angle is lessening the horror of an incredibly egregious crime. If some guy down the street drugged a 13 year old and raped her, he wouldn't have dozens of people signing a petition to free him after he eluded punishment for 30 years. This isn't a close call. This was rape, as clear as day. That this is even debatable is fucking disgusting.
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
Well, good to know all her previous concern about rape, particularly against children via trafficking, was just bullshit.
GTFO! I don't care if all these child rape supporters later claim, "Oh, I thought it was 'just sex' with a teen!" She was 13, fuckers! 13!
10/07/09
You can tell Kate is learning how to sound as reasonable as possible because nothing is private. Her email was awfully reasonable.
10/08/09
The other interesting tidbit on the video was that when asked if he had any plans for the girls' birthday, he said he was thinking about getting a cake or something. Cue my Amy voice "Really Jon?" Two days until the party and you are considering possibly a cake? I bet Kate had a cake ordered three weeks ago, birthday present shopping done 10 days ago (presents from her and the other kiddos), and is back at home getting the house ready for the party. Part of being a responsible parent is being aware of all the little things that have to get done, and getting them done.
10/08/09
The thing that bugs me the most is the "I own half the house, I can do what I waaaant..." crap. Threatening to stay longer than he is welcome seems really abusive to me. He has absolutely no understanding of how difficult/traumatic it might be for Kate to have to allow him into her home while she is there. His behavior this week has been so aggressive, so threatening, so self-righteous. I'm afraid he's turning into an abuser before our eyes.
10/08/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
Have any of you ever watched those honeymoon clips of Jon & Kate in Disneyland? It's so depressing. Obviously they were too young, their personalities don't match that well, w/e, but you have to wonder if they could have worked some of those things out if they had fewer children and didn't impose a media circus on their lives.
It's so depressing. I'm going to go eat a cookie.
10/07/09
10/07/09
As for Emma...I'm honestly emotionally wrecked. My role models have officially all come tumbling down.
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
Oh and on a semi-related note Ethan Coen's name has been removed from the petition.
Links to the 2 petitions going around hollywood
[www.sacd.fr]
[www.bernard-henri-levy.com]
10/08/09
10/08/09
Anyway, this issue continues to kill me a little every day. good times.
10/08/09
10/07/09
Jon Gosselin sitting on the ET panel with Donny Osmond and discussing who should be voted off Dancing with the Has-Beens is pretty much all the proof I need that the world is indeed ending in 2012.
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
10/07/09
Then I step back for a moment and realize that this is a singular event that took place thirty years ago that news outlets are only "caring" about NOT because they want to reduce the number of rapes in the United States, or limit a criminal's ability to flee the country and seek sanctuary elsewhere to avoid prosecution, but instead because it's juicy and celebrity-laden and its self-riteous viewers can be scandalized about a situation that most wouldn't care about otherwise if it weren't in their daily gossip columns. And by feeding into this frenzy we're not making rape any less shameful for those victimized, nor are we bringing awareness to the plight of those who have suffered at others' hands, we're just feeding into the celebrity-industrial tabloid complex and letting ourselves get to a fever pitch over someone many of us didn't even think about and hadn't thought about in some time before he was arrested in Switzerland.
I think justice should always be served. But this whole tedious frenzy about who is supporting him and who is not, and the villainizing of people who are supporting him, many of whom are doing so because of the political nature of his arrest rather than any stance they might have about rapists and the right of a victim to see their attackers go to trial, is a bit ludicrous. But I am commenting about this in a gossip column roundup item on a blog, so I suppose I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I just wish we could all take a moment and be more proactive about the positive things we would like to see come for this in terms of rape and the awareness people need to have about what constitutes it, how someone was hurt in a very real way and others continue to be hurt to this day, rather than all this celebrity worship/fallen idol horse shit. I wish I were more eloquent about this topic, which is why I've largely stayed out of these threads, but I just think we're all smarter than that.
Sorry for the schpeal guys.
10/07/09
10/07/09
Also the pleas for compassion for his victim by not putting her through this ring hollow, Polanski could have put an end to her ordeal a long time ago by returning to the U.S. and being sentenced; instead, he chose to continue to make films knowing full well that whenever it was time to promote them that the case would come up and she would be re-victimized. It's not the state's relentless pursuit of justice which is without concern for her; rather, it is his continued evasion of it.
10/07/09
The judicial misconduct here, even if it were sanctionable, which it may have been - would NOT warrant dismissal of the charges. They just probably would have brought a new judge in to sentence him.
The sad thing about this case is that the celebrity/genius angle is lessening the horror of an incredibly egregious crime. If some guy down the street drugged a 13 year old and raped her, he wouldn't have dozens of people signing a petition to free him after he eluded punishment for 30 years. This isn't a close call. This was rape, as clear as day. That this is even debatable is fucking disgusting.