You take an ad from an idiot, you suggest live on the air of your cable news program that your female guest come to your office to pose for nude photos. Everyone makes choices that, in retrospect, look a less than completely thought through. For example:
A mom in Tacoma, WA has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Social Security Administration and state agencies of about $280,000 in disability benefits over 20-odd years by coaching her children to pretend to be retarded. The son pleaded guilty, too, and agreed to repay $59,000, the amount his mom had received in the 10 years since he turned 18. That's about $492/mo. [cnn via dt reader ponch]
A mom in Pueblo, CO was arrested for selling her 5-month old son for cash and a down payment on a used Dodge Intrepid. The buyers were also arrested. The guy says he was trying to help the woman, who lived with them, and offered to take the baby instead of her putting up for adoption. [fox via consumerist]
Seriously, Fox is like the Babystealing Network. This was in June 2006. A "wealthy" "Dallas-area" woman and her cousin had first offered to buy a 7-week-old baby for $6,000 whent hey saw him with her 17-yo mom in a store. Subsequently, she said she said, signed something, relinquished parental rights, humina humina, they drive off with the kid several visits later, and get charged with kidnapping. [fox/ap]
A blogger whose site has the initials DT does an interview with NY Magazine's sex-turned-parenting columnist about "gatekeeper dads." A few weeks later, he's in print calling himself a "momblocker." Silly grup. [nymag]
Do they hand out performance bonuses at New York Magazine for coining irritating catch-phrases?
Apparently, they told everyone but you that you were allowed to have your name changed for the article...