Balloon Boy's Bailout

Having captivated the news media and the lives of hundreds of thousands of observers for over two hours, do the “Balloon Boy’s” parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, deserve a “pass”?

Yesterday, October 22, 2009, mom Mayumi, filed an affidavit with the local court regarding what was suspected all along—that it was all a hoax, according to CNN. To the average person confession would be the morally correct action. Even when faced, as the Heenes are, with an investigation by Child Protection Services, concerning the home life of Falcon (age 6) and his two older brothers, despite the comment from defence lawyer David Lane,

 

And it gets worse. The adult Heenes could face felony charges—conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and attempting to influence a public servant, i.e. the sheriff. There is also a misdemeanour charge of filing a false police report.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved. Diane Spitaliere stated that the F.A.A. is

The F.A.A. regulates the flying of balloons and kites within five miles of an airport.

In addition, authorities are planning to seek  “restitution expenses”  for the local police services, federal services, use of a tracking helicopter, damage done to the farmer’s field where the balloon was caught, hours spent by searchers for Falcon, and various other civil charges totalling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Even though it is comparing oranges to empty kites, are not others in the process of receiving a pass, also?

Octomom, Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman Guitierrez, who delivered the now famous eight babies on January 26 of this year, nine weeks early, is hoping, and investigating her own reality television show.  

It is her doctor who faces the consequences. Dr. Michael Kamrava, who performed the in vitro fertilization, was removed from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The report adds,

This is still pending. At present, Nadya has her own website at least (but there are concerns about the webhosting company and computer threats). She received her pass.

Reality show parents, Jon and Kate Gosselin, whose program was to highlight their eight children, in this its third season, deals with the reality of parental divorce in the public square. This has raised concerns about the welfare of the children. Their uncle, Kevin Kreider says,

The question, “Has any money been set aside in trust funds for each of the kids?” is now being considered.  Bonnie Gosselin states,

But, Gosselin does not include Jon and Kate’s eight in this fortunate group.

The TLC couple may have had a television show and fame, but they also lost their marriage, their show, positive public opinion, and perhaps the emotional well-being of their children. That is the reality. So far Jon and Kate have not been given a pass.

We are waiting to see if the powerful in Hollywood can influence the justice system enough to drop rape charges against director Roman Polanski, husband of the late Sharon Tate, murdered by the Manson Family in 1969. The arrest warrant for Polanski is still valid, in spite of the passing of 31 years since the incident with a 13 year old victim. Facing the 1977 charges, Polanski imposed a self-exile to Europe, where, in Switzerland, he was recently arrested and faces extradition back to America. Will he ultimately receive a pass?

And so, the Jon and Kate’s 15 minutes of fame is fleeting. The celebrity “wanna-bes” played the game of Monopoly and received the “Do not collect $200 or TV contract card”. Perhaps the “Go to Jail” card waits in the wings of this latest drama instead of a pass.