The First Monday In October

I believe the issues in this film are not only still relevant today but even more so then they were at the time it was produced. I do believe that there is a huge difference between one’s personal beliefs and the law. On a personal level I am not a huge fan of pornography, however, I do not believe that gives me the right to tell any other individual what he or she can or cannot watch. The issues stemming from pornography generally have to do with children being accidently exposed to it. Because of the internet children generally have an easier time accessing pornographic material. While I do understand the position of the conservatives and I can empathize with them, my beliefs relating to censorship strongly outweigh the alleged negatives to allowing such content to exist. I believe everyone has a right to express themselves even if I do not like what they feel they need to express. Now with all that being said I do think that there can be a middle ground so to speak. I am pretty sure that’s where we are at legally today. Any pornographic websites or movies require you to verify that you are over the age of 18 before you are allowed to enter or view their content. Also for parents they can turn on various forms of parental blocking controls which will limit the content that their children are allowed to view. So this compromise is more than fair for both parties, the pornography industry is allowed to continue uncensored and parents have a way to protect their children from accidental exposure.

Movie Pacific Heights

In the movie, pacific heights, the landlords should have picked up on a multitude of signs from the renter that he would be a bad tenant. First of all he refused to fill out any type of credit check or application. That should have been a red flag right from the start that he was hiding something. His reasoning for not filling out the credit application was of course another warning which the landlords should have picked up on. If he really did work for a trust then they should have had no problem getting a reference from his employer. Another warning sign was him offering to pay cash advance of six months worth of rent money. He was obviously trying to lure in the landlord with the promise of high sums of money to cover up his lack of real credibility. The stupidest mistake that the landlords made was not taking any type of security deposit and forcing him to sign a lease before he actually moved into the apartment. The morning that they found him in the apartment without signing any type of legal lease agreement they should have asked him to leave until he met their terms. In any typical lease agreement the owners or leasing agents always require a deposit and usually the first and last month’s rent paid up front before they allow the tenant to move in. I understand that these people we’re ignorant to the laws, however, that ignorance does not make the laws and rights of the tenant invalid. As soon as they decided to rent out the apartments on the lower level they should have done their homework and become aware of what rights, limitations, and liabilities they took on as landlords.

Greed is Good

So I don’t think I agree with that statement one hundred percent, but I do not believe it to be absolutely false either. For example, a lot of people believe that money is the root of all evil; I however, would contend that the love of money is the root of most evil. In the movie Wall Street during his second speech the character Geco spoke about how the top one percent of America’s wealthy own over fifty percent of its wealth. The value of the dollar will go up and go down but one thing will always remain at a relatively high value and that’s real property. “Real property, sometimes referred to as real estate, is land and all articles permanently attached to it, such as buildings and trees.” (Essentials of Business Law, Luizzo Pg. 199) People like to look for their own version of the American dream, and strive for ways to achieve that dream. We think we live in a system designed to give people the rights and freedoms that are unprecedented in a historical context, but if you look at American capitalism and its foundations I believe that it was set up to create the illusion of freedom. All the checks and balances and staggered rotation of senate and house elections were put into place to prevent wide spreading popular sweeping change. With our system of government it is almost impossible for a popular idea to be passed into law unless it is backed and will benefit that top one percent of the countries wealthy. Those are the people that want you to fight for your American dream on the outside while quietly and covertly influencing policies that insure you probably never will. “The concept of private property is one of the foundations of our economic and social system. The laws of our country recognize the right of individuals to own property.” (Essentials of Business Law, Luizzo Pg. 199) To put it simply the founding fathers of this country were all land holders and wealthy people, they didn’t break away from English rule for any other fundamental reason other than greed. They felt over taxed and unfairly represented in parliament. I find it a little ironic that today most Americans find themselves in a very similar situation. I’m not saying that greed is good or even that greed is bad, but that the choices an individual makes based on greed are what defines whether greed is good or bad.

Smash Me (Unnamed) AI Faculty Member Doll

Everyone has a professor that they don’t see eye to eye with. Every student, at one point or another, feels unhappy with their grades or an assignment. Instead of fighting with a teacher or arguing about grading scales or systems just smash up the doll and relieve some stress. I can think of at least one Professor that I would love to have a smash up replica of.

Myspace Hoax Responses

“What’s even troublesome to me is that fact that Megan’s parents gave her the permission to have an online romance with a sixteen year old boy in the first place. The girl was only thirteen years old. Flip Beats Productions”



Yea I have to agree with you here; I can’t even imagine having my 13 year old engaged in any kind of romance, especially an online romance with a 16 year old boy. That does raise a bit of a question of how much responsibility did the parents assume for what happened?



“Had the creator been another teenage girl, the incident still would have been sickening but not quite has harsh as it seems due to the fact that the profile was created by another teenage girl's MOTHER. Love in the Sky Designs”



Absolutely the act itself was horrible but the fact that a grown woman would be so heartless is very sad. It really makes me wonder if she is even fit to raise her own child.



“It’s quite a relief that Drew will be facing sentences from probation to a year in prison and a fine of $100,000 for every misdemeanor account. RO Vegas Design”



I was actually a little bit annoyed that she was only facing that much prison time. She knew what she was doing was wrong and in my eyes should be considered attempted murder. If we can lock up doctors for assisted suicide then I don’t see how this can be considered any less heinous.



“In my own personal opinion I think this woman should be shot. What kind of 49 year old immature “bitch” would do such a thing to a 13 year old girl?! The Zero Star”




Well I agree with how horrible this situation was, death may be a bit extreme! I do however appreciate the outrage and I find myself just as confused as you when it comes to who could possibly do such a thing. Capital punishment usually ends up costing tax payers a lot more in the long run then life in prison.

Crimes & Torts list

Group Members: Anthony Ter Avest, Theo, Michelle, Jesus, Geo.
The list of crimes from the ending sequence of the movie Used Cars.
1. False Advertising
2. Slander
3. Conspiracy
4. Assault and Battery
5. Bribery
6. Destruction of Property
7. Tampering with Witnesses
8. Contempt of Court
9. Under aged Minors driving.
10. Speeding
11. Attempted Murder
12. Endangerment of a Minor
13. Misrepresentation
14. Sexual Harassment
15. Gambling
16. Perjury
17. Reckless Driving
18. Leaving the sight of an accident
19. Driving the wrong way
20. Tail-Gating Unregistered Vehicles

GTA Lawsuit

The lawsuit involving the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in my opinion, is much more of a moral issue. The games manufacturer Rockstar Games clearly hid specific scenes in the games content to avoid the adult only rating. From the point of view of Rockstar Games it’s a smart tactic, they claim that the hidden content was never intended to be released in the full retail version just that it slipped by. Most major retail companies do not carry or sell games rated higher then mature. So if in fact it could be proven that they knowingly released this content and hid it to avoid the Adult Only rating then they should be held accountable. The only other legal argument one could use would be negligence but when dealing with that amount of code I would think that would be hard to prove as well. Because this content was hidden or slipped by they were able to obtain that mature rating and therefore have their game sold at Wal-mart and Target and other retail giants.
In my opinion kids are exposed to far worse things on HBO and other cable networks every single night, if the grandmother catches her grandson watching HBO at night she can’t sue HBO for exposing her grandson to sexual content. I’m sure if the grandmother followed her grandson around for a day and was able to witness every little thing he was exposed to, that could possibly have a negative impact on him, she would have to employ a full team of lawyers to keep up with the lawsuits. I understand that she feels Rockstar Games violated the ratings system and therefore exposed her grandson to sexual content, but I find it a bit ludicrous considering she knowingly purchased the game which involved murder and other violent crimes as well as implied sexual content. I don’t feel that she has any right to seek any monetary compensation from Rockstar Games. However, I do feel that she has the right to make sure they re-classify the game under Adult Content, which has already been done. If her motives for the lawsuit were purely of moral reasoning then she should feel she has won, and therefore not be seeking anything other than compensation for her legal fees.

MySpace Hoax

The case involving the MySpace hoax, which resulted in a young girl ending her own life, is a pretty sad situation. I find it really funny that the case ended up being taken up by federal prosecutors from Los Angeles, instead of local authorities in her own state. To me this case seems to be a clear case of slander. Slander being defined as “the spreading of damaging words or ideas about a person, directly or indirectly, in all other forms not considered libel.” (Essentials of Business Law, Luizzo, pg 45) The mother that created the MySpace account had the intent to slander the already emotionally fragile girl. The rationalizations behind why she chose to create the account and harass the girl are irrelevant. Maybe she did not intend for the girl to kill herself but she did however intend to do the girl harm. She posted publicly viewable bulletins on MySpace calling her names and saying all kinds of things that were not true. “Slander includes spoken words, gestures, actions and even omissions. Most cases of slander involve thoughtless statements that reflect on another person’s good name and reputation.” (Essentials of Business Law, Luizzo, pg 47) I am glad to see that the family of the girl did get some sort of justice even if it involved stretching the laws. I just wish they would have been able to come down harder on the woman, in my opinion she knew there was a possibility that this girl could do something bad to herself. Even if she didn’t pull the trigger herself, as she exclaimed to reporters, she definitely handed the girl a loaded weapon and pointed it in the right direction. So she should be held mostly responsible, as well as her accomplices.

Week 1 Assignment: Lawyers

I think lawyers get a bad rap most of the time in this country. Sure some of them are creeps that prey on accident victims and chase ambulances, but every profession has its jerks. I view lawyers like I do any other profession in this country, 10% of them are really bad at their job, 10% are really good at their job, and the other 80% are just average. Let’s take doctors for example; most people don’t view doctors and lawyers in the same light even though they do very similar things. Lawyers chase ambulances to get clients to sue people for money. Some doctors prey on those very same people and will work with the lawyers to find any condition, whether its pre-existing or not, to make their case and get paid. In fact those kind of doctors love injury cases involving a lawyer because they don’t have to hassle with an insurance company for payment, they lawyer pays them in cash usually when treatment is rendered. Let’s not forget the amount of drug companies that work hand in hand with doctors to “make sure that patients have all the best drugs available at the time”, regardless of whether they may actually need them or not. I’m not saying all doctors fit this description, but do all lawyers fit the description of ambulance chasers??? Or sleaze ball divorce attorneys? Making generalizations about any field of work is usually a bad idea, so why don’t people think about that before they slap that stigma onto lawyers?