Reach out and defame someone

It was reported Friday in the Pioneer Press that two teenagers in Hudson, Wis., have been charged with defamation after allegedly distributing a collage of explicitly nude photographs of a girl they apparently ...

[Labrat]

Right on Joe! I can't imagine the being tethered to a cell phone at all times. It just seems so silly. Droning on about cell phones in cars has lost any credibility, even if the original justification I imagined (conversations including "Cut the blue wire!" or "Please don't jump!") never materialized. They have been replaced with, "Watcha doin now?" and "I'm almost three feet away, watcha doin?" Thanks for the tirade, it hit home. I am pressured to carry a cell from time to time, but mostly unsuccessfully. So far I am oblivious to the vibrator mode that the borrowed unit always to be set on, and if the "ON" mode times out and it turns off, I can never manage to turn it back on.

Regarding the pictures and posters. All of the kids are idiots, and the incident seems ludicrous. Once the girl put her picture into cyberspace, it becomes as public as a myspace page. She is terminally naive, and a little naughty too. I'm sure that I'd like her, but it's too bad that she had to buy such an expensive education. The boys are stupid too, but all should go home with no punishment.

[Saverino]

This is a very well-written column and I can certainly agree with the sentiments expressed in it. At the Saverino house when the telephone rings, I shout "Someone answer it, because it's not for me!". I avoid cell phones. I believe those who drive while chattering away on cell phones should be stopped, dragged out of their vehicles and subject to the will of the people. I will never learn text-messaging. Uploading and downloading photos? I leave it to the Department of Homeland Security and their adversaries (real or imagined).

But unfortunately, Fearless Joe is being less than honest. He replies on the telephone, LOTS of telephones, for his income. He is not only the intrepid journalist and molder of public opinion we find at the Pioneer Press. He also presides over a "talk show" broadcast over radio. He chats with listeners who "call in". There's even a toll-free 800 number so we know exactly how serious things are. On the telephone, on the air, he presides over The Big Garage. Unplug those phones and Fearless Joe's income may drop, as the Hubbard Family business is less prone to nostalgia than the Pioneer Press.

Good luck!