Why would you leave a message like this for your daughter.  As the father of a daughter, all I can say is this is child abuse.  Where are the protectors from this type of verbal assualts on a child.  

This is sickening.

He certainly displayed less maturity than an average 11 year old child and he certainly has an ego that is far bigger than his brain. What he needs is a good old fashioned thrashing out behind the woodshed. I'd give him a lifetime membership in Moron's Anonymous too.

who released the recording to the press. I bet there was some uncessful negotiating before it was released. Can you imagine the amount of hatred that exists between all the parties.

The tape was leaked by attorneys for Kim Basinger despite the court imposed gag order.

This does not excuse Baldwins behavior, which was reprehensible, and it certainly highlights the sleaze factor surrounding Basinger and her attorney.

The real loser here, as always, is the child.

But let's face facts here... none of us would have known a thing if it had been one of us.

Our insatiable need for vicariousness has led to papparazzi and all those inquiring minds are doing is tilting futher the priorities of our society to one of shallow superficiality and utter banality.

There's no way I can condone Alec Baldwin's behavior, however, I can understand how a father can become irate when his ex-wife is thwarting contact with his child or poisoning their relationship.  He's in a very emotionally charged situation and people do a lot worse in custody and visitation cases.  It was probably his ex-wife who took the step of releasing the audio to media outlets.  That makes her as bad as him.  Again, I  understand how she can feel she's justified in doing so.  But that doesn't make it right.

But the worst player in this entire episode is the media.  How the fuck does anyone feel that they need to broadcast or post the voice mail message where the entire world can hear it?  Very often the media needs to make difficult judgment calls on whether they should make material pubic, such as the dissemination of the videos made by the Virginia shooter. You could say it helps everyone see the warning signs of someone who is going to do something awful so that there can be an intervention.  I also think the images of the wounded or dead in  Iraq should be shown so that we understand the real cost of war.

But can anyone think of any possible way that the public is served by the public dissemination of this voice mail message?
The people at the various media outlets who made the message public do not have an emotional investment in the situation.  They are guided soley by their thirst for money. Money, money, money.

I think it's time that we all take a step back and reconsider what is important in life and what motivates us.

just smacked her if she got out of line. That is what is wrong with kids today. Parents would rather verbally abuse them rather than the most humane thing which is a slap across the face.

I mean, they do everything else for the family, don't they?

I have a very very heavy family bible and I strike my daughter with it across the back of the head when she defies me.

you should take the liberal approach and instill fear in her and demean her.

That'll teach em'

to stone Henry Hyde's family to death.

What an excellent example of an unhinged liberal.

Or at least not the liberal version of PC.

should be over.

He is a disgrace.

...I also don't think they would hurt her in any way either.... (unless of coures she were an athiest, then the 10 Commandments would have the same effect as garlic on a vampire... LMAO!)

If anything, political liberals usually tend to be too lenient.

"get the picture" - which is what I find most troubling about Jeramy Bender and Z's posts.  They are so interested in looking for defective trees, that they fail to see that there is a healthy forest in front of them.

And while I can respect your position of a specific religious belief, I use a specific religion to house my religious belief.... which is far more complex and rich than the church would allow... Which is what gets me in "trouble" when it comes to "intelligent design" or creationism... or evolution....

message for his 11 yr. old daughter was lenient?  Wow, how magnanimous of you.  

As a divorced father, who's ex is not exactly the pillar of truth and common sense, at least neither of us have resorted to using our kids as a surrogate punching bag for each other.

As a professor, I taught something like 10 or so pre-vet students - and all were accepted into vet school.  One student though I had my doubts about.  I caught him mishandling a cat in the lab one day.  I quietly pulled him aside and told him that if ever again I witness that type of behavior - I would make it very public... and while I never again witnessed the behavior, years later, I found out that he had been arrested for spousal abuse (assault and battery).

Quite frankly, abuse and torture of other living beings is a behavior pattern that once begun, seems to know no bounds.  Let's face it - Baldwin abused Bassinger, and now he is starting on his kid... Abusive behavior knows no political bounds... but whatever you do, don't get in a car with a Kennedy, don't let your daughter intern for Clinton, well, you get the picture... oh, there are plenty of Repubs that are that way also,

But my point in posting is that this behavior is neither lenient nor strict, it is ABUSIVE.

-- Modified on 4/22/2007 3:15:06 AM

that can be gleened from the core message in Beatitudes/Sermon on the Mount. In fact, Enmmit Fox wrote a book by the same name that offers points of view that are unconventional and quite useful

Also, according to conservatives, liberals are supposed to be "Slouching Towards Gommorah, remember?  Not harsh, no guard-rails, fuzzy hearted, over-respectful of their kid's self-esteem?  

In other words, it was irony and sarcasm directed toward both Baldwin and the strawmen.  I thought any reasonable person could have put that together, but as usual, you don't.

Even if those are strawmen, Baldwin is a disgrace.   A liberal equivalent to Bill Bennet and Newt Gingrich.

you do seem to be somewhat attached to liberal leaders, no matter how deranged they are.  In other words, you do not exhibit any critical thinking towards the left... only the right.  Go back and read my posts, I question the right, as much as the left - and I certainly do not support the very lopsided approach of many of our supposed "intellectual and political neutral" organizations... such as the news media (right or left), academia, think tanks supported by one or another cause.

While you just accept.

The Clintons?  Edward Kennedy?  Joe Biden?  No, liberals and no leaders there.  Can't call Obama one yet.  Al Gore? Maybe someday.  Michael Moore?  Very liberal, not a leader, a guy with opinions. Al Franken? Same thing  Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton?  ROTFLMAO!  

These are all either centrists or not influential enough.  You see, I question them. That leaves bloggers.  In which there is nothing but questioning right now.

You gotta have liberal leaders to question them.  So, I can't think of any liberal leaders.

Being a liberal is all about critical thinking, about trying to improve on what's there and questioning authority. Both liberals and economic conservatives today would have been considered enlightened liberals in the 19th century.  The split between them comes over capitalism: where Econ-Conservatives think you can't improve on it, whereas liberals think it is possible to improve, and are hopeful for it.  Social and overlap conservatives are a different species, but I won't go into that now.      

Lopsided: now I'm not going to question one liberal for each conservative I question just so I could be pompous about my fairness-- as you are being here. Since I find conservatism very questionable, of course I'm going to question conservatives more.  I was once a conservative who asked questions. Then I became a centrist who asked questions. Now I'm definitely a liberal because I asked questions.

I've changed a lot of my opinions because of it, and changed many right on this board. So you can't say I'm not fair.

My daughter now wishes to live with me 100% of the time - because she rarely sees her mom and her stepdad is somewhat opressive... as far as my son goes, he now has a much better picture of me, and loves what he sees in comparison to the alternative... In short - I am strict - but fair.  others are looney and irresponsible.

NOSC - you're probably a great mom!  Sounds like you have perspective.