'Ew' does not even begin to describe this...

The bad news is that my laptop is still all virused-up, but the good news is that I've opted to completely wipe out the hard drive and start over. So until that's done, my posting will still be scarce, but I have to share this story I heard today -- And I thought my computer was sick!

From Philadelphia Daily News:
Dad had gone out to get coffee and breakfast. Mom was helping their 4-year-old son on the toilet. Their 9-year-old daughter was playing Nintendo.

That was how the morning of Jan. 3 played out for the Wolfe family of Massachusetts inside Room 142 of the Homewood Suites in Mount Laurel, Burlington County. Soon, the Wolfes would pack up and finish their long drive home from Florida.

But, wait: The couple's 22-month-old son was supposed to be on the hotel's pull-out sofa, watching TV. Instead, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week in New Jersey, the toddler was choking on a used condom that had been left in their room before they checked in.

When Amy Wolfe heard her youngest child chewing and choking on the condom, she rushed over to help him and retrieved it from his mouth, but according to the lawsuit, the boy already had "ingested the contents."

[I won't be offended if you just threw up in your mouth a bit. And actually, if you don't think that's gross, pretend like you're that child and consider it one more time... That would be disgusting if it were your own --'stuff'-- but you just ate a lustful night between anonymous people. That thing was hanging out for God knows how long in the rollaway couch in what you considered to be a "nice" hotel.

Now, I was shocked to hear that this happened in Mt. Laurel, the town next to mine. So I thought, "Hmm, let me check this place out" and went to its Web site. Lo and behold, I'VE STAYED THERE.
The Wolfe family's lawsuit contends that Homewood Suites and its subsidiaries, Hilton and Blackstone, put the child at risk by subjecting him to an increased risk of contracting a "sexually transmitted disease, including HIV or AIDS, or some other, potentially life threatening, potentially fatal illness."

I guess Hilton hotels are just as skanky as the heiress herself?

Update: MySpace Murder

Updating a previous item:

A Missouri prosecutor said today that no charges would be filed in the case of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old girl who hung herself last year after a MySpace user told her the world would be a better place without her.

It was an 18-year-old girl working for Megan's neighbor who started the "Josh" account.

"There is no way that anybody could know that talking to someone or saying that you're mean to your friends on the Internet would create a substantial risk. It certainly created a potential risk and, unfortunately for the Meiers, that potential became reality. But under the law we just couldn't show that." -- St. Charles County, Missouri, Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas

Missouri's harassment statute says nothing about the Internet, and the stalking statute requires repeated conversations, so neither would apply in this case, Banas said.

Regardless, he said there is no doubt that parents should have stopped what was going on, and this does not mean that the responsible parties would not avoid punishment.

Freak show

Marilyn Manson is being legally confronted for being a heteroclite freak--shocking, I know.
Manson's keyboardist Stephen "Pogo" Bier filed a breach of contract lawsuit in August accusing "Dope Show" singer of taking cash belonging to the rest of the band...a buying "sick and disturbing" things.

Such as? According to the Bier's newest complaint, Manson bought Nazi memorabilia (including swastika wall tiles), African masks made of human skin, the full skeleton of a four-year-old Chinese girl and the full skeleton of a 17th-century male in a wheelchair. He also allegedly used funds to pay roadies to move suitcases filled with "Alice in Wonderland" books because he is obsessed with Lewis Carroll.

The best part of this story, though, is Manson's response:

"And I would never spend my money on a Chinese girl skeleton. That would be crossing the line. It's a Chinese boy, for the record," Marilyn Manson, to MTV News.

And a little fun fact about Manson: he is currently dating 19-year-old Evan Rachel Wood, the doe-eyed star of "Across the Universe." Odd couple much?


*Note (posted Feb. 5) - To my surprise, this post has been one of The Jerc Store's most viewed, and while I'm pretty much indifferent to Marilyn Manson and his music, I would just like to let everyone know that the word 'freak' is being used loosely here. In an admittedly sad attempt to be clever with my headlines, all I could muster was a reference to 'Dope Show.'

And I wasn't kidding when I said I loved his response to MTV News; it's hilarious! But personally, I think Marilyn Manson relishes in the fact that people call him a freak, that's why he says things like that, so I doubt he'd be offended by reading my post, though I'm sure he'd be happy to know that he has so many fans willing to defend him against the evil bloggers of the world.

Thank you for reading, and please visit my main page: www.thejercstore.com

MySpace murder?

A 13-year-old Missouri girl hanged herself after a MySpace relationship with a fabricated teenage boy went sour. What is incredibly sick about this story is who was behind the phony account.

Megan Meier's family is seeking justice against a neighborhood family responsible for their daughter's death in October of last year. The mother of one of Megan's former friends created the MySpace account to see what Megan was saying about her daughter.

The mother, her daughter and another adult had access to the account and created a user named Josh who befriended Megan and corresponded with her for more than a month. On Oct. 15, "Josh" told Megan he didn't want to be her friend anymore and bulletin's surfaced saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."

Megan, who suffered from ADD and depression, hanged herself Oct. 16 and died the next day.

This is disgusting to me. First of all, MySpace is ruining the lives of teenagers across the country. This thing is life to them, and in some cases, death. [read about a 17-year-old in California who posted his suicide note on MySpace]. What's worse, though, is that these are adults involved in this. Adults who are so obsessed with what their children are doing online, but didn't think twice about harrassing someone else's child.

Megan's parents want the people involved to be prosecuted and I hope they get their wish. Officials are looking to pass a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment, which could come before city leaders on Wednesday.

Thanks Dave!

It's always baseball season!

Two big big big breaking news story out of MLB tonight:

The grand jury of San Francisco indicted Barry Bonds today, which includes four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice and accuses him of lying when he said he didn't knowingly take steroids given to him by his personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

Anderson was being held in prison in contempt of court and was ironically released from prison today. There is no confirmation yet if the two events are connected.

Bonds' initial court appearance is set for Dec. 7 and he could potentially face 30 years in prison. Love it! Can't wait for his record to get that little star next to it, if not forfeited all together. I believe we've seen the last of Barry Bonds on the diamond.


Also in baseball, Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees have agreed to the outline of a 275 million, 10-year contract, less than a month after he opted out of his former contract. Hi foot in the mouth. You know what? A-Rod is the guy you hate when he's not on your team; so, like thousands of Yankee fans who cursed his championship-killing skills and non-clutch seasons in New York prior to 2007, but will welcome him back with open arms in the spring, I'm quite baffled. But hey, another 54-home run season is fine with me.

Say ahhhhh

A dentist with a love for dance nearly killed a patient in New York.

Dr. George Trusty (hello ironic name), a dentist at Syracuse Community Health Center, was drilling Brandy Fanning's left molar when "Car Wash" came on the radio and he began his toe-tappin'.

Suddenly, the drill bit snapped off and lodged itself in her mouth. The dentist used a metal hook to pull it out, but only pushed it farther up, driving it through the sinus and bone near her eye socket. Trusty told her she'd probably just sneeze it out, but was later told in the emergency that if she had sneezed, she could have been blind in her left eye.

Fanning said she sued Trusty because failed on a promise to pay her medical bills. She said she still suffers facial swelling, nerve damage and chronic infections and the case is pending.

Dr. Doom

Updating a previous item: Dr. Jan Adams, the doctor who performed Donda West's fatal cosmetic surgery, has been the target of a blast of backlash today.

For the nitty-gritty details, click on the designated links; I have less of a vested interest in this than other blogs, especially because I've grown to despise Kanye West in the last few weeks, but I think this is a good example of how star power and modern technology can be used to ruin someone's life while simultaneously saving the lives of Dr. Adams' potential clients.

Reports are alleging that Dr. Adams, who is not board certified with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, is an alcoholic who has also previously:

• Been arrested for DUI
• Been sued for sexual assault after getting a patient drunk after surgery and impregnating her
• Left a sponge in a breast augmentation patient
  
• Had a patient nearly bleed to death

Most importantly, reports are showing that Dr. Adams mishandled Ms. West's surgery.

Interesting enough, there is not an inch of damage control on Dr. Adam's Web site. This looks like it could potentially turn into the court case of the year, especially with K-West on the offense.

"Walgreens: The pharmacy America trusts"...but probably not for long

Though I love highlighting asinine lawsuits, this one is a bit more serious and extremely tragic. A Missouri woman and her husband are suing Walgreens after the woman's pharmacist allegedly gave her an incorrect prescription and she suffered a miscarriage. She filled a prescription for prenatal vitamins, but instead received a similarly named medicine used to treat Hodgkin's disease, a drug designed to inhibit the growth and reproduction of cells.


My initial reaction was to blame the pharmacist for carelessly filling "Matulane" instead of "Materna." But it may not be the pharmacist's fault if the doctor's handwriting was chickenscratch--as they so often are--and the name was illegible. Still, is that even a legitimate excuse if pharmacists are supposed to be exact in their procedure? And shouldn't some blame fall on the woman for not reading the drug information that comes with any prescription and recommends that you read before use?

A Walgreens spokeswoman said the situation is being reviewed and they are sorry the miscarriage happened, but no blame has been taken at this time.

I know no amount of money can make up for losing a child, and his woman did act somewhat irresonsibly in not reading the label and usage info, but I still think the majority of the blame rests on the pharmacist.

And if that's the way the court rules, someone is S.O.L for ever finding work ever again.