Yes, there are a lot of inconsistencies in this story; and I'm not sure what to believe yet. I'm sure that if I were in that kind of harrowing situation, though, I would be hard-pressed to string 3 intelligible words together!

This part I DO believe:

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The boy would have had to climb up on a dresser, then a couple boxes, then climb up two boards to get into the attic. No stairs.

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When my little brother was 6 my mother caught a lizard in a jar while we were at school, thinking he would be interested in that type of thing. We walked in - she said, "Look what I found for you..." He took one look, GASPED, and took off running out to the garage... shinnied up everything he could find to end up on the highest rafter; and would not come down until we assured him that that 'liz-uh-rud' was probably in the next county.

I'm sure there must be a logical explanation to something like that Verbonica. However, when he was showing how it could be done, he was unable to do it. Of course adrenalin at the time of the incident could have been an explanation for physical adeptness. The whole story just sounds like it gets changed every time the Dad is interviewed. On the other hand, I just saw on CNN that the Sheriff believes the story. As for me, I think by this point in time, with all the media attention (and possibly exaggeration) it's going to be hard to tell what is the truth and what isn't.

Good heavens ! "Daddy-O" (short for, perhaps, "Daddy Odd"?) rushed out of his house -- in the middle o' the night, no less -- to tell the media that was still hanging around out there that "he had a *big announcement* to make today". Dude is so up to something that it's ridiculous! He's now calling press conferences ? And it's working! They broke into the regular news today to say all this, and to announce that there'd be "updates as they occur". Goody. I, for one, will be glued to the set. Honest note: the sad truth, however, is that I probably will sit here, waiting ~ grudgingly .

Just as long as no one under 4 feet tall vomits in a bucket again, I suppose it'll be a kick watching this doofus make an even bigger fool of himself, though ...

And who didn't see THIS coming?

BREAKING NEWS: COLORADO SHERIFF SAYS CRIMINAL CHARGES WILL BE FILED IN 'BALLOON BOY' CASE
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33340547/ns/us_news-life/

Egads! Yikes! This is what happens when one tries to teach children to lie. This family just seems to be not on the very nice side.

From CNN.com: "Charges have not been filed, but authorities expect to recommend felony charges including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant, Alderden said. They also plan to recommend a charge of filing a false police report, which is a misdemeanor."

Felony charges. Delinquency of a minor. What people will do to get attention. I just don't understand it. And to add insult to injury, the Sheriff lied to the media! See cnn.com. In my opinion, saying nothing would have been better. Of course the sheriff might not have been able to ferret out the truth!

Edited to add: "Alderman said the ACLU was representing the family, but the ACLU didn't return messages left Sunday." Sheesh! (For those who are not aware, ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union.) Puh-leez! What Civil Liberties are they protecting? I just don't get it.

So it has been officially declared a hoax. I'm not surprised at all. I think an example needs to be made of the parents. Since we do live in the reality-television era, should we expect to see more lame publicity stunts in hopes of nabbing a t.v. show? The parent's punishment in this case needs to be harsh enough to deter others from committing similar hoaxes. Even if they do receive a stiff penalty, I'm sure there is someone out there stupid enough to try something like this again.

On a lighter note, here is the original "Balloon Boy" aka Lawnchair Larry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBiZiV6jZLc

What a nutcase! That could have been very nasty if a plane hit him, it could have brought it down.

It just goes to show that there have been nutcases around for a while! I actually remember that incident from when it happened, but I hadn't linked the two.

Getting back to the current balloon boy case, originally I didn't think it was a set up and I wondered why people were so quick to judge the parents. Now that I've looked at the "rap video" that the parents made the kids do, the few seconds of video of when the "balloon escaped," and the father's lame behavior when his kid said "we did this for the show" on CNN... I must say it does look like these parents are looking for publicity and a meal ticket through the scripted "antics" of their kids. How sad.

This story just goes on and on. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is investigating because the balloon was too light to show up on radar. (And now the FAA says they never got a call from him.) What was this guy thinking! USA channel was scheduled to show a re-run of the first Wife Swap episode and they have pulled that. It seems this guy has dug a really big hole for himself. He surely blew whatever brain he had when he pulled this stunt. I really like the idea that he may be charged with "Contributing to the delinquency of a minor." (I wonder if his son or he is the delinquent.) Had he tried this stunt on April Fool's day people might have laughed it off as a prank.

Odd...very odd.

Well, the parents are pleading guilty to "offenses for creating a hoax that their son had flown away in a large balloon." Full story here. The prosecutor is recommending probation. And this all involves the threat to deport her since she is a citizen of Japan. They are thinking of the children. Too bad the parents did'nt think of the children when they cooked up this scheme.

Finding myself awake in the wee hours, I turned on the TV, and watched a rerun episode of The Bernie Mac Show. I don't know the date the show ran for the first time, but long before Balloon Boy...
The episode was about Jordan, who was having a party for his 10th birthday. Long story short, part of the entertainment was balloon rides for the kids...Jordan was accidently let go in the balloon, and drifted 400 miles with Bernie and company racing after him, on the road.
On the side of the balloon, was a HUGE alien face! Coincidence?

Balloon Boy's parents were sentenced today. I think they got off too easy, but at least we won't have to hear about them for four years.


http://www.sphere.com/nation/article/bal...nced%2F19292400

It is a pity that they might make money from it in four years time. Perhaps they ought to be billed for the cost of the 'rescue'.

I think they got off to easy, too. I don't think they knew or cared how terrible we all felt that one of their children might be in that balloon. Thank goodness he wasn't, but shame on the parents for what they did. Now they will have time to reflect on how bad it really was.

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Perhaps they ought to be billed for the cost of the 'rescue'.

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And from the article:

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Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lewis also asked for full restitution to reimburse authorities for the cost of investigating the hoax - an amount that could exceed $50,000.

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And that's just the cost of investigating. Doesn't include the cost of the search ($49,000 per a CNN article -- which I believe is low). Doesn't look as though that is going to happen. Both the adults should be required to do community work for a long, long time to come, in my opinion.

Sorry, but I think this guy (and his wife) deserves whatever the law can throw at them. And we won't even discuss telling the children to lie. This whole thing makes me sick to my stomach. That's my point of view, and I'm stickin' to it!