Yeah, I definitely think the law should be changed too. But as long as it's the law now, it should be followed and it makes me mad that she's getting off with nothing (kind of like her dad with the DUI??)

Am I wrong? I heard no charges were being filed. Hmmm, could it have ANYTHING to do with the fact that she's the president's daughter? I don't know anyone else with 2 offenses in a row that would get off this easy!!

Yeah, I had to wonder if Jenna is a little slow mentally too. I mean, if you JUST got caught MIP last month, you'd think you'd avoid breaking the law for a LITTLE while, or at least do it on the DL. She was asking for trouble, I think!!

ummm . . . every MIP i've ever heard of, both at home and at school, resulted in a $50 fine (or so) and not much else, as long as you were over 18 . . . this includes one from a friend who got caught w/ 3 kegs in the back of his suburban (in high school - smart kid . . . ), although now that i think about it he got a $500 fine b/c of some keg law - the grocery store they were from got a much tougher penalty. either way, simple MIP was fifty bucks straight up, no service or anything, no real court as long as you paid the ticket (for first offenses).

I guess the point is that I don't know that she got any special treatment at all - community service? For MIP? That's unheard-of a lot of places; it's a misdemeanor, that usually means a fine (see traffic tickets, etc) or something else light. Misrepresentation of age or fake ID? OK, now we're talking heavy fines or service time, but what do you want? Jail time for minor in possession? I don't think that's feasible - and what else is there? fines, and community service. That's about it. just my dime, from experience w/ that sorta ticket (although not really first-hand, thankfully!)

THANK YOU KSig. I was beginning to think that everyone thought that people should do time in prison for an MIP! Nobody gets more than a fine or community service, so I don't think the president's daughters are getting special treatment!

Charges were filed... Barb, MIP, and Jenna, using false identification. Barb likely will get a $500 fine, community service, and an alcohol awareness program. Jenna will face harsher punishment because it's her second offense (it's likely that she will lose her license for 90 - 120 days).

My question is, why is this news? According to local press (I'm in Austin, TX), the only newspaper around that isn't covering the case is the "Daily Texan" which is the UT student run newspaper. Congratulations to them. Is it news when any other student faces the same charges.... come on, it's a class C misdemeanor. Did she (jenna) use bad judgment? Yes. Is it news? No.

Does anyone see some kind of ironic parallel here between this situation and the movie Traffic? Remember, the guy was the head of the DEA and his daughter was a total crack fiend? Now, the President of the US, who should be all about following our nation's laws and protecting citizens (among his many other duties) has a daughter that cannot seem to follow the law (although I admit, it's not like she's been caught freebasing). but, then again, the daughter in Traffic was somehow smart (or lucky) enough not to be caught by the authorities, like Jenna has 2 times in 5 weeks!!

BTW, thanks for the answer AlphaXiGirl. The reason it is news, IMO, is that she is the President's daughter (the irony I pointed out above). Just like why it's news when any celebrity does anything...like when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston got married, or when Matthew Perry ran into someone's Hollywood home (and wasn't under the influence). But, what Jenna did was not only something people want to hear about, it's a purposeful disobediance of the law (and I'll say ti again...2 times in 5 weeks!!). And like I heard a journalist say last night on CNBC, if a police report is filed, it's news, it's their job to report it. End of story. As long as it's something people want to know about, too, it will be reported. If Jenna doesn't like it, she should consider becoming an activist against it, or maybe...uh...just follow the law???

[This message has been edited by SuperXO (edited June 01, 2001).]

how many people do you know that got arrested for attempting to buy alcohol with a fake??? in every case i've ever heard of if they get caught be the seller, they take the id and send them on their way. the only time the cops "should" and i use that term loosely, be called, is if they were at the restaurant, someone else had a drink, and they gave it to them. but even then most places would just kick them out. 911? get real...

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

Maybe it's because I am in Austin but this was the LEAD STORY on the morning news???? It's listed at a "top story" on Foxnews.com. Okay, there's history being made in Congress, there are wars being fought overseas, US hostages have been shot in the Philippines, armed kids are keeping police at bay in Idaho, McVeigh is asking for another stay.... and the Bush twins are the lead story. Give me a break.

I don't disagree that the public finds it interesting... obviously, we're talking about it. If the media feels some sense of duty to report it - put it on page 8 where it should be.

As far as reporting on celebrities - Jenna and Barb did not ask to be celebrities. Yes, they are the President's daughters and it does (unfortunately) come with the territory. But I can't quite equate this latest reporting with reports done on "real" celebrities.... Matthew Perry, Robert Downey, Jr. etc - these are people that made a choice to be in the spotlight... there's a difference.

Has anyone confirmed that someone actually called 911? I know that is the rumor, but I read on...it was either MSNBC or TNR that the police actually happened to be doing a sweep at that time and Jenna got caught.

Steve, the only other person I personally know who used a fake and got caught did have the police called and they suspended her and her sister's license for one year. So, I don't think it is that common to be caught, expecially twice in a row!

I heard on the radio on my way to work this AM that there is a video tape of Jenna at a fraterenity party in austin. Apparently she is outta controll in it. I just know the greeks arent gonna come outta this looking pretty. SOMEHOW it will all be our fault.

I did it, but I wasnt the presidents kid. Shows a lack of judgement on her part. Plus, alls ya gotta do is get SOMEONE else to get it for you. Geez. Not the brightest shrub in the bushes.

My thoughts exactly.

OK I agree that the girls didn't choose their parents or choose to be famous, but they did choose to break laws. Now I don't agree with the law (I think its an infringement on our adult rights) but we all know it and if we choose to break it, we run the risk of getting caught. And any time the police are involved, the matter becomes public record so this isn't really an invasion of privacy. Of course it wouldn't be on the news if any regular kid got an MIP but that's just reality - if your dad's the president you are in the public eye. And none of us got to choose our parents or our lifestyles (not entirely anyway) so I don't really see that as being a valid argument for why they should be left alone. Just my opinion. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

juniorgrrl, I've got one thing to say....AMEN.

As far as the Jenna: public figure or not? argument, the stories about any President's relation are really only published to draw negative attention to the President himself - basically "if this is his family, how can he run the country?" Can we say Billy Carter...Roger Clinton....Patti Davis...etc. etc.

So if your father was president and you got a ticket for something stupid like JayWalking. How would you feel about being National News for the next couple of weeks? I am not saying that what they did wasn't wrong because according to one of the Govt's many stupid laws, it was illegal; but to say that was not a valid argument does not make sense. I can see if they commited a major crime or something like the Menendez brothers; but trying to buy booze w/ a fake ID?! Come on. I don't know why this is interesting to anyone.

I was watching MSNBC last night and they showed Grandma Barbara speaking at a Junior League somewhere on the East Coast. It's great to see that Grandma has a sense of humor. At the luncheon she made a joke about how Dubya raised hell as a college student. She then continued to say that his past is now coming back to haunt him and he's now going to get a taste of the headaches of being a parent.

The family has since retreated to Camp David.

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"I don't know the secret to success, but one sure way to failure is to try and please everyone."--Bill Cosby


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