Girl fakes dad's death in Iraq to win Hannah Montana tickets

[Initech]

God damn, what the fuck is wrong with this country? :banghead:

What's really sad is - the mom was in on it!

GARLAND, Texas (AP) -- An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: "My daddy died this year in Iraq."

While gripping, it wasn't true -- and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

The sponsor of the contest was Club Libby Lu, a Chicago-based store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls.

The saga began Friday with company officials surprising the girl at a Club Libby Lu at a mall in suburban Garland, northeast of Dallas. The girl won a makeover that included a blonde Hannah Montana wig, as well as the grand prize: airfare for four to Albany, New York, and four tickets to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert on January 9.

The mother had told company officials that the girl's father died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, company spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/29/fake.essay.ap/index.html

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[dysfunctional press]

1. there's another family about to be shunned into leaving the neighborhood...

hopefully.

[judaspriestess]

2. so thats all daddies life means to her? brain washed lil freak

be careful what you wish for, idiots

[Hippo_Tron]

3. I gotta give that 6 year old credit if she really came up with that on her own

But I doubt she did.

[Initech]

4. The mom was in on it.

I will repeat that - the mom was in on it! I think that's the angle that pisses me off more.

[Hippo_Tron]

8. Yup, the mother is setting a horrible example for her child

[lynne]

5. Shouldn't it be MOM faked Dad's death ??

- according to the article -

"The mother had told company officials that the girl's father died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, company spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield said."

I feel sorry for the poor child who has such a parent.

[JVS]

6. Good scam!

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. It really is a disgusting story

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2550714

[MrSlayer]

9. I doubt the kid came up with that herself.

It's a sick way to get tickets and a terrible thing to teach your kid.

[Swamp Rat]

10. It says a lot about how the mother feels about her child's father, and soldiers in general.

:puke:

[BrklynLiberal]

11. My very first thought when I heard that story was how difficult it was to believe that a 6yr old

came up with that story all by herself.
The idea that her mother put her up to it is disgusting, but more believable.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. Mother of the year she will never be

Hopefully, the child will learn from this experience and not grow up to be like her mother.

[Orrex]

13. "and now the girl may lose her tickets"

"MAY" lose her tickets? WTF?

[Annces]

14. MAD tv had a skit on this subject

a while back. A herd of Hannah Montana fans, little girls, started a riot to get some tickets.

[jeff30997]

15. Sick,Sick,Sick,...

[Fleshdancer]

16. I don't blame the child, I blame the mom

I don't know any 6 yr old who wouldn't do or say what their parent tells them to do...especially if the parent tells them it's the only way for them to get whatever it is they want.

[enlightenment]

17. This really is a prime example of the ever-growing

forfeiture of personal responsibility disease that is infecting our species.

"We did the essay and that's what we did to win," Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. "We did whatever we could do to win."

We did whatever we could do to win. jeez.

Every semester, I have at least one student plagiarise an essay. Usually a crude copy/paste job from the Internet. Most of the time, the student will at least pretend to feel some remorse - some actually do, others truly do not understand why what they did is wrong, and a few . . . oh, those few . . .

"I don't understand why you're giving me a failing grade! Do you know how much work it was to look that stuff up? I should get credit for that, at least!"

"If you know where it came from, then why do I have to tell you where I got it?"

"I'm telling you - I HAVE to get an 'A'! That's why I did it, because I have to have an 'A'!"

[onenote]

18. How many six year olds can write an "essay"

I don't care what she wrote. If it appeared to be something beyond what a six year old could write (and I have no idea if it was), the judges should've been skeptical and shouldn't have awarded the prize to her.

[dysfunctional press]

19. club libby lu has withdrawn the prize and re-awarded it to someone else...

who shall remain anonymous.

http://www.clublibbylu.com/detail.aspx?menu=18&app=142&cat1=420&tp=23&lk=no&title=News

Statement from Mary Drolet, CEO of Club Libby Lu, released Saturday, December 29, at 11:50 a.m.:

Club Libby Lu has been evaluating the situation surrounding our Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest and is extremely sensitive to the fact we're dealing with a 6-year-old little girl. We wanted to take ample time to gather all the necessary facts in order to make an appropriate decision regarding whether or not we would award the Hannah Montana concert tickets and other prizes to the Ceballos family.

After awarding the grand prize, we unfortunately learned that the statements made in the essay were untrue. Club Libby Lu greatly values honesty and integrity. In order to uphold these values, we have decided to withdraw the award initially given to the Ceballos family.

Consequently, we will award the prize to another winner already identified. With this decision, we hope to revive the intended spirit of the contest, which was designed to make a little girl's holidays extra special. In order to protect the family's privacy, we have decided to not disclose the name of the new winner.