Smart Family Fields Book, Movie Offers (Isn't that Special!)

Yahoo News ^ | 3/17/03

[Frapster]

If they want any casting suggestions - I propose the dad be played by William H. Macy. He was the whiney dad in Jurassic Park III.

I've become pretty disenchanted with the Smart family since all of this has taken place. It's my impression that something's not quite right and I don't know what it is. Call it a tin-foil hunch.

[Utah Girl]

I think the gun became a knife after Elizabeth was found, and the police questioned her. Every article I read about the abduction said she was taken at gunpoint.

[Hildy]

If you hadn't said you had a 15 year old daughter, I would have thought that was your age for even bringing up something so utterly despicable as that. It's like the anti-Smart people are upset that Elizabeth is home.

[jlogajan]

There are a lot of fundamentalist wackos on here who hate anything or anyone not of their religion. They hated Elizbeth Smart for being Mormon and have repeatedly accused her of seducing that Emanuale guy. These fundies are sick. They are blinded by religious hatred. There is no reasoning with them.

On and on the topic -- if after suffering for 9 months, both daughter and family -- if they can make a few dollars on the story -- that's some small measure of justice.

[Hila]

What if the parents/child planned it to cover an unwanted pregnancy - after nine months the baby is somewhere and Elizabeth returns looking too filled out. Next, the chance to make the "adventure" into film, book form. Hope this is not the case, and if it would be along those lines, our society would be guilty of endorsing anything sensationalist, of craving to be in other people's business and to glorify it by making movies out of the dirt of the human heart. I pray their 15 minutes in the spotlight are over, don't want to hear any more for good or bad - they should not be made popular because of their "trial".

[FreeTally]

"American Beauty"

[RecentConvert]

I've been staying off these threads because of the mean-spirited flames being thrown and the bashing of this poor victim, her family, their religion.

Some of the reasons for the bashing:

~Whites
~Christians
~Moderately wealthy and about to get wealthier
~Large family (don't dismiss this one)
~Beautiful children
~Close-knit family
~Wonderful parents: Lois is a saint and a grand lady
~High morals/values

The above enumeration, among others, may account for he hatred, envy and jealousy toward the Smarts, Elizabeth and the Mormon church. SHAME ON THEM!!

Rejoice! She was lost and has been found.

[Hildy]

Thank you for some sanity in these threads packed with incredible viciousness and lies. Why anyone would doubt this family's motives if beyond me. I think it's very poor commentary on our country that we can't believe there are any pure, religous and good families anymore.

[lady lawyer]

Sorry. Lady lawyer. Tom Smart is making big money each time his photo's go public. You state this as fact, then build a mean-spirited comment on it. But you have no idea if it's true. If I were in Tom Smart's shoes, I would copyright the pictures so that I could control who used them, then give rights to the pictures for free. The copyright allows the Smarts to control the pictures, but doesn't dictate that they charge for their use. I would give rights to the media who have helped and been supportive, and withhold rights to media or publishers, like porn publishers, that might exploit Elizabeth. You have no idea whether the Smarts have made a dime on the pictures. You, and a lot of others, want to think the worst, for reasons of your own. Heaven only knows what those reasons are. Every time some little thing comes along that allows you to think the worst, you seize upon it and spin theories.

[Hila]

It's called discernment.

[mountaineer]

So the younger sister mistook a knife for a gun? Is that the official story?

[Sloth]

The picture of her leaving the police station with her hair in braids...a fifteen year old girl wearing braids...get real...Puleeeeze.

Next time, smoke crack AFTER posting.

[FreeTally]

What if the parents/child planned it to cover an unwanted pregnancy - after nine months the baby is somewhere and Elizabeth returns looking too filled out.

I have considered that myself, but keep running into dead ends with that theory. First, the Smarts would have to be darn sure that would NEVER be found out, or they face criminal charges. Secondly, it doesn't explain Emmanuel's role. Is he just going to take the fall? One possible scanario I think of is that what you suggest is true, but she was supposed to be returned a few months back(she is remarkably found, describing her "abductor" as as nothing like Emmanuel), and Emmanuel decided he was going to keep her. So, the Smart's double-cross him, realizing he must be more weird than they thought, hoping a jury will not believe him. But, that is still a huge risk to take. With no real physical evidence that he was in their house that night, its all the word of the sister vs a detailed plot revealed by the accused. I just think that's all too far fetched.

[Utah Girl]

From a Sept 10 article. Nationwide Amber Alert Bill Approved

The Senate approved without dissent Tuesday a bipartisan bill that would create a national system to help locate abducted children whose kidnappers may have crossed state lines.

The bill, which sailed through the Senate legislative process in a week, would spend up to $25 million to help states, cities and communities nationwide set up Amber alert systems, which distribute alerts when a child has been abducted.

Similar legislation is being offered in the House by Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, and Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., has filed separate legislation that would provide $99.5 million for the program. Seventeen states already have Amber alerts. They have been credited with helping in the highly publicized rescues of several children this summer, including two teenagers found in a remote stretch of California desert and an infant snatched from a store parking lot in Texas.

********************************************
House speeds up ‘Amber Alert’ bill

THE HOUSE on Thursday paid new attention to a bill Thursday (March 13, 2003) sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, that would raise penalties for certain crimes against children and boost funding for child abuse and abduction prevention.

Included in the bill is a provision that would bring statutes in 38 states, generally known as “Amber Alert” laws, under federal coordination. The Bush administration has already directed $10 million to hire a national coordinator, train workers and upgrade equipment, and the Justice Department has requested an additional $2.5 million to train law enforcement officers.

Proponents of the systems, which distribute bulletins about missing children quickly through radio and television broadcasts and electronic highway signs, urged Sensenbrenner to break the Amber Alert provisions out of his bill and allow them to pass by themselves, as the Senate already has done.

The overall bill includes other provisions involving mandatory sentencing and wiretapping that have drawn opposition that could hamper its passage. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, has introduced free-standing legislation. But Sensenbrenner, who as chairman of the Judiciary Committee essentially controls the committee’s calendar, has refused.

“There is more to this issue than the Amber Alert,” he said Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show.

House leaders in response put Sensenbrenner’s bill onto a faster legislative track with the goal of bringing it to the House floor next week.

[Conservative4Ever]

It was like they were trying to protray her as a younger girl. You know like she was 8 or 10. Not a 15 year old. I just found it kinda weird.

Red

[Pagey]

You just knew from the 1st moment you saw the Father on TV,(and that god-forsaken Uncle of hers)that this was inevitable.It isn't like they're not wealthy enough already,right? This is really too bad. How do you rationally pull off writing about someone taking advantage of (Mentally,Sexually,Religiously) your child? I have to ask.

[twigs]

I have a feeling that they may see this as their best chance of getting the truth of the story out there. There's going to be a lot of irresponsible and unfactual reporting in the weeks, months and even years ahead. If I was concerned about that, I might consider it too. Money would not be an issue, I would think.

[Hila]

Had to contact you to say I get the same sense, the dad comes across as weird, femenine, something very dark. He might be positioning himself for a political career, with his money, "morals" and now notariety. Not my interest to discover if the trial was real or staged, just know that the man is after something else and I pray in advance that our Father in heaven would not allow him to deceive people. Discernment is a give from above and all I can say is that it is operating to show me that the man is not face value.

[Utah Girl]

I don't know if it is the official story or not. I'm still waiting for the SLPD to unzip their lips. Reporters are trying to get answers, and the SLPD keeps saying "no comment". Ed Smart is the one who said something about the knife at the first press conference held after Elizabeth was found.

[af_vet_rr]

Funny how he neglected to mention the most relevant piece of advice he could have given in this regard -- Don't invite strangers into your home, ESPECIALLY FREAKS LIKE THIS MITCHELL GUY WHOSE VERY APPEARANCE IS NOTHING SHORT OF A "WARNING FLAG" TO ANYONE WITH AN I.Q. OVER 40

Although I don't gamble, what do you want to bet the part about the mom inviting this nut into their home with their children present is glossed over in any "official" books/movies.