If you're going to break the law, or do something your mother wouldn't approve of, stay out of the news

The newspaper that published this photo saved it as "Lying-solider."

If people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, people who do things that they either shouldn't be doing or don't want their mothers to know shouldn't talk to members of the press.

On Monday, Tacoma-based paper The News Tribune ran this story reporting the hero's welcome Jordan Olson received was unwarranted.

Apparently, the solider came home on leave from Afghanistan but first stopped by a Post Exchange (same thing as a BX) and gave himself a promotion, a Combat Action Badge and a Parachutist Badge while changing units to the 82nd Airborne Division. Somewhere between the plane and terminal, he also picked up a limp he claimed came from an explosion in country.

Readers of The Appleton Post-Crescent of Wisconsin, where the story ran, noticed the soldier's story and photos didn't add up and started asking questions. The reporter contacted Lewis-McChord's public affairs office and discovered Olsen's rank and unit did not match the patches he wore and that he wasn't authorized to were the combat action or parachutist badges, nor do his records indicate he was injured on duty.

Wearing unearned military honors happens to be a crime, which is why if you're breaking the law, it's best to avoid getting your picture taken for a story in the local paper. But if one is going to do so anyways, they should avoid including their fiancé in the story, if they happen to have a wife, as Olson does.

Olson's leadership will look into the incident when he returns to Lewis-McChord, which means he's going to be in big trouble when he gets back.

Whatever his reasons, it's unfortunate Olson decided to exaggerate his service to the U.S. Army. He really had been returning from the dangerous mission of route clearance in Afghanistan and there was nothing dishonorable about returning home from that assignment unharmed.

Unlike Olson, Jim Kennedy didn't break any laws or lie to get a feature story about him published in the paper recently. On Sunday, the Orange County Register ran this highly interesting story about Kennedy, who is living off his frequent flier miles and hotel points after losing his six-figure income 19 months ago.

He uses the reward points he saved up from traveling with his former job to stay at hotels for cheap while feeding himself on a $5 a day budget.

It's an interesting and refreshingly new take on the much covered down economy and high unemployment rate stories that can be found in newspapers across the country.

However, Kennedy is hoping his mother doesn't read The Orange County Register. He's hoping to find a job before his mother, who lives in Nevada, finds out he's unemployed.

Sometimes people do things they don't want their mother to know about. It's just a way of life. When people do those types of things, whatever they are, they shouldn't tell ANYONE about them, let alone the local reporter. Moms already have their own way of finding everything out, they don't need any extra help.