The Jacksons and "Ask Alexis, the sex column (totally unrelated topics)

I think this is AEG's attorney, from what little Jackson civil trial coverage I've seen. Whoever he is, I don't care for him.




I must find a way of falling asleep more quickly in the dorm setting. I had issues with insomnia at home and even back in my loony bin days, but of all my dorm nights, including the maybe five from last year and two from this year, I'm 7 for 7 in terms of falling asleep at a decent hour. Melatonin makes me physically ill, as does warm milk. Propofol isn't an option. We can all learn something from the life and death of Michael Jackson.

Seriously, what's going on with the civil case against AEG? I haven't been keeping up at all? Is there a verdict? Has the case even gone to the jury? I suppose I should use my unintentional hours of wakefullness to check out what's going on. I really like hearing Dr. Drew's and Vinne Politan's, as well as Judge Alex's when it's available, takes on the situation. My pseudoaunt, who is an attorney but who has never tied a civil case, thinks the Jacksons will probably win though it's not a slam dunk, but that they won't see anything resembling the two billion for which they're asking. For that matter, she thinks, they're better of without thta much money. A millio or two for each child would more than siffice.

My opinion is that with somany crazy relatives -- when he was alive, Michael Jackson kept those children largely isolated from most of his family except for his mother, and with solid reasons for doing so. One, the late Michael's relatives are every bit as nutty as he was. (Michael Jackson had his psychological weaknesses and questions about his competency, but, for the most part, other than the infamous moment when he held Blanket over a hotel (4th floor?) balcony wrapped in a blanket, he largely had his children's best interests at heart and, from most accounts, was a loving, caring, and reasonable parent who tried to provide as much stability in his children's lives as his paranoia would allow. He recognized his father and most of his siblings as the greedy ba$tards that they were, and they didn't play a large role in his childen's lives for good reason.

Paris is having her issues, which are not all that unique except that they're being played out in a public forum. She's not the first girl her age to cut herself or to make a suicide attempt, whether sincere or merely as a cry for help. Even if it's a mere cry for help, someone needs to give her that help, because she otherwise may be more serious and effective in her attempt the next time. I know girls who have cut themselves and attempted to take their own lives. It's not unique among teens -- particularly girls, for some reason. Hormones seem to hit the genders in different ways. Boys act out more antisocially, while girls internalize their behaviors. This is, of course, a gross generalization.

I'm not sure what the solution is in Paris' case. Her situation may be far different from that of her brothers. I don't think her grandmother is able to exercise sufficient control over her. The compromise of having the son of Tito be the co-guardian seems a viable one only if she lives under his roof with him. I don't think he can do much for her from fifty miles away, or whatever the distance between their two homes. I don't know about the alternate guardian thing - Diana Ross I believe, was designated to raise the children if Katherine Jackson was unable, but I'm not sure how that would work out. If Paris would end up being supervised essentially by hired help under that scenario, that wouldn't be any better solution than anything else that's been proposed so far.

If, once her direct mental health needs are met, she can't be under the direct supervision of her cousin, the co-guardian, maybe being with her biological mother wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Ms. Rowe seemingly has Paris' best interests in mind at least as much as anyone else. Presumably she was paid off well enough in the first place when she relinquished rights of parenthood that money shouldn't be of paramount importance in her taking guardianship of Paris. It would be ideal if whoever gains custody of these kids does so without any financial gain beyond the most modest of stipends for expenses, as in what would have been paid had my brother and I or one of or friends lost our parents, and someone else were given custody of one of us.

I don't like the idea that any of those Jackson kids could be worth more dead than alive to any family member, nor do I feel comfortable with anyone profiting substantially from being granted guardianship.

As far as Janet Jackson is concerned, I'm not sure what Paris said to her in the infamous footage (although I don't doubt that it was at least moderately disrespectful) in the incident in the Jackson family driveway during which Janet and other family members drove past guards to collect the Jackson children and take them God knows where. Were I Paris, I would not have gotten in the car with them, either. Janet denied slapping or attemting to slap Paris, but that's certainly what it looked like in the video footage. I have lots of aunts and uncles -- far more, actually, than Paris Jackson does, and very few of them had the right to discipline me when I was a minor. Of those who could hve done so, for the most part they would not have taken advantage of the right tohave done so. They certainly wouldn't have slapped my face when I was fifteen no matter what I said, though I will say that I would not have spoken inappropriately to those relatives given authority over me. If that's any sort of example of Janet's skill at coping with adolsecents, she's the last one who needs any control or authority in this situation. The bottom line is that michael Jackson could have named any one of his siblings as a guardian to his children should something happen to him. He didn't.

In terms of the court case, I hope the kids get enough money that they can have a first-rate college education at the university of their choice just in case the Jacksons have gotten their hands on the rest of the money. Beyond that and the need for medical insurance, if only for Paris' fragle state of mental health, I'm not sure why the Jackson children need any more money than any of my friends or I have. Too much money seems at least as much curse as a blessing. Is it really a good thing for any young person to know that he or she won't ever need to do a day's work for the rest of his or her life?

Regarding the possibility of re-starting the "Ask Alexis" sex column, I took a good look around me at my dorm-mates. What I really need to do is to put up a question box wherein I submit questions and THEY provide the answers. From the looks of things, they've all done things I've never thought of doing. I'm not sure I'd trust their information regarding contraception and/or transmission of disease, but as far as the pure nuts-and-bolts how-to-get-the-job-done 4-1-1, they're all leaps and bounds ahead of me. A sharing of information isn't out of the question. I could tell them how not to get pregnant or contract chlamydia,syphilis, HIV, and the like, and they could tell me everything else for that time when I'll eventually need to know it, it's not something I'll want to ask my med school clasmates.