Taken For Granted?

Ever notice how the people you do the most for are the ones who take you for granted? It’s not only that they don’t appreciate what you do or acknowledge what you do, they have the gall to expect you to keep doing it. There’s no thanks, no I don’t know what I’d do without you, no nothing.

And it’s not like you do anything for the thanks and acknowledgment. No, you do what you do from the kindness of your heart, to help out, anticipate needs and fill them, try to make other’s lives a little easier. That’s all. And not only don’t you get any thanks for it, sometimes you get your head bit off for asking a question.

How do you know when you are being taken for granted?

- You always are there to offer your help, yet when last time you were the one in need everyone you called up was busy.

- Your friends won’t return any favor. Ever.

- You listen to people’s problems but there is nobody to listen to yours.

- Your efforts don’t get even a simple thanks.

- No matter how much you contribute people always want you to do more. Extra pay? --Some appreciation? You are funny, really!

- You feel not cared enough for, not loved enough, ignored, neglected.

- People assume you will always be there and each time you are not is taken as a personal offense.

- You notice that people forget to tell you things that matter.

- People don’t care what you do unless they need you to do something for them.

Now, what can you do about it?

Do not panic and do not make assumptions.
It might all have a very logical explanation. If you freak out and get mad for no reason it will make things only worse.

Talk about it. Don’t hold it in. But don’t sound accusing or blaming. Just talk. The relationships begin to die when we stop talking about things that matter.

Stop being nice all the time. You are human. You have emotions. You can get mad, you can be sad, you can be upset. If people know how you feel they won’t take it for granted. Learn to say ‘no’. As hard as it seems it is still possible. Give it a try. Start with smaller things. People will take you for granted only as long as you let them. Saying ‘no’ is the first step on the road of not letting them do it.

Do not compromise with your self-respect. Ever. You are better than this.

Question your motives. Don’t expect praise and appreciation. You do things for yourself because you like helping people out, not because you want them to help you later. Or don’t you?

Treat people as you want to be treated. Old cliché, maybe, but it does work. Before blaming someone for taking you for granted, see if you do it the same way.

Stand your ground and draw boundaries. You are a good person. You are a good friend. You know that. They know that. Now it’s time to be strong for yourself.



Food for thought and Lessons for us all, from this website: http://www.thecolorsmagazine.com/2010/02/8-tips-to-deal-with-being-taken-for-granted-feeling/

Missing My Mother’s Sunday Dinners

I took for granted the hundreds of Sunday dinners my mother made throughout the years. Sunday sauce with ziti was always number one, with pot roast or chicken with lemon and garlic or lasagna as alternatives. It was great waking up to the smells of dinner cooking or, after I was married, looking forward to not cooking and just going there to eat and be served.

Well, those days are long gone. Now I have to think up, shop for and cook the Sunday dinners. It’s a lot of work. Today, I put the pot roast up before doing my food shopping for the week, at 7:30 am. It takes a long time to cook and we eat early. After I get back and put away the groceries, I peeled the carrots and 4 pounds of potatoes and clean the onions that will all be cooked in a couple of hours. The preparation isn’t really so bad. But, trying to time everything so it is still hot when it gets to the table is a little tough. I don’t know how my mother managed to do that. What’s worse is the clean up afterwards. It seems like everything in my closet has to come out in order to make this meal. I don’t have a dishwasher and my husband is always right there, in front of the sink, making sure I don’t have to wash everything myself. But, everyone loves pot roast so it’s worth all the time and effort even though, as my mother used to complain, it takes hours of cooking for 5 minutes of eating.

Everything always tasted better when my mother made it too. Even though I used the same ingredients and follow her instructions to a tee, my meals never quite measures up to hers. Maybe she added a secret ingredient when I wasn’t looking, like a cup of LOVE, that you can’t buy in any store, but makes all the difference.

Have a great Sunday everyone! Bon appetite!



Gay Marriage and Equality

I can recall specifically watching a late show of David Suskind’s about 40 years ago, where he had gay men and women, couples, talking about their sexuality. I was only a teenager, but very curious about the subject because it was so taboo. No one spoke of it, at least around me. So when I saw the show’s promotion I naturally wanted to watch.

It was a hard concept to wrap my young brain around. It went against the laws of nature, it went against the laws of religion, and yet these people were attracted to same sex individuals. I just didn’t know what to make of that.

I started college and became a psychology major. I was always interested in why people behaved the way they do. The Psychology Department often brought in guest speakers for students to listen to. I very rarely stayed after school, always wanting to get home and get my assignments done. But one day, they had flyers out that said the guest speakers would be a gay couple. I made it a point of going to hear them speak. It must have been difficult back then for anyone to speak about being gay. The misconceptions were enormous. No one knew a thing about it. They were asked what would be considered today, stupid questions such as who plays the male role and who plays the woman’s role. I noticed that the people on Suskind and the ones at my college, had a lot of patience. They tried to answer all questions respectfully and I suppose they were hoping to dispel all the myths surrounding their sexuality. One of the biggest myth was that they made a choice to be gay instead of being born with that sexual preference. I just took it all in and, since I had no one to discuss it with, I just kept what I learned to myself.

Years later, AIDS was the hot topic when Rock Hudson had been diagnosed and admitted that he was dying from the disease. He also admitted he was gay. That was news back then. Rock Hudson was a legend, a man’s man in more ways than one. No one would have ever suspected the drop dead good looking actor of being gay. This not only opened the door to more discussion and study of AIDS, but also about the gay population. Rock Hudson had a huge fan base and was loved by many. If Rock Hudson was gay, anyone could be gay. Maybe we need to think about this more?

Today, almost 40 years later, the topic of gay marriage has been on the table. It still is in most places. Finally, New York has made it legal for gay couples to marry. I ask myself what was the problem and why did it take so long. We established long ago that sexual preference was not a matter of personal choice, but an inborn characteristic. They should be allowed to marry whomever they fall in love with. Who does it hurt? After spending your life with someone you deserve to be able to be at their bedside when they are dying, you deserves the same protection under each other’s medical plans that other spouse’s get, you should get the tax benefit of filing jointly and many more things that heterosexual couples take for granted. That cannot happen without a legal union. Who is anyone to deprive them of this right which is a fundamental basic human right?

I am glad that our governor signed gay marriage into law. It’s been a long time coming. I can’t help but wonder if we are ever going to get beyond the ignorance and prejudice into a new day of enlightenment? Today, New York has taken the first step. Hopefully, tomorrow, many more will follow suit.



Dr. Oz and Scandals?

Yesterday, Dr. Oz came up in conversation. I was too busy with “Dr.” Phil to give Dr. Oz much thought. Dr. Oz doesn’t come across as arrogant the way Dr. Phil does. He is actually quite likeable. But, he came upon his fame and fortune much the same way Phil did and now has his own show and is also on OWN. So I decided to do a little digging into Dr. Oz’s closet and see what the internet says is there…maybe a skeleton or two?

Well sure enough there is going to be something to complain about and here it is…Dr. Oz created his “Real Age” website which has 27 million people sign up to take a health quiz. What did Dr. Oz do with that information? According to some reports, it was sold to pharmaceutical companies to be used for direct emails and marketing. Nice. But there’s more, the pharmaceutical companies also target the participants of the quiz with emails about possible conditions they may or may not have and suggest drugs they can look into to treat it. This is not very ethical in my opinion.

What else? Well when the swine flu epidemic struck, Dr. Oz was pushing the H1N1 vaccine like no one else. Problem? The vaccine hadn’t even been tested. This happened around October, 2009. Dr. Oz was said to be promoting the vaccine to millions of Americans, on many shows, and profiting from it. This is a question of medical and personal ethics. Reports go on to say that pregnant woman were especially targeted for being at higher risk. There was no study done by the government, but it has been alleged that some women lost their babies after getting the vaccine. Reports then say, after building up the danger of the swine flu, the shortage of the vaccine ploy was used to create a demand. Without even testing the vaccine for 21 days, 40 million vaccines were rushed to market. Sigh. Upon more investigation, it was discovered that Dr. Oz owned 150,000 shares in a vaccine company. He never said that he owned stock in this company which is said to be against the law. It is required that any television personality who endorses a product, makes it known they have a personal financial interest in it.

Some think that for a surgeon, who is actually no longer practicing, he gives out a lot of information about nutrition that is incomplete and not entirely accurate. They feel he is not qualified to be dispensing that information either. Who knows. I’m sure he has consultants on his show to advise him if necessary. A lot of it makes sense to me and if it gets people looking into nutrition so much the better.

In any case, that the worst of what is out there right now. Of course, dr. Oz has not been around as long as our good ol’ boy Phil, so he has time to get into more hot water. Scandals do sell better than good news. So, Dr. Oz will have to be careful if he wants to keep a low profile in the media. I got the H1N1 vaccine as soon as I could and brought my whole family too. Would I do it over again after reading about how is wasn’t tested? Probably. I got caught up in the hysteria too. I did waited until many doses were dispensed to see if there were bad reactions reported. I didn’t hear of any, so I made my appointments. I haven’t read anything on Dr. Oz that is so offensive I would stop watching or taking his advice. But, Dr. Oz, be careful…the media is out to get you!



Diane Schuler Killed Herself and Seven Others

Two years ago, Diane Schuler made New York headlines for driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway with her two children and her three nieces. She drove into a van, and in total she killed seven people: the three men in the van, herself and her daughter, and her three nieces. Her son was the only survivor. Investigation into the crash revealed that she was drunk and high on drugs. Her husband denied that she drank or took drugs numerous times. Toxicology reports do not lie.

Recent developments in the case have me peeved. Daniel Schuler, her husband is now suing the state of New York for the poorly designed highway and he is also suing his brother-in law, Warren Hance, brother of Diane Schuler, who lost his three daughters, ages 8, 7 and 5 in the crash, because he was the owner of the car. Daniel is trying to blame everyone but his wife for what happened that tragic day. Maybe he is trying to exonerate himself from blame as he pleads ignorance to the fact that his wife obviously had a substance abuse problem and he allowed her to not only drive their children around that morning, but his three nieces too. At the time of the accident, Diane was going 85 miles per hour.
 

On a positive note, Jackie Hance, who suffered the devastating loss of all three of her children in the crash, is now pregnant and due to give birth this fall. She had had her tubes tied after giving birth to her last baby. However, after coming back from a serious depression, she felt her daughters would want her to have another baby. I saw an interview with her not long ago. She said something striking. When you are a parent, you don’t just stop being a parent. And we never do, do we? No matter how old our children get, they will always be our babies. And the loss of a child, let alone three, to almost too great to bear and recover from. But, Jackie has come back, with the help of her friends. She is rebuilding her life and having another baby. She said she and her husband still celebrate their girls birthdays…who can imagine that and not cry, not me.

Daniel Schuler must have been aware of his wife’s drug and alcohol problem. She was drinking large quantities of vodka and smoking marijuana just before the crash, while driving. This isn’t a problem that happened overnight and he had to have seen the signs. With the amount she ingested that morning she could barely see. A 1.75 liter of vodka was found in the car at the crash site. She had reportedly drank 10 ounces while driving the van. Toxicology tests showed she smoked marijuana within an hour of the crash. Probably doing drugs and alcohol while she was driving, 6 ounces of alcohol were still not digested in her stomach and her blood alcohol was twice the legal limit. Marijuana was used up to 15 minutes to an hour before the crash. It’s absolutely sickening. It’s incomprehensible. Now this man wants to sue his brother in law, who lost three of his own children, because Diane was driving his car? Who is going to sue Daniel for allowing her to get behind the wheel of any car?



Casey Anthony Wanted…For Interviews!



Only in this country can you kill your two year old baby, lie about it, send the police on a wild goose chase and get 12 jurors to let you off scott free so you can go on media interviews and become wealthy off your crime. Yep! The major networks are all competing for the first interview with Casey Anthony and I hope it backfires. Of course, Casey will still walk away with a big fat check that she can spend partying while her daughter looks down from heaven.

The New York Post is reporting that the major networks are wining and dining Jose Baez, who is possibly brokering a deal for Casey. Baez had stated that Casey would not be making personal appearances for at least six months, but the greedy lawyer and client may have rethought that decision. While Baez denies he is negotiating deals, Matt Lauer was seen with Baez and NBC confirms reports that they are seeking an interview. However, NBC says there would be no payment made nor job offers, it’s strictly for news purposes. And I would like to know what more “news” do they plan to get out of that psychopathic liar? The case was covered by the media. Who cares what she says or what she thinks? We know the details that were provided in court and we know she didn’t provide them What newsworthiness can she possibly have at this point?

The networks claim they are not bidding for an interview, yet ABC already paid her $200,000 to license videos and photos in 2010. I think this is appalling. They make a celebrity out of a baby murderer! And I’m sure there is more to come. Greed has a way of eroding people’s and companies ethics and morals. They will rationalize that it’s “news” but what they want are ratings and big $$$ from advertisers. Where do we draw the line? I am so disgusted at this point. And, I still find fault with the jurors. Had they taken their time to review key facts and evidence and reached their conclusion, I may have accepted it. But, they didn’t bother to review anything. They find her not guilty and then we learn that they were having second thoughts. Too late! Not one of those 12 people fought for Caylee or thought enough of her to go over anything. They deliberated a couple of hours, recessed, came back the next morning “dressed” to deliver the verdict.

Now instead of facing life in prison, Casey is facing a life of luxury, depending on how much money she and her attorney can wrangle out of media. God Bless America!

Real Housewives Of New York Finale, Ugh!

When Kelly accused Alex of overacting in Morocco and told her to go out and come in again because this is a reality show, she was on the money. As it turns out, I could have told all the women to do that in the finale.   I can't stomach to watch the show all season, but I did invest a little time an a few episodes so I may as well blog my peeves.  I decided that they should each get their own award for their finale performance. 

The “Beating A Dead Horse” Award goes to Sonja for going on and on and on to Cindy about her talking on the phone when she invited her over to her house. Cindy was very busy and happened to schedule a conference call at the time she was supposed to be at Sonja's.  Sonja told her off in that episode, but apparently wasn't done beating that horse to death, so she picked up where she left off.  I was so glad Cindy finally got up and walked out on her.

The “Clueless” Award goes to Ramona for thinking she was pregnant at 54! If she only had taken the damn pregnancy test at home and not waited to take it on the boat at Luann’s anniversary party, we could have cut out 20 minutes of pointless drama. Jill nailed it when she said, hey, when you missed your period at 54, it’s not because of pregnancy, it’s MENOPAUSE. Duh! 

The “Midlife Crisis” Award goes to Luann for various reasons. First of all she is dating a French man several years younger than she is. She arranges this party boat to celebrate their one year together. Her son looked embarrassed to me, I felt bad for him. Thank God she ran into Natalie Cole who offered to sing with her at the party, because she picked an appropriate song. Luann is also trying to make a music video out of her “song” “Chic, C’est La Vie” which is just a sign of desperation. Act your age Luann! By the way, her boyfriend resembles “Ross” from Friends!  What do you think?

The “Hypocrite” Award goes to Jill!   After trying to talk Sonja into going to or being in Luann’s video to support her…guess what?   She fell a little short herself in the support department.  Jill was short on patience and was pacing and getting tired of being there. Apparently she had no idea how long it takes to make a video. Next time maybe she won’t show up either? 

The “Ugly Duckling Who Never Turned Into A Swan” Award goes to Alex. Alex gets a photo shoot and for some insane reason, they decide to tape her while she is getting ready, without makeup. This was brutal. She has the acne of a 15 year old. I don’t know how the makeup covers it up. It must be applied very thick. And let’s not forget her teeth, what’s up with that?   Invisiline anyone?   My daughters happily inform me that she is/was a model...just because it delights them to see my disgusted expressions.  This is unbelievable!

Kelly and Cindy really did not play a big part in the finale and that makes them the real winners of the night!  The others were so obnoxious that these two get a free pass.  On to tonight's reunion show, 90 minutes of pure hell...will I watch it?  Who knows?

Big Brother Should Be Called “Oh Brother!”

UGH!

Against my better judgment, I broke down and watched a couple of episodes of Big Brother. I did it because years ago we started watching it as a family. My girls were pretty young back then and we all enjoyed it together. Then, as the show started manipulating things for ratings and adding surprise twists, my interested waned. Their idea of reality shows and my idea of reality shows were very different. They strayed so far from the original concept that I cashed in my chips and walked away, but my girls did not. So, if you can’t beat them, join them, and I did.

This season’s twist is having couples, but not all new people. They decided in their infinite wisdom to have some new people as couples mixed with old couples that had previously been on another season of BB. This led to two alliances being formed, The Newbies” vs. “The Veterans.” Needless to say, it’s not long before people are betraying their alliances to further themselves in the game.

However, my peeve has to do with one annoying couple of veterans that they decided to bring back, Rachel and Brendon, of the “Ain’t No One Gonna Get Between Me and My Man” claim to fame. Rachel’s overused and much abused quote has gotten her an extra 15 minutes of fame and another chance to win the BB competition. If Brendon is annoying, Rachel is like fingernails on a chalkboard annoying.

Last week, when I decided to watch the show with the girls, I said they should go after the Rachel/Brendon couple and get them out of there. It’s not just because they are so annoying either. Rachel happens to win a lot of competitions. It’s not a good idea to keep annoying and successful competitors in the house…but who listens to me? There is a newbie I liked, Cassie, who comes across very smart, and she agreed with me! I was very happy to see how much sense she made as she told Jordan, Head of Household, that she needs to put that couple on the block. I thought finally the right thing is going to happen. Rachel had already seriously upset both Jordan and her man Jeff. So even though both couples are veterans and in an alliance, alliances were meant to be broken!

Needless to say I am peeved today because Jordan decided to keep Rachel and Brendon safe and put up CASSIE and her partner! Oh Brother! I just hate it when people make no sense. I was right to stop watching the show, it’s not good for my blood pressure.



Gordon Ramsay…

People cannot get enough of Gordon Ramsay, the great British chef who has a number of shows on the air including, Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef and Kitchen Nightmares. I have watched all three, but tired of the Kitchen Nightmares show because it is too repetitive. Each week he goes to a restaurant in dire need of help or they will be forced to close. He has to deal with the all the things they are doing wrong, such as too many items on the menu, filthy kitchens, incompetent staff, and spoiled food. Then there are the attitudes of the restaurant owners, who after calling him and begging for help, are resistant to changing anything. So, I stopped watching that.

Now the other two shows are about cooking. Hell’s Kitchen has several “experienced” cooks competing against each other all season and the winner gets to be “head chef” in one of Ramsay’s restaurants. I think the title is in name only, because even the winner cannot handle that huge responsibility. Nevertheless, am I the only one who looks at these people year after year and sees nothing but a Motley Crew? They are all so unkempt for the most part. I would not want to eat anything prepared by most of them if I had to judge their cooking by looking at their appearance. Then, despite their confidence and overly huge egos, many of them cannot cook to save their lives. They can barely boil water. So Ramsay yells for a good part of the show and calls them various names. It’s entertaining. But where on earth do they find these people is what I want to know? Do they go out of their way to find the worst looking, cooking people they can for the show? They are also annoying and aggravating to watch. I find myself rooting for someone to get kicked off instead of rooting for a winner. Enough about that.

Then we have the newest show, Master Chef. I really enjoy this show. Last year an amazing 17 year old beat out all the other contestants. She could cook anything and she now has a cookbook out. In this show a bunch of amateurs, wannabe chefs compete week after week for title of Master Chef. They produced their best dishes and have to perform in various challenges and the three judges decide who stays and who goes. These people not only look better than the ones on Hell’s Kitchen, but they cook better too. It’s confusing to me why the amateur show has better chefs than the show who features experienced cooks? However, I do enjoy this show. For me it’s like American Idol. They take people from all walks of life and give them a chance to fulfill their dream of cooking. One woman actually left her law firm to try to win this competition. Frankly, I would be happy if any of the losers came and cooked for me on a regular basis. Cooking is not my forte and it never will be.

Gordon Ramsay is making millions upon millions with all his restaurant and shows. My daughter happened to look into the cost of 7 course dinner at both his New York and London restaurants and the price is approximately $200 per person! He also has more reasonable priced restaurants, but the high end ones, the gourmet ones, you have to pay for the privilege of eating there. My daughter is planning on visiting one of these in the near future and I will let you know what she says.



Risks Of Plastic Surgery

I am at an age where women I know and the celebrities I am interested in are frequently considering or going for plastic/cosmetic surgery. I am not a fan of these needless surgeries and I have said so before. I believe in aging gracefully and working with what God gave us. Besides, that, there are no guarantees that surgery will actually make you look better, it could have the opposite result. And, by going under the knife, you assume all kinds of risks, some life threatening and possible disfigurement, not to mention serious health complications. Frankly, I would rather take my chances and throw myself under a bus than go through this surgery.

I have heard of a couple of cases of surgeries gone wrong recently and I wanted to know all the risks involved, besides the obvious. And it didn’t take more than a couple of clicks to see how much danger people are putting themselves in for basically no reason, in my opinion. I will use my source as the Mayo Clinic, who were kind enough to educate their readers on the subject.

Let’s say you go into surgery healthy, without prior medical conditions which would only add tremendously to the risk factors. There could be complications arising from anesthesia such as blood clots, pneumonia and sometimes death. There could be infections at the incision cite and even internally, which may worsen scarring and may require additional surgery. Infections that get serious enough may also lead to death and infections are not uncommon! There may be fluid build up under the skin. There may be mild to moderate bleeding which requires more surgery or even a transfusion. Scarring or skin breakdown when healing skin separates from healthy skin and has to be removed. And numbness or tingling from possible nerve damage which may be permanent. You may need weeks or months to recover! That is going to affect your quality of life (Mayo Clinic).

I’m sure Kanye West’s mother, Donda, wasn’t expecting the worst when she went in for surgery at the age of 58. She was a retired English professor who wanted to have some routine cosmetic surgery: breast reduction, tummy tuck, and some liposuction. She died the next day of heart failure. The doctor who operated on her, Dr. Jan Adams, a Harvard graduate, surrendered his medical license after a series of complaints were filed against him. However, the autopsy report and the hospital records did not find any evidence of complications during the surgical procedure. Her heart just couldn’t take it. This is just one case we’ve heard of because it’s a celebrity’s mother. How many more don’t we hear about?

Aside from the high risk factors, we have certainly seen, time and time again, how much worse celebrities look after cosmetic surgery than before. Surely that was not their goal. But there are no guarantees you are going to look like the image you have in your mind. After seeing the outcomes of so many surgeries gone wrong, people are still opting for these procedures. It boggles my mind, seriously. And what’s more is that even when these procedures turn out exactly the way they are supposed to, and you get the perfect face lift, it’s not permanent. You have to keep going back to have it redone, eg. Joan Rivers. And then you wind up looking like an alien with an expressionless face, frozen by the tightness of the skin being stretched to smooth it out. Geez!

Well, I just had to get that off my chest. If it makes one person reconsider plastic/cosmetic surgery, then I will be happy. It’s just not worth it, no matter how many ways you look at it. (And I didn’t even go into the expense!)



Marriages Don’t Last…

Another one bites the dust!

Why is it that after saying the sacred words “till death do us part,” most marriages end up in divorce court? When I was a kid, divorce was a last resort, now it’s almost expected. I was just reading about Jlo and Mark Anthony. Never a scandal there. Three years ago they had twins and were very happy. Today they have spilt up. What could have happened that was so terrible to make them need to end their marriage? Did they even consider counseling? Or they want to take the easy way out and just call it quits rather than work on whatever problems there might be? It’s really perplexing to me.

The normal population has a higher than 50% divorce rate. That is a scary statistic. I’m not comfortable with that and I think it contributes to a lot of the problems teens get into today. Broken homes, kids having to decide who to live with and how to make the adjustment. Then, very often, parents date and remarry. That brings along with it a whole new set of challenges.

I wonder how high the divorce rate is in the entertainment industry. Very few couples remain together and weather the storms. Meryl Streep comes to mind. She married someone who was not in the industry and settled somewhere out of the limelight, so her children could have a normal upbringing, She even refused movies that would take her away from her family at certain times and took lesser projects because they kept her close to home. She had her priorities straight and in the end she has it all, a fantastic career, her marriage, her family. And I will even go so far to say that she is one of the best actresses of our generation, if not the best.

Look at the political couples. One scandal after another. It’s hard to imagine how politicians get any work done at all when they have so many women to tend to. And all the while they are out there fooling around, they know that eventually the scandal will break and the media will have it all over the place. They aren’t concerned enough about their wife and children to put their “weiners” on lockdown?

Where did things go wrong? What happened to family values, working through problems, keeping promises and vows? It’s very disappointing. Maybe I will do a little research and see if anyone has any answers or has done any studies. It would benefit everyone if we could figure out what went wrong in society and try to turn it back around.



Casey Anthony Out Of Jail

I debated on whether or not to blog about this. I am so sick of Casey Anthony, the thought of her turns my stomach. But then I think of that poor innocent baby, betrayed by the one person who was supposed to protect her from any and all harm, and I feel compelled to say something. Her own grandmother, who claimed to love the baby and was “worried sick” about her missing, ends up lying on the witness stand to protect her own daughter, the murderer. Everyone knows she is guilty and get today she gets to walk out of jail scott free. Time served for lying to authorities.

I already stated why I thought she was guilty in a previous blog, so I won’t rehash that again. What I want to do now is complain about the jury. The 12 people who came out of there without discussing the evidence. Who came to a swift verdict that there wasn’t enough there to convict her and yet those who have spoken have said they thought she was guilty. They cried because they thought she was guilty. That sounds like guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to me. What if they had found her guilty? The defense had recourse to appeal the verdict on many grounds. If it turns out that the state did not produce enough evidence, then she would have gotten a new trial, right? And if they had any qualms about the death penalty, they didn’t have to sentence her to death. A life sentence without the possibility of parole would have been nice.

Their guilty verdict could have been overturned, but their not guilty verdict means that even if Casey Anthony writes a tell-all-book about how and why she killed that baby, she can never be tried again for her murder. The prosecution built a logical case based on the evidence and served it up on a silver platter for them. All they had to do was discuss it. Now they may be having second thoughts as Casey Anthony walks among us. Maybe she will have another child and discover that one is an annoyance too. Who knows what thoughts runs through her cold blooded heart.

Any mother I know would have sat in that courtroom crying over the loss of her baby. I didn’t see her shed any tears for Caylee, only for herself. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? In my mind it was proven and I don’t understand how, out of 12 people, there wasn’t one who wanted to fight for Caylee and justice.

At 12:09 am she walked out of prison, escorted by Jose Baez. She is supposedly going to a n unknown location and going to have plastic surgery to disguise herself. But, is this really the last we will hear of her? I doubt it.



Real Housewives Of New York City…Recap Of The Music Video

Luann's "Money Can't Buy You Class" is a video

I made the mistake of giving up another hour of my life and sleep to the RHONYC last night. I was promised some drama from the coming attractions and thought I would use it as an opportunity to spend some quality time with my girls. They love drama. Well, the show is just as I remember all their episodes to be…ridiculous. I am so glad I never got “hooked” on any of these “real” housewives shows because “real” is the last thing about them.

Let’s take last night’s show. Luann, aka The Countess (because she was once married to a Count by dumb luck), decides to make a music video for her new song, “Chic C’est La Vie.” Her previous song, “Money Can’t Buy You Class,“ was that a hit? The video for that apparently was pretty risqué, with Luann on a bed scantily dressed and half naked men laying down on it all around her. The French title of her new song is bad enough to cause an uprising in France. The French need very little excuse to protest, it’s what they do. But, I digress. Luann feels that all her “friends,” meaning the other housewives who, from my experience, all seem to detest each other, would jump at the chance to be in her video. She is wrong. Not everyone is dropping everything to go support this project. Jill seems to be all for it, but Jill is one of the brunettes and they stick together. Jill talks to Sonja about the video, assuming she will be excited about participating, but she is not. Sonja says she has been spending too much time away from her daughter and doesn’t want to do it. Jill counters with the fact that she doesn’t have to stay overnight, she can go in the morning and be home by dinner. Sonja is trying every which way to tactfully decline, but Jill isn’t having any of it. Soon it appears that Jill is actually bullying Sonja into making the trip to the studio, even if she doesn’t want to be in it, just to support Luann.

Alex, another blonde who always seems to be emotionally unstable, just flat out refuses to be in the video. I don’t know who told her about it, but she kept telling her husband and his friend that she wasn’t going to do it. They must have cut out the parts where she actually learns there will be a video (or I slept through it).

Luann and Ramona (another blonde), meet for lunch. They barely have a cup of coffee. The conversation quickly gets off on the wrong foot. Ramona bluntly turns down Luann’s offer to appear in the video. She starts by explaining that her daughter wrote an essay about her last week on how her mother is her role model. It was very touching. Ramona says she discussed being in the video with her daughter and she wasn’t comfortable with the idea. Her daughter saw the last video Luann made. Ramona isn’t about to do anything to embarrass her daughter. After all, teenage girls have enough issues dealing with their sexuality without seeing their mothers flaunting theirs in a music video. And for good measure, Ramona flat out says that rap music sends a better message to young people than Luann’s song does. Of course none of this sits well with Luann, who thinks it’s ridiculous that a mother would ask a teenage girl permission to do anything. Then comes the discussion and several “digs” about the difference in their parenting styles. Ramona says she spends A LOT of time with her daughter as opposed to Luann, who is a “weekend” parent…or so she implies. Luann has a younger French boyfriend and jets around a lot. Judging from her musical talent and the fact she thinks videos are good career choices for her, I think Luann needs a wake up call. Needless to say the meeting ends badly, with Luann leaving in a dramatic huff.

So the three blondes have all graciously or ungraciously declined to be in the “Chic, C’est la Vie” video. I am not even going to get into the other bits of drama thrown into this episode.

I find it very difficult to believe that viewers take any of this seriously. These women all behave ridiculously.  How the show wasn’t dropped after season one is amazing. People will watch anything. In the second half hour I fell asleep no less than 8 times and had to be awakened by my daughter. The show works better than Tylenol PM. Next week is the finale. I can only imagine what will take place. No, I didn’t see the preview because I had dropped off again. I may watch the show, only to be with the girls and offer my two cents worth of criticism. They love to see me appalled and disgusted. I think there will be plenty of opportunity for me to give them what they want.



Bad News For Glee Fans…

The good news is there will be a third season of Glee, the bad news is that three of the stars are graduating at the end of season 3. Sadly, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer will not be returning. The decision was made by the show’s creator.

The creator of the show, Ryan Murphy explains, "You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.”

So we have to say good bye to Rachel, Finn and Kurt and who knows who else may be headed to college when season three ends. They report that more characters are leaving than staying! Reports are that Chord Overstreet, Sam, has not been picked up for season three as yet. You have to wonder how that will affect the show.

A couple of tweets from Lea show that she is fine with the decision and it wasn’t really a surprise. She tweets to fans: "We always knew we'd graduate in real time," she tweeted "Its all part of the plan and it's all good! Its going to make Season 3 amazing!"

She later added: "To Gleeks everywhere, you're in my heart now and forever. Love you all!!! This is just the beginning."

So I guess we just wait and see what happens after enjoying season 3? Personally, I hate when regulars leave a show. It’s just never the same.



NYC Tragedy, Nine Year Old Boy Murdered…

I hate to hear stories like this one. It makes me sick to my stomach. But it’s all I can think about this morning. It was everywhere on the news and it’s going to stay with me all day. A parent’s worst nightmare.

Leibby Kletzky, a nine year old boy, went missing Monday after day camp. The boy told his parents that he wanted to walk home alone, “he was a big boy.” We’ve all heard that from our children at one time or another. The parents agreed to the boy’s request and he had a specific path to walk where his mother had planned on meeting him. It should be said that this family lives in a predominantly Orthodox Jewish community. That fact lead the parents to feel somewhat secure in trusting their son would be safe walking the streets there. It’s a tight knit community, and until most New York City communities, the people who live there know one another. So when Leibby went missing Monday it affect everyone.

A massive volunteer group, of 1,000 to 2,000 people, formed to help police find the missing boy. There were surveillance cameras in local businesses that captured part of the boy’s walk home. He has not been on the path designated by his mother. At some point between when the cameras last captured him and the location where he was to meet his mother, he disappeared. A detailed description immediately went out to the news media. Police used helicopters, dogs and horses to try to find the boy. A reward of $100,000 was offered by the community for information. It was later raised to $125,000.

Early this morning the boy was found dead. A suspect has been arrested. Parts of the boy’s body was found in his apartment, parts were found in a suitcase in a nearby dumpster. He was brutally murdered. One of the security tapes shows the boy appearing to be speaking to a man in a gold car. He was supposed to meet his mother a mere three blocks away. Leibby was never seen again.

Just 48 hours ago Leibby was getting ready to go to summer camp, now his parents have to arrange his funeral. What makes matters worse, is that the suspect lived among them, and maybe was even part of their community. More details will surface after police conduct their questioning of the suspect.

I get sick over the thought of what this little boy must have gone through at the hands of this monster. I an haunted by what his last moments must have been like. What torture did he inflict on him before he murdered and dismembered his body? Was the boy crying out for his mother? That’s the way it plays in my mind. And what about the poor grief stricken parents? The devastating news of what happened to their young son will haunt them forever. Maybe they will be guilt ridden for giving in to his request to walk home alone on top of the grief of losing him in such an unspeakable manner. Thank God they have a family type of community to help support them and pray for them through this tragic ordeal. They are going to need all the help they can get.

As for the monster who did this, I wonder, can this be his first victim? Who does such vile, sick things to an innocent child? There is no punishment severe enough that will ever do justice to what that poor boy and his family have gone through and will continue to go through.

So many times we have “signs” from individuals that they are mentally unstable, but it’s only after they harm one or more people, do we take action. I wonder if this suspect has a criminal record or a mental illness history? We are always putting these people back on the streets, there is a shortage of places to keep them. The jails are overcrowded and the mental hospitals are too. So they get out early, without being rehabilitated or “cured” only to pose a new threat to society.

Today, I’ll be praying for Leibby and his parents. As a parent, I can only imagine the depths of their despair and grief.

Nadya Suleman (Octomom) Hates Her Kids

Yep, that what I said. I just read an article quoting her on that. Octomom, who went out of her way to have 8 more children, after not being able to support and care for the 6 she already had, now feels overwhelmed. Gee, ya think? The octuplets are now two years olds and, like most two year olds, are quite healthy and very active. Recently, Suleman was flying on a plane in business class with 12 of the children and had words with actress Kristen Johnston from “3 rd Rock from the Sun.” The 12 children were being extremely noisy and Kristen asked her to quiet them down. Eventually, Johnston, who was flying first class, left the plane, which was experiencing a two hour delay, and did not return.

However, the most shocking thing I read was in an interview Suleman gave with “In Touch Weekly” magazine. Suleman was quoted as saying: "I hate babies, they disgust me…My older six are animals, getting more and more out of control, because I have no time to properly discipline them." She also added, "Sometimes I sit there for hours and even eat my lunch sitting on the toilet floor. Anything to get peace and quiet.”

The woman appeared on Dr. Phil, among other shows, and did not look stable to me. Obviously the doctor who performed her fertility treatment was acting unethically and irresponsibly. He knew her situation and that she had neither the means nor the help to care for so many children properly. As for Suleman, she basically admits this now. "Some days I have thought about killing myself. I cannot cope…obviously, I love them - but I absolutely wish I had not had them."

Well, it’s too little too late for Suleman. She wasn’t even taking care of the 6 children she had. Her parents were doing that for her. The mere fact that she could think of having more children, let alone 8 more, shows that she wasn’t in a rational state of mind. All I can do is shake my head and wonder what will become of her 14 children. The older ones have become caretakers for the younger ones. They will not have a childhood.

Nadya herself, is not able to handle the constant stress, even with help. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have that many children 24/7 even if they are all perfectly behaved in every way. The laundry and meals alone are enough to kill a person.

How can she ever have enough time? How can she ever have enough money? How can she ever have enough patience? Anyone could have told her she set herself up for failure and the children would suffer for her decisions. Maybe the parents were to blame too. I understood that her mother was the primary caretaker of the six children she had. Maybe if Nadya had been forced to care for her own children full time, she would have thought twice about having any more. Now she has 14 children, no spouse, and there is no mention of her parents.

Ugh! I hope God or a guardian angel is looking after those children and they make it to adulthood in one piece.



Even Jerry Springer Has Standards!

Now this is an “I thought I heard everything” moment for me. I would not have believed that The Jerry Springer Show would have any scruples about airing anything. After all, I once saw a show, I kid you not, where a guy made his girlfriend pregnant AND also slept with her mother AND grandmother! The excuse for the later two, they were drunk at the time. When I saw that show I thought, nothing will ever beat this.

Yesterday a rumor/story was floating around that the Jerry Springer show offered Casey Anthony one million dollars to appear as a guest. You can imagine the nationwide disgust at the thought that as soon as she gets out of jail she is going to get a million dollars for one hour of “work” for getting away with the murder of her baby. The outrage at such a thing, coming on the heels of the most unjust verdict since OJ Simpson was on trial, enormous.

But there is a little glimmer of hope. The Jerry Springer show issued a statement denying they offered Casey Anthony anything. “The Jerry Spring Show' has not made any monetary offer to Casey Anthony and her family to appear on the program, nor will we.” There is hope for Jerry Springer yet. The offer, reported by an incorrect source, was never made. Casey Anthony remains one of the most hated women in America, that even the Jerry Springer show will not touch.

However, where there is smoke there is fire. A freelance producer, Al Taylor, who does work for the show, said he made the offer to Jose Baez and that an executive at the show knew about it. When the story got out, the show got so much heated criticism that they dropped the whole idea immediately. Now that I believe! But, I am happy she won’t be pocketing any money any time soon.

What next?



Dr. Phil Housewives Return July 12th!



After four very long months, lots of tweets to Dr. Phil, posts on the housewives face book page, emails to the show, and complaining to anyone who will listen, the Dr. Phil Housewives are back. I know I should be excited. But it’s hard to get excited after waiting for four months, being promised new shows that never air, and offered no explanation or excuse for the long delay. I have argued that the show has been extremely inconsiderate to viewers and fans of the housewives. They did not even have the courtesy to keep the housewives themselves informed about what was going on. Tons of video sit at the studio in cans, while we watch reruns and ridiculous shows…like the extremely obnoxious, 28 year old Jewish woman, JOSIE, who was so self centered and insulting to everyone that the show felt they had to bring her back and give her MORE air time. Someone please tell me who the hell benefited from that?

So, maybe the housewives will be on Tuesday. After all, they showed a promo clip and that kind of makes it official. If they finally took the time to edit a clip for us maybe there is a whole show behind it? So should I be happy? Am I being difficult if I say NO?

I think the issue with me is that I am or try very hard to be, true to my word. If I say something or promise something, I make every effort to deliver, especially of someone is counting on me. I want to keep my word. If there are serious, extenuating circumstances as to why I cannot do what I said, I give an explanation and an apology and try to make up for it as soon as possible. That is the way I operate. I think what the show did, and I will hold Dr. Phil responsible, was totally unprofessional, inconsiderate, inexcusable thoughtless. A simple explanation would have been nice. But instead, they allowed fans of the series to become invested in the lives of six women and their problems, with the promise of “Get Real Tuesdays” and then just stopped airing episodes in early March after pre-empting them in January and February several times. So no, I’m not as happy as you might think. However, it will be nice to get some closure from the remaining shows and see how or if, all of the women have progressed. But the shows were taped months ago, so who knows what their lives are like today?

If you are lucky, this will be my last blog on the Dr. Phil Show. I am boycotting him AFTER I see the remaining housewives episodes. Of course, if Alexandra reappears for rehab I will have to see that. I invested years in that family and the whole time they have spiraled downhill with Dr. Phil’s help.

I am going to start reading his unauthorized biography and writing about that. I am sure what is in that book will strengthen my resolve to boycott all new shows!

No Integrity Left In Sports...

Roger Clemens perjury trial starts today.  Ror those who aren’t baseball fans, is a former New York Yankee outstanding pitcher (amongst other teams) and ended his career with a bang. I haven’t been a baseball fan for many years, not since the 1986 Mets won the World Series and the tem traded all my favorite players away soon after. I get emotionally involved. But, Roger Clemens was reportedly using steroids to enhance his performance. His trainer, Brian McNamee, testified to that in front of a congressional committee, because he was the one injecting steroids and growth hormones into Clemens. Other witnesses also verified that Clemens was using illegal substances. Clemens denied it and he was found to have perjured himself by the committee. Now there is a trial regarding his perjury.

Now my complaint is this: the use of steroids has tainted virtually all professional sports in this country and others, as well as being used in high schools. The drugs are dangerous, but they are also a way of cheating to win. Remember Lance Armstrong? He won 7 consecutive Tours De France competitions. He was also accused of using performance enhancing drugs. That also applies to Olympic athletes, many whom have tested positive for drug use. At one time the drug use was very prevalent. But, since then, much more stringent rules and guidelines have been put in place to try to prevent this kind of cheating. The drug companies, that manufacture these drugs are very clever and are still working at ways to “beat the system” so the testing requirements have to keep up with the drug technology.

Let me see if I can explain one way tests have been subverted. The body manufactures testosterone in a certain normally, which makes the body stronger. The drug companies can make a very close replica of normal testosterone, a steroid, to escape drug testing detection. However, the body also produces epitestosterone, which basically does nothing. Except, testosterone and epitestosterone are always found in a 1 to 1 ratio, that is, in similar amounts in the body. So if an athlete were to take manufactured steroids of testosterone it would change this ratio and they would fail the test. So, drug companies started making a replica of epitestosterone to be taken with the steroids to keep the ratio in tact, to avoid detection. The point is, no matter how stringent the testing, drug companies are getting rich helping athletes cheat by getting around them.

For me this makes all the statistics, that my husband and all your husbands have memorized, useless and pointless. They don’t test everyone, people have escaped detection, and the cheaters’ stats are mixed in with non-cheaters’ stats and are probably no doubt better. Who knows how many records were broken because of steroid use? Who knows how many players were cheated out of recognition, awards, salary increases, because other players used drugs? We can’t go back in time and test everyone.

Roger Clemens was one of those cheaters. He lied about his steroid use and now is facing prison time for perjury. He is just one of who knows how many. I am just glad I am not a sports fan of any kind, because this would just ruin it all for me. There is no integrity left in the world of sports.



Casey Anthony Found Not Guilty!



It’s true I have not followed this case as closely as the jurors have, so I don’t know what they were thinking when they found her unanimously not guilty yesterday. But, I can tell you what most people out side that courtroom were thinking…”there was no justice for Caylee Anthony yesterday.” The justice system failed her, those 12 jurors failed her, and now her mother/murder will probably get out of jail tomorrow, a free woman. Yes, free for time served because she has been in jail for the last three years and the four counts of lying to the police, that she was convicted of, only carry one year each.

This is what I know about the case, and it isn’t much, but it was enough to make me conclude she was the only one responsible for that baby’s death. According to George Anthony, Casey came over and picked up Caylee on June 16^th and was never seen again. She was the last person seen with Caylee. Casey says that she brought Caylee to a babysitter, Zanny, and then it is later admitted by the defense, that there was no babysitter. So, where was Caylee? If she wasn’t with a fictitious babysitter, who was she with, if anyone? The reason why Casey hadn’t called authorities, is because Caylee was with Zanny and she was doing her own investigation. But there was no Zanny. So Casey must have known exactly where Caylee was and she wasn’t doing any investigating. Her baby was gone and she was partying and getting a “Bella Vita” tattoo. That was the extent of her concern. She lied to her family about Zanny, she lied to police about Zanny.

Now as for her car, the one whose trunk smelled like a dead body had been in it, it was HER car. If the dead body smell did not come from Caylee, whose body would have been in there? Caylee was gone, we learned later she was dead, the trunk of Casey’s car had a dead body odor…let’s connect the dots! Several people mentioned the odor, not just one who could have been mistaken. Even George Anthony, a retired police officer, informed authorities that his daughter’s trunk smelled like a dead body had been in it. And then there were the K-9 police dogs trained to detect the odor of decomposing bodies, that also reacted to the scent in the trunk of the car. Who would have placed a dead body in Casey’s trunk?

There were the chloroform searches that Cindy lied about doing because she wasn’t even at home the time the searches were done on the computer. Who was home searching for chloroform? Why does anyone who is a lay person search for chloroform 84 times on a computer? Why were high levels of chloroform found in the trunk of Casey’s car? And even Cindy could not explain the searches for neck breaking. Who searches for neck breaking?

The duct tape, baby blanket and laundry bag that were found with Caylee came from the Anthony home. We know Cindy was the one to finally get law enforcement involved when she was not getting answers from Casey about Caylee. We know George and Lee were cooperating with authorities in the investigation. And I know Casey was lying to authorities and sending them on the Zanny wild goose chase. She was convicted of lying. The jury believes she was lying. Why does anyone lie? To hide something, to protect themselves, to focus suspicion on others? If she wanted her baby found, if she wasn’t the one who killed her, why not cooperate and do everything you can to assist police?

There is only one answer in my mind to answer all these questions. Casey Anthony killed her baby, Caylee. Nothing else makes any sense. It all adds up to just about everyone, except those 12 jurors. They didn’t even deliberate. They didn’t even give Caylee’s voice, speaking from her swampy grave, any consideration. All the evidence points to one person and one person alone. How were they able to ignore all the evidence and find her innocent?

I wasn’t going to blog about this today, but I needed to vent my frustration. When babies are killed by their own parents, it’s an uphill battle trying to get a conviction. This was the greatest miscarriage of justice since the OJ Simpson case. I will never forget it or the beautiful angelic face of Caylee Anthony, may she rest in peace.

The Casey Anthony Jury Is Deliberating…

Another life hangs in the balance as the jury for Casey Anthony deliberates today. Yesterday they heard the rebuttal closing arguments of the prosecution. It was very persuasive and convincing. They left the courtroom and for the first time were able to discuss all they have heard for the past two months. Around 6 PM, after 4 hours of discussion, they came back to the courtroom. As they walked in, it was noted by observers that they could not or would not look at the defense. This is not a good sign for the defense that things are going in their favor. However, it is still very early, and the jury may need to do a lot more work to reach a verdict.

As far as public opinion goes, Casey Anthony is guilty as sin. That is the majority opinion. Her own family has said so in so many words, even though they are the last ones that want to believe it. All her lies, her 31 days of partying after her daughter’s “disappearance,” the “nanny” was fabricated…there was no nanny. Casey was the last person seen with Caylee, leaving the Anthony home, and then Caylee was never seen again shortly thereafter. Casey had no babysitter. So where did she leave Caylee? In the trunk of her car until she disposed of the body in a nearby swamp. So many people said that the odor from the trunk was that of a dead body, whose body could it be? This is a story that is so unbelievable and yet what other conclusions can be drawn?

I came across an article about the allegedly “nanny” that was written back in 2008, when she was suing Casey for defamation of character. I will post the link below. Basically, according to the woman, whose name Casey “borrowed” for her “story” to police, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez looked at an apartment and filled out forms in the building where Casey says she dropped Caylee off. She doesn’t know the Anthony family at all, but somehow Casey got the information from the documents Zenaida filled out that day.

The defense showed pictures of Casey playing with Caylee and being a good and loving mother. This is what I found in the article below: “In instant messages sent to a former boyfriend, a former sheriff's deputy who was fired over his relationship with Anthony, [Casey] Anthony complains about how difficult it is to be a single mother, once referring to Caylee as the "little snot head." "Seriously, spending the day with Caylee , is 10 times more exhausting, than working a 12-hour event," she wrote.”

As if we needed any more convincing that Casey is guilty? I just hope the jury sees her for what she is, a cold, blooded, murdering monster with no guilt, no remorse, no sorrow.

Let her “Bella Vita” begin and end in prison, where she should rot for the rest of her life!

Article on Nanny: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5894719&page=1

July 4th…Remembering Our Troops

I think most people will be celebrating today. The barbeques will be all fired up and steaks, burgers, hot dogs and chicken will be on the grill. Families and friends will be getting together in their backyards, taking dips in the pool, drinking cold beverages, talking and laughing. Kids will be playing hard. The beach goers will be headed out early to get good spots to lay their blankets. Beer will overflowed!

We are just having a quiet day at home here, so it gave me pause to reflect a minute on why we are celebrating. I thought of all the men and women in our military, from before this country was born, who fought for our freedom over 200 years ago and the countless numbers who have fought to make sure we kept it. Would we even be celebrating today if they all hadn’t put their lives on the line for what they believed for what this country stands for; for our liberties?

So maybe today, we can remember those who fought to make this day possible and also pray for all our military men and women who won’t be home today because they are still out there protecting our nation without a second thought for their own lives.

Happy 4^th of July!

Casey Anthony Trial Wraps up…

Closing arguments are going on right now down in Orlando, Florida. Hard to predict what the jury will decide, they don’t know every thing we know. I don’t know everything they know. I only watched the trial on and off to keep my blood pressure at a normal level. But here are some of the things I know:

The defense did a lousy job. They did not deliver what they promised. There was no evidence to support any of their theories. The judge said they could NOT use the molestation theory claiming Casey was molested by her father, George, or brother, Lee. There was no evidence presented that that ever happened. The defense said Casey drowned in the family pool. There was no evidence of that. There was no nanny Zanny. There was no concern for her missing daughter for 31 days while Casey went partying. There were nothing but lies coming out of Casey’s mouth. Cindy, her mother, lied. She lied about searching for chloroform, about not being at work when the searches were done, she lied about the pool ladder being down. She is obviously trying to cover up for her daughter.

I know that Casey is a thief, she was stealing money from her grandfather’s account, who was in a nursing home. Her aunt told this to Nancy Grace and also said that Cindy planned to have Casey arrested for theft. It’s been an ongoing problem.

It’s a shame that there is not more conclusive evidence and that much of it was destroyed while Caylee’s remains deteriorated in the woods all those months. I would have been happier had this been a slam dunk case and less of a circumstantial case. Nevertheless, I am convinced of Casey’s guilt. All her words and actions incriminate her. She was the one last seen with her daughter leaving the Casey home. By that evening she no longer had Catylee, the phantom “babysitter” did. Why pay a babysitter when your parents have been watching this baby all along?

I hope the jury sees through all the lies and brings back justice for this sweet, innocent baby. Then I hope the prosecution goes after Cindy and anyone else who has lied on the witness stand to thwart justice for Caylee. This whole case is sickening, I’ll be glad when it’s over and hopefully the outcome will be fair and just.

Fraternity Hazing and Death…

How long has fraternity hazing been going on? I remember reading about it for years. Every time a young man dies, because it is usually a young man, the news media reports the death and the surrounding circumstances. Everyone is shocked and saddened that a young and promising life is lost to the over consumption of alcohol during a hazing ritual. And yet, it is still going on.

Today I came across an article about a young man who died in such a related event. He was 19 years old and attending an Ivy League school, Cornell. His name was George Desdunes. He was a good looking, intelligent young man who was there for a quality education. He wanted to join Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity which was founded in Alabama in the 1850’s and has 241 chapters around the country. They currently report that 11,000 undergraduates are members. Now they are missing one member, George Desdunes. What happened to George?

George grew up in Brooklyn and was an active member of his church and earned scholarships. He attended Cornell hoping to become a doctor one day. He was described by friends as being very giving and loving, an unusual teenage boy.

George’s life was cut short when, back in February, he was involved in a hazing ritual that began with a mock kidnapping. Fraternity members bound his wrists and ankles with duct tape and made him drink alcohol until he was unconscious. Then he was dumped on a couch at the frat house and left to die. The autopsy showed his blood alcohol was 5 times the legal limit in New York. The three frat brothers involved in the incident were charged with misdemeanors and pleaded “not guilty.”

I don’t know anyone who can read this and not get angry over the senseless tragedy that occurred here and many other times before. So many lives lost for no reason at all. George joined the fraternity as a way of making possible contacts for future employment. He was 19. The law in New York State makes it illegal for anyone under 21 to drink, but these other members forced him to consume a lethal amount of alcohol and are just facing misdemeanor hazing charges?

What the hell is wrong with this picture? They are responsible for a young man’s death and yet are facing minor charges. They are still in school; right now they are on summer vacation. But, George’s body lies in a grave and his mother cries. Where are the consequences and why aren’t they made to take responsibility? Why should students change their hazing practices? Why should they not binge on alcohol and force others to do so, when the consequences are so minor? We all know how kids think. Whatever the danger or scenario, it cannot happen to them, they are invincible. That is why adults have to impose their judgment on kids and young adults. They lack the ability to fully understand the repercussions of their actions and behaviors.

Universities across this country need to all take a look at “hazing” and figure out how to prevent these kinds of tragic events from ever taking place again. I don’t care how they have to do it. Maybe, they should have to pay millions in wrongful death suits if any student attending their school dies in a hazing incident. Maybe that will make them sit up and pay attention. It’s not enough to have rules in place. Rules need to be enforced and punishments need to be swift, severe and serve as an example to others.

Rest in peace George Desdunes.



Lindsay Lohan And Others, Back In The News…

All set to party again!

Yes that’s right, she was released from house arrest and immediately went back to “celebrating.” She was seen joining a group of her friends at the Lexington Social House at 11 PM. Reports claim she was drinking nonalcoholic beverages during the affair, before leaving at 2 AM. I, for one, would love to believe that, I really would. Why she would place herself in a position where she would surely be tempted is beyond me.

Lindsay Lohan still has to complete her community service portion of her punishment, which involves working at a homeless shelter and a morgue. Let’s hope something sinks in this time around so I can devote my time and energy to other needy causes. But, be prepared anyway, she turns 25 tomorrow!

In other news, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, star of The Tudors (which I loved) was rushed to the hospital when it was suspected he attempted suicide. Meyers has had a long battle with alcohol addiction and may have also taken pills. It’s a shame that so many celebrities have problems with addiction and, although they have the financial means to get help, they are so often in denial and even when they get help, they relapse the moment they are released. Meyers is a talented and gifted actor in his early 30’s and probably needs to resolve some issues in therapy along with rehabilitation for his addiction.

And how can I leave out Charlie Sheen? The man who provided the world with an ongoing spectacle of what being on drugs can do to a person. Videos of Sheen should be shown in high schools throughout the country as a campaign against drug use. In any event, and not much of a shocker, Charlie has recently admitted to using illegal drugs…oh, but wait, they aren’t they drugs you are expecting to read about. He admits to using steroids for six to eight weeks during the filming of his 1989 movie, Major League. I don’t even remember that being a movie, but if Charlie says so I guess it’s true. I guess he figures if major league players can get away with steroid use why not him? But, I’m pretty sure the steroids worse off by now so what else has he been taking to make him act so bizarre? I don’t think he is ready to admit that. Unfortunately the man is seriously ill and possibly psychotic and it amazes me that nothing can be done to help him.

Of course, I think it has long been an issue that as long as celebrities use and glamorize drugs, it makes the campaign against drugs in this country that much harder. Add to that the fact that they simply get a slap on the wrist and can go back to partying, without skipping a heartbeat, trivializes the seriousness of the issue. I don’t think we should come down harder on celebrities for their drug use, but for pete’s sake, at least treat them like everyone else who abuses substances and drives under the influence. It’s not just their lives they are putting in jeopardy at that point. And how many times must your ass be hauled off to court before a judge decides you need to do some real time like everyone else? They make a mockery of the judicial system, which apparently has a double standard for celebrities and the rest of us.

I just wish they would all get help and stay out of the news for a while so can I focus on other things. They are just impossible to ignore