Bonni is buying a house!

I am so proud of Bonni, my oldest. First, she is such a good mommy to my boys. And she has a really good job and is very responsible with her money, although she can be kind of a shopaholic;o) Right now, I am really proud of her because even though she is a single mom, raising her two little boys on her own, she is buying a house! I see soooo many people her age making the same mistakes I did and ruining their credit. That is really easy to do nowadays but Bonni has avoided that pitfall and should be moving into her own home sometime next month.

Something to Talk About???

I am a huge American Idol fan. I have two kids who are performers - really good ones. I love the fact that this show has given so many young people the opportunity that they may have never had to achieve their dreams. The whole controversy this year over a certain young man and a website/movement to vote for the least worthy really has me pissed off. If you hate American Idol, vote with your remote not your phone. Don't take it out on the dreamers on the show or the fans.

I refuse to name the website that encourages people to vote for the worst performance cuz I will NOT contribute to their fame. I have, up to now refused to name the kid for the same reason. Regardless of whether or not this whole thing is engineered by the shows powers that be or truly the product of a bunch of sour jerks and just used to their advantage as much as possible, it makes me sick. I feel like all the folks in Harry Potter's world who won't speak Voldemort's name for fear of contributing to his power. But I have to get this out before I explode.

People who vote for Sanjaya because they hate Simon, or American Idol, or the Great Machine that is the popular music industry or WHATEVER are just a bunch of jerks who can't stand to see good things happening to anyone because it's not happening to them. All the horrible comments about this very YOUNG man are totally inappropriate; how would you feel if he was your kid, or brother or homeboy? I think it is easier to understand the rest of the world's impression of the "ugly American" when you read some of these comments. Comment on his talent or lack thereof but personal comments about his sexual orientation or his looks etc are just low class.

Let's be real. Sanjaya has a sweet but undeveloped voice. He seems like a nice, well brought up young man who is getting cocky from all the attention. He DOES NOT deserve to be there with the performers who are left. He absolutely, 100% should be the one to go home this week. Last week was probably his best performance, although it still wasn't up to the level of the competition. This week he straight-up sucked. I go to amateur as well as professional level performances a lot because of Cheyenne and Cameron. I have, quite literally, heard better at karaoke bars after 11 pm. Simon as well as Randy and Paul did nothing but speak the truth. Deal with it. Sadly, Phil Stacy or Chris Richardson or maybe even Kiki Jones will go home even though they have about a billion times more potential to sell records. That is not their loss, it is ours, the fans'.

That's Outrageous 3

...or is it? I am open to discussion on this one. A Catholic School in Detroit has banned MySpace for their students. Sounds good to me! I really don't think that any sort of blogs or "social spaces" have any place at school. But here is the kicker: the students will be suspended if they are caught using MySpace at school or at home! My initial reaction to that is that it is patently absurd. And wrong. And dangerous precedent. My ONLY hesitation is because it is a Catholic School.

I can't stand the idea of schools, or any other public institution trying to dictate the way that parents raise their children. I am NOT a subscriber to Hilary Clinton's "Village" raising my child. Thanks, but... umm NOT!!! Most of the "village" nowadays is.... let's just say, not what I want for my kids. And guess what, I still have the right to choose what I want my children to be exposed to in this country, thank you very much. My child is not the property of the state or the republic or any other institution. I do have the right (and the responsibility) to raise my child to the best of my ability with my world view. I personally believe that a really good, thinking parent will, as the child becomes able to assimilate it, present the alternatives and encourage the child to make his own responsible, informed choices. But I don't have the right to force every parent to do so. Amish can teach their children that being Amish is the only right way. The Catholics can do the same. We LDS can also teach that ours is the truly right way. The kids can then grow up and use the thinking skills and spirit that their maker gave them to decide that their parents are full of it. After they turn 18;o) I am not, of course, addressing so-called parents who abuse or neglect their children in a criminal way. Different subject altogether. I am under the working assumption that we are talking about responsible parents with different opinions and world views.

How does all this apply to a MySpace ban? My kids are not allowed to use MySpace while they are underaged. I have the right as a parent to ban it. But I just don't see that it is ANYONE ELSE's right or privilege or responsibility to allow or disallow it. My quandry is that I do believe that private institutions such as private schools, churches, the boy scouts or what have you should have the right to have standards of behavior that are required to participate in them.

So, I guess that my bottom line is that I believe that this school is misguided and is addressing a valid problem in an invalid, ineffective way but I guess they have the right to do it. And, were I a parent at that school, I would have to seriously consider the school's mission and methods.