Debbie Rowe: Mother of the Year. Not.

dudes, i understand the thrill that comes from calling a Christian a hypocrite - i was once in junior high too - but c'mon, this is Michael Jackson we're talking about. a kid walking around in a masquerade ball costume with his crazy bandage-faced dad isn't necessarily in the best environment.

Rod,
I have to agree with EB. I think you are right on about everything EXCEPT that Michael Jackson thought of those kids as accessories. Bad father, agreed, fruitcake, agreed, terrible environment for children, agreed, probably screwed them up for life, agreed. Wanted them as accessories, disagree. Michael Jackson was clearly someone who wanted desperately to get back to a happy childhood. He thought he could provide that for his kids and wanted desperately to do so. He failed, but that's not at all the same as someone who just wants 2.5 kids to accessorize with their house with the white picket fence.

Yeah, I dono Rod...I wasn't a fan either but there doesn't seem to be much evidence that he wasn't a good father. Oh, the window thing...not sure that was evidence of anything at all. Rowe is obviously smelling money.
Jackson was a sad figure. It still isn't clear to me that he actually molested anybody. I don't know if the kids lied to get money...perhaps we will never know.
He was a tortured soul and deserves some sympathy I think. From what I've read, he probably died from an overdose of a med they use to put you to sleep during operations. He BEGGED for it because of horrible insomnia. The poor guy was coming apart because he knew he no longer had the stuff to do all of those shows. Fame sucked the life out of him.
I can't dance on his grave. I said a prayer for his soul and for his family; leave it at that.

I heard they're not really his kids, either. I mean, let's look at the facts: Michael Jackson was still technically African-American, so that would mean his offspring would be of color, right? Well, I saw a picture of his eldest son without his mask, and looks pretty Anglo-Saxon to me! The whole thing is just weird. That's when I put on "Off the Wall" and try to forget about all the other stuff.

Actually, this happens anytime a rich man passes. Add fame to the mix and the public gets front row tickets to a family feud.

Who knows what the real story is there. From the interviews I've read with her over the years, I think she's a bit of a flake too, but I also think Jackson managed to frighten her and muzzle her and keep her from visiting the children she gave birth to when she apparently wanted to do so. She's made attempts over the last eight years to get visitation and, by most accounts, she's been stonewalled. I think she probably started as a surrogate and chances are good she had some self esteem issues, maybe was star struck, thought she would become important and feel good by giving Michael Jackson this great gift of her children. For him she was only a vessel, a servant he paid off once she had given him what he wanted. She took the money, but it might have been a situation where she actually did want to see the kids and was denied because he was rich and powerful.

The fact that the kids' money is tied up in a trust she wouldn't get her hands on gives her credibility. So does her statement that she'll get DNA testing to prove she's the mother and that she'll undergo psychological testing. That tells me she IS the biological mother and she's serious about trying to be involved in the kids' lives. I don't think Michael Jackson was the biological father of any of those children, though he was their psychological father and probably the legal father of at least the older two since he was married to Rowe when they were born. It sounds like his white dermatologist was the sperm donor. Those kids have a right to know their actual biological parentage for medical reasons. They also have a right to know their mother. At a minimum, a judge should order that she have regular visitation and that a counselor be appointed to help with the reunification process with Rowe and the kids. If Rowe gets custody, the judge should order regular visits with the little brother and any of the Jacksons the kids were close to.

Let's hope the judge making this decision has the wisdom and courage to do it right. Deciding custody issues has got to be one of the hardest jobs a judge can do. When numerous people make claims to be a kid's custodian, someone has to decide, and that someone is usually a judge. The judge has to sort through partially true/partially false testimony and guess who's telling the truth and who would make the better parent for the kid.

Judges are human. They make mistakes. But when a judge deciding custody of a child messes up, he messes up the kids. Tough job. It's one I'm glad I don't have.