One of my first blog entries was about the Michael Jackson trial.

I hate to say, "I told you so...", but, well, I did. The prosecution did a crap job of putting together their case. Sneddon was on a mission for revenge because he lost the ability to prosecute Jackson in 1993, and he threw everything--and the kitchen sink--at Jackson this time around.

The media pretty much had Jackson convicted from the get-go. And they misrepresented his statement in the now infamous documentary. He never said he personally slept in his bed with children, but that he GAVE his bed to the children (and he did not sleep in the bed at the same time). Come to find out, he also gave his bed to other people, including adults (and he didn't sleep in the bed with them, either).

I read about the trial daily, and even with the media's bias against Mike, it was pretty clear there was no case against him. Just because the boy in question once had cancer doesn't make him honest, and it was pretty clear the kid's mother was on a mission to gain a lifetime meal ticket after Jackson began to distance himself from her and her bratty kids (you know there's something wrong when a family is too weird for even Michael Jackson to hang with).

Again, the jury was asked to believe that Mike treated this family like his own family until the scathing documentary came out in 2003 that had the entire world scrutinizing Jackson's relationship with the boy--and then, and only then did he begin molesting the kid. At a time when everyone was watching him and accusing him of terrible things, when social services was talking to the boy as a result of the documentary, and when Mike was frantically running around trying to undo the damage the documentary had done.

The jury was asked to believe that the family was held hostage by Mike and his staff and their lives threatened, and that during this imprisonment, the family was taken on huge shopping sprees, and the kids were treated to an orthodontist visit, on Mike's tab.

Damn! I wish someone would kidnap me and take me on a shopping spree and splurge for costly dental care for my children!

They were also expected by the prosecution to believe that this nutjob mother, while being held hostage, secretly called her friends to chat, but couldn't call 911 to report that she'd been kidnapped and was being held against her will. Nor did she tip off the dentist when she was alone with the dentist. Or the clerks at the mall where she went shopping. Hell, if someone was holding me hostage, and my kids and I were in a public place, surrounded by security, I don't care whose body guard was standing in line with me, I'd grab my kids, run and scream "Help! We're being held hostage!" But not this babe.

It became pretty clear, pretty early on that this mother was a money-grubbing nut, who would do anything, including coach her kids to lie (like she did with the fake JC Penny abuse and groping claim) so she could get money in a lawsuit or settlement.

The mother needs to be in jail. The kids need to be taken away from her and put with someone who is at least a little bit sane.

Jackson? Creepy, freaky, and way too eccentric for my tastes. But I seriously doubt the man's a pedophile--and if he is, I still doubt he did anything to this particular kid.

The jury absolutely made the right call here, because there was way more than just "reasonable doubt" when all was said and done.

Mike, a bit of advice. It's really nice that you want to help people, but be more careful about the people you help and don't go overboard. And it's really nice that you love children, and it's understandable that even in your mid-40s you want to make up for the childhood you never had. But use a little common sense, and don't put yourself in a position where people can make the accusations in the first place.

Want kids to play with at Neverland? Fine. Invite said kids AND their families to come and play on the ranch, and then send them home at night. It's inappropriate to have the children stay with you alone (even if it's innocent) and it's obviously not beyond some parents to accuse you of stuff even when they are also staying at your home, especially when it comes to the possibility of a big financial settlement.

You are as much responsible for this fiasco of a case as the nutjob mother and bratty kid, because you literally set yourself up to fall. You didn't learn after the situation in 1993. So you need to take responsibility for all that has happened to you the last couple of years.

And your own kids? Why would you pay their mother to NOT be part of their life? That's insane. You have a mother - why would you deny your kids a mother? They aren't possessions, they are little children who need two parents.

Bottom line, it's time to grow up, Michael. Get over what you were denied as a child. It's time to be Michael the man, tune into the real world, stop your spending sprees, get a wife, raise your children with their mother (even if you don't want to remarry her), and quit setting yourself up to be a sideshow attraction.

Until you make some attempt at normalcy, you won't be doing yourself or your children any good.