Jenna

It's too easy for people to play arm chair quarterback in any situation to which they are not personally inolved. That being said there is NEVER a justifiable cause for anyone to abuse anyone else. I cringe when I hear people say that anyone, male or female, "deserved what they got" because "they were asking for it" or did something wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right and couples can have a disagreement, even an argument, without it degrading into physical/emotional/psycological/verbal abuse. It really is horrible the number of young men and women who think that any behavior Rihanna might have engaged in is justification for Mr. Brown to physically attack her. I can't believe that in 2009 people don't know any better or have better sense.

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is the landmark legislation that bans sex discrimination in schools, whether it be in academics or athletics. Title IX states:

"No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."

That's all that needs to be said.

WOW! I hardly know where to begin. First of all it's more than ironic that a former cast member of "The Real World" doesn't allow The Disney Channel in their home. It's hypocritical. It never ceases to amaze me when parents, especially mothers, play the "do as I say, not as I did" card with their children despite the fact that by the time you become a parent you should have realized based on your relationship with your own parents that it simply doesn't work. At some point Rachel one of your children is going to be confronted with your televised make-out session by someone & heaven help you then because you will literally hear the moment any credibility you managed to gain with your kids walks out the door. You are one of the last people who has any right to ride a moral high horse and I find it laughable that any company (I'm talking to you AOL) actually promotes you as some kind of parenting expert, icon or even at a base level as a person of valid interest. Set aside that you write like a ten year old ("Frankly, the shocked headlines are what I find so shocking.") and that you pirate your ideas from women much more talented and smarter than you, where did you get the idea that you are some kind of moral center let alone that you should be giving advice to other parents?

Each parent has a responsibility to give their children the tools to make smart choices. It's not something they can or even should be learning at school or from their peers or from a television program or on the Internet. If you simply hide your child away from the World and hope they turn out to be good people you are setting yourself, not to mention them, up for severe disappointment. By preventing your child from accessing popular culture you are only making it seem more appealing to them. If you would take the time to experience popular culture with your kids you can help them formulate their own opinions and moral codes instead of ending up the enemy in a battle where there are never any winners.

Yup, I'll admit it, I'm a fan of country music & I used to like the Chicks but I lost any respect I may have had for them as artists when they started attacking other country artistists like Toby Keith. It's music, not politics & certainly not a pulpit for hate speach. After releasing "Goodbye Earl", they have no room to refer to anyone else as white trash. You don't get to speak your mind about politics, release a song about killing your husband and then attack other people just because they voice their own military support and pro-America views in song. As far as them emulating The Boss ... worlds apart & it's too bad they aren't smart enough to know the difference. As for those defending them ... don't you remember all the concert tickets that people demanded their money back for after their anti-Bush speech? They are consistantly alinating their fan base but don't seem to care at all. What a shame that they have seemed to forget that without the fans, both old and new, albums, concert tickets, DVDs & other band items don't sell & they don't make money. The Boss is laughing all the way to the bank while they may end up lauging all the way back to the street corner they started on in Texas singing for spare change.

More than a few years ago now, I learned that WalMart only sells censored music when a disgruntled WalMart employee made signs and posted them througout the music department. Since then, I stopped purchasing any type of media, be it music, movies, games or books from WalMart. I did this for numerous reasons, not the the least of which was the fact that I felt if they were going to censor the music sold there and not openly tell their customers about this, they were probably willing to censor all types of media.

Most recently I have enaged in an all out ban of WalMart, including going as far to write polite little note to famiy and friends asking that they refrain from purchasing anyone in my home a gift or giftcard from WalMart. Why? In addition to all the negative information I already posessed about the company, my bestfriend's 13 year old daugher proved that the company's return policy is bigoted. With her own money she went to WalMart and purchased a pair of shorts that cost $10.00, she took the shorts to the cashier who rang the purchase up and willingly took her money. Within a week or two the girl realized she picked up the wrong size and took them back to WalMart to exchange them for the correct size. Although she did not have her receipt, the price tag was still attached to the shorts and it was clear a WalMart brand with a WalMart price tag. WalMart REFUSED to exchange the shorts without receipt because the item was over $10.00 in value and the girl had no ID other than her school ID which they would not accept. She didn't need an ID to purchase the item, she was not looking to get her money back and no one in the store's management was willing to say anything other than "we're sorry that's company policy". When I attempted to use my ID to exchange the shorts for her they wouldn't let me because she had already tried to exchange the shorts on her own. How's that for lousy?
WalMart is no friend to any community that it infects. The quality of their products has significantly gone down hill over the years. The employees are rude and while I probably would be too if I worked for such a lousy company, it's still no excuse for poor customer service.
I live in an area where we have multiple choices for shopping, everything from Target to Kohls and Sears to Best Buy. There is no longer a need for me to shop at WalMart. And while I may pay a bit more, I'm willing to give Joe's Hardware on the corner an extra $0.25 for whatever I need just to keep him in business.
Buy games at WalMart? Never ... they don't carry most of the titles I am looking for anyway.