Let He Who Is Without Sin…
Michael Jackson is getting buried today and hopefully all the media hoopla will be put in the ground with him. It’s no big secret MJ had some “issues” at best, but some of the comments are just silly. The chatter class has been going on and on about Jackson, however if you look at almost any artist, there’s something in their past that isn’t too flattering. Frank Sinatra had mob ties and Elvis Presley was a racist and had drug issues.
I point you to The Smoking Gun website which has lots of photos of stars behaving badly. And I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find someone you like.
Here are a few examples…
- Johnny Cash – Drug Possession
- Jerry “Lee” Lewis – married his 13-year old cousin.
- Glen Campbell – DUI & Hit Run
- Kiefer Sutherland – DUI
- Mel Gibson – what more needs to be said.
Even my favorite baseball coach, Tony LaRussa, of the St. Louis Cardinals has an issue or two under his belt.
So while I don’t excuse bad behavior, I just remind people when you start throwing the sticks, make sure you don’t pick up a boomerang by mistake.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Really Abdul? Issues?
Did you just compare accusations of child molestation to DUI and Drug arrests?
The only “issue” that comes close to comparable would be Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 13 year old cousin.
I have come to expect more from you. Geez, maybe you just need some Jesus Juice to put you back on your game.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Mike,
I'm not defending MJ and will be glad when this crap is over. But if anybody deserves some blame over the MJ deal, it's the idiot parents who let their kids stay at the Never Land ranch.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:52 am
It really says more about the mentality of duh media. Isn't anyone else sick of the hoopla about this sicko? Reminds of Princess Di. Of course, all the hoopla justifies the mullahs reminding their audience that the culture of America is that of the Great Satan.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Although I know better, I wish that after the funeral, the nonstop coverage of his life and death would cease. We are going to be hearing about this for months. He was a gifted performer and musician but he was a weirdo in many senses of the of the word.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I'm REALLY upset……MJ funeral pre-empts Days Of Our Lives at 1pm. Last week tennis pre-empted for 2 days, the week before the Prez. ate up 1/2 hr of DOOL. The Bradys and Hortons are much more interesting.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I was reminded of the meaning of hypocrisy recently when I heard a certain public official criticizing a Dennis Oxley for being a middle-aged, married man having an affair with a much younger intern who worked with him.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Mr. Lowey: you're entitled to your opinion of Michael Jackson. Everyone is. Hardly anyone is neutral on the man.
But please remember this: he was convicted of no criminal acts. Under the stipulated facts, was he guilty of gross misjudgment and poor conduct? Absolutely.
The man lived 50 years. He was a native Hoosier. He paid hundreds of millions in employee salaries and taxes. His estate will continue to do the same.
But his music transcended generations and nations. And, altho we hate to visit this fact, he was one of the first black entertainers to gain nationwide acceptance across all races. After awhile, I don't think people saw a black entertainer–they just saw a singer/dancer of world-class caliber.
Many celebrities, particularly child stars, have to re-learn the lessons of fame. Most of those lessons aren't kind. Michael was a poor student of that School of Learning.
Now folks will come forward with all kinds of books and accusations. He is not alive to defend himself. Because he didn't learn the lessons of fame, and he allowed countless folks into his inner sanctum, those allegations will get ugly and raunchy. Some may be true; most will not be true. It won't matter because the “author” will have visited Neverland several times, and in our celebrity-loving world, that will be credibility enough.
'Tis the nature of celebrity and fame. We crave it, we can't turn away from it and we rarely let up in our insane desire for more information. At some point, honestly, if laws aren't being broken, it's just too much information.
Let him rest in peace.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Agreed.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I'm more concerned with Daddy Joe having access to MJ's kids. Something is wrong with that guy.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I can proudly state that I haven't watched a single news blurb about MJ after his death and that I haven't read a single piece of news print about it. This blog post is the furthest I've gone into the matter. Because frankly, MJ's death is inconsequential to me, to my life, and to anything of any relevance besides “someone died – may he RIP”.
But most importantly, it's a golden opportunity for the media to “forget” about other critical issues that really DO have an impact on our lives. One thing that I've learned over the years is that when a curtain is drawn over just about everything else, stop looking at the curtain and look beyond it to understand what's really going on. The MJ story is a perfect example of that curtain.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:34 am
See qualifier: accusations
Besides, my comment had less to do with MJ than it did with Abdul's choice comparisons. Though I'm glad my post somehow opened the door for your “analysis” of MJ's legacy, I couldn't care less about any of it.
The mania surrounding this situation is just another sign of Idiocracy coming to America.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Nicely said, Abdul.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Idiocracy coming to America? That's a little extreme, isn't it? Hyperbole doesn't suit you.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Ditto.
*
Unfortunately, my wife finds this kind of lightweight and inconsequential crap 'newsworthy' so we have spent the evenings apart while she watched some of this crap. I told her that nobody's death outside of family or friends should have this much impact on anyone's life; she told me to quit being such a downer. Sadly, she epitomizes the reasons why our elected officials can get away with so much crap; the majority of people would rather be entertained than informed and, thru the free market, have demanded that our “push” media outlets such as TV programming, magazines, newspapers, etc. focus on entertainment than on meaningfully informing us of economic and political issues.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I agree that this is the reason why our government has been usurped by private interests practically unnoticed.
But I disagree that this trype of programming is driven by the demands of the free market. Give me a news/research budget, a production crew, and a studio, and I'll put on some news that'll keep people glued to their seats – and – it'll convince them beyond a shadow of a doubt that they need to be immediately and constantly involved in local, state, and federal government.
So I think you have it backwards. The corporate/finance controlled media (same people who control our government) isn't broadcasting empty, vacuous material because the public demands it. In reality, the public demands empty, vacuous material because the controlled media refuses to report true, hard hitting facts about what's really happening in the world, and because the controlled media uses broadcasting techniques to appeal to viewers on an emotional level with material that is designed to generate a satisfying emotional response. The fact that the public is ignorant of facts is not via demand. It's by design.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Shore, you confuse me. Often you and others rail against government control and “socialist” takeovers. Now you say our govt. has been usurped by private interests. Which is it?
You're starting to sound like Dave. Throw enough words on the screen and some of them are bound to be true.
Your Palinesque explanations are making me dizzy.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
TA – I'm surprised that you have to ask that question.
Riddle me this: If you were a profit driven corporation, what would be the ultimate circumstance for you to assure total market share and gaurunteed profit?
July 7th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Well slow your roll, Shore. If you keep mangling the language like that, more and more will ask similar questions.
In our system, there is no concept known as “total market share.” It's a ridiculous notion.
Where DID you get your business, or English, education?
July 7th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I'm hoping MJ doesn't RIP! And since they say 'all children go to heaven', I'd think that's the last place God would allow him.
Sure, Think Again, MJ wasn't convicted of anything. Of course, paying off the family of his first accuser to not testify means nothing to you. Take a look at the newly-released video of his deposition and see what you think.
July 7th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
TA – You're kidding, right? In order to help you save face I'm going to make that assumption, since we know that “total market share” is standard, day-to-day terminology in assessing business performance.
As far as mangling the language goes, it has nothing to do with my education and everything to do with the fact that in a blog discussion, nobody really cares – with the exception of the rare self-inflated ego who points out errors in diction and throws out false claims when they're not open enough to give an honest answer.
Moving along, should I assume from your obfuscation that you're no longer interested in learning why I have concerns about emerging socialism AND increasing control of government by private interests?
Trust me – I'm used to these kinds of distractions and I'm not offended. I expect them, and patience is a virtue. I'm more than willing to answer the question, however, I suspect that you only asked because you were hoping (or you believed) that my rationales were inconsistent. Now that it seems that you were wrong, your attack has failed and you're simply going to detract or ignore because you really weren't interested in an answer – you erroneously thought you were calling me out on an inconsistency.
July 7th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Just wondering aloud….
Have we not lost about 13 American troops killed since MJ died? Where are they in the media?
We just celebrated TWO items on our calendar. One was “July 4th” or “4th of July”, and the second was “Independence Day”.
Sadly, I did not hear the phrase “Independence Day” used as often as the “4th of July” phrase.
People like MJ did NOT give us the ability to celebrate our “Independence Day”. The living and dead troops did.
Base Pay for an E3 (2 years) in our military is $1753 per MONTH.
Remember all of our troops, past & present, living and dead, that gave us our independence, and allow us to at least maintain a semblance of it.
I don't celebrate “July 4th”. And I thank those 13 dead troops for their service.
IndyAries – US Marine Corps
July 7th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
That base pay is just slightly above unemployment payments. And it's not nearly enough. More pay and health care/benefits for soldiers now!
July 7th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I agree, Think Again. (I know, the shock of a lifetime!) However, it will probably never happen under this president. As much as he gives lip service to such a notion, the man hates the military and all they represent.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
… should buy the first round.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Are you freaking serious, Rico? Bush threatened to veto increase sin VA benefits at the same time he was wrapping himself in the flag. We haven't seen a bigger hypocrite i the White House on this issue.
Obama and this Congress have already pushed through a large increase in VA Hospital construction and staffing.
Pushing through bigger military pay involves a larger matrix, but it's getting the proper attention.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:39 am
To piggyback IndyAries:
I kept one of my pay and allowances statements from a decade ago when I was an E4 in the Army as a reminder of how far I was willing to go to sacrifice for this country and how far I've come financially; back then I made a mere $1243 a month which is substantially less than I make in a week now. Back then, I chose to enlist rather than become an officer when I joined the Army even though I had a college degree from PU. A lot of my staff didn't appreciate the pay they earn ($40k-75K) or my appreciation for having a job that keeps me in an office setting and with regular work hours until I pulled out that US Army pay statement and let them see how much I earned (gladly) a decade ago as an enlisted soldier with a Bachelor's degree from PU. Sadly, those times were cut short by an accumulation of injuries, but rarely does a day go by that I don't miss the fulfillment that sacrifice brought to my life.
Whenever you see a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman the least you should do is silently thank them for the tremendous personal sacrifice they've volunteered to endure in order to have the honor of doing what so many in this country are unwilling to do. Every day of the last 233 years this country has been in existence has been a living celebration of our Independence.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
well whooptie do for you both.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:39 am
well whooptie do for you both.