Hey, I will give you credit -- you make your case very well. And you know much more about the trial(s) than I do. Thanks for all the details and arguments. My hat's off to you.

I have nothing invested in arguing that Jackson was guilty of anything. He may well have not been.

The only thing I do know is this:

(1) Jackson erred in leaving himself open to these sorts of accusations. This is not to say he's to blame if, indeed, he was victimized by extortionists.

(2) Michael Jackson should have done real damage control after the accusations. The best thing to do would have been to follow Hugh Grant's example and publically explain himself, with real humility and honesty -- even if no legal lines were crossed. When President Clinton confessed to the blow-jobs, he took back control of the situation. He was then free to get back to work. Jackson could have done something like this, but instead he piled on the make-up and costumes, and just kept retreating (with notable exceptions, like his pubic statement regarding the detectives taking photographs of his penis). Jackson should have done the Oprah show and made the rounds, telling the truth and letting the chips fall. That's the only position from which to remake yourself.

(3) His music and pop image suffered as he retreated more and more into his "Neverland." I saw one of his later videos last night. I'm not sure if it was from HIS/story or what, but it had expensive production values, and it showed the unveiling of a giant Michael Jackson sculpture, as a huge crowd of fans screamed and helicopters circled around. The miscalculation of this self-aggrandizing approach is impressive; it is a major turn-off, and betrays a serious disconnect with the cultural reality of the times. "Bigger" and "overloaded production" weren't the answer to his popularity problems. The answer he should have given was "more down-to-earth" and "better music."

khpdave: "Ok, I thought Biden looked like he was relieved when the ending bell rang."

I didn't see it that way. But in what version of reality does "looking relieved" translate into "losing the debate"?

Riverhill: "What a great society you are building."

Your statement is near-pointless, but I think I get your sarcastic drift.

So I ask you, what the hell are you doing to build society?

I work for a living. I give money to charities. I create things. I support the lives of my friends and family. I am active in my community. I vote. I interact. I communicate. I contribute to society.

So what was your point again?

"As a Democrat, I detest the partisan machinations that have become standard in Northeastern news management and that are detectable in editorial decisions at major metropolitan newspapers nationwide. It's why I, like a host of others, have shifted my news gathering to the Web."

The problem with the above quote is that Paglia conveniently leaves out the scores of major metropolitan newspapers that have conservative editorial boards.

Hell, even the New York Times banged the Iraq war drums.

Bingo.

You're exploiting the moment to make a big controversy that will drive page-views on Salon. Most people haven't seen her speak at the memorial, so by giving it this weird micro-attention, you're possibly creating a much worse problem than that which already exists. Salon has has had over a half-dozen articles about Michael Jackson. Why add this log to the fire?

Everything in Michael Jackson's life, and his family's life, is going to be a little different and more public than for the average person. It might be wrong to encourage a kid to become dramatic at a funeral/memorial service, but it would be wrong to deny her the chance to speak if that's what she felt like doing. The circumstances are much worse for her than any one transitory moment. Her dad is dead. Who cares about the style points?

I know her through a mutual friend. She's completely bonkers. She also cheats on her husband.

-- 30+ posts disagreeing about Palin "cleaning Biden's clock"

-- 0 conservatives/Drudgebots attempting to defend that claim

Camille Paglia: "Whether Palin has a national future or not will depend on her willingness to hit the books at some point and absorb more information about international history and politics than she has needed to know in her role as governor."

Translation: Palin's a ignoramus. This euphemism is the only way Paglia can bring herself to admit it.

PattieB: "My hope is that conservatives start to stand up and demand that this behavior stop and mock those, like Letterman, who think nothing of making jokes about the rape of a child."

What we just learned from Patti B.

Is that she doesn't care about reality

Durian Joe: "Mark Mothersbaugh's funeral will be even weirder. I might even be there, old and wrinkly and wearing a yellow jumpsuit and big sunglasses in honor of the guy who shaped much of my musical sensibility."

It's a god given law / That you're gonna lose your Mothersbaugh

.....shrivel up!

I thought "obeisant" was when somebody tells you to eat a pile of Twinkies, and you comply.