Our nation is at peace, everyone is prosperous, and justice reigns over all. That's why they have time for this bullsh*t.

"Note also that King contrasted Jackson with fallen police officers, firefighters and soldiers in his speech."

I went to the congresscreature's bio. Like many young men of his generation who had connections, he did one, count `em, one term in New York's National Guard, 1968 to 1974. At the end of that term the draft had ended, Vietnam was fizzling down, and despite National Guard units across the country being woefully understrength, he apparently wasn't terribly interested in reenlisting to help keep America's reserve strength up.

Yeah, you tell `em, Pete!

I demand a moment of silence for Billy Mays, who enthusiastically encouraged so many insomniacs to buy American made products. Think what he could have done to reverse the recession, had fate granted him more years. How about declaring "heart attack and closed-head injury awareness month" in his memory while we're at it? Apparently, he died of a heart attack, rather than a closed-head injury, but at first everyone thought it was the latter, so let's have an awareness month anyway. And Farrah Fawcett -- what that woman single-handedly did for the beauty salon industry of the United States! Who speaks for the hard-working, blue-collar men and women who laboriously cut and blow-dried all those feather-back coiffures? Let's have a "feather back haircut awareness month." Ed McMahon? A splendid role model for people whose true calling is to be a loyal sidekick and shill for sweepstakes scams. And Robert McNamara --

hmmm.

I'll think of something.

How the hell did this become a D vs. R or black vs. white issue? Raping children is wrong, and people who do it are not heroes, they are reprehensible creeps who deserve to be vilified. Yes, even if they are very good at entertaining people. Come on!

Interesting how Michael Jackson united blacks and whites during his life, and how he divides them in death, whether its Jamie Fox stating how MJ belonged to the black people and they simple "shared" him with everybody else, or Sharpton or Jesse Jackson upset that people dare mention bad things about MJ, and how white people would NEVER do that to Elvis.

Michael Jackson was a weirdo, 99% probably a child molester, but this whole thing says a lot about race in US. Seems like we've gone back a couple decades lately, despite having a black President.

Best line from Peter King though:

The bottom line is, would you let your child or grandchild be alone in a room with Michael Jackson?

The one aspect concerning the recent death of the King of Pop, that to my knowledge has not been explored, is the striking similarity between the Michael Jackson and Rush Limbaugh stories. Not in every specific particular of course. There are superficial differences--skinny versus fat, singer versus talker, riding the merry-go-round versus golfing. But the big picture biographical sketches are dancing together nearly step for step.

The rise from the bottom to the top. The accompanying rising ego. The money. The stroll in to the dangerous haze of narcotics abuse, using some instance of past physical paininjury as the excuse for years of addiction and doctor shopping. Self pity. Their own grandiosity more self-satisfying and pleasurable with a buzz on. The multiple divorces. Evidently incapable of any mature social interaction, one finds a mate working in his skin doctor's office, the other one finding a wife who was e-mailing in from his radio flock. Mr. Pop Star marries Elvis' daughter. Mr. Right Wing Star gets married in the home of right wing Supreme Court Justice. One moon-walking, spinning, and crotch-thrusting on stage at some Motown TV special, the other one bobbing up and down, arms thrashing, towelling off sweat as the keynote speaker at the CPAC convention........ Part of the public considering them to be disgusting creeps, and another part fan-zombies who will accept and delight in any ridiculous off-the-wall thing they do or say. From dangling babies from hotel balconies to having maids score their oxycontin in some parking lot. From accusing the record company CEO of being racist causing poor album sales, to blaming Obama for Sanford's hard-on. The men in the mirror. The Music Pop Star Syndrome looking in and the Political Pop Star Syndrome staring back. The self-absorbed celebrity and their groupies.

The naive, innocent, child in an adult body act of Jackson was a fraud as are the patriotism and morals of Limbaugh. Hell, everyone loves the children and the troops. And the con-men take notice. To promote themselves. Despite putting himself in a position where molestation rumors and accusations were to be expected, Michael considered himself to be the Pied Piper Peter Pan for the children. And despite all the soldiers who died or were maimed in wars Limbaugh was cheerleading, or the soldiers who would die in wars he wants to have, he is the spokesman for the troops. Two peas in a pod.

However I'm not predicting brown skin, a surgically installed wide nose, and an afro-wig for Rush somewhere down the line. Conservatives have their respectable limits to publicity stunting. Besides, sometimes it does matter if you're black or white. And here lies the one signifigant difference between MJ and RL. Jackson seems to have transcended race. Rush turns black and his base would crumble.

But I do forecast with confidence that some day Rush will pass away too. He ain't invincible either. And as right wingers gather around the white trash house he was born in we will await the toxicology report.

King of Pop? With a little tweaking to that story he could be the Messiah of Pop.

I have a feeling alot more accusations will be forth coming. Will we eve know if any of them are true? Probably not, but at the very least he engaged in wildly inappropriate behavior. As the years go on he'll be remembered more for the unpleasant questions and less for the dance moves he lifted from Bob Fosse and the bass line he lifted from Hall and Oats.