All in all a relatively satisfying end to the life of a child molester. May they all end up like this. Sooner would be nice though.

Sad, I hope he finally has found peace. I don't agree with the things he did but I wouldn't wish the life of a child star on anyone. Maybe his children will have a chance at a normal life.
He sure did have talent.

The lesson here is Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be celebrities. Another sad example of a person whose childhood was stolen by parents and promoters with dollar signs in their eyes. How many child stars grow up to normal functioning adults?

A sad event for his family and friends, a ratings bonanza for the media.

As bizarre as he was. God rest his soul.

I got dibs on that nose that kept falling off.

We'll talk about this endlessly tomorrow while the US house votes on cap & trade and not a peep about that.

So sad.

Widely considered the greatest vocalist of all time, MJ will be missed, but never forgotten.

MJ is one of my all time favorite artists, and my daughters favorite. She went on an "all MJ" stint in 2007 driving my wife crazy. She performed "Beat It" at the school talent concert and now is called "mini MJ" by her peers, much to her chagrin.

I echo MaryM's comments.

Looks like I'll be digging out my copy of Off the Wall tonight.

Is he going to be buried, cremated or just melted down?

lol shawn

Poor Farrah, from top story to the back page in a few hours.

Anyone find out how to get $11,668 from the Canadian Government? Advertisement on LA Times link. What????

Well, at least we still have Latoya.

My God! Always something hateful, right, Kate?
Get help.

Such a talented little boy, it was almost surreal.
What a messed up life.

Too bad, too soon for anyone, but I won't miss him, he just didn't do anything for me. It was tragic for others, say Sarah Vaughan, who had real talent, but many, many problems, some of them no doubt, beyond her control. R.I.P.

Ms. Sunshine,

Maybe hateful (though not really), what keeps you coming around? And why is "I'm offended" the only thing you can write here?

Mary's just upset that she won't get a chance to let her kid "play" with Mike so she can claim millions in payoffs for molestation accusations.

Even in death MJ manages to make a scene and take attention away from a real celebrity of my generation: Farrah Fawcett. and yes, I did have one of those posters in my room as a teen.

The fact that Michael Jackson had talent was never in dispute. It was, as Kate said, the obsession to be a freak show that turned many people away. I kind of figured something was loose when he wanted to turn into Liz Taylor or Lisa Minnelli.

The more those names I grew up with keep showing up in the obits, the more I start to worry about my own mortality.

Young boys in Los Angeles are safer now than they were 24 hours ago.

G*d have mercy on his soul.

He was an amazingly talented man but totally screwed up; was he trying to channel Liz Taylor, who's not dead yet?

I wasn't a Michael Jackson fan, but I loved him singing ABC-123. He was cute, fresh-faced, enthusiastic, and a great dancer.

What a sad life.

One weird, weird dude.

ABC-123:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYx3BR2aJA4&feature=related

Who will inherit his Orange County chopper with a side car?

Jackson was an idiot. Kinda like an Idiot Savant.
The Idiot part of him prevailed and he basically committed suicide through his lifestyle. He could have been a contender in his metier but chose to follow a perverted lifestyle and pandered to his
base instincts.
Personally, for a Black singer, I much prefer Nat King Cole to this asshole. Nat was indeed a performer that didn't need bullshit to be a star.

Okay, I was the generation that was supposed to love Thriller.

And I get that everybody says he had talent.

But can I just ask a question? What talent? Didn't anybody else find his voice just a little bit too high? Did he really sing that well?

I guess he did concerts well and danced well, so maybe that's the talent. But I truly don't get it. I just don't like high voices in men, and I have "Thriller" going through my head and it's awfully annoying.

I do admit he was cute as a child, and did have a great child's voice. I just don't think he ever had a great man's voice.

That doesn't make his death or his life any less tragic. I guess I'm just wondering what everybody else saw that I just didn't.

Will the free concerts he was to give in London this summer be cancelled? Or will there be a public gathering, holding of hands, and a sing-a-long to his videos?

OK, I wasn't much of a fan of his music or his character, but I do wish his family and friends condolences.

Weirdo musician dies. RIP.

I read a report somewhere that he may have been autistic. Aspbergers Syndrome? It would certainly explain his bizarre behaviour.

No, Harry, he was not autistic in any way. Mr. Jackson didn't get a chance to play, in the way that a normal child plays, when he was very young. As a result, he did not mature normally. This is a well-known phenomenon, and I find it hard not to appreciate a certain sadness there. He also did some interesting things in the fields of professional entertainment and music, which is what it is. I will say this, though: if you aren't listening to the following at about 110 dB while roller-skating on a Saturday night in 1979, then you probably don't understand what Mr. Jackson did so very, very well ;-)

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Orange County chopper?

More like a 'Big Wheel'.

SheilaG, me too, never saw what all the fuss was about. One hit album? Lots of folks can make that claim.

Al Sharpton has just told the world that he made sure that Michael Jackson was at James Brown's last funeral, because he was one of his heroes. I don't know how many other funerals he had, but he must have been as hard as King Kong to kill; or else Rasputin!

Three stars gone within a few weeks.

He might have been a freakshow but he had talent back in the day.

Sorry, it's spelled Aspergers Syndrome. Wearing a mask for fear of germs, and sleeping in a oxygen chamber may may be explained by OCD. Aspergers and OCD are often linked together.

here we are, screwed priorities all;

Some nutbar 1/2 way around the world wants wipe the US off the map (and by proxy that includes us) and all we can find is a bunch of BS about some other over paid over rated nut bar that has exited this earth.

BTW, Farrah Fawcett died today too :-(

Vitruvius, sorry, I didn't see your comment when I posted mine - you make a good point.

I never cared for him much. One day I had the car stereo up and they played Black or White. Whether I liked him or not he worked hard for the money and the music wasn't that bad. The dancing was good and he!! look at the family he had. He carried the clan a long way. Sad to see people die young. Same for Farrah, a truly brave woman.

Michael Jackson died a long time ago.

He was born the same year I was, but he was always so much younger than me.

I respect his talent, but am mystified about the self mutilation.

Micheal Jackson....

"A Legend In His Own Slime"

If only we had universal health care...

I'll never forget this day.

I can finally take my Farah Fawcett poster down.

Michael who ?

Loved MJ's early stuff - not so much the thriller era and after. Sorry he didn't get a real childhood and the resulting drift into notoriety.

And Farrah - a real icon for me. So sad. Both were part of landscape for me growing up

In God's hands. RIP.

when ALL the Owebama supporters in hollyweird are dead and gone I'll be happy!!!

MJ gets to be the Anna Nicole of 2009! Whatta role to star in. Greta/Nancy/Larry et al will have their work cut out as we get to re-live in every prime time moment this summer of Michael's harrowing last 10 years and experience in stunning 3-D the battles for custody of the 3 kids and the remains of his squandered fortune! Reality TV just got a leetle crazier.

Meanwhile...MJ gets to learn a new dance: the Saturn Walk.

Michael Jackson died? Dang.

Farrah Fawcett must be p1ssed!

I thought he did a great job on "Human Nature", but then I heard the Miles Davis version and forgot about it.

Some nice tunes but now some kids will be safer and those molested can be assured he won't be back. All in all a fitting end.

Right on Ardvark, poor Farrah won't even make a 24 hour news cycle now.

In the meantime, the HBO State-Run Media is declaring Jackson a Pop Icon who loved Lil Boys. Ironic ?

Ok, can't help myself.

What does Wal-Mart and Michael Jackson have in comon ?

They both have boys pants half off.
,

Allahpundit tweets:
Crowd milling about aimlessly outside the hospital reminds me of mall shots in "Dawn of the Dead"

How much of his success was due to his own talent, and how much to the talent of Quincy Jones?
I'm just askin'.

Jackson and Mike Tyson share some things in common. Both were great talents in their own right, but both received poor guidance, and both were in one way or another taken advantage of (Tyson especially).

I think Jackson became a total freak later on in life, but the news of his passing still made me pause for a bit. Seems like only yesterday when I was in high-school and he was all the rage.

There's some sadness to this news which I cannot fully explain (in stark contrast to when Trudeau passed away and I couldn't stop celebrating).

Time marches on too quickly, and we get older whether we like it or not.

Vitruvius said "Mr. Jackson didn't get a chance to play, in the way that a normal child plays, when he was very young."

Like a lot of very talented people MJ suffered from too much family interference while young and not enough family interference as a grown up. He was traumatized and the defense mechanisms that he learned early in life were probably his downfall later in life.

A talented individual -- no doubt. Also an argument for the strict enforcement of child labour laws which the entertainment industry (and here I include sport, both professional and amateur) consistently manages to skirt. It would be interesting to see an actuarial analysis of the risks associated with being used as a child star.

As 'Archie B' might say..."Spare me the soon to be released "carpet bombing" of 'urologies' ". I feel no loss.

Vitruvius, as always, I respect your opinion.
,

Come on,Mikey's death is as tragic as anyone elses today,the man was a rich diddler.

Jacko made history, recorded History and now he is history.

As for Farrah, she singlehandedly helped me through puberty.

She'll be missed.

Vitruvius wrote: "No, Harry, he was not autistic in any way. Mr. Jackson didn't get a chance to play, in the way that a normal child plays, when he was very young. As a result, he did not mature normally. This is a well-known phenomenon, and I find it hard not to appreciate a certain sadness there. He also did some interesting things in the fields of professional entertainment and music, which is what it is. I will say this, though: if you aren't listening to the following at about 110 dB while roller-skating on a Saturday night in 1979, then you probably don't understand what Mr. Jackson did so very, very well ;-)

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Vitruvius nailed it with this comment.
Interesting that that's the song I would have picked too...

He did some bad stuff, but he didn't kill anyone, thankfully. Think Willy Pickton. Jackson was a child himself. I don't think he ever had a reason to grow up.

Thriller was the best LP ever. Well, next to any Steely Dan LP.

Can you imagine the autopsy?
How many fake bodyparts? The vitiglio he supposedly had, all the answers at last.

A very gifted person with enormous problems.

Am not going to judge him. That task is already assigned.

RIP Farrah and Michael.

Reminds me of when Elvis died. Presley hadn't had a hit in years, was a bit of a reclusive weirdo, and was loaded to the teats on prescription pills when he suddenly died. Wonder if the king of pop was also found on his "throne"?

In other words, Lisa Marie must be stopped before she kills again.

I thought MJ was living in the Middle East where he converted to Islam and its ok to do little boys. When did he get back to LA? Does this mean he will have a Muslim funeral?

My God, he's not even dead 24 hours and there having Micheal Jackson sales.....

"Boys underware...half off"

Lol, I just told a friend, "I bet you any money I can go to smalldeadanimals and Kate mcmillian will have lept to the computer to write something angry, insensitive, and arrogant with regard to all of this" and like clockwork she has. Too predictable she is. Hahaha!

Twittering a revolution.

I can't believe Jacko death overstretching twitter. Alarmed that we might not be able to organise in a V imp week. #iranelection #iran #gr88about
[oxfordgirl]1 hour ago from web

8 of 10 trend topics abt 1 man in 5 hrs. 0 of 10 abt a nation that have innocent ppl killed 4 two weeks #iranelection
[StopAhmadi]11 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Vitruvius is right. I don't get it why this is big deal for anyone outside of Jackson's family, and I certainly don't know why FNW has preempted regular programming to cover this.

Of course in 1979, I'd was probably listening to stuff like Beyond the Realms of Death instead of Roller Rink Music

Mikey wasn't alone in the personal degradation, I recall seeing pictures of Farrah (was it Playboy?) that were pretty rough. But it seems to me she may have found a kind of redemption, we'll maybe never know with Michael. I'll miss big Ed more.

Jackson had an awful childhood with a tyrannical father who bears some of the responsibility for Jackson's subsequent stagnation of maturity, but only some in that Jackson was an adult and should have known better.

His questionable actions in adulthood are explicable, but not excusable. One has to wonder how he would have been if his childhood had been different.

I'm sorry he's dead. Mostly for the children, who will certainly be at the center of a major financial custody battle in the coming weeks and months.

And if the family of Farah Fawcett wished for privacy as they mourn her, they will certainly have it now.

It is sad when a person dies.
If Jakson remained on track from the 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough', he may have had a concert to attend in London in the near future.
Jackson obviously was not happy with himself and thought that money can buy a race.
Looks like the medications caught up with him, somewhat like Elvis.

First line, bold font - even a nota bene...

...and still too subtle.

I like locopunk's perspective http://www.instapunk.com/#IP1773

Ben:

What exactly did Kate write that was "angry" or "insensitive"?

Yeah, that empty silence is what I thought you would say.

David Carradine is all but forgotten . . . .

MainStreamMedia must be relieved to have a real story to chew on, now that their reporters were kicked out of Iran. They are all over this story, dredging up every B-list celebrity with a remote connection to Jackson.

Maybe Ahmedinijad killed him to distract the world.

What a week, starts off with Charles Adler knocking one out of the park with Ignatiaff's new theme song Rasputine. Then the Iranian's openly demand democracy, Then Farrah Faucett dies, then Micheal Jackson not to be outdone quickly follows suit. I wonder if she waited for him at the gates or if he arrived there? Time will tell. My condolences to both of their families.

MJ ??
Dianna Ross's revenge on Motown.
Well past its best before date

What, Ben, you have friends? And they admit it? wow.

Gotta say, always had a soft spot for the original Charlies Angles, and really think Farrah Fawcet was under estimated ...

Micheal Jackson ... not so much ... never really thought much of his music liked a bit but not the Thriller and Bad stuff. Point to ponder, would he have lived longer had he stayed Black and not become such a freak.

Hey Kevin b, how the heck are ya. If you don't know what I'm talking about you're a dolt. Let me help you out. When someone writes an article with the title proclaiming what a freak show someone was upon their death then it fits my aforementioned descriptions of poor taste.

It would be one thing if mcmillian wrote this drivel because she thought of little else to say, but it's clear that the woman goes out of her way in situations such as these to say something derogratory and provacative. It comes off as really fake and old feeling after awhile. It's like she's threatened by the idea that some fans may actually give a crap so she's gonna run to the mic and fire off her 2 cents at a completely untimely moment just to show how crass she can be.

Tenebris - I think the joke below fits better.

http://www.instapunk.com/#IP1772

Make a over a billion in your lifetime - respect. Still die in debt - double respect.

I think maybe some of you could use a refresher on the old "if you don't have anything nine to say..." routine, heck even "speak no ill of the dead". I'm kind of surprised actually.

I was always curious about his scientific experiment to extend life. We finally have the results. (for sale: one slightly used hyperbaric chamber.)

The best line ever about Michael Jackson was, "only in America can a poor black boy grow up to be a rich white woman."

Any bets on how long we're going to have to listen to the media waffle on about Michael Jackson? Can't watch anything else on television tonight. I think I'm glad I'll be away from Television for at least the weekend, otherwise I'm might have to break the darn thing.

Ben - If you still have balls, try rubbing some Absorbine Jr on them. Might help you with perspective.

the Elvis Presley of his generation. With all of the trappings that entails

Ben,
I think you fail to appreciate that Kate is simply capturing and articulating popular sentiment.

I hope you can understand that we live in an age of outrageous pedophilia. A good portion of the Catholic Church's finances have been wiped out having to pay claims against pedophilia. And this hurts no one worse, beyond the families, than the good priests who bear the brunt of it all.

Female school teachers are attacking children at a relentless pace. We're constantly amazed to see a new one pop up.

Even up in Canada you've had some horrible abuses of little children. I believe one girl even conspired with her boyfriend to rape, torture, and murder her own little sister.

Now, Ben, I hope you will appreciate that many of us grew up in a world where this was unheard of. We left the house after breakfast in the summertims and roamed at will, showing back up for supper, and it never occurred to any of us that it was dangerous.

Then we come to someone like Michael Jackson, someone who is conspicuously insulated from the law and from public opinion by his wealth, his lawyers, and his publicists, because he's a talented guy.

I think you can understand that people like us who have been watching one tragic situation after another for many years could build up considerable resentment at someone who is untouchable, irrespective of his horrible acts.

Maybe you could approach it from this perpective. We do.

People die every day. I won't miss him. The child abuse alert just went from yellow to green.

Farrah, OTOH, had real class. But again, people die every day.

Sad that someone died, but I don't / didn't see the talent. And he certainly was no role model.

Talking heads like Al Sharpton are on TV saying his music is timeless and he/it "will live forever."

Moments later, they show clips of "I'm Bad", "Billy Jean" and some other grunting and wiggling videos and they're no less ridiculous than the Weird Al Yankovich spoofs. Jackson's stuff is as dated and forgettable as Wham fluff.

The Beatles are timeless... maybe Elvis. I couldn't imagine my kid 'discovering' Jackson in 5 years the way she will with "Yesterday". Hell, Abba has more legs than MJ.

Jackson was the halftime show at the SuperBowl about 15 years ago, wearing a gold jockstrap outside of his black pants. He grabbed his nuts every four or five seconds.

All I could think was, "What a messed up world that people idolize this freak who plays with himself on stage." ... and "Who the heck would let their kid watch this guy, let alone leave them alone with him?"

Interesting to watch all the people who want to nail the governor of SC to the wall for having an affair are now on TV discounting Jackson's 'issues' with little boys, saying, "we've all problems from time to time."

Drudge says it was a final injection of Demorol that put him out of his misery.... sounds like a scene out of Pulp Fiction with a bunch of enablers trying to get their fellow junkie to wake up.

Gonna puke when Sir Elton comes out with another Candle in the Wind sequel paying tribute to another unworthy 'star'.

P.S. - In keeping with the previous posts lamenting those forgotten in the shadow of the King's death.... Poor Ed McMahon... bwa hahaha.

It's going to be a long friggin' weekend...

Mickey's not dead. I saw him and Elvis on a yacht heading out of Honolulu harbor just yesterday.

I swear!

I never understood what the fuss was about. Now we will have weeks of faux misery from all those "who's lives he touched" No doubt the same idiots that were blubbing in the streets when Diana Wales snuffed it. He was a deviant who abused children and got away with it because he was rich. Good riddance.

Ben.............one less child molester to worry about. Do you have a problem with that?

Rest in peace, and condolences to his family, friends and fans. Of which I am not one, however.

I still can't stand the Jackson Five, and that squeaky, grating voice is a major reason. After a decade full of great pop tunes, suddenly good airtime was being wasted on what I might designate "bubblegum soul" (the J5 were not the only offenders; the quality of music on the charts was in serious decline after 1969). It's not a matter of how talented he is or was (which I won't dispute). His '80s material doesn't bother me as much, but give me the Smiths, Cure, Big Country, Chameleons, or Depeche Mode any day.

I have a lot of respect for the work of Phil Spector, so I certainly can't be criticizing Jackson over his legal issues ...

"Widely considered the greatest vocalist of all time"

Better than Freddy Mercury?

"How much of his success was due to his own talent, and how much to the talent of Quincy Jones?"

If I want to listen to something that showcases the talent of Quincy Jones, I dig out my Lesley Gore best-of CD.

Finally, the "King of Pop" designation is ridiculous.

You know that regardless of his foibles his life was not wasted.

Maybe he deserves some respect for what he did accomplish.

His degeneration only took hold after his meteoric success of the 80's.

Sad and reprehensible true, yet not his whole measure.

It is pretty tragic, the comments here about a guy that did change the music scene, dance scene and started it all at the tender age of 9 years old.

In dance school, they actually call moves, "A Michael Jackson" to this day.

So say what you will but at your next family picnic, wedding or Christmas party, when the DJ plays a classic MJ, sit your a$$ down and continue being a jerk.

REST FINALLY, MICHAEL.

A scene that won't be complete until you send your little boy home with the DJ for a sleep over.

Ben, he unquestionally was a freak. The whole world has been aware of that for many years now. So exactly how would mentioning that qualify as angry, insensitive, and arrogant? Or is it just your opinion that anyone not weeping and anguished over his death fits that description?

______________________________________________

As for Jackson, I didn't like any of his music (except the song he sang for the movie "Willard" titled "Ben"). I thought it was rather pathetic that he thought he had to grab his crotch repeatedly in his performances.

That being said, I did recognize considerable talent, both as a singer and dancer. He could have produced much better quality.

Kate wins that hand...
Why is it that 'celebrity' trumps all, speaking of card games.
If you (bleeding hearts)found out that one of your neighbors had been diddling your prepubescent son or daughter I'm guessing that the Crown Prosecutor would be looking at filing Murder two charges against you.

Who is this Michael Jackson you are speaking of...?

TJ @8:41 - "Jackson and Mike Tyson have some things in common..." and both had/have freakishly high, squeaky, childlike voices. Both were/are into facial self-mutilation. Huh.
Me, I'd have locked the kid in the toolshed before letting Michael Jackson babysit, just to be on the safe side, but I don't think he was a child molester, just a trauma victim so isolated from reality by stardom that he never realized how creepy and awful it was for a chronological adult to try to live out some fantasy of a pain-free existance by pretending to be a child and trying to make "friends" with children.
On the other hand, "Bad" is one of the two earliest songs recorded in my mental hard-drive. And when he was good (and I sure don't mean "Bad"), he was so d*mn good. I'll really miss him. Poor M.J.

Yes, once Jackson got out from under his father's influence, his problems were self-inflicted. Neither his father nor his family made him choose to sculpt his face into something resembling a police sketch of a suspected felon.

Well, yes, freak show he was or became. He started out as this amazing little kid -- that's who I remember. While all the other little girls my age were nuts over Donny Osmond, I liked Michael. I also liked the Jackson Five cartoon.

I couldn't stand to look at him in later years -- too freaky. And his death shouldn't come as much of a surprise; he's looked sickly for a long time.

But some of the sickest people are the parents who let their little ones have "sleep-overs" with him. Money meant that much to them?

I am really hoping, though, that this whole thing doesn't turn into another Princess Di - yuck!

Hilarious clicking around the news this morning... old white guys like Mike Barnacle on MSNBC talking about how Michael touched their souls. Nothing funnier than someone pretending the mandatory schtick is from the heart.

Can you imagine the Happy Dance that SC Governor Mark Sanford is doing this morning? That guy was set to be THE news cycle for the next week. He was going to be drawn, quartered, filleted, buttered and served up all day and through the weekend. And now... yesterday's news.

In terms of celebrity poker, a dead diddler trumps an adulterous politician... even a Republican one.

Note to self: If I ever get caught running around... pray for the untimely death of a famous freak.

Check out Kate's Update 2:- Racist! and learn some sensitivity from the lefties. Isn't Zorpheous at 7:11 the same person that cruises by SDA occasionally? And how about that balbulican?

"To excuse his behavior as though it was simply a pre-programmed result of his years as a child performer is not just intellectually lazy, it's an insult to every individual who has overcome true childhood hardship, deprivation and/or abuse to emerge as a functioning member of society. "

Thank you muchly for this statement. It applies in so many other circumstances - the experiences of Aboriginal people comes ot mind.
There are many of us who had childhoods filled all sorts of deprivations and dysfunction. I remember making the choice at age 10 that once able to choose my own path I would choose differently. That was in 1991. I'm not sure whether there are enough glimmers of principles such as meritocracy, individualism and hard work filtering into public schools to allow kids to believe in their power to make that type of choice any more.

"He had the life he chose.

To excuse his behavior as though it was simply a pre-programmed result of his years as a child performer is not just intellectually lazy, it's an insult to every individual who has overcome true childhood hardship, deprivation and/or abuse to emerge as a functioning member of society.

Michael Jackson was no bobbing cork on the sea of circumstance - he was a multi-millionaire with the means to choose any lifestyle he wanted. "Functional adult" was one of the options. He chose otherwise."

Thanks for that Kate - The Truth, laid bare.

This provides a nice destraction for the masses this week, time to ram some legislation down thier throats,the global warming bill comes to mind. Almost like they had it planned this way.

MJ's death couldn't happen soon enough for Gov. Sanford. Wow - what a lynchmob frenzie by the left-leaning MSM!

Now MJ can be reunited with his nose.

Re Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough: At least he still had a face, and a handsome one. And, what's with all the debris in the background? What kind of outerspace was Jackson in?

'Just a precursor to his future life?

This is the first time in Two Years that Obama has been out of the "news cycle", wasn't it pleasant!
Oh, but I'm sure Him and Ralm will be able to use this distraction to their benefit somehow. (like ram through cap an' trade)

Walking around out and about today, I don't see any black arm bands. No flags at half staff. No silent parades of mourners.

What I see is people going about their daily usual, ignoring a conflagration of wall to wall Michael Jackson Everything on all the media. Web included, here we are talking about it.

Earlier I made a joke about Farrah Fawcet. According to my core beliefs, she's laughing at it right now. She lived well, and died well and now goes onward to her just rewards. Ave atque vale, Farrah Fawcett. And to everyone else who died well yesterday but didn't get on TV.

Either a human being has the power of free choice or they don't. Normal people in our culture assume they do. the media assumes they don't. Hence the feeding frenzy over Michael Jackson's self inflicted departure.

It only seems harsh if you think people are robots. So if I'm harsh, if Kate seems harsh, you might want to think about that a little bit. Or you can just curse me and move on, I'm good with it either way frankly.

He was a super talent, there's no denying it.
Here's my favorite video by MJ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg-IRZk4D0

Is Dirty Diana, demerol?
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/dirtydiana.html
A super talent that turned into a drugged degenerate child rapist.
A Princess Diana maudilin faux grief twisters a comin...
Everyone to the cellar!

Come on...'the quality of mercy' still exists in all of us.

I have to admit I can't comment on MJ's music; I never heard it (that I know of)..same with the Beatles, Presley and all the other pop culture. For some odd reason, it and I slipped past each other even though we shared the same planet during the same years. It can happen, after all.

I agree that Jackson's neurotic obsession with transforming his body and face into what it wasn't is neurotic. His attempt to return to a pre-adolescent childhood ..by having 'sleep-overs' with young boys..(and I think Jackson was asexual and that nothing happened)..well, it's all weird.

And yes, we are able to and even required to make choices that are constructive rather than self-destructive. He consistently and relentlessly made the latter.

I still think that, as we are all human and might, possibly, be weak and unable to be constructive in some areas in our own lives...that we owe him the courtesy of mercy.

"How much of his success was due to his own talent, and how much to the talent of Quincy Jones?
I'm just askin'." Posted by: Imethisguy at June 25, 2009 8:41 PM

That was the most relevant comment in the string regarding Michael Jacksons great success. Without Quincy producing and arranging Thriller and others, Jackson's music may have been lost in the stupidity of the 80s music.

It's a shame, perhaps inexcusablethat MJ turned into what he was with all his resources...BTW did anyone ever notice any little girls in his presence over the years? Hmmmmm......

ET: Thank you for bringing some sanity back to this thread. Regardless of what anyone things personally, MJ leaves behind three children that are morning the lose of their father right now. There nightmare is just beginning. I couldn't have said it better than what you eloquently wrote in your last line. Mercy and Peace.

At least Gov. Sanford was having heterosexual sex with an adult.
Jackson was just another profligate, sexually perverted freak. This world is better off without him.

Yes, those would be the children he'd hide under blankets and dangle off balconies.

(Oh, and the same children whose father converted a $19m yearly income into a massive debt. Now, that's responsible parenting!)

Celebrate the music if you like, but for decency's sake, don't celebrate the man

Thank you, some one had to say it. He dead, everyone get over move on. There's far more important things in the world than MJ.

I'm 99.99% sure an angry parent got him

Micheal Jackson lost his credibility when he paid off the little kids family. he made his bed and had to lie in it. I echo Bob's comment at 9:38 this couldn't have come at a worse time to distract from Cap and trade. Cap and trade will break the western way of life. The MSN wants that.

Oh Kate, stick a sock in it and show some class for once in your life. The interpretation you have of him is at least partially attributable to an obsessed tabloid media sensationalizing every movement the guy made. He may or may not have been a great father, he may have looked weird, he may have done horrible things (for which he was aquitted of..later it emerged that the family charging him had a history of trying to extort money). My point what do you really know about him vs the depiction you have received from an over obsessed media and in any regard show some mercy. If you're a Christian act the part, his judgement is in god's hands now so give it a rest.

He chose otherwise.

Kate, That would make for a great new category to go along with Y2Kyoto, Tony Blair's Britain, Not Waiting for the Asteroid, etc.

Being the same age as MJ, I have had the almost life-long displeasure of hearing his horrible singing, crappy lyrics and seeing his hilarious image. Even back in grade 6 in 1970 I cringed at the sound of his voice. (The Jackson Five were a joke to most kids I knew back then.) I suppose now we'll be hearing even more of it as the world mourns the loss of this "talented entertainer".

Just realized how different a reality I inhabit when I don't recall any of MJ's music aside from "Eat it" which my wife informed me yesterday was a Weird Al Yankovich song. Most likely I heard MJ's music at some point during the 1980's but it was not something that made any impression unlike The Cars or Dire Straights which were the memorable bands of that era. No-one I used to associate with back then listened to MJ (or at least admitted to it).

Just realized how different a reality I inhabit when I don't recall any of MJ's music aside from "Eat it" which my wife informed me yesterday was a Weird Al Yankovich song.

I was really young when Michale Jackson's career was at its peak (in my opinion). "Thriller" came out a few months before I was even born.

I remember watching "Bad" for the first time, confusing it with Weird Al's "Fat" video, and being very disappointed when Michael Jackson failed to balloon up.

Always room for an unkind word here (especially when talking about blacks/Indians/gays/Muslims).

This creep is one big reason why so much talentless junk made it big. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake to name just two. It's not about the music anymore. It's about the dancing, choerography, costumes, sex exhibitionism, videos and merchandise.
None can play an instrument including their own vocal chords.

BTW, the narcissist in chief is probably twitching that he his not the top news story right now...Watch for a teleprompter sermon or a bogus, pre scripted press conference any minute now...Probably to sob about poor Jackson, the white cream on top, Orio boy.

Mary:

We don't care about anyone's opinion when their knee jerk reaction to everything is a cry of "racism". You do a disservice to true racism in this world.

My post should read:

You do a disservice to identifying true racism in this world.

Because of people like you Mary,the word racism and the eye roll come hand in hand.

Chairman, you and your friends are providing fine service to racism.

Now Mary can judge friends of people she never met while shouting racism from the rooftops.

I'm talking about his ilk here.

Mary Sunshine,
the notorious and scandalous Michael Jackson just died, Farah Fawcett just passed away from cancer, and David Carradine died practicing some kind of auto-erotic sex act.

And out of all of this the only thing that you can come up with is an unwarranted attack on a Saskatchewan blogger.

This is really a new low in originality.

mary sunshine - don't be stupid.

Stupid behaviour has nothing to do with one's 'race', ethnicity or religion. If someone makes bad life choices, and it can't be disputed that Jackson made some very bad decisions, these decisions that he made had nothing to do with his 'race', ethnicity, religion etc.

Are you seriously suggesting that IF someone is 'black/native/gay/Muslim' that they are incapable of making bad life decisions? Or that their decisions are directly caused by their being 'black/native/gay/Muslim'? That's nonsense.

Kate: "Grown men who sleep with little boys behind a phalanx of security cameras should not be celebrated in life, or in death".

Mary Sunshine: "Racist!"

You really take idiot to a whole new level, Mark.

I partially agree with Right Honorable Terry Tory about the decline in pure musical and vocal abilities over the years; listening to a CD without the videos is testiment to that.

I disagree with him about Obama not being the top story today....it's better for him that the Cap-and-Trade legislation will be voted on without full knowledge by the public or even by Congress.

As a parent I find it morally reprehensible to financially contribute to a person who I believe guilty of abusing children. He made the initial $20 million dollar payoff that we know of, then was charged with molesting another boy.

When you buy his music, listen on the radio, watch a tv show or movie that uses his music, he received payment.

Yeah, he was never convicted. And OJ was innocent as found by a court of law.

jay - since I wasn't there, I don't know if Jackson was guilty of abusing children.

Such a correlation that you've made is as valid/invalid as your suggestion that because OJ was found not guilty and presumably was guilty, that therefore Jackson's innocence was equally invalid.

My own ignorant view is that Jackson was, all his life, not a grown man but a pre-adolescent and asexual individual. Sleeping in the same bed with young children would have been, to him, akin to him being the same age as they were.

Whatever - since we really don't know and can't know, I think it's best to view the situation from a distance and with ..mercy.

Mark Steyn's obit, Ave atque vale:

http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/2196/28/

The profound statement by Kate bears repeating:

"Michael Jackson was no bobbing cork on the sea of circumstance - he was a multi-millionaire with the means to choose any lifestyle he wanted. "Functional adult" was one of the options. He chose otherwise.

Celebrate the music if you like, but for decency's sake, don't celebrate the man."

Posted by Kate at June 25, 2009 6:14 PM

And race bloody well doesn't enter into it!

Truth is, whether it's Barry Bonds or MJ, wealthy black men are probationary whites until they f..k up. Then all of sudden, you hear hoopin' and hollerin' about "celebrating his achievements but not the man" b.s...

Face it, only wealthy white men can be "eccentric"; black men, of course, are the embodiment of deviance. OJ screwed it up for everyone.

BTW, where is Klaus von Bulow and that Heinz ketchup guy who used to drive an army tank through the streets and had a thing for Olympic wrestlers, so much so that he killed one?

Funny how white folks forget about that shyte. It is also obvious that there is still frustration in modern society that these boys can't just get hung from the nearest tree like in "the good ole' days."

When are multi-millionaire celebrities going to realize....whether you are a gazillionaire or make minimum wage, you must take responsibility/ownership for your own life. I'm once again appalled by the general idea that everyone around MJ, his 'handlers' let him down. GIMME A BREAK, an individual must be responsible for their own affairs.

Lori,

I hear ya - but I think the Eagles "Hotel California" deserves more attentive listening.

Mike checked in but he could never leave...

I am wondering if "Mary Sunshine" - (this handle projects a picture of hippy on acid with flowers in her hair whilst wearing a "make love not war" t-shirt) is single - I think her and Ben would make an ideal couple. You two should exchange emails...seriously.

Mary and Ben, although I believe it is not proper to speak ill of the dead, I am not the least offended by Kate's post. MJ being a famous and very rich (at one point) was a musician. Musicians by their very nature, bear their souls through music - the loss of privacy is the price paid for their fame.

I do not know if Micheal was guilty of pedophilia or not - God is his judge now. However, his words and actions coupled with his open obsession for male children is undeniable. Perception is everything - just what do you expect people to think when a person openly admits they have young boys sleep with them in their bed and are openly proud of this fact? He himself broadcast this reality long b4 any charges were laid against him. How you can possibly play a race card in this situation is indeed puzzling. From what you both have said, I think I can safely assume that the public is picking on Chris Brown because he is black - the fact he beat the shit out of Rhianna takes a back seat to his ethnicity? The only racism and unkindness, or lack of sunshine - which by the way implies light - is in your blindness to the truth. I would be Mary Sunshine too if I ignored anything negative - no matter how truthful and pretended people who do inappropriate things are just misunderstood - doubly so if they are gay, Muslim, black or native. Inviting young boys to sleep in your bed -a fact even MJ did not dispute - is inappropriate regardless of you ethnicity and no amount of talent or albums sold can eradicate this fact. Do you understand now? Mary - I implore you to truly let the light shine.

I don't know the exact numbers but there are something like 50 victims for every charge laid. Jackson was charged a couple of times and had the resources to shut down many before they hit the media. I will not celebrate his life.I may attempt to snap my fingers to a few of his tunes,but not much more. Jackson was one F'ed up adult that F'ed up more than a few kids (in all likelihood).He was talented,but I wouldn't cross the street to piss on him if he was on fire,no matter how bad he was melting.

'Just wondering: if MJ were Canadian, might he have been hauled before one of our Human Rights (sic) Commissions for being racist?

"Face it, only wealthy white men can be "eccentric"; black men, of course, are the embodiment of deviance."

-MJ was black?
-An adult man regularly having sleepovers with children isn't an example of deviance?

-MJ was black?
-An adult man regularly having sleepovers with children isn't an example of deviance?

Your first point is well taken but I think it says more about what it means psychologically for many to be black in this country. Mike just had the money to do something "about it." Hair and skin was 20th century - surgery is the early 21st. We're just getting started with this...

I totally agree with your second point and what I would add is that I'm still trying to get my head around all these parents tripping over each other to push their kids ahead in line to sleep over Mike's house. That's bizarre, totally bizarre.

There have been rumors about MJ's sexuality in the African-American community since the late '70s, that Diana Ross vamped him when he was teenager, etc. We all knew he was damaged goods back then. Sourcing the cause of it was always the subject of conversation. Apparently, this will remain the case.

"and what I would add is that I'm still trying to get my head around all these parents tripping over each other to push their kids ahead in line to sleep over Mike's house. That's bizarre, totally bizarre."

yes, unfortunately it appears that they pimped their kids out.

In my haste, I forgot, forgive me, and Heeeeeeer'es Johnny !

RIP Ed,
,

Being as this is a blog from Canada, observations of "being black in this country" are different from the US. Whatever the current state of race relations in the US (black president)judgements about comments being racial must be viewed differently on this blog.

Michael Jackson had every opportunity in the world, being extremely wealthy, adored (inexplicably) all over the planet. He took advantage of this by having a pet monkey, sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber, sleeping with prepubescent boys and so on. His life was a circus that he chose to live.

ET, fair enough. Unfortunately, we are seldom given the full information on situations and sometimes have to make judgement calls based on what we do have. Only MJ and any victims really know. Parents who let their children sleep over had very poor judgement.

Forgive me for making a couple of points.

Of course we cannot know to an absolute certainty what took place between Michael Jackson and these children.

However, to act like this is some kind of impenetrable enigma is painfully naive.

Because of the scandals in the church and pedophiles as Boy Scout leader and day care workers and the entire sordid panoply, we understand a lot.

An undeveloped male can have very innocent feelings, however after puberty sexual proclivities arise with those feelings.

Perhaps the perpetrator is unaware that sexual feelings will arise. Perhaps they do not wish for them to arise, but puberty as a developmental state causes sexuality to be involved with those feelings.

Although I am a Jungian, you don't have to consider transpersonal bases to understand this. The Oedipus and Electra complexes are well-known phenomena about sexual feelings that can arise when one would prefer they did not.

This puts Jackson's sleepovers with kids in extremely dubious light.

And this business of racism. You will see that I am writing this from Dallas. Outside of the military I have essentially lived in the South my entire life.

I am old enough to remember what racism actually is. And although we have put this dark chapter behind us in the South, there are those of us who actually do understand what real racism is.

And I promise you that it is not a famous, wealthy, insulated celebrity hobnobbing with the creme de la creme receiving criticism because of his screwball antics.

I bet a case of beer,if you dig him up in 50 years, he'll look the same:/

Michael Jackson is not dead. Along with Elvis you will be seeing him at a truck stop near you.

Greg.
Good to get your points. I will have to carefully read up on the psychology of what can make a man a pedophile. My point is one that seems to be set aside however. This is the lives that the molested children then have to live afterward. I have read that such molestation may turn them into molesters (how tragic).
In Canada we had a terrible case of a young man who went public about a molester. He later threw himself of a viaduct in Toronto and died.
A swine of a hockey coach got 3 and a half years for molesting young hockey players. He was most agressive and took a kick at the camera people.
Last I heard was after release he was coaching junior hockey in Spain.
The old tough heads of Canada's knock 'em down and drag 'em out were notoriously silent about this guy.
A lot of people do not want to touch the subject.
kudos to those that do.
A weeks time it will all be old news. No tears from this corner.

Terry Tory: "It's not about the music anymore. It's about the dancing, choerography, costumes, sex exhibitionism, videos and merchandise."

I agree, but I don't think you can blame it on one performer. You could add Alice Cooper and Jimi Hendrix, to name a couple for whom I have little desire to listen to their music (I do like "School's Out"). I think the '60s was full of fine pop songs that outshine most of their work. Many people don't realize that just because a person is musically talented, it doesn't mean his musical output is of good quality.

It was his fault. I live in Northern Ontario, and it was his fault I froze one of my hands

I've known a few tortured people. I dispute the notion that the lost choose to lose their way.

I will mourn Farrah and Ed much more than I will mourn Moon Boy. Fill your boots - call me a racist. I could give a shit. He was a freakin wierdo in whatever colour he came in. Even he didn't know what colour he was.

Looks like Dr. Oops strikes again. Being rich and famous doesn't seem to get a person better medical care, just over medicated and dead.

However, these star-struck Doctor-bots did make it possible for the new Anna show model to roll into our living rooms this year just before the notoriously boring summer doldrums. A guaranteed sleeper hit called "MJ RIP-09".

The MJ RIP-09 is loaded with features including 3 kids, 1 hit album, rights to a priceless music collection, an eccentric extended family of questionable value, pre-teen victim payoffs and enough debt to make even the most jaded liberal comfortable. Testing isn't quite finished but early indications are that the MJ RIP-09 will easily give the best tabloid mileage of any early retired celeb model yet! Maybe there's even enough in the trash can for a couple of years straight of MJ RIP-09 entertainment.

Reality TV just got better. Move over Heath, David and Farrah for the MJ RIP-09 THRILLER!

Fade to black...

Most of you guys are a-holes. If you knew anything about what you were talking about you wouldn't spew such stupid shit. MJ had a skin disorder where large blotches of his skin looked "white" for lack of a better term. I'm sure his career would have went just fine having that look. So, MJ decides to get work done to make his skin one "color" and ignorant a-holes (who should be adults) believe the jokes and stories as fact.

Those of you that question his music, so be it; but, if you talk to a professional vocalist, or anyone in music, they will tell you "he is the best" period!. The dancing and the cloths were only accessories to his phenomenal skill. You may like Marvin’s voice more, or Steve Tyler’s power, but technically MJ is the bar all singers are measured against.

Wrt the molestation accusations, they're just that, accusations. That being said, I wouldn't leave my kids with him, whether it's fair of not.

Personally speaking, I'm much more shook-up about this that I thought I'd be, especially when I wrote the comment a few days ago.

"Better than Freddy Mercury?" Touché.

FM is also great, although I'm not such a fan of Rock, I consider FM the best vocalist I've heard in the genre. Obviously this is a subjective topic, either singer could be 1a,1b.

btw, what is it about rock fans that makes them so haughty regarding music views? I swear you're the leftards music. It' seems for the most part, you can't see past your own blinders and enjoy anything outside your genre. Most Hip Hop, R&B, Pop and Contemporary fans enjoy music from all genres including Rock and any other music with skinny white-boys banging guitars. Just wondering.

There's at least 20 million reasons that MJ's child fetish is more than just an accusation.....

And, I'll grant, that maybe MJ didn't have much of a choice early on, given the dysfunctional, albeit, affluent upbringing he had, that damaged him.

But he had a choice as an adult to 'get right', and he did not. Instead, he spiralled into his degenerate excess, often publicly.

While I wasn't a fan by any means, I recognize the talent, he just wasn't my genre at all. I just don't get the creepy, fanatical adulation that some of these male adult creeps exhibit.....notably at his recent announcement of his (doomed) tour for this year....creepy.

In the end, he was a caricature of his former self.

Kate,

You're on target with all comments (not that you need my support). Can't believe the SABS (Share A Brain Society) who wish to deify this individual after 'his' recent coronation...(talk about picking "fly s**t out of the pepper"!) Spare me PLSE...

Reminds me of the one that says..."You can build bridges all your life and they don't call you a bridge builder...but, just................".

Cheers,

I thought they were going to freeze him and stick him on his earth view property on the moon or something? Cryogenics or whatever………..

I suppose that plan was scraped with his millions.

Now most likely he’ll be reduced to an urn of ashes in the oval office. Like a shrine (at least for the next 3 ½ years).

"My own ignorant view is that Jackson was, all his life, not a grown man but a pre-adolescent and asexual individual. Sleeping in the same bed with young children would have been, to him, akin to him being the same age as they were."

I agree. May his talented but troubled soul rest in peace.

“My own ignorant view is that Jackson was, all his life, not a grown man but a pre-adolescent and asexual individual. Sleeping in the same bed with young children would have been, to him, akin to him being the same age as they were."
“I agree. May his talented but troubled soul rest in peace.”

Oh yea, and if he was not a world famous millionaire celebrity….. instead lets say - the neighborhood retarded grocery clerk at Save On Food’s – yall would all feel the same way about it!

You have this wierd looking guy prancing around on the stage wearing a glove on one hand, grabbing at his crotch and singing "Beat it" - all kinda deviant - no?

I wonder if that pedophile they caught in thailand last year would be praised as much if he could sing.Good riddance to that freek,they should put him under fifty feet and face down just to make sure.

I wonder if that pedophile they caught in thailand last year would be praised as much if he could sing.Good riddance to that freek,they should put him under fifty feet and face down just to make sure.