Thursday Editorial: Michael Jackson

I've been pretty quiet about the passing of Michael Jackson. After all, what more can be said about the "King Of Pop"? I feel that so many people have been so derogatory toward him in the past few years, that it is now a shame that everyone realises, too late at this point, what a talent we have lost.

First, Michael MADE Mtv. If it weren't for "story videos" like "Thriller" or "Beat It", I would really doubt that MTV would be the cultural influence that it has been over the past 28 years. And, to top that, he was the first African-American artist heavily featured on MTV, paving the way for modern-day artists like Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.

Second, you can argue all you need to about his questionable personal behaviour, but there is one undeniable fact: He was our generation's Elvis. The impact that Michael had upon pop culture and modern music is undeniable. His style was unique and immortal, as was his talent. Some of my favorite memories of Elementary School are the dances with the "Thriller" LP in the background. Like a lot us in our mid-and late-30's, "Thriller" & "Bad" were the soundtracks to our young , Reagan era lives. For the first time in a long time, music had become a great uniter under Michael. Nobody ever thought of his music as "African AMerican" or "dance"; it was just great, upbeat music. He opened the path for many other artists, including Justin Timberlake, Boys 2 Men, and many others. For this, he will forever be immortalized.

Then , there is the fact that his name was ( justly or unjustly) literally destroyed by false allegations of child molestation. Allegations from which he never fully recovered. It's my belief that in fact, he didn't molest these children. He just thought of himself as a child, and acted as a child would around other children. He created a fantasy world where poor & sick children could come and play with him and his exotic animals at Neverland. I honestly believe, in my heart of hearts, that he just truly loved children.

Michael, we will never forget you or the happiness you brought to our generation, and generations to follow. You are a genius and will be greatly missed.

2009: The year of (Sen.) Al Franken, Pt 2

Well, it finally happened! Al Franken, comedian and author, has just been officially declared the senator for Minnesota. Let's hope that perpetual sore-loser, Norm ( It Ain't Over) Coleman takes the defeat gracefully ( I know, fat chance) and decides not to waste more of the Minnesota taxpayers' time and money fighting the uphill battle.

Not that he will, but hope springs eternal in the Republican party. Let's face it, they have been hit hard by scandal lately,not to mention the black eye suffered during the 8 year blight known as the "Bush Administration". You all know what happened, I'm not going there.

Chances are that Coleman won't take this lying down, that he won't give up without a fight. That may have been noble 7 months ago, but not now. Can someone give him the memo that his misguided tenacity is wearing really thin right now? He's making Mahmoud Amejinedad ( Imadinnerplate) look pretty sane at this point.

In most other cultures, this could be viewed as a sign of a mental disorder, or even obsessive-compulsive disorder. Instead of washing his hands incessantly, Coleman seems to have a propensity for frivolously spending taxpayer money. Mind you, this is the same party that called Al Gore a "sore loser" after contesting the parody known as the 2000 election. The SAME party that hired brat Karl Rove to "swift boat" the 2004 election. But, when you're a republican, it's the old standard "Do as I say, not as I do" policy that took effect in sometime in the 80s ,gained a foothold in the 90's and has been solidified in the millenium - The "Iran Contra" effect.

And so I close by hoping against hope that Coleman will not make a bigger ass of himself by conceding the election.

The Death of Freedom In California

Clarence Darrow: You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.

Yesterday, the "Powers that be" decided that one group of people in this state did not deserve freedom. Yesterday, part of the heart of a free California died. And you can thank the religious sects from other states that made it their battle to come to this state, ignore our laws about the political funding from religious coffers, and lie, threaten, and scare voters into a law that took away the rights of our gay sisters, brothers, neighbors, and co workers. 

They came and fought a dirty fight, breaking laws, lying and spreading false rumors about what Prop 8 actually stood for. It stood for freedom of those of the same sex, who love just as deeply as the rest of us, to marry whomever they wish.  And yet, through the lies, deceit ,lawbreaking, and mud slinging by those who consider themselves religious bastions of society. Religious bastions, that lied, broke the law, and cannotmisled voters with smear campaigns against the gay community. Instead of doing as Jesus did, and helping their brothers and sisters, they turned against them. They damned them. They spread falsehoods about them. Possibly the worst sight of the whole "Yes On 8" campaign that I personally witnessed for myself here in Los Angeles was the appalling sight of Prop 8 supporters gathered on busy Santa Monica Boulevard during rush hour yelling obscenities at people they considered "gay"; and they encouraged their small and school aged children to shout these obscenities at the passing motorists. These children, who should have been safely in school,being educated, were forced to participate in bigotry and name calling BY THEIR PARENTS on the side of a dangerous, busy thoroughfare.  And this is only part of the bigotry and poisoning of the public by these "caring Christians". 

To those who are celebrating their ill-gained victory, I must say, with chagrin ,that you have indeed won this battle. But please be forewarned that you will not and cannot win this war.

For the first time since I moved to this state 10 years ago, I can truly say that I am ashamed of California and the theocracy that it has become. I am equally ashamed of those closed-minded justices of our "Supreme Court" that decided, either because they were threatened, or because of monetary gain, that the rights of out-of-state religious interests voided the rights of the tax-paying, hard-working citizens of this state.  Once again, justices, you have made us the butt of jokes, and once again, you have made a mockery of the law of the state of California.  Keep this in mind as your terms come up for renewal in the next few years. We Californians,in the true spirit of what this state represents are quite willing to forgive, but we will never forget the freedom you have denied to our citizens.