Michael Jackson Rushed to Hospital

[Lonesomedave]

Ha! that is just a bit scary! ;o)

I wrote that in the early morning hours and when I reread it later, it even creeped me out!
We do need to let it go.

[studiogirl]

I believe I've made it quite clear that I'm not a Jackson fan. And I'm reasonably certain he had addiction issues. I'm not looking to challenge anyone here (or anywhere), but I live where those trials took place. I have friends in the legal system on both sides of the bench and in the media. There's a whole lot of information that never saw the light of day and/or was ignored or skewed -- but never presented/published objectively. I'll reiterate my belief, based on observing it as it unfolded, both trials, that the DA was out for glory and not for justice.

So, I found the editorial in today's Santa Barbara News-Press to be rather interesting. I'll post it here...and then I think I'm done with this topic -- for now at least (some things never really go away...after all, we are still discussing Elvis's passing some 32 years later....).

From the Santa Barbara News-Press:

June 30, 2009

Michael Jackson, rest in peace. The entertainer for years called Santa Barbara County his home, often taking time out to do good works and open up Neverland Ranch to our community's children.

But, sadly, the words "Michael Jackson" and "Santa Barbara County" conjure up other memories in the minds of people all over the world.

It was here that Mr. Jackson had to endure a legal system that seemed bent on going after him. And it was during the Jackson prosecution that the broken nature of some of the county's law enforcement operations were on full display. Mr. Jackson, it seems, never personally or artistically recovered from the abuse he suffered at the hands of our county.

And now, with Mr. Jackson's death, it's time to reflect on the spectacles that certain former county officials made of themselves in pursuit of trying to put him behind bars. The limelight appeared more important to them than justice.

At the time of his trial, the News-Press editorially tempered its response to the Jackson case because it was an ongoing criminal proceeding. In June 2005, though, we thanked the 12 county residents on the jury for their service to the county and the criminal justice system. We noted that, although onlookers had used the word "circus" to describe some events over the prior months, it was clear that inside the courthouse jurors took their duties seriously.

Too many cable television pundits had tried Mr. Jackson on their shows and found him guilty. They used his misfortunes to try to grab personal glory and money. These commentators then derided the jury for basing its decisions on the evidence presented rather than on emotion.

The jury did its job and, ultimately, brought integrity back to the process.

That can't be said regarding then-District Attorney Thomas Sneddon and former sheriff-turned-commentator Jim Thomas.

Mr. Sneddon didn't run for re-election -- and we're confident that Santa Barbara voters would have denied him another term if he had.

The waste of law enforcement resources in the Jackson case has become legendary. More than 70 investigators raided Neverland Ranch. The D.A.'s office diverted time and money from other prosecutions -- all for a case so weak that a jury didn't find Mr. Jackson guilty of anything.

From the start, there appeared an effort to embarrass or harass Mr. Jackson. The entertainer, for example, was turning himself in and posed no escape threat -- but nevertheless was handcuffed for the public to see.

Mr. Jackson is gone. But his family should know that many people in Santa Barbara County regret what the legal system here unjustly put him through.

[MsUp]

Thanks for posting that article, sis.
I have been trying to stay so 'not interested' in the subject of MJ's death, because I know how crazy it still can get. The conspiracy theories are starting on the east coast, like he may not even be dead (that he has one very big fan in the middle east who has flown him out of debt and into a life of Burka seclusion and comfort), nobody really knows what he looks like anyway. There will be MJ sightings all over the world, just like with Elvis, the man he was so scared of becoming.

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson

[Lonesomedave]

There will be MJ sightings all over the world, just like with Elvis, the man he was so scared of becoming.

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson

And Bruce Lee. Who is working at the Tai restaurant down the street. They just hired David Carridine in as a dishwasher.
I haven't seen Elvis in sometime. I think he's been doing impersonations of himself and stays on the road a lot.

[LJH]

"Elvis isn't dead, he just went home."

Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black

[studiogirl]

I haven't seen Elvis in sometime. I think he's been doing impersonations of himself and stays on the road a lot.

He learned Spanish and is performing as El Vez. Es verdad!! ¡Viva Las Vegas!

[randall]

[Naomipocofan]

I was surprised by MJ's sudden death, but was not upset by it. I didn't find anything appealing about his music, or the shreeking, either the early Jackson 5 stuff or his more recent junk.
I'm pretty sure he was guilty, but the mega-rich live under a different code of justice than the rest of us. Otherwise, MJ would've been convicted as a pedophile. A poor guy would've been sent to prison for a long time.
Also, I saw something on TV about how someone claims that his kids are not really his, and that wouldn't surprise me. It never seemed possible that a guy like that could have kids, not that I would know . . . I always thought he was taking female hormones, he didn't just sound female, he looked like one, except for that strange chin.

[svin]

I really wasn't going to put in my two cents, but a couple of things happened today that changed my mind.
I was standing in line at Target today when my eyes landed upon a rag called OK Magazine. On the cover, a picture of Michael Jackson with some sort of breathing apparatus on his face, and a headline saying something about the last pictures of MJ and bla - bla.
Then, I watched a clip of Jackson rehearsing a couple of days before his death.
Instead of the broken down wreck one would have expected to see, the man I saw onstage looked and sounded pretty much as he always did.
When I heard that Michael Jackson had died, the first thought I had was that I wasn't surprised. To my mind,it was almost a foregone conclusion that he would die young, and under mysterious circumstances.
The second thought that came to mind was Anna Nicole Smith, and the months and months of idiocy that followed her death.
How much more idiotic would things get with Michael Jackson ?
Well, the fun has started. The tabloid media has grabbed onto this deal like a starving dog on a rotten bone. The internet bloggers are floating all sorts of weird stuff.
There's the money, the kids, the will, the family, his crazy - ass father, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Neverland, the funeral, the memorial, the doctor, and on and on and on.
It's not like I'm staying glued to the tab shows and the 'net, either.
I'm getting this from reading the paper, cruising the 'net and the ( supposedly ) straight news !
The thing is, it will only get worse from here.
After watching the clip I mentioned previously, I'm suspicious there was something fishy about Jackson's death.
The kids are not Jackson's biological children. The genetic donors will be heard from, IMO.
Sorting out Jackson's financial situation will take years.
That's just a few parts to this brew, and there will be much more to come.

[hzryb]

Is anyone else totally sick of this wall-to-wall coverage of MJ? Enough's enough.

It's a shame he died young (although not a huge shock), lots of information will come out about how he died, lawsuits will be filed, and the circus will not quite leave town. It's time to focus on real news.

The Pope didn't get this kind of coverage. Michael Jackson was a pop star who was decades past his prime, and musically irrelevant for this time period. His music in the 70s & 80s was very entertaining, however, but with the mess that was his life, if was hard to seperate the art and the BS.

Time to get back to real news.