So now the LAPD is seeking donations for their efforts today. Estimated cost to LA - about $4M.

Personally, I think there should be a law that says that for every ticket sold __% goes to the law enforcement agency.

 Originally it was estimated that there would be 1 million people crowding the streets, then, as each day passed, the estimate slid down the slope, Probably no more than 1,000 after all.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/07/michael.jackson.security/index.html

As I write this the I-10 freeway, probably the busiest in LA, has been closed down so the the Jackson family entourage can leave Staples. they could have gone in simple cars, not to cause attraction. But no, this is all a media event to promote further venues.

Such a waste of time, money, and resources.

And then there’s obama’s statement:  "A crossover racial figure who created ‘comfort level’ for African American public figures "

Tell me again, please. Why is he African American and I’m just "American.’

One can only wonder what kind of tribute the next so-called legend will get when he dies.

I actually disagreed with King’s foundation that everyone should simply ignore every artistic and cultural contribution that Michael Jackson did before he became damaged and self-indulgent.  He is a complicated person, and like many great contributors in history, he is extreme in both constructive and destructive ways.  Allowing the public to say goodbye in a grand way to someone who has directly and personally affected their lives does NOT take away from the contributions that the military heroes are making in the Middle East.

Believe it or not, there IS room for both.  And not all our "heroes" need to be perfect paragons of moral virtue.  AND, just because Jackson settled lawsuits to make accusers go away rather than have damaging trials that left the entire world convinced of his guilt, even though there was not enough evidence to show that anything bad ever really happened in a court of law.  Unless you are going to replace our entire justice system with a trial-by-media model, we need to give at least some credence to the fact that our justice system is a centerpiece of our democracy, and everyone is innocent until proven GUILTY.  And he wasn’t. 

Wouldn’t you pay off someone who only wanted $20 Million when a public examination and permanent suspicion resulting from a trial would really cost $Billions in lost income?  Many people insist that the settlement was proof enough of guilt. But in the economics of the superwealthy, I can easily see how that calculation would make sense.

In our own towns, many young, indigent people plead guilty to some petty version of a crime they are charged with to avoid the almost certain conviction of the bigger crime, and get a lesser sentence.  Even pleading complete innocence the entire time.  It’s cheaper and more expedient, and powerless and penniless, they have no resources to fight it. Imagine if they had $20 Million to hire a good lawyer and actually pay for the forensic investigation that would prove their innocence?

I’m not willing to convict a man that a jury of 12 people in direct contact with the actual evidence acquitted. I refuse to accept the argument that an abundance of rumors and accusations amounts to the truth when so many people were offering to have their silence purchased.  It’s just not clean enough for me to be convinced. (And yes, I actually know a child molester, so I’m not ignorant of the signs and behaviors… they were not a match.)

In a democracy, I am not willing to abdicate our legal decisions of guilt or innocence to a media that is being corrupted by the infiltration of opinion and deviating from the kind of rigorous fact-checking that was once required.  Accusations without consequences has discolored the mood of this nation egregiously over the last few years. I tend to respect the burden of proof required by the courts before I’ll take the word of a ranting, self-aggrandizing, attention hound like that congressman.

I don’t care, I like your posts, Margo. I’m a fan of Michael’s, not a fan of the ‘whoopla’ as I read Diana Ross called it (also preferring to mourn in private).

I applaud you Margo and I agree with you 100%. I also agree with what Peter King said but not "how" he said it. But the message, especially as it relates to any child in my life, I would NEVER have trusted Michael Jackson with my little nephew. 

No one is being sympathetic to the young boys who have levied accusations against Michael. Everyone is using the justification that he was never convicted as proof that he is not guilty of pedophilia. How ridiculous is that. There are thousands of men in this country who have molested little boys and have never been caught. Countless fathers, boyfriends, neighbors, etc. that have fondled and more….little boys under their care, and the women in their lives either don’t know, don’t believe the boys or (as is the case of Debbie Rowe in my opinion) are complicit with what is taking place.

I get the vast media coverage, because indeed this is not a case of which came first the chicken or the egg. Which came first the media hype, or the throng of attention from his fans? Both are at play and feeding off one another. But I for one will not allow myself to grieve or get worked up over a man (not a fragile boy as many are attempting to portray him) a man who in my opinion molested young boys. Any intelligent man or woman who viewed the Martin Bashir interview with Michael Jackson knows 100% that he had inappropriate behavior with young boys. And worst of all he was encapsulated with people who protected his vile deeds.