Michael Jackson: enough already

I've had enough too, your right they are cashing out on his death.

I am right there with you Steve, let the family get through this in peace and let the news media get back to things in life that something can be done about.

I agree, he was a unique person that contributed a lot to todays music.  But he was an entertainer.  He was given that right by the men and women who have died to make this country free.  Yesterday we had soldiers wounded in battle, soldiers wer ecaptured by the enemy.  But how much news time did they get.  These men and women are riskying their lives so we an live the life we want.  They should be getting more news coverage.  Let Americans know and remind them what has been and is being sacrificed for their freedom.

Oh, yeah, I'm so over it!  He was talented and wierd as hell.  But I think too much of a big deal has been made over someone who liked young boys way too much.

I'm with you on this.  I mean, he was a good singer and all, but he was nowhere near the 'God' everyone is making him out to be.  Others have passed, too, and they're not getting overplayed like Mike is.  I think it was because he was so strange he's getting all the attention.  He'll be missed...but not THAT much.

No one said anything like this when Elvis died and although the internet wasn't yet a part of our lives the same tribute was paid for the same period of time. MJ contributed, certainly, no less than Elvis. MJ was a musical genius deserving of the impact he's having across the world today.

Our perception of celebrity is molded and managed by the media. We don't personally know celebrities and everything we do know about them and particularly in this case is nothing more than innuendo, speculation and aspersion.

The people that did know MJ, the celebrities that have made an effort to have their voices heard; Sheryl Crow, Cher, Quincy Jones, Lou Ferigno, Elizabeth Taylor, Celine Dion and many, many more, far too many to list here, have provided some fascinating information and insight into the sensitivity and intellect behind the media facade we see.

I've downloaded HIStory which is an original video compilation of HD video produced by John Landis and Martin Scorsese with Wesley Snipes, George Wendt, Marlon Brando many and other well known actors in music videos that by virtue of their length, some of them as long as 15 minutes, changed the way we viewed music. They were in fact short musicals with all of the complicated choreography and dance we see in any Broadway musical.

Michael Jackson reminded us all that friendships with children were preferable to those with adults. All of us should consider the wisdom behind that and recognize that this post and the comments herein exemplifies that dynamic.

Turn offf the tv and the radio~kick back with a good book and some sooth music~ =)

*tv sucks anyway~trite garbage is all it has become*

Trite garbage? No, government propaganda. We disconnected the cable service about a year ago. You know, I can download any movie ever made including new releases using torrents and watch them in high definition wide screen format on my tv and that's what the tv was for us, access to movies. Now we have a really nice LCD digital high definition tv collecting dust. It's a great conversation piece but like my grandmothers chatchka's, useless.

I have to disagree with most of you...I enjoy seeing it, mostly looking back to his younger years. 

i agree with yo enough is enough its the sam crap over and over again

I agree enough is enough!!!! Life goes on and we should focus on the days ahead of the living. Pray for our soldiers that are fighting for us. They are the ones that need to be in our thoughts and prayers now!

How may I ask are our soldiers fighting for us? Just curious.

American soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect your right to ask such questions.   I did not support Bush's war in Iraq, I do support the war in Afghanistan.  Regardless I am very thankful to the men and women of the armed forces where ever they may be serving. 

I support the troops but not one soldier is fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq or Pakistan for my right to ask questions. These are called resource wars and that's precisely what they are. While we may do some good on the ground in Afghanistan by virtue of the fact that we're there the reason we're there is to secure the area for pipelines to bring oil and natural gas to western countries. That's just the sad truth. Soldiers haven't fought for my rights since WWII. You might read "War Is A Racket" by two time Congressional Medal Of Honor winner Major General Smedley Butler. It's available all over the internet for free. It's short, very short, and it puts into concise and easy to understand terms the reason for wars by a 30+ year veteran who tells it like it is.

Patriotism is great. The truth is equally important. I realize soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for my rights and if my rights are ever jeopardized I would expect them to do just that. But to die in Afghanistan to secure profits for the oil companies that allow us to live an unsustainable lifestyle is a combination of greed and selfishness on the part of the politicians and the corporations that pay them.

We use 26% of the worlds petroleum and we have about 5% in our direct control which means, in a world where that resource is quickly being depleted, we need to secure land in other countries to secure our future since we are ill prepared to switch to alternative sources anytime soon.

Supporting the troops is one thing Steve, facing the truth is quite another.

How the hell did this conversation go from Weird Mike to our troops?

Quite a difference between them I must say!

Reply to John Rebel's question.......Everyday our men are called to do something for us (our country) If thats not fighting for us I don't know what is....Marines suffer casualties in new Afghan campaign.......NAWA, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan. One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.

Tina, why are we in Afghanistan? What is the goal, the endgame? Please tell me what has to happen for our soldiers to come home?

I realize our soldiers are dying but I'm not a complete idiot either. They're not dying to support my freedom. They're dying because the US is not prepared to implement alternative energy sources because THERE ARE NONE. All of the alternative sources combined won't produce what we use daily in oil and what's more, most of the alternatives require oil to work. Wind energy has a petroleum element to it. So does natural gas, hydrogen and solar. It takes oil to make solar panels, repair them and manufacture every piece and part of a solar system. Plastic requires oil. Refined copper requires oil. It's a very simple equation. Even with alternative energy sources we need oil. The US military is the second largest consumer of oil after the people of the United States.

You all act as though I don't care about the troops. Maybe I care more than you since I've taken the time to educate myself in terms of what it is they're really fighting for and just because I don't agree with killing innocent people to obtain access to and security for resources doesn't mean for a moment that I don't care about American soldiers.

Tina, read "War Is A Racket" and then come back and tell me what you think. It's short. It might provide a dose of reality to combine with your support.

Supporting the troops means bringing them home and extricating them from a resource war to profit an elite group of corporations, bankers and politicians.

I hate that his children have lost their dad, but I agree...enough is enough.

This post is about having had enough of Michael Jackson and looking for an alternative to the Jackson media circus. Why is it that some of you have failed to access critical information which addresses directly what these wars we're fighting were designed for. Does anyone really think we're after bin Laden? Or we're after Mehsud because he's a bad Taliban? This whole war effort is one huge propaganda mess that does have answers but they aren't that 'our soldiers are fighting for our rights or our freedom.' I would think if you were truly concerned about the lives of our soldiers you would have a solid grasp of the complete Middle Eastern history, the various pipelines that are planned and in existence, the reality behind alternative energy (there is none) and what the American lifestyle requires to maintain itself. Electric cars require oil. A lot of oil. So do all other sources of alternative energy. ALL of them.

John, I don't have the answers to your questions... and I do not believe you are a complete idiot. But I do believe you answer your own questions to make a point, to be heard. But who are you to say we (or I) have not taken the time to educate ourselves also in what it is thery're really fighting for or for a moment that you don't care about American soldies. I agree like you we should bring them all home. and to think all I ask for was a prayer for our soldiers and to hear enough about Michael Jackson!!!

Tina, in your reply to one of my questions you brought up soldiers fighting in Afghanistan in reply. You also mentioned that our 'soldiers that are fighting for us' which I found to be an inaccurate statement.

It's rare that people on Gather engage in conversation. The typical exchange is limited to a short paragraph, if that. I didn't come here and don't remain here to exclaim, 'thanks for sharing' and move on. I rarely post editorial and am not seeking gift cards. I'm here to exchange ideas which requires dialogue. Within that dialogue there is room for assumptions about a persons knowledge of the war, Afghanistan, Pakistan, politics, business, economy and such if they make a statement that our soldiers are fighting for us. They aren't. I wish they were. What they're doing wouldn't be so personally devastating and emotionally draining.