Thank god for celebrities

Young woman hit by train
while lying on railroad tracks
to “clear her mind.”

Thank god for celebrities! Why, I bet that if it weren’t for celebrities we’d all but up to our ass in real news. You know, what’s going on in Iraq, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Russia, Darfur, Europe, places like that. Or similarly, we might be inundated with information about Health Care, Global warming, Energy, Immigration, Education, Inflation, Deflation, the Economy, and whatever. It is obvious that these bits of news are of little consequence alongside the death of “Pop Star” Michael Jackson, at least as far as the MSM are concerned. It’s just Michael Jackson this and Michael Jackson that, and Michael Jackson all day long. The MSM hasn’t had a feeding frenzy like this since Anna Nicole what’s-her-face, and Michael Jackson dwarfs that by a hundredfold. I fear this is just the beginning, we are going to hear about Michael Jackson probably for the next several years. What I would like to know is if the American Public in general is as obsessed with Michael Jackson as the media is. Does anyone know? Has anyone taken a poll and asked people on the street if they are so overwhelmingly interested in every detail of Michael Jackson life? I’m sure there are many people who are interested in this news marathon, and would stand in line just for a chance to see Michael Jackson’s chauffeur or bodyguard or even his gloves. But is this true of most ordinary Americans? I confess (being of another generation entirely) that I have never seen Michael Jackson or even one of his albums. From the little bits I glimpse on TV I would never have attended one of his performances. I am, to put it bluntly, not interested in Michael Jackson, his life, death, will, mother, father, children, home life, or celebrity. Nor am I interested in how much he weighed, what drugs he ingested, what he ate for breakfast, or what kind of toothpaste he used. I am a TV watcher (albeit a somewhat limited one) and I do not want to see stuff about Michael Jackson 24/7 (or at all, for that matter). Of course if the media want to announce that he died and he will have a funeral, fine. Leave it at that. I am so disgusted with this coverage I refused to watch any news at all today. And if the first thing I see in the morning is more Michael Jackson I won’t watch it tomorrow either. This is sick. Our so-called news media is sick. America is sick. It’s no wonder we are going down the tube, so to speak. There. I’ve said it. I feel better. But I probably won’t feel better tomorrow.

I think another measure of our sickness can be seen in the Sara Palin case. Here we have a woman who was totally unqualified to be Vice-President (which is now being admitted even by some of those who chose her) who now is being touted as the next Republican candidate for President. The thought that Sara Palin could be President of the U.S. is just plain sick. Governor Sanford of South Carolina has now taken himself out of the possible running for President. Not because of his affair with his Argentinian friend, but because he hasn’t been able to keep his mouth shut and comes across as some kind of nut. He admits to having “crossed the line” with any number of women, but not including sex with them (except for the Argentinian), whatever that is supposed to mean. And he has announced he will try to fall back in love with his wife (I don’t know what she thinks about this but she has announced that his career is not a vital matter with her). Now how would we know if he has fallen back in love with her? It must be easier to fall in love with strangers than to stay in love with your wife. Related to that, I saw a bumper sticker this morning that read: “Married men don’t really live longer, it just seems that way.” My guess is that Mitt Romney will be the Republican candidate, if only by default, as far as we know he has never committed adultery. Some Mormons don’t commit adultery anyway, they just have “celestial marriages.” Of course if you don’t fancy Romney you can have that paragon of virtue, Newt Gingrich, or perhaps Giuliani again. I must say that at the moment the future looks pretty bleak for the Republicans, but, then, the Democrats may blow it once again, what with Obama’s hypocrisy approaching that of Bush/Cheney and his accelerating Vietnam experience in Afghanistan. Obama seems to throw down the gauntlet but then try to retrieve it before the Republicans can pick it up. His ridiculous quest for bipartisanship will probably sink his ship of state before he realizes that it’s a completely lost cause, given the current crop of Republican thugs.

LKBIQ:
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.
Sir Winston Churchill

TILT:
There is archaeological evidence that the Date Palm may have been cultivated as long as 6,000 years ago.