Remembering Michael Jackson

There is so much that can be said, and will, both good and bad about the all too sudden passing of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. This was a man who grew up in one of the poorest cities in the country, whose murder rates are always among the top in the nation as well. This was a man who had spent 80% of his life under immence scrutiny and under the public eye. This was an icon who had always said that he felt more comfortable on a stage than anywhere else and it showed in his personal life. This was a man who systematically was not only the greatest artist in his own right, but owned some of the greatest music ever recorded. But this was also a man who was accused of horrendous things, and even though he had been acquitted or had settled with some of the families, those accusations will forever tarnish his image in some people's eyes. But this was also a man who influenced generations and revolutionized his industry in ways no one had, has or ever will again. This was also a scarred little boy stuck in a mans body who never, ever truly got over the abuse he suffered at the hands of his manager and father. Last night, Thursday June 25th, 2009, the world lost it's last great icon.

Although I don't have a personal memory that actually involves meeting the man, I like so many others of my generation, have a personal attachment with his music. I've always loved his dancing and would hit the dance floor anytime it came on. Songs like "Man in the Mirror" were great songs that would make you think, but also came off so sincere that you knew this was someone who wasn't just singing about it like many of today's artist. "Thriller" revolutionized not only the music industry as being the greatest album of all times, but it revolutionized the music video industry. His great performance in "The Wiz" showed that he had proven himself as more than a music icon, but the icon of an entire generation.

I remember being a DJ in college and during a hip-hop show I co-hosted with a friend, we used to play "The Way You Make Me Feel" religiously. We would take it out of the records, one of the few actual songs from records we'd play, and put on the long dance version and just dance ourselves in the studio. I remember dancing to Michael Jackson at my wedding, the only one as everyone else just sat back and watched. That was what his music did to people, if you really felt it, you'd get lost in it.

Alot of awful things will and already have come out. Entertainment Tonight disgustingly paid for the exclusive rights to the last photo ever taken of Michael Jackson, stretched out on the gurney as the EMS take him out of his home. Keith Olberman tried, but failed to rationalize why so many would come out to the hospital and home of this man. And I'm sure that many more will drag the man's name through the mud in an effort to tarnish a legend in the way that the American public and news media is well-known for doing. They will try to make people forget the humanitarian that Michael Jackson was, by saying he was a recluse. They will diminish what he had done for so many children to give them the childhood he never had by saying that he had an unhealthy relationship with them. They will say he wasn't a good father, but by all accounts, minus the episode in Germany, he was a great dad. They'll diminish his career by saying his albums after "Thriller" all were flops, but that was the best selling album of all times, anything else would be lesser of an album based on pure numbers.

As loved as he was as an artist, I hope that Michael Jackson gets the respect in death that he failed to receive in life. Good night sweet prince, may you finally find peace.

June Potpourri

Lets dive into a few things that have been in the news lately...

Iranian Elections: I think that this may really be a huge deal for the Iranian people. However, I don't think that America should necessarily get swept up in it. Our problem is that we are a country of know-it-alls and with Iran banning Westerner and their news, it leaves the US news agencies, if you can still call some of them that, wondering what is going on.

According to several sources it doesn't seem to matter for several reasons; 1) The supreme ruler makes all domestic and foreign policies; and 2) They are still going to want weaponized plutonium. That is what both candidates agree on, so in the long run we are still going to be trying to talk them out of it.

Also, under NO circumstance should the United States get involved in what is going on in Iran. Let them protest and march, let them have their revolution. We didn't ask the international community for help in the still contested Minnesota senate election did we? We didn't seek Iran's advice when Gore beat out Bush, did we? This is an internal matter and should be handled as such. If we interfere now, we only prove to the Arab world that we feel that we have the right to, and are, the police of the world.

KOREA: History Channel ran this great program that has since repeated occasionally about the Mayan 2012 Doomsday. Well, North Korea is threatening a massive retaliation if the US interferes with their boats. That is what the US Navy is getting ready to do. They have their sailors armed and ready to hold North Korean boats, without boarding them. So, I would venture to say that a nuclear war is not too far off. Even Russia and China are trying to get North Korea to ease its stance against the world.

The main problem with North Korea's nuclear holocaust threat is that they so far haven't shown the technology to reach the Continental United States. Russia has already said that they would shoot down any rocket headed their way but could not say whether they have the technology to detect rockets headed in any other way. North Korea wouldn't be so ignorant to launch one at China, so that only leaves Japan, which would just be cruel irony, South Korea, which is a distinct possibility, and Alaska or Hawai'i. Now, Alaska may be out of the picture for a North Korean target, and may actually find protection from the Kremlin, but Hawai'i is a whole nother story. Again, as cruel irony, an attack by a foreign country on Hawai'i would surely ignite a World War.

Even if North Korea was able to get help from rouge nations, such as Iran, I don't see any other countries really backing them in support. China and Russia, for all their actual attempts would try to stay neutral since they don't want to be seen taking orders from the US, but can not condone nuclear holocaust. The Colombians not only don't have the weaponry, but they don't necessarily have the man power. They would need to unite a lot of the South and Central American countries to get an army capable of warranting an attack. The key would also be Cuba. Fidel Castro, as the last of the guerrilla's, I don't think would want to risk an attack from or on his country 90 miles from the United States.

The main problem would come from the Arab League. They have the tendency to stick together thick and thin and will cause an issue on a global scale. I think between the Arab League, and Columbia, the United States and it's allies find themselves in an issue when it comes to fuel. If Iran comes to the aid of North Korea, out of the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" mentality, the United States and it's allies will see national gas prices sky rocket to unbelievable heights that will cause chaos in their own streets. And with the time frame that this may happen, the world doesn't need that pressure right now.

Barack Obama vs. FOX News: This really has turned into a juvenile fight. Yes, we all know that NBC and their affiliates are Obama's personal television channel, we get it. But the back and forth between Obama and Fox News needs to stop. Obama mentioned on an interview with MSNBC how there is a whole channel that seems dedicated to only reporting negative news on him and his administration. Sorry, but it just sound's like you can't take the heat. There is no need to mention directly or indirectly any of this. Let it go, there are always going to be people or organizations trying to bring you down, it comes with the office.

We all knew it was So-Sa! Occasionally we like to chime in with Sports news. However, this really should not have been news to anyone. Look at not just his body, but his body of work. And he has no one to blame but himself. As a former sports writer, I already wrote an article on this a decade ago, this doesn't need to be this big of news.

A Fair Economic Warning

Well friends, all over the news there are mumblings and whispers that the economy is starting to show signs of life and that our current recession may actually begin to right itself by the end of the year. The experts use statistics like the fact that massive layoffs are down and companies aren't losing as much money as they thought. Basically, there are silver linings to all the grey clouds above our heads.

And to this, I'd like to warn you. Sure this past Memorial Day weekend retailers saw an upswing in consumer confidence. However, one thing that is mysteriously missing from these experts is any talk of the timing of this upswing. It is not that Americans are making more money than we were a few months ago, the national unemployment rate is still hovering around 10%. The biggest factor for the recent economic upswing has everything to do with federal taxes. The Memorial Day weekend came at the time that most Americans who filed Federal taxes, and even those in government who forgot to, are receiving their rebates, thus Americans have some spending cash that they have earmarked for their summer.

Take myself for example. My family income has not changed since February. However, upon receiving our tax check, after paying all necessary bills and the surprise car fix, we had bought season passes to our local Six Flags theme park while they were inexpensive. Our Memorial Day consisted of going to Six Flags and then going to our local minor league baseball game. Total cost for the day, maybe $40 dollars for a family of three, and that includes buying tickets for our guest at the baseball game.

The talk of massive layoffs being slowed is an obvious comment and shouldn't make anyone really feel comfortable for two reasons: 1) there aren't any massive hiring and 2) State and local governments are in the midst of laying off hundreds of employees for financial reasons. So before you buy into this whole "We are getting better" mantra that the government is selling, you need to think about the surrounding factors.

Catching up with old friends

Alright, my abscense has probably gone un-noticed, but lets get caught up on somethings that have gone on since last we talked.

NEW NAME: I have left the old "Blogger to be named later" and re-taken up a name given to me in better days. That being said, now we can get on with the real news.

HOLA COMO ESTA?: President Obama has selected Sotomayor as his first appointed nominee for the Supreme Court. This issue has been a big deal since the elections because Obama has the chance to name several justices during his term.

Aside from that, we all knew there was going to be pressure on the first black president to share the historic spotlight with his appointing of cabinent members and justices. We have also seen that Obama doesn't necessarily pick the candidate with the best background as numerous nominees have had to drop out of his appointments since Congress doesn't feel it necessary to actually pay taxes, just take them from the American People. This failure to investigate, really a lack of thinking before you speak, has reared it's ugly little head again in the form of Sotomayor's comments about how she feels that a latina with her experience would make a better judgement than that of a white man with those same experiences.

I'm actually incline to possibly agree with her. No matter what field we are in, we all take our life experiences with us and use them for either good or bad. People use them as excuses to do good and try to imrpove their life, but they also use them as excuses for why they are in the situation they're in. A white man, for all his experience, will never know what it's like to be threatened to be deported even though your an American citizen; they will never know what it's like to be called names like "wet-back" "beaner" "spic" or any of these derogitory names.

I applaude President Obama for making this choice. Sure she killed baseball, causing steriods and the long ball to try and bring it back to life, but I think it's about time that there is a justice who looks at the law and thinks about not only how their rulling affects the case, but the law and those who have to live by it. I do hope, however, that Congress takes their time with this because afterall the Supreme Court is unlike any of the other branches of government, it's a "for life" appointment should not be rushed into.

KOREA II: World War III North Korea is flexing some major muscle that has all the world on the edge of their seat. Now, armed with the ability to make nuclear weapons, a crazy dictator and the thought that anyone who messes with their ships want war, the North is setting its sights on a long range missle launch later this month. Third times the charm, and this missle launch is suppose to go 4000 miles, or from North Korea to Hawaii or Alaska.

Kind of makes you wonder what would have happened had the US never dropped the A-Bomb on Japan after World War II. Also, did you know, Alfred Nobel, yes the Peace Prize guy, invented dynimite thinking that once people saw it's destructive power, the world would realize how bad war was...

Czar this, czar that...

I know I've been a horrible contributor recently, but life has been flying along. Buying a house, selling a condo, coaching little league, work is busy... But alas, I hope to be back on the blogging track. I just posted a mini rant over at AM Donkey. It relates to my frustration with the overuse of the term czar. It seems we have one for everything... A cyber space czar? Are you kidding? If there is one thing that isn't structured in any way to have authority or control in an individual, it is the Internet... peace.love.understanding.

Government Steals Land

Stop me when you've heard this one. The American government has been, since 2005, trying to buy 500 acres of land from 7 owners to no avail. To the surprise of one of the owners, the government set May as the end all deadline to agree to terms to sell the land. Now the United States government is going to simply condemn the land and take it from the owners, according to an Associated Press report.

The prime piece of real estate that the government is taking away from tax paying citizens is located at the crash site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. After they take the land from the legal owners, the government is then going to spend $58,000,0000 (million) on a permanent memorial and state park.

While I'm not "condemning" the government for wanting to erect a memorial to the bravery that was flight 93, they should not use their power to take land from their own citizens. But, with the rich history that the United States has in stealing land, this should really come as no surprise.

Gotta Love The Police

As I gaze out the window of my real job I see a police vehicle parked in front of the beauty salon next door. Generally this should be a cause for alarm as I did see them pull up an hour ago. But, much to my relief, it is not an emergency of any kind. And as the officer sat next to his official vehicle, smoking his cigarette in his shorts and t-shirt while he no doubtingly waits for his partner to get her hair done, it occurred to me, I'm in the wrong line of work.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that the police get to take there cars and use them for personal usage. And who gets stuck with the gas bill while they're out there gallivanting all over town? You and me, that's who. There really should be a lot more outrage then there is, but there isn't. There is actually more outrage coming from police who feel that they have every right to use these tax-payer fueled vehicles, and are angry when anyone thinks that they should have to pay to take it home, let alone fill it up. I guess the only thing they're serving and protecting is their own personal interest.

Before you judge me as some whiny cop hater, here is the legitimate list of "run-ins" I've had with these people:

• Called 911 when my neighbors car got broken into, almost 2 hours later a cop arrives
• driving home, a car starts to drive in reverse in my direction, I honk, he flashes his lights and stares me down
• driving to work and I almost get cut off, I honk my horn, this female officer flashes her lights while in front of me and starts to slow down. I slow down too, and take an alternative route. I called the community liaison, give them the plate number, and they tell me that is not one of theirs, and all but call me a liar.
• driving my son and wife around and almost got t-boned by a rent-away truck while there was an officer at the opposite light. I honk to get her attention, nothing. I called to complain and was told that if there are 2 people in the car, they don't do traffic stops
• driving home from work late one night, I get pulled over and get the third degree about where I'm headed. It takes 2 more cops to ask me questions as they flash their lights into my car looking for something. Didn't even get a ticket.
• Driving in the rain many years ago in a town I wasn't too familiar with. A police officer gets up on my tail, so I assume I'm going too slow, so I speed up. He pulls me over for speeding.
• After college my friends and I were setting off fireworks in a field. It was 4th of July and we figured they would just come and take our fireworks away. 2 squad cars jump the curb and continue to chase us.
• My best friend and I were walking to his house one night to play some N64. Some cop stops us and starts to question us about where we got those N6 controllers.
• I had watched the news where they just up'd the speed limit. A cop, who was headed in the opposite direction, pulls me over for speeding. By the time the fine was due, the new limit had already been posted, and I wouldn't have been speeding.

None of this even includes times I've seen cops use their cars for grocery shopping, eating lunch with their kids, and doing 90 on a 55 mph highway. These are way too many incidents for one person to have with police who are meant to serve and protect, not harass and ignore. And I'll openly admit that this also doesn't include the times I got pulled over for expired tags and no insurance.

I understand that the police have dangerous jobs and all that. However, there are too many cases where people pretend to be cops and take advantage of people. So, if one day a "cop" pulls me over in his shorts and a t-shirt and steps to my vehicle while putting out a cigarette, I only hope that the real cops will do something about it, that is if they aren't too busy with driving their kids to soccer practice on my dime.