Congressman tired of Michael Jackson getting attention gives Michael Jackson attention

July 6, 12:25 PMPopulist ExaminerBruce Maiman

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Republican Congressman Peter King of New York has caused some controversy with a YouTube video in which he rips Michael Jackson as a "pervert" and a "low-life."
   King, standing in front of an American Legion Hall in his district on Long Island, NY, recalls the "great men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country," but he thinks the media should stop "glorifying" Jackson: "To be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out --what does it say about our country?"
   King did manage to acknowledge that Jackson "may have been a good singer" and "did some dancing."
   Fox News jumped on King's comments with a poll question to readers: "Is Peter King right or wrong?"
   At first check, the day before Jackson's funeral in Los Angeles, 81 percent agreed with King.
   Sorry, but last I checked, the law states that King is wrong. Jackson was never convicted in a court of law and yes, he may have paid out $20 million in hush money to some family whose young son may have been molested, but that's not evidence; that's hearsay. King is stating what he believes, not what he knows. He's entitled to his opinion, but in court, it doesn't matter what you believe, it only matters what you can prove. If you don't like it that's too bad; that's our system.
   King clearly is out of touch with pop music history --Jackson was much more than a good singer who could do some dancing, but just as clearly, he's not able to separate Jackson's musical talents with the widely held perception about Jackson's personal life. A lot of us are unable to reconcile the two. Incidentally, for what it's worth, Jackson never sang about drugs, guns, gangs, grills, car rims, forties, sex, money or murder, or the objectifying, beating or berating of women --unlike many a rap star today.
   And if you want further proof that King is out of touch, he's complaining that the media should stop "glorifying" Jackson. Where's he been? The media's been doing this with every famous person who came down the pike, justified or not, and they wouldn't be doing it if there wasn't an audience for it, so if he's looking for someone to blame, he might try looking into the other end of the telescope. Or he might try keeping his mouth shut on matters like this since all he did was give that much more media shelf life to a story he's tired of seeing in the media.