1. The worst thing about Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Governor to focus on running for the presidency is that it'll make Andrew Sullivan even more monomaniacal. Andy: Give it a rest once in a while!
2. Steven Taylor has been doing a great job covering the Honduras coup. I totally defer to him on the merits of this case. But I do think it is possible to have a military coup that intervenes in the democratic process yet still be pro-democracy. Suppose the german military had launched a coup to remove Hitler after he won the post-Reichstag Fire elections so as to prevent the Reichstag from passing the Enabling Act that turned Hitler into a dictator. I'm not saying that's what happened in Honduras, of course.
3. Having a psoas strain sucks.
4. It's been a rough week for celebrities. Of the 4 big deaths, I think I liked Karl Malden best. Although, like most men of a certain age, I once owned that amazing Farrah poster.
5. Obama makes better use of shills, plants, and other propaganda techniques that any US President in living memory. What's odd is that he needs them, considering the media's still in the tank for him.
6. Someday I'd like to own a fully restored Series 1 Jaguar E-type. Except it also ought to have a decent audio/sat nav system.
7. The outpouring of grief over Michael Jackson's death reminds me of the furor when Princess Diana died. In both cases, I just don't get it. Whose life is so empty that the death of a (seriously flawed) person they never met would touch them so deeply?
8. I do feel sorry for Jackson's kids. They're going to get fought over by people trying to get their hands on their dad's money. It'll be amazing if they end up remotely normal adults.
9. True confession: English tabloids on the internet are one of my guilty pleasures.
10. California is terminally dysfunctional.
I think it's safe to say the Michael Jackson brought joy to a lot people. Thriller didn't become the biggest album ever accidentally. I can still recall how upset I was over the death of John Lennon. Diana was famous for, well, being famous.
Next, I suppose you'll tell us that we wouldn't have any reason to mourn the passing of Paul McCartney.
Posted by: Keith Waters | 07/08/2009 at 05:33 PM