Michael

My initial reactions to the "not guilty" verdict?

1. Maybe we shouldn't let California try their own criminals anymore. They seem to take forever and never quite get it right, do they?

2. The general consensus seems to be that both the prosecution and the defense did admirable jobs. It's just that in every trial somebody wins and somebody loses; in this case the scam-artist mother was too much for the high burden of "beyond a reasonable doubt";

3. "Not guilty" does not mean innocent; and

4. Though punishment in the form of prison proved elusive, the D.A., by bringing this case, did accomplish one of the other objects of the criminal justice system: he has made the community safer.

True, Michael Jackson is not off the streets, but he wasn't that kind of jump-out-of-the-bushes predator anyway. Any parent who allows his or her child to be alone with Jackson from here on out gets what they deserve; at some point our obligation as a society to protect the children of others reaches an end point.

The community has been warned. And shame on anyone who buys a product that puts money into this grotesque creature's pocket.

Friday Quickies

....So I see Paris Hilton is marrying some guy named Paris.

Oh, yeah. This is going to work.

Assuming the wedding does ever take place, my bet is that these Paris' will hold off divorce about as long as Paris held off the Germans.

See all the coverage on this thing? Another shining example of how much our society treasures the sanctity of marriage. Thank goodness we don't allow gays and lesbians to wed-- that would make a mockery of this sacred institution, wouldn't it?

....What is it with television "news" programs and newspapers and their obsession with Siamese (excuse me, co-joined) twins? Latest example of the Carnival freak show transmitted into our living rooms is "The Little Mermaid" girl who had to have her feet separated.

I feel terrible for these people and their families. The stories are always heartwrenching, and I'm proud that some of my tax dollars or health insurance premiums are going to help these unfortunate souls.

But do we really need to have in depth coverage on TV every time one of these cases emerges? The MSM relishes the pictures. I'm sorry, but I see it as not one step above the bearded lady and the rest of the geek show.

Brrrrrrgggggh!!

....While I realize it isn't as awe-inspiring as a good set of co-joined three year olds, it should be pointed out that the Cassini-Huygens orbiter is still circling Saturn sending back amazing photos and a torrent of data to Earth-bound scientists.

We are learning an incredible amount about Saturn, its 1000 mile per hour winds, its 34 moons (16 of which are newly discovered!) and its unbelievable rings.

Virtually everything we learned in school about the Universe, and our Solar System is obsolete-- yet our sources for "information" center on the trivial, the inane and the disgusting (sometimes, as in the Michael Jackson case, all at the same time).

Here's a Cassini-Huygen's photo, in real color, of Saturn's rings:

Now that's hot!

....I've been asked a bunch of times over the past few days how I feel about Mark Felt, the finally-revealed "Deep Throat".

Two quick points.

First, I was 14 when the '72 election came on the scene, and I attended McGovern rallies because...well, because I liked Nancy Bilello and the girls at the McGovern rallies seemed intelligent and pretty hot.

I also delivered newspapers for three different papers at the time, so I got to follow the news closely. I was rooting for Nixon to fall, mostly because, well, that seemed pretty exciting, and that's what the hot girls wanted. And I was 14 and who knew that none of those girls cared about me at all, and that not a few of them would wind up in committed lesbian relationships in future years?

Second, after I got my hormones a bit better under control, and got some actual information into my head, I moved right, and left the silliness of the peace rallies behind.

Over the years I've come to believe that Watergate was more partisan politics than a threat to democracy, and as Lynyrd Skynyrd [corrected from the original] so eloquently put it: "Watergate does not bother me, Does your conscience bother you?"

I still would have thrown Nixon out; but then again I like to think I believe in the rule of law, and I would have thrown Clinton out as well.

I think it's ironic that not long ago liberals were decrying Felt's pardon, and conservatives were defending him as a man of honor. Now the roles are reversed.

Just as what liberals were quick to condemn in Nixon, they meekly excused in Clinton.

The defense of Felt centers on the belief that Nixon was the devil, therefor Felt's actions were necessary to bring the devil down. Who cares about oaths anyway, those quaint things?

Of course, liberals didn't think Felt's actions in illegally conducting warrantless breakins at the Weathermen's headquarters, a left-radical violence-riddled group of anarchists, were acceptable or heroic-- the Carter Justice Department prosecuted and convicted him for those excesses, even though many people believed there was more devil in the Weathermen than in Nixon's men.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I come down on the side of Felt being a bit sleazy, certainly not a hero. He was just another bureaucrat, disgruntled at being passed over. He wasn't trying to save democracy-- he was stabbing in the back people he thought had stabbed him.

Bottom line, whatever he was, Felt had no honor.

He could have pulled an Elliot Richardson, resigned and held a press conference.

He didn't. Instead he went weasel.

Regardless of his motives, did Felt help bring down a President? Yes.

Should that President have been forced out? Yes.

Does that make Felt a hero?

No. Oh, no.

....And finally a quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt:

Avoid the base hypocrisy of condemning in one man what you pass over in silence when committed by another.

- Cambridge, Massachusetts
March 11, 1890