John Dean: Defaming The Dead: Congressman Peter King's Michael Jackson Media Rant

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/22753

Defaming The Dead: Congressman Peter King's Michael Jackson Media Rant
by John W. Dean | July 10, 2009
— from FindLaw


New York Republican Congressman Peter King, acting very much like a prototypical contemporary Republican congressman, recently appeared in front of a Wantagh, New York American Legion Post, to rant about the news coverage of Michael Jackson's death. In doing so, Congressman King absolutely trashed and unashamedly defamed Jackson, even while the Jackson family was still coping with Michael's death and had yet to bury him.

King's "I'll tell you what's news and what's not" outburst truly crossed the line, however, when he charged Jackson with crimes for which the entertainer had been found "Not guilty." King said: "…I don't know how long now, this lowlife Michael Jackson, his name, his face, his picture is all over the newspapers, television, radio. All we hear about is Michael Jackson. And let's knock out the psychobabble. This guy was a pervert, a child molester, he was a pedophile, and to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does it say about us and this country? …There's nothing good about this guy...."

To defame Michael Jackson as "a child molester" and "a pedophile" – while claiming there was "nothing good about this guy" who devoted his considerable talents to carrying a message of peace and harmony throughout the world – was clearly way over the top.

snip//

During the days following Michael Jackson's death, many of his admirers have worked diligently to focus attention upon the contributions this talented entertainer made, the joy he provided his audiences, his far-beyond-the-call-of-any-duty contributions to charitable causes, and his crossover appeal to Americans of all colors and ethnicities -- a reality acknowledged by President Obama, who noted Jackson's role in paving the way for the election of the first African-American president.

As I was watching and listening to the Jackson coverage, it struck me that if Reverend Al Sharpton turned his focus on protecting Michael Jackson's legacy upon the New York Assembly, and revived the proposed legislation providing a posthumous cause of action for defamation that hurts the family members and financial interests of deceased persons, then Ayatollah Congressman King and his like would think twice before defaming a world-famously, and tremendously popular deceased figure for cheap political gain.

[wryter2000]

1. Wow

I'm usually applauding Howard Dean. It's fun to :applause: John Dean here.