LOST AND ALMOST FOUND

LOST AND ALMOST FOUND

MICHAEL JACKSON NOT SOLD HERE

On June 25, at 2:26 pm Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop” died apparently of cardiac arrest. Perhaps the strain on his heart was caused as much by the personal conflicts in his life which he had suffered since birth at the hands of an abusive father, as it was by the drugs he had used to try to forget the unhappiness of a childhood of abuse. The man who had struggled with his personal life all of his life, had given in to his tortured childhood, and had brought the final curtain down. His Father should feel ashamed for what he did to a young boy and for how it affected his entire life. Probably it was not intentional, but in his attempt to cope with what he had suffered at the hands of his father and how it had affected him throughout his life had caused his life to come to an early end. Anyone who has in even the most minor of ways been negatively affected by a parent must have some inkling of what Michael’s torment must have been like.

Michael Jackson was without doubt one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived; Michael Jackson is best known for the groundbreaking Thriller, which remains the bestselling album of all time. From his young stardom as the lead voice of the Jackson 5 to his portrayal of the Scarecrow in The Wiz, Jackson demonstrated an incomparable talent that sparked early, burned brightly, and leaves an incalculable musical legacy behind. One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records, including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time." He has won 13 Grammy Awards, charted 13 number one singles in his solo career more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era and posted sales of over 750 million records worldwide, making him, according to the World Music Awards, the best selling solo artist of all time.

 I have been a fan since he was five and still marvel at the incredible agility and grace of the Moon Walk. As has been mentioned, his dancing was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers all rolled into one, and I would throw in a bit of Charlie Chaplin and Gene Kelly. His singing was second to none, with a God given voice of sweetness, purity and thunder all blended perfectly together. It seemed that when Michael Jackson took the stage he became a different person brave and confident, he went into himself and came out not the damaged man of an abusive childhood but a man who could and did conquer the world with his performance. Maybe he danced and sang to forget the hurt inside and as he did, he helped us forget some hurt as well.

The reason that I called this piece “Michael Jackson, Not Sold Here,” is because I have been sickened by the circus that some are guilty of turning his death into. I was on EBay a couple of days ago and someone was trying to sell the Vinyl Album of Thriller for a minimum bid of Fifteen Thousand  dollars, or you  could buy it straight away for Seventeen Thousand dollars and while I find those figures outrageous, there are worse atrocities that have been committed. The vultures like OK Magazine which reportedly paid Five hundred thousand dollars for the picture of Michael Jackson being carried on a stretcher and probably already dead. There are at least two vultures there, the scum bag that took the picture and the magazine that paid for and printed it. A recent poll was taken, asking people if they wanted to view Michael Jackson’s autopsy photo. Seventy Five percent said yes. What kind of deranged mentality is that? And it is just that mentality that encourages a magazine to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a picture; because they know it will sell and make the rag of a magazine which printed it multiple times more than the price they paid for it.

There will no doubt be more magazines and TV Networks that will find ways to capitalize on Michael Jackson’s death. Reporting in good taste is one thing. Rag magazines and sensationalistic reporting is to be abhorred.
There are other issues that concern about the exposure that the death of Michael Jackson brings to mind, like the cost of the memorial to the financially strapped city of LA. I suggest that the very wealthy family of Michael Jackson pay that expense.  It was their idea to have it in the fashion they did and if you or I lose a loved one, we pay for the funeral, not whatever city we live in.  There will be much more profiteering from Michael Jackson’s death. If you’re interested, I just saw on EBay that the domain name TheTwoKings.com, which is Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, is for sale for US $1,000,000.00. I think my only problem with that really is that I didn’t think of it. Here is another one for you  
New Michael Jackson's Moonwalker Arcade Game
     $6,500.

And though I find it a shame that the death of a human being has generated such interest in making money, there are many other issues I want to deal with concerning these phenomena. For example, Michael Jackson was not the only star to die recently and they were just as important to those who loved them as Michael was. The cost to the city of L.A. and many other issues you will not find in your local or national media. And in the near future I will address those.

So I will miss Michael Jackson. His death left a hole in music and entertainment that will never be filled. But I think we should let him go with dignity and at the bottom of this page are two pictures of album covers that I own. The vinyl is in mint condition, as are the jackets, but as I said: “Michael Jackson Not Sold Here.” Someday when it is possible to do so in good taste and the feeding frenzy is over, and should I need the money, then there is a remote possibility I may part with them, I’ll at least leave that door open. But I suspect that is a remote possibility and many years away. But for now Michael Jackson, Rest in Peace.

HEALTHCARE REFORM

I want to say that we are all living in difficult times, that the economy has crippled our spirits as well as our bodies, and that we are all in this boat together. But if I were to say that it would be a lie. And we are not all in the same boat, or if we are someone else is steering our course and we don't want to go where they are taking us.

Today, June 23rd, 2009 President Obama held a press conference at which he dealt with the deplorable situation taking place in Iran, the horrible state of our own economy and health care reform. This blog deals with the health care reform issue but in a way it relates to our economy as well. As the President spoke today, and I do want to go on record that I am 85 percent a Barack Obama believer and I wanted and waited to hear him nail the question of why major health care providers are so opposed to a government sponsored plan. Why they say they could not compete with a plan that a benefits the people by giving them a choice. The major companies say they could not meet the challenge of a government sponsored health care plan that everyone might take advantage of and it would possibly drive them out of business. So I waited as the reporters questioned the President. I waited for him to tell the world why BIG health care companies were afraid, and I did not wait patiently. I kept screaming, not really too loudly, that it was the salaries of the CEO's at these companies and other top executives that made it impossible for them to compete with a government sponsored plan. And it is!

Health insurance companies are the problem! or at least the salaries of the top executives who are steering the boat is. Like I said, we are not all in the same boat. The CEO's at these companies are cruising on a luxury liner and we are rowing like crazy in a sinking dingy.
Here now I will provide proof and a link for you to check out yourself. The following figures are from 2005, nothing more recent was available. I wonder why. But try these out for size anyway.

United Health Group
CEO: William W McGuire
2005: 124.8 mil
5-year: 342 mil

• Aetna
  CEO: John Rowe
  2005: 22.1 mil
  5-year:57.8 mil
• Cigna
  CEO: H. Edward Hanway
  2005:13.3 mil
  5-year:62.8 mil
• McKesson
  CEO: John Hammergen
  2005: 13.4 mil
  5-year:31.2 mil

WellPoint
CEO: Larry Glasscock
2005: 23 mil

And here is that link

HTTP://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/tmcpac/2009/03/why-health-insurance-companies.php

Here now is another statistic from the health insurance companies. What follows is the average hourly rate of the ship's crew, the front line workers:

Median Hourly Rate by Job - Industry: Health Insurance (United States)

Currency: USD | Updated: 18 Jun 2009 | Individuals reporting: 3,000

The major Health Care Providers say we can't , we can't , can't what ? live on less than 100 million or so dollars for the CEO's? I think it's time that we say I won't, I won't and that we do want reform now. If the people of Iran are willing to die for their rights, what are we willing to give up for ours?

copyright 6/2009 Dan Sanders

STARFISH AND FOOTPRINTS

What I hope to bring to these pages is a world of varied experiences: A belief that all life needs protecting, that we are indeed our brothers' and sisters' keepers and the keepers of all forms of life, whether they live next door or across the ocean. This belief is not based on deep religious convictions, but simply on a belief in what is right and wrong and what is good and what is not. There are so many things on our little planet in the galaxy which need to be changed that it can be overwhelming. It can be so easy to ask " what difference can I make?" And that statement reminds me of the story of a little boy walking on the beach. As he walked,he was picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. An old man who was watching him asked: Why are you bothering? You can't possibly make a difference to them all. At that the young boy replied," You're right, I can't, but I am certainly making a difference to this one."

I was a 60's non-violent radical, and conscientious objector, and during that time, I opposed the killing fields of Vietnam and cried over the dying fields of Kent State. I was present at the 1968 National Convention in Chicago, and forty one years later I can still remember running down the streets and back alleys of that city with National Guardsmen chasing me, when my only offense was simply being present. Not one stone had I thrown, not one word of insult had I shouted. I had simply and with polite outrage voiced my opposition to the cruelty perpetrated on a people in a land that should have been left alone.

I saw a Buddhist burn himself in opposition to the war: I could not do this, so I burned my draft card instead. Someone once asked Father Philip Berrigan when he burned draft records at Catonsville, why he did not burn himself. His answer was: " Life is more precious than property, I gave what was possible." Just as there are men and women who fought in the Vietnam War and still suffer emotional problems because of it, I want to say that I hold no hatred or even dislike for any of our countrymen and women who did fight. They did so either because they believed in the war or believed that they had no choice. Either way they did what they felt they had to do. I know that there are men and women who struggled against the War in a peaceful, non-violent way, and these men and women believed that they could make a positive change and leave the world a better place. I know that many of these people also still suffer from the war. They are Peace Movement casualties, just as there are Veterans of the war casualties. At some point I will try and explain that in more detail, but basically these war resistors suffer emotional trauma from a broken heart caused by broken dreams.

In forty years of Radio and Television Broadcasting and Acting, I have also witnessed a lot. Yes I was at Woodstock, though I must admit I did not stay. The mud and the rain dampened my spirits and I was afraid.....afraid of the drugs, and the massive crowds, and I was sure that someone was going to die. So after about a day, I left the same way I had come in--walking. I had come to hear the music, not to roll in the mud, high on drugs with someone I did not know and would never see again. I wanted to see the players on the stage and not the ones on grass, ( pun intended.)

But I have seen a lot. I have been witness to some of the greatest musical, magical, and political moments in our country's history, and I will attempt to share those with you. I still believe in the power of you and I to make changes. I believe what I would hope every caring human on this planet believes--that life is precious, and it is all we know for sure. And where do we go from here? No one, to my knowledge, has come back to tell us what comes after, so we had better make the most of every day we have here. That means losing our selfish self-involved me first attitude. You and I are here now. This is what we know. This is what we have. And more importantly, we ll need each other!

I recently read an article in one of our local major papers about what the author called " The Teflon Generation." They are young College grads, many with degrees and honors from the best Colleges and Universities in the country. But they are jobless, either because they are just out of school and unable to find a job, or have recently lost their job. The author interviewed some of them in a very high class, high-priced night club, spending ten or more dollars on a single drink and partying like there was no tomorrow. They were doing this not out of fear of their situation, but because they were convinced they were the best and the brightest and they were entitled to live the life their parents had promised them by telling them " You can be anything you want." I don't believe that saying was wrong, but I do believe that it was said before the worst economic times this Country has known since the Great Depression, and I believe that this so called "Telfon Generation", rather than pouring down ten dollar drinks, might instead pour a little money into helping those in need.

Some of my pieces will be reminiscences with a purpose, and hopefully entertaining, which might even bring a smile to your face. Some will be a direct verbal attack against injustices. I will also take on issues such as Health Care, and the general Health Care System of this Country, where the poor die while CEO's at large pharmaceutical companies make millions of dollars a year.

Another cause that is very near to my heart is the treatment of the beautiful creatures that share this small globe with us: In many ways, these wonderful creatures have as their worst enemy the human animal. These will be researched stories about what is happening or not, and what more can be done to help them. From the depths of the ocean to the highest mountains, from the Ghetto to the Hollywood Hills. Who can make a difference? We can! We are the only animals who can truly make a difference.

I will write about how I have tried to change the world - - one small starfish at a time: about how you have tried to change the world and about how we can still change the world together. No one is without power; and no one has power over us except for the power we give them. Two are more powerful than one, and groups have more power than one or two alone.

Particular groups of people which I believe must come forth and challenge the consciousness of us all are the artists, actors, writers, photographers and musicians, people like Michael Moore and Bono to name two that come to mind from today, or Bob Dylan from the 60's,....people who have the attention of the American people and in some cases people throughout the world, and have the creative ability to say what needs to be said.

It doesn't matter if your art is hanging in the Louvre, or in a small bookstore. It doesn't matter whether you are performing before a hundred thousand or a dozen in a cafe. You have an audience and you have an ear or an eye and you can reach more starfish at one time than most people can. And for the rest of us, one starfish at a time is one happy starfish.

And so I will write about causes, about needs, and sometimes I will write just for fun. I do that sometimes. It is my hope that you will find these pages informative, thought provoking, sometimes fun, sometimes sad. You will agree with me, or maybe you will not, but that's what dialogue is all about, and dialogue is a path to change, and your feedback and ideas will always be welcome. We will leave a few footprints in the sands of time and more than a few starfish back in the ocean.