"When will the temple be rebuilt?" a woman asked me.
"I don’t know."
"Something is happening," she said. "The Rebbe and Michael Jackson share the same birthday. Michael’s middle name was Yosef. Michael is bringing the world together in a powerful way."
On his radio show today, Dennis Prager questioned the media’s wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Jackson’s funeral (media coverage of Jackson’s death has gotten good ratings, so it is good business). Dennis said he did not get it.
Dennis said he did get the widespread coverage of Princess Diana.
Prager said he is not immune from being starstruck. Prager said he is star struck by historian Paul Johnson.
I don’t think Johnson is an historian (any more than Rabbi Berel Wein who is presented as an historian by ignoramuses). He doesn’t break new ground by unearthing new information. He rewrites other people’s work. He’s a journalist, not a historian
Prager said that at least Jackson earned his fame, unlike John Kennedy Jr whose widespread coverage Prager did not get.
The city of Los Angeles is broke and yet it is spending $4 million on security for Jackson’s funeral. Do you think there would be a similar amount of security for a similar-sized crowd for some rabbi or classical musician or poet?
You need extra security because the people in charge must believe that the type of people who will turn out for a Michael Jackson memorial are disproportionately thugs and gangsters.
A lot of people feel like Michael Jackson and John Kennedy Jr were a part of their family. These people must have little idea of what a real family is. Their lives sound pathetic. When I see interviews with people who turn out for Michael Jackson memorials, they sound like a pathetic bunch.
