ProConPundit Hall of Fame

First Inductee:
MAUREEN ORTH

These have been challenging times for the Progressive Conservative movement. The death of Michael Jackson, as much as anything, ratifies the mission of the ProConPundit as a spokesperson for a common sense moderate majority.

Michael Jackson’s death also occasions the absolute necessity for the ProConPundit to establish a HALL OF FAME. There are a lot of personal heroes I could have named to the HALL OF FAME, but the first inductee is someone I had never heard of before the death of Tim Russert one year ago.

My attorney, one-time professor, fellow funeral director, and, I’d like to say, friend, Frederick Cappetta, once said, “There is a remarkably small number of people in the world who have the courage to tell the truth.” Telling the truth is particularly difficult to do when people, as Jack Nicholson would say, can’t take the truth. It’s even more courageous to tell the truth when it marches against the flow of a parade. Maureen Orth has done that.

It’s no wonder the ProConPundit never heard of Maureen Orth. She is a journalist who covers pop culture. She is a correspondent for Vanity Fair, a former contributing editor for Vogue, and a former columnist for New York Woman. I never heard of Maureen Orth until her husband, Tim Russert, died a year ago.

Is it intellectually honest to say that you were shocked but not surprised by something? That’s how I felt yesterday about Michael Jackson’s death. Shocked to hear it, shocked at the timing, but not really surprised. I am sensitive to the fact that there are tons of people who are fans to his music. I’m not one of them. Not since the Jackson 5, really. I experienced Man In The Mirror and We Are The World as powerful songs. I was a little shocked but not surprised by the over reaction to his death. I thought the LA Coroner removing his body from the UCLA Medical Center by helicopter was outrageous.

At the gym this morning I watched “Morning Joe” on MSNBC while tread milling. They convened a panel to discuss Jackson’s death including Maureen Orth, who had covered him extensively. Also on the panel was the ultra liberal ideologue, Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post and unemployed comedian and commentator, John Ridley. Maureen Orth, who objectively knew more about Jackson than anyone else on the panel was candid about, well, the truth. While noting his undisputed musical talent, she also spoke of what a keen business person he was, something the others on the panel clearly knew nothing about. In responding to others who spoke of his having been acquitted of the criminal prosecution for child molestation, stated that it was simply factual that he had spent “millions and millions and millions” of dollars to pay off three different sets of parents. She also spoke of his having dangled his infant son over a balcony. John Ridley was visibly angry and unnerved by Orth’s temerity to speak the truth. To be truthful, I have not watched a lot of the coverage of Jackson’s death. From what I have seen, balance has been in short supply.

On MSNBC last night, Keith Olbermann ( a real chuckle head) was speaking with a reporter in LA and asked her about “man on the street” comments about Jackson’s death. She said the most poignant remark she heard came from an 8 year old boy who said, “I feel bad that Michael died. I hope that he had a chance to tell God how sorry he was before he died.” You should have seen the look on Olbermann’s face. Olbermann was none too pleased, I presume, that God had been brought into it.

Michael Jackson wasn’t proclaimed the King of Pop by anyone other than himself. I am not objective but I don’t think his music had the kind of cross generational appeal that, say, Elton John has. Prognosticators predict that Jackson’s scandals will fade from his reputation and only his fame will endure. That may be, but I don’t think his music will have the staying power decades from now the way the Beatles and Elvis have.

As I establish the ProConPundit Hall of Fame, I think it fitting to name Maureen Orth as the first inductee. I wish I knew the name of the 8 year old boy so I could name him, too. Neither the ProConPundit nor I suspect the 8 year old boy is a religious fanatic. I am also one who believes strongly in the grace of God and the power of God to forgive...I’m banking on it.

The 8 year old boy spoke of something so basic yet profound, and still it was poo-pooed. He wasn’t preaching fire and brimstone. This child understands right and wrong. He has a world view that perceives a loving God who can forgive anyone with the humility to express–if only to God–that we have done wrong.

I have more pity for Michael Jackson than judgement. I do think he was used and manipulated for a good part of his life–perhaps mostly by his father and family. I also don’t think he was a child molester in the sense of violent acts. I picture two types of active pedophiles. The first is the stereotypical perv in a raincoat or like the types who commit violent acts then kill their victims/witnesses. The other type is the less violent, trusted person like a clergyman, or King of Pop. I don’t think Jackson ever violently assaulted anyone. I do think he had sick relationships with children some of whom may have been so thrilled by his attention or awestruck by his wealth to have either not known or ignored that there was anything wrong. Their parents did. They were paid off. He was a pedophile and a drug addict. He wasn’t a good role model. I don’t begrudge him his musical success and acclaim.

When Richard Nixon died, his own intentions, his family’s request, as well as common sense dictated a subdued funeral given his “resignation in disgrace.” The liberal media has never allowed any telling of Nixon’s life without including his transgressions. Jackson should be held to the same account. He was a far more lethal influence on young people than tricky Dick.

Cheers to Maureen Orth and the 8 year old boy.