Creators Syndicate – Flags flew at half-staff this week in California's state Capitol. No, not for Michael Jackson. For Private First Class Justin Casillas.

Pfc. Casillas died in a suicide bombing attack on his Army base in eastern Afghanistan on the Fourth of July. While Americans enjoyed fireworks and Hollyweird mourned the "king of pop" with wretched excess, the family of Pfc. Casillas learned that the 19-year-old paratrooper with the U.S. Army's Alaska-based 509th Airborne had given his life for his country. His father told the Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat that Justin just "wanted to do his part."

The family has a legacy of service: Casillas' grandfather served in the Pacific theater during World War II; his father served in Vietnam. But the death of Pfc. Casillas didn't make front-page headlines. His funeral won't receive wall-to-wall coverage on cable TV.

Instead, it's been all MJ, all night and day: Nurses! Nannies! Doctors! Drug raids! Custody battles! Casket rides!

Jacko fever spread to the Beltway, where the House of Representatives held a moment of silence for the entertainer. President Obama sent a highly publicized letter of condolence to the Jackson family. And topping them all, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, drafted a 1,600-word congressional resolution that "recognizes Michael Jackson as a global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises; and celebrates Michael Jackson as an accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment, scientific advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and global food security."

Jackson-Lee laundry-listed every charitable act and donation by Jackson in the House resolution — and would have included all the times he said "thank you" and "God bless you" if there had been more room. Is it too much to ask our lawmakers to restrain themselves from acting like "Entertainment Tonight" spokesmodels and Tiger Beat correspondents?

I stand with GOP Rep. Peter King of New York, who rightly skewered these celebrity-worshiping warped priorities as "an orgy of glorification." Jackson could sing and dance. But he was no American hero. In a YouTube video over the weekend, King lambasted the media circus:

"All we hear about is Michael Jackson. Let's knock out the psychobabble. He was a pervert … and to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country? … I just think we're too politically correct. No one wants to stand up and say, 'We don't need Michael Jackson!' He died, he had some talent, but fine, there are people dying every day. There are men and women dying every day in Afghanistan, let's give them the credit they deserve."

Yes, let's do that.

Another soldier died with Pfc. Casillas on Independence Day at Combat Outpost Zerok in Afghanistan's Paktika province. He was 20-year-old Pfc. Aaron Fairbairn. Fairbairn's stepfather, David Masters, took to the social networking service Twitter to spread the word and keep Fairbairn's legacy alive. "On Independence Day, a few hours ago, they killed my son Aaron in Afghanistan," Masters wrote.

According to the Department of Defense, both Fairbairn and Casillas died from "wounds suffered when insurgents attacked the outpost using small arms and indirect fires." The Taliban claimed credit for the complex rocket and mortar attack involving a reported 8,000 kg of explosives.

Tens of thousands of our men and women are in Iraq and Afghanistan to combat the jihadi threat. Army 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw gave his life on June 25, the same day Jackson died. Bradshaw's aunt, Martha Gillis, blasted the silence over her nephew's sacrifice in a letter to her local paper, The Washington Post:

"My nephew, Brian Bradshaw, was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan on June 25, the same day that Michael Jackson died. … Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?" Gillis wrote that Bradshaw "had old-fashioned values and believed that military service was patriotic and that actions counted more than talk. … He was a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor. He carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial 'shrines,' while this soldier's death goes unheralded? It makes me want to scream."

Please do not despair, Mrs. Gillis. While the Rev. Al Sharpton screamed, "Thank you, Michael! Thank you, Michael!" at the grotesque Staples Center memorial on Tuesday, many of us whispered in prayer: Thank you, Justin. Thank you, Aaron. Thank you, Brian. The real American heroes won't be forgotten.

The Jackson Circus was a disturbing look into the mentality of people in this country today. We are rotting from the inside like Rome and probably deserve to fall. The barbarians are not only at the gate they have invaded the heart of this country and are destroying it from within.

Well that is a little much. Soldiers die all the time. Just because it doesn't make the news because Ensign and Sanford have girlfriends I didn't get shook up. Its just the way the media works. Its not just MJ. Its anything that titilates. Soldiers are rarely remembered.

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Don't take any of it too seriously.

Our fallen soldiers deserve their proper respect, but bitching about Michael Jackson coverage by the media is really ignorant.

The week before Michael Jackson died no one was paying attention to our fallen soldiers either.

The only reason a piece of crap article like this gets published is because it too mentions Michael. Otherwise it would just be some guy whining about soldiers not getting their proper respect, which could have been written any week for the past 50 years or so.

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Dudes ... you're just NOT THAT MUCH ****ING SMARTER than all of us. GET OVER YOURSELVES!
-- Me, to President Obama and the rest of his self-loving amateur staff.

And that's the real problem. Those people who make true sacrifices for this country are regularly ignored by so many people. Jackson is simply an extreme example of so many people's ignorance.

I know things will never change so long as people put their own self-interest ahead of others. Would Jackson have been pushed by his father to perform if there wasn't money to be made? Somehow I doubt that he would have had him create music for music's sake.

but that isn't what your article implies is the problem.

the author wanted to blame Michael Jackson and his fans...going so far as to call him names ("pervert").

it will be difficult to garner support for your cause when your argument is disingenuous at best.

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"No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities."
...Christian Nestell Bovee

Nothing disingenous about it. Jackson WAS a pervert, who managed to escape prison because people were blinded by his celebtrity. If he would have been an "ordinary" citizen like the rest of us, he would have been found guilty. Celebrities are the equivalent of royalty in this country and are treated accordingly. Those who are willing to stand up and say enough are shouted down and criticized for their opinions. Kind of explains why shows like American Idol are so popular. Pablum for the masses who have nothing better in their lives but to live vicariuosly through others. When the illusion is revealed, it is too much for most people to handle.

Do you want an actual transcript of the lack of evidence? Or are you too set in your belief system to let facts get in the way?
If had been like you or I he would never have faced charges. We don't have that kind of money to extort, and there wasn't any evidence.

Still, heap on the media for the way it is. Heap on society ... not a problem. Using Michael Jackson to get more attention (cuz that's ALL this is) reflects a dysfunction of the article's author, and seemingly you share in it.

As we speak President Obama is in Europe, doing nothing of consequence and the media's covering that instead of paying tribute to dead soldiers.

See how stupid this game sounds when you're not just hating on a dead entertainer?

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Dudes ... you're just NOT THAT MUCH ****ING SMARTER than all of us. GET OVER YOURSELVES!
-- Me, to President Obama and the rest of his self-loving amateur staff.

The article is by Michelle Malkin. A woman who could take some of her own advice.
Sure. She got "patriotism" around July 4th. Putting up a couple articles about our military men and women.

But before that?
Before that, you would have to go back to December 12th to see her blogs "honoring" the soldiers, cause she would be too busy bashing Obama and the Democrats in her own media circus...

This thread is little more than a thinly veiled excuse to attack Jacko mourners.
Look at 1017710's last post here...
NO COMMENT about "Real American Heroes".
Just bashing Jacko and his mourners...

Maybe a new thread should be started for those who waste their own time bashing Jacko mourners when they could be doing something more constructive like mourning the real American Heroes.

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Republicans have a sweet racket because they run on "government is ineffective," and then when they **** things up, they go, "See." – Bill Maher

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.
When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
--Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara

Thought I'd see if this was true...far from it...

Here's Malkin's article honoring soldiers JUST in the last 3 months...

Forget Michael Jackson. Meet Pvt. Justin Casillas
July 7th

#thankyouaaron: An update
July 6th

Thank you, Aaron: A U.S. soldier’s sacrifice on Independence Day
July 5th

Strike of the Sword
July 3rd

Outpouring of support for Dallas vet whose flags were torched
July 2nd

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Kenneth L. Reusser, R.I.P.
June 29th

Happy Flag Day & Happy Birthday Army
June 14th

Mourning Pvt. Long
June 8th

D-Day weekend meditation
June 6th

www.troopathon.com; Update: Send support to families of targeted Arkansas troops
June 4th

The father of murdered Army recruiter William Long speaks
June 2nd

Memorial Day 2009: Giving thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice
May 29th

Memorial Day message from Blackfive
May 22

JROTC gets a reprieve…for now
May 14th

Haditha Marine update: Lt. Col. Chessani wins another round
May 6th

American Legion responds to DHS
April 14th

A tribute to our Navy SEAL snipers
April 12th

Yeah, sure...You hate Malkin...Fine...go right ahead...

But to use the Michael Moore tactic of "I don't have enough evidence for my hate, so I'll make some stuff up." is pretty lowball...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

I too thought the priorities of our nation's people (as expressed in the MJ memorial) was a bit disturbing.
Just MO.

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I did not win the Powerball again!


"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
--Jonathan Swift