By Kimberly Krautter 

I wonder if Congressman Pete King bothered to watch the Michael Jackson memorial service today? Or did his cynicism win out? Don't get me wrong. With the Iranian people still courageously protesting their oppressors and the Chinese ethnic conflict and our brave U.S. troops still fighting on two fronts overseas and major legislation under discussion in Congress, I understood his superficial knee-jerk reaction to a lack of balance by the news organizations.

Yet, in his frustration he exposed the worst of us. He forgot that one of the cornerstones of our nation's bedrock values is that we are all innocent until proven guilty. Michael Jackson, for all of his faults -- and like all great artists of history, he had many -- was proven innocent of all charges. He could have continued paying off the vultures. But he stood trial. And he was vindicated.

There is nothing more troubling than the charges that were levied against Jackson. Nothing is more reviling than the abuse of a child or an elder or an animal. Like everyone else, I took pause. I was deeply concerned and wondered who he was and "did he do it?" But what troubled me as much if not more than the charges themselves was that the parents who made the allegations, almost to a person, made the complaints to the tabloids before they made them to police.

If I were lucky enough to parent a child, you'd better believe that if anyone, no matter how great, hurt my child I would go to the police and every other person of authority to make sure that person was taken down. I wouldn't even think about money. And I certainly would shield my child and my family as much as possible from the harsh glare of the media. I would not seek attention. There is nothing more valuable or precious than a child, and no amount of silver could sway me from seeking justice.

While like Congressman King I did feel like the media were erroneous in making Michael Jackson the lead story for a week to ten days, the truth of the matter is that the news value of the Michael Jackson story was and remains worthy of continuous focus. The very troubling issue of concierge doctors who enable drug abuse and addiction among celebrities and the wealthy will hopefully remain in focus. The issue of child custody and the dysfunctions of family court is a worthy issue on which Michael Jackson's story can shed some much needed light. And, of course, there is the culture of celebrity and our general addiction to it which is a worthy discussion. 

With the music  and film industries being some of our biggest exports and such a massive contributor to our GDP, when an artist of Jackson's capacity whose body of work represents a substantial portion of that output, like GM or Lehman Brothers, it is entirely appropriate to discuss the effect of his demise.

Most of all, Michael Jackson was one of America's best ambassadors. His music and life brought immeasurable joy and inspiration to generations of people around our troubled planet. His songs always uplifted and poked at the better virtues of our nature. I have listed many reasons why he is newsworthy, but this is the one above all. Frankly, it's nice to have positive news dominate the headlines.