TMZ was the first to report accurately that Michael Jackson passed away yesterday, June 25^th, some time in the afternoon.  It was a sad day for music and entertainment as we have  lost Michael Jackson to heart failure of some type.  The exact cause the cardiac arrest is not known, but it is widely speculated that he may have been given too big a dose of pain killing medicine.

According to TMZ reports, he was rushed to the hospital and was not breathing at the time, and they attempts to resuscitate him failed.  If it’s true, it is well known that opiate pain killers are a very powerful breathing suppressant, and it does not take much of an overdoes to kill someone.  His long time attorney kept warning him he had the wrong people around him, to no avail it seems.

Over recent years, ....Jackson.... has come under attack for his personal behavior, but knowing how he grew up, the severe abuse he was subjected to, and the pressure he was under to succeed at such a young age, I think we have to really focus more on his amazing talent than we should on any shortcomings he may have had.  He shared his amazing gifts with us over his lifetime, and over most of my lifetime, and we should all be thankful for the way he made us feel, in good times, and in bad.

Not since Elvis Presley has any single individual affected pop culture as broadly or widely as Michael. His fashion style, his incredible songs and singing, and his off the charts gift for dancing, affected nearly everyone on the planet during his lifetime. He was at once Elvis, dancer Fred Astaire, and designer Gianni Versace. He changed the world, and he entertained us for so many years since he was a small boy. I grew up watching him and the Jackson Five. He was a mere five years older than me.

I for one will miss Michael Jackson.

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Here is the link to the report:

http:../../..www...knoxville...com/..news/..2009/..jun/..25/..breaking-..news-..tmz-..reports-..michael-..jackson-..rushed-..h/?partner=RSS

Here is the link to his biography from Wikipedia: