The death of Michael Jackson is tragic.  So many stories of his life are tragic.  What is beautiful is the music and the timeless universal cross-cultural appeal of the brilliant entertainer.  
They say he was a tortured soul.  
Because of that, I ask:  
Must his death be a major production?  A frenzy of controversy?  Must we re-adjudicate his sordid past?  Must the media play over and over again the speculation about his sexuality, his cosmetic surgeries, his bankruptcy, his family difficulties?  Do we have to televise the people around him who will be fighting for his remains?  His money?  His child?  
Must we hear about the seagulls descending to collect every shred of what he's left behind?
Can the media give his soul the peace in death they couldn't offer it in life?

 

Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com has an excellent statistical analysis of how special interest money actually influences each Democratic senator's vote for or against a public health care option.
One highlight: 

What happens if we set the lobbying variable to zero for all senators?That is, suppose that the health care insurance industry were prohibited from making political contributions? In that case, the model predicts, 47 senators would currently support the public option, as opposed to the 38 who actually do. In other words, the insurance industry's influence appears to swing about 9 votes against the public option. Whatever number of senators wind up supporting the public option, add 9 to it, and you'll have a decent ballpark estimate for what the level of support might be if not for insurance industry contributions.