Sounds like everyone else stayed home and watched it on TV. Except me, that is. I lost my respect for Mr. Jackson as a person after his first case of child molestation. As an entertainer, his songs will live forever.

1) The Jackson’s were going to charge a fee. Half the family was in favor and half was against. In the end, they decided it was tacky to charge for what was basically a funeral (I agree).

2) Like your or I, the Jackson’s had evey right to have it at the Staples Center if they paid the venue fee. They did nothing outside the Staple’s Center that would have forced them to incur a fee for securty, police, etc. The City of LA decided that it was in the best interest of public safety to have all of the police. In the end, it was completely unnecessary. I have never seen a more mellow group of people and I’ve never seen so many people socializing and thanking police in my life. The Mayor asked everyone without a wristband and ticket to stay home and they did. Instead of the expected 750,000 people hanging around outside there were only 1,000.

3) The city did not give away the tickets. The Jackson family did. Big difference.

There is simply no other way to say it… California is run by a bunch of complete morons.

How many folks flew into the city for the memorial, even though they did not have tickets? Estimates ranged from 100,000 to 600,000 folks.

They all need a place to stay (hotel/motel rooms); cars to get around in; food to eat while in the city; maybe some trinkets or shopping?

I think the extra tax revenue generated from the memorial will cover most expenses.

Just another view.

Paul