Thankfully, it's all clear now, this question of whether Sosa is trying to lighten his skin.

He told the Spanish-language Univision this week that he is indeed using a "bleaching" product, but only in the name of softening his skin. He is getting older, you know. "It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften, but has bleached me some. I'm not a racist, I live my life happily," he said.

He added: "I don't think I look like Michael Jackson."

The latest report has Sosa planning to endorse the cream and market it in the U.S. and South America.

Photo by delusionalcubsfan, Creative Commons Attribution License

(N.B.: Turner's girlfriend passed this on to me; it is not posted on his Web site but you should read that anyway.)

Apparently, watching the funeral online was an important part of yesterday's Congressional schedule.  Politico posts this message from the head of the House's tech operations.

"The Michael Jackson event is causing even more inbound Internet BW usage.
We are monitoring both Internet connections and they are maxed out at 155 Mbps inbound."

More District news, plus Obamas in Russia after the jump.

• A Metro driver was suspended without pay for 5 days after a video of him texting someone surfaced on YouTube, according to WJLA.  Whatever the message was, it probably could not have waited for a minute until the train pulled into a station.  Metro officials want everyone to know that this video was taken 2 and a half weeks before the fatal crash at Fort Totten, so he obviously did not injure anyone by looking down when he was supposed to be, you know, DRIVING THE TRAIN.

• The City Council is discussing changes to the stalking laws that got Marion Barry into trouble this weekend.  Unfortunately for Barry, their plans will amend the current law to include cyber-stalking and other forms of Internet predation, so he's not off the hook.  In other incriminating news, City Desk reported yesterday that Barry's alleged stalking victim received $20,000 in city funds for "consulting services."  What sort of consulting services was she providing?

• Although he was in Moscow meeting with Prime Minister Putin, President Obama spent most of yesterday explaining what his Vice President and Chief of Staff meant when they started babbling incessantly about the economy and health care.  After Joe Biden announced on Sunday that the administration had grossly misread the economy, Obama clarified the economic situation with NBC's Chuck Todd.  Apparently, they did not "misread" the economy, they just had insufficient information.  The same went for Rahm Emanuel, who announced that the White House would be comfortable with a health care policy "triggered" by worsening economic developments, since the path to universal coverage is "negotiable."  Obama vaguely reiterated the need for a "public option" in comments today.  Well, when the cat's away, the mice will play.  Or just stop thinking about what they're saying.

But if the music, creepy cover bands, and glossy magazine covers aren't enough, you can now buy a poster announcing his death.  From The Washington Post.  The newspaper is selling copies of its "commemorative Michael Jackson edition" online for upwards of $50 each.  Normally, these commemorative editions are released for such momentous occasions as presidential elections and inaugurations, wars, invasions, and other momentous events.  Deaths of notable people certainly qualify as momentous events, but it's a depressing thing to commemorate.  And the commemorative edition looks nothing like the actual cover of Friday's Post, where Jackson only covered a third of the front page.

Michael Jackson was iconic and he deserves to be remembered that way.  But a $50 print of a fake newspaper cover might not be the way to remember him.

In case you missed it: here's all you need to know about yesterday morning's federal court hearing on CFSA: In CFSA Case, Nickles Plays Defense; Judge Hogan Critical Of CFSA Director Selection Process.

Dee Does the District decides to not open up about getting terminated by DCPS. But this doesn't stop her from opening up about getting terminated by DCPS:

"I’ve decided to forego a big post in regards to my termination due to pending legal action and for my own personal privacy. Although I am deeply disappointed and incensed by the sweeping terminations, I feel relieved in a sense to be out of this broken system. I already have a number of upcoming interviews lined up at charters and in Northern Virginia and I’m looking forward to moving on to a school to values me and treats me like a human being."

The Heights Life raves about trivia night at Commonwealth: "You can expect the usual five rounds including a handout and an audio round - but to mix it up there are some rewards for speed and accuracy. And who knows - that might not be all he's got planned. This time those rounds seemed to go over particularly well, especially at my hyper-competitive table..."

And Now, Anacostia loves the Fenty Administration's crackdown on shady used car lots: "The slew of grimy / sketchy "used car lots" that weren't even legit businesses that lined many of the city's up-and-coming retail corridors. the administration heard the complaints that they weren't actually selling cars to the public, and in swoops the Fenty crackdown to get rid of them. Love it."

Runin DC pens not funny rap about Eastern Market. Is this now a trend---rapping about lame shit? Wait. This vid isn't supposed to be funny. I'm confused.

Greater Greater Washington has the most in-depth rundown of Metro's safety systems we've read. A must read not just for transportation nerds.

Pop Cesspool offers up a little MJ-related history lesson.

Young & Hungry gets Taylor Gourmet owner talking about picking a second location for his deli shop.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

We've had a raft of news this past week, and stellar coverage of everything thrown our way. It started Monday with an early evening Metro crash. Anchored by Lena Sun and Lyndsey Layton, but with dozens joining in, our newsroom delivered swift, enterprising coverage instantly for the web and into the next day's paper. Throughout last week the staff stayed with the story, surfacing some of the best accountability reporting against a highly competitive field. When Mark Sanford took to the podium for his bizarre confessional, the National staff jumped in with coverage that was as colorful as the calamity itself. And when Michael Jackson died unexpectedly, right at deadline, we rose up again, this time with Style in the lead. Yesterday's paper was The Washington Post at its best, crowned by Eli Saslow's poetic masterpiece, a narrative intricately and emotionally woven together from the tireless efforts of many. The photographs and design were as compelling as the story.

Sports is now due. Perhaps a winning streak by the Nationals?

Pay tribute to the King of Pop with a commemorative poster, available for
sale at the main entrance of NW for $5.

As an employee of The Washington Post, you're receiving first notice about
this special opportunity.

On to the day's business.

• Tom Morello has a new album out. The eponymous Street Sweeper Social Club features someone even more politically incoherent than the joker who sang dirges for the UAW while mainlining Sony's green: Boots Riley of the Coup. If you don't know anything about the Coup, then congratulations, you don't listen to shit! Like Morello, Riley is a delusional tool. Unlike Morello, he never found a way to turn his band into a major-label commie megaphone. Morello has come a long way since huffing tear gas at that Miami free trade protest--despite evidence that free trade has lifted millions of people out of poverty and that tear gas is bad for you. His promise that he would do something outrageous during the Republican National Convention was overshadowed by people who actually did outrageous things during the Republican National Convention. If Street Sweeper Social Club is his idea of a revolutionary followup, well, I'm not one to call him out. The album has some funny lyrics thanks to Riley, who could've gone places if he wasn't so caught up in trying, at various times, to start race and class wars. Is the album worth the money? No. But if you're hellbent on listening to their radical leftism--and no, radical isn't over the top: these dudes advocate domestic terrorism against wealthy folks--download that shit for free. (It's revolutionary! Fuck capitalism!)
• In case you missed it, Housing Complex Day occurred/was/happened yesterday. Nothing was good enough for Walter Gagliano. Head honcho Erik Wemple harassed interviewed folks outside of Home Depot. With Darrow Montgomery beside him ("not in front of or behind" him), Jason Cherkis interviewed the kind of salt-of-the-earth people who make people like me feel guilty for bitching about ANYTHING. And that's not even the half of it. Seriously, spend a little time perusing yesterday's coverage at the Housing Complex.

A short time ago, Washington City Paper called the L.A. Coroner's Office for confirmation on the rumors concerning the King of Pop's alleged death. 

When Washington City Paper asked for confirmation, we were put on hold. 

We are still on hold. 

While we wait, we revel in the memory of having watched (already) Al Sharpton's press conference, Michael Eric Dyson's faux scholarly take (seriously, this guy is a vampire), and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interview an Access Hollywood "reporter."

Shit, we're no longer on hold.

I ask about getting confirmation of Michael Jackson's death.

"Sure. Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.," says Lt. Fred Corral. "He died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He was transferred by paramedics from his residence. His death is a coroner's case. We will be bringing him to our facility to do an autopsy examination."

Is Jackson at the coroner's office now?

"We have not brought him in," Lt. Corral says.