O.J Simpson Fumbles The Ball- And It Couldn't Happen to A Nicer Guy

Ten and a half years ago, a murderer was found not guilty. Oh, almost anyone with an once of common sense or an ability for deductive reasoning knew deep in their hearts that O.J. Simpson killed his ex-wife Nicole and her companion Ron Goldman in a fit
of jealous rage. The verdict split people into factions; there were African-Americans who thought he was guilty, but were felt it was justice that a guilty black man was let go in return for the many other innocent black men who had been unjustly sent to jail. While many white Americans were appalled that a murderer avoided life in prison and believed it was on account of Simpson's reputation as a former gridiron superstar that paved the way for his acquittal.

I clearly remember that day. I was working as a telemarketer and as Simpson's verdict was pronounced, the entire office went off the phones to listen. When he was pronounced not guilty, one of my co-workers, Christine, let out a big cheer; the way one cheers for the victory of a close friend. The problem was, she didn't know Simpson personally. Christine was simply happy that an African-American like herself had beaten the rap and was now free. I've often wondered how she would have felt if it was her own sister who had been savagely knifed to death by Simpson. And not her "soul sister" either, but her flesh and blood sibling. Would Christine have felt the same sense of elation if her sister's killer was pronounced "not guilty"?

Since then,Simpson(who has proclaimed his innocence) made a vow to devoted his time and energy tracking down the real murderers of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Well, it's been eleven years and he ain't found 'em yet. I guess he was a far better football player than he is a detective. Oh well, at least he's tried. Not!

The moment that actually brought home to me the fact that Simpson did commit those murders was when he did was interviewed by Ruby Wax on her television show . He came up from behind her and pretended to stab Wax with a banana as he sang the music from the shower scene in PSYCHO. This was followed by the two of them sharing a merry chuckle over his cute little antic. His action was not only a lapse of both taste as well as good judgement on Simpson's part, it amply displayed the actions of a man who was making fun of the fact that he was indeed a murderer who had gotten away with his crime. It was a blatant in-your-face gesture. At one point during the interview, Simpson said if he did kill his ex-wife Nicole it was out of love. Yeah, the jury's in on that one. He's definitely not the killer.

Now, Simpson is making an attempt to enrich his bank account by publishing a book titled ," If I Did It, Here's How It Happened", a hypothetical story of how his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman would have been killed if Simpson was the murderer. The book was to be published by Regan Books,who (surprise,surprise) is owned by Fox News Corp (some coincidence, eh?). There was also to be a two part TV interview special to coincide with the release of Simpson's book.

However, an outraged public made it's disapproval known. So Rupert Murdoch, chief of Fox News, cancelled both the book and interview special. But, an interesting news items has recently surfaced; it seems Denise Brown,Nicole Simpson's sister, is incensed because Murdoch offered her family( as well as the the Goldman's) "millions of dollars" which she felt was being offered in order to buy their silence. News Corp spokesman Andrew Butcher has denied the allegation that their offer was an attempt to keep both families quiet by saying," There were no strings attached."
He went on to say that the offer was for the families to split the profits from the book and tv deal after the company made back it's investment in the two projects.

In any event, O.J Simpson's book and tv deal had been broadsided by a nauseated public who has grown weary of his often repeated claims of denial in the deaths of his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman,while his actions tell a far different story. Simpson not only has gotten away with murder, the unhappy reality is: he's going to receive a fat pay check even though the two projects will never see the light of day. And you know,it isn't fair.

Michael Richards Kamakazi Comedy Routine, Or How To Destroy A Career In Just Three Minutes.

The dreaded foot in mouth disease strikes again. A few months ago it was Mel (how dry he was) Gibson who spewed a mouthful of anti-Semitic bilge at a cop in an alcohol fueled rage. After justifiably being skewered by the Jewish community as well as the general public at large, Gibson admitted he had a problem with alcohol(does 'ol Mel have a firm grasp of the obvious or what?) and promptly entered a rehab facility.

Now it's Michael Richard's turn to jam his foot into his over sized mouth. Believe it or not,he out did Gibson in the racist epithet hurling department. Last Friday while on stage at the Laugh Factory , Richards was being heckled by Kyle Doss, an African-American. He suddenly became ballistic and screamed at Doss ," Fifty years ago we'd have you hung upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass." Richards then called Doss the N word a number of times as an audience member filmed his vitriolic tirade. Since that night, Richards has been receiving an avalanche of well deserved fallout.

From all of the commentary on the various news and entertainment shows, the Richards incident will undoubtedly make Mel Gibson's racist remarks seem mild in comparison. The tape itself can be viewed on TMZ.Com and I have to tell you, as I watched the footage I wanted to cringe. How those kind of comments can be said in a public place in this day and age is totally beyond me, because behavior such as this will not and cannot be tolerated.

But, it happened and it's the sort of episode that can't just be erased. So now Richards has deservedly had his feet held to the fire and been made completely accountable for the ugly words he shouted in a nightclub full of people expecting to be entertained. Instead, they were repulsed(some even walked out of the club in disgust) by racist slurs uttered by someone who really should have known better.

Despite a sincere, heartfelt apology from a very contrite Richards on The David Letterman Show ; he said via satellite," I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this.", forgiveness seems to be very slow in coming. Especially from the African-American community,who have taken extreme offence at Richards ballistic performance and I don't blame them for one second. On that evening his supposed comedy routine was by turns racist, vulgar and most importantly not funny at all. The audience was there to laugh and instead came away from the comedy club disgusted and angry, because his rage was all too real.

Log onto TMZ. com to see the tape; this was not an act. Richards really does have a lot to live down. I don't feel sorry for the man in the least, but I do have compassion for him. All one has to do is look at him when he appeared on Letterman, to see a deeply sorry and truly apologetic man.

The truth of the matter is, the black community may not ever fully except Richards apology because they believe that he was saying what he really felt, that deep down he really is a racist in his heart. Especially after he spat out the N word the first time. Richards didn't stop, but keep screaming the racially changed word over and over during his so called comedy act. Plus, he claimed to have gone back to the Laugh Factory the next night to apologize. But from all accounts none was given. The general consensus is that Richards waited too long to make amends.

Since then, he has hired publicist Howard Rubenstein as a crisis expert(or spin doctor to be exact) in an attempt to salvage his severely damaged career, because there are a lot of people who would get a huge kick out of witnessing Richards do a crash and burn number. These are the very same people, by the way, who once loved him as Kramer on SEINFELD.

Only time will tell if Rubenstein can repair the career train wreck engineered by his client. Sometimes the public forgives and other times they don't. Right now as far as Richards is concerned, whose career at this moment is hardly red hot, time is a commodity he can well afford.

Saddam Hussein Senteced To Hang. Any Questions?

Last Sunday, November 5, was a good day for me. The sun was shining, the weather was windy , but not too cold, I enjoyed a nice cigar on my way to work and Saddam Hussein(or as some wags refer to him : So Damn Insane) was sentenced to be hung for the crime of murder against 150 Shiite Muslims. Knowing that mass murdering, deposed despot will be soon swinging from the end of a rope appealed to my sense of justice.

As his sentence was announced, Insane Hussein shouted such catchy phrases as," God is greatest" and the ever popular," Long live the Iraqi people!" It appears that his ilk truly believes that as long as they proclaim their supposed devotion to God, killing in his name is an act The Almighty would completely approve of. What these zealots lack in common sense they more than make up for in animalistic savagery.

So here we are, pleased as punch that this barbarian will be getting his neck stretched when all of the sudden a fly finds it's way into the ointment. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came out with a statement on Thursday that he was against Hussein being hung because it could make Iraq explode into more violence. Mubarak was quoted as saying," Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq." Uh huh. I see. Maybe they should simply slap Hussein on the back as they let him out of prison with the admonishment," Now you've been a bad boy Saddam, old buddy. You just make sure don't do it again. Okey?" And I'm sure. I mean, really sure. As sure as I'm sitting here writing this, that he'll flash them his most winning smile and sincerely reply," I'll be a good boy from now. I promise." That should do the trick. That is, of course, providing you're a permanent resident of Fantasy
Land.

Hussein will be separately tried for the genocide of 180,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980's. This soul less monster should be spared the death penalty? Please, cut me a break! This is the same wretched excuse for a leader who extolled to his followers the idea that they should gladly die for the glory of Iraq and then was found cowering in a hole saying meekly to his captors," I 'am the President of Iraq. I want to make a deal." Huh? Whatever happened to dying for your country? Talk about a clear cut case of do as I say, don't say as I do. And there are people in Iraq who loyally follow this walking mound of jello as if he were God's right hand man. Oh well, there's no accounting for taste.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the statement," The way I understand the law that we passed...the execution of the sentence should happen within a month,one month. I expect it to happen before the end of the year." Let's hope the Iraqui court doesn't overturn his conviction and instead give Hussein a life sentence. His heinous crimes against humanity demand extreme punishment in the form of death. And the sooner the better. Here's an idea: they should hang Hussein before Christmas. Consider it as a Christmas present to the entire world.

Rush Limbaugh Vs. Michael J. Fox : A Rush To Judgement.

There are probably some of you who read my blog and think," Joe's conservative on a lot of issues. I bet he's a big fan of Rush Limbaugh." Well, you couldn't be more wrong about that . True, I sometimes listen to his radio program while driving around, but let me assure you I'am certainly no dittohead. And while I agree with him on some issues, there are many others where he and I part company.

For example: One time Limbaugh talked about a group of people who were holding a protest. He stated that protesting disrupted the natural order of things(I'm paraphrasing, of course.) and that we should let the elected politicians change that things we don't like about our government. In other words, we should just keep our mouths shut, stay at home and let the politicians work their special magic. It seems Limbaugh has forgotten that America was founded on protest. Our fore fathers didn't sit idly on their hands as the British ran roughshod over this country.

Then there was the time Limbaugh spent many a program bashing President Clinton. If truth be told, I'm not a exactly one of Clinton's biggest fans. But after years of Limbaugh raking him over the coals on a seemingly daily basis, Clinton challenged him to a debate. There are other talk show hosts who would have gladly jumped at the opportunity to go one on one with The President in front of a live audience. I know of one Philadelphia radio talk show host named Irv Homer who would've shown up with his notes in hand ready for a lively debate.

What did Limbaugh do? He made a big joke about it on his show and the matter was quickly dropped. I know of a few people who stopped listening to him after that because they felt Limbaugh was all talk and no action, or as a friend of mine aptly put it," He's just an entertainer." After his constant haranguing about what a lousy job Clinton was doing in the oval office, when push came to shove Limbaugh turned tail and hid in the safety his E.I.B booth,refusing to confront the man he criticized and satirized mercilessly to no end.

Limbaugh reminded me of a kid I knew years ago named Jimmy. For reasons unknown, he harbored an irrational dislike for my friend Paul and told everybody who would listen about what a complete jerk he thought Paul was. After awhile Paul grew damn sick and tired of Jimmy's constant back stabbing. One day, I was at the neighborhood park while Jimmy was doing his anti-Paul shtick when Paul just happened to walk up to him and asked," Do you have a problem with me, dick face?" Jimmy's face took on an expression of total fear, as if the angel of death had suddenly appeared before him.He looked down at his shoes and gulped an almost inaudible," No ." Jimmy suddenly bolted away from Paul with such speed you would have thought a rocket was attached to his ass. Believe it or not, Jimmy never, ever bad mouthed Paul
again.

Recently, actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinsons Disease, did a television endorsement for Claire Mc Caskell of Missouri. Mc Caskell, running for the U.S Senate, is a proponent for stem cell research. In the tv ad, Fox is shown displaying the signs of this degenerative disease from which he suffers. It was a powerful case for lifting the government ban on embryonic stem cell research.

Yet on his show, Limbaugh accused Fox of acting for the camera as he imitated the actors symptoms of Parkinsons by shaking spastically for the dittocam in an ill attempt at comedy. After dodging the well deserved brickbats of critics and fans alike, Limbaugh defended himself on his program claiming that certain news shows sped up the tape for the purpose of sensationalism.

Now Rush, that plane doesn't fly. I saw the footage of your spastic movements on a cable news show and it definitely wasn't speeded up. Now, I realize you think that you're smarter than ninety per cent of the people on this planet and that most of us have the mental capacity of an eggplant. But I,like many people, have eyes. I can determine what sped up video looks like; plus when you speed up a video the sound speeds up as well. At no time did your senatorian voice sound as if you'd just inhaled a lungfull of helium.

However,to be fair, Fox did candidly admit in his autobiography that before appearing at a congressional hearing on embryonic stem cell research he didn't take his medication in order to make an impact at the hearing. I've seen him on several talk shows and even when Fox is on the medication, The Parkinsons is still quite visible. But on one program, Fox was interviewed before his medication kicked in and it was painful to watch. And I for one applaud Fox for not hiding from the media making both him as well as his condition visible to the entire world.I can fully undrestand him wanting scientists to find a cure for his affliction, not just for himself but for all of the Parkinsons victims. And that is admirable.

Limbaugh, on the other hand, shot from the hip without first knowing all the facts. But then again, mouthing off is his stock in trade. He's part political pundit and part court jester as well as being judgemental and intolerant of any point of view other than his own carved in stone beliefs. Limbaugh has been lambasted by the media for his statements and justifiably so. He acted like a bull in a china shop, but Limbaugh wants everyone to just let him mouth off as he pleases without any accountability on his part. But from all appearances it's not likely he'll get his wish this time. Sorry Rush.