Weekly Mail July 23, 2017

Hey:

So last week, I encountered some writers block, but I think that was because there just wasn't that much to write about. This week, we had a plethora of things going on. So let's get to it shall we...



CRIME: The Parole Hearing of the Century


One of the many gifts that the OJ Simpson saga has given to us is that because everything with him happened out west, it all fits into a nice afternoon of programming for us here in the east*. As my Mom said this week, "I followed the whole thing back in 95, so I figured I'd watch this part of it too."

She was referring to OJ's parole hearing regarding the prison sentence he was serving for armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel in 2007. A quick recap, he claims he was just retrieving things that belonged to him that were stolen from him. Family pictures, mementos, things of that nature. But if you are going to retrieve stuff that is yours, maybe bringing in some random guys with guns isn't the way to go. The folks of Las Vegas saw it that way, and did what they couldn't do in Los Angeles; put OJ Simpson behind bars. He was sentenced to a 9-33 year prison sentence.

For those of us who thought he got away with murder (and I will fully disclose that I was probably one of the last people to come around to that conclusion**) this was justice finally being served. Many compared it to busting Al Capone on tax evasion instead of murder and racketeering. I think most of us were hoping that Simpson would do closer to the 33 years than to the 9.

But alas, it was no to be. And being that they scheduled the proceedings for 1 PM EDT aka my lunch hour, I got to watch a good chunk of it.

I came away with the following observations...

   1) I think of the 4 people on the parole board who asked questions, Tony Corda, the bald guy who looked like California Governor Jerry Brown, really wanted to keep OJ locked up.  The questions he asked and some of the faces he made, gave me the impression that were it up to him, they'd lock the Juice up and throw away the key. But the poor bastard knew he was fighting a losing battle and just wanted to get home for dinner, so he voted for parole.

2) Conversely, the schmuck who thought it would be a good idea to wear a Kansas City Chiefs tie while questioning OJ should be locked up for tastelessness.

3) It's a sad state of affairs when the most intelligent voice coming out of this whole mess belonged to one Brian Gerard "Kato" Kaelin, but it was his observation that OJ's oldest daughter Arnelle, did more to convince the parole board that OJ should go free than OJ himself or that crackpot lawyer he had with him. I've worked with lawyers, and count some of my closest friends as lawyers, but some of these guys on TV, you have to wonder how they graduated from kindergarten, never mind passed the bar.

4) The Parole Board Chairperson Connie Bisbee, reminded me of Mrs. Hunsaker the woman who announced that Charlie Simms was not guilty after Al Pacino's speech in Scent of a Woman.


Watching all this unfold brought me back to that Tuesday in October, 1995 when I tried to rush home from the subway at 61st Street so I could watch the verdict in the Trial of the Century. I got as far as Charlie's Sports Pub, which was packed as if it was a Saturday night, rather than a Tuesday afternoon. Once the verdict was read, the place emptied out like it was on fire.

Look, as I'm as disappointed as anyone that OJ got parole, but I'm also fairly certain he's going to f-ck up again and end up back in the slammer. Karma is a vindictive bi-ch.

POLITICS (LOCAL) Dissin' DeBlasio

It was supposed to be an easy day for Mayor DeBlasio aka The Dope from Park Slope.  The DFPS was doing a photo op in Whitestone regarding funding to fix tree root damage on neighborhood sidewalks, when Vickie Paladino, a 63 year old Whitestone resident, began peppering him with words.

"I want to know why you let your police officers down and our country down by going to Germany and protesting against our country."

Hearing that line of questioning, de Blasio turned and ran to his official car, reportedly telling his security detail to "get her away from me."

Paladino must be a WM reader. She pretty much echoed the sentiments expressed here a couple of weeks ago.

And its nice to know that the mayor of NY has a pair of stones to stand up and defend his actions, isn't it?  Wow!


POLITICS (National)- A lot less Spice

Sean Spicer, President Trump's loud, fact challenged mouthpiece resigned this week in a huff because he didn't like the changes being made on the President's communication team.
Not surprisingly, one of his beefs was that Melissa Mccarthy's classic impersonation of him on SNL was "over the top". Of course it was, that what made it so funny. That and that there was a grain of truth to it, and that he can't deny. It's good to know that Spicy was as thin skinned as his former boss is. That's a comfort to the nation.

On a more serious note, I was sad to learn the news of John McCain's brain tumor. McCain, for all you WM die hards was at one time, my favorite politician. I first became a fan of his during his 2000 run in the GOP Primary against Texas Governor George W. Bush. I felt he would have made a fine President then, and even when he ran again in 2008. After he lost to Obama, he seemed to change, becoming more partisan. Maybe that's just a figment of my imagination, but I always felt he would be more of a consensus maker. Regardless, I hate the fact that he is sick with a horrible disease. I'm hoping for a miracle because he could sure use it right now.


AVIATION: A water landing

What exactly constitutes, a water landing?  Is it just me, or does a water landing sound an awful lot like CRASHING INTO THE OCEAN?!- George Carlin

Wednesday morning, a helicopter with Shane McMahon the son of WWE chief Vince McMahon and Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon crashed into the water near Gilgo Beach. Neither Shane-o-Matic or the pilot were hurt. The helicopter was equipped with a pontoon device that allowed the chopper to float long enough so that help could arrive.

I couldn't believe how old looking Shane has gotten. I haven't watch wrestling in years, but I remember watching Vince's kid try his hand at it a few years back. I really shouldn't talk, my hair has pretty much gone gray, especially at the sides. Every time I go to the barber, I wonder whose hair is falling into my smock. But Shane's hair really went white. I wonder if his hair was still dark when he left Westchester County airport and went white when he thought he was going to die in a watery grave.

Hey, we can laugh because it all turned out OK. Right?


BASEBALL: say WHAT?

I had to read this quote a couple of times just to make sure I got it right.. Yoenis Cenpedes told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wanted to play his last year in the big leauges in Oakland and that Bob Melvin was his favorite manager. He later clarified that he was happy as a Met and liked playing for Terry Collins.

And here's the thing.. I can maybe stomach that sentiment if he was thumping it the way he was in August of 2015, and the beginning of 2016. But to be talking that kind of crap when he's got 9 homers and 40 ribbies more than halfway through the season, for the low price of 27 million dollars is just aggravating beyond belief. In a season that has been nothing but dissappointment, this is just another kick to the groin that goes with being a Met fan.


July has one more week left. Here;s hoping to good days ahead

Have a Great Week!


* I know someone out there is going to accuse me of making light of an event that resulted in the murder of two innocent people, but let's face it.. This was the original reality program, and as far as I'm concerned, launched the careers of several people and may have indirectly led to the creation of Fox News and MSNBC. 

**And I have to be honest, I'm still not sure that if I was sitting on that jury for 9 months, and heard all that testimony, that I would have voted to convict. No, I don't think the LAPD set him up, or that it was a drug deal gone awry, but Marcia Clark and Chris Darden left a lot of questions unanswered, like how all of the events could fit into that narrrow a time line, how one middle aged man could commit that kind of slaughter against two people including a man half his age, and how if he was careful enough to bring a hat and gloves on a hot June night, how could he leave those things behind on his getaway. I'm sure he did it, I'm not sure he acted alone and I'm pretty positive it didn't go down the way the prosecution said it did.