Roger L. Simon: The OJness of it all

As a fair percentage of the known world, and some of the unknown, must know by now, OJ is back (behind bars). Watching Greta Van Susteren tonight is like being lost in a time warp, the same faces, the same voices, out of 1994. The commentators seem energized and relieved to have the Juice back as their prime subject - no Iran/Iraq/al Qaeda to depress us ... and Anna Nicole had long since run out of gas. It's all OJ all the time. Let the good times roll. The lion can lie down with the lamb. Geraldo can be friends with Michelle again.

That old Scrooge Roger L. Simon spent his entire Sunday writing an article relating OJ to 9/11 of all things (well sort of). And explaining something of his own political evolution. Look for it on Pajamas on Monday morning - OJ Changed My Life.

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Remember 9/10/01? Gary Condit and the missing girl, 24/7. And sharks chewing up Florida tourists. Seems like fifty years ago.

And OJ being back is all the more surreal with France and Germany now rattling sabres at Iran. Yeah, worrying about OJ was the "good ole days". More important things are afoot now. Not only in the Middle East, but China flexes its muscles. There is only a limited amount of time in a day and in one's lifetime. OJ has gotten more than his fair share. It's time to focus on truly serious things.

On Larry King Sat. Nicole's sister said it before he was arrested.
Would it not be something if OJ Simpson was put in jail for attempting to steal his own property, but not for what he did to
my sister and Ron Brown?
The world is in dire need of awakening and reorganization.

OJ's acquittal was long overdue pay back for the kind of Justice meted out to the Rodney Kings of the world by thugs posing as cops.

Although race relations have improved dramatically since OJ's acquittal we are not any closer today to a sane world. Dingy Harry claims more than 1 million have been killed during the liberation of Iraq and Madelaine Notbright claims the only way to stablize Iraq is for the U.S. to withdraw -as if removing the stabilizing force will help- and she has the ear of Hillary Clinton.

I fail to see how letting someone get away with multiple murders is "long overdue payback" for anything, especially something they didn't do.

Maybe that was Nifong's theory. It didn't happen, but it could have. And if it did, they might not have been guilty, but the people who would have been guilty were white athletes.

I didn't say it was logical or just. It was purely emotional and wrong but it was also entirely predictable given the treatment of King by the cops and their jury.

"It was purely emotional and wrong but it was also entirely predictable given the treatment of King by the cops and their jury."

Nonsense. One has to see the whole tape, not just the last thirty seconds The police officers may have gone overboard a wee bit---but not flagrantly. Rodney King is a large man who refused to surrender. The police were confronted with an awkward and somewhat dangerous situation. Unfortunately, the leftist dominated media propagandized the incident and turned King into some sort of victim of racial injustice.

I have been aware of and wary of the leftist media for 35 years. This conservative saw him beaten to a pulp with my own eyes.

"I have been aware of and wary of the leftist media for 35 years. This conservative saw him beaten to a pulp with my own eyes."

Excuse me, but I also saw the same tape---numerous times. Rodney King was stoned out of his mind and fighting the officers. He is a very big man and can easily harm someone. King was not 5"1 and weighing 120 pounds! The response of the police was not overly excessive.

The tape is available on line. It looks like there are about 6 cops. Four of them stand around him as he is on his knees and then side. They are kicking him and hitting him with their nightsticks.

They don't even attempt to cuff him. This wasn't four 100 pound weaklings trying to subdue a champion athlete. The violence is gratuitous.

"They don't even attempt to cuff him. This wasn't four 100 pound weaklings trying to subdue a champion athlete. The violence is gratuitous."

I strongly disagree with your opinion concerning the so-called gratuitous violence. Nonetheless, let's have people arrive at their own conclusion. Here is a link to the tape:

A very good argument could be made that the police responding to Rodney King's out of control behavior were acting prudently by moderately kicking and hitting him. It may sound initially easy to handcuff such an individual---but nothing could be further from the truth. Eyes can be gouged along with other injuries. The ensuing fracas might end up with officers being injured and having to really hurt King! Try to imagine, just for a moment, how you might place handcuffs on a large and insane acting man in a similar circumstance?

Once upon a time there was a police department run as if it were a law unto itself whose chiefs went largely unchecked by politicians and, not insignificantly, prosecutors. Then an arrest, to use one description of it, was videotaped and some of the officers who made it were tried for the manner in which they made it in Simi Valley and, a couple of years after the resulting carnage, one of the rich (a plus) and famous (a mixed blessing) was tried for the murder of two people not of the same race in Los Angeles. Justice miscarried all over the place and a great many of the guilty moved on while paying a small price for their misdeeds while no insignificant number of the innocent, except in living with things in the perverse state that persisted, paid a heavy price. And, naturally, a good many good people were shocked, shocked, shocked by what had happened.

That was a great article, Roger. I didn't know the story of the two younger DNA lawyers. Sometimes I question our criminal justice system, which for the most part works, but there's no doubt that some wealthy defendants have gotten off solely because of the snowjob tactics of their high-priced attorneys.

I was shocked too at how this case became an issue of race--the guy wouldn't even date anyone who didn't have blonde hair. To me, class and gender were more pertinent issues. Here you had a man who had stalked and murdered his ex-wife, and he had the money and the male posse to ensure that he would walk.

Remember the Dancing Itos? The last time I was picked to serve as a juror on a criminal trial, our no-nonsense female hispanic judge gave us a talk on what to expect. She said, "This isn't California; you'll be out of here by Friday". And we were, after putting the rapist away for life. Of course, that's much easier to do when no celebrities are involved.

Today's bail setting seems to also show a differnt Prosecutor at the
table.What other deals are being made, noly time will show.

Once again, the bodies of Nicole and Ron are exhumed from their graves for the benefit of the "Court TV" side of the universe.

September 16, 2007: The OJness of it all

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