Two items that hit the news yesterday were at least as stomach-churning as any of the banquet scene courses in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
First, the Republicans in the US Senate have voted Trent Lott to be their # 2 in command. Other GOP senators interviewed about it, including John McCain and Chuck Hagel, brushed aside the specter [pun intended for you political junkies out there--Ed.] of Lott's remarks several years ago lauding Strom Thurmond's segregationist stand in his run for the US presidency in 1948. "It's old news, Lott's a good man, Americans believe in redemption" were the official themes of the day. Right. The real themes of the day were that (1) the GOP will do anything to hold onto whatever vestiges of power it has--in this case, via obstructionism (Lott is a master of the Senate's rules and knows how to keep bills the GOP doesn't like from getting full Senate consideration), and (2) people of color who belong to or who support the GOP in its present incarnation are fools--or tools--or dupes--or worse.
Second, O.J. Simpson is now promoting a book and Fox (it figures) TV special called something like "If I Did It, This Is How," regarding the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and of her visitor Ron Goldman. Even the book's publisher says it's a confession of O.J.'s guilt. Has anyone connected to this beyond-tawdry enterprise given a thought to how this will affect O.J.'s children with Nicole? "I'm your father, and I didn't murder your mother, but if I had, here's how . . ." That is utterly sick.
The only remotely possible good that could come from this is that Nicole's and Ron's families can garnish any profits generated by it as at least partial payment of the multimillion dollar civil trial judgment they won against O.J. (for having caused Nicole's and Ron's deaths). O.J. hasn't paid one single penny of that judgment to date.
But is it worth the cost?
I suspect the Brown and Goldman families think not.
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