“Times change, not men, and me, least of all.” Jacques Mesrine, French Gangster I loved the film “Chariots of Fire,” about two British Olympic sprinters and their desire for gold medals, but one part grated my modern sensibility. Back in the 1920s, it was considered ungentlemanly and against amateur rules for an athlete to hire [...]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I voraciously devoured all three books and the Swedish films of the Millennium trilogy so I can comfortably be counted as a hopeless Steig Larsson fanboi. But this is not about the new Hollywood film but rather the review by A. O. Scott in the New York Times. Actually Scott’s article is more a psychoanalytic study of Lisbeth Salander and Swedish society than a review of the film but I recommend it because of it’s sparkling wit.
Conrad Murray: The Sentencing (Part 2)
It is hard to sit back and watch fumbling lawyers allow an injustice to occur. I felt sick listening to the judge’s rant at the sentencing hearing. Not that I don’t think that Murray didn’t deserve a good part of it, but one critical point was entirely unfair. The judge made a unwarranted personal finding that Murray intended to blackmail Michael Jackson with the cell phone recording without even asking for the lawyers to comment on it. He made the finding without checking to see if there was any evidence to either support or contradict his personal belief. This violates due process of law.
Conrad Murray: The Sentencing
The hearing started with the attorneys making their pitches for the sentence. Both were fairly understated. Not much advocacy. They were almost quiet. The prosecution made much of the documentary Murray made right before the end of the trial. I guess he needed the money, but it certainly hurt him at the sentencing since both the judge and the prosecutor battered him over it.
Conrad Murray: The 100 Million Dollar Man
It is reported that the prosecutors are asking for a four-year sentence, the maximum for involuntary manslaughter in California. In addition to the prison term, the prosecutors wrote, Murray should be ordered to pay as restitution to Jackson’s estate the $100 million the singer would have earned from the comeback concerts, and $1.8 million in memorial service and funeral costs.
Dr. Phil’s Autopsy
I recently wrote a piece on the Rebecca Zahau case for the Huffington Post. You can find it here. It was a follow-up to an another article I wrote for the Daily Beast. You can find it here. Since my first article, the case has reached the highest levels of tabloid fame. Her death was tragic enough, but I find it more than a little ghoulish to dig up Rebecca’s body for the Dr. Phil reality show.
Jimmie Johnson
My stepfather was a Grand Prix driver on the European circuit back in the ’40s and ’50s. Sterling Moss was his best friend and he drove with Briggs Cunningham. He took me to several races but I never had any interest in motor sports, and even today I know little about cars except how to turn on the ignition. I must confess I didn’t even watch his races.
Rebuttals
Few rhetorical tactics carry a punch as strong as the rebuttal, whether in a courtroom, on a political stage or in a debate. The lawyer, who in the heat of the action, is able to conceive the perfect rebuttal is bound to prevail. It is the art of the devastating rejoinder and the perfect bon mot. The worse is to be sitting there while your best argument is eviscerated pretending it doesn’t hurt. Over the years I have collected a few of these for my own enjoyment. Well, perhaps more than that, also as a reminder how powerful a weapon it is and to fear my opponent’s use of it.