BART Strike & Oscar Grant: strike hampered by police racism

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For weeks now, BART management and labor have been arguing over who should give up what on the eve of the expiration of contracts with the five unions that represent BART workers. But there's a problem: the matter of the murder of Oscar Grant and the revelation that another BART officer used a racial slur, and this was captured in a new video, raise questions regarding labor's moral standing to strike.

While BART's police can't strike, as one officer told me, the unions essentially represent the labor issues for the police. Thus, the use of the racial slur by a BART officer with BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, coupled with the murder by Mehserle, opens the accusation that it was a hate crime. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it was officer Tony Pirone who yelled "Bitch-ass N__, right?" As he was hitting Grant while Grant was on the ground.

While Pirone claims he was responding to something Grant said, there's no record or video backing his claim. What I think happened was Pirone may have overheard someone else say this but as Pirone is white, it's not likely someone would use that terms against him, especially since he's a police officer. But Pirone leaves himself open to another interpretation: that he was saying to Grant he's a "Bitch-ass N__, and then used the term "right?" as a way of affirming his own comment about Grant.

If so, and I think it is, that's a clear hate crime. Period. End of discussion.

I don't think BART workers want to be associated with this kind of behavior, but that's a looming possibility. BART workers are already seen to be richer than their riders, many who are like Oscar Grant, poor. So here we are with BART workers unwilling to take payroll cuts to maintain service, asking for a three-percent raise when everyone in the public sector's trying to save their jobs, and now we have two BART police officers expressing the ultimate dislike for a passenger due to his skin color. It also opens this question: to what degree do BART police conduct racial profiling?

A good friend of mine in law enforcement told me that many of the people recruited to become officers are white, suburban in their upbringing, not experienced in working with or befriending people of color. That must change.

The Strike Threat and The Race Problem

It's already clear many riders I talked to are concerned about the possible loss of service, but just wait until they get wind of these racial problems!

If BART's unions are going to achieve any degree of credibility in this matter, they've got to have the police address their problems with racism and issue an apology to the black community. The unions have no right to threaten a strike that disproportionally harms the poor and minority after one of their own working partners, represented by two BART police workers, apparently expressed dislike for and then shot a man who was poor and African American, because was poor and African American.

BARTLabor.com

If you want to keep up with the BART labor issue as it unfolds, I recommend you visit BARTLabor.com, a good and comprehensive website explaining just what's going on with the BART Strike and providing news updates.

San Francisco Happy Hour: Aventine is raging! (video)

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On YouTube.com

The evening of Friday June 26th started in a rather routine way for me: meeting friends after work at the outdoor patio setting that the restaurant Cafe Americano provides on the corner of Howard Street and The Embarcadero in San Francisco (now, yes, I live in Oakland but as any dweller knows, Oakland, San Francisco and all cities as far north as San Rafael and as far south as South San Francisco make up what I call "The Inner Bay Area": a place of with a population of 2 million people, one college town, Berkeley, and two downtowns in Oakland and San Francisco, both served by BART.  It's common to see the same people anywhere within the Inner Bay Area, from a Cal football game to Friday nights in San Francisco, or a concert at Oakland's Fox Theater.)

Paul, one of my associates who's always on the hunt for the ultimate party. knew of one and said "Let's head over to Aventine. It's going to be raging tonight." (For you older types, "raging" is a term used to decribe a well-attended event with a lot of dancing and socializing.) So he rounded up the group of us gents and we grabbed a cab over to 529 Washington Street, next to the TransAmerica Pyramid.

I'd never officially visited Aventine, so this was a treat. When we arrived I asked one of the owners Adam Snyder, if I could use my video camera to record the festivities there and he not only gave permission he opened the video with an introduction.

Nice.

Aventine itself is a restaurant and bar I've not yet eaten at that shares series of blocks occupied by a number of good eateries and nightclubs which make up Jackson Square where San Francisco's Financial District ends and North Beach begins. With places like Bix, Kell's, and The Bubble Lounge near by, it's important to have an "angle" - something that draws people.

A Happy Hour in an alley

 

Aventine's revelers on Friday evening

The owners of Aventine took over an alley that connects Washington and Jackson streets, closed it off to traffic with the help of the San Francisco Police department, installed a set of turn tables operated by a disk jockey, added two bars and a pizza vendor, and encouraged non-profit neighborhood groups to set up places where party-goers could sign up to donate to their organizations. The result is a cross between a convention for do-gooders and a nightclub in the day, a street fair; and around 7 PM on a hot summer day like Friday was, the combination's electric, drawing a 1,000 people according to Snyder.

Michael Jackson, the amazing force of music talent, tragically passed the day before, so the record-spinner played a number of Jackson's best known hits: Billy Jean, Thriller, Pretty Young Thing, etc. At first, one or two people danced, most notably "D" who holds court with her rhythmically frenetic dancing, but eventually two turned to twenty, and twenty turned to 40, then 40 turned to 80. Now, I've attended a lot of street fairs, parties, and other events in San Francisco, and this one is one of the best I've seen. It's a perfect after work place to go to have good clean dancing fun.

Now some people don't like to dance, but my observation is once they have a few cocktails they start movin' and grovin' like there's no tomorrow, and badly. That was certainly the case for some at Aventine, but others like me just like to dance and need little excuse (or drink) to do so, especially since I just recovered from the worst flu of my life.  I was celebrating!

And for those who just like to socialize and not move their hips, there's the occasional only-in-San Francisco character to talk to. In Aventine's case, that person is the colorful "Emperor Norton" a uniformed chap who claims to own Mexico and California. Give him your attention and he'll write a bond for you he claims you can trade for money!

Aventine's Friday Happy Hour's a cool place for singles; the guy / gal ratio gets better - that is, even - as the night approaches, everyone's nice, and the folks are attractive (and the women who comes to Aventine look like models). But that written, it's San Francisco, so the event draws both Gay and straight and no one cares. We can thank the the energy of the event for that; there's just something, well, joyful about seeing people have fun. It's the best attraction element in the world.

Billy Mays Dies: Reported On Twitter By His Son (video)

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I got the word that amazing informercial pitchman Billy Mays (who was recently most famous for his ESPN commercials) died in a very different, but increasingly common way: Twitter.

I had just talked with my Mom, checked emails, and looked at my Twitter feed, when one follower wrote asking if she could post informercials from Mays since we were posting Michael Jackson information; not knowing Mays passed, I wrote "no", then happened to look at the "trending hastags" which tells one what subjects are the most popular posts on Twitter, and I saw "RIP Billy Mays".

I was shocked.

Then I saw his son, Billy Mays III's tweets, which read this way:

I'm thankful I got to talk to my dad last night. I miss him immensely already. But I feel him with me.about 1 hour ago from UberTwitter

With the family. Um... Not quite sure what to say right now. All the support from you guys does help.about 3 hours ago from UberTwitter

On my way to the house. He's gone. I'm gonna be strong for him. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers everyone.about 4 hours ago from UberTwitter

@danielle97X it seems to be all too real at this point. Thank you.about 4 hours ago from txt

My dad didn't wake up this morning.. I'm sure you'll all hear about it. It hasn't yet hit me but it's about to.about 4 hours ago from UberTwitter

@bigjermmusic Good, keep pushin on songs dude.about 15 hours ago from txt

Finally signed up to Guru.com for professional purposes.about 16 hours ago from web

So I went to check the elder Mays Twitter feed since I follow him, and saw the following, which I will post here as it may give some clues to what happened to him. The Associated Press reports no official cause of death as of this writing, but that he told his wife he hit his head on the plane landing in Tampa. Whatever took place, he didn't wake up today. Here are his last tweets:

Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.12:01 PM Jun 27th from txt

Getting ready to fly back to Tampa from Philly. Monday is the big day (HIP REPLACEMENT NO.3) Keep you posted.7:40 AM Jun 27th from txt

Just got done shootong a new product with my production company 4 Blind Mice.2:28 PM Jun 26th from txt

Just finished up a brand new oxi-clean show in Jersey. On my way to Princeton to meet with Arm and Hammer and then to Philly and then hi ...12:59 PM Jun 25th from txt

Just got done with the Tonight Show. Had a great time. The episode airs tonight7:21 PM Jun 23rd from txt

Just got to Conan's studio. About to go to the pre-pro meeting.3:47 PM Jun 23rd from txt

This is shocking. On the heels of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, all within the last six days. RIP Billy Mays. You're one of a kind and will be missed.

Somehow U.S. Senators Get Suckered into asking for Ecuador Chevron trial without "U.S. Meddling"

Considering the smelly deals going on in Ecuador, like the plaintiff paying off the court-ordered environmental economist to the tune of $200K, that four great U.S Senators - Democratic Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Patrick Leahy of Vermont - could be suckered into calling for a "clean trial" without "U.S. Meddling" is totally funny. What about Ecuador meddling? I guess that's ok. With this kind of crap, the real problems in Ecuador of government and legal corruption will never be solved.

Cancelled Wow Account Meltdown

Only on YouTube....wow

Michael Jackson's doctor talks to LAPD; not on the run.

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Contrary to reports, the LA Police have said Michael Jackson's cardiologist, Dr. Conrad Murray, was not missing and did talk to them Thursday afternoon, according to the blog Radar Online.

Officer Karen Rayner said to the blog that Murray has a brief conversation with them but she could not reveal the details of that conversation.

Earlier it was report that police were impounding his car and that he was missing, but the LAPD said he was not a person accused of a crime.

The police will talk with him again soon.

The public share its views:

Mark Sanford asked his wife for permission to see his lover!

Did you read that headline? I'm not making it up; Governor Mark Sanford, who cheated on his wife with a woman named Maria, reportedly asked Jenny Sanford for permission to see his lover, but when she said "no" he secretly went anyway.

That's just plain sick. I can't understand what level of gall he was carrying to do something like that; can you?

That's one for the books.

Michael Jackson passes | public opinion: "We Are The World"

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Michael Jackson's passing is still a shock to me. The very idea that someone I feel like I grew up with left us at the age of 50 is just not right at all. I first saw Michael perform when I was 10 years old at the old Chicago International Amphitheatre in 1972; the Campbell family, who babysat me, took me and I remember it like it was yesterday. The Jackson Five was then the must see event and Michael was the star.

Michael was like my brother. In a way for many African Americans he was just that, a sibling. I knew him as the guy who grew up in Gary, Indiana. We knew people who knew them in Chicago, so I felt close to him long ago. I think it's for that reason so many African Americans were on Michael's side during the years when it seems he was kind of flying the coup: changing his skin color from brown to near white; narrowing his nose, and basically seeming to channel his best friend the legendary singer Diana Ross. Then, of course, there were the claims that he "liked boys" which we figured wasn't the case, and was more a byproduct of the money and attention seeking people who surrounded him. Michael was a person with an arrested development: he never had a childhood so to escape the trappings of a constant adult life, he created a childhood for himself.

I think being an adult just literally killed Michael.

For me, Michael Jackson was the person who wanted to bring us all together, as shown in his "We Are The World" effort. That amazing production and song, created with a group of the World's best known music talents, with Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Steve Perry, Bob Dylan, the late Ray Charles, and a host of others and to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, was just amazing. Amazing. I loved that song then; I still do today and I cry every time I hear it. (the lyrics and video are at the end of this post).


Talking with people About Michael's passing

The death of Michael Jackson is one of those events that will cause you to remember where you were when you learned of it. In my case I'd just emerged from a private movie screening at the Saul Zaentz Film Center in West Berkeley, CA. My Mom just happened to call with the news as I was walking to my car; I was stunned. Just stunned. So I took my Flip Video Camera and set out to talk to people about what happened to Michael. I had plenty of places to do this: the BART train station, the San Francisco Magazine "Best of The Bay" party, and all points in between.

What's amazing is the sheer number of people who were immediately informed via text messages and the reactions: shock, sadness, but not joy. No. No one expressed anything close to that at all, even given the part of his life where it seemed he was overwhelmed with "kid" issues. Nothing.

Dominic Phillips, the master of event planning in San Francisco, and who produced last night's "San Francisco Magazine Best of The Bay" party said "It's horrible. First and formost, anybody dying is horrible. There are so many family members that are just gonna be torn apart. But also Michael Jackson; on the one hand he was a very maverick person. But on the other hand he was part of my generation's life. He was like part of my experience, my growing up and I feel a little robbed that he's not there anymore. Like whether you thought his experience was your experience,that doesn't really come into it for me. I just sort of bonded with him in my youth and now he's gone."

Another woman I talked to on Howard Street in San Francisco said "I was just walking and three people got text messages (that he died)...just terrible. My friend Beth Schnitzer, who's the Director of Sponsorship Marketing at Pier 39 said "I can't believe it. Every time I listen to his music, it brings back a great memory from growing up somehow, some way. You know, it really hasn't hit me. He was too young; way too young." Jerusha, "The Last Single Girl In The World" said, as only she can, "We all have to go sometime and boy did he have a fabulous life before he went. He did it up and he did it up right. You know what they say, you only live once and that's all you need if you do it right!"

I talked to a lot of people, and if you see my video there are more than what's presented here, but all just variations on what was expressed. People loved Michael, warts and all. The "Best of The Bay" event turned into a kind of tribute to Michael, with his music playing continuously through the evening, and people danced, especially to "Thriller" which is a modern classic.

Sad day it was to have this happen. Michael, the world will miss you.

We Are The World - Lyrics and video:

Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced by Quincy Jones.



There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Michael Jackson's 911 call: what did the doctor do?

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TMZ has a quicktime download of the 911 call made from Michael Jackson's home after he fell to cardiac arrest yesterday. According to TMZ, the doctor, a Dr. Conrad Murray , was the only witness. The LA police are searching for Dr. Murray, who's whereabouts are unknown.

Wild.

Here's my record of the 911 call, which you can hear at the link above as well:

Fire Paramedic33: Fire Paramedic 33, what's your emergency?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Yes sir, I need to, uh, uh I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir.

Fire Paramedic33: Ok, Sir what's your adress?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Los Angeles, California, 90077

Fire Paramedic33: Say Carowood?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Carowood Drive, yes.

Fire Paramedic33: Ok Sir, what's the phone number you're calling from, and (unintelligible)

Michael Jackson's Caller: Uh, sir we have a gentleman here that needs help; he's not breathing. He's not breathing and we're trying to pump him..

Fire Paramedic33: OK, how old?

Michael Jackson's Caller: He's ah, 50 years old.

Fire Paramedic33: 50? Ok. He's unconcious. He's not breathing?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Yes. He's not breathing sir.

Fire Paramedic33: Ok. Where's he at right now?

Michael Jackson's Caller: He's on the bed.

Fire Paramedic33: Let's get him on the floor.

Michael Jackson's Caller: OK.

Fire Paramedic33: Ok. Let's get him on the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR ok? Just...We're on our way. We're on our way. I'm going to do as much as I can over the phone. We're on the way. Did anybody see him?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Yes, we have a personal doctor here with him, sir.

Fire Paramedic33: Oh, you have a doctor there?

Michael Jackson's Caller: Yes, but he (Jackson) is not responding to CPR, anything.

Fire Paramedic33: Oh. Ok. We're on our way there. If you have a doctor he's a high authority than me and he's on the scene. Uh, did anybody witness what happened?

Michael Jackson's Caller: No, just the doctor sir. The doctor is the only one here.

Fire Paramedic33: Oh, did the doctor see what happened?

Michael Jackson's Caller: (Over to doctor) Did you see what happened? Sir, if you just, if you please...

Fire Paramedic33: We're on our way. We're on our way. I'll pass these question on to our paramedics. We're on our way.

Michael Jackson's Caller: Thank you sir. He's pumping , he's pumping his chest but he's not responding to anything, sir, please.

Fire Paramedic33: OK. We're on our way; we're less than a mile away.

What did the doctor do? Well, it's believed that Jackson passed from a painkiller drug called Demerol according to the Telegraph UK. That medicine reportedly has a side effect of possible cardiac arrest if it's not taken properly. The house Jackson rented is marked as a crime scene.

My God.

(UPDATE: Fox News reports that a house dweller claims Dr. Murray never lived at Jackson's home and no one picked up the phone at Murray's Nevada office. The office is at 2110 E Flamingo Rd Las Vegas, NV 89119-5190 (702) 866-6802 according to a Google search. He's listed as a cardiologist. On the Internet website RateMd's.com , Dr. Murray has a good rating of 5.0.


I talked to people on their views of Michael Jackson's passing:

Michael Jackson passes | public opinion: "We Are The World"

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Michael Jackson's passing is still a shock to me. The very idea that someone I feel like I grew up with left us at the age of 50 is just not right at all. I first saw Michael perform when I was 10 years old at the old Chicago International Amphitheatre in 1972; the Campbell family, who babysat me, took me and I remember it like it was yesterday. The Jackson Five was then the must see event and Michael was the star.

Michael was like my brother. In a way for many African Americans he was just that, a sibling. I knew him as the guy who grew up in Gary, Indiana. We knew people who knew them in Chicago, so I felt close to him long ago. I think it's for that reason so many African Americans were on Michael's side during the years when it seems he was kind of flying the coup: changing his skin color from brown to near white; narrowing his nose, and basically seeming to channel his best friend the legendary singer Diana Ross. Then, of course, there were the claims that he "liked boys" which we figured wasn't the case, and was more a byproduct of the money and attention seeking people who surrounded him. Michael was a person with an arrested development: he never had a childhood so to escape the trappings of a constant adult life, he created a childhood for himself.

I think being an adult just literally killed Michael.

For me, Michael Jackson was the person who wanted to bring us all together, as shown in his "We Are The World" effort. That amazing production and song, created with a group of the World's best known music talents, with Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Steve Perry, Bob Dylan, the late Ray Charles, and a host of others and to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, was just amazing. Amazing. I loved that song then; I still do today and I cry every time I hear it. (the lyrics and video are at the end of this post).


Talking with people About Michael's passing

The death of Michael Jackson is one of those events that will cause you to remember where you were when you learned of it. In my case I'd just emerged from a private movie screening at the Saul Zaentz Film Center in West Berkeley, CA. My Mom just happened to call with the news as I was walking to my car; I was stunned. Just stunned. So I took my Flip Video Camera and set out to talk to people about what happened to Michael. I had plenty of places to do this: the BART train station, the San Francisco Magazine "Best of The Bay" party, and all points in between.

What's amazing is the sheer number of people who were immediately informed via text messages and the reactions: shock, sadness, but not joy. No. No one expressed anything close to that at all, even given the part of his life where it seemed he was overwhelmed with "kid" issues. Nothing.

Dominic Phillips, the master of event planning in San Francisco, and who produced last night's "San Francisco Magazine Best of The Bay" party said "It's horrible. First and formost, anybody dying is horrible. There are so many family members that are just gonna be torn apart. But also Michael Jackson; on the one hand he was a very maverick person. But on the other hand he was part of my generation's life. He was like part of my experience, my growing up and I feel a little robbed that he's not there anymore. Like whether you thought his experience was your experience,that doesn't really come into it for me. I just sort of bonded with him in my youth and now he's gone."

Another woman I talked to on Howard Street in San Francisco said "I was just walking and three people got text messages (that he died)...just terrible. My friend Beth Schnitzer, who's the Director of Sponsorship Marketing at Pier 39 said "I can't believe it. Every time I listen to his music, it brings back a great memory from growing up somehow, some way. You know, it really hasn't hit me. He was too young; way too young." Jerusha, "The Last Single Girl In The World" said, as only she can, "We all have to go sometime and boy did he have a fabulous life before he went. He did it up and he did it up right. You know what they say, you only live once and that's all you need if you do it right!"

I talked to a lot of people, and if you see my video there are more than what's presented here, but all just variations on what was expressed. People loved Michael, warts and all. The "Best of The Bay" event turned into a kind of tribute to Michael, with his music playing continuously through the evening, and people danced, especially to "Thriller" which is a modern classic.

Sad day it was to have this happen. Michael, the world will miss you.

We Are The World - Lyrics and video:

Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced by Quincy Jones.



There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Shaq O'Neal To Cavs to Get LeBron James A Ring

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Thunder has struck. Shaq O'Neal is going to the Cleveland Cavaliers to help "The Golden Child", "The Chosen One", LeBron James, get his ring. That was a massive trade. Goodbye Ben Wallace, who's big hair and playing style have seen better days. Goodbye losing attitude. Say hello to The Diesel, king of The Gorilla Dunk bad rap, and NBA championships.

To say that Shaq changes the forecast for the Cavs is an understatement; they've got to be penciled in as next season's contender. Now, a final pitting the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Cavs will be the wish of fans now more than ever, even last season. Why? It's not just Kobe v. LeBron, it's Kobe v. Shaq all over again.

You know Shaq's thinking, "Great. I helped D-Wade (Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade) "Great. I helped D-Wade (Miami Heat star Dwawne Wade) get his ring. I got three for Kobe. Now, I'll get one for the Golden Child." I can't wait for the season to start; it's fun all over again. I know NBA Commissioner David Stern was involved here somewhere, had to be, it's too perfect for an NBA that needed a new injection of "star drama." Enter Shaq. Perfect.

Gov Mark Sanford's affair - feel sorry for him

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I've got to admit, I'm not a fan of South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford and mainly because of his refusal to use the stimulus money to help the people of his state and due to his constant "I'm better than you" approach to President Obama. I'd hoped Sanford would get what's coming to him. I was more than a little annoyed that Sanford allowed himself to be considered a 2012 Presidential candidate just for going against President Obama and nothing else (in fact the GOP's really lacking in leaders, ya know?) and hoped he'd trip.

Well, he did.

When the news about Sanford's disappearance came out, I assumed he just flew the coup, but when I learned that his wife had not got a call from him, I tweeted NBC's David Gregory - who was conversing about the matter on Twitter - that it smelled like an affair.

Bingo, I was right.

But I've got no joy in from seeing this latest train wreck this week. Earlier, on Monday, we had Perez Hilton's video meltdown and Sanford's press conference was Wednesday. While Sanford didn't tell anyone to go do something with themselves, given the gravity of what he did, the people he hurt who trusted him, and his wife, it was every bit the train wreck we saw.

But I feel sorry for him.

I do because of his honest presentation. I mean he just plain said, "Look, I screwed up. I hurt people and I'm sorry." He also explained that the affair was last year and he and his mistress Maria - with a name like and living in Brazil she's got to be a looker - have known each other for eight years. Yes, Sanford was critical of President Clinton during the Lewinsky matter. Yes, Sanford's reportedly not well-liked by some of his associates. But he was well-liked enough to become governor of South Carolina.

The only part of Sanford's press conference that bothered me was the statement "I spent five days crying." Well, come on, Governor Sanford was crying because he was leaving his mistress and all that fun you he had and returning to a life that he's not happy with. Look, he missed his four boys on Father's Day! What does that say?

Sanford is a man with a lot of issue to work out, but heck we all have them. I really do hope he gets a chance to right his ship without dire consequences. If there's anything we've learned from all these media show train wrecks, it's that no one's perfect and I get no joy in learning this about anyone.