Kudos to Jeff Ruby

Jeff Ruby, owner of several upscale steakhouses, kicked OJ Simpson out of his Louisville restaurant the night before the Kentucky Derby. He said he was "sickened by the attention that Simpson still attracts." Here are the details:

"I didn't want to serve him because of my convictions of what he's done to those families," Jeff Ruby said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The way he continues to torture the lives of those families ... with his behavior, attitude and conduct."

Simpson, an NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner, was found innocent in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman but was found liable in a civil trial that followed.

Ruby — who owns restaurants in Cincinnati, Louisville and Belterra, Ind. — said Simpson, who was in town for the Derby on Saturday, came in with a group of about 12 Friday night and was seated at a table in the back. A customer came up to Ruby and was "giddy" about seeing Simpson, Ruby said.

"I didn't want that experience in my restaurant," Ruby said, later adding that seeing Simpson get so much attention "makes me sick to my stomach."

He said he went to Simpson's table and said, "I'm not serving you." Ruby said when Simpson didn't respond, he repeated himself and left the room.

Of course, Simpson's lawyer is screaming racism but I have to say I applaud Ruby for taking such a strong stand. I'm not the only one because many in the restaurant also applauded Ruby right after Simpson left and Ruby says he's gotten around 100 positive emails since the incident.

To this day I am still sickened at how OJ Simpson clearly got away with murder and still seems to enjoy a certain "celebrity status". Its nice to see that not everyone forgets the great harm he has caused.

A Review of Raging Heart!

Raging Heart by Sheila Weller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I heard that O.J. Simpson had been found not guilty in his murder trial.  I was in shock, I had heard about all the evidence and couldn't fathom how he wasn't convicted.

So, when the books started pouring out I decided to read them to figure out what happened.  I read 2 of them soon after, and the other 3 right when O.J. attempted to publish his "confession, that wasn't really a confession." 

The 5 books I read on the O.J. Simpson case were: Evidence Dismissed: The Inside Story of the Police Investigation of O.J. Simpson, Without a Doubt, Murder In Brentwood, How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse and If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.

Yet, in reading all these books on the case, I never really read a book that described O.J. and Nicole's lives before the murders.  Weller's book is wonderful in giving you a vivid and detailed account of their lives and their marriage.  It helped me to understand the dynamics a lot better and even helped me to learn even more about domestic violence. 

View all my reviews

Previously:
  Posts on or related to O.J. Simpson

My Book List So Far...Part 6

A friend and I are in the middle of reading books on the OJ Simpson case. She had never read any on the case and I had a renewed interest since OJ's book came out. We both read his book with the additions that the Goldmans, the ghostwriter and Dominick Dunne added. After reading it and not believing a word OJ said I wanted to do more research on the case.

So next I read Mike Gilbert's recent book, How I helped OJ Get Away With Murder. I highly recommend it. He comes across as very genuine and with nothing to gain by writing the book the way he does. I plan on doing several posts on my "OJ research". Right now I am in the middle of Mark Fuhrman's book, Murder in Brentwood. My opinion of Fuhrman has dramatically changed since learning the truth about him instead of how the Drive By Media portrayed him.

Since, I am in the middle of Fuhrman's book and still in the middle of North and South, I decided to listen to Because They Hate on Cd. It is the gripping and amazing story of Gabriel's life and of the battle we face against Islamic extremists. I am just astonished at what happened in Lebanon and Israel in the 70's and 80's while the rest of the world slept. It is a book that should be read by EVERYONE!! It is a must read!!

As for my book list, you can see that I'm getting close to my goal. I've only got 6 more books to go.

Below, I have updated my list. The titles in blue are the ones that I've read since the last post.

Here are the books that I have read and/or listened to on Cd so far:

1) The Faith of the American Soldier--Stephen Mansfield
2) My Grandfather's Son--Clarence Thomas
3) A Patriot's Handbook (CD)--Caroline Kennedy
4) 1776 (CD)--David McCullough
5) One for the Money--Janet Evanovich
6) Two for the Dough--Janet Evanovich
7) Three to get Deadly--Janet Evanovich
8) Four to Score--Janet Evanovich
9) High Five--Janet Evanovich
10) Hot Six--Janet Evanovich
11) Seven Up--Janet Evanovich
12) Hard Eight--Janet Evanovich
13) To the Nines--Janet Evanovich
14) Ten Big Ones--Janet Evanovich
15) Eleven On Top--Janet Evanovich
16) Visions of Sugar Plums--Janet Evanovich
17) Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom (CD)
18) Twelve Sharp--Janet Evanovich
19) Lean Mean Thirteen--Janet Evanovich
20) Plum Lovin'--Janet Evanovich
21) Facing Terror--Carrie McDonnall (CD)
22) The Spiritual Heritage of the U.S. Capitol--David Barton (CD)
23) The Faith of George W. Bush--Stephen Mansfield (CD)
24) Danger in the Shadows--Dee Henderson (CD)
25) T is for Trespass--Sue Grafton
26) Plum Lucky--Janet Evanovich
27) Then Sings My Soul--Robert J. Morgan
28) The Negotiator--Dee Henderson (CD)
29) Wings of Silver--Jo Petty
30) Moments From America's History--David Barton (CD)
31) The Spirit of the American Revolution--David Barton (CD)
32) Stori Telling--Tori Spelling
33) First World War--Ruth Brocklehurst & Henry Brook
34) Mistaken Identity--VanRyn, Cerak & Mark Tabb
35) Mornings on Horseback--David McCullough (Cd)
36) Fearless Fourteen--Janet Evanovich
37) If God Should Choose--Kristen Stagg
38) Come Thirsty--Max Lucado
39) Lincoln, A Photobiography--Russell Freedman
40) Bringing Elizabeth Home--Ed & Lois Smart w/Laura Morton
41) John Adams--David McCullough (Cd)
42) Beauty Beyond the Ashes--Cheryl McGuinness
43) If I Did it--Ron Goldman
44) How I Helped OJ Get Away with Murder--Mike Gilbert

Previously:
Book List 1
Book List 2
Book List 3
Book List 4
Book List 5

Links:
50 Book List

Justice Denied is Finally Justice Served!

"Earlier in this case, at a bail hearing, I asked — said — to Mr. Simpson I didn't know if he was arrogant or ignorant or both. And during the trial and through this proceeding, I got this answer, and it was both."--Judge Jackie Glass

What a difference a judge and jury makes!! The difference between Judge Glass and incompetent Judge Ito is stark. Isn't it ironic that a wife beater ends up going to jail after being sentenced by a female judge? As Glass said, the evidence was overwhelming and most of it came from OJ's Simpson's own mouth. Simpson has always been ignorant and so arrogant that he thought he was above the law, but not anymore.

Most of the legal experts say that Simpson will serve at least 9 years before being eligible for parole. The odds of him being paroled are slim, so it looks like he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Unfortunately, it will not give his children back their mother and it won't give the Goldmans back their son/brother. It won't be able to heal the deep scars he's left on so many lives, but at least there is finally some measure of justice.

Drew Peterson and Injustice!

What we know about Drew Peterson:

--2nd wife abused

--3rd wife murdered--(The police were called 18 times on domestic disturbance calls during their marriage)

--4th wife, Stacy Peterson missing

--Drew's former fiancee speaks out

--Pastor: Stacy Peterson Told Me Drew Killed 3rd Wife

--A relative helped Drew move a large blue container that was warm to the touch around the time Stacy disappeared

I was watching the latest on this case while working out the other night and I had renewed outrage. Most likely this man played a part in the death of 2 women and there may never be any justice for either one of them. He used to be a cop and it appears that he's been very controlling and manipulative and knows how not to leave incriminating evidence behind.

I know many will not agree with me but it is cases like this and the OJ Simpson case that make me sympathetic towards people like Mary Winkler. I don't ever condone vigilante justice but domestic violence is often a crime that people don't walk away from. I think it is possible that people like Winkler put up with the abuse for too long and then they snap.

I pray and hope there is justice for Stacy and Kathleen Savio's families. I also hope this is a wake up call for any woman who is in an abusive relationship to get help and get out, today.

Remembering The 60's!

Today is my first post in a series of history posts that I am going to do every Thursday.  I'm excited about having a different topic each day of the week to blog about.

I am watching a series on CNN right now, The Sixties.  The 60's are fascinating to me because a lot happened in that decade right before I was born.  Three assassinations happened--JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy.  It is also the decade of the Civil Rights movement, which I am very passionate about.

Do You Remember and many other media outlets had a lot about JFK's assassination last November, since it was the 50th anniversary.  I had DVR'd many shows about the assassination and of course, true to the way I work, I just recently got around to watching them all.

I was fascinated, because even though I had read a lot about JFK, his assassination and the Kennedys, I had never seen footage of things, because it happened before I was born.



Killing Kennedy, which was based on O'Reilly's book was very comprehensive and gave a great overview.  I watched quite a few other documentaries, and I was amazed at how absurd so many of the conspiracy theories were.  I consider myself, for the most part, to be anti-conspiracy.  Learning about the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's assassination only further convinced me of my mindset.

Stay tuned for next week's history post, unless something else grabs my attention, I plan on talking about the 20th anniversary of the OJ Simpson trial.

The 90's: The Last Great Decade?--Part 2: Friends & Enemies

Part Two: Friends and Enemies

1) Waco: David Koresh vs. the Government
--The ATF, then the FBI tried to enter David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound.  They had 305 guns and there were allegations of child abuse.  When the ATF tried to raid the compound 4 ATF agents were killed and 6 Branch Davidians.

--The FBI then engaged in a 51 day standoff that ended on April 19th, 1993.  The FBI went in, a fire was started (most likely by Koresh) and 50 adults and 25 children died, including Koresh.  This initiated a lot of anti-government sentiment, which contributed in part to the OKC bombing 2 years later on the exact same day.

--Amazingly, Janet Reno, who oversaw this fiasco, was never held accountable.

2) X-Files: The nation's obssession over aliens and ufos.

3) Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan
--On January 6th, 1994 someone attacked Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan by whacking her in the knee.  It was discovered that Harding's husband and bodyguard were responsible.  Harding has always denied that she knew anything about the attack beforehand, but many believe that she master minded the whole thing.

4) Jerry Springer and the rise of Trashy Tv Talk Shows
--Jerry Springer went from politics, to news to hosting one of the nation's trashiest talk shows.  The sad part was the world was captivated and his ratings skyrocketed.  He was called the "Mayor of Dysfunction Junction".

5) Black Hawk Down
--I have researched and talked a lot about this event.  It is one of Bill Clinton's many failures which led to Osama Bin Laden's view of the U.S. as a "paper tiger", and ultimately led to 9/11.

6) Medicated America
--Actresses such as Roseanne admit to using prescription drugs for depression and anxiety.  The world learns of a new set of drugs known as SSRI's.

7) The rise of Rap music and Rappers

8) Oklahoma City Bombing
--On April 19, 1995, exactly 2 years after the Waco siege, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols planted a car bomb by the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.  The bombing killed 168 people and injured 600.  Before 9/11 this was the largest terrorist attack in the U.S.

9) The rise of Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk radio
--One of the best things about the 90's.

10) Bill Clinton and the Government Shutdown
--Congress led by Newt Gingrich and the President got into a battle and the government shut down for 27 days at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996.  As usual, the media made the Republicans out to be the bad guys, and the Republicans caved.

11) Mobsters John Gotti vs. Sammy the Bull Gravano
--Gotti is the head of the Gambino crime family, and is a media whore who becomes popular until he is brought down by his second in command, Sammy the Bull Gravano.

12) New York City is rescued by Rudy Giuliani
--When Giuliani is elected as Mayor of New York City, crime was at an unbelievable high of  2,200 murders a year.  He implemented a no tolerance policy.  The # of murders per year was 2, 245 in 1990, and by 2010 it had dropped to 536.

--Two very popular Tv shows took place in New York City in the 90's.  Seinfeld is regarded as pre-Giuliani New York City, and Friends is post-Rudy.

13) Howard Stern--Father of a VERY Dysfunctional Family

14) Homosexuality comes out of the closet
--Roseanne and Ellen have gay people coming out of the closet.  The horrific murder of Matthew Shephard who was gay also takes place and gives rise to hate crimes laws.

15) Macarena song takes the country by storm
--Everyone is dancing the macarena.  It helped bring out Latino singers such as Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin.

16) The Internet
--Who knew when this was invented in 1991 (not by Al Gore ;-)) how much it would change our daily lives.  There was confusion on how to use it until Google comes on the scene and gives people an easy way to search the internet.

17) The OJ Simpson car chase, trial and verdict
--91% of Americans watched the verdict live.  It was the country's own version of a soap opera.  And one of the biggest miscarriages of justice.  The message was, if you have enough $, you can get away with murder.

Previously:
Part One: Great Expectations