Bailouts, OJ, and stuff that couldn't have happened.

My first "No, that can't be. That didn’t happen…Wait. That DID happen” moment came from an event that occurred many years earlier before I stumbled across it. It pertained to the JFK Assassination and I didn’t learn about it until some 35 years later. Prior to learning about that, I have had a couple “No, that can’t be….” moments in between. But, the ones I will list today will be in chronological order.

Our forefathers must have had many of these moments, one after the other, that brought them to stand up and say “no more”. But for most of us today they occur spaced out, so the disbelief and emotions ebb and flow and don’t build up to that level. Surely these moments have been happening to people forever and they will continue. It does seem though they are happening more and more frequently, maybe because I pay more attention to politics and world events than I did when I was younger. So, here goes:

JFK Assassination: After the Bay of Pigs incident, in autumn 1961, the head of the CIA Allen Dulles and Deputy Directors Richard Bissell and Charles Cabell were forced to resign by JFK. Although JFK took responsibility for the Bay of Pig’s debacle, he felt the CIA was ultimately at fault and threatened to break them into 1000 pieces. Many feel the CIA, or former members (like Dulles) may have participated in the assassination. Looking back, the firing of Dulles was probably JFK signing his own death warrant. Two years after being canned by JFK, Allen Dulles was appointed as one of 7 Commissioners on the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of JFK. Investigate the murder of the man who fired him from the organization he practically helped create, and publicly embarrassed him in front of the world? The same man who many believed he may have had a hand in assassinating? Conflict of interest much? I still hear the voice in my head saying “No, that can’t be. That didn’t happen...Wait. That DID happen?”

Watergate: Nixon was caught lying to the American people, destroying evidence and covering up knowledge of a break in into the Democratic HQ in WDC, perhaps ordering the break in. An independent special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, is assigned by the Justice Dept. and confirmed by Senate to investigate the President’s actions. Cox subpoenas some records from Nixon, who refuses to comply, and then orders the Attorney General for fire Cox. “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.” Nixon resigned in shame. Instead of pressing on with prosecution, new President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. Ford was chosen by in ’73 to replace Nixon’s former VP Spiro Agnew, who resigned in his own scandal.

OJ Simpson Not Guilty: I still remember seeing the news in 1994 that Simpson’s wife was murdered in cold blood with then unknown waiter Ron Goldman. Wow! 5 days later TV is interrupted with live video of OJ running from the law in a getaway SUV driven by another former NFL star. Wow again! I was hooked. Fast forward to 1995. The trial of the century. I had a chair pulled up to the TV and my popcorn ready before the trial even begin. I was amazed by the possibility that OJ ‘really might have’ done this.

At that time I was managing an electronics store. We had a wall-full of TV’s and a satellite dish. I kept the TV’s on the Court TV channel. I listened to the commentators clucking all morning before the trial started each afternoon (EST), and while court was in session in the afternoon. At night, I would race home and watch the rehash of the day’s events. I was an expert on the trial. I felt like I was the 13th juror. I felt it was an open and shut case. I started out with no presumption of guilt or innocence. In fact, I was a teenager in the ‘70’s and loved football. OJ had been a hero of mine. I didn’t want it to be true. So, I simply followed the story before making my decision. When I had my decision, there wasn’t (and still isn’t) a doubt in my mind that I was right. 110% right. It was painfully obvious what the truth was. On Oct 3, 1995, as I stood in my store with 12-15 customers and we stared at the TV’s in silence as the verdict was read. Me and many others said to ourselves or out loud “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”

Building 7 and the Pentagon: A few years after it happened I started reading some books, saw Loose Change and other documentaries. Lots of questions. But the two biggest ‘can’t believe my eyes’ things are when I saw how Building 7 collapsed, (and when the BBC reporter said it collapsed and it’s still in the background). How did she suspect it would fall before it happened? And then, the couples of frames released of when the Pentagon was hit by a plane. The Pentagon is the most filmed building in the world, with cameras everywhere. Why can’t we see more and better footage? That would shut everyone up, right? When I saw those two images for the first time, I thought to myself “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”

Casey Anthony Not Guilty: What first pulled me in on this was when this attractive young lady led the police through Universal Studios to go to her make believe office. I still remember looking up from the computer to the TV the day they found that poor little girl in the woods. I watched this thing daily AND nightly. Couldn’t believe at first that she could do this to her own child. But soon after watching her behavior and hearing the facts, COULD NOT believe that she DIDN’T do it. So, just like OJ, when I watched, this time alone, as the verdict was read, I said aloud with no one around “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”
Ferguson Grand Jury: I don’t know what happened. I don’t know who was at fault. I wasn’t there. But, a kid died at the hands of a police officer. DA’s work daily with the police to bring criminals to justice. They partner. A lot. And in this case, the DA’s father was killed by a black man with a gun years ago, when the DA was young. Seems like a conflict of interest. I don’t know what happened that day. But I do know it should go to court to find out the truth, when there is so much cloudiness of the facts. When I heard there will be no indictment or court trial, I said “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.” You’d think I’d have learned to expect as much by now….

Eric Garner: Wow, this time we DO KNOW what happened that day! We have video! And sound! And no indictment. No court trial….. “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”

Bailouts: You can have your opinion about the Wall St/bank/car company bailouts from ’08 and ’09. You’re either in the ‘let them fail’ or ‘we had to save them’ camp. Leave that for another discussion. These institutions were mismanaged to the point of failure, and taxpayer money was used to prop them back up. Hard to swallow but I get it. But, once they got the money they all paid themselves HUGE bonuses. “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.” Last night I heard Washington to passed budget legislation to avoid yet another government shutdown. And within that bill is tucked provisions to insure that if the banks make bad bets in the future, that they will be bailed out again. “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”

a reply to: XP100

I can't believe I read the whole thing. That DID happen. Must have been engaging.
I feel the same way --with greater frequency lately.

Awesome Rant and thanks for the trip down memory lane as well :-)
You will get no arguments from me on your bitches in this thread. I am waiting for more of the same to be added to your thread.
S&F
Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: XP100

Eric Garner: Wow, this time we DO KNOW what happened that day! We have video! And sound! And no indictment. No court trial….. “No, that can’t be. That didn’t just happen…Wait. That DID just happen.”

Am I allowed to add a moment?

Eric Garner: The guy who video taped it got indicted...and now my home stated just made it illegal to video police

that DID happen

a reply to: KyoZero

YES!!! Add that!

a reply to: Iwinder

Thanks! It was a bit long but I woke up cranky and got on a roll.

originally posted by: XP100
a reply to: Iwinder

Thanks! It was a bit long but I woke up cranky and got on a roll.

Well it was a hell of a "Roll" and I recommend you wake up cranky every time you feel like authoring a thread:-)
Well done!
Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: XP100

Regarding 9/11:

tons of eyewitnesses, including people who said things like "an airliner nearly decapitated me when I was in the parking lot next to the Pentagon", plus all sorts of debris indicating it was an AA commercial plane.

Many firemen and policemen saying, hours before it was going to eventually happen, that WTC 7 was clearly unstable and likely to collapse.

Regarding OJ Simpson:

Watching the trial moment to moment suggests to me you have a very skewed view of the case, since there was a lot of biased anti-Simpson commentary from the pundits, and a lot of evidence kept out for good reason (hearsay, for example, is not accepted because it's problematic).

If you still are "100% convinced" OJ is guilty you should look into the information presented suggesting his son was the real killer. It's pretty compelling, and was ignored by the cops at the time (they believed an alibi that turned out to be false).