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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Go David Go

WOO-HOO. “I think I can beat Mayor Giuliani,” Governor Paterson said on Wednesday. That might seem like Rap Tale saying she could beat Rachel Alexandra (though Paterson actually "only" trailed the slimy former mayor of NYC by a margin of 52-35 in the latest Siena poll).

You gotta love this - the governor of New York has gone from seeming to try to put himself out of his own misery with his remarks on race a few weeks ago, to this new persona, aggressive and assertive, almost with a swagger if you will.

“If he thinks he could have done better [balancing the budget], he should tell us that now....Until he does, then I think that I should be running for governor and will be elected governor because he’s not bringing any new ideas.” [NY Times - City Room blog]
I'm sorry, I like this guy, I can't help it. He's done a competent job in my view, and he's a pisser. What's to dislike about that?

- Drama at the trial of State Senator Hiram Monserrate, as Karla Giraldo, the alleged slashing victim, continued to insist that she wasn't one. But when confronted with the surveillance tape of she and the senator leaving the building, Ms. Giraldo broke into tears....rushing from courtroom and throwing her boyfriend's assault trial into a temporary recess. [WNBC-TV]

Our criminal justice system is kinda funny I think. Peoples' entire lives are at stake in these trials, yet we analyze and debate them the same as if they were a football game, or a horse race. Sometimes I wonder if the random element is any less despite the stakes involved. And should talent, rather than logic, be the deciding factor? Monserrate's fate, in my view, comes down to the testimony of the emergency room doctor who recalled that Ms. Giraldo "was consistent that it was not an accident.” The surveillance tape seems incriminating to me, but I think it can be interpreted differently and is not a smoking gun. The prosecution chipped away at Ms. Giraldo's credibility by establishing that she changed her story as to her sobriety from what she told a grand jury months ago, to one which aids the defense's strategy. But she insisted that she doesn't remember telling the doctor that she was attacked. As with many trials, it's one person's word against the other's.

I believe that the defense's story - that Monserrate tripped in the dark while bringing her a glass of water, startling her, causing her to jerk her head upwards into the glass, thus shattering it and leaving 40 stitches worth of gashes around her eyes - is more suitable for a Rube Goldberg machine than an alibi for an attack. But personally, I think that the Senator is going to walk.

2 Comments:

SaratogaSpa said...

Always love to see a "Rube Goldberg" reference.

This is a non-jury trial, so maybe I am naive enough to think he does the time on this one.

Anonymous said...

He will end up pleading down to a minor beef and be given probation, thereby retaining his position.

Interesting that trial by jury was waived, does the judge have any political connections (silly question, I know)?