Burying The Lead.

So this second video of Ray Rice beating up his wife has turned up.
This time, from inside the elevator.
And he clearly knocks her out with a round-house right.
One punch.
Now, everybody is up in arms about how lenient the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens had been.
And how what they're doing now is too little, too late.
BAD NFL!!
BAD Baltimore Ravens!!
BAD Ray Rice's wife for being complicit in the cover-up!
And of course, BAD Ray Rice!!

How about BAD Atlantic City Police Department??!!
How about BAD Atlantic City District Attorney's office??!!
No wonder Atlantic City is going to hell in a hand-basket.
I haven't heard anything about any further arrest of Ray Rice based on this new evidence.
I haven't heard anything from the D.A. about filing new charges.
Why isn't Ray Rice at least temporarily behind bars right now?
There is undeniable proof that he committed aggravated assault on this woman.
Isn't that the lead in this story?
The book should be thrown at him, whatever was agreed upon before..
Speaking of books, I write books.
If I happened to beat the shit out of my wife, no great power like the NFL would help me.
The only reason they helped Ray Rice is because there was money involved.
But as we all know, the NFL is big business.
And big business is corrupt.
So what's the surprise?
So if it was me, instead of him, I would most-likely be doing a major stretch in the slammer.
Fortunately I have no worries on that score, because if it ever came to it, my wife could beat the shit out of me.
Hell, just about ANYBODY could beat the shit out of me.
But if I was ensconced in the slammer because of something like this, I could still write.
You can't take away my pad and pencil.
Or my Writer's Guild Card.
As long as I kept up on my dues.
And theoretically, I could still make a living at my chosen profession.
If Rice was in the slammer, it would be difficult for him to suit up.
So that's how I see it.
Unless there are no new charges brought against Ray Rice, what right does anyone have to prevent him from earning his livelihood?
This is not Donald Sterling we're talking about here.
He did not commit a crime.
The NBA is a private club.
They can expel owners all they want.
Sterling walked away with billions of dollars.
It did not exactly effect his livelihood.
Back to books: In the fifties, the acclaimed writer Norman Mailer drunkenly stabbed his then-wife.
Nearly killed her.
He was known for his violent temper.
The wife didn't press charges.
She was probably scared shitless of him, just like Mrs. Rice.
He pled guilty anyway, and got a suspended sentence.
The judge was probably scared shitless too.
And there might have been mitigating circumstances here.
He was drunk.
It was just a pen-knife.
But who knows?
There was no videotape of that event.
But nobody got up in arms that Norman Mailer shouldn't be able to write again.
And he wrote plenty.
And sold a lot of books.
Here, we have graphic evidence.
We have videotape.
A lot has been made of whether or not the NFL saw the second tape before yesterday.
How come nobody is asking the police whether or not THEY saw the second tape.
They have no good answer.
Either way, the case should be re-opened.
There's certainly enough to give Rice much more than a slap on the wrist.
In court.
But if he continues to get away with it legally, that's criminal.
Except he's not the one committing the crime.
At least not this one.
The Gendarmes are.
And if it stays that way, he should be allowed to play football, just like Norman Mailer was allowed to keep writing books.
The story here is that Ray Rice must be arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and forced to break rocks with a sledgehammer for many years.
If he only serves a couple of years, and breaking rocks with a sledgehammer hasn't ruined him for football, he should be allowed to play again.
Why does a league policy have to be in place?
All you need is actual police.


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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

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