The Larry Kane Report

So, here’s a fact. In the last 46 years, Texans have served a total of 17 and a half years as President of the United States. LBJ had 5, George Bush 41 had 4, and George W. had eight. That is a lot of years , and a lot of power.

Now, Texas Governor Rick Perry says he might be interested in seeking the Republican nomination for President. Perry is conservative and interesting. He has never lost an election, and at one time (recently) talked about secession from the U.S.

Perry will not be taken for granted by the Republican field.

More on the GOP. All of a sudden, everybody wants that nomination. In addition to Perry, New York’s ex Mayor Rudy Giuliani may take another run at it. Add that to Sarah Palin’s latest activity, Michelle Bachmann’s constant campaigning, and you have a wild race. Mitt Romney makes it official on Thursday. Also in the battle, at least for now, are Ron Paul, Rick Santorum,¬† Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and a few others.¬† Jon Huntsman has already made an impressive start in New Hampshire and Florida. I think he’s the one to watch. The Republicans need someone who can appeal to Independents. President Obama knows how important Independents will be in 2012. So do most of the super-Right Republicans who will help decide the nomination.

There are many people who wonder: Why are so many people looking to run? Very simple answer. If you don’t run, you have no chance of winning. Example: 1992: George Bush was a shoo-in, or so they said,¬† Mario Cuomo opted out, along with several other key Democrats. The Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, took the gamble. He ran. He won.

The numbers tell the story on this Memorial Day, 2011. Over 1.3 million men and women have died in our nation’s wars, That includes over 600,ooo in the Civil War, our deadliest. In our most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have lost over 6000 men and women. And then the forgotten casualties of war – the over 5500 people killed at Pearl Harbor, and on 9/11, when our country was attacked.

The sacrifices were very different in nature, but they were so fatal. In the beginning, we were fighting for our Independence. In the 19th century, there were internal conflicts, often with native Americans, and of course, the Civil War. In the 20th century, there were two World Wars, the Korean conflict, Vietnam, and in recent years, the war on terror, unlike any war previous.

Throughout the history of the nation, there are forgotten victims – the families who suffered the losses, in every state of the nation – the children, the husbands and wives and so many others.

In the modern era, it is easy , with all the abundance and opportunity in America, that every day, hundreds of thousands of Americans are putting everything on the line to keep America strong in a dangerous world.

This is a great for parades, food, all kinds of fun, and being close to family and friends. But it’s also a time when we should, in this nation of individual freedoms, take a pause here or there to remember those who gave it all to keep this place safer than any place on earth.

As you probably know over these past months, I have no intention of offering an opinion in the Alycia Lane, Larry Mendte saga, which is definitely one of the stranger cases to come out of local TV in this town. But something was missing in the coverage of the case, something pretty important. And a newspaper was part of it.

Last Friday, jury selection was interrupted by a stay from the Pa. Supreme Court, to possibly hear a challenge by CBS that the trial should be moved out of Philadelphia and into New York. Before that decision came down, the Daily News published an opinion piece from Pulitzer Prize winner Buzz Bissinger, a local author with national fame, who described himself as a friend of Alycia Lane. The column basically attacked Mendte , his character, his record, and his personality. It was rough and raw. Today (Monday), the Daily News published an aggressive retort from Dawn Stensland. a defense of her husband, but actually a rebuttal attack on Bissinger. Both pieces were vitriolic, some of the most aggressive personal decapitations I have ever seen in print, the kind of stuff usually reserved for anonymous emails, the kind that in blogs. At least the authors signed their names.

On Friday, the judge in the case, a respected jurist named Marlene Lachman took swift action. After reading the Bissinger column, she instructed officers of the court to see if any members of the potential juror pool were reading the Daily News. She advised that she wanted to see any potential juror who was reading the paper to see if they had read Bissinger column. This was a wise and protective move by the judge. Judges are rarely savvy about the media. If they were confident of themselves, we would see cameras in the courtrooms. Judges should get a better understanding of what impact media has. The good news for the Daily News, we are told, is that there were jurors reading the paper.

Now, of course, the jury selection is delayed by the “stay.” A request for a “stay” has been rejected four times over the last several years.  But if jury selection  had continued until today. it is a safe bet that Judge Lachman would have checked out if anyone had been reading the scathing rebuttal column. Media can affect jurors. Media can affect outcomes. Any judge that doesn’t understand that, should go back to law school. Judge Lachman was wise and thoughtful.

In the meantime, the case is in limbo. What will happen is anyone’s guess.

Incidentally, both pieces were well written, with considerable rage.

No, this is not an update on the Pa. Primary! It’s another one of those “why do they do it” essays, of which I’m sure there will be hundreds in the days ahead. The Arnold story is bizarre enough. After all, it happened in his own household, or at least it began there. But the story of Dominique, also known as DSK to the adoring millions in France and Europe,  is the wildest sex scandal I can ever imagine. Some powerful people get hooked because of love (ex Governor Sanford) , others for the excitement (I presume) and still others have engaged sex for pay, and gotten caught.

Key to this case is that the man is charged with physical sexual assault, as in rape and attempted rape. Whatever you call it, it is the work of a criminal mind. Yes, allegedly chasing after a woman and forcing her into any kind of sexual act is a high crime. Force is rape. Physical force is assault. So I have to presume that DSK is a sick person, not just a public victim of his own needs. Once again, forcing a human being to engage in sexual activity is rape. Running away and leaving your cell phone and other belongings behind is an indicator of someone in trouble.

The least surprising piece of this story is the shock in France. And the support for him. France is the same country that gave accused (almost admitted) rapist Roman Polanski citizenship. It is a nation that honored the Philadelphia cop killer Mumia. It also the nation that refused for years to turn over the murderer Ira Einhorn.

In this country you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. To some of the people in France, you are presumed innocent even when you are proven guilty, as in the case of Ira Einhorn, who now safely rots away in a Pennsylvania prison.

Watch this case carefully. If sympathy intensifies for the alleged rapist overseas, you truly know  that we live in strange times.

And by all means, let us not forget that there is a victim in this case, and it is not the man from France.

It is the man who is not running who may play the biggest role in the aftermath of the Pennsylvania Primary. I’m talking John Street, former Mayor, former chair of the PHA, and brother of the great news maker, Milton Street. It no secret that John Street despises Michael Nutter. The reverse is probably true.

John Street changed his registration to independent. That leaves the door open for the ex-Mayor to possibly run as an independent in the fall, hoping that a three way race could accomplish two things: allow him to actually win, or divide the vote so badly that the Republican could win. Of course, Mayor Nutter could still win in that scenario.

But there’s another option that is at this moment only in whisper stage, but stranger things have happened!

What if John Street ran as an independent, and his new best friend Sam Katz ran as an independent. That would be a four person race, and anything could happen. Could Street and Katz team up? Could Katz pass the legal hurdles to run on a different party label? And is Michael Nutter beatable?

These are only scenarios, most of which will be denied by John Street and Katz. Katz is a sharp guy. A smart guy. He makes fine movies now. But the movie in his mind is to be the Mayor of the city he is making movies about.

The possibility of any of this really happening depends on the vote on Primary night. If Milton Street does very well, let’s say 40 percent of the small primary vote,  John and Sam may start planning a splinter movement. “May” is the big word. Politicians like Katz and John Street don’t like to be second-guessed. John Street spent most of his eight years in office refusing to hear most external and sometimes internal input on governing in a better way. Katz is a proud man. You won’t hear much about their plans for a while, if you hear them at all.

In the meantime, Michael Nutter is campaigning hard. And believe me, he is not standing still. He’s campaigning for tomorrow as though it is a two point race. Most political winners run hard, ignoring polls and conventional wisdom.