Let us briefly digress from politics and the economic meltdown to address one of life's sad sideshows, the conviction of O. J. Simpson on multiple counts of armed robbery and kidnapping.

Remember thirteen years ago, when the country stood still as the verdict on O. J.'s innocence came down? Americans heard new terms, like "jury nullification," and we learned the degree to which one's race, background and experiences can actually influence the way we see and absorb facts. Maybe it was just white Americans who didn't know this already, but at any rate there was an orgy of national self-examination in the wake of the verdict.

Now comes O. J. into our consciousness once again, convicted of lesser crimes with hardly a burp this time. They say there were even empty seats in the courtroom.

One of my colleagues, who happens to be African-American, just shrugged and said, "Well, they finally got him." Not much else to say, really. O. J. is yesterday's news.