Minor miracles

The first episode of the new TV drama, "Outlaw," was pretty silly, and I almost didn't watch it again. However, they completely redeemed themselves in the second episode. It appears that Jimmy Smits, his producers and his writers are willing to buck the media trend, and challenge the Obama administration to see things the way Americans know they really are.

Smits' character, Hispanic former Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza, goes to Arizona to defend a police officer who, in the line of duty, shot a combative Hispanic man who had challenged his authority and then attempted to steal his service revolver. The officer had asked him for his identification, and because Arizona has the constitutional right to require its officers to do so, Garza convinced the jury, half of whom were Hispanics themselves, to tell the U.S. Justice Department attorney that no one's civil rights had been violated in the incident.

It gave me a warm feeling to watch such a powerful display of the true American spirit of fairness, as embraced by all citizens (except the one with the bad attitude and criminal propensities in this story).

FAMILY NEWS: The horse bred and raced by our recent jury foreperson won at Golden Gate Fields, the top track in the north state. The first win didn't make a lot of money, but breaking even is the definition of success for most of the people in the horse racing industry. However, that moment in the winners' circle is pure magic.