The Daily Dose/February 27, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman’s Life From Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas, by John L. Smith: Like others, we have a modest interest in the mob, and we’re surprised it took us this long to read this. We’ve had it in our library for a while and, besides, we are also past residents of Sin City, are more than familiar with Oscar Goodman, and (somewhat) know the author.
Leading Off: Dry, Technical Matter: Goodman and his wife, Carolyn, moved to Las Vegas from Philadelphia (where his dad was a prosecutor) and, through some determination, work, and the usual luck that attends all attainment, Goodman built a lucrative defense practice known mainly for defending mobsters. He did this work well, getting acquittals when they were there for him and sometimes when they weren’t.
Dry Technical Matter II: Later, Goodman decided to run for Las Vegas mayor. Despite having little knowledge of the issues, he outworked his opponents, found that voters liked him and were ready for a change, won the primary, and then won the general election in a landslide.
Police, Freeze: We’re basically law and order types here, but we fully support mob lawyers. One, everyone is entitled to a good defense. Two, lawyers need to earn a living, too, and mobsters generally can afford big fees. Three, like him or not, no one ever accused Goodman of being unethical, and apparently, he was always faithful to his wife, who was fond of saying Oscar never missed a soccer game.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Rating Scale Here: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3 – Good; 4 – OK; 5 – A steaming pile.
Final Rating: 2: John L. Smith, a longtime columnist with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, did his work very well here: the research was as enormous as it was extensive, and he presents people – good, bad, or otherise – in a manner that allows you draw your own conclusions about them. Fans of Vegas, or the mob, will like this.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets a patient watch started at the hospital. Today’s Diary.
Good form here is for swing shift to take care of it…but Alisha was off on patrol and Travis was waiting for a vital Domino’s delivery, so in good spirits we went and got it started…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1864 – The Andersonville prisoner of war camp opens with the arrival of the first Union prisoners. Eventually, the prison would become an overcrowded cesspool, with inadequate food, water, and sanitation. Conditions were so brutal that the prison’s commanding officer, Captain Henry Wirz, was later convicted of war crimes and executed in November 1865. Andersonville is about 130 miles south of Atlanta.
In 1988 – Bonnie Blair of the US wins the 500-meter speed skating gold medal at the Calgary Winter Games. Blair’s time of 39.10 seconds was a new world record, finishing ahead of Christa Rothenberger and Karin Kania of East Germany, and Blair also won the bronze medal in the 1,000 meters. It was the first of five Olympic gold medals for Blair, who also won the 500- and 1,000-meter events in 1992 and 1996. Blair would break the world record twice more, and the mark is now 36.09 seconds by Femke Kok of the Netherlands in 2025.
In 1982 – The J. Geils Band is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the fourth and final consecutive week with Freeze Frame. The album also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #11 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 5th-biggest album of the year. It produced three Top 40 hits: Angel In Blue (#40), Freeze Frame (#4), and Centerfold, which was in its sixth and final week at #1 on the Hot 100. It remains the group’s only #1 album.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
More likely, he had died as he had lived – without ever learning who he really was.
Alex Haley
Roots
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
Tom Landry lost three Super Bowls as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Billboard’s biggest album of 1982? – Answer next time!
