Call Me Mr. Wonderful

Bill Schmalfeldt of the Baltimore Liberal Examiner gives us some insight into the minds of the critics of the Sanford Police Department investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin.

In a piece titled "Trayvon Martin Case: Leaked police report raises more questions than it answers", Mr. Schmalfeldt raises eighteen questions about the investigation and delivers this Big Finish:

There.  That is a total of 18 questions that need to be answered. It would be just wonderful if any of the conservative pundits rushing to judgement to blame Trayvon Martin for his own death had an answer to any one of these questions.

Call me Mr. Wonderful!  Or, The Answerman - that works:

3. Since January 1, 2011, Zimmerman had called Sanford cops 46 times to report "suspicious activities." Did the Sanford police have Zimmerman on any kind of "watch"? Did they have a file on him?

I have no idea about a police file; maybe in East Germany.  However, Mr. Zimmerman made those 46 phone calls between Jan 2004 and the present, not Jan 2011.  That misinformation has been widely broadcast but also somewhat widely debunked (by NPR!); the Sanford website has them all, with dates.

One down, seventeen to go.  Mr. Wonderful has time for one more:

8. When the cops arrived on the scene, they took the gun and cuffed Zimmerman. They put him in the back of a police cruiser. The responding officer wrote, "At no time did I question Zimmerman about the incident."  Why not?  Would that not be the job of an officer arriving at the scene of a shooting with the shooter in custody?

No, that would not be standard procedure; link to follow, but standard police practice would be for the escorting officer to listen to spontaneous outbursts and get the perp to the station house; the lead investigator will have more facts, an interview strategy, and recording equipment if desired.  Seriously, does any Law and Order fan think the big interviews are conducted in the back of a squad car by whatever officer was first to the scene?

Two down, sixteen to go. 

As to the remaining questions, I am as puzzled by the handling of the cell phone as anyone, so some of them are vexing.  Others are on the lines of "Is there a forensics report, and if not, why not?"  I assume, perhaps optimistically, that not everything has been leaked.

He closes with a call for a wholesale revision of the American justice system:

But they [these ignorant conservative apologists for Zimmerman] don't. No one does. Not even the conservatives here at The Examiner and elsewhere who write as if they knew for a fact that Trayvon Martin was just another black thug with trouble on his mind who was killed by a righteous guardian of the public safety in the line of duty.

It's nonsense, of course.

And no one will know for sure what happened until there's a proper investigation, arrest, and jury trial of George Zimmerman to determine the fatal sequence of events that took place that rainy evening on Feb. 26, 2012 in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

Only a trial can establish the facts? What about prosecutorial discretion and innocent until proven guilty?  Is the State of Florida obliged to trample George Zimmerman and bring a case they don't think they can win just to placate Mr. Schmalfeldt?

Mr. Wonderful thinks he knows the answer.

LET'S PLAY 'ASK ME ANOTHER:

7. Much of the conservative "Blame Trayvon" noise includes the "fact" that he had been suspended three times from school over the last year....  But this raises the question, even if Trayvon Martin was the most prolific catburglar in his high school, did George Zimmerman know that, and what does any of this have to do with the shooting?  When he was killed all he had was the aforementioned candy and iced tea.

Well, granting the hypothesis for a moment, George Zimmerman claimed in his 911 call that Martin looked suspicious; maybe he has a flair for picking out the prolific catburglars and was engaging in cat-profiling rather than racial profiling.  That would surely be the defense claim, and I suppose the prosecution would have to insist it was a lucky guess.

I can quit anytime...

4. The recently temporarily self-suspended Sanford Police Chief, Bill Lee, said, "“Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that (Zimmerman acted in self defense), we don’t have the grounds to arrest him.” Why was his claim of self-defense considered sufficient? Why did the chief accept that assertion?

Uhh, it's not what you believe, it's what you can prove? Surely that staple of crime fiction reflects the reality of the prosecutorial process.  By my good luck, here is Ta Nehesi Coates making precisely that point:

The Case to Be Made Against George Zimmerman

It will not be an easy one. I received the following note from a former homicide prosecutor in Florida. He is responding to the latest account given, in which Trayvon Martin, evidently for kicks, decks Zimmerman with one punch and starts ramming his head into the concrete:

A couple of thoughts: 

1.) I don't believe Mr. Zimmerman's story (presuming that what is in the report is truly what he told the police), but more importantly, 

2.) What prosecutors believe is not nearly as important as what they can prove. I can not stress this enough, and my mind is about to explode with all of nonsense being written about what the government can and cannot do. It is up to the government, not anyone else, to prove that Zimmerman is lying.

Ta Nehesi Coates is a liberal and he understands this, so I know it is not hopelessly complicated.

5. We understand why Trayvon's body was checked for drugs or alcohol.  Standard procedure with a DOA with violence. What were the results?

I am sure that "standard procedure" is to respect the privacy of all involved.  However, I am confident the family could obtain and release those results the moment they were available.  One might presume they have their own reasons for keeping those results quiet, but why not ask them?  After all, they did keep his school records quiet until an inappropriate leak scuttled that strategy.

2. Authorities say Zimmerman's account of what happened was corroborated by "several witnesses."  Who are these witnesses?  What did they say?

The witnesses are free to self-identify, but protecting witness privacy is standard procedure; given the New Black Panther bounties and Spike Lee home address tweets, I think we can understand why supportive witnesses are not identifying themselves.

4....Did they take Zimmerman's gun?  Did they give it back if they did? If they did not, where is the gun now?

At some point canwe penalize Bill for failure to do his homework?  From the last page of the police report at the Sanford website:

And maybe they later gave it back - I heard police do that in highly politicized shooting investigations.  No I didn't.

BILL SPEAKS!  I am graced with a response in the comments at his site:

It's an evolving story, Tom. I have neither the time or inclination to go back and rework every story I've written when some new fact is revealed.

My opinion os his credibilty has actually stopped evolving but my advice remains the same.  Do your homework!

AND NOW A TOUGH ONE:  Ok, where is the wound on the back of Zimmerman's head on this ABC News video?  The best view is at the 1:01 mark, and I don't even see anything that looks like a band-aid.

Minimal damage would not have surprised me, especially to the face - normally broken noses and black eyes reach their flowering the next morning, so clean off his face and he might look fine that night. But the cut to the back of the head mentioned in the police report?  Where is that?

Well, unless this is a massive police cover-up with phony reports released to the public, someone saw blood.  Hmm, 'Truthers' become 'Trayvoners'...

Interesting to-and-fro with the police leaks - today, the "Get George" people are dropping their bombs.

Comments

[Enlightened]

Oh Crap - I can't even bring myself to read his whole article.

What did Zimmerman know that day about Trayvon's empty bag of pot? Really? He wants the cops to answer that? How about - nothing?

There - 15 to go.

I say no more

Troofer Dipwads in 10...9...8...7...6...5..4...3...2...............

[boris]

On any close election seems like dems want to keep recounting the votes until they win, then stop.

Here they want to keep investigating until somebody can charge Zimmerman with something. As long as the facts appear to support "Trayvon Martin was just another black thug yute with trouble on his mind who was killed by a righteous guardian of the public law abiding citizen" they won't be satisfied.

[Ralph L]

There should also be a grand jury between the police investigation and a criminal trial. They can rule it justified or indict him with more of the facts than the public and a trial jury will likely ever have.

[Cecil Turner]

Hey there, Mr Wonderful!

Bottom line here is that Mr Schmalfeldt (along with BuBu, Al Sharpton, and most of the MSM pundits) wants to replace the presumption of innocence with a presumption of guilt (at least where it's expedient). Principled. Persuasive. Progressive. (Not.)

[Clarice]

Also--where's the dna evidence and the glove, Mr. Wonderful?

[daddy]

Question 19:

If the innocent folks whose address was twitted by Spike Lee get harmed, can we blame it on Sarah Palin?

[Ignatz]

Will the real Mr. Wonderful please stand up?

[Cecil Turner]

Okay, I've got nummber 3. [Nobody saw the initial punch . . .] Then why is it being reported as fact?

It's not reported as fact. Even the linked Orlando Sentinel story ran down Zimmerman's story in the first paragraph, then said:

That is the account Zimmerman gave police, and much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say. [emphasis added]

Every story I've seen--inlcuding the Sentinel one--lists the "one punch" statement as Zimmerman's story, not fact.

[Threadkiller]

Obama can answer like eight questions, Mr Wonderful.

[Thomas Collins]

Blaming Martin for his own death? I thought the issue was whether the state could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman's claim of self-defense wasn't justified. Silly me. This is really about giving the progs the satisfaction of Zimmerman being out through the wringer.

[Gus]

I can answer all of the questions thusly.

LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL ILLNESS.

[Gus]

Ig, I like the Sean Connery pic.

Guns and Wine. Great name for a band.

[Enlightened]

Eww - I kinda feel slimed by going to that link - that guy is a rabid moonbat...

"Nobody saw the initial punch . . .] Then why is it being reported as fact?"

Seriously - do these idiots ever think about what they are saying?

There was at least ONE PUNCH - since Zimmerman had a broken, or at the very least bleeding nose - confirmed by the police.

Coversely if Martin did not throw ONE punch, then he must have thrown MORE THAN ONE PUNCH or kicks or some other type of aggression that caused Zimmerman to have a split lip, a bloody nose and a bleeding head.

Witnesses did in fact see Martin on top of Zimmerman assualting him - whether it was one, two, three or a thousand punches - he was observed assaulting a man whom was oberserved with blood on his person and injuries on him that are usually the results of being punched.

I would like to know myself if Zimmerman inflicted any injuries on Martin as far as fat lip, black eye, scratches etc.

[Gus]

I hear he had 2 black eyes and looked just like Opie Von Kenya!!

[narciso]

Does he really seem like someone that facts would really matter to;

http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-baltimore/bill-schmalfeldt

[Pops]

The real story you'll never see on MSNBC:

WANNA BE GANGSTA TWO BIT HOODLUM STAKING OUT APARTMENTS TO ROB GETS KILLED BY NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH CAPTAIN.

End of story....

[Pops]

Obama says if he had a son, he'd look like Trayvon:

Trayvon looked like:

Expelled from high school
Caught with Burglary tools and womens jewelry.
Caught with marijuana baggy and pipe
Caught vandalizing government property
Bragged about taking swing at bus driver
Wore a 'grill' and called himself 'N-GGA'

Finally, I agree with Obama.

[Danube of Thought]

Hasn't a grand jury already been scheduled?

[narciso]

Now doesn't suggest deliberate malice, I know the only surprise is Couric didn't do it;

http://www.breitbart.com/%20Big-Journalism/2012/03/28/MSNBC-ZImmerman-Ellipses

[Clarice]

I don't know, DoT. AFAIK, they've appointed someone to review the police handling of the matter in Florida. I have no idea what the feds are doing. Maybe they'll assign Verelli or the Stevens prosecution team to it.

[DebinNC]

From Question 7: "The school also says he had a bag with women's jewelry that he denied knowing anything about. The parents were aware of the tagging incident, but the news about the bag of jewelry came as a surprise to them."

I don't understand why this isn't big news. Either the Martin family and/or their lawyer are knowingly lying about Krop HS's failure to notify them of Trayvon's possible criminal behavior, or Krop HS was grossly negligent and heads should roll.

[narciso]

Brenda Morris, is closest, over in Alabama, she secured a conviction in 2010, what comes across in my 'fave' reporters, Robles, sarc
profile of Angela Carey, is she is looking for
a 'Great White Defendant' to cover some of her
more unpopular moves in Jacksonville,

[scott]

I read a grand jury is to convene 10 April. I don't have a link, however.

[narciso]

That was my understanding Scott, but that may not be true, anymore

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-trayvon-martin-prosecutor-corey-20120328,0,6801784.story

[Jack is Back!]

The Seminole County Grand Jury is paneled and will here this case on April 10th. Angela Corey and her crack team of investigators will be prepared to present the States cas according to her. She is a no nonsense prosecutor who could care less about social sensitivties opposite facts and the law. Stay tuned.

[boatbuilder]

C'mon folks, this is very, very important, because it is part of a huge wave of out-of-control white hispanic neighborhood watch types stalking and killing young black men, covered up by the police. Why, I can think of...well, I can't think of any incidents like it, but it is still a huge problem. Because if it isn't, it should be, because it's like a made-for-TV movie for liberals. Because we all know just how dangerous the neighborhood watchers can be.
(When the neighborhood watch groups patrol in, say, Baltimore, or Detroit, or in my own area of Hartford, do they not ask young black men what they are up to? Or do they just wait for white teens to show up so they'll have something to do?)

[narciso]

Well this was the original story, scott, keep in mind, who it comes from;

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/19/2703029/us-department-of-justice-fbi-and.html

[Melinda Romanoff]

Aw man, Earl Scruggs has passed.

[Danube of Thought]

"...women's jewelry that he denied knowing anything about"

The Some Dude defense.

[Jack is Back!]

Mel,

One of my best friends is an engineering grad of Northwestern who has had a bluegrass band for 40 years who will be devastated at this news. He plays 5 & 6 string banjo and mandolin. Earl was his mentor and hero.

[Gus]

Is Barry Obama now WHITE-BLACK???

Just want to be consistent.

[jimmyk]

Angela Corey and her crack team of investigators will be prepared to present the States cas according to her. She is a no nonsense prosecutor who could care less about social sensitivties opposite facts and the law. Stay tuned.

Isn't a grand jury only convened if the prosecutor thinks there's a case? Or if not, is the prosecutor obliged to make the strongest case possible anyway?

[narciso]

Seriously, I have to resort to another language to fully express this;

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/03/28/obama_campaign_republicans_are_politicizing_trayvon_martins_death.html

[Ranger]

Isn't a grand jury only convened if the prosecutor thinks there's a case? Or if not, is the prosecutor obliged to make the strongest case possible anyway?

No. Grand juries are also used as a way of gathering more evidence through witness testimony. In politically charged cases like this, they can also be used to "shift blame" away from the prosecutor for failing to bring charges. The prosecutor simply and honestly says, 'we presented all the evidence to the grand jury, and they declined to vote out any indictment.'

[Jack is Back!]

jimmyk,

From what I am hearing including Ms. Corey herself is that she has an indictment. Manslaughter or 2nd degree murder. I could be wrong but her public statements lead me in that direction.

[Pofarmer]

"Isn't a grand jury only convened if the prosecutor thinks there's a case? Or if not, is the prosecutor obliged to make the strongest case possible anyway?"

Wouldn't be surprised if it's not standard to impanel a grand jury in any case where someone is killed.

[Clarice]

This would appear inconsistent with what you're hearing, JiB.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/Corey-answers-radio-listeners-questions/-/475880/9741000/-/14d1cem/-/index.html

[daddy]

If and when he goes to trial, where does he find a Jury of his untainted peers?

BTW, BBC reporting that a 17 year old black teen in Florida was convicted today of murder in the murder case against 2 white Brit tourists, shot 2 years back. Jury rendered verdict within 2.5 hours. The BBC story does not follow-up with the Zimmerman/Martin case as a follow on. I find that non-mention surprising.

[Jack is Back!]

narciso,

Corey has a tough one on her hands in Jax. A 2 year old killed by his 12 year old brother. Today the mother pleaded guilty to Manslaughter without a plea deal. Surprised this case hasn't got more attention now. All Hispanic too.

[jimmyk]

This latest story suggests there may be no grand jury:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-28/news/os-trayvon-martin-prosecutor-corey-20120328_1_grand-jury-special-prosecutor-civil-rights-leaders

"I always lean towards moving forward without needing the grand jury in a case like this," the Miami Herald quoted her as saying. "I foresee us being able to make a decision and move on it on our own."

[Ignatz]

Obviously I need a keeper but in any event I happened upon this story about Meghan Fox and her hubby, who is some goof who I've never heard of, being sued for thumping some paparazzi. Comment #11 caught my eye as some comic said "She could have clubbed him to death with her freakish, mutant thumbs" which led me to a search of just how freakish they are.
Pretty damn freakish it appears:



The rest of her seems to ops check OK:

[Jack is Back!]

Clarice,

That is not what I heard this AM on Jax radio. She seems ready to go indictment. YMMV.

[sbw]

I learned to play banjo back in 1963 from Flatt & Scruggs LPs.

[Joan]

Oooh, I just watched the video of George Zimmerman, handcuffed, and taken into the police station. He doesn't appear to be beaten or roughed up. Of course he could have been cleaned up (bloody nose wiped, etc.), but I did expect to see some lacerations on the back of his head. Of course, there isn't a close up so his injuries could be worse than they appear. Poor George, this video might really be bad for him.

[matt]

a surveillance video from the Sanford PD somehow made it into the ABC affiliate's hands. LUN

[Ignatz]

How old was Earl Scruggs?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Marco Rubio endorses Mitt Romney on Hannity just now.

[sbw]

Scruggs was in his late 80s.

[narciso]

He's been a sort of bit player from the 90s, Ignatz, what may still have him ticked off is
that she and her on screen boyfriend in the Transformers, Shia La bouf, were not entirely
acting, IYGMDITYD.

[DrJ]

Scruggs was 88.

[Threadkiller]

I don't remember seeing OJ's cuts and bruises, Joan. I believe the cops had pictures that were shown to the jury at the trial.

[Jim Ryan]

Am I a white white? If someone with an Arab great grandmother starts beating the crap out of me and I have to shoot him, will MSNBC dig up my ancestry and find the Jews?

[MarkO]

Now what will I do? Rubio comes out against a floor fight at the convention in August.

[Gmax]

According to two black females on OReilly, its all about the profiling. I know that's crazy train, but I swear to God that is what they said.

[RattlerGator]

It may be different elsewhere, but I believe grand juries are very rarely used with state cases here in Florida.

The fact is that nothing "odd" or out-of-the-ordinary has happened in this case vis-a-vis police writing up an incident report, suggesting an arrest be made, and some Assistant State Attorney declining to have one of the parties immediately arrested. That happens regularly. The point is to investigate the facts and move forward -- or not -- based on the facts generated from the investigation of the incident.

That's called prudence. That's also called due process. Why so many are going crazy over no arrest is the real telling point that this is about politics and not criminal justice. An arrest has never been primary in the criminal justice system; the decision on whether to prosecute or not is.

It is downright shameful the way we in the black community have allowed the community to be played so foolishly. One would think the black community, reminded every Black History Month of outrageous sham prosecutions in American history, would be far more hesitant before insisting on that type of wrong being visited upon ANYONE on our behalf.

I write this not in defense of George Zimmerman but in defense of a system that appears to be working -- even in the face of intense pressure to arbitrarily do the wrong thing by presuming and deciding guilt based on public pressure. Although many African Americans are acting as if this is one of our finer protest moments, it most definitely is not. Whether or not Zimmerman is ever prosecuted and convicted.

[Jane (Bad says Obama sucks)]

As far as I'm concerned, it's all about the need to win an election and the race war that will gin up support.

[Ignatz]

Thanks DocJ and SBW. Had to go offline for a bit or I would have looked it up meself.

[Pofarmer]

I think it's about keeping White Guilt on the front burner, Jane, and after a conversation I had today with another poster on here, I'm almost certain of it. Axleturfing.

[narciso]

He seems to have been a commercial lawyer, specializing in entertainment, patents, except
for two probono criminal cases, 'this is not his bag' as Austin Powers might say.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

TK: He had a cut on his hand from a broken glass in the hotel in Chicago.

[Gmax]

Meanwhile, in the Senate the numbers keep climbing:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Wisconsin shows former Governor Thompson with 48% support to Baldwin’s 44%. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and another four percent (4%) are undecided

[Clarice]

Ji, Rattler, stick around, please.

[Joan]

Thanks, TK, my heart sank when I saw that video.

Profiling...I get so sick of hearing that. The statistics bear out why we all (secretly) profile. We know who the bad guys are.

Anderson Cooper just went over the video closely, and he has an expert agreeing that there are no injuries consistent with what Zimmerman claims happened.

[Clarice]

Joan, the copes said they cleaned him up in the car. No one said he had lacerations--

[Melinda Romanoff]

Where I was standing had nothing to do with the coded conversation I had with someone.

Rahm's office or not.

Nothing.

[narciso]

Well Anderson Vanderbilt would be the expert in such things, recall Cairo.

What's a little more distressing, or maybe just lazy on Rasmussen part, is a 53/15 poll for conviction on murder charges.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Joan-

Anderson, I would wager, would debate calling for an ambulance over a shaving error, rather than face the styptic pencil.

[Joan]

Guess I expected lacerations when I heard Zimmerman's head was pounded into the ground or concrete.

Jose Biaz (sp), Casey Anthony's attorney just said the video doesn't prove anything, commented on how boxers get knocked around and walk back to dressing room.

This is a sad situation. If what Zimmerman said is true, I hope he isn't punished and sent to prison because of racism and the demands of a mob.

[MarkO]

It will be extremely east to determine if Zim lied about his injuries. He started detailing them the moment the police arrived. Maybe he is stupid enough to say, "Hey. Look at that big gash in the back of my head and my bloody nose," when he had neither.

Remember, every minute the national press talks about this most local of events, it is not talking about Obama's economy or the sinking Obamacare. I expect countless hours of experts weighing in on the police video. Gag.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Ooops, sorry narciso. I had the joansing, non-basketball.

[Captain Hate]

Aw man, Earl Scruggs has passed.

Ouch. Earl revolutionized banjo technique. Nor sure if Bill Monroe ever forgave him and Lester Flatt for deserting the Bluegrass Boys and going out on their own. Bill mellowed out a bit in his later years but he could hold a grudge longer than I can.

I saw Earl and his band in the mid 70s when the robber barons at Clodumbia thought it was a neat idea to have him pick the blues on the banjo and stuff like that. It wasn't bad for a n00b like I was at the time but his bluegrass work with Monroe and Flatt is truly the schiz. I think he still stayed fairly active (and made some guest appearances including something I heard recently; maybe a tribute to the Louvin Brothers) but touring was out of the question and I think he was pretty good with his money and hence didn't need to. I would imagine Mr Porch and bandmates were fans.

RIP of course.

[MarkO]

Did you see that the tiny vigilante, Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee, tweeted that he was sorry? What's his address?

[Melinda Romanoff]

CH-

A Monroe never forgets a sin. There's kin there.

They taught me how to listen between "pickin'" and "strummin".

And damn, I miss PUK.

[Johnv2]

Have the police confirmed the video is real? This wouldn't be the first time a video was digitally altered to stir things up. OTOH, if it is real, and the police can't document the injuries, then Z's story is in tatters and the police are toast.

[Joan]

There is so much cruelty in this world. A couple of weeks ago, several young black men kicked in the door of a white couple in Tulsa--a smash and grab robbery. The man was 90, his wife late 80s. The intruders beat the couple, raped the woman, and stole some things and their car. The woman died. The man was in critical condition in hospital for quite a while.

A 20 year old black man beat and raped an elderly woman. Hideous crime.

I just can't get outraged over a neighbor's watch protecting their area. Mistakes happen. So does murder.

[Soylent Red]

As far as I'm concerned, it's all about the need to win an election and the race war that will gin up support.

Even if you give these people the benefit of the doubt and stipulate that it will be unintentional, the sheer negligence and fraud required to perpetrate that speak volumes about the depths to which the press and Axelrod will stoop.

[narciso]

To answer your previous query, Crump, the family's attorney from the Caputo profile, had preexisting contacts with Sharpton, from the tragic Anderson incident, that's one degree of Kevin Bacon, from the Soros/Fenton
network, they had a harder time creating things out of whole cloth in Wasilla, due to the time pressure.

[Melinda Romanoff]

SR-

You ain't seen nuthin' yet. Wait'll they crank up "The Database". 60 minute, 24 hour, seven day a week slamming of the contact list until they submit. All biased, all the time. Propaganda through an electronic fire hose. Either succumb, or be inoculated.

Lots of fun to come.

[narciso]

Christian Adams pointed out, among the many charges against the Panthers, FL 843.20, I don't know how that would play in Zimmerman's defense,

[Danube of Thought]

RIP Earl Scruggs.

He and Lester Flatt captured my heart in about 1962, to the extent that I actually bought a five-string and tried to learn to play it (never mind). He opened my mind to the techniques of Grandpa Jones ("frailing") and other virtuosos of that otherwise rather limited instrument.

For any admirers who may not be aware, you can go to YouTube and find some really interesting videos of Lester performing with the likes of Joan Baez (just grit your teeth) and, if memory serves, Bob Dylan.

"If I was on some Foggy mountaintop..."

[Captain Hate]

A Monroe never forgets a sin. There's kin there.

I'm pretty sure he never spoke to Flatt again, who died in 79 and was in bad health for quite a while before that. Big Mon had his way of doing things but he knew he had no safety net under him as he was personally carving out an entire musical genre. I'm just surprised he didn't kill Jimmy Martin.

[Ignatz]

I loved em on the Beverly Hillbillies; at its best three or four best episodes possibly the funniest show ever.

[Soylent Red]

Either succumb, or be inoculated.

What happens when the germs shoot back?

RIP Earl Scruggs. Scruggs and Flatt was my first entry into the genre back in high school. Friends thought I was crazy, a 17-year old Nebraska kid who wanted to buy a banjo.

[Clarice]

Niters.

[Stephanie]

George Zimmerman’s concern for his neighborhood was commendable, but he doesn’t owe anyone what he’s going through now. Ultimately his neighbors didn’t care enough to get involved, and some of them are active in the movement to lynch him before he’s even had a fair trial. Unfortunately, in a society where no one is responsible for themselves, their actions, or really anything, this is what we reap. We don’t live in a society where civic responsibility is commended, nor do we live in a society where the civilly responsible are given the benefit of doubt.

LUN

Reposted from my mispost on the SC thread

[Melinda Romanoff]

DoT-

A very good friend of mine, and now YL's acquaintance, did an album a few years ago. Here's the result, and yes, he's the banjo player.

Enjoy, and have your speakers on.

[Stephanie]

Florida has an oddball law which may play a role as the facts of the Trayvon Martin case become clearer. Florida Code 843.20 is a criminal provision titled “Harassment of participant of neighborhood crime watch program.” It makes it a misdemeanor to threaten or intimidate a member of a neighborhood crime watch program “while such member is engaged in. . . an organized neighborhood crime watch program activity.” The law says that a neighborhood patrol includes a “crime watch program activity.” Of course, Zimmerman was on his neighborhood crime watch patrol when the tragic incident occurred.

LUN

[hit and run]

MarkO:
Remember, every minute the national press talks about this most local of events, it is not talking about Obama's economy or the sinking Obamacare.

If you think that the nation missing out on the national press covering (for) Obama in March has any sway in the November elections,then you should really be predicting Doom much more than ever.

[Stephanie]

Stephanie --

Every night in the White House, I see Barack up late poring over briefings, reading your letters, and writing notes to people he's met.

He's doing that for you -- working hard every day to make sure we can finish what we all started together.

This week, I need you to have his back.

MO.

Can we bottle this in case of shortages of Ipecac?

[narciso]

Oh, there was an agonizing 'Clock Work Orange'
moment on Rock Center, featuring the new Chomsky loving Dartmouth pres, turned World
Bank chief, with Brian William warbling about
something called 'Dartmouth Idol' I was switching channels, but it was like a car wreck.

[narciso]

Speaking of ipecac, Stephanie,

[Stephanie]

Heh. I was just catching up on the older stuff and thought I would tie in to the health care discussions with the 'oh noes we have medicine shortages eleventy!!1! cause of evil pharmaceutical profits' trope.

I'm a giver that way. :)

[narciso]

You know even Randolph Bourne would be embarassed;

http://pjmedia.com/ronradosh/2012/03/27/the-new-republic-joins-the-racial-demagogues-and-hucksters/?singlepage=true

There was a weekend repeat of Beck, where he talked of how the FDA and other agencies have shut down, dozens of pharmaceutical facilities (for retooling) some that make
50 different drugs, how the pharmaceutical
sales force has severely contracted,

[Ralph L]

A coworker once took me to a bluegrass concert (the Seldom Scene at the Birchmere in Alexandria). I like banjos, but the mandolin? was just painful. Some instruments should never be amplified.

[Stephanie]

A few points on the new 'perp in custody' ABC tape making the rounds.

It shows him in handcuffs so he has already been treated by paramedics (and any blood would have been cleaned off due to HIV transmittal scares - routine safety protocol).

It has been edited to not show the back of his head and instead cuts back to the frontal mug shot just as he is turning so you don't see any potential wounds to back of his head.

If he's a 250 lb man, I'm Rosie O'Donnell.

BTW it would be interesting to see the ME report to see the height/weight of the flyweight fighter wouldn't it?

[narciso]

Did they bring Charlie Gibson back, for a one time reprise, just like splicing his 9/11 calls,

[Neo]

That's when Zimmerman says his son called polic[e.]

"He called the non-emergency number first, and they asked him where he was. Because he was at the rear of the townhouses and there was no street sign," Zimmerman said.

Even though a dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin, his father says he continued walking to locate an address to give to police.

"He lost sight of the individual, he continued to walk down the same sidewalk to the next street so he could get an address for the police. He went to the next street, realized where he was, and was walking to his vehicle," Zimmerman said.

That's when Robert Zimmerman says Trayvon Martin walked up to George Zimmerman.

"It's my understanding at that point Trayvon Martin walked up to him, asked him, 'do you have a f---in problem?' George said 'no, I don't have a problem,' and started to reach for his cell phone. At that point, he was punched in the nose, his nose was broken, and he was knocked to the concrete," Robert Zimmerman said.

"Travyon Martin got on top of him and started beating him, in his face, nose, hitting his head on the concrete," he continued

Zimmerman said during the scuffle, Martin threatened George Zimmerman's life.

"After nearly a minute of being beaten, George was trying to get his head off the concrete, trying to move with Trayvon on him, into the grass. In doing so, his firearm was shown. Trayvon Martin said something to the effect of 'you're going to die now,' or 'you're going to die tonight.' Or something to that effect. He continued to beat George and at some point George pulled his pistol and did what he did," Robert Zimmerman said.

"So you're saying Trayvon Martin verbally threatened his life?" Valerie Boey asked.

"Yes," Zimmerman replied.

[Threadkiller]

Handcuffs!?!

I thought the cops threw a parade for him, at the scene, handed him his gun back and turned him loose.

They must have known he was an identity Hispanic.

[Strawman Cometh]

They must have known he was an identity Hispanic.

I skipped ahead. So it's over?

[Threadkiller]

Not that I know of Strawman. I am trying to figure out how a white guy gets cuffed.