As The Trayvon Martin Walkbacks Threaten To Become A Stampede

The media walkbacks in the Trayvon Martin shooting case are piling up.

ABC News has pulled the plug on its breakthrough video showing an uninjured Zimmerman being taken to the police station.; their new, enhanced video "Shows Injury".  Oops.  In  related report, a local news outlet had reported a chat with Zimmerman's neighbor, who said George was bandaged and bruised.  Obviously, this supports Zimmerman's self-defense story.  Or, if you prefer, it makes it harder for a prosecutor to overcome his self-defense claim.

NBC News is investigating their deplorable editing of a video in which they trimmed part of Zimmerman's 911 call down to "This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black."  Oops.

And the NY Times has quashed the "Large Scary Man Chasing Helpless Child" meme with the news that Zimmerman weighed 170 pounds and Martin weighed 150.  Oops.  Obviously, this makes Zimmerman's self-defense story more plausible, as even Charles Blow should admit.

Heckuva job by the media.  We may have race riots in Florida so I hope they enjoyed their time on the fashionable side of this story.

Comments

[Captain Hate]

Can we walkback these threads?

[Rob Crawford]

The damage is done; now they can cover their behinds by reporting things that were known since immediately after the shooting.

[narciso]

Meanwhile the Ilkwan has 'unexpectedly' entered the presidential race, Medvedev gets an 'attaboy' from both the Solon of Scranton,
and what's your unique sobriquet for Hillary,

[Extraneus]

The classic m.o. of Rush's "drive-by media." This is the part where they roll the windows back up and tool on down the road.

[Jack is Back!]

The media is basically lazy. They rely too much on rumor, tattle-tale kind of leads, informers, paid expert guns-for-hire, and a gullible unquestioning reader/viewership.

OT: Cross posting - Clinton disses SCOTUS as political

[narciso]

I thought, Rush was exaggerating, but after Elian, the 36 days in electoral limbo, and a whole host of other examples, it's turned out to be prescient,

[Ignatz]

Way OT, but this thing called Tineye is pretty cool. A lot of you may have heard of it but it's new to me.
It's a reverse image search.
You can enter the URL of some pic and see all the places that picture has been posted on the web.
Was doing research on Sarcoidosis and this guy used Tineye to debunk some website claiming to have a cure and was run by this certain gal with her picture on it, but her pic turned out to be a stock photo used by several different sites.
Potentially very useful.

[DebinNC]

George Zimmerman can probably retire on what he wins from ABC for their intentionally doctored audio. What would they have done if a vigilante had killed GZ after hearing their widely distributed orchestrated lie, said "Oops"?

[Mannie]

The attempt to lynch George Zimmerman has been carefully orchestrated by the Racist and Criminal Zerobama Regime in order to stir up racial animosity and mobilize their base. Zerobama is willing to murder American Citizens in his foul campaign.

Raise the cry.

I am George Zimmerman.

[DebinNC]

"Oops"..not ABC but NBC doctored the audio. ABC went with the "unehanced" no head injury to the now "enhanced" yes-indeedy-there-are head injuries. Hard to keep the liars all straight.

[Melinda Romanoff]

'lanched. (Yawn)

[sherlock]

I would love to see Sarah Palin turn her gig on NBC tomorrow into an evisceration of the MSM's conduct in this story.

[PaulV]

Just another lynch mob from the party of the KKK. Shame

[Jack is Back!]

Sign at my Chevron station:

[Harry]

It's been 24 years since Tawana Brawley. We've learned nothing in the intervening years. Al Sharpton is still a hustler. The rush to judgement in the media still exists. And the town of Sanford, FL, joins Wappingers Falls, NY as a town that has been unfairly slimed.

[Rich]

It looks like Zimmerman is shaping up to be a cross between Richard Jewell and the Duke Lacrosse team.

[Steve]

If they are fighting for the gun, how does Zimmerman end up getting off a shot that is center on Martin's chest? ( I assume from Martin dieing so quickly, the shot was around the heart. ) Martin was stronger and faster than Zimmerman.

[Jack is Back!]

CH,

You have your own thread.

[elaine]

"Zerobama is willing to murder American Citizens in his foul campaign."

He's already done that. It's called "Fast and Furious."

[Jack is Back!]

Just think that when they re-arrest GZ if they strip search him it will now be constitutional

[Roger J]

Thank gaia for the layers of fact checkers and editors who, apparently cannot even get a basic fact like weight straight. The media descent into irrelevancy continues unabated. Three cheers for the Seminole county DA who after reviewing the evidence made the right call: No probably cause.

And three cheers for Mr Z who eliminated a future social problem (oops, did I say that?)

[twolaneflash]

The riots have already started. Banneker High in Atlanta was locked down last week after some of it's 97% black student body went on a "Justice for Trayvon" rampage. The lone white student who attends Banneker could not be located for comment. The culture of dependency, victimhood, and hate for white people and their institutions has been taught in schools and black churches for decades. BLT (not the sandwich, Black Liberation Theology) is a mainstream belief in black America, along with CRT (Critical Race Theory), which views everything through a lens painted black, creating blindness. Can't, won't, didn't make it? Blame whitey. Take your handout from the Socialists, keep hating, and vote Democrat. Life is good in the hood, 'cept for the community organizers, crime, disease, drugs, moral decay, and murder.

[Danube of Thought]

"They rely too much on rumor, " etc.

And what they rely on most is The Template.

[Steve Kellmeyer]

http://www.facebook.com/supportzimmerman

Support George Zimmerman

[Porchlight]

Good work on this topic, TM. (When can we go back to "TM" meaning Tom Maguire and not Trayvon Martin?)

[Frank Walters]

Given the embarrassment of NBC over being caught in an outright editing lie, ABC "appears" to have reexamined its original video and discovered, through its enhancement, that Zimmerman's head was indeed injured. But didn't responsible journalism, in light of the sensational effect of the video, demand that they take the precaution of enhancing the video before showing the original version?

[narciso]

A touch of irony,

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/04/big-sis-warned-us-about-suspicious-men-in-hoodies-in-last-years-video/

[jimmyk]

The walkback may continue, but the damage is done. I just walked past a newsstand and saw People magazine with a cover of the angelic Trayvon (tm) in soft focus, and the headline "An American Tragedy."

I presume any allusion to the Dreiser novel, in which a poor kid murders his pregnant girlfriend in the hope of moving up in the world, is not intended.

[Steve]

"... The riots have already started. Banneker High in Atlanta was locked down last week after some of it's 97% black student body went on a "Justice for Trayvon" rampage ..."

was that in the news?

[Steve]

The question is, will there be riots when the grand jury declines to indict or not. Even accepting the scenario that Martin was on top and had been strking Zimmerman, Sharpton can still spin the shot to the center of the chest as a criminal execution, an unnecessary use of force. Where Martin sees Zimmerman has the gun, he is straddling Zimmerman and sits up. Zimmerman is then free to fire directly at Martin.

[Cecil Turner]

You could see the gash on Zimmerman's head on the original video . . . this is just a little clearer. What this one shows that's new is the big stain on Zimmerman's jacket (at 1:05-1:07 in the enhanced video clip).

[Chubby]

Rush evidendtly believes the 3 days in the morgue story.

[pst314]

Tom: Has NBC made any serious effort to correct the lie they told? Have they prominently declared that they were wrong?

[Dave (in MA)]

Did TM (TM) ™ the TM before TM (NO_LIMIT_AFRICAN_AMERICAN)'s family?

[memomachine]

Can Zimmerman sue the supposed audio experts for making statements of fact that cannot be reasonably supported by the available evidence?

e.g. Since they don't have audio files of Zimmerman beyond the initial 911 call how could they possibly make any determination at all?

[elkh1]

What do you expect from the Democrat's propagandists? Anything for power.

Remember the 40,000 dead in New Orleans during Katrina? The shooting of rescuers? The rampant rapes of little kids in the Superdome? Anything to discredit BusHitler for Democrats' electoral gains.

And the unfortunate Richard Jewell.

Who cared if there's a race war, as long as Obama could act "presidential" and set up a beer summit.

The MSM are worse than Pravda and China's People's Daily.

[Jim Ryan]

POLLSTER: Suppose all the case was a bit different, all the facts were exactly the same, except that Zimmerman was black. Would this have been an important case and would you be protesting Zimmerman's non-arrest.

LIBERAL: No, but I don't see what that-

POLLSTER: Next question. Suppose you had to choose a babysitter for your kids and it had to be Martin or Zimmerman. Whom would you choose?

LIBERAL: Well, Zimmerman, but I don't see what-

POLLSTER: It wouldn't bother you to let someone you consider to be a murderer babysit your kids?

LIBERAL: Who, Zimmerman? Wait-

POLLSTER: Next question, you have a choice of letting Rick Santorum be president for four years or having a new attorney general who is, quote, "somewhat sympathetic to sharia law," hold that office for four years. Which would you choose?

LIBERAL:

POLLSTER: Yes?

LIBERAL: Santorum.

POLLSTER: Thank you for participating in this survey!

[Steve]

"...The MSM are worse than Pravda and China's People's Daily. ..."

But republicans do not push back. No national level republicans are coming to the defense of Zimmerman or speaking to discredit the untruths being put out by the Martin side.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Toure called. He says he spells walkback as M U R D E R O N E.

He watches CSI: Jan Wenner's Office. Great show we all should be watching.

[Clarice]

Hi, Gabriel! You've been missed.

[jimmyk]

Perhaps because national level Republicans generally have the good sense not to get involved in local police matters that are under investigation? They should, however, be speaking out against the incitement by Sharpton and Jackson.

[Jane (Where is Jon Corzine?)]

Time for another diversion.

[Jim Ryan]

How much in donations have Jesse and Al pocketed so far from there email blasts on this thing?

[Steve]

"... They should, however, be speaking out against the incitement by Sharpton and Jackson. ..."

I would like them to speak out on the right of people to defend and maintain their communities. I suspect that section 8 housing vouchers often times brings a criminal element into townhouse communities, which increases the amount of crime and hurts property values.

[MarkO]

I'm on Spring Break with my family. But, I have an "all purpose" post in case I miss something. Obama's just not that smart and he's a liar. And doom or not. Carry on.

[Jane (Where is Jon Corzine?)]

I would love to see Sarah Palin turn her gig on NBC tomorrow into an evisceration of the MSM's conduct in this story.

I just her to show that there are 2 sides to every story.

[Clarice]

What's left, Jane. Romney's pooch transport's been done to a crisp.

[John]

They are responsible for this story.
They are responsible for thier overwhelming support of the Race Pimps.
They learned nothing from the Duke Rape case or about the Race Baiters claims.

They have no credibility left, and deserve none. They continue to act like it was just an everyday (in their world) error instead of a planned assault the justiv=ce system and a planned distraction for the Obama compaign.

[Jane (Where is Jon Corzine?)]

I don't want to give them any ideas. Someone just shot up a medical school in CA. Perhaps this is reason enough to declare Obamacare constitutional.

BTW Clarice what do you think the chances are that Kagan has already told the WH what the vote was last Friday.

[4n0nym0u5]

So, this blog did not scream that computational/technological analysis of the video could not be done -- just if applied to the audio, right? (As long as it confirms your pre-existing beliefs.)

It is pathetic and kind of creepy that you, as well as others, have turned this event into something partisan. It's us versus them ... again.

This is not helping our cause.

[Well, I made a common sense guess that attempts to match spoken words with screams would be problematic. Later, with help, I dug up websites of some audio forensic experts making precisely that point.

As to whether a video expert could enhance a video, well, I have read about that being done may times, and have even enhanced a few photos at home. I also adjust my television to improve contrast and brightness, so the idea that an expert might be able to do just that with a video does not surprise me. So my casual guess would be, sure. But it is a very different technical challenge than the audio screams/speech. Obvi. TM.]

[xbradtc]

No, dickhead, just that the "analysis" done on the audio lacked credibility.

[Rick Ballard]

Jane,

The mis-statements by the Buffoon in Chief this morning lead me to believe he knows it was overturned. He's already running against the unelected Justices whose judicial activism overturned an important law passed with a wide democratic majority.

[Clarice]

Jane, I don't think she'd do that.
Oddly, there was a time when justices chatted freely with presidents--I think Frankfurter-FDR and Johnson-Fortas..But I don't think that's been true for a long time.

Heck, when I first got here Rep and Dem congressmen used to play poker together. It was a much smaller place.

[Chubby]

((The mis-statements by the Buffoon in Chief this morning lead me to believe he knows it was overturned.))

that thought crossed my mind as well ... I'm sure he has his sources

[Clarice]

Hey, I've got it--he can do what FDR did to get the grain growing declared covered by the Commerce Clause--threaten to pack the court.

[Chubby]

Ignatz, I don't believe in reincarnation, but if it is true, you must have done an awful lot of good in your past lives to be so blessed in this one

[Ignatz]

--This is not helping our cause.--

What cause might that be?

[Chubby]

wouldn't the easiest solution to all the voice print stuff, if it becomes key to the case, be simply to get a tape of Jorge screaming and do a comparison?

[Gabriel Sutherland]

They should, however, be speaking out against the incitement by Sharpton and Jackson.

Never interrupt your opponent while they are making a mistake. - Napoleon Bonaparte

This is Al and Jesse building their coffins. May they be as plated with as much gold as Farrakhan's toilet.

[Clarice]

I think you're right, Gabriel. SMooches.

[Jane]

Hey, I've got it--he can do what FDR did to get the grain growing declared covered by the Commerce Clause--threaten to pack the court.

I assume he will campaign on doing just this. Funny how it's political if the conservative side wins, but perfectly apolitical if the other side wins.

I dunno, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Kagan has a direct line to the WH.

[Strawman Cometh]

Sarah Palin turn her gig on NBC tomorrow
Sarah shouldn't do this without complete control and her own production staff.

[Clarice]

Jane Taranto Best of the Web is great on O's speech today about SCOTUS--Here's a nibble:
"Unprecedented? Even Linda Greenhouse would mock him for saying that. Did he sleep through the Harvard Law class on Marbury v. Madison?

For that matter, did he sleep through his own 2010 State of the Union Address, in which he upbraided the Supreme Court for striking down portions of the Taft-Hartley and McCain-Feingold laws, both of which passed Congress by wider margins than ObamaCare did?

Come to think of it, ObamaCare passed the House by just 219-212. If Obama think that's a "strong majority," he must've slept through arithmetic class at Punahou."

[Chubby]

((Jane Taranto Best of the Web is great on O's speech today about SCOTUS--Here's a nibble:
))

I am looking foward to hearing what Mark Levin will say about it

[Jane]

His unpresidential arrogance never ceases to amaze me Clarice.

[Steve]

"... Come to think of it, ObamaCare passed the House by just 219-212. If Obama think that's a "strong majority," he must've slept through arithmetic class at Punahou." ..."

that is true. But if the mandate had simply been defined as a tax deduction and/or tax credit, there would be no constitutional issue. Republicans are totally lame on the HC issue. They have no answer for the problem of people showing up for care they cannot pay for at the emergency room.

[Steve]

"... His unpresidential arrogance never ceases to amaze me ..."

I wish some republicans would stand strong for what they believe in. We had the chance last fall, during the negotiations to extend the national debt, to force a balanced budget on the country. Republican leadership chickened out.

[Gus]

Yes but you forgot. Zimmmerman was 6'9" and weighed a 320lbs. Skittles was soft as a kitten and weighed only 114lbs.

Don't forget that part.

[Gus]

Steve? Most of us are Conservatives here. We hate children, poor people, blacks, negroes, colored people, browns, Llllllateeeeeno's, darkies, gays, Mexicans, Vulcans, people from Mars, those who don't look like us, different religions, Muslims, pseudo Muslims, and those who praise Allah. We hate everyone, except Rich White Corporate Executives.
But the issue is the UNCONSTITUTIONALITY of the rancid and fetid bill known as Obamacare.

Have a nice day Stevie!!

[Strawman Cometh]

But if the mandate had simply been defined as a tax deduction and/or tax credit, there would be no constitutional issue.

True. Also true that it wouldn't have passed the House or Senate as a tax bill.

Republicans are totally lame on the HC issue. They have no answer for the problem of people showing up for care they cannot pay for at the emergency room.

Repubs are lame in general, we're trying to point them in the right direction, keep their eye on the ball. There are better solutions (better than a federal take over) out there to this federally imposed problem.

[Steve]

"... But the issue is the UNCONSTITUTIONALITY of the rancid and fetid bill known as Obamacare. ..."

Republicans have to win at the ballot box and court of public opinion. The government can force each person to buy all sorts of stuff thru its use of the tax code. Obamacare would not have passed if republicans had a comprehensive health care plan of their own.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I don't know much about holsters for a concealed weapon, but I think it is established that Zimmerman had his at his waist. How hard would it be to get that weapon free to shoot with someone on top of you? Do you need to get it out of the holster to shoot? Can someone paint a better picture of how this might have gone down if he was struggling to get the gun out of the holster?

[Gus]

We know that STEVE, Obama HAD TO MAKE AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL BILL.

We know that already Stevie!! Would you like a graham cracker Stevie???

[Steve]

"... We know that already Stevie!! Would you like a graham cracker Stevie??? ..."

I want us to start winning some elections and stop complaining about the media. It is republicans who are supporting this pointless war in Afg. Republicans will not halt immigration. Republicans will not vote to balance the budget. Republicans do not want to raise tariffs on imports from China.

[Steve]

"... Can someone paint a better picture of how this might have gone down if he was struggling to get the gun out of the holster? ..."

I have the same question. And how does Zimmerman shoot him directly in the center of the chest? Maybe just a lucky shot.

[VekTor]

I heard this morning that the use of outdated photographs also misleads with respect to their relative sizes. It was reported that Zimmerman is 5'9" while Martin was 6'2".

[Extraneus]

The main purpose of a holster is to allow the wearer to quickly draw the weapon if necessary. Since he knew where it was, he probably didn't have much trouble drawing the gun unless he was carrying in a small-of-the-back configuration, which is a deep-cover compromise and more appropriate for going to a restaurant or something like that, which wouldn't make sense for a watchman. I would guess he had it on his hip or in a shoulder holster and had no trouble drawing it.

[Jane]

They have no answer for the problem of people showing up for care they cannot pay for at the emergency room.

Maybe because a federal statute passed under Clinton requires they get free care. Obamacare was supposed to be the solution to pay for it.

I have a better solution. Unpass the law.

[tommy mc donnell]

i think the entire story put out by the media three weeks after the incident was concocted to refute zimmerman's account of what happened that night so the media could create racial unrest to advance their political agenda. right down to the five year old picture of a twevle year old model student murdered by a white racist.

the media had three weeks to find a more recent picture( people on the internet found some immediately although they were not of an innocent looking twelve year old)of a model student(although trayvon was suspended from school at the time)murdered by a white racist( although he is hispanic).

i wish someone could explain how the entire democratic party-media complex all had the same five year old picture. any harm or unrest that come from this incident is the complete fault of a dishonest media whose only purpose is to advance their political agenda.

[Alan K. Henderson]

"It looks like Zimmerman is shaping up to be a cross between Richard Jewell and the Duke Lacrosse team."

Duke's college of journalism should name a chair after Jewell and Zimmerman.

[Ronald Christopher Edwards]

Whatever the story about the details of the fight, the fact remains that Zimmerman targeted a person simply because they were black and wearing a hoodie; initiated a confrontation; and shot him. The next time I want to murder someone I'll just start a fight with them, then intentionally start losing, and shoot them to death. Its the perfect crime.

[Jim Ryan]

Zimmerman targeted a person simply because they were black and wearing a hoodie; initiated a confrontation; and shot him.

Ronald, you need to get this information to the authorities right away. There is an investigation going on right now, so hurry.

[gn]

I agree wholeheartedly, Ronald. This sort of apologia for Zimmerman promotes a lawless, hazardous society. I find this article very odd, in that it keys into literally a handful of controversial media decisions and then presumes that this is dispositive to the central facts and issues surrounding Zimmerman's killing of an unarmed 17 year old.

Courtesy of the media, there is now evidence that a killer shot someone screaming for his life, and then pretended to the police that it was he, rather than his victim, screaming in fear of death. Doesn't get much worse than that, and all of the doctored "injury" videos in the world can't excuse it.

[MWTExas]

"I have the same question. And how does Zimmerman shoot him directly in the center of the chest? Maybe just a lucky shot."

Apparently TM was sitting on him. They were probably face-to-face. There was no way he could miss at such close range. Hitting him in the center of the chest was likely the result of him just shooting at the middle of his attacker (center mass). That's what is taught in conceal carry or self-defense classes.

[Cindy L]

Check this link out... it shows a schematic as to the routes taken by GZ and TM. http://www.wagist.com/2012/dan-linehan/evidence-that-trayvon-martin-doubled-back

[bam5636]

To bad this article misrepresents actual facts and states things that just are not true just like it claims the so called liberal media did. This is the problem with left or right media like this. To make this case about politics is somethng only a truly disgusting person would do. Did Martin hit Zimmerman? Maybe..doesn't really matter though. In Zimmermans own story he is the instigator who was acting outside of the police instruction. Be honest now if you were being followed or approached by a stranger at night for no reason and that person had a gun..Would you fight back the perceived danger? I bet yeah you would. Also Zimmerman said his face was slammed into the sidewalk to the point he passed out. That is obviously a complete lie. The video does prove that absolutely! Zimmerman is no more a hero then most of you have working brains or morels. He was not a cop and he stalked an shot a unarmed kid. Stand your ground does not apply here just ask the republicans who wrote it. Now please spend sometime bashing me now in comments I will never read too make yourself feel better. Grow up people

[I bet yeah you would see my back, with fear lending me wings. If all I have to bring to a gunfight is a positive winning attitude, I scamper. TM]