Zimmerman - Dated, Misinformed Absurdity From The Daily Beast

Glenn Reynolds links to Bob Owens discussing this dated, misinformed absurdity from Mansfield Frazier of the Daily Beast.

Mr. Frazier's theme:

Trial of George Zimmerman Could Trigger Another Rodney King

Since we don't want race riots and we can't expect the media, including Daily Beast columnists, to cover this accurately and responsibly, Zimmerman needs to accept a plea deal:

So what would a fair outcome look like? To my mind, the government offers Zimmerman a plea deal that has him back on the street within this decade, and he accepts it quietly. That seems like a conclusion most reasonable Americans could live with. Of course, no matter how long or short any sentence may be, there will be those who disagree, some vehemently.

"Most reasonable American" could live with that?  Mr. Frazier won't be spening time in jail over this, nor will I. I think the question is, what could Zimmerman live with, and what rights does he have under the rule of law, rather than the rule of the media-misinformed mob?

If people sincerly embrace "innocent until proven guilty" and its concomitant notion that it is better to free ten guilty men than jail one innocent then this is not a difficult case at all.

I said the column is dated; this shrewd legal analysis preceded the bond hearing, where we learned that the state's witnesses include a person who saw on his/her window shades what we guess to be a White Hispanic shadow chasing a black shadow. Or maybe the opposite.  Strong stuff!

Will it be strong enough to offset the state investigator's admission that they have no evidence to contradict Zimmerman's claim that he was walking back to his truck when Martin started the fight?  We will all find out together.

As to 'misinformed", Bob Owens took on Mr. Frazier's concerns about neo-Nazis patrolling the streets of Sanford, but he gave Mr. Frazier a pass on this comic gem

The wild card is his father, Robert, who has so far sounded like a knee-jerk far-right ideologue. In a CBS interview he said, "I never foresaw so much hate coming from the president, the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP," and this was before Obama said anything about the case!

The CBS interview to which he links is dated Mar 29 and includes this text, which must have escaped Mr. Frazier's keen eye for facts:

George Zimmerman's father: "So much hate" coming from Obama

Amid continued controversy over the death of Trayvon Martin, the father of the man who shot Martin lamented what he called "so much hate" coming from all sides - including President Obama.

...Asked about the ongoing controversy surrounding the case, Mr. Obama last week called the event a tragedy and suggested he was sympathetic to suspicion that the shooting may have been racially motivated. "You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Mr. Obama said. Without ever mentioning Zimmerman, the president call on authorities to investigate "every aspect" of the incident.

Mr. Frazier must be the only person in America who thinks Obama was not addressing the Martin/Zimmerman case with those comments. As to what other Trayvon is in the news, well, I await enlightenment.

Mr. Frazier also seems to think a protracted, divisive trial ending in a hung jury and followed by more tirals is a likely outcome.  He overlooks the likelihood that this case will be tossed at the self-defense hearing which will precede the trial.

The defense strategy is to move this case off the front pages so tempers can cool and judges and prosecutors can follow the law rather than the howls of the mob.  We will see how that works.

And in the long run, Mr. Frazier's notion that the side with the bigger, angrier mob ought to prevail is utterly at odds with the original goals of the civil rights movement and unlikely to promote a better society for black Americans, who are still only about 12% of the population. Let's run the great quote from "A Man For All Seasons":

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

Obviously the notion of equl justice under the law has not served the black community well throughout our history, especialy in the South.  But unless the hope of continued progress has been abandoned, improving our system of law seems like a better bet for minorities than abandoning it to media/mob rule.

 

Comments

[Steve]

Yes, it is trial by mob. Zimmerman in shackles, having to apologize to the family of the teen who tried to kill him.

I am sure Mitt will speak up as an advocate of the rule of law and the obligation of prosecutors to not abuse their judicial powers at any time soon.

[Theo]

This is the position that liberals usually take. They are all for the rule of law and courage to stand up to the mob when they are sympathetic to the defendant and scornful of the mob. The true test of principle is to stand up for a defendant you despise against a mob you identify with.

[Caspar Weinburger]

I heard a similar thing somewhere else. Team Skittles is losing. It wants to save face. It thinks GZ should just step up and do the decent thing by taking one for the team and going to jail by taking a plea. He owes it to the Tayvons, to black people, to common decency, to Skittles. He needs to sacrifice himself so the angry mob can have its pound of flesh and not incite riots.

I used to be afraid that GZ might be so overcome by the media pressure that he takes a plea, but after O'Mara ripped the prosecution a new anal sphincter, I ain't afraid o dat anymores, yo.

[myiq2xu]

This is the position that liberals usually take.

I am a liberal. There are many of us who are not caricatures.

Principles mean nothing is you toss them aside when they become inconvenient.

[Theo]

Exactly so. Those who stick up for the rights of the accused and demand proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt should not "toss aside" such views just because a mob demands it. Mr. Frazier seems to have done just that.

[Steve]

"... I am a liberal. There are many of us who are not caricatures. ..."

I can't really fault liberals in the public space for not denouncing the prosecution of Zimmerman. It is not like any elected republicans are defending Zimmerman. And National Review is a totally effeminate operation nowadays.

[Rick Ballard]

"I am a liberal."

Eleven steps to go. The yowling buffoons screaming for sentence first, trial after have not cast aside that which they have never possessed.

[Extraneus]

For the good of the country, Frazier should volunteer to do the same amount of time as Zimmerman gets.

[Captain Hate]

The Daily Beast was started by Tina Brown, no? So much for the concept of integrity..

[Captain Hate]

And National Review is a totally effeminate operation nowadays.

I don't think that's fair to the wimmenz.

[Theo]

Caspar --

You make a good point. One way to view the Daily Beast article is that the "narrative" crowd has reached the 'bargaining' phase of the five stages of grief.

They are not grieving now about Trayvon, but about the loss of the "vigilante white guy shoots unarmed little black kid for suspicion of walking while colored" narrative.

So maybe the facts are not so good for their narrative, but maybe he can do six, seven years in jail anyway. That would be a good deal they figure.

I hope we get to watch them move on to 'acceptance.' Acceptance that real events are not like made for TV movies where they are always stand ins for some larger theme. There are actual people and actual facts to consider here.

[Steve]

"... And National Review is a totally effeminate operation nowadays.

I don't think that's fair to the wimmenz.
..."

true. I am looking for the right word that describes men being overly obedient and rule abiding. Where they do not challenge authority because they are afraid or are being opportunists. I think Rich Lowry is, as they say, afraid of his own shadow.

[Theo]

Steve --

Yeah, we need to go back to the old days, when men were men (and sheep were nervous).....

[Jane]

Apparently, it is A MAn For All Seasons kinda day.

[Steve]

I am curious how long ABC had the photos of Zimmerman's bloody head before they released them. Dan Abrams, Media-ite founder, is in the tank against Zimmerman. No doubt unconcerned about being accused of anti Hispanic bias.

[[email protected]]

Frazier said GZ's trial would be "protracted". Given Gilbreath's sworn admissions Friday and Judge Lester's viewing the 2005 incident to be trivial, how could it be anything but unusually short?

[jimmyk]

Zimmerman in shackles, having to apologize to the family of the teen who tried to kill him.

Again, he did not apologize, he expressed sympathy.

This notion of a plea deal gives some insight into the left's notion of "compromise." Move the goalposts to some outrageous position and then say, "Ok, let's split the difference." It's the same thing with the budget negotiations, and with the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. First principles are abandoned and then there's no baseline.

[tommy mc donnell]

we have to convict him, not because he is guilty of any crime, but for the greater good.a show trial that would warm the cockels of stalin's heart. thats if he had one.

[Steve]

"... we have to convict him, not because he is guilty of any crime, but for the greater good.a show trial ..."

It is very dispiriting that Zimmerman is being abused without much of a defense in the public space. The Tea Party has to activate itself. People have to demand justice and an immediate balancing of the federal budget.

[Jane]

"I think Rich Lowry is, as they say, afraid of his own shadow."

I like Rich. I think the change might have to do with his wife. I suspect she has had a big influence on him in the last 2 years since they tied the knot.

Just an observation.

[Jane]

Steve,

Are you in a tea party?

[GAinNy]

Rule of law? MERS, robo-signing, MF Global? Like that?

[Ignatz]

--I like Rich. I think the change might have to do with his wife.--

Well, there you go, CH. It is the wimmenz fault.

[Steve]

"... Are you in a tea party? ..."

no. keyboard warrior. I do not see much of the tea party in Morris County, NJ. When I attend the republican party meetings in my town it is very much a meeting of politically connected people, not citizens who want small and effective government. Would be great if the tea party knocked Congressman Rodney Frelighuysen off in the June primary.

[GAinNy]

Re rule of law: I commented and then saw the post immediately below.

[Have Blue]

Reminds me of the comment by someone during the Duke kefuffle that the lacrosse players needed to be sent to prison whether they had done it or not.
(And yes that is a quote or at least a paraphrase of a statement made by a supposedly rational human being.)

[MarkO]

I remembered that quote as ending "and sheep were grateful," but that's another topic.

"So what would a fair outcome look like? To my mind, the government offers Zimmerman a plea deal that has him back on the street within this decade, and he accepts it quietly."

While I find this thinking anathema to a country based on law, it does openly represent the current functioning of the criminal system in which defendants can be processed, hostages taken, and the mob placated. It disgusts me.

The facts, as revealed by the State, will not produce a verdict. That is why we hear the call for a plea that provides “fairness,” which is code for a result the writer wants. Fairness might just be this year’s most insidious word.

[Ignatz]

--(And yes that is a quote or at least a paraphrase of a statement made by a supposedly rational human being.)--

That was sylvia, who no one, including sylvia herself I suspect, supposes to be rational.
There doesn't even seem to be a consensus on the human being part of the equation.

[Jane]

"... Are you in a tea party? ..."

no. keyboard warrior."

Steve,

Start one.

Those of us who are in the tea party get a bit peeved when non-participants tell us that we should activate ourselves. We are doing an awful lot and could really use the help. Sitting on the sidelines, or typing on a keyboard is not adequate.

[bgates]

Mr. Frazier's notion that the side with the bigger, angrier mob ought to prevail is utterly at odds with the original goals of the civil rights movement and unlikely to promote a better society for black Americans

It's utterly at odds with the philosophy of much of the original civil rights movement (MLK et al), though the Malcolm X's surely wouldn't disagree.

As to the question of who can get a bigger, angrier mob, it's always the Democrats - and they've proven quite adept at swapping out the angry, ugly, blockheaded white racists of a few generations ago for their black counterparts.

[Have Blue]

Ignatz - The quote I reproduced was from a Duke professor or university official at the time of the event.

[Tom Maguire]

And National Review is a totally effeminate operation nowadays.

On behalf of Steve and inspired by, in no particular order, Margaret Thatcher, Clarice, Jane, Sue et al, let me just say... "duck".

[Terry in GA]

I've seen three other examples recently of attempts to incite racial division, in addition to the revisiting of a national injustice averted once and back in the press. Van Jones spoke at some event recently (video posted) where he claimed Obama was forced to sit down with a racist cop at a white house beer summit because he wasn't willing to stand up and promote the racist message. It takes a desperate and despicable person to try and push a false narrative to the public after being proven to the world it was a fake attempt at race pimping that embarrassed the elite president and his harvard professor at the root of the charade.

Z and his family all deserve better than this.

[Danube of Thought]

Meantime, I think the sudden disappearance of the demoralized bunkerbuster is one of the funniest developments of the year.

[Danube of Thought]

And Dana Ward seems to be on sabbatical, too.

[Ignatz]

--Ignatz - The quote I reproduced was from a Duke professor or university official at the time of the event.--

So Sylvia's a prof at Duke?
That does explain a lot, and in both directions.

[Theo]

It is really sad for the liberals to see their beautiful narrative (white vigilante kills little black kid for walking while colored) slain by a bunch of ugly facts (6'2" 17 year old assualts and injures man who shoots in self defense).

They do not want or need any stinkin' facts.

GZ must be guilty of something; if he had not gotten out of his SUV, Trayvon would still be alive. That must be worth a few years in jail at least.

[GMax]

Dana Ward is in time out for a serious juvenile temper tantrum, plus he seems to have run out of IP addresses to circumvent his banning.

[MarkO]

Clarice, just read your great piece.

[Tom Maguire]

And Dana Ward seems to be on sabbatical, too.

I would warn about saying BeetleJuice three times if I thought I could spell it.

I have a new thread up debunking cell phone bill speculation uncovered at The Wagist and posted at Classical values. If anyone can take credit for pointing it out, that would be great - I have no idea how I was guided there.

[Jack is Back!]

TM,

You got there via Insty.

But the Conservative Tree House stuff on DeeDee is devastating. I have to agree with the writer: She will never see the light of day in any court.

I have a theory that Corey and her team of Keystone Cops decided to placate the Martin family with this charge hoping the judge would see how weak it is and throw it our at the Immunity hearing. But I believe he is going to ruin their day by letting the trial proceed so that the State has to demonstrate their lack of any evidence and how weak their case really is and then this will just make the family and their supporters even more livid with the State and not Zimmerman. Just an opinion.

[boatbuilder]

When Zimmerman brings his 1983 civil rights claim against Corey and the State of Florida, does he get to be Hispanic? His lawyer will undoubtedly say so. Maybe O'Mara's defending him pro bono isn't just for publicity or out of a sense of justice.

[Danube of Thought]

"I would warn about saying BeetleJuice three times if I thought I could spell it."

Another one I don't get.

[Danube of Thought]

Any how, you spelled the name of the movie OK. The star is spelled Betelgeuse.

[Jane]

Oh good DOT, I'm so glad I'm not alone.

[Ignatz]

In the lame Michael Keaton/Alec Baldwin flick "Beetlejuice" if you said his name three times then 'presto'; annoying, badly dressed, clown who thought he was funny would appear.

[Captain Hate]

I enjoyed Beetlejuice, Iggy. It was back when Baldwin was reasonably human (I'd bet money he's got a serious alc/substance problem) and I thought Geena Davis was very good before she started taking herself way too seriously. Plus it had an early appearance by Winona Ryder as the girl who could see ghosts.

[LeeLee]

It's difficult to look competent when these is zero evidence to back the bogus claims put forward. Just like the poor sap that had to defend Obamacare in front of the Supremes.

[Bruce]

I am a liberal. There are many of us who are not caricatures.

Principles mean nothing is you toss them aside when they become inconvenient.

Let me suggest that

So what would a fair outcome look like? To my mind, the government offers Zimmerman a plea deal that has him back on the street within this decade, and he accepts it quietly. That seems like a conclusion most reasonable Americans could live with. Of course, no matter how long or short any sentence may be, there will be those who disagree, some vehemently.

Is a communitarian response. Take one for the community, and ignore the personal cost. And, that is why I think so many here seem so appalled by this - that the community is more important than the individual. That George Zimmerman would be asked to spend years in prison, lose his right to vote and carry a gun, etc., in order to keep the black community from rioting. What about his individual liberties? Why should he be the one asked to take the fall? Why shouldn't those who are asking him to do so, take the fall, the jail time, and loss of rights, for him? They don't, because he is expendable, and his individual rights are negligible in comparison to the needs of the community, as they see them.

[Papa Whskey]

I think the question is, what could Zimmerman live with, and what rights does he have under the rule of law, rather than the rule of the media-misinformed mob?

Do you suppose he could live with several years in a prison full of blacks who are ready to shank him in the name of "justice for Trayvon"? I very much doubt he would live through that at all.

[Ignatz]

--I enjoyed Beetlejuice, Iggy.--

Beauty's in the eye of the beholder, Cap. I did like Geena Davis, especially when she took up archery, one of my hobbies. Unfortunately I have always welcomed watching Keeton, Baldwin and Ryder with the same anticiption as a dose of castor oil.

[Redbrow]

In other words: No justice! No peace!
Justice? Still no peace!

[Obama Eats Dog]

"Where are all his vociferous supporters?"

As far as I can tall, they are all in the Prosecutors office.

By the way, the $15k was available 2 days ago. Both sides are working out the details of release, including leaving the state. That won't be finalized until Tuesday at the earliest. It ain't easy being a Latino Democrat like Z.

[daddy]

Fitting right in with this "Screw whether he was actually innocent or guilty" post, the ADN does a piece today wherein it goes back to ask 2 of the Ted Steven 's Juror's if they think Ted would have been convicted even if all the exculpatory evidence was produced at Trial. Was Stevens guilty? Question likely won't be answered

Juror Colleen Walsh says she doesn't know, but Juror Brian Kirst says he thinks Stevens would have been convicted all over again:

"...he's seen nothing that would have changed his view that Stevens was guilty. He said the defense focused on testimony, including from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, about what an honorable man Stevens was. But the defense never gave a good explanation for why Stevens didn't pay his bills, he said. "Honestly, the prosecution had a lot of evidence," Kirst said in an interview."

The ADN story leaves out mention of specifics from the Scheulke Report, such as "Prosecutors knew the cost of the gifts was much less than they claimed, and that as Stevens had said from the first day, he paid every bill that was sent to him, and wanted more. But that was covered up, according to the report."

Maybe Juror Krist missed that part.

And no mention whatever if the 2 Jurors have taken the time to read the Scheulke Report to see specifically what was withheld or what was presented as factual that was non-factual.

The piece concludes by asking Cliff Groh, an Anchorage Attorney, who has worked for Democrats while serving in partisan positions in the Alaska State Legislature and the Alaska Department of Revenue, and who is a registered Democrat who was a delegate to the 1988 Alaska Democratic Convention, what he thinks about it all. Groh's verdict? Ted Stevens would have been convicted.

Seems like there are more commenters to the ADN story from the Left who are convinced of Steven's guilt than from the Right who think he was innocent or who just don't know, so in the spirit of The Daily Beast Columnist, I say we dig up Ted's bones and burn them all over again.

Kumbaya.

Wouldn't want to upset the mob.

[Clarice]

If it were up to me, people who suggest innocent people should do time to satisfy the mob ought to be arrested, jailed and given an opportunity to meditate in their cells for years on whether they really think this is a good idea.

[Sara]

Steve: So you won't get involved, yet you think Romney, a candidate for Federal office, should get involved in a State case?

[daddy]

Riffing off Ext above...

I've reconsidered my position. The Daily Beast guy has convinced me that a pound of flesh needs to be taken to quell the mob. Since he is also specific in that it matters not if the pound of flesh comes from a guy guilty or innocent in this matter, I recommend that The Daily Beast Columnist, Mr Frazier himself, be the guy that offers up his flesh to quell the mob.

We already know that Mr Frazier is magnanimous and caring, and eager to benefit society through sacrifice, so I suggest we put Mr Frazier in the slammer until just before the end of the Decade.

Whats not to like?

[chas]

state's witnesses include a person who saw on his/her window shades what we guess to be a White Hispanic shadow chasing a black shadow.

while not impossible it means that there was light source behind the shadows shining into this person's windows that was brighter than the light source in the person's home. that would be annoying as all get out.

[daddy]

"...and inspired by, in no particular order, Margaret Thatcher, Clarice, Jane, Sue et al, let me just say... "

More Settled Science:

Women are more moral than men.

"Women are more moral than men, with those over 30 years old having the strongest values..."

[narciso]

I dropped the Alaskan dispatch link of the Schuelke report into that post, daddy, to illustrate how hacktacular the Daily News is.

[narciso]

Maybe she could volunteer herself;

http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/apr/18/9/panther-leader-quits-board-ar-393648/

[cboldt]

Another absurd columnist (Nikesha Leeper), same gist.

Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, The Sympathetic Defendant.

Does he deserve to do some time in prison. Yes. A manslaughter charge. A plea deal. Five years out in three with good behavior. ... We also know Trayvon Martin was not shot in cold blood. Just look at that man’s head. It’s a head wound. Head wounds bleed badly. (Just not as badly as bodies with bullet holes)

Some have suggested this trial could incite a race riot. Others say this will be the defining moment of the 2012 campaign. I say this will be a murder or manslaughter trial like any other where race is a factor. No matter the outcome no one will agree with how it all went down. Justice will have still been denied to one side even if justice was done.

[narciso]

Facepalm with an Old One

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/04/22/congressman-safety-concern-for-obama-because-of-folk-around-this-president-with-guns-strapped-on-t

[daddy]

Nice job Narciso,

I would have thought that the first point to be made by a reporter, when asking the Jurors if their opinions might have changed, would be whether they had read the Scheulke Report in order to find out what was hidden from them or to find out what was allowed to be presented to them as factual at Trial that was not factual.

How is that not a part of the ADN story? How does the reporter not clarify that in the first or second paragraph?

Why the heck even do the story then if that's not the fundamental point that the story stands upon?

[daddy]

"Justice will have still been denied to one side even if justice was done."

Geez.

[Steve]

"... Steve: So you won't get involved, yet you think Romney, a candidate for Federal office, should get involved in a State case? ..."

Hey, I am posting my opinion. Romney could post his. He should say it is not right for the government to sacrifice George Zimmerman to appease the mob. And tell Jeb Bush to STFU.

[mockmook]

Steve,

Maybe Romney has more important things to worry about than a local matter in Florida. Why do you want him voicing opinions about matters he has probably not informed himself?

Do you want him to act like Obama?

[MarkO]

Clarice, on your 3:08, Amen and Amen.

[Steve]

"... Maybe Romney has more important things to worry about than a local matter in Florida. Why do you want him voicing opinions about matters he has probably not informed himself? ..."

Obama spoke up to defend a family that thought it was not getting justice for the killing of their son. If the facts actually showed their grievance had merit the Obama would be right to speak up. Political leaders have to defend the individual against the power of the state.

Zimmerman is being terribly mistreated by the state of Florida. In shackles, forced to go thru a show trial where the outcome could be life in prison. All because he fought back against someone who was trying to kill him.

That said, there likely are going to be terrible riots if Romney is elected and proceeds to cut spending. Low income people are going to see their welfare money reduced as the country is simply out of money. So Romney should probably keep a low profile. Marco Rubio is the one who should defend Zimmerman.

[PaulV]

Frazier is a proud member of the party of the KKK and calls for the lynching of the Hispanic. Things have not changed much.

[Obama Eats Dog]

I'm no mathematician, what's the opposite of Blackstone's formulation?

[Sara]

Steve: I could not disagree more. Romney and all politicians should keep their mouths shut. Obama has put his foot in his mouth again and again when their is a black person involved. He doesn't care about right or wrong. He and his henchman Holder only care about making political hay with their ignorant and uninformed followers.

Hispanics and whites are entitled to support or at the very least fair treatment too, you know, but this is not Romney's business, nor shouold it be.

[AliceH]

Why the heck even do the story then if that's not the fundamental point that the story stands upon?

That was rhetorical, wasn't it.

[mockmook]

Steve,

What if forensics show that GZ likely shot TM while TM was on the ground under GZ? Or some other evidence surfaced that seriously undermined GZ's account?

Romney would look pretty foolish for defending an "innocent" man.

The most Romney should do is say, "Impartial justice should be done for all parties. Let the evidence determine who is at fault. Politicians should not be inflaming passions, should not be commenting on cases without knowing all the evidence."

[Clarice]

I'm certainly not More Moral than anyone else, but I am flattered that TM would put me in the company of Thatcher, Jane and Sue.

Where the hell are my pistolas just in case anyone messes with that notion?

[daddy]

I'm not about to argue with that notion Clarice.

BTW, is the Wolverine playing with Sexist Lego's yet?

I hear parents are outraged.

Thank goodness they aren't "apoplectic'.

[Danube of Thought]

"Justice will have still been denied to one side even if justice was done."

The author of those words should reflect publicly on her understanding of the word "justice." i suspect she is quite badly confused.

[Danube of Thought]

So Dana Ward, identifying himself once again as Ben Franklin, ends his sabbatical without having discovered that elusive exit wound in Trayvon's chest.

[PaulV]

mockmoon, if your wet dream were true it would have released by source that could not be identified.

[Steve]

"... Hispanics and whites are entitled to support or at the very least fair treatment too, you know, but this is not Romney's business, nor shouold it be. ..."

Who's business should it be? The prosecutor and judge in Florida are abusing a law abiding citizen who was watching out for his community and defended himself against a violent attack. There is no evidence that Zimmerman did anything wrong.

OK, maybe give Romney a pass. But Rubio has to speak up.

[MarkO]

Am I required to address Clarice,Jane and Sue as "Your Moralness"?

By the way, seemingly all the girls I dated in high school had better morals than I.

[Jane]

"I am flattered that TM would put me in the company of Thatcher, Jane and Sue."

You are assuming it was a compliment.

I'm a little unclear about the dastardly legos. I know the youngest daughter of the resident lesbian wants them for her birthday. Shall I assume that puts her at risk and sound the alarm? That pathetic shamoo, or whatever her name is, took credit for sounding the alarm, so I am not inclined to be worried.

[Bob]

The Daily Beast piece is the beginning of the walk back. They cannot just come out and say "we were full of beans and this guy Zimmerman just defended himself". It is not going to happen or they shoot their own ballyhooed creditability to hell. After the Z hearing there is enormous cognitive dissonance as well as media legal departments telling them to retract or they are on the hook to be sued. They will also be trying to talk down the mob after inciting it. It should be interesting to watch.

[Beasts of England]

From a website I'll never again visit: 'As Touré recently wrote, if sane adults are not careful, deliberate and measured in the handling of the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman affair, a dark time could descend upon America.'

I once briefly watched this mononomen commentator on the television. That this vulgarian would be ascribed the gravitas of Cicero is absurd. Oh, and he couldn't find classic English rhetoric with a 'cla' head start. Dark time, indeed. (a reference to The Enlightenment, I'm sure.)

[boatbuilder]

I think the head photo has more to do with the walk back than the hearing. The MSM know they can manipulate the muddle and hide the ball with impunity because the muddle doesn't listen too closely and just wants to be told what is the proper way to think about things. But that photo pretty much removes all doubt. They know it and they are running for cover.

[kave]

BF
You sound so sure of yourself with regard to GZ's head wounds.

A couple of years ago I slid on a rainslicked man whole cover on a sidewalk outside a brickbuilding. I slid as I said causing me to go down and smack my head on the side of the building. When I hit and went down I swear I saw stars just like in the cartoons and I was on the ground for several minutes before I could collect myself enough to get up and move on. There was NO blood but I did have a goose egg sized lump on my head. No permanent damage either. But I was totally incapable of taking care of myself during the time on the ground.
Just another POV.

[Clarice]

The wolverine at 6 y.o. is now reading Harry Potter, taking Japanese,fencing, tennis, high dive and judo lessons , playing violin in the school orchestra and the "Cheshire Cat" in the school musical. I advise everyone to just stay out of her way.

She called me tonight to report she'd found a new homonym--

I'm not exaggerating. She really is a wolverine. The legos, sexist or not are way too tame for her tastes.Maybe if they include Rockets and pistolas.

[Danube of Thought]

We do know there was no concussion

We do not know that at all.

And of course we know that the nose was broken.

[Ignatz]

--A couple of years ago I slid on a rainslicked man whole cover on a sidewalk outside a brickbuilding.--

I stepped through an old shake roof I was demolishing one time and landed flat on my back, including the back of my head on a concrete slab about six feet below. I can still remember the internal "crack" I heard as my head hit and things went black and about five seconds of my life just disappeared. Next thing I knew I was already standing trying to catch my breath and seeing a few stars but was back to normal in 30 seconds. Next day I had a pretty good sized egg but there was not a scratch or a drop of blood. If somebody had slammed my head into the concrete like that, despite the lack of blood or any evidence of trauma to someone looking at my head, I would have assumed they were trying to kill me.
Head's contacting concrete are not fun in any amount.

[Pofarmer]

I was thinking about this while drivin' around farmin. I've taken a good many hits to the noggin in the normal course, of, well, just the way things happen. Coming up under a piece of machinery, raising up under a bin ladder, low doorway, whatever. I have been dazed pretty good several times, and can't remember a time that a flat surface did enough damage to cause me to bleed. Been cut numerous times on edges of stuff, but, for you to have bleeding cuts from hitting a flat surface? Yeah, that's a pretty hard impact. Z is lucky he wasn't unconscious.

[Ignatz]

--Been cut numerous times on edges of stuff, but, for you to have bleeding cuts from hitting a flat surface? Yeah, that's a pretty hard impact. Z is lucky he wasn't unconscious.--

That's what I was trying to say, only not nearly so clearly, Po.

I blame the hit on the concrete, although it happened about 25 years ago.
That explains quite a lot about the last 25 years now that I think about it.

[Jane]

I just hope it doesn't explain the next 25 for George Zimmerman.

[Rick Ballard]

The edge of the sidewalk isn't flat and the investigators' dispute (as well as the grass stains noted on Zimmrman's back) of Zimmerman's account implies that the struggle was primarily on the grass. I'm sticking with:

1. Sucker punch breaking nose and dropping Zimmerman who is too stunned to protect his head from striking the edge of the sidewalk.

2. Martin drops onto the stunned Zimmerman and and bashes his head back into the sidewalk edge before Zimmerman begins to struggle back.

3. Zimmerman begins to struggle, scooting his upper body away from the sidewalk edge while Martin starts grabbing for Zimmerman's wrists in order to pin him.

4. Zimmerman starts hollering and continues to struggle without being able to free himself.

5A. Martin either pins one of Zimmerman's arms with a knee and then tries to cover his mouth with hand/forearm to silence him or

5B. Martin drops a shoulder into Zimmerman's face in order to smother his cries.

[kave]

Ignatz

Much worse than my experience.

And thanks for overlooking my manhole cover misspelling. Looking at it again I think rain slicked is two words also. Sorry I was typing faster than I can think I guess.

[jimmyk]

Concrete seems to vary a lot in how rough it is. It can certainly be rough enough to cause a bleeding wound from impact. My impression is that indoor concrete tends to be smoother and less likely to do that.

[Carol Herman]

The Rodney King Riots were SPONTANEOUS!

The beating was shown on TV. When Americans didn't have the Internet. The year was 1991.

And, the first businesses hit were the Korean store owners who opened shops in the ghetto. They're first reaction? To call the police. And, the police didn't respond.

All over Southern California the gun cabinets opened! (I personally know a story about a car repair shop. One block above Pasadena City College. On Walnut. Day #3.) Where the owner and a few of his friends stayed up on the roof. The car repair shops were all gated closed.

On Day #3 a crowd began forming up on Walnut. With an obvious leader. When a gunshot rang out down the empty street. And landed just near the toe of the leader. The crowd quickly dispersed.

Some Koreans were left bankrupt. But others, still with intact stores, hired gunmen who went up to the roofs of these businesses. And, sniper fired at any group that looked like they were about to go on a stealing spree.

When the Rodney King Riots were over you could smell the smoke lingering in the air. While the ghettos lost ALL their local supermarkets. (Which to this day have not come back.)

Little old ladies had to take bus rides of about 3 miles ... in order to go shopping. And, they were at risk to having their packages stolen by gang members when they got back to their "hood."

[Pofarmer]

RB, thing about it is, Once Martin was hit and knocked down, there's a period there where he very well may not have any idea what happened, or how he got exactly where he was. A buddy of mine likes to tell a story of a motorcycle accident he had right in front of the stands(he was racing hare scrambles). In his recollection, he wrecked, got back up, kicked the bike, and took off. In his wifes story, he laid there, and laid there, and finally stumbled back up and started the bike and took off. It's pretty likely that Zimmerman is missing a little time.

[daddy]

Here's a pretty horrible shot to the head delivered today by an NBA Laker's Basketball Player, who bizarrely is in the process of changing his name to World Peace.

Sunnuvabitch ought to be charged with assault.

[Jimmy the Saint]

@Steve: "I am looking for the right word that describes men being overly obedient and rule abiding. Where they do not challenge authority because they are afraid or are being opportunists."

Loyal aparatchiks?

[pofarmer]

Fussy whipped.