It is a lazy, sun drenched, day here on the southern plains. It seems as if everything has gone into slow motion after a few frantic days of outrage, stupidity, and brutality.
News on the net continues to trickle in and as always it is a mixed bag of things, good, bad, and ugly.
First on the list is word that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will undergo psychiatric testing by the army. That is hardly a surprise. The Sgt. is accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians in their homes. Some might think the extensive tests that are to be performed by a board of army doctors is a tad late at this juncture. It might have been more helpful if someone had taken a long hard look at him before he was deployed on his fourth combat tour. However, such conjecture will probably be construed as Monday morning quarterbacking by the brass who ultimately has to take some blame in this terrible crime. After all, they were the ones who shipped him there after promising him that he could stay stateside and become a recruiter.
Then there is Spike Lee. He issued an apology the other day to David and Elaine McClain for retweeting the address of their home because he thought it belonged to George Zimmerman. Zimmerman, of course, is the man who shot and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin. Lee also paid the McClain's expenses because they had to move from their home to a hotel to escape the hate mail and possibly worse. And proving once again that vicious idiots are running wild on Twitter and the net, Lee has received numerous angry tweets, many of them racist in nature. If we've learned anything from this grotesque affair it is that all those white conservatives who say racism is dead and maintain charges of discrimination are being used for purely political gain are either liars, or fools. The ugliness is alive and thriving just beneath the surface of this society and it will be generations before we rid ourselves of it.
In a St. Louis suburb a black homeless woman was charged with trespassing in a hospital emergency room when she refused to leave after complaining about leg pain. She had all ready been to a couple of other E.R.'s seeking help, but to no avail . The woman, Anna Brown 28 year old mother of two, was cleared by E.R doctors to be arrested and was carted off to the Richmond Hills, Missouri lock up. Not long after she was ushered into her cell she died of blood clots that migrated from her legs to her lungs.
Over in the Austrian village of Leonding officials removed the tombstone of Alois and Klara Hitler from the grave site at the request of an unnamed and elderly descendant. Alois and Klara sired Adolph who pretty much turned Europe and parts of Africa into his own personal version of Gotterdammerung. The woman reportedly decided to have the head stone taken down because she was too old to maintain the grave site and since only the Russians know where Der Fuher is buried, it had become a pilgrimage destination for neo nazis.
Yes, it was a slow news day. Sometimes though the low grade accumulation of information can mean more in its sum than a four bell story blaring all over the headlines. Sometimes erosion takes a far greater toll than an earthquake.
Well, at least the sun is out.
3-30-12
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Spike Lee Does The Wrong Thing and Lets Be Careful
I deeply apologize to the McClain family for tweeting their address. It was a mistake. Please leave the McClain's in peace. Justice in court.
Spike Lee
Yeah, Spike, it was a mistake. A big one.
It would seem technology has far outpaced common sense in these early years of the twenty first century. Of course that is nothing new really. The history of humankind is replete with examples of people not grasping a full understanding of the effect of new inventions upon the course of things like war, society, and now our national psyche.
What happened was documented by MSNBC blogger Helen A.S. Popkin. According to her report, some dude in L.A. named Marcus Davonne Higgins found a Sanford, Florida address for George W. Zimmerman. He reportedly tweeted it to people such as Will Smith, 50 Cent, LaBron James and Lee. Obviously he knew that all these guys had huge Twitter audiences and the word would spread like wild fire if they retweeted it. Lee was the only one to take the bait.
The first thing wrong with this picture is that, George W. Zimmerman isn't the guy who shot Trayvon Martin. That guy is George Michael Zimmerman. George W. Zimmerman is Mrs. McClain's son and had lived with his mother and step father briefly after getting out of college. The address put out by Lee is about four miles from the scene of the shooting.
The McClain's are in their 70's and Mrs. McClain has a heart condition. That condition certainly won't improve now that the couple has had to move out of their home and into hiding because of the tweet and subsequent death threats.
The second thing one has to wonder about is what Lee hoped to accomplish by posting the address. On first blush it would seem he was trying to incite some sort of vigilante reprisal. Despite the plea for "justice in court" at the end of the apology why else would you publish what you thought was the shooter's address? It probably wasn't, as the football parlay cards say, purely for entertainment purposes.
We need to be really careful right now. The Trayvon Martin tragedy must be addressed. George M. Zimmerman should be held accountable for his actions and to be quite honest some sanity needs to be restored to Florida state statutes regarding the use of firearms. Pointing a mob to a specific location where the focus of their anger may, or may not be is not going to help the situation. In fact it will only give racists everywhere in this country another excuse to believe their bull shit take on life.
Mr. Lee has 250,000 followers on Twitter. I hope all of them read the apology. Because if only 249,999 did and that one person who didn't sets a fire or shoots someone, anyone, things are going to get uglier than they all ready are. And that isn't going to do any of us any good.
3-29-12
Spike Lee
Yeah, Spike, it was a mistake. A big one.
It would seem technology has far outpaced common sense in these early years of the twenty first century. Of course that is nothing new really. The history of humankind is replete with examples of people not grasping a full understanding of the effect of new inventions upon the course of things like war, society, and now our national psyche.
What happened was documented by MSNBC blogger Helen A.S. Popkin. According to her report, some dude in L.A. named Marcus Davonne Higgins found a Sanford, Florida address for George W. Zimmerman. He reportedly tweeted it to people such as Will Smith, 50 Cent, LaBron James and Lee. Obviously he knew that all these guys had huge Twitter audiences and the word would spread like wild fire if they retweeted it. Lee was the only one to take the bait.
The first thing wrong with this picture is that, George W. Zimmerman isn't the guy who shot Trayvon Martin. That guy is George Michael Zimmerman. George W. Zimmerman is Mrs. McClain's son and had lived with his mother and step father briefly after getting out of college. The address put out by Lee is about four miles from the scene of the shooting.
The McClain's are in their 70's and Mrs. McClain has a heart condition. That condition certainly won't improve now that the couple has had to move out of their home and into hiding because of the tweet and subsequent death threats.
The second thing one has to wonder about is what Lee hoped to accomplish by posting the address. On first blush it would seem he was trying to incite some sort of vigilante reprisal. Despite the plea for "justice in court" at the end of the apology why else would you publish what you thought was the shooter's address? It probably wasn't, as the football parlay cards say, purely for entertainment purposes.
We need to be really careful right now. The Trayvon Martin tragedy must be addressed. George M. Zimmerman should be held accountable for his actions and to be quite honest some sanity needs to be restored to Florida state statutes regarding the use of firearms. Pointing a mob to a specific location where the focus of their anger may, or may not be is not going to help the situation. In fact it will only give racists everywhere in this country another excuse to believe their bull shit take on life.
Mr. Lee has 250,000 followers on Twitter. I hope all of them read the apology. Because if only 249,999 did and that one person who didn't sets a fire or shoots someone, anyone, things are going to get uglier than they all ready are. And that isn't going to do any of us any good.
3-29-12
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Kelsey Bransby and Alina Fitzpatrick Are Still Dead
We are a a fast food, intensely faddist nation. We are constantly possessed by the latest rages and out rages. We are all about the moment. When the Komen foundation pulled grants from Planned Parenthood huge segments of the population roared their disapproval. For days the Internet and cable news services couldn't talk enough about it. Komen's management backed down and suddenly everyone was back in pink and running for the cure once again.
Then Jason Russell's video about Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony went viral and the next thing you know all sorts of young people were wearing Kony 2012 tee shirts. Twitter was all atwitter.Unfortunately Russell went, as they say, a little funny in the head and was last seen stark naked on a San Diego street corner raving at passersby and masturbating. But it didn't matter, the Kony rage had all ready run its course. We were all ready looking else where.
Thanks to George Zimmerman it didn't take us long to find a new cause. Currently crowds are in the streets calling for Quick Draw McGraw's head because he shot an unarmed teenager in the course of his duties as neighborhood watch "captain." This craze will probably have more legs than either Komen, or Kony. After all Planned Parenthood is still in business, Kony is still in Africa while Trayvon Martin is currently being depicted as a drug fiend by authorities who are desperately trying to cover their asses. Sadly, as white hot as the issue currently is, it will still have a shelf life. Somewhere down the road, beyond his family and friends Trayvon Martin will cease to be a household name. Hoodie sales will return to their normal levels.
There in lies the problem with America. We have the collective attention span of a five year old on a sugar rush.
In Oklahoma City things began to go weird in the deadliest sort of ways last October. Within a month three young women were murdered. First was Carina Saunders who went missing, then turned up in pieces in a duffel bag. Shortly after that gruesome discovery a former class mate of hers, Kelsey Bransby was found shot in the face in a south side apartment.
Ms. Bransby's case had the misfortune of following on the heels of the more lurid Saunders' murder. It would seem a simple shooting death can't compete with the overwhelming fascination generated by decapitation and dismemberment. In fact it appeared the local media was bored by the story from the very beginning. Just another vanilla murder in the big town. Very little was said, or written in its immediate aftermath and certainly nothing has been mentioned lately. It looks like the police and the local news organizations have written her off completely. She became, cruelly, old news even before the next body was discovered.
In early November Alina Fitzpatrick went missing. She turned up five days later, dead, naked, covered with what was described as "wide spread" bruises and abrasions." She was also found with a gag in her mouth. Her system was chock full of meth, but that still didn't explain how she got to that lonely field in far eastern Oklahoma City so obviously abused. On January 20th an OKC police Sgt gave a hint as to how important her death was to the department. She was quoted as saying, that although officers were keeping an open file on the case, they weren't currently investigating it as a homicide. That cold blooded take must have rang someones bell because ten days later an OKC police captain went on record as saying that the investigation, while not technically a homicide, was still active and on going.
That is, as far as I know, the last mention of the Alina Fitzpatrick case in the newspaper, or any other media outlet in this town. It would appear both she and Kelsey Bransby are just two more largely forgotten casualties who were caught up in the violent undertow of American society. The media won't bother to mention them any more because there is no progress, no suspects, no drama. Cold cases don't sell ad space and besides there are new fish to fry, new outrages to capture the public imagination.
Yes, we like our burgers served fast and hot and then we want to move on. Never stay in one place too long. Kelsey Bransby and Alina Fitzpatrick are still dead. Tell us something new.
3-27-12
Then Jason Russell's video about Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony went viral and the next thing you know all sorts of young people were wearing Kony 2012 tee shirts. Twitter was all atwitter.Unfortunately Russell went, as they say, a little funny in the head and was last seen stark naked on a San Diego street corner raving at passersby and masturbating. But it didn't matter, the Kony rage had all ready run its course. We were all ready looking else where.
Thanks to George Zimmerman it didn't take us long to find a new cause. Currently crowds are in the streets calling for Quick Draw McGraw's head because he shot an unarmed teenager in the course of his duties as neighborhood watch "captain." This craze will probably have more legs than either Komen, or Kony. After all Planned Parenthood is still in business, Kony is still in Africa while Trayvon Martin is currently being depicted as a drug fiend by authorities who are desperately trying to cover their asses. Sadly, as white hot as the issue currently is, it will still have a shelf life. Somewhere down the road, beyond his family and friends Trayvon Martin will cease to be a household name. Hoodie sales will return to their normal levels.
There in lies the problem with America. We have the collective attention span of a five year old on a sugar rush.
In Oklahoma City things began to go weird in the deadliest sort of ways last October. Within a month three young women were murdered. First was Carina Saunders who went missing, then turned up in pieces in a duffel bag. Shortly after that gruesome discovery a former class mate of hers, Kelsey Bransby was found shot in the face in a south side apartment.
Ms. Bransby's case had the misfortune of following on the heels of the more lurid Saunders' murder. It would seem a simple shooting death can't compete with the overwhelming fascination generated by decapitation and dismemberment. In fact it appeared the local media was bored by the story from the very beginning. Just another vanilla murder in the big town. Very little was said, or written in its immediate aftermath and certainly nothing has been mentioned lately. It looks like the police and the local news organizations have written her off completely. She became, cruelly, old news even before the next body was discovered.
In early November Alina Fitzpatrick went missing. She turned up five days later, dead, naked, covered with what was described as "wide spread" bruises and abrasions." She was also found with a gag in her mouth. Her system was chock full of meth, but that still didn't explain how she got to that lonely field in far eastern Oklahoma City so obviously abused. On January 20th an OKC police Sgt gave a hint as to how important her death was to the department. She was quoted as saying, that although officers were keeping an open file on the case, they weren't currently investigating it as a homicide. That cold blooded take must have rang someones bell because ten days later an OKC police captain went on record as saying that the investigation, while not technically a homicide, was still active and on going.
That is, as far as I know, the last mention of the Alina Fitzpatrick case in the newspaper, or any other media outlet in this town. It would appear both she and Kelsey Bransby are just two more largely forgotten casualties who were caught up in the violent undertow of American society. The media won't bother to mention them any more because there is no progress, no suspects, no drama. Cold cases don't sell ad space and besides there are new fish to fry, new outrages to capture the public imagination.
Yes, we like our burgers served fast and hot and then we want to move on. Never stay in one place too long. Kelsey Bransby and Alina Fitzpatrick are still dead. Tell us something new.
3-27-12
Monday, March 26, 2012
Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman and Stand Your Ground
Craig Sonner is the attorney of record for George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watch "captain" who gunned down 17 year old Trayvon Martin. At the time Martin was armed with a bag of Skittles and a can of ice tea. Sonner says he is confident the killing is justified under the Florida "Stand Your Ground" statutes. These are laws that apparently allow just about anyone in the Sunshine State to shoot and kill candy wielding young men because, well, they are candy wielding young men.
Obviously it is a bit more complicated than that, but not much. Zimmerman is currently in hiding and in fear of his life. He can't be blamed for that. Huge crowds all across this nation are demanding he be arrested and put in the dock for murder. The New Black Panther Party has reportedly offered a ten grand reward to anyone who is able to locate him. It is doubtful the Panthers want that information so they can counsel Mr. Zimmerman on the finer points of race relations over a cup of coffee.
Florida prosecutor Angela Corey says it will be difficult to prove guilt in the case because of the stand your ground laws. It doesn't help that no one actually saw what happened except Zimmerman, unless you count Martin. A woman named Mary Cutcher has come forward saying she heard cries of distress outside of her open window, but by the time she looked outside the shooting was over. She does say that the cries sounded as if they were coming from a young person, not an adult. And, that after the shot the cries abruptly stopped. She also said she saw Zimmerman standing astride the body, leaning over, pressing his hands against Martin's back. Zimmerman apparently yelled at her to call the police, but offered no aid to the teen.
A couple of weeks ago the nation was aflame with a passion to go after Joseph Kony in Uganda. That fad went right out the window when this sordid story hit Twitter and the net. People dumped their Kony 2012 tees and are now donning hoodies all over the place. The Miami Heat NBA team circulated a photo of the squad standing with heads bowed, all of them wearing matching hooded sweat shirts. Entire church congregations showed up yesterday wearing them. Hell, I even got into the act early Saturday morning, but when you are a 62 year old overweight white guy people tend to think of words like funny and sad. Suspicious never enters their minds. No one even asked me about it.
I always grow uneasy when some situation, or act whips people into a fury and lawyers and "experts" all over the place begin to try a case in the court of public opinion. Rage and media analysis tends to create a toxic fog that obscures the truth. Reason and impartiality go right out the window.
Sonner maintains that Martin attacked Zimmerman. That his client suffered a broken nose and gash to the back of the head and that the pants he was wearing that night have grass stains on them.
A black friend of Zimmerman has gone on TV stating that Zimmerman has never given him any reason to think he is a racist. He went on to say that if Martin had just told Zimmerman he was visiting relatives he wouldn't have been killed. Our old pal Geraldo Rivera claims that if Martin hadn't been wearing the hoodie he would be alive today.
The problem with those observations are two fold. Trayvon Martin had no idea who George Zimmerman was. For all he knew Zimmerman was a run amok serial killer. And if you can be shot to death over your choice of fashion, Lady Gaga is living on borrowed time.
Well, if everyone else is going to speculate I will too. In my mind here is what happened. I can see it perfectly. Zimmerman is armed and thinks he is a cop, or at least some sort of sanctioned para military protector of the neighborhood. He sees a black kid on foot, hood up because of the rain and immediately thinks he can't be up to any good. He begins to follow him. Martin notices Zimmerman and becomes alarmed. In his mind Zimmerman IS Jack the Ripper. Finally Martin begins to run. We know he did because Zimmerman told police 911 that he was running. It never enters Zimmerman's mind the kid is running from him because he is scared. Ignoring the urgent advice by the dispatcher not to follow the young man, Zimmerman pursues him. To George Zimmerman, Martin is running away from some sort of crime because that is what black kids in hoodies do. They perpetrate crimes.
At some point, right out side of Mary Cutcher's window Martin stopped running. Either he was gassed, or felt trapped. He turned to face what he was sure was a deadly attack by some crazed stranger. He, in fact, did exactly what those Florida stand your ground laws say you can do, he defended himself with every means at his disposal. Unfortunately for him his every means were candy and tea, Zimmerman's was a 9 millimeter and he didn't hesitate to use it.
Zimmerman's friend says he was and is devastated by the shooting. Well he could have saved himself the grief if he had done what neighborhood watch guys are supposed to do, call the cops and let them handle the situation. He could have prevented the whole tragedy by following the advice of the 911 dispatcher and cease to chase after Trayvon Martin. Finally, none of this would have happened if he hadn't been packing a gun.
I don't know if the guy is an overt racist or not, but he certainly didn't help his case by making a series of assumptions based on race and appearance. No one, not that cheap shill Rivera, not Zimmerman's lawyer or his pal are denying that fact of life. And those assumptions are what triggered the whole terrible affair. To be honest if that isn't racism I don't know what is..
3-26-12
Obviously it is a bit more complicated than that, but not much. Zimmerman is currently in hiding and in fear of his life. He can't be blamed for that. Huge crowds all across this nation are demanding he be arrested and put in the dock for murder. The New Black Panther Party has reportedly offered a ten grand reward to anyone who is able to locate him. It is doubtful the Panthers want that information so they can counsel Mr. Zimmerman on the finer points of race relations over a cup of coffee.
Florida prosecutor Angela Corey says it will be difficult to prove guilt in the case because of the stand your ground laws. It doesn't help that no one actually saw what happened except Zimmerman, unless you count Martin. A woman named Mary Cutcher has come forward saying she heard cries of distress outside of her open window, but by the time she looked outside the shooting was over. She does say that the cries sounded as if they were coming from a young person, not an adult. And, that after the shot the cries abruptly stopped. She also said she saw Zimmerman standing astride the body, leaning over, pressing his hands against Martin's back. Zimmerman apparently yelled at her to call the police, but offered no aid to the teen.
A couple of weeks ago the nation was aflame with a passion to go after Joseph Kony in Uganda. That fad went right out the window when this sordid story hit Twitter and the net. People dumped their Kony 2012 tees and are now donning hoodies all over the place. The Miami Heat NBA team circulated a photo of the squad standing with heads bowed, all of them wearing matching hooded sweat shirts. Entire church congregations showed up yesterday wearing them. Hell, I even got into the act early Saturday morning, but when you are a 62 year old overweight white guy people tend to think of words like funny and sad. Suspicious never enters their minds. No one even asked me about it.
I always grow uneasy when some situation, or act whips people into a fury and lawyers and "experts" all over the place begin to try a case in the court of public opinion. Rage and media analysis tends to create a toxic fog that obscures the truth. Reason and impartiality go right out the window.
Sonner maintains that Martin attacked Zimmerman. That his client suffered a broken nose and gash to the back of the head and that the pants he was wearing that night have grass stains on them.
A black friend of Zimmerman has gone on TV stating that Zimmerman has never given him any reason to think he is a racist. He went on to say that if Martin had just told Zimmerman he was visiting relatives he wouldn't have been killed. Our old pal Geraldo Rivera claims that if Martin hadn't been wearing the hoodie he would be alive today.
The problem with those observations are two fold. Trayvon Martin had no idea who George Zimmerman was. For all he knew Zimmerman was a run amok serial killer. And if you can be shot to death over your choice of fashion, Lady Gaga is living on borrowed time.
Well, if everyone else is going to speculate I will too. In my mind here is what happened. I can see it perfectly. Zimmerman is armed and thinks he is a cop, or at least some sort of sanctioned para military protector of the neighborhood. He sees a black kid on foot, hood up because of the rain and immediately thinks he can't be up to any good. He begins to follow him. Martin notices Zimmerman and becomes alarmed. In his mind Zimmerman IS Jack the Ripper. Finally Martin begins to run. We know he did because Zimmerman told police 911 that he was running. It never enters Zimmerman's mind the kid is running from him because he is scared. Ignoring the urgent advice by the dispatcher not to follow the young man, Zimmerman pursues him. To George Zimmerman, Martin is running away from some sort of crime because that is what black kids in hoodies do. They perpetrate crimes.
At some point, right out side of Mary Cutcher's window Martin stopped running. Either he was gassed, or felt trapped. He turned to face what he was sure was a deadly attack by some crazed stranger. He, in fact, did exactly what those Florida stand your ground laws say you can do, he defended himself with every means at his disposal. Unfortunately for him his every means were candy and tea, Zimmerman's was a 9 millimeter and he didn't hesitate to use it.
Zimmerman's friend says he was and is devastated by the shooting. Well he could have saved himself the grief if he had done what neighborhood watch guys are supposed to do, call the cops and let them handle the situation. He could have prevented the whole tragedy by following the advice of the 911 dispatcher and cease to chase after Trayvon Martin. Finally, none of this would have happened if he hadn't been packing a gun.
I don't know if the guy is an overt racist or not, but he certainly didn't help his case by making a series of assumptions based on race and appearance. No one, not that cheap shill Rivera, not Zimmerman's lawyer or his pal are denying that fact of life. And those assumptions are what triggered the whole terrible affair. To be honest if that isn't racism I don't know what is..
3-26-12
Friday, March 23, 2012
Trayvon Martin Brings Skittles to a Gun Fight
"This guy looks like he is up to no good. He is on drugs or something."
George Zimmerman speaking with Sanford, Florida police dispatch.
That "guy" would be 17 year old Trayvon Martin. He was visiting relatives in Sanford and on the night in question decided to take a walk to a local convenience store. Because it was raining he put the hood of his jacket on. He was returning from the store when he was confronted by Zimmerman who was captain of the local neighborhood watch program.
What happened next has gone viral on the web. It has caused hundreds of thousands of people, including celebrities such as Spike Lee, Michael Moore, and Ice Cube to get involved, at least through Twitter and Facebook.
Zimmerman saw a young black man, hood up, "acting suspiciously." How he was acting suspiciously is a bit vague, unless you count every black kid on foot as suspicious. At about the same time, Martin, over his cell phone, told a friend that a strange man was following him.
Zimmerman, who is 28 and is, depending on who you listen to, either Anglo, or Hispanic, called 911 which is what neighborhood watch people are supposed to do. He reported Martin's whereabouts and told the dispatcher which direction he was walking. As things turned stranger and more serious Zimmerman told the dispatcher that Martin had begun to run. That, of course, is pretty much what any 17 year old would do when being followed on a rainy night by some guy he didn't know. There are, after all, a lot of crazy people out there.
Listening to the tape you can hear the surprise and concern in the dispatcher's voice when he asks Zimmerman, "are you following him?" When Zimmerman says yes, the dispatcher immediately tells him, "we don't need you to do that." In other words, back off and let the pros handle the situation.
Zimmerman ignored the advice. By the time it was over, Trayvon Martin was dead. He was shot to death by George Zimmerman who, thanks to the great state of Florida, was legally carrying a hand gun. Zimmerman says Martin attacked him, which on the face of it seems odd for a guy running from you, unless you had him cornered. He is citing Florida's "stand your ground" law as his defense. Apparently in Florida you can blow people away just because you have gotten into an argument with them.
The whole tragedy remained under the radar of the national media until radio hosts looking for a button to push began to tweet about it. Like so many other things now days in this age of instant information and more importantly, instant and verifiable public feed back, the shit hit the fan. Huge crowds have gathered both in real time and in that nebulous universe of virtual existence howling for Zimmerman's head. On line petitions are circulating. The chief of police has resigned. Trayvon Martin, victim and George Zimmerman, shooter have become the faces of all that is wrong with with race relations in America.
They have also become the latest example of how instantly a huge howling mob can gather venting their anger and frustrations. Facebook and Twitter have made traditional news sources seem as quaint and out of date as stage coaches. Via the web and Twitter not only do you get the news immediately, you can react to it, participate in it. You can become part of the story and who doesn't want to do that.
In this case it is hard to condemn the sudden and wide spread anger. The brutal truth is that, Trayvon Martin was holding a cell phone, a package of Skittles and a can of ice tea. George Zimmerman was packing a 9 millimeter.
Years ago my wife and I went to see a stand up comedy act by Thea Vidal. At the end of it she started talking about how brave white people were in the movies. "You know you all walk into haunted houses. You look into the dark to find some murderer. That is some brave stuff. It makes me wonder why, when you see two young black men coming toward you on the sidewalk, you cross the street."
Well obviously some of us don't. Especially those among us who are carrying 9 mils and want to be Wyatt Earp.
Lord, we still have so far to go. Sometimes I think we'll never get there.
3-23-12
George Zimmerman speaking with Sanford, Florida police dispatch.
That "guy" would be 17 year old Trayvon Martin. He was visiting relatives in Sanford and on the night in question decided to take a walk to a local convenience store. Because it was raining he put the hood of his jacket on. He was returning from the store when he was confronted by Zimmerman who was captain of the local neighborhood watch program.
What happened next has gone viral on the web. It has caused hundreds of thousands of people, including celebrities such as Spike Lee, Michael Moore, and Ice Cube to get involved, at least through Twitter and Facebook.
Zimmerman saw a young black man, hood up, "acting suspiciously." How he was acting suspiciously is a bit vague, unless you count every black kid on foot as suspicious. At about the same time, Martin, over his cell phone, told a friend that a strange man was following him.
Zimmerman, who is 28 and is, depending on who you listen to, either Anglo, or Hispanic, called 911 which is what neighborhood watch people are supposed to do. He reported Martin's whereabouts and told the dispatcher which direction he was walking. As things turned stranger and more serious Zimmerman told the dispatcher that Martin had begun to run. That, of course, is pretty much what any 17 year old would do when being followed on a rainy night by some guy he didn't know. There are, after all, a lot of crazy people out there.
Listening to the tape you can hear the surprise and concern in the dispatcher's voice when he asks Zimmerman, "are you following him?" When Zimmerman says yes, the dispatcher immediately tells him, "we don't need you to do that." In other words, back off and let the pros handle the situation.
Zimmerman ignored the advice. By the time it was over, Trayvon Martin was dead. He was shot to death by George Zimmerman who, thanks to the great state of Florida, was legally carrying a hand gun. Zimmerman says Martin attacked him, which on the face of it seems odd for a guy running from you, unless you had him cornered. He is citing Florida's "stand your ground" law as his defense. Apparently in Florida you can blow people away just because you have gotten into an argument with them.
The whole tragedy remained under the radar of the national media until radio hosts looking for a button to push began to tweet about it. Like so many other things now days in this age of instant information and more importantly, instant and verifiable public feed back, the shit hit the fan. Huge crowds have gathered both in real time and in that nebulous universe of virtual existence howling for Zimmerman's head. On line petitions are circulating. The chief of police has resigned. Trayvon Martin, victim and George Zimmerman, shooter have become the faces of all that is wrong with with race relations in America.
They have also become the latest example of how instantly a huge howling mob can gather venting their anger and frustrations. Facebook and Twitter have made traditional news sources seem as quaint and out of date as stage coaches. Via the web and Twitter not only do you get the news immediately, you can react to it, participate in it. You can become part of the story and who doesn't want to do that.
In this case it is hard to condemn the sudden and wide spread anger. The brutal truth is that, Trayvon Martin was holding a cell phone, a package of Skittles and a can of ice tea. George Zimmerman was packing a 9 millimeter.
Years ago my wife and I went to see a stand up comedy act by Thea Vidal. At the end of it she started talking about how brave white people were in the movies. "You know you all walk into haunted houses. You look into the dark to find some murderer. That is some brave stuff. It makes me wonder why, when you see two young black men coming toward you on the sidewalk, you cross the street."
Well obviously some of us don't. Especially those among us who are carrying 9 mils and want to be Wyatt Earp.
Lord, we still have so far to go. Sometimes I think we'll never get there.
3-23-12
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Mitt Has The Big Mo and The Real Race Has Begun
It is official. The Mitt has the Big Mo behind him. After scooping up 43 delegates in Illinois his lead has expanded to three hundred over his nearest rival, Rick Santorum. His tally is now at 563 which is just a handful of conventioneers short of being half way home.
Next up is Louisiana with 40 plus delegates. Romney has been a complete failure in the south with the exception of Florida. Although the reality is that Florida ceases to be a southern state once you hit the Orlando and Tampa city limits and go south. Even with a ringing victory in Louisiana Santorum is just delaying the inevitable. Beyond the bayous loom Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. It is hard to imagine the former senator winning any of those states except maybe Pennsylvania and even that isn't a sure bet. The last time he was involved in a election in his home state the voters ran him out of office on a rail.
The Obama people think it is a done deal and after yesterday it looks to be they are right.
As I type the Romney people are debating who will be his running mate. The obvious choice is to go conservative. Shore up the right wing and south with some southern social conservative screecher who will rile up the masses. Somebody who will condemn liberals, Hollywood, MSNBC, CNN and just about anyone who ever even thought Planned Parenthood and affordable health care might be good ideas.
There is no doubt he needs someone who can energize a crowd. Mitt himself certainly can't. He has all the charisma of a damp wash cloth. It is one of several reasons this thing has dragged out so long. I mean the guy has more money than God and Santorum, who couldn't even win re-election to the senate is technically still alive.
But, does he need a southern Sarah Palin who actually has a functioning brain? The brutal answer to that is no. Despite the abject debacles he has suffered in the old south, the confederate south, come November they'll all be in his pocket. The only possible exceptions to that are Florida and North Carolina. No, the descendants of the Army of Northern Virginia will hold their noses as they vote for him, but vote for him they will. It is absolutely delusional to think places like Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and further west, Oklahoma and Texas can be carried by Obama under any circumstances.
No, what Mitt Romney needs is some dynamo from a swing state. An Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, or New Jersey. He has the south. What he really needs is to cut into Obama's 2008 electoral total somewhere north and east of Kentucky. That is why I tend to think New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is currently on a vigorous diet and exercise program. Christie is just the type of blue collar pit bull that Romney needs.
Obviously Christie has to agree to the spot on the ticket, but he has never said he'd turn it down. If he thinks Romney can win and he can, why wouldn't he? It sets him up for the big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue eight years down the road.
One thing we do know for sure is that each prospective vice presidential candidate will be vetted for months before the decision is made. Republican operatives will be crawling up bodily orifices with head lamps ablaze. There is no way they are going to foul up so completely like they did four years ago. The Palin disaster taught them a lesson they will never forget. The guys and gals at Saturday Night Live will never have it that easy again.
So, the campaign for the nomination will drag on, but it seems just a formality now. Look for Romney's rhetoric, his focus, to shift toward Obama. It would appear that the real presidential campaign is about to begin in earnest. As Holmes said in another context, "The Game is afoot." For the republicans and Mitt Romney, it is about time.
3-21-12
Next up is Louisiana with 40 plus delegates. Romney has been a complete failure in the south with the exception of Florida. Although the reality is that Florida ceases to be a southern state once you hit the Orlando and Tampa city limits and go south. Even with a ringing victory in Louisiana Santorum is just delaying the inevitable. Beyond the bayous loom Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. It is hard to imagine the former senator winning any of those states except maybe Pennsylvania and even that isn't a sure bet. The last time he was involved in a election in his home state the voters ran him out of office on a rail.
The Obama people think it is a done deal and after yesterday it looks to be they are right.
As I type the Romney people are debating who will be his running mate. The obvious choice is to go conservative. Shore up the right wing and south with some southern social conservative screecher who will rile up the masses. Somebody who will condemn liberals, Hollywood, MSNBC, CNN and just about anyone who ever even thought Planned Parenthood and affordable health care might be good ideas.
There is no doubt he needs someone who can energize a crowd. Mitt himself certainly can't. He has all the charisma of a damp wash cloth. It is one of several reasons this thing has dragged out so long. I mean the guy has more money than God and Santorum, who couldn't even win re-election to the senate is technically still alive.
But, does he need a southern Sarah Palin who actually has a functioning brain? The brutal answer to that is no. Despite the abject debacles he has suffered in the old south, the confederate south, come November they'll all be in his pocket. The only possible exceptions to that are Florida and North Carolina. No, the descendants of the Army of Northern Virginia will hold their noses as they vote for him, but vote for him they will. It is absolutely delusional to think places like Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and further west, Oklahoma and Texas can be carried by Obama under any circumstances.
No, what Mitt Romney needs is some dynamo from a swing state. An Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, or New Jersey. He has the south. What he really needs is to cut into Obama's 2008 electoral total somewhere north and east of Kentucky. That is why I tend to think New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is currently on a vigorous diet and exercise program. Christie is just the type of blue collar pit bull that Romney needs.
Obviously Christie has to agree to the spot on the ticket, but he has never said he'd turn it down. If he thinks Romney can win and he can, why wouldn't he? It sets him up for the big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue eight years down the road.
One thing we do know for sure is that each prospective vice presidential candidate will be vetted for months before the decision is made. Republican operatives will be crawling up bodily orifices with head lamps ablaze. There is no way they are going to foul up so completely like they did four years ago. The Palin disaster taught them a lesson they will never forget. The guys and gals at Saturday Night Live will never have it that easy again.
So, the campaign for the nomination will drag on, but it seems just a formality now. Look for Romney's rhetoric, his focus, to shift toward Obama. It would appear that the real presidential campaign is about to begin in earnest. As Holmes said in another context, "The Game is afoot." For the republicans and Mitt Romney, it is about time.
3-21-12
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Obama Believes It Will Be Romney And The President Comes To Town
While we await the results from today's Illinois primary one thing has become perfectly clear. The Obama people are convinced Mitt Romney will be the nominee of the republican party. I receive one or two emails from them a day. No, I don't have their ear, they come flowing in because I gave them $25. Trust me, if you do that you'll get the same emails.
The content of the emails assail Romney on many fronts. The latest, that his pals at Bain Capital have invested heavily in a Chinese company that makes surveillance cameras and systems. This enables the powers that be to keep an Orwellian eye on the masses. According to the email Romney's blind trust receives profits from this little buy in and it is rather at odds with his charges that the current administration is soft on Chinese political oppression. Not to mention the fact that Romney had promised to divest himself of all investments that conflict with his political views. Of course the problem there is that the governor has no set political values. His political and social philosophies shift dramatically depending on poll numbers and or the audience he is speaking to. It is just one of the reasons that, other than Florida, he can't buy a win in the south.
Puerto Rico probably began the writing on the wall. He picked up all twenty delegates from the island and should win easily in the home of Lincoln. To be honest though the white house seemed to instinctively know the republicans wouldn't self immolate by nominating someone like Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich. After all look at what happened to Goldwater back in 1964. And Santorum and Gingrich make Barry look like an absolute statesman.
No, the emails don't even mention those two terrible little ferrets. Nor do they take into consideration the hapless Ron Paul. They are all about the Mitt.
Meanwhile Obama himself is flying into Oklahoma City tomorrow. He will speak in Cushing about the Keystone pipeline. The crowds he will draw are sure to be hostile and probably embarrassingly vocal. Four years ago the president didn't carry a single county in Oklahoma. Oklahoma conservatives consider him nothing less than the Anti Christ. Their level of disrespect and boorish rhetoric paints a portrait of xenophobic loathing that cannot be reasoned with unless you are packing a can of mace and a Louisville Slugger. My wife refuses to put an Obama bumper sticker on her car because she is certain a brick will come through the windshield in some parking lot. When I was driving around with an Al Gore sticker on my vehicle years ago I was routinely given the finger by all manner of strangers.
Yes, they are an ugly lot, many of them racist to the core despite public denials. Logic and temperance have no place in their outrage.To paraphrase a line from the late 1960's, if you aren't part of their solution, you are part of their problem. The only thing Obama can hope to gain from this trip is stunning video proof of all the white hot hatred and unleashed slurs. The outright savagery that will be on display might help galvanize his staff and volunteers through out the rest of the nation. Show the opposition in all its toxic evil to prove what we're up against once and for all. Rally the troops with the challenge, "is this who you want running the country?"
Indeed, it might work. One can only hope.
3-20-12
The content of the emails assail Romney on many fronts. The latest, that his pals at Bain Capital have invested heavily in a Chinese company that makes surveillance cameras and systems. This enables the powers that be to keep an Orwellian eye on the masses. According to the email Romney's blind trust receives profits from this little buy in and it is rather at odds with his charges that the current administration is soft on Chinese political oppression. Not to mention the fact that Romney had promised to divest himself of all investments that conflict with his political views. Of course the problem there is that the governor has no set political values. His political and social philosophies shift dramatically depending on poll numbers and or the audience he is speaking to. It is just one of the reasons that, other than Florida, he can't buy a win in the south.
Puerto Rico probably began the writing on the wall. He picked up all twenty delegates from the island and should win easily in the home of Lincoln. To be honest though the white house seemed to instinctively know the republicans wouldn't self immolate by nominating someone like Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich. After all look at what happened to Goldwater back in 1964. And Santorum and Gingrich make Barry look like an absolute statesman.
No, the emails don't even mention those two terrible little ferrets. Nor do they take into consideration the hapless Ron Paul. They are all about the Mitt.
Meanwhile Obama himself is flying into Oklahoma City tomorrow. He will speak in Cushing about the Keystone pipeline. The crowds he will draw are sure to be hostile and probably embarrassingly vocal. Four years ago the president didn't carry a single county in Oklahoma. Oklahoma conservatives consider him nothing less than the Anti Christ. Their level of disrespect and boorish rhetoric paints a portrait of xenophobic loathing that cannot be reasoned with unless you are packing a can of mace and a Louisville Slugger. My wife refuses to put an Obama bumper sticker on her car because she is certain a brick will come through the windshield in some parking lot. When I was driving around with an Al Gore sticker on my vehicle years ago I was routinely given the finger by all manner of strangers.
Yes, they are an ugly lot, many of them racist to the core despite public denials. Logic and temperance have no place in their outrage.To paraphrase a line from the late 1960's, if you aren't part of their solution, you are part of their problem. The only thing Obama can hope to gain from this trip is stunning video proof of all the white hot hatred and unleashed slurs. The outright savagery that will be on display might help galvanize his staff and volunteers through out the rest of the nation. Show the opposition in all its toxic evil to prove what we're up against once and for all. Rally the troops with the challenge, "is this who you want running the country?"
Indeed, it might work. One can only hope.
3-20-12
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