If I had a rose
for every time I thought of you,
I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.
Swedish Proverb
More Evidence Revealed in the Zimmerman Case
I think now we need to ask serious questions about why the special prosecutor filed charges against George Zimmerman; what we know for sure is that the special prosecutor was aware of all the details I'm about to summarize. This is beginning to look as though it was all political from the get-go.
It looks like the prosecutor's case is being based on fairly thin grounds: alleged discrepancies with an initial 911 call transcript and an alleged pattern of behavior of making racially-sensitive comments about blacks, Middle Eastern people, etc.
Let me address the second point first: I think it's highly presumptuous, judgmental and unfair to judge Zimmerman's motivation as a neighborhood watch person in identifying and/or following a suspicious person. His decision to follow Trayvon Martin was a subjective one, likely based on nonverbal dues and other factors, not necessarily based on race or cultural factors. For example, maybe Zimmerman knew most of the people in the neighborhood but didn't recognize Trayvon; it could also be that Trayvon responded in an evasive manner when Zimmerman approached him in his car. The burden of proof here is on the prosecution; I think the very fact that Zimmerman contacted 911 is evidence of good faith on Zimmerman's part.
The question of the 911 transcript, e.g., a reference to Martin running away from an allegedly short-of-breath Zimmerman can easily be explained in context: Zimmerman was following Martin in a car. (It makes no sense that a taller man was fleeing from pursuit of a smaller man on foot and then suddenly reversed course.) Zimmerman was shorter and heavier; how do we explain how Martin came to be shot at short range? He must have approached Zimmerman. Why? Simple explanation: circumstances had changed; Zimmerman was no longer in his vehicle. Why did Zimmerman get out of the car? Zimmerman claimed that he was trying to read the street sign (in order to help the police locate Martin) which was hard to read from the car in the dark of night.
We know from Trayvon's girlfriend (from her cellphone call with him at the time) that he knew he was being followed and didn't like it; she then reports that she heard Trayvon ask the other party why he was following him.
Now we have a variety of salient facts about the ensuing struggle:
- on a 911 call at the middle of the struggle, a man is screaming for help 14 times; Trayvon's father confirms that the male voice is not his son's. [We also know, except for the fatal wound, there was little evidence of Zimmerman's battery of Trayvon; it's unlikely that a smaller, out-of-shape man would initiate a fight with a taller, in-shape man.]
- two witnesses report a struggle between the two man. The first witness "witnesses a black male, wearing a dark colored 'hoodie' on top of a white or Hispanic male and throwing punches 'MMA (mixed martial arts) style." After a pop is heard, the hooded figure is lying in the grass. A second witness "described a person on the ground with another straddling him and throwing punches. The man on the bottom was yelling for help."
- two officers on the scene described Zimmerman with a bloodied face and bleeding from a broken nose and the back of his head. They also report the back of his clothes is soiled with wet grass.
Alan Dershowitz is calling Martin's shooting self-defense and calls on the prosecution to drop murder charges. I agree. The problem is that I think the special prosecutor had to know all this and made the charge anyway.
The special prosecutor is saying that we don't know "all the facts" and the prosecution is engaging in speculation about the nature of any exchange between Zimmerman and Martin, that Zimmerman could have defused the situation and didn't, that a couple of people (maybe with an ax to grind against Zimmerman?) thought that he was racist. I haven't any evidence whatsoever that the police had a transcript of the conversation between Zimmerman and Martin; the "woulda coulda shoulda" argument is at best wishful thinking by a prosecution looking for an after-the-fact rationalization for a politically motivated arrest. Since when do you charge any victim of criminal assault and battery based on speculation that the aggressor could have been mollified by magic words? Are we now going to say muggers should hold their victims responsible, that it wouldn't have happened if they just said "please don't", hence they are an accomplice for their own mugging? Just imagine the same for victims of sexual assault ("if she had only buttoned up her blouse"). Whatever Zimmerman said or didn't say to Trayvon is immaterial to the subsequent assault; Trayvon was responsible for his own actions in the assault, and whether or not Zimmerman spoke like Dr Phil McGraw under the circumstances is beside the point. Personally, I think that any conversation between Trayvon and Zimmerman was very short, and there was little that Zimmerman could have said or done to stop the assault. I find Zimmerman's explanation of leaving the car to look at the barely legible street sign (to provide more precise directions for police), not to confront Trayvon, is entirely plausible.
How About Some Old-Fashioned Honesty?
In the blog, I've discussed certain academic honesty problems I came across at UWM and UTEP. I'm not going to rehash Biden's Kinnock plagiarism here, but let's rehash some of the latest stories:
- Elizabeth Warren, running against Republican Scott Brown (R-MA), is now being accused of plagiarizing at least 3 of 5 submission recipes to Pow Wow Chow
- Recent Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has resigned after it was revealed that he didn't have a computer science degree as he claimed
- Hungary President Schmitt resigned in early April after he was stripped of his doctorate over evidence of plagiarism in his dissertation
- "Germany’s highly popular conservative defence minister, Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, was forced to resign his post amid a plagiarism scandal"
- "Silvana Koch-Mehrin, a well-known German liberal Free Democrat politician and Euro MP who holds the post of European parliamentary vice president stands accused of “copying” 25 percent of her doctoral thesis on currency reform obtained in 2000."
Romney won 3 of the 5 major polls over the last two days against Obama: most notably, Obama's high point in the 5 polls was 46%--which has got to concern the Obama campaign. Marquette University also released a poll showing Romney and Obama in a dead heat. If people are undecided between Obama and Romney, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that the undecideds break for Romney.
American Idol 2012: Phillip Phillips vs Jessica Sanchez
Okay, if anyone remembers or saved a copy of my April 4 post on that day, your fearless prognosticator had this to say in the Entertainment Potpourri section:
Who do I like this season? I think the current selection of candidates left is one of the strongest groups I've seen to date. Jessica Sanchez is a 16-year-old prodigy whom immediately stood out to me, but her performances have varied in quality. Phillip Phillips is a multi-talented, natural entertainer, and Elise Testone, as mentioned above is gifted. (Warning to singers: being named a favorite of mine is like being an athlete chosen to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.)What are the odds that of the 3 singers I list, the first two turn out to be the finalists? (Elise soon departed after that post.) Who do I think will win?
I'll post my selection on Tuesday night's post and pay my respects Wednesday. I will point out that my personal votes over the past 4 weeks have gone for Phillips 3 times, and #3 Joshua Ledet once. I think Phillip is the most original singer I've ever seen on the show in the sense he puts an entirely different spin on a song. Sometimes it doesn't work for me, such as his take on the Boxtops' "The Letter", one of my all-time favorites. His performances are flawless, beautiful interpretations with a nuanced cadence. If I'm looking at the whole season, Phillip should be the easy winner Wednesday night. The problem he might have involves his indulgent taste in more obscure songs and in unconventional arrangements of a song (which can be a turnoff for people whom love the original song).
TMZ is reporting that Phillip has kidney problems and needs an operation--and in fact some of the medicine has affected his singing style (e.g., dry mouth)
When Jessica is on, she delivers some of the best interpretations I've heard in a decade of the show. One problem is her credibility singing more mature lyrics as a high school girl. Jessica's performances, though, are less original and consistent. To be frank, I didn't like her take Wednesday on "I'll Be There", one of my favorite songs.
It should be interesting: if fans are going with vocal range and/or on America's sweetheart, Jessica will easily win. But in terms of original style, consistency, delivery, and interpretation, it should be Phillip. (Plus, there is something quintessential Americana about Phillip performing through pain, like 2004 Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling whom notably pitched with a bloody sock.) I've written a past post of my dubious won-loss record on predicting or supporting losers (like Bo Bice, Adam Lambert, and Blake Lewis).
I'm a little concerned about American Idol's relevance on the pop scene. It used to be, e.g., in the first 4 or 5 years of the show that the lead single coming out of the competition was #1. Some of the more recent winners have barely touched the pop charts. I think that Phillip Phillips could be the next big thing from Idol. [My strategy as an American Idol winner would be to solicit any new material I could get from proven songwriters and leverage my short-lived AI fame; there will be time to be indulgent or artsy once you've established your commercial foothold.] Of course, Jessica with the right material should also do well; she could be this generation's version of Olivia Newton-John..
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Rolling Stones, "Miss You"
