And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was
more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin
The Zimmerman Trial Aftermath Continues
This is a topic I don't like to write about; I didn't watch a single second of live trial coverage; I was not on verdict watch, and I turned on FNC only after a cluster of email alerts, including a verdict summary, hit my inbox. And much of what I saw mostly involved the prosecution's post-verdict press conference. I'm not a fan of George Zimmerman; I thought that he wasn't prudent, particularly putting himself in a position where theoretically Martin could have seized his weapon and used it against him. Perhaps the gun could have been used without firing a shot or used in a non-lethal way. I don't know the specifics, and I am hesitant to judge someone whom is under physical attack at the time of the shooting.
At the same time, I thought Trayvon Martin also exhibited poor judgment; I would never have confronted Zimmerman as he did. I'm not blaming the victim here; it's just I'm a native Texan. I've mentioned that while I was at UH I decided to go for the first time to Gilley's in Pasadena where one of my favorite vocalists, Bobby Goldsboro, was appearing. For some reason, the driver of a truck behind me was visibly agitated at me. To this day I don't know why; was I driving too slow in unfamiliar territory? He literally ran me off the road; I could see him shaking his fist at me through the passenger window while his significant other was pleading for him to let it go--but mostly my eyes were glued to the dangling shotgun. This guy had a bad temper and a weapon. Of course, I had just as much right to drive on that road and go to the concert, but it wasn't worth losing my life over. I headed back home. Martin may not have known Zimmerman was armed, but he thought Zimmerman was a creep. If I'm an unarmed kid being followed by a weird guy, I keep a safe distance away. Easier said than done; always easier quarterbacking Monday morning. Kids make mistakes, including tragic ones.
There are a few points I want to comment on.
First, Jim Geraghty writes a daily email for National Review Online. Unfortunately, I don't think NRO has an online archive. I don't think I can reprint his essay here; suffice it to say that he goes to some extent (I'm paraphrasing from memory) that the jury merely said that the prosecution didn't prove Zimmerman's guilt, not that Zimmerman's actions were exonerated. He also kept repeating that Martin was a 17-year-old boy. Geraghty seems to be bowing his head to the gods of political correctness. I've known some high school kids whom are more than capable of doing evil, even monstrous things (a high school mass shooting in Colorado comes to mind). We know there are high school bullies, kids doing booze and drugs, etc. I'm not suggesting that Martin was one of them. I understand it's a terrible thing to lose one's life at an early age, including Martin's.
Second, Trayvon Martin's criminal assault and battery of Zimmerman is fundamentally inexcusable. I expected that the prosecution tried as best they could to trivialize Zimmerman's wounds. The fact is that Martin had a size advantage over Zimmerman, and it wasn't a fair fight. I don't care if Martin didn't like the fact he was being followed. Short of the highly unlikely prospect of a smaller man picking a fight with a bigger man, it's hard to see any justification--especially striking a man hard enough to break his nose.
Third, I am sick and tired of idiotic commentators passing judgment on our justice system because the jury comes up with a verdict they don't like. This is more lynch-mob mentality where Zimmerman's rights are politically inconvenient. Obama, DOJ, and the Florida governor intervened for political reasons to bring a trial, even after local law enforcement said they didn't have any evidence to charge Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin did get his day in court, despite lack of evidence. The defendant and his family have received death threats. The prosecutors delayed complying with discovery requirements. The judge seemed more partial to the prosecution, based on what I've read from others. Almost every legal op-ed I've read, even one from ABC, concluded the prosecution hadn't met the burden of proof; I've yet to see an independent observer impressed with the prosecution's case. I'm not saying it was an easy lift for the prosecution, but I thought they did the best they could given limited physical evidence.
Finally, tweets, especially from the sports world:
- @roddywhiteTV: "All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid"
- @brendon310 (NFL free agent linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo): "I guess murder is OK."
- @StevieJohnson13: "Living in a world where you fight dogs; you could lose everything (Mike Vick).. If you kill a black man you're not guilty! #INjusticeSystem"
- "Zimmerman doesn't last a year before the hood catches up to him" V. Cruz (since deleted and apologized for)
My more charitable assessment is that football players often take hits to the head. Not all athletes are meatheads. Here are a couple of the better tweets:
- @LennoxLewis: "Hoping the same outrage & energy for young blacks being killed by guns is also directed to places like Chicago. #TrayvonMartin"
- @AdrianPeterson: "My Heart goes out to the Martin Family! Keep the Faith! #God is in control, He's the one and only Judge!"
I don't like to focus on the moral failures of politicians in their personal lives (and I'll recognize the GOP has had its fair share, e.g., Sanford, Vitter, Ensign...), but there is something wildly hypocritical about Dems and their ideological feminist allies inventing an alleged GOP War on Woman:
- Bob Filner, San Diego mayor, allegedly "including the forcible kissing of two constituents and grabbing the buttocks and breast of a staff member....In a City Hall elevator, Filner told a female staffer that women employees would do better "if they worked without their panties on."
- Efren Carrillo (via Libertarian Republican). He's a charismatic and very well liked second-term county supervisor in Sonoma County, California. "Free on bail after being arrested Saturday near his Santa Rosa home on suspicion of burglary and prowling, police said. The arrest occurred after a female neighbor called police to report a man had tried to break in through her bedroom window."
- Bill Clinton, whom allegedly made sexual overtures to government subordinates in Arkansas and DC, a glaring violation of sexual harassment policy, even when the act is voluntary
- Al "sex-crazed poodle" Gore
- Anthony "let me show you my" Weiner
- John "cheating on my cancer-stricken wife" Edwards
- Eliot "client #9" Spitzer
- twice-married with children Jim "it's not you, honey: it's all women" McGreevey
Need I go further?
Familiar readers will recall a few weeks back I covered a southern Oregon budget crisis caused when the government took possession of previously private-held, property-tax-yielding property. The federal government for a transition period paid a subsidy, but it ended, blowing the budget open. This led to downsizing of local police (unavailable on weekends--calls forwarded to the county). A woman whose former significant other invaded her home in the early morning hours on Saturday found no assistance forthcoming. The Feds are largely exempt from state/local tax. Sen. Lee, one of my favorites, talks about the huge government ownership of land; I'm disappointed that he didn't take the logical next step of the government divesting itself of various surplus property, etc.
My Greatest Hits: July 2013
My last one-off post over the weekend has already picked up enough pageviews to top my trailing month list. I find it interesting a nearly 9-month post is still polling pageviews (I suspect it's because I featured a nostalgic commentary on Hostess Brands. They were due at most retailers today but WalMart reportedly got a jump on sales over the weekend, except in DC where the city council has decided to declare war on low prices, neighborhood groceries, business tax revenues and large-scale employers.)
- Joseph Farah and the Greatest Political Opportunity
- Miscellany: 11/18/12
- Miscellany: 7/3/13
- Miscellany: 6/25/13
- Miscellany: 7/05/13
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| Photo Courtesy of MSN |
Military Homecoming Videos
The sheer joy of the unsuspecting little 4-year-old Canadian girl recognizing her beloved Daddy is precious.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Lisa Benson and Townhall |
The Beatles, "Michelle". Oddly, except on a couple of European charts, the Beatles didn't chart this classic song, but it won the 1967 Song of the Year Grammy.
