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Republicans joined the call for an investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on Friday, adding rare, bipartisan support in the racially-charged case.
The main Republican presidential contenders each decried the shooting of Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, allegedly by a neighborhood watch member, and joined with President Obama and other Democrats in supporting a Department of Justice investigation into the incident.
"What happened to Trayvon Martin is a tragedy. There needs to be a thorough investigation that reassures the public that justice is carried out with impartiality and integrity," Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said in a statement.
Rick Santorum, Romney's main rival for the GOP nomination, added: "It's a horrible case, and it's chilling to hear what happened ... I think it's pretty clear the problems we're seeing in this case, and hopefully the state Attorney General and local community is reacting and responding, and hopefully this matter will be an example of what law enforcement has to do in a case like this."
President Obama addresses the Trayvon Martin shooting from a White House Rose Garden event.
President Obama only addressed the issue on Friday, but he commented in especially personal terms.
"My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin: if I had a son he'd look like Trayvon," he said at a press conference this morning at the White House, where he also nominated a new World Bank president.
"I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together, federal state and local to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened," he said.
Martin's death has become a flashpoint for the issue of race in America; Rev. Al Sharpton (the host of a commentary program on MSNBC) led a rally in Sanford, Fla., the location of the shooting. And the Congressional Black Caucus led the charge in calling for a Department of Justice investigation into how local authorities handled the incident.
The issue has evolved across party lines, though.
Maybe the most significant support, though, came from Rep. Allen West, a Florida lawmaker who's one of two African-American Republicans in Congress. He backed the Department of Justice inquiry, but cautioned observers of the shooting to let cooler heads prevail over the course of the inquiry.
"I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences," West wrote on his Facebook page. "This is an outrage."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the incident a "tragedy of huge proportions" on Capitol Hill this morning, where he expressed support for an investigation, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called the shooting a "tragedy" that warrants a grand jury investigation.
Leave a Comment:
Nice to see bipartisanship isn't completely lost.
I don't see how this can really be called "bipartisanship". Unless you're Haley Barbour, it's pretty hard to justify standing in the way of an investigation into the shooting of an unarmed teenager.
It should not be looked at in ANY way as a political issue. It's sickening to see some people making this about politics.
Any chance of that happening ended as soon as the President adopted him as his surrogate son.
Can you say BANDWAGON...I knew that you could...
When will the bipartisan hypocrites stand for our soldiers and their children? 6,367 Americans have been killed, what about their parents, their children, etc.
One boy is murdered out of 14,000 murders annually. Where is the outrage? Every death is significant, but our soldiers should gain as much respect and outrage from politicians and Americans.
I could get in trouble for posting a link to bring our soldiers home, so be it, they are as important.
http://www.change.org/petitions/bring-our-troops-home-from-afghanistan
Yo Aggie, it is absolutely about politiics, as it was NRA-bought politician who passed this ridiculous law in the first place. These laws need to be repealed in now 21 different states, and that is a completely political issue.
Hell hath frozen over!
Ehh... I'm not so sure. Trust me, look at my post history, I am clearly on Trayvon Martin's side here, but I DON'T think this problem exists because of the "Stand your ground" law. I'm not a fan of the law, but the problem isn't the law itself, it's that it was improperly applied to this case
(And the author of the law agrees http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/21/trayvon-martins-alleged-attacker-not-covered-under-law-wrote/). Trust me, read it, even though it IS fox news.
In principle, the "stand your ground" law is a good one, but was written so poorly that it will be stretched and massaged to fit many instances where it simply should not apply. Hopefully this tragedy will bring some attention to the law and it will be changed to codify that "stand your ground" does not give one license to "chase and attempt to apprehend" anyone someone finds suspicious.
DrowningGrover-
Applied wrongly or not, the SYG law is the cited reason Zimmerman wasn't arrested or charged. As long as the law is written such that police can get away with using it that way, people are justified in objecting to it.
Absurd. Where's a tornado or something else for a headline when you need one?
This was NEVER a Dem vs GOP issue.
Well, Skup, there really is a resemblance. I mean if he had a son, likely he would look like Trayvon. Look at Obama's younger pictures.
I completely agree. Trust me, I'm not trying to defend "stand your ground" here, you can view my post history. Just trying to reflect the communities anger back to where it appropriately belongs, that being George Zimmerman and the Sanford PD.
The only reason they are getting involved is it was Republicans that created that law and they know they will become the focal point of this major Fu_kup look how many killings happened after the law was passed in Florida, these people in that state are a bunch of NUT JOBS look at all the killings in that state ...
See what happens when laws of extreme right are enacted? Now, vigilantes are license to kill without a badge.
The problem with the SYG law as it applies, if it is just you and the other person, no witnesses, there is a laxed investigation in the matter because the dead can't talk and you as the 'shooter' thereby have an out via only your account of what happened, ala 'this person came at me in a threatening manner so I had no choice.' WITH witnesses, it then sets in motion towards a thorough investigation and court proceedings over the matter. Of course GOING AFTER someone as the aggressor and being recorded doing so SHOULD erase the application of said law, and after an investigation shows that to be the fact, which in this case it was, the person is to be arrested ASAP.
@Ash,
The SYG law may be the reason that the police did not immediately arrest Zimmerman. But it does not explain why the police collected NO forensic evidence (not even the shell casings) and attempted to erase the 911 calls. When you have a situation such as this in the rain, the police have to take immediate steps to preserve the crime scene because the rain will wash away evidence as Dexter's blood spatter evidence. The police made no attempt to preserve the crime scene, test the shooter for drugs or alcohol, or even take pictures of the crime scene.
Instead of collecting evidence, the police spent time trying to erase cell phone videos that might have evidence in them, and finding witnesses that they could "correct." It is especially troubling that several witnesses said that they heard the boy yell, "Someone please help me!" just before he was shot. The police "corrected" the police reports to say that the witnesses said they heard Zimmerman yell for help before the shots were fired. One in particular was an English teacher and resident. The police "cautioned" all witnesses that they could be subject to arrest if they maintained that the boy, not Zimmerman, yelled for help.
There has always been a common law precept in modern times that says that before using deadly force in self-defense that three conditions must be met: 1) You must have attempted to flee the scene or must be in a situation where it is physically impossible to flee, 2) You must have good reason to believe that the person possesses deadly force (it can be a 2x4, it doesn't have to be a gun), and 3) that you believe that deadly force is about to be used towards you. The Florida law, written by "legislative consultants" paid by the NRA, simply seeks to erase these conditions to the greatest extent possible. The SYG law says that as long as you "feel threatened" that it is open season to shoot Blacks and Latinos, but not white people. Even the sponsor of the bill says that he does not think that SYG should be applicable here.
The Second Amendment argument is BS. When Adams was writing the Second Amendment, he was pressured to include "for self defense" as part of the wording. That was discussed (and talked about in both the Federalist Papers and the Non-Federalist Papers) and it was decided that that phrase should be removed because it was "inappropriate." The Founding Fathers only discussion was about the right of States to maintain standing militias to offset the standing army that would be maintained by the Federal government. The "militia" issue was a great hindrance when the military wanted to federalize the state militias in 1903. So the Democrats came up with the premise that the Second Amendment pertained only to individual ownership of weapons for self-defense and did not prevent the federalization of the state militias. It was a straw man argument intended from keeping people from realizing that the Federal government had just violated the whole Second Amendment.
The SYG law makes it a shootable offense if:
1) You're a black teenager and wearing a hoodie because it is raining.
2) You're a black teenager walking in the most direct path between a convenience store and his father's house.
3) You're black and have a paper bag containing Skittles and a can of iced tea in your possession.
4) You're black and attempt to get away from a white man who outweighs you by 100 pounds and is stalking you.
5) You're black and wearing white tennis shoes.
It is only a presumption that it would be a shootable offense if you were a Latino.
This situation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. There are a lot of African-Americans who are simply tired of modern Jim Crow social rules that essentially mean that a young black man whose English teacher said was an A and B student who "majored in cheerfulness" has to worry about situations like this.
My neighborhood is predominantly African-American. But teenagers here are very much aware that "the man" is always watching them and just looking for any excuse to act against them. This sort of story worries youngsters and worries their parents. This demonization of African-Americans and Latino-Americans has been getting worse for a while now. Much of the gains of the Civil Rights activism of the 1950's and 1960's are being lost through exactly the sort of SYG law that is intended to make it wasy to justify racially-motivated shootings such as this.
But in the real world that "average" woman on "food stamps" (SNAP) is white, has two young children and her husband has just left her. The "average" family on SNAP is white and the family of an enlisted service member. The average person on unemployment is white. The average retired person is white. The average illegal immigrant is white. The average person on Medicare is white.
But somewhere in 2014, white folks become a minority by their own choice. Caucasians could have embraced minorities and diversity and prevented this. But instead the Republicans alienated black Republicans and drove them from the party. Eisenhower got 70% of the black vote. Romney will be lucky to get 6%. There was a time that virtually any gay or lesbian person was a Republican (remember the Log Cabin Republicans?) Now the GOP pulls about 8-9% of gays (who are noted for being highly active in state and local politics out of proportion to their numbers.) The GOP wants to drive women from the party by restricting their control over their own bodies. They GOP has thrown away the Latino vote, even Cubanos are switching parties in droves.
When LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act, he said, "I am giving the South to the Republican Party for the next forty years." Even LBJ did not realize that the GOP would fold the "big tent" and drive out minorities, gays, and women in exchange for old southern white men. Had they known, the Democrats would have pushed for the Civil Rights Act immediately after WWI.
But as whites slide into a self-imposed minority status, the GOP is becoming less great at a rate of about 4% a year. Look at the closeness of the presidential races and you will see that this is a disaster for the GOP in the long run. You simply cannot throw away large blocs of voters and expect to prevail.
If you want to see how much the GOP has changed since it was the champion of minorities, google the 1956 Republican platform.
They won't get their NRA stipend ($$$$) acting like this.
I'm totally against Zimmerman getting off without any penalty here and certainly the police didn't do all their jobs it appears, but you speak as in fact that they threatened arrest if witnesses didn't "change" thier stories? And you say they removed or checked for incriminating videos on his phone as if you know this for sure. I think you are living in a fantasy world. Also, there would obviously be more whites on all those assistance programs due to the fact that we outnumber all other races 2 or 3 to 1, Yes, we are losing the majority status WHEN viewed against all other races together, but white Europeans against any other race are much larger in size. That is how it is at this time. Don't know where you were going with the other racial stuff (other than against whites). The only thing that was coherently factual was that the Repubs lost their minority support due to their ignorance.
It's not an issue of penalty. It's an issue of going to trail, which might indicate that he is innocent. At this point, it's the trail that is important. The verdict and penalty, if any, will flow out of that. Don't try this in the court of opinion. It won't due justice to the boy's memory, if you do.
Typical... Republicans after feeling the hurricane gusts of public opinion blowing against their mindset decide to act with reason.
I hate to be cynical, but this seems like nothing more than CYA. These people put in the laws that let this murder go unpunished, and they want nothing more than for this whole atrocity to go away.
To, all the folks that say that SYG is bad law, do beleive that if you are attacked it is incumbent upon you to try to flee from the aggressor rather than fight for your life? Really? Why? Do you like being sheep for the wolf?
As far as this case is concerned, no one except the two people who were involved actually know what happened. It is nice that everyone on this board, Obama, Republicans, and whoever else can sit around and Monday morning quarterback things, but the reality is none of you can prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt with the information that has thus far been released. And, if you think this case was anywhere near being closed when the media started jumping in and winding things up; you need to realize that actual legal investigations are not wrapped up in 60 minutes with 20 minutes set aside for sponsors ads.
Then argue that in court. I doubt anyone can provide an example where overt self-defense would be ruled out in a court of justice. This "Shoot First" law instead has given the murderer a free license, and he is FAR from the first to get away with this under the law.
Repubs jumping on the bandwagon... whelp even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Talk about a much ado about nothing matter. So, the dems and repubs have joined hands to chant about they know not what. The fact is that all these politicians speaking out haven't a clue as to what the "facts" are. Screaming that this needs to be investigated is a slap in the face of the law enforcement people handling the matter. There's nothing to suggest that law enforcement isn't doing their job. The only reason this has made the news is that a white guy shot a black kid (17 yr old). If it was black on black or white on white, it never would have seen the light of day, except in the local news.
Based on Obama's past experience, it's a sure bet that he has jumped in on the wrong side of this as well. The telltale sign that we are in trouble is when people have no clue that what they are screaming about has any basis in facts. Facts don't seem to matter anymore. And yes, the repubs are jumping on the bandwagon here. They are as clueless as Obama and the dems. And, guess what? We may never know what happened here. Do we really want someone convicted or not convicted to be based on race?
Aggie ... since politicians are getting involved, it IS a political issue. And it should be, given politicians write policy and the laws of the land.
And witchrunner ... appropriate name for an idiot such as yourself. Hop back on your broom and go away before someone "drops a house on you."
And in other news, Wisconsin ranks last regarding 'JOBS'. The latest year-end reports show that the state of Wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state last year.
Republican governor Scott Walker ran on a platform of creating 250,000 jobs for Wisconsin. Walker's even running an anti-recall ad now claiming he created thousands of jobs last year. Go figure.
Let's see if any of the GOP candidates touch that one while in town for the Wisconsin primary.
Please pass the popcorn!
Toasty,
There is no such thing as a "Shoot First" law. SYG clearly states that you have the right to defend yourself if you have reasonable belief that you are under threat of serious harm or death. And that reasonable belief often has to be affirmed in a court of law by a jury of your peers.
Sorry Sparky, but that law HAD room for that in the courts. This Shoot First law goes WAY beyond this. People need to be more careful with the laws they pass, because we've seen the disastrous consequences hundreds of times already. This one just gained national attention.
gradall: That's what is so great about America. People like you can say what you want. You can talk as dumb as you will and insult people for no reason, and yet the Constitution, at least while there are those willing to defend it, will continue to let people like you prove that the dumb have the right to speak too. Wonder if you'll be banned for a day.
I agree with DrowningGrover. The law existing isn't the issue. It is the lack of stipulations written in the law and inappropriate application of said law that is the issue. There should be a clause in that law written that states if the party that used deadly force was involved in provocation of the incident (such as following the other party) then "Stand Your Ground" cannot automatically be applied by law enforcement.
Also, the party that used deadly force should need to prove their life was is imminent danger. For example, someone saying they are going to kick your ass or kill you versus someone actually approaching you with a weapon or throwing punches. And since the law only addresses incidents that occur in public places, there is more chance for eyewitnesses.
2 Examples of similar cases:
- In 1997 Susan Cummings (heiress to a fortune) was convicted of voluntary manslaughter of her Argentine live-in boyfriend Roberto Villegas. She only served 60 days in jail. The reason? The jury (who were all made of of rich people from her community) stated they thought Cummings had good enough reason to fear for her life because her boyfriend had allegedly made threats on her life in the weeks leading up to his death. The prosecutors however tried to convince them that she shot Villegas because he was going to leave her. When Susan Cummings shot Villegas, he was sitting at the breakfast table reading the morning paper. He had unchewed cereal still in his mouth. Villegas was executed at point blank rage while unarmed and his crazy rich girlfriend got away with it on a bogus claim of self defense.
- This example is something I witnessed the other day...
I saw my friend and another woman at the dog park get in a verbal confrontation and eventually the police were called and escorted the woman out of the park. About 20 minutes after the cops left, my friend & I decided to go home and we noticed that this woman was sitting in her truck waiting for us. Apparently she had ignored to cops' order to leave, or she just came back. As we were getting into the car, the woman pulls up behind us and stops, blocking us in the parking spot. She had her 10 year old son next to her with a video camera and was clearly trying to get us to approach her. For what? I don't know, but before the cops came the first time she had mentioned she had a gun and would use it on my friend if necessary. The cops were called again since clearly this woman was stalking and harassing us, but she sped off before they showed up. We got her license plate # though! The only thing the police could do was file a report, but at least it's on record in case that crazy bi@tch shows up again and starts something. I am just glad we had cool enough heads not to get sucked into her game, because if my friend or I had gotten hurt she may have claimed self defense, even though it was her that staked us out in the parking lot and tried to keep us from leaving.
Republicans joined the call for an investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on Friday, adding rare, bipartisan support in the racially-charged case.
I hear the voice of DESPERATION from the Republicans on this one!
This demonization of African-Americans and Latino-Americans has been getting worse for a while now. Much of the gains of the Civil Rights activism of the 1950's and 1960's are being lost through exactly the sort of SYG law that is intended to make it wasy to justify racially-motivated shootings such as this.
All true...However, you FORGOT the war against WOMEN too. Women are also tired of all the BS. Don't forget...I know a few that make good money and vote!
What if this was the scenario? -
Just What If?
Would it change things?
*******************************
Zimmerman approaches young Trayvon, they have a brief, two question conversation:
"Why are you following me"?
"What are you doing here?"
Neither question is answered.
Trayvon Martin turns and runs. George Zimmerman gives pursuit.
A lean 17 year old vs. a fat 28 year old. Trayvon gets away. Zimmerman loses him, and is headed back to his vehicle to await police.
Right now, nothing more needs to happen.
But something does. Young Trayvon circles back, and attacks Zimmerman from behind, hitting him in the head, and knocking him to the ground.
If this was the scenario, would this be the first act of violence? Would it be the first crime?
Just pretend - if this were the way things went down, would it be a rash decision on the part of the juvenile which was the culprit for the bad results? Or should Zimmerman still be hanged?
Do two wrongs ever make a right?
Republicans lost minority support because of propaganda. Virtually every civil rights law was passed by republicans, most opposition was from democrats. Google George Wallace, Robert Byrd, etc., democrats were overtly racist then. Now they are covertly racist until a minority strays off the "entitlement" reservation, then the white hoods come back out.
The KKK was a southern democrat organization.
The only thing republicans were against was affirmative action because it was also discrimination.
Virtually every civil rights law was passed by republicans
Martin Luther King never endorsed any political party. The GOP only remembers blacks during election time. We can only see how well South Carolina, Louisiana and the other states with blacks are doing....The Republicans were trying to STOP them from voting...OH Yeah! that law about having an ID...
HYPOCRITES!!!!!
@ Skup
Any chance of that happening ended as soon as the President adopted him as his surrogate son.
Im not exactly sure what your comment means, but Obama was ASKED a question and he ANSWERED the question. Speaking as a father, I wonder what you expected him to say. He is human first after all. Jeez!
This has nothing to do with politics...
Jeb Bush and the GOP implemented this law...
This is what happens when lobbyists control our government...
The GOP has committed treason. It is one thing to play politics, it is quite another to try and purposely make the president and the economy fail. They stopped working for the American people long ago, well unless you're wealthy.
f
This is just sick. The repukians are using this boys death/murder to score points with the people. I didn't think they could sink any lower than they already have, but they did.
Obama 2012
So I know all of you are against the neighborhood watch guy that shot the kid, but we do not know this kid, but we don't know if this kid was in a gang. If he was of course he would hide it from his parents. As for the girl friend of course she is going to side with Travon even if she knew he was a gang member; WHAT, gang members don't eat skittles? Also they are saying George Zimmerman said fuc*ing co*n, I have heard the recording and it sounds to me like he says fu*cking phone. There is no evidence that this was murder. Just because everyone says that he was a good kid and he did not have a criminal record doesn't mean that, that that day he didn't snap. Nobody should have a criminal record at 17, maybe he was angry that he was suspended for 5 days or that George was following him and than snapped; nobody knows. WHAT KIND OF GOOD KID GETS SUSPENDED FOR 5 DAYS. Even though he was suspended for skipping school; good kids don't skip school, so maybe when he wasn't at school he was off doing bad things, nobody knows? The constant coverage of this story is so Obama can make another case about gun control. There are 41 murders in the USA everyday 14,750 a year so why do we only hear about the white guy killing a black kid; shouldn't all of the murders be covered like this. The only reason they are covering the story is because like this is like I said it was a white man killing a black boy and Obama wants to make it out to be a race issue that is how the left works. Ask yourself why would an upstanding neighborhood watch man as the claim he was kill just to kill? The left is saying Travon couldn't of been the aggressor he didn't have a criminal record, well neither did George. Obama wants you to believe that the white guy is capable of snapping and in the same breath they are saying Travon couldn't of snapped; does any one else see this as a little hypocritical. Why would George just kill Travon so he could lose everything? This is an election year and of course Obama is going to say George should be arrested, he needs the black vote and he wants to take away our 2nd amendment rights. Now none of use were there so we do not know what happened which one snapped. I know a lot of you will be pissed by my post and think it is an injustice to Travon; well I think if people like me don't speak out that another injustice will be done to George. Again we don't know what happened.
Irespond - You are wrong, it is well documented that Martin Luther King was a Rep. Sorry to burst your bubble. Research it. Most racist are Dem; those are facts too and you can research them also, just look up kkk or skinheads.
Too late for the republicans to change what they really are... It's like church on Sunday... You all listen to the guy up there, dressed in those vestments, yet you know under those fancy cloths is something that's just not right...
I bet they're upsetting the Republican base...it's not conservative enough.
Seems to me this is one the republicans can get behind without really messing with their 150 year old format.....
unarmed child gunned down....
if they had worked to help change the way folks see each other and had made effort to prevent that law allowing killings under preceived threat, whether real or imagined or just convenient at the time, then perhaps this would have never happened...but they did neither.....
all Americans, all equal......but most protected should be our children.
This whole situation just sucks........and the fact that nothing tangible has been done about it is outrageous..........as a parent I appluad Trayvon's family.............I do not know if I could control myself as they have........my heart goes out to them...
Justice will prevail............no rock to hide under here.
What a bunch of hypocrites, first Republicans promote insane NRA written laws like “stand your ground” even when thousands of experts tell them that innocent people will die. Of course when innocent people DO die these worthless Republicans jump in asking for an investigation of something they caused.
I have asked myself many times how these right wing jerks can sleep at night and the only answer I have come up with is that their sociopaths devoid of conscience. The organizations that really should be investigated are the GOP and the NRA. It’s obvious that both the Republican Party and the NRA are accessories in Trayvon Martins murder and dozens of other murders that haven’t received as much attention.
Wake up America, the Republican Party has gone insane ! Stop voting for these lunatics.
As well it should Toasty, this gained attention for all the wrong reasons, and you know that, this type of thing happens every day, why is this case so important? Because the kid was black?
The day Teapublicans get control of the NRA lobby is the day I'll believe they give a sh!t about this tragedy or any other tragedy including the shooting of Gabby Giffords.
The NRA controls ALL gun laws passed in this nation -- There is NO democracy in regard to these laws. For example, after the shooting in Tucson, which injured Giffords and killed so many others, there was a new outcry about the need to restrict clips with massive rounds not needed for anything except criminal behavior. These large-round clips were restricted...until Dubya allowd it to expire.
No one was able to tackle Loughner until he had to reload--after he'd already shot 30 friggin' rounds After the Tucson tragedy several bills sponsored by dozens of congressmen and women were NEVER passed. WHY? Unless it is a Republican President (Reagan) who is shot, forgetaboutit!
I am a gun owner, but it's obvious the far-right radicals in this country are taking this nation down the toilet. And they are using tools like ALEC to mass produce their crap. Fellow Americans, if you want a voice, whether it is gun laws, or women's rights, or labor rights, the first thing you need to do is throw the Teapublicans out!
freedman1 -- OMG, we don't need hypotheticals. We already know police instructed Zimmerman NOT to pursue, and he disregarded this order and made pursuit anyway.
They have to do something to try to get some black votes.
Hey folks, wait until the investigation is over and all the evidence is collected before convicting anyone of a crime...........You know what they say about making assumptionns ?
CHRIS
The shooter was spanish !!! This is only a race issue because you and NAACP want it to be.
Republicans, please reevaluate your political promotion of the "stand-your-ground, shoot first" laws you put into the law books of many states, to favor the legal protection of concealed-weapons carriers, as promoted by the NRA and as of late, the Tea Party.
These sort of regressive gun laws that promote, "license-to-kill, armed-vigilantism," isn't helping our country, and it's tying the hands of our police forces by preventing them from investigating into any depth, shooters on our streets that proclaim that they killed in, "self-defense."
NRA, the SYG Laws you promoted are institutionally rationalizing the murder of innocents. These sort of regressive laws allowing cop-wannabees walking around with concealed weapons to target people they don't like and then claim they did it in, 'self-defense,' are reminiscent of the unchecked violence of the "Wild West," of the 19th century. Why you want to turn America's clock back to this era -- long before civil rights existed and before the Miranda Act existed, and when "shooting first," was an acceptable civil defense in some quarters-- is absurdly naive, unnecessary ...and deadly. It make enrich your political pocket books, but what consolation is that to the surviving families of such avoidable tragedies?
I see nothing wrong with the stand your ground law. Just because a boy was shot by a idiot. If Zimmerman was black this would be a non issue .
The man is now guilty until proven innocent because of the media. I also feel that he is guilty from what i have heard just like you. That said if he had ran the kid down with a car . Would you then want to outlaw cars?
When you outlaw guns , only outlaws will have guns. Think about it !
Conversely, what if the kid had been white and the shooter black or Hispanic? Yeah, that's what I thought. The only reason it matters that the kid was black is because this type of profiling and stereotyping has been going on for decades. People assume that if a black kid is wearing a hoodie, he's a gang banger. If you think some Hispanics aren't racist, then please review Geraldo Rivera's analysis of this case. The SYG law is a bad law, but that notwithstanding, Zimmerman should have stood down when he was ordered by the police to do it. I participate in Neighborhood Watch in our neighborhood and NOBODY carries a weapon or drives around in our cars looking for trouble. If we see something suspicious, we call the police and let them handle it. That's why we pay them, for God's sake!
the fact that the man was on the ground and being punched is one of those Inconvenient Truths that the Leftist News Media likes to leave out.
http://amren.com/news/2012/03/zimmerman-was-on-the-ground-being-punched-when-he-shot-trayvon-martin/
Now.. I believe we need some apologies .
You know, it's real easy to figure out what the Left is saying anytime over the last couple of decades: hate.
The Left spouts more hate speech than any other group while at the same time claiming to be against it.
Now, collapse me and prove Teddy right.
@retiredcoastguard
Those comment are being contradicted by other witnesses. Another fact you fail to mention is that Zimmerman was the aggressor and even if Martin was punching him, Martin had just as much a right to protect himself as Zimmerman. The 911 calls prove Zimmerman as the aggressor so his self defense alibi goes out the window.
Looks like JimP is trying to bait someone with delusional comments. The laughable thing about his comment is his saying that "The Left spouts more hate speech than any other group".
Get the facts. That's all that's necessary. An unbiased investigation. Problem right now is that if the facts come in and Zimmerman is exonerated, there's going to be rioting in the streets.
When did Republicans start this myth that the Civil Rights Act was a Republican initiative. It wasn't, it was brought by Northern Democrats and had bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and it was passed because it was pushed very strongly by a Southern Democratic President, LBJ, who rightly predicted that conservatives in the South would switch to the Republican Party for generations to come.
Here is the voting by party and region:
The original House version:
The Senate version:
Are the photos of the boy recent? He looks like he is 12 .
"where he also nominated a new World Bank president."
Watch, the country-folk that call Obama "Hussein" will now make fun of his appointment to the new World Bank president. Counting, one, two, three...
You assume right-wing low-information voters actually know about the World Bank appointment. They only care about God, gays, and guns -- Always have, always will!
True Patriot: Why, your comment is downright prejudiced, bigoted and pure hyperbole. Somehow, I must presume you're one of those 'fair-minded, unprejudiced and non-racist' liberals. Uh huh.
Repubs join call.. Well it is an election year. But I wouldn't trust a Repub if I were a minority or a non christian. Actually nobody should trust a Repub.
So much for bipartisanship...
...so much for bigotry there Ed Burke. You are speaking from your glass house it seems.
Anything for a vote repub or dem neither give a rip.
I am so impressed by the level of intelligence that liberals bring to the discussion of a very serious matter.
I think the GOP knows that ignoring this case could loose the the state of Florida, which will be an uphill battle anyway.
Well 3rd base, come down off your high horse and actually add something to the conversation. And take another look from outside your rose colored glasses and you'll see that the are righties and lefties posting. that you only interpret these as being liberal makes you one judgemental dim bulb.
Ed Burke - Here's one Republican who doesn't trust Republicans - following is part of a speech given by a Republican
As the only Republican Congressman at a rally for the Equal Rights Amendment
on Thursday, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) gave women an unexpected piece of
advice: Give your money to Democrats.
"I think these are very precarious times for women, it seems. So many
of your rights are under assault," he told the crowd of mostly women.
"I'll tell you this: Contribute your money to people who speak out on your
behalf, because the other side -- my side -- has a lot of it. And you need to
send your own message. You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and
that they can't succeed without your help."
"This is a dogfight, it's a fistfight, and you have all the
cards," he said. "I can only tell you to get out there and use them.
Tell the other women, the other 51 percent of the population, to kick in a few
of their bucks. Make it matter, get out there, get on TV, advertise, talk about
this. The fact that you want [the ERA] is evidence that you deserve it and you
need it."
By the way I have two sons and I am white and my youngest son resembles this young boy
Sophie,
Florida has been leaning conservative for well over a decade and it is an uphill battle for Obama. Yes, he won in 2008 - but that was due to a variety of issues that he won't be able to capitalize on this time (ex: Bush 2, financial markets collapsing, anger over the wars in the Middle East, etc.).
It was the republicans' pet law that let this affair happen in the first place.
It was democrats pet laws that destroyed this economy and will send us into bankruptcy.
So much for bipartisanship
Dick Cheney and Karl Rove threw that one out the window long time agoi. They found out that politics Rush Limbaugh style are a lot more effective. ...People love reality shows better than a cordial dialogue.
Being rude is in.
It was the republicans' pet law that let this affair happen in the first place
It was passed with the "blessing"of the NRA
https://www.freespeech.org/video/stand-your-ground-law-question
Why did it take the GOP/TP SO Long. It would be a breath of fresh air if only once the GOP did the right thing without being forced to.
Yeah they really put themselves out there. I think Rove must have put out a talking points memo on this.
Seriously, I'm glad people are standing up for investigations, and hopefully justice for Trayvon!
Well...I hope for blind justice. If it's for Trayvon, great, but if it's for Zimmerman, also great. Remember, at this point we don't have all of the facts - it may turn out the actual events were significantly different than what has been reported thus far.
Well I would say the 911 call said it pretty well...
No, it said part of it pretty well. The injuries to Zimmerman also said part of it pretty well. Again, we need the whole story.
Valhalla, that's what courts are for.....the whole story. Sounds to me that there are grounds for arrest and charging. He will probably make bail and then there will be a trail where all the facts will be reviewed in light of the law. Zimmerman is innocent until proven guilty. This incident deserves the benefit of a trail. Don't you think?
It took THIS to bring the two party's together? Well, then, so be it. This young man is now a martyr.
God bless him and grant him peace and paradise.
Come, people, let us reason together.
Respectfully,
Jim
Took them long enough.
No longer than it took Obama.
Well, Slightly longer :)
And they all had pretty much the same message. Obama differed slightly in that he painted a more personal picture. But he can do that in this case because in his statement, I took it to mean that the child could have been anyones kid.
I;m not saying one message is better but they are all similar.
Same way I read it Adam. He's everyone's son, and brother.
If Obama had a son there would be one man in the family! Sorry, couldn't resist. :<O
I don't hate the man but I do hate what he has done to this country. Personally I think all politicians need to but out of this case. No matter what the outcome, it will now be used as political fodder. It should only be about justice, justice for both. That is the American way.
Valhalla- You just had to go there. Hate what the President has done, what clean-up and deal with the economic meltdown, deal with 2 unpaid wars, Guantanamo prison on and on. I hate that the President, has had to fight the GOP at every turn, that they would rather see the country fail, then let him have another term. That there ONLY goal was to make him a one term President! I didn't like Bush, but I never thought he wanted to destroy our country, or that he was a bad man.
Take our country back, he's attacking religion, it's all about freedom. All of these are BS, and you know it!
I ALWAYS thought Bush wanted to destroy our country, and he and his cohorts are the ones who brought this nation to its knees with is unnecessary, unfunded wars, its unfunded tax cuts, the unpaid-for Medicare drug benefit, deregulation of the investment banking industry, I could go on and on. Eight years in office, did he get Osama bin Ladin - nope. That's right - it was President Obama. He's not attacking your religion. He's just trying to keep your religion from attacking the rest of us. I'm so sick of people saying that it is Obama that has ruined this country. Get a clue!
Ok, crazy right wingers, where are you on this thread calling Willard and Santorum a racist who is spreading lies to divide the country to get votes? Mitt and Santorum must also be called racists and need to be told not to comment on this topic and stick to the important issues. You did it all morning making hundreds of these types of comments when Obama made the same exact remarks! Come on guys, where is the criticism?
Steveo! "Ok, crazy right wingers, where are you on this thread calling Willard and Santorum a racist who is spreading lies to divide the country to get votes?" etc
Thank you for saying EXACTLY what I was thinking! It's like I said before: Obama could walk on water and all the "anybody but Obama" crowd would do is point at him and sneer, "See! Obama can't swim!"
Oh what a giveaway!
He could crap out golden nuggets, set up a stand at the Republican convention to give them out, and they'll still want to lynch him!
He is totally incompetent, if you think we'd be treating Gore or Kerry and different you are showing your racism and bigotry. Socialists have no business trying to run a capitalist economy no matter what color they are.
I often refer to him as Carter 2.0, by what stretch of the imagination could that be considered racist? Is it racist to assume a black can be just as incompetent as a white?
It is an election year. The candidates have to weigh in or come off seeming insensitive and uncaring. Personally, they should all butt out until an investigation is completed. That includes the New Black Panthers...
Oops... now what are they going to do? The NRA has already said that it was completely justified since the guy felt "at risk"... oh my... oh my.... what will the GOP do? What the heck do you think? The black kid was a fault..... enough said!!!!!
Do you have a statement from someone at the NRA saying that? Could you post a link please, thanks.
The NRA is on record for supporting the "stand your ground" law (a.k.a., legalized murder) and praising Florida for adapting it.
Hey kevin. Where's the link?
Hopefully, Zimmerman will get a fair trial, despite Obama's words.
"Despite Obama's words." Stop trying to imply these things. It's disgusting, and it's the rhetoric that has fanaticized far-right extremists for the last three years under the first black president.
So liberals can say disgusting things and spout rhetoric that has fanaticized far left extremists for the last three years but that's OK right? Pathetic hypocrisy.
Sorry Phil, but there is no equivalency here. The violence has been almost exclusively on the side of the far right.
No link I guess.
Toasty: an assertion once again, pure hyperbole but gotta give you credit for being consistent. Now, I say that the violence has been almost exclusively on the side of the far left. Prove me wrong.
THEY ONLY STUCK THEIR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND BECAUSE OF THEIR POLITICAL ADVISERS ; a blind man can see the heartless people running the republican conservative white tea drinkers party.
The Frederal Government is involved in this now on behalf of Trayvon. Zimmerman just became the most hated man in America. Have fun in the pressure cooker; you asked for this.
Would that be Fred's government?
Please investigate and report in the press exactly what is found to be the truth, assuming that is even possible. It's going to be fairly difficult to determine the actual facts in this case.
In the meantime, it is foolish to go around dressed like a hoodlum and hope people will know you're a good guy. Most people don't have crystal ball to be able to tell the difference. Most people make decisions based on passed experiences and/or preconceived biases. It makes no sense to place yourself at risk unnecessarily.
Are you for real! A lot of people blackor white wear hoodies! I guess we should all be shot! Go back under the rock you crawled out from under!
Yes, wearing a hooded sweater while walking home from a convenience store in a February rainfall is clearly an obvious criminal act. Your prejudiced stupidity is beyond belief.
"It makes no sense to place yourself at risk unnecessarily."
Isn't that exactly why the police told Zimmerman NOT to follow the guy? From Martin's perspective, how can he not place himself at risk, when it follows him?
Your second comment sounds remarkably similar to the ol' argument of "well, if that lady didn't wish to be raped, she shouldn't have dressed in alluring clothes"...
It really makes no sense to make "preconceived" judgements (biases).
So, according to your logic I'm foolish. I'm a 60+ Caucasian woman who wears hoodies and jeans, but anyone seeing me from the back wouldn't be able to tell my race, age, or gender-especially in the dark. Oh, wait--if the attacker saw I wasn't black, they would assume I wasn't a hoodlum, wouldn't they? ...even though I could conceivably BE a burglar!
Trayvon's crime was being a young black man walking after dark in a predominantly white community. He could have been wearing a Gators jacket and Zimmerman's reaction would probably have been the same because Trayvon couldn't change his age, his color, or his gender.
Your mindset is appalling, Paduki, simply appalling.
Paduki
Facts?
Apparently, you've overlooked them.
The 911 call distinctly shows that the kid was avoiding the shooter. Even the shooter said he was trying to get away. The shooter persued the victim, chasing him to a back alley. When asked by the 911 operator if he was persuing him, the shooter said yes, and the operator told him the police didn't need him to do that. Another 911 call shows the victim clearly pleading for his life and hollering for help. He is on the ground, yelling for help. Then you hear the gun shot.
What facts are you needing? Perhaps the kid threw Skittles at the shooter?
I have a couple of hooded sweatshirts, that I wear frequently, probably for the same reason this young man was wearing one, it was raining, or chilly. The difference is that I am white, and had that fool come after me, he'd of also found that I am ex-Special Forces, that knows real hand-to-hand. My problem with this case has been not only the "cop wannabe" shooter, but the incomprehensible lack of professionalism by the SPD; AND, the incredible numbers of people that show up, after a shooting tragedy, trying to spin the shootings as being the victim's fault. Even when there are multiple fatalities and or injuries. Which are often touted as being a set up by, former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and the democrats, so that they can pass new gun legislation to take a way our weapons. I am fed up with hearing this garbage, SCOTUS has ruled on the 2nd Amendment. So there is no chance of a change in anyone's lifetime, just like Roe v. Wade. I don't care which party stuffs the courts, it is not going to happen. They need to understand that and shut the hell up , because, most of us don't want people thinking that we are all that stupid or mentally unbalanced. Both are a valid reasons for withholding a permit or gun purchase. I am glad to see that others are finally starting to voice the displeasure of a failed system that, until recently, had bypassed the tragic loss of this, by all accounts, young man.
None of you are making any sense. What was this kid doing in a gated community? Did he live there? If he did not live there, who was he visiting?
Has the gated community been experiencing burglaries? If so, dressing in a way that makes you hard to identify like many criminals do, seems foolish!
No one has all the facts but it seems everyone is rushing to judgment!
Maybe Al Sharpton can utter more famous statements like he did last time (“I don't care who hangs as long as their white").
What was this kid doing in a gated community? Did he live there? If he did not live there, who was he visiting?
Most of us know the answers to these questions. Maybe you need to get a wee bit informed before posting.
Paducki - I am a 60 year old woman and I wear hoodies. SHUT UP!
You haters make me sick! You all should be ashamed of yourselves! Get a grip! You all think you are so fuKing smart then you run for president! You don't even know the first thing about how to run our country and yet you spout off like you know everything! You know nothing except the bsyou are spoon fed by your crappy party and faux news! I believe you would meet no resistance if you all left the USA! Just get out if you hate it so much! You are disrespectful disgusting excuses for men! I am shocked at the vets on here that are writing such stupid bs! If you have no respect for the president then.....then you have no respect for our great country! LEAVE!
It must be great to be you "Super Bon" liberal feminist freak! Obama is the worst president in our history and has divided our country, it is not HIS country. He sees everything as class warfare, has driven a wedge between parties even his statement that this kid would look like his son is driving home a point that he is different that other Americans. Cant wait to vote this POS out of office, yes that is our right as Americans!
There you go again making inflamed comments w/ no sort of facts or anything intelligent to support it. Yes, you have the right to vote that is about the only thing you said that made sense. Not sure where this "feminist" remark came from my post. But based on your comment, you probably have no idea what it means and just heard mr. limbaugh spew it out. Thanks for the ignorant post though.
Sluggo, I can't wait for Obama to win in November because then I can relax a bit knowing the the teapubs won't be able to ruin the country any more than they have already. There is no way I trust republicans to run the country. We know they are trying hard to screw over women and God only knows the damage they would try to inflict if they actually had the power. Oh, and I would wear the "liberal feminist freak" label with honor.
Your post? Looks like it was made by Super Bon. So what you're saying is that you're here posting under two different usernames? Just a game, huh? Go away.
If all the workers left where would that leave you?
Excuse me, Steve. I am a Democrat AND I WORK! So much for your stereotypical generalizations.
In rare showing of bipartisan support, GOP joins call for inquiry in Martin case; This lead in from the MSNBC site is demeaning to Republicans and is offensive in itself. What the 'lone individual' did in FL was absolutely wrong and to imply that it was inspired by speeches made by Gingrich, Santorum and Limbaugh as implied by Karen Finney is outrageous. Over St. Patrick's Day weekend 49 people were shot in Chicago and in FL a 17 yr. old black is being tried for the cold-blooded killing of 2 white British tourists - where is her outrage at these events. One thing that you can count on liberals for is their hypocrisy in race matters.
Why are you here......go back to faux where your kind belongs!
"17 yr old black is being tried" the problem is that the white man is NOT being tried.
Steveo, If you had read and understood my statement - I said the shooting was absolutely wrong.
No where do I say that the man who shot the boy in FL should not be tried. I think he should be jailed and held accountable. What is being implied by MSNBC is that Republican speech lead to this individual committing this deed. They did the same thing after the Giffords shooting in AZ and the individual was a leftist nut.
This is about a lone individual. Law enforcement just got caught with bloody hands in an attempt to cover up a murder. I can't hold MSNBC accountable for your thinking but what I know is that this case is not an isolated pattern. Law enforcement has developed and adopted policies when made public show corrupt conduct by key public service officials. This murder investigation is critical.
#3rd base, it will be difficult for you to reach home base, if you persist in this kind of thinking and continue to express it.
Qme2 - George Zimmerman is Hispanic and grew up in a multiracial family. However, MSNBC in its headline and Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, given air time on MSNBC blamed Republicans and their speeches for being responsible for this act is beyond comprehension. If anything, Zimmerman is a democrat. So it is you who had better seek out all the information before putting anything in writing about my expressing my thoughts. You liberals all said that the nut that shot Giffords was a right winger but he was a leftist.
You are completely missing the point of the Martin case outrage. An unarmed African American teenager was profiled, pursued, physically confronted and murdered while screaming for help. NO ONE was arrested. The cases you mentioned are different because in one, a person was arrested and is on trial. The other is gang related violence and the police are actively looking to find the culprits. You are trying to compare apples to drag queens!
3rd base, maybe translating a headline like that works at fox news, but here your translation makes no sense. That thought was the furthest from my mind when I read it. Yeah, you need to rejoin your "fox and friends".
3rd base, Everyone agrees murder is wrong, the issue is stand your ground. Tax loop holes I get, but murder loop holes?
Yeah you are right about the killings in Chicago an Florida but there is one major difference... The law that was rammed down the throats of the people of Florida was not only backed by the NRA but the Republican party... Just because they could.... And no doubt the 17 yr old was jailed as soon as he was caught this guy in Sanford is still roaming free and I would bet he still has his gun...
Wheres the outrage? Well, it would be there if the people who were murdered were denied justice like Trayvon.
I'm sure they were not arrested or charged with a crime, making it a equal and fair analogy, right?
The youth that killed two tourists was released and never booked or charged right?
The so-called "stand your ground" laws that 24 states have enacted, based on a shadow-written statute from a Washington, DC lobbying group, need to be summarily invalidated on a bipartisan basis. Such statutes have no place in a civilized society and and are subject to misinterpretation because they are intentionally ambiguous.
In your previous reply, you say race wasn't a factor but you overlook the obvious. In Chicago, 49 people (probably most of them black because their race was not stated) were shot and in FL a black shot 2 white people to death. However, where is Al Sharpton? - in FL and now Obama is chiming in on this FL shooting but they have not said anything about Chicago. So obviously the MSM and the black leaders are only concerned when a white kills a black but blacks can go on shooting other blacks without drawing the ire of Sharpton or Obama. Tell me then race is not a factor.
@3rd Base,
You are so off topic with your comparisons it's hilarious. This outrage is not simply because a white Hispanic man shot and killed a young black man. It is about the fact that he shot the young black man, claimed self-defense and was let go by the police before they did a proper and through investigation into the facts.
I don't know any of the fact of the cases you cited but if the individuals who did the shooting were summarily detained, claimed self-defense and were let go by the police prior to them doing an investigation, then I am in complete agreement with your comparison.
We know, however, that there is no comparison between what you cited and what happened in Sanford, FL. For you to attempt some linkage to the two incidents is outright disingenuous on your part, and if you were not so blinded by your dislike of the black leaders who are spearheading this call for JUSTICE you would admit that.
So, go ahead and sit in your domicile holding onto your gun and being afraid. Go ahead and look for any irrational reason not to state that there is a travesty of justice taking place in Sanford. Keep justifying your hate in your own mind. The rest of us will do the American thing and stand with the Martin family until this shameful behavior on the part of Sanford, FL law enforcement is rectified.
Sorry if some of my words are too large for you, but they do have dictionaries available on-line where you can get an explanation of any of the terms I used that are above your educational capacity.
Its sad that 3rd base needs that explained. I don't think he is seeing the point. Hes stuck in Chicago killings.
Stop, back up and think without emotion. The response to events such as this is what is taking this country down in a hurry. You talk of rep/dem as groups from diffrent solar systems. Black, white, brown and yellow are all feeding on this creating even more divisions. Yet, while all of this is going on our true enemies abroad are enjoying every second of this response to a single sad event. Trevor didn't deserve to die. I'll bet he had enough moral values to condone the new black panther party's response.
I've been to over 35 countries. Seen the best to the worst. Had a machine gun pionted at me for $20. On a level of 1 to 10, America used to be a 10. As illegal immigration continues the division will expand. We need to start with defending our borders and tighten control on who gets in.
Don't give a rat's @%$# about party or color. What I do care about is this country and the people that live in it. Trevor is one of them.
Now if they could only handle all matters in this fashion. They sure can find common ground on something that isnt in their job description. But you try to get any of these clowns together to pass some meaningful legislation and all you get is a political back and forth. Then again it is an election year, and maybe the pols are just pandering for minority support and the republicans were just a little late jumping on the band wagon. Probably wanted to see opinion poll results first in order to tell them what they should think.
The GOP doesn't want to alienate itself from the crisis. The Rham Emanuel play book 101 says to never waste a good crisis and Obama will use every ounce of it for his gains.
That's right because he cares!
Hope he cares with all the other murders of kids in this country whether its Black,Hispanics Whites or Asians. He is self serving more than caring. He never got involved till he saw the amount of possible voters he had to gain or lose.
He answered a question at a press conference.
BRian, errrrrrrr........... actually Obama has said very little and until today, the GOP has said NOTHING!
Brian-869346, your comments about the president are disrespectful and simply argumentative. President Obama never did a lot of things his critics want done. I wish he could solve centuries of injustice in four years. Not another word is required.
When the news first broke, Obama's press secretary said it was a local problem nothing the WH should get involved in. The mass of people has caught Obama's attention and all of a sudden it's now a WH wants to get involved. Self serving isn't it?
You do understand that at a press conference, you know, there is press, and, uh, they ask questions?
Ray: Thank you so much for making me giggle: "You do understand that at a press conference, you know, there is press, and, uh, they ask questions?"
How much you bet your VERY pertinent question (and the facts behind it) will be ignored by the "Anybody but Obama" bunch? Sad...but true.
It's pretty sad that it is 2012 and we still have a large % of people in this country who are racists, homophobic, completely ethnocentric or intolerant to others' beliefs/religions. All of this stems from ignorance and just proves the need for improved education in this country!
until republicans are defeated on all levels - and their polices are retracted= we will not be able to move forward/ It will take more than one election to get rid these scum bags - but we need to start somewhere
Stevo - unfortunately, these people don't want to be educated. They would rather wallow around in their ignorance and hatred. It's sad, really.
Perfect. Post #18 calls for unity, cohesion and suggests a need for improved education in bringing people together rather than being divided along religious, ethnocentric and intolerant lines. Then along come the next two posters who completely prove his point and...they don't seem to understand that they are proof of the existence of what he was referring to. The irony. The tragic humor...
you can't convict based on vague. Dressed as a hood.
One page of comments, about a bipartisan response to this tragedy. 35 pages (and counting) with racists attacking the President for commenting.
exactly! I want to see everyone angry that mitt and santorum are racists that are dividing the country! They'll tell you they aren't racist until their face turns blue, but their other words and actions contradict that.
Steveo, of course, you can say that about the entire GOP. Never once that I can remember has the GOP picked up the banner to improve the lot for minorities since raygun became president! The last effort I remember is the GOP responding to LBJ's call to get JFK's civil rights bill passed and Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen responded for what was right for the country! They did the same for the Voting Rights Act, which this version of the GOP is trying its best to overturn or at least, render it moot! The Republican Party lost it's soul somewhere along the line! It will never regain it un til this version of the GOP is completely repudiated!
Tom - right you are. There hasn't been a decent Republican president since Eisenhower. The party of Lincoln and T. Roosevelt would drum them out of their own party these days.
Tea Party groups must have given Republican candidates permission to give the appearance of support. Thanks.
The problem is not the Zimmerman's of the world, alone. People make mistakes. That’s why we hire and rely on law enforcement. The more sinister issue, here, is the blatantly arrogant corrupt nature of this local law enforcement.
Police and prosecutors are both involved here and they have been caught red-handed implementing a departmental policy. They now have blood on their records. The initial investigation was botched and purposefully. The code of conspiratorial silence was invoked and the case was processed in violation of key protocols established to insure sound investigative results.
At this point the shooter, Mr. Zimmerman, should be more concerned about visits from local police or their surrogates, than angry citizens. If Mr. Zimmerman mysteriously disappears or is found dead, local law enforcement more than likely used their "get of jail card" in this case.”
Nah ~ they just had to wait to see which side to come down on. The politics and public relations point to siding with the family and protestors so that is the candidate's public stand. Deep in their hearts they have strong support for the Stand Your Ground law. Hell, Gingrich has said just that. Don't want to anger their NRA buddies. Incidently, has anyone heard a mumblin' word out of the NRA about this? I haven't.
I do understand press conferences. Its obvious you dont Ray Butt.
Ray! See what I mean? Check out brian above.
Remember, you can count on the GOP to push forward the best defense they can and be pro-gun! They'll cry crocodile tears, but they wont allow a thing to be done! There is political gain for them. Notice that the GOP controlled House didnt call for hearings/investigations. All they want is to "support" the DOJ's investigation. So actually, this isnt bipartsan since they are unwilling to DO anything while Obama did! It was HE that ordered the DOJFBI investigation!
the gop is looking for votes and didn't want to be left behind.
Steve it's obvious that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. It appears you need a little education on the due process that we have in this country.
brian - We all understand "due process" - however in this case no due process was followed.
This child's body laid on a slab for three days as a "John Doe" and the police had his cell phone - they couldn't trace his number?
Stop with your BS - all this information was out there - the calls to 911 where also heard where this man said "they always get away" with a racial slur and the police did nothing
Brian - no due process has been carried out in this case. That's what is being demanded.