Zimmerman Arrested – Charged with Second-Degree Murder
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 12th, 2012
Good morning!
Beryl: Thanks for the good news. This is such huge news, I just had to give it more blog time here:
Here’s a segment from the Rachel Maddow show:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
And from the Huff Po:
George Zimmerman In Custody, Charged With Second-Degree Murder In Trayvon Martin Case
The special prosecutor investigating the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin announced Wednesday evening that George Zimmerman, who told police he shot Martin in self defense, has been charged with second-degree murder.
Zimmerman will plead not guilty to the charges, according to his attorneys. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Zimmerman, who has been in hiding for weeks, is in police custody. Special prosecutor Angela Corey said during a news conference in Jacksonville, Fla., that she would not reveal where Zimmerman was out of concern for his safety. “He is within the custody of law enforcement officers in the state of Florida,” Corey said.
The murder charge indicates prosecutors plan to prove Zimmerman shot Martin with malice, though without premeditation. A manslaughter charge would have required prosecutors to prove only that Zimmerman acted unlawfully and with criminal negligence in shooting the teen.
“The difference between murder and manslaughter is your mental state,” said Mark Geragos, a Los Angeles defense attorney, who is not connected to the case. “To elevate it to murder, you have to have the element of malice.”
In Florida, a grand jury must be convened before issuing first-degree murder charges. On Monday, Corey announced that she would not convene a grand jury, which had been scheduled for Tuesday, in the Martin case.
Zimmerman, 28, shot and killed 17-year-old Martin Feb. 26 in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., where Martin was visiting his father and his father’s girlfriend. Zimmerman served as captain of the neighborhood watch and told police that he shot Martin in self-defense after the teen attacked him. Martin was unarmed at the time of his death, according to police.
On the night of the shooting, Zimmerman was questioned at the police station, but released shortly afterwards. Sanford Police Department investigated and determined there was not enough evidence to refute his claims of self-defense.
The case became a flashpoint in the ongoing national debate over racial profiling and gun control. Attorneys representing Zimmerman have called the shooting a clear case of self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which gives citizens broad latitude to use deadly force against an attacker if they believe their life is at risk.
Corey called the Stand Your Ground law a “tough” defense to counter, but said her office would fight it if it became an issue at trial. To prevail, the prosecution would have to demonstrate that Zimmerman’s account of events is false, then present the jury with a compelling alternative to the altercation, experts said.
“They will go very hard at (Zimmerman’s) credibility,” said Paul Callan, a defense attorney and former New York prosecutor who is not connected with the case. “This is how prosecutors customarily disprove bogus self-defense claims.”
Martin’s death and subsequent handling of the investigation also sparked national outrage and calls for Zimmerman’s arrest. From the start, Martin’s family and attorneys questioned the impartiality and thoroughness of the police investigation into the teen’s killing.
Law enforcement experts said that Sanford police made key errors early in the investigation and made crucial decisions before important evidence was gathered.
Martin’s cell phone records were not immediately checked. Investigators did not talk with key witnesses for more than a week. While police conducted a criminal background check on Martin, as well as post-mortem drug and alcohol tests, Zimmerman was not subjected to similar tests. It was learned later that Zimmerman was arrested in 2005 for assaulting a police officer.
During the news conference Wednesday, Corey criticized leaks of confidential details about the case that appeared to bolster Zimmerman’s self-defense claims. “So much information on the case got released that never should have been released,” Corey said.
The announcement of the charges comes a day after Zimmerman’s previous attorneys withdrew their counsel, saying they lost contact with him and that he repeatedly ignored their legal advice. They said Zimmerman reached out to Corey’s office directly and had an off-the-record conversation with the Fox News host Sean Hannity without their knowledge.
Trayvon’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, solemnly watched Wednesday’s news conference in Washington on a small television. As Corey read the charges, the slain teen’s parents held hands and watched. “Thank you, Lord,” said Benjamin Crump, the family’s attorney as he patted Martin’s knee. Neither of Martin’s betrayed any emotion as they watched.
After the charges were announced, Fulton said she was thankful for the outpouring of public support. “I just want to speak from my heart to your heart, because a heart has no color,” she said. “It’s not black, it’s not white, it’s red, and I want to say thank you from my heart to your heart.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the more prominent supporters of the Martin family, said the case would not have progressed without “the nameless, faceless people, black, white, Hispanic and Asian … who said ‘take another look at this’.”
“People took their time and money, and stood up and said that that could be my son, that could be my grandson, and because of that this got a second look,” he said. “Even conservatives on the other side of the political spectrum said we’re going to take another look.”
But Sharpton stressed the importance of continuing to seek justice. Zimmerman, Sharpton said, “deserves a fair trial.”
“We do not want anyone high-fiving tonight,” Sharpton said. “There is no victory here. There are no winners here. They lost their son. This is not about gloating. This is about pursuing justice.”
A crowd of nearly 200 people gathered at Allen Chapel A.M.E church in Sanford, the local hub for organizers surrounding the Martin cause.
“The mood is just … happy, but still more like a sigh of relief,” said Traymon Williams, 26, who joined his neighbors at the church after watching Corey’s news conference at home. “It feels just like when you have a headache, a migraine and you take an aspirin and you just can feel the pressure slowly starting to ease.”
But both the defense and prosecution face the challenge of trying a case that has drawn extraordinary media scrutiny, and inflamed passions both for and against Zimmerman. Jury selection will be a crucial and difficult task given the tremendous media coverage afforded to the shooting, experts said.
“This case is won or lost in jury selection,” Geragos said.
For some, the prosecution of Zimmerman may also be a symbolic test of Florida’s ability to conduct a fair trial in a case that has polarized the public and fueled marches and protests across the country. Just last year, Casey Anthony, a young Florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, was acquitted of murder, a verdict that many decried as a miscarriage of justice.
“The state of Florida is on trial here,” said Kenneth Nunn. “A law professor at the University of Florida. “Not just Zimmerman.”
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Readers: I too say, “It’s about time. Now, time will tell if “justice” is really “just US”. For more information on the charges, check out the documents on the Huff Po original article.
Social Butterfly: Thank you for posting. I echo your words toward Dr. David Moscrop as well. And I applaud Moscrop for his illuminating personal experience as well as his continued daily mindful attention to how he treats and responds to women. Yes, many more men could learn from this.
No more time…Got to run. Thoughts? Blog me.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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April 12th, 2012 at 8:59 am
We all know that if not for those that refused to allow the Sanford police department to sweep this under the rug. Zimmerman would have been just another person who got away with killing a black person.
But now watch all the whites come out calling for us to be patient and wait for jUStice to work.
Janet
April 12th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Arizona lawmakers gave final passage to three anti-abortion bills Tuesday afternoon, including one that declares pregnancies in the state begin two weeks before conception.
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So some GOP states are attempting to pass laws that say a woman is two weeks
So every woman who is currently having periods is now legally pregnant for two weeks every month? So they can get whatever benefits pregnant women are entitled to, for those two weeks right?
So employers and insurance companies, and whatnot have to accommodate to the pregnancy of every woman aged about 13 to 55 in the state, for two weeks every month.
Imagine a high school where all the girls only have to take PE half the time, and get to use footstools, and go pee whenever they want to, during their “legal pregnancy weeks.”
And imagine the courts where the “legal pregnancy hormone defense” becomes the norm whenever a “legally pregnant” woman slaps some fool upside the head.
This could be fun, but since it’s bad form, if not downright criminal, to enact laws meant to impact and inconvenience only one designated segment of the otherwise “equal” adult population, what’s the equivalent for men?
They are legally “impregnators” whenever they are in the company of “not legally pregnant” women for more than seven minutes? They will have to keep log books like truckers do, to be sure that when the “legally pregnant” woman becomes “actually pregnant” they can be brought in and made a part of everything that follows.
I can see it now, one woman and 67 men sitting there in the abortion clinic with their log books in their hands, double checking the calendar.
VA
April 12th, 2012 at 9:01 am
DRUG-INDUCED SUNBURNS
Even when summer is long gone, there’s still a chance that you can get burned by the sun — though ultraviolet rays are only part of the problem.
Sometimes taking certain everyday medications and then, say, going to a football game or going skiing on a sunny winter day can actually produce raging sunburns and rashes — ones that can take much longer to go away than typical sunburns. I’m sure you’re asking yourself, How can this be?
We’re talking about something known as drug-induced photosensitivity. Some drugs — even the ones you swallow, not just topical meds that you put on your skin — make some people extra-sensitive to ultraviolet light.
When you’re on one of these drugs and some of your skin is exposed to sun, the combination can inflame the skin and bring sunburn, hives, swelling, blisters and bumpy, red rashes that resemble eczema. And the more that you’re exposed to the sun, the worse the skin reaction can be.
Many of the drugs that can cause photosensitivity are common (more on them below), and since many people might mistakenly blame their skin problem on something else (like stress), it’s all but impossible to tell how many people are affected by this condition.
So I called Alexandra Zhang, MD, a dermatologist at the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute of the Cleveland Clinic in Independence, Ohio, who has conducted research on this topic.
A DIFFICULT DIAGNOSIS
Sometimes, Dr. Zhang explained, the skin reaction is photoallergic. This means that when you apply a topical drug, such as a cream, to your skin, and then the skin is exposed to UV light, the drug binds to proteins in the skin, causing the skin to produce defensive antibodies in response to the UV light.
So an itchy, red rash resembling eczema can show up within minutes on the sun-exposed area — and then spread all over the body.
More commonly, Dr. Zhang continued, the skin reaction is phototoxic. This may happen with nontopical drugs (like pills that you swallow).
If you take one and then are exposed to sunlight, the drug that’s in your bloodstream absorbs energy from UV light. The UV light causes the drug to change chemically and damage skin tissue.
This type of reaction can cause a rash that mimics extreme sunburn anywhere on your body. And it doesn’t even take much sun exposure for this to happen — you can get it from merely sitting inside a car near one of the windows (and you most certainly can get it from artificial UV light, such as from a tanning bed).
In either case, Dr. Zhang noted, unlike a typical summer sunburn, drug-induced photosensitivity can crop up on body parts that haven’t been exposed to the sun, such as your back or your stomach — even when you were wearing a coat all day.
(And that’s another reason that many patients don’t think Oh, the sun! when they have a photosensitivity reaction in the winter — they were mostly covered!)
Even worse, drug-induced photosensitivity can continue to occur for weeks or months (sometimes even years) after you stop taking the medication that caused it!
A wide variety of drugs can set off a photosensitive reaction — and this list continues to grow. The list includes (but is not limited to)…
Antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), cetirizine (Zyrtec) and loratadine (Claritin).
Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), tetracyclines, azithromycin (Zithromax), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim) and doxycycline (Monodox).
Anticlotting drugs such as clopidogrel (Plavix).
High blood pressure medications such as nifedipine (Procardia) and captopril (Capoten).
Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as lovastatin (Mevacor) and simvastatin (Zocor).
Antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) and paroxetine (Paxil).
Sedative/hypnotics such as alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien).
NSAID pain relievers such as ibuprofen, sumatriptan (Imitrex) and celecoxib (Celebrex).
Oral contraceptives, since both progesterone and estrogen can cause photosensitivity.
Skin agents such as minoxidil (Rogaine) and (ironically!) PABA-containing sunscreens.
Why these rashes occur in some people but not others is unclear, said Dr. Zhang. The good news is that although these skin reactions can be annoying, very seldom are they dangerous.
“The reactions are usually just a bad nuisance, to the point where you’re itchy all over and can’t function because you have to scratch,” she said.
One exception: In individuals who are exposed to large amounts of sunlight after taking a large dose of psoralens — drugs that are used to treat certain skin problems, such as psoriasis — reactions can be severe or even fatal.
GETTING RID OF THE RASH
If you experience an unusual skin reaction and you think that a drug you started taking recently might be involved, visit your doctor, who may advise you to switch medications (if possible), so you can figure out if the drug is the culprit.
If so, the rash should disappear within a few weeks or months after you stop taking the drug — although in rare cases it can last for years.
In addition to switching drugs, you can also reduce the effects of the rash — and potentially even make it disappear — by applying a topical corticosteroid and by wearing sunscreen daily, even in the winter, said Dr. Zhang.
But since some sunscreens (the PABA-containing ones mentioned above) will only make the problem worse, read the labels carefully.
“Look for a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both types of UV rays: UVA and UVB, because either can cause photosensitivity,” advised Dr. Zhang.
Source(s):
Alexandra Zhang, MD, a dermatologist at the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Independence Family Health Center, Independence, Ohio.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:05 am
Fighting the Last War
by Ann Coulter
Share Your Comments
In a fast-changing world, a common mistake is to keep fighting the last war.
For example, why would Republicans support sending more troops to Afghanistan, when that war was long over, or helping topple Moammar Gadhafi, who had become an ally in the war on terrorism? Some Republicans seem to support all military deployments just out of habit.
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For years after the 9/11 terrorist attack on America, Democrats hysterically bemoaned any military action, especially in Iraq. They claimed to have many precious objections, but the truth was, they thought we deserved the attack — or at best, both sides were at fault.
So when it came to Obama’s pointlessly sending more troops to Afghanistan or foolishly intervening in Libya, some Republicans’ first instinct was to demand muscular American military action, forgetting that we are the party that cares about American national security and does not fling troops around the globe just to look tough, as the Democrats do.
Republicans who supported sending more troops to Afghanistan and taking out Gadhafi were fighting the last war.
Similarly, sometimes it seems as if Republicans’ only move on the economy is to cut taxes. With the highest corporate tax rate in the world, there’s much to be said for cutting taxes. But, unlike when Reagan ran for president, it’s going to take a lot more than tax cuts to rescue this country from its $16 trillion debt.
Click here to continue reading Ann Coulter’s column
April 12th, 2012 at 9:29 am
Aalt, it seems you Dutch know a thing or two about american politics. You post to Zen Lill seems to have been right (pardon the pun) on. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came out with their annual report on teen pregnancy and it mirrored your suspicions.
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ATLANTA, April 10 (Reuters) – Mississippi has the highest teen birthrate in the nation while New Hampshire has the lowest, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday, following up on a report that found the incidence of pregnancy among U.S. teens was falling.
Mississippi reported 55 births per 1,000 teens aged 15 to 19 in 2010, more than 60 percent above the U.S. average, according to state data released on Tuesday. New Hampshire’s rate was less half the national average at 15.7 births for the same age group.
Teen birth rates were higher in the South and Southwest and lower in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, the CDC said, noting that Hispanics and blacks had the highest teen birth rates.
Last fall the CDC reported that the U.S. teen birth rate dropped 9 percent from 2009 to 2010, reaching a historic low of 34.3 births per 1,000 teens aged 15 to 19. It attributed the drop to several factors, including strong pregnancy-prevention messages aimed at teens and increased use of contraception.
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Well, the state government there most likely has this idea that if a teen is pregnant, it’s her fault. The father gets little to no blame, and the government’s not going to blame itself for its medieval abstinence-only education.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:32 am
Howie, I seems that most on this blog think that you are off planet hopping with Carr. But I wonder if you have a health issue.
Are you all right? Do let us know.
Freda
April 12th, 2012 at 9:38 am
I hope someone has Obama’s back because with suggestive comments like this by the super rich white boys, it could get very dangerous out there for Obama.
==========================
Wealthy GOP super PAC donor Foster Friess, fresh off announcing a conversion from Rick Santorum’s corner to Mitt Romney’s, drew a little unwanted attention Wednesday when he used gun imagery to weigh in on the shifting state of the 2012 race.
“There are a lot of things that haven’t been hammered at because Rick and Mitt have been going at each other,” Friess said during an interview on Fox Business News. “Now that they have trained their barrels on President Obama, I hope his teleprompters are bulletproof.”
===================
The things a white person can get away with when it comes to a black President of the USA.
I will never go back to their “the country should respect the office of the Presidency” when a white man is back in office. They have shown me the true face of their hypocrisy.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:42 am
The GOP think that since it is called MENstruation, they own a woman’s uterus.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Man and Apes evolving from a common ancestor is a THEORY.
Creationism is a HYPOTHESIS.
Their is a difference.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Wow, alot of elitist’s commenting in this thread…all regarding Tennessee this and No teeth that. And people wonder why the good folks in the flyover states despise the big city or coastal folks.
Really, all of you really need to look at yourselves in the mirror.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:45 am
The way I look at it the Right uses fox to keep the Faithful ignorant so that they don’t question their Betters.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:48 am
You know it all people on the Left think anyone who doesn’t agree with you is ignorant. I believe in the word of the Bible. It said that God created man and from his rib woman.
If it is good enough for my pastor to teach in church, it is good enough for my child’s teacher to teach in his class room.
Brad
April 12th, 2012 at 9:50 am
I will just never understand Christian’s objection to the theory of evolution. Everyone agrees that things have changed over time right?
Evolution doesn’t have anything to say about God one way or the other because if there is one, he cannot be observed. Science cannot comment on things that cannot be observed therefore it doesn’t.
That doesn’t mean that science is anti-God, just means you cannot test any God related theory. However, there are plenty of things about our natural world that CAN be observed, studied, measured, and tested. How is that objectionable to you?
If you believe in God, how can you object to studying what you believe to be his creation? I am sorry that so many people are blinded to facts due to preconceived notions about how things are, how about just take an unbiased look sometime without the religion blinders on.
When you do you will see that no one is TRYING to disprove God, they are just recording facts, and those facts make up a pretty convincing picture of our world. There are scientists from all walks of life, culture, and religion, there is not some massive conspiracy.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:51 am
In religion faith is your Fact. In science, there is no such thing as Fact because the fundamental premise of science is that everything is wrong and needs to be proven.
In other words, science cannot achieve absolute “certainty”. Scientists do not accept facts as absolute truth and instead refer to experimental or empirical data or objective verifiable observations.
I’ll take my Faith in God any day.
SW
April 12th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Republicans are making physical threats to our president that is a threat to America and Americans.
They question the citizenship of the president, voters and the religion of Christians, Republicans want to rule with fear, guns and intimidation.
We are not communist, we want to vote, praise God and live a free life for both women and men. Stop the Republican domination for money only.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:55 am
How Does Mitt Romney feel about one of his major supporters saying,” I hope his [President Obama] teleprompters are bulletproof.” What does the GOP have to say about this gun imagery?
“Turnabout is fair play. Payback is a bitch.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton, Circus of the Damned
April 12th, 2012 at 9:55 am
His comments are abhorrent and despicable, but the fact is that free speech carries more weight with the courts than an implied threat to the President does.
United States Code Title 18, Section 871 covers threatening the President. “The statute does not penalize imagining, wishing, or hoping that the act of killing the President will be committed by someone else.[63]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threatening_the_President_of_the_United_States
April 12th, 2012 at 9:57 am
You people can play at not understanding what the asshole meant. But most people understood what he meant and for those who didn’t keep watching and listening to it and maybe it will sink in.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:03 am
The bigots and racists know that their cushy position of being America’s Affirmative Action Beneficiaries is in danger. It is the last stand for them.
That is why republican voters are voting agaisnt their interest because they know the stakes.
Why else would a middle class or poor republican vote in favor of wall street having less regulation, or vote in favor of insurance companies being able to drop you at any point or deny based on pre-existing conditions.
Someone needs to explain why a republican making 50K would fight tooth and nail so that a person making 1 million does not pay .5 percent of every dollar of over 1 million to help with infastructure and jobs.
Why would a republican living in middle America want to loosen environemtal regulations on big multi national corporations to pollute at will?
The list goes on and on.
Do not be fooled they know the stakes.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Michelle, you and your bloggers should ask yourselves why do you make a racial issue out of any incident that involves people of different races?
The same incident can happen between two people of the same race and it doesn’t change what happened, you choose to create a racial issue out of any incident when the only thing racial was the participants.
The Zimmerman/Martin incident was not created because of race, it was not decided because of race, when you have murder involving the same race, you sit back and keep your mouth shut.
You say or do nothing about this same race crime, the only time it becomes an issue is when there is more than one race involved, and you attempt to make a racial issue out of it.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:10 am
That racism lives in a society proclaiming in a highly held ‘charter of rights’ a proclamation of ‘equality for all’
– that prejudice survives where nothing else planted could – that Mr. King and countless other members of the greatest and only race on the planet — namely – the human race had their lives cut down for standing up and saying what was in all our hearts –
all our minds . . . (the sane ones amongst us at least) . . . How can I possibly express – having not endured such terror in erroneous judgement the conviction placed upon innocent humans?
The shame and remorse I feel for all white society preceding my introduction to the world. I cannot change what has been done.
I understand the anger, and I pray somehow there will arise a society better than Martin could have dreamed that places value on value and not upon tainted perception and inbred preconception.
If this is the infancy of mankind’s existence upon Planet Earth, perhaps It is time for us all to grow up a little and try to get along and be the best we all can be.
Together – we are a force in the universe; divided, we are no more than a cosmic fart – hardly worth raising a stink about.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:12 am
MM, the first step to solving any problem is coming up with the question. The outcome might be the same but the causes are different.
If we pretend that all killings are the same we will never learn how to solve our problems. You are suggesting we never even ask the question “Did race play a role.”
April 12th, 2012 at 10:17 am
So MM you think fox is so honest. How about the opinions of two of their former mudslinging head gurus? You know the people whose opinions you used to take as gospel because they were fox contributors?
======================
Newt Gingrich tore into Fox News on Wednesday during a meeting with Tea Party leaders in Delaware, saying that his former network home has been deeply biased against him.
“I think Fox has been for Romney all the way through,” Gingrich said, according to Real Clear Politics. “In our experience, Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than Fox this year. We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of Fox, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of Fox. That’s just a fact.”
Gingrich’s comments echo those of Rick Santorum, another former Fox News contributor. Both were dropped by the network when they began their presidential bids, and both have accused Fox News of favoring frontrunner Romney over them. Santorum even said it directly to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
“He has Fox News shilling for him every day — no offense, Brian, but I see it,” he told Kilmeade.
What is all the more remarkable is that, for a long time, Romney had near-poisonous relations with Fox News.
In his remarks, Gingrich said that he thinks Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch made the call to favor Romney. “I assume it’s because Murdoch at some point said, ‘I want Romney,’ and so ‘fair and balanced’ became ‘Romney,’” he said. “And there’s no question that Fox had a lot to do with stopping my campaign because such a high percentage of our base watches Fox.”
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Fox News Biased????? Say it isn’t so.
Ginny
April 12th, 2012 at 10:20 am
Connie I like to add to your post that I’d be willing to bet that the highest teen pregnancy rates are in states with the most aggressively abstinence-only sex-ed policies!
April 12th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Wow, another red states vs. blue states. Abstinence only vs. birth control. Birth control should be available to all high school kids. No amount of bible thumping is going to stop teens from experimenting.
The high rate of teen pregnancy is so preventable. But those small brain cons refuse to face it. Teach your children about birth control. Oh wait, they don’t believe in education either.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Mississippi is the most religious state in the US; NH the least.
I’m sure that is just a coincidence.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Teen pregnancies are not inherently bad for a society. It only becomes a problem when the mother is unmarried and the children grow up without their father.
A family is the basic functioning unit of society. Have enough dysfunctional neurons, the brain will cease to function. Have enough dysfunctional families and society will crumble.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:27 am
Last weekend, long-time newsman Mike Wallace passed away, and today, John Gizzi remembers Mr. Wallace with a story of how he almost became White House press secretary under Richard Nixon.
Along with that, David Harsanyi looks at the ‘class warfare’ rhetoric from the president this week, as the general election begins in earnest now, and David hits the laughable ‘Buffett tax’ square in the nose.
On the political front — After the bombshell news that Rick Santorum is dropping out of the presidential race, Giz takes a look at one of the reasons why Santorum dropped out when he did: he didn’t want to lose Pennsylvania again. It might not have been one of the main reasons, but certainly can’t deny that it contributed to his decision. With polls going Romney’s way in that state over the past few weeks, it wasn’t going to look good, especially if Santorum is trying to reassert himself for a 2016 run.
Endorsements are rolling in now for Romney after Santorum’s departure. Former Santorum bankroller Foster Friess now says he will be supporting Romney, and per a report on MSNBC, Pennsylvania politicos will soon be putting their money behind the Romney horse.
On Walker Watch — The latest news coming out of the Badger State is that Scott Walker has kicked off his campaigning efforts to avoid losing in the recall election, which is slated for June. One of the supporters at yesterday’s campaign stop had this to say: “To recall someone who is doing his job is insane.” Stay tuned on the developing news from Madison.
Have a great Wednesday.
-Adam
April 12th, 2012 at 10:55 am
Shouldn’t the police officers or investigators have taken pictures of Zimmerman’s injuries to support his case?
I’m not sure of any proper investigation in which the suspect claims he felt his life was in danger to justify killing someone, and there seems to be no real proof of the injuries he said he sustained.
The funeral director also said there were no signs of fighting on Trayvon’s body. Could Zimmerman have exaggerated or made up this version of the altercation?
April 12th, 2012 at 10:56 am
I saw this posted. I wonder if it is a fake.
===========================
So I met Trayvon’s older brother today, since we have some friends in common….Both of us graduated from the same high school, Michael Krop, and we currently attend FIU. I find it very hard to believe that the younger brother of this engineering student attacked Zimmerman. Want to know the funny thing about Trayvon’s older brother?? Most of his friends are white!
April 12th, 2012 at 10:59 am
They had better get this guy convicted, or else. It won’t be fair to the shop owners. Hopefully, the trial is not held when the weather is hot, just in case.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are the two pillars that hold up a Conservative America. I love Fox News!
April 12th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Thank God for Fox News: they blow away their competition in ratings, they don’t retract stories every 5 minutes like the other networks.
They have more balanced opinion with more liberal contributors than any other network has conservatives on, and they tell America the side of the story that the liberal media doesn’t want anyone to know.
Thank you, Fox News!! You guys rock America!
April 12th, 2012 at 11:07 am
WK, I’m LMAO!
Just too funny. If your serious it’s funny, if you’re joking it’s funny. WIN WIN!
April 12th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Democrats wish that they didn’t fabricate the “War on Women” now………..the whole thing backfired on them ! ……….Stick to he REAL issues, LIBS– It’s the economy stupid !
April 12th, 2012 at 11:10 am
We presently have a clueless millionaire in the White House, at least clueless when it comes to the Constitution. Now we see for certain he and his other liberal buds also disrespect women and moms.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:11 am
At this rate Obama will have the country so sliced and diced that it would be practically impossible for him to govern it in 2013.
But he can’t win without doing it and he can’t be a leader if he does it. Is it too late for dems to primary him?
April 12th, 2012 at 11:12 am
Anyone who would pay Hillary Rosen for advice or commentary is CrAzY.
Even as a progressive, I find her commentary often to be absurd. Talking to be talking.
To say mothers at home don’t “work,” and unless you have a job, you don’t understand the economy is absurd.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:13 am
Oh goodness me, now the “War on Women” has morphed into “The Womens’ War on Women”!
While I agree that Mrs. Romney comes from a background that would not suggest she would know much about family economics working on a tight budget, the remarks made by Ms. Rosen are mean spirited, and she really should apologize.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:13 am
The least Ann Romney could have done is come back to Mitt an say ——-There IS a real war on women out there an they are talking about it! Why couldn’t she tell the truth?
April 12th, 2012 at 11:15 am
CH, It was the economy stupid, when we had the dumbest president who ever lived. Bush created the worst economy from one of the best that he inherited.
We don’t ever need more millionaires who are clueless in the white house… no more cons.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:21 am
No one here recalls that it was either Luc or Howie that stated things were changing with the new group now here? One of those things changing was modification of rules on communication between Aliens and their Humans. I don’t know myself, but perhaps this is why Howie is silent. I’m just guessing.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
If you drink coffee and are also gluten sensitive or celiac, you might want to sit down for this one.
One of the most important pieces of information I learned at the recent PaleoFX12 Conference I attended in Austin last month concerned the surprising connection between gluten and coffee which holds ramifications for other autoimmune disorders as well.
The problem has nothing to do with caffeine, so decaf coffee would be included in this discussion.
In a nutshell, fairly recent lab research has revealed that 10% of coffee is a protein that cross reacts with gluten antibodies.
This means that if you are gluten sensitive or celiac and are avoiding gluten containing grains or perhaps have even gone completely grain free, if you still drink coffee there is a strong likelihood that the protein in the coffee is triggering the very same gluten related health problems you are trying to avoid.
In other words, even if you think you are doing fine with your current gluten free diet, it is very possible that skipping the coffee could take your health to the next level.
Symptoms of Gluten Sensitivity
Most people who are gluten sensitive don’t realize it because gastrointestinal problems like burping, gas, tummy upset, or toilet issues are the least common way for gluten issues to present themselves!
The most common symptoms of gluten sensitivity?
Migraines and other neurological issues – even MS!
Hormone and endocrine problems are another common way for gluten issues to manifest themselves.
How Coffee Triggers Gluten Antibodies
So what exactly happens when a gluten sensitive person eats gluten?
Folks with gluten antibodies react to any gluten in the diet by mounting an immune response. This means that gluten is perceived by the body as an invader and the gluten antibodies attack the gluten itself trying to destroy it. This gluten attack is an inflammatory response and inflammation issues can occur anywhere in the body in any tissue or organ.
Here’s the real shocker I came across when researching the coffee/gluten connection:
According to Dr. David Clark DC, a functional neurologist and endocrinologist:
There’s not a disease or health condition you can think of that does not have an association – in the research literature – with gluten sensitivity.
That’s a very strong statement!
In essence then, if you are gluten sensitive in any way shape or form, and it seems that most people are whether they know it or not given the epidemic levels of autoimmune issues today, gluten antibodies have the potential to react to proteins in other foods as if they are gluten thereby triggering an immune and inflammatory response.
The protein in coffee is the most common cross-reactor to gluten. Because it is the protein in the coffee that is the trigger, switching to decaf coffee does not solve the problem.
Is it possible to be gluten sensitive and not cross react to coffee? Yes it’s possible but you’ll have to do some expensive lab testing with a knowledgeable doctor to find out.
The probability is that you are cross reacting to coffee, so the best approach is just to play
April 12th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
The probability is that you are cross reacting to coffee, so the best approach is just to play??????????????
Play What?
April 12th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Racism, which is a xenophobia, will never die. So, only the law can help to make civil rights available to everyone. Remember though, the far right will incessantly work to circumvent these hard won statutes.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Zimmerman says he was attacked from behind by Trayvon and he acted in self defence.
Trayvon’s girlfriend was on the line with Trayvon until after the scuffle started. She heard the first two sentences they said to each other.
If Trayvon attacked Zimmerman, he was hardly likely to be continuing his conversation with his girlfriend while he initiated the attack.
Given the fact that the line was still connected when the scuffle started, it is likely that Zimmerman initiated the contact and not Trayvon.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Fort-seven years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, many African Americans are still being routinely treated in discriminatory manner, not just by other civilians, but by law enforcement and even the courts.
The national outrage on the shooting death of Trayvon Martin isn’t just about the apparent unnecessary stalking due to his color or appearance, but by the failure of local authorities to press any charges against the killer.
It’s a tale of two cities reenacted, and the entire nation calls out for one thing: Justice.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
There is no doubt that racism still exists, and it is very accurate to say it exists on all sides. No doubt, black Americans have endured the most historically and it is not even close.
However, at this time the biggest thing that holds black America back and allows racism to still thrive is the proliferation of crime committed by black Americans.
The greatest thing that could happen is for those numbers to fall in line with the general population. When a particular group of people is statistically much more probable to commit a violent crime people will be more apprehensive around such a group of people. It helps feed discrimination.
April 12th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Greg, did you really think you could slip that racist propaganda lie that blacks commit more crimes proportionally than other races meaning of course whites, passed us?
You racist bastards like disseminating your denigrating lies in an attempt to justify your evil, nasty behavior towards OTWs. Isn’t it wonderful that you can tell each other that you are doing it because the OTWS(pick one) are so less religious, moral, and honest than the white race.
Let me guide you towards some statistics that you can check. White americans steal 100,000 times more money that all the races in the USA combined. And while doing it they spend less than a tenth of the time incarcerated for it.
While OTWs get 20 to life for robbing $100 to $10,000 from a bank, whites get maybe 5 to 10 for stealing $Billions.
OTWs kill people but whites kill at an unprecedented rate. They are the serial killers, racist murders, child molesters without parallel. Yet they spend less than 10 percent of the time any OTW would get for a similar crime.
Drugs; while OTWs get the most prison time for peddling the drugs on an individual basis on the street. It is the whites that are importing it by the tons, bribing other white politicians and chief law enforcement officials to make the drug market work.
Yet, the white ring leaders get very little time for their drug crimes. Take your bullshit racist lies elsewhere. They may go unchallenged on white propaganda tolerant blogs like HP etc. but not here you Lying Sack of Shit.
Oh, and those statistics don’t touch the tens of millions of deaths white gun runners cause every year due to white nations selling military equipment to the nations that don’t have the technology to kill at the numbers white killing machines can give them.
Then they go and stir up hostility, racism, bigotry and whatever it takes to pit OTW nations against themselves and even civil strife within a nation so they can start using those weapons they sold them. How else would the evil white bastards make more money selling new ammo for the spent ones used to kill innocent people?
You people are heartless, The anti-christ walking among human beings destroying the human race in the name of some god we humans can not imagine. For you are certainly not praying to the same God we are.
If you want me to keep it to just the murder and mayhem caused by white americans selling guns, we need look no farther than the NRA.
An organization that uses the same kind of funky word speak to lie and pretend to be acting for a noble cause like protecting 4th Amendment rights when they are just looking to fill their pockets with gun sales.
There is no comparison what so ever when it comes to the volume, degree and pure evil done by white americans committing crimes to any american OTW.
Finally just because your Just-US-justice system incarcerates OTWs disproportionately to whites and for longer periods of time doesn’t mean that you whites are the biggest and most prevalent criminals in the USA.
It was only recently that the Obama administration made both crack and power (the white boys choice) cocaine equally punishable by law. Before again OTWs were getting 10 to 15 more years for crimes related to the sell or use of crack cocaine than whites where getting for using or selling powered cocaine.
It took a Black man as President to prevent you white bastards from continuing to give ten times the time to OTWs for using or selling crack cocaine as you did for you American Affirmative Action Beneficiaries for the use and selling of powered cocaine.
So as far as I am concerned you can shove those lies you attempted to float up your lily white ass.
Robert, rt
April 12th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Have you noticed that the republicans are now saying that women are concerned about putting food on the table and the gas tank. They claim the “real” debate is the economy.
The implication is that women shouldn’t be concerned about their personal issues, they should be concerned about the issues that are important to men.
That would be a man’s opinion. But to a woman what does she care the state of the economy if she can not benefit from it?
Carrie
April 12th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Michelle, I used to get so angry when I would read on your blog some reference to White women in America being more ignorant that OTW women in my country.
But today my mother gave me pause. She sent me a link to a site that advertises matches for God fearing couples. That is one of the most inane things she has ever done.
The fact that she believes that God is working through that site is so dumb that I can barely contain myself. I bite my tongue to keep from telling her it is a croak.
Gosh how dumb are some white women?
Ellen
April 12th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Ellen, in a word: very (and read below)
MM, clearly we are not of the same ‘white’ cloth and no I will not support white boy Romney, in fact, make that HELL no, and Obama is black and he had a white mother, why are we constantly discussing his blackness, what about competence, does that mean nothing to you? I used to tune into fox ‘just to see what they were saying’ and I understand your point, see both sides, etc…but seriously, fox does unprecedented spin doctoring on whatever etch-a-sketch idiocy they last spouted, Rush is just a running of the mouth ‘made for radio entertainment’ version of it. I gather the facts as presented, look up what seems unclear and take note that often rethugs could use a rethink.
- ZL
April 12th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Zen Lill, you remind me of a guy I forgot about because I became bitter for a period of my life. I did not become a person I was happy to see when I looked into a mirror until I made my peace with him.
He was a white friend that I felt I could not afford to have any more. I realized that friends don’t come in color they come in hearts. Some are big and some are extra big.
Dan had heart. He did not always agree with me on political or religious issues but he had heart. I am the god father for his 4 children. He and his wife died in a car crash 3 years ago.
I lost some close(I thought black friends) because they did not understand why I spent my money on taking care of 4 white boys.
When so many black kids needed.
I could not explain that there is never enough love to go around, but we have to do what we can.
Thank you for the memories.
Robert,rt
April 21st, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Bail Enforcement…
[...]Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…" » Blog Archive » Zimmerman Arrested – Charged with Second-Degree Murder[...]…
April 29th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
ecig…
[...]Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…" » Blog Archive » Zimmerman Arrested – Charged with Second-Degree Murder[...]…
January 8th, 2014 at 3:16 pm
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me
when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the exact same comment.
Is there a means you are able to remove me from that service?
Appreciate it!