Thursday, March 22, 2012

Thousands Protest the Racist Murder of Trayvon Martin at NYC's 'Million Hoodie March'

Thousands Protest the Racist Murder of Trayvon Martin at NYC's
'Million Hoodie March'
Participants stressed that while they were there for Trayvon Martin,
the problem went far beyond him, to a culture in which young Black men
are assumed to be dangerous.
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Last night, thousands of individuals packed into New York's
Union Square before taking the streets for the Million Hoodies March.
They came to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, the seventeen-year-old
boy who was murdered in Sanford, Florida, after buying some Skittles
and iced tea. His confessed murderer, neighborhood watchman George
Zimmerman, cried self-defense, and the police did not charge him. But
recently released 9/11 calls and testimony from Martin's friend, to
whom he was speaking moments before his death, make it clear that
Zimmerman was on the prowl before he fatally shot Trayvon.

Police, however, seemed to have little interest in investigating the
death of a young, Black male. Cops even called Trayvon Martin's body a
John Doe. Combating the racism exhibited by both Zimmerman and the
Sanford Police Department, the message last night was not that Martin
is just another dead Black kid -- it was that "Trayvon Martin matters.
You matter." Moreover, it was that justice is universal. "No justice,
no peace," they said. "What if Martin had been white?" Demonstrators
demanded Zimmerman be prosecuted and called for a cultural revolution
to create a society where being Black in a hoodie doesn't get people
murdered, by citizens or police.

"I reek of Brooklyn," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams from the
stage, a gray hood over his long dreads. "I'm not a criminal. I'm a
New York City Councilman."

"My blood is not cheap. We want justice -- just like you want justice
when police fall, we want justice when we fall," said Williams, who
has been an outspoken critic of New York's racist stop-and -frisk
policing tactic.

"I don't play the race card," Williams said, "it's always given to me."

Williams, like other participants, stressed that while they were there
for Trayvon Martin, the problem went far beyond him. Ours is a deadly
culture, they said, in which young Black men are assumed to be
dangerous.

"The mayor and commissioner of this city have provided no leadership,"
said Williams, adding that they have instead "provided a culture that,
at a minimum, allowed me to be arrested on Labor Day, and Ramarley
Graham shot." Just eighteen years old when NYPD officers busted down
his door without a warrant, Graham was shot and killed in the bathroom
of his apartment, while his grandmother and six-year-old brother were
inside. He, too, was wearing a hoodie, and his name was echoed
throughout the night.

As the Martins' lawyer Benjamin Crump took the stage, he explained
that Zimmerman's accusations (that Martin was on drugs and "up to no
good") were racial stereotypes. Perhaps more disturbing is that the
police believed him. Crump reiterated that no drug, alcohol, or
background tests were conducted on George Zimmerman before he was
allowed to walk away without a murder charge. Martin, however, was
tested for substances posthumously. Even in death, he was suspicious.

"I am Trayvon Martin!" the crowd chanted repeatedly, echoing rallying
cries following Troy Davis' execution.

The most emotional part of the evening, however, was when Martin's
parents took the stage. For so many women in the crowd that night, the
march was about showing support for the Martins, and ensuring the
safety of their own children.

"We're not going to stop until we get justice," said Trayvon's father,
Tracy Martin, "My son did not deserve to die."

"Trayvon was just a typical teenager," he said, "Trayvon was not a bad person."

Martin said that while nothing can bring his son back, he can work to
ensure that justice is served and that no other parents have to suffer
like he has.

"My heart is in pain," Sybrina Fulton, Martin's mother, said through
tears, "This is the support we need."

"Our son is your son!" she shouted, to much applause. "This is not
about a Black and white thing. This is about a right and wrong thing."

Martin was killed for looking "suspicious" -- being Black in a hoodie
-- and the Sanford Police Department did not doubt it.

"Mic check! Are you ready to march for Trayvon?" shouted someone from the stage.

Demanding justice for Martin's murder, the crowd pulled their hoodies
up and and marched into the street.

The march shuffled west on 14th Street, spilling off of the sidewalks.
In the front of the march, Councilmen Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane
Williams linked arms with other marchers before a brief stand-off with
police. As the march hurried passed them, the cops eventually let the
councilmen and the crowd behind push forward. Police made several
efforts to divert the march, even hauling in NYPD vans and other mass
arrest vehicles, but no visible arrests were made, despite the cops'
intimidation. They blocked the streets on motorcycles; the crowd
turned and marched right by them. Some Occupy Wall Street protesters,
with bandanas on their mouths, appeared to block the motorcycles, so
that marchers could get by.

The crowd was far different from an Occupy Wall Street demonstration
-- darker and rowdy, but less anarchistic. CUNY students chanted, with
a rap-like vibe, "Is that a badge or a swastika?" Signs asked "Am I
next?"

Young mother April McDonald and her six-year-old son held hands as
they marched, their free hands in fists, chanting "We are Trayvon!"

"As a parent, this could to happen any of us," said McDonald, who then
told me her own frightening encounter with racism: McDonald said an
NYPD officer ran over her cousin, nearly killing him, then attempted
to blame the victim, saying he had headphones on. "He had nothing on,"
she said. "Just another example of how the NYPD, other police, try to
cover up, protect their necks."

Woman after woman told me they were mothers, there to show their
support for Trayvon Martin's family, and to stand up for their own
children.

Many of the men there had been victims of racial profiling. As Fernel
Williams, 34, told me, "One time I was just walking to the train and a
cop said, 'give me a lift,'" adding, "I didn't know what he was
talking about until he lifted up my shirt, because some 'suspicious'
guy was running around. A robbery had just been committed."

When the march returned to Union Square, Occupy Wall Street protesters
urged the demonstrators to help them hold the park. Organizers of the
march were annoyed at the suggestion, and many continued forward,
disjointed.

Back in Union Square, a mic-checked speak-out went on for hours.
Marchers stood up to tell their stories of encounters with police --
being arrested for walking down the sidewalk, pulled over for being
Black, or witnessing an unlawful, forceful stop -- and demanding the
police show their badges. "If we don't stand up for something, we will
fall down," said one speaker, who urged people to be proactive in
their communities, filming the police, asking cops' names, and
asserting their rights.

Many speakers urged individuals from all communities to show support.
"It rains on all of us," they said.

A sixteen-year-old white girl, Becky, was so moved by their testimony
that she spoke, on the verge of tears. "I cannot imagine being
frisked," she said. "It is so unfair that people my age are."

"I'm from Tennesse," Becky added, "racism is strong there, and I want
to make a difference. People like you have given me the inspiration to
do so."

When occupiers began speaking about issues un-related to racism, many
marchers for Trayvon Martin became angry, and felt as if Occupy was
using their march to push their own agenda. "We are here for Trayvon!"
they shouted. Other occupiers urged each other to "Step back,
listen...There's something beautiful happening here. We can all learn
from each other." Both occupiers and Trayvon marchers, many of which
overlapped (people who had supported OWS, but came primarily for
Trayvon, and vise-versa) were divided about whether OWS had acted
improperly, but most seemed to agree that Occupy has the potential to
include more people of color. To do so, Diana Smith of the South Bronx
said, "Speak on agendas that affect me. When Ramarley Graham was
killed, I didn't see Occupy Wall Street there."

Despite the brief disagreement, Wednesday night was a success for
Trayvon Martin's family and other victims of race-based violence. They
came together in mass support, took the streets for their rights, and
let the world know that they matter.

"We are not criminals," they said, hoodies up.

Sign the petition to prosecute George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin's
cold-blooded killer, here.

http://www.alternet.org/activism/154656/thousands_protest_the_racist_murder_of_trayvon_martin_at_nyc%27s_%27million_hoodie_march%27?page=entire

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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Re: Tammy Baldwin, Potentially America's First Openly Gay Senator, Talks About Her Chances

She's a bigger man than Tammy though

On Thursday, March 22, 2012, plainolamerican <plainolamerican@gmail.com> wrote:
> stfu, bitch!
>
> it's very true
>
> On Mar 21, 2:11 pm, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Liar!
>>
>> On Mar 20, 10:49 am, plainolamerican <plainolameri...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > her sexuality is used as a crutch for votes
>>
>> > On Mar 20, 9:56 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > > From Coleman
>>
>> > > Tammy Baldwin, Potentially America's First Openly Gay Senator, Talks
>> > > About Her Chances
>> > > Rep. Tammy Baldwin speaks with the New York Times about her run for
>> > > Senate and whether her sexuality might be a factor for Wisconsinites:
>>
>> > > "This November, people in Wisconsin will be so focused on getting by.
>> > > They've made serious adjustments to deal with this economy — whether
>> > > it's the recession or the decline of the middle class before then. I
>> > > feel so strongly that that's what's going to be on people's minds."
>>
>> > > Baldwin is also asked about Obama's "evolution" on marriage equality:
>>
>> > > "Look, he is moving in the right direction on this issue. He's been
>> > > crucial in equality efforts like the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
>> > > and signing the Matthew Shepard hate crimes prevention act. I have no
>> > > idea what goes on in another person's mind. As a legislator, I need to
>> > > be good at persuading people, counting votes and getting to 50 percent
>> > > plus one. I don't go back and say, 'Why did this person get to the
>> > > right position?' It's only 'Are you yes or are you no?'"
>>
>> > > More here:
>>
>> > >http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/magazine/tammy-baldwin.html?_r=3&sr...
>>
>> > > --
>> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
>> > > Have a great day,
>> > > Tommy
>>
>> > > --
>> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
>> > > Have a great day,
>> > > Tommy- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> > - Show quoted text -
>
> --
> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
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>
> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
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> * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
>

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Re: 20 Things You Need to Know About the Tragic Killing of Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin's alleged attacker not covered under law I wrote
---
maybe that's true ... we'll see
but it's still a great law

On Mar 22, 11:15 am, THE ANNOINTED ONE <markmka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Opinion From the author and main sponsor of the Florida Law
>
> Trayvon Martin's alleged attacker not covered under law I wrote
> By Rep. Dennis Baxley
> Published March 21, 2012
> | FoxNews.com
>
> AP/Martin Family Photos/File
> In this undated file family photo, Trayvon Martin poses for a family
> photo. College students around Florida rallied Monday, March 19, 2012,
> to demand the arrest of a white neighborhood watch captain who shot
> unarmed teen Martin last month, though authorities may be hamstrung by
> a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.
> The tragic story of Trayvon Martin's death in Sanford, Florida has
> ignited a great deal of passion and concern regarding the
> circumstances of his death and the defense applied by the attacker,
> George Zimmerman. The fact that Trayvon Martin unnecessarily lost his
> life is troubling and an investigation into the surrounding
> circumstances is certainly warranted.
> First of all I'd like to extend my condolences to the Martin family.
> I have been in the funeral services profession for over 40 years; I've
> walked with families through many tragic circumstances and I know how
> difficult it is.
> RELATED STORIES
> Neighborhood watch leader may have uttered racial slur before shooting
> Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch captain talked to girlfriend
> before shooting, lawyer says
> Family: Florida man didn't kill black teen in self-defense
>
> I would like to emphasize that the approach that is currently
> developing in this situation, to convene a grand jury, is the proper
> one in which to discern the facts of this case. I certainly agree with
> everyone that justice must be served.
> During the debate concerning this incident, some have brought into
> question the "Stand Your Ground" law, more commonly referred to as the
> "castle doctrine," which has been used by the attacker to pardon his
> actions.
> As the prime sponsor of this legislation in the Florida House, I'd
> like to clarify that this law does not seem to be applicable to the
> tragedy that happened in Sanford. There is nothing in the castle
> doctrine as found in Florida statutes that authenticates or provides
> for the opportunity to pursue and confront individuals, it simply
> protects those who would be potential victims by allowing for force to
> be used in self-defense.
> When the "stand your ground" or "castle doctrine" legislation passed
> in 2005, the catalytic event that brought the issue to the attention
> of the Florida Legislature was the looting of property in the
> aftermath of hurricanes.
> Specifically, there was a situation in the panhandle of Florida where
> a citizen moved an RV onto his property, to protect the remains of his
> home from being looted. One evening, a perpetrator broke into the RV
> and attacked the property owner. The property owner, acting in self-
> defense in his home, shot and killed the perpetrator.
> It was months before the property owner knew if he would be charged
> with a crime because of the lack of concrete definition in the
> statutes regarding self-defense and a perceived duty to retreat by the
> potential victim.
> Until 2005, the castle doctrine had never been canonized into Florida
> law, but had been used with differing definition and application to
> the concept of self-defense. The focus of the law was to provide clear
> definition to acts of self-defense.
> The facets of the castle doctrine deal with using force to meet force
> as an act of self-defense when in your home, in your car, on your
> property, or anywhere you are legally able to be. The law also
> protects property owners and their homeowner's insurance from being
> wrongfully sued by perpetrators who claim to be harmed while
> committing a crime.
> The castle doctrine as passed, clarified that individuals are lawfully
> able to defend themselves when attacked and there is no duty to
> retreat when an individual is attacked on their property. Since the
> passage of this law in Florida, 26 other states have implemented
> similar statues.
> Additionally, the American Legislative Exchange Council used the
> Florida version of the castle doctrine as model legislation for other
> states.
> Quite simply the castle doctrine is a good law which now protects
> individuals in a majority of states. However, the castle doctrine does
> not provide protection to individuals who seek to pursue and confront
> others, as is allegedly the case in the Trayvon Martin tragedy in
> Sanford.
> The information that has been publicly reported concerning Trayvon
> Martin's death indicates that the castle doctrine may not be
> applicable to justify the actions of the attacker, Mr. Zimmerman.
> Media stories sharing the transcripts of the 911 tapes from the
> evening of the incident clearly show that Mr. Zimmerman was instructed
> by authorities to remain in his vehicle and to cease pursuit of Mr.
> Martin. George Zimmerman seems to have ignored the direction of the
> authorities and continued his pursuit of Mr. Martin.
> Mr. Zimmerman's unnecessary pursuit and confrontation of Trayvon
> Martin elevated the prospect of a violent episode and does not seem to
> be an act of self-defense as defined by the castle doctrine. There is
> no protection in the "Stand Your Ground" law for anyone who pursues
> and confronts people.
> I have great sympathy for the family of Trayvon Martin and am grateful
> that things are finally moving in the right direction to further
> explore what actually happened on that night in Sanford, Florida.
> Awaiting the convening of the grand jury, I trust that justice will be
> served and healing will begin for all of those affected.
> Republican Dennis Baxley represents the 24th district in Florida's
> House of Representatives. He was the prime sponsor of the "Stand Your
> Ground" law in 2005. He is the principal owner and vice president of
> Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services.
>
> Read more:http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/21/trayvon-martins-alleged-att...
>
> On Mar 22, 8:46 am, plainolamerican <plainolameri...@gmail.com> wrote:> you forgot one ... he's a spic with black family members and has a
> > jewish name.
>
> > the racist left wishes he was white
>
> > On Mar 22, 9:30 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > 20 Things You Need to Know About the Tragic Killing of Trayvon Martin
> > > The Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney announced
> > > they were launching "a thorough and independent review" of the
> > > shooting -- will there be justice?
> > > March 20, 2012  |       LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?
> > > Join our mailing list:
> > > Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email.
> > >         On February 26, 2012, a 17-year-old African-American named
> > > Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter
> > > was George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man. Zimmerman admits killing
> > > Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Florida's "Stand
> > > Your Ground" law, passed in 2005, allows people to use deadly force if
> > > they believe they're in imminent danger. Three weeks after Martin's
> > > death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.
>
> > > FBI tells ABC News they are monitoring the Trayvon Martin
> > > investigation and have been in touch with local authorities. Late
> > > Monday, March 20, after a letter from the NAACP, the United States
> > > Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney announced they
> > > were launching "a thorough and independent review" of the shooting
> > > death of Trayvon Martin. The Florida state attorney has sent the
> > > Trayvon Martin case to a grand jury. The Seminole County grand jury
> > > will be called to session on Tuesday, April 10.
>
> > > Here's everything you need to know about the case:
>
> > > 1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin's "suspicious"
> > > behavior, which he described as "just walking around looking about."
> > > Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He
> > > called the police and said: "There's a real suspicious guy. This guy
> > > looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something. It's raining and
> > > he's just walking around looking about… These a**holes always get
> > > away" [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > > 2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the
> > > police dispatcher:
>
> > > Dispatcher: "Are you following him?"
> > > Zimmerman: "Yeah"
> > > Dispatcher: "OK, we don't need you to do that."
>
> > > [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > > 3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmerman's father released
> > > a statement claiming "[a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr.
> > > Martin." [Sun Sentinel]
>
> > > 4. Zimmerman was carrying a a Kel Tel 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was
> > > carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News]
>
> > > 5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando
> > > Sentinel; WDBO]
>
> > > 6. Martin's English teacher described him as "as an A and B student
> > > who majored in cheerfulness." [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > > 7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times]
>
> > > 8. Zimmerman "was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with
> > > violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been
> > > dropped." [Huffington Post]
>
> > > 9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald]
>
> > > 10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was "fixated on crime and
> > > focused on young, black males." [Miami Herald]
>
> > > 11. Zimmerman "had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his
> > > gated community for aggressive tactics" [Huffington Post]
>
> > > 12. A police officer "corrected" a key witness. "The officer told the
> > > witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help,
> > > said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed
> > > that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager
> > > shout for help." [ABC News]
>
> > > 13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot
> > > was fired. "Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw
> > > or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager's
> > > killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a
> > > despondent boy." [Miami Herald]
>
> > > 14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism
> > > in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenant's son who was
> > > videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times]
>
> > > 15. The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol. A law
> > > enforcement expert told ABC that Zimmerman sounds intoxicated on the
> > > 911 tapes. Drug and alcohol testing is "standard procedure in most
> > > homicide investigations." [ABC News]
>
> > > 16. In a cell phone call moments before his death, Martin told a
> > > teenage girl that he was "hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who
> > > ran after him, cornered him and confronted him." "'He said this man
> > > was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man,'
> > > Martin's friend said. 'I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was
> > > going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to
> > > run.' Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd
> > > managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering
> > > Martin. 'Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man
> > > said, 'What are you doing here.'" [ABC News]
>
> > > 17. Zimmerman told the police "he had stepped out of his truck to
> > > check the name of the street he was on when Trayvon attacked him from
> > > behind as he walked back to his truck." "He said he feared for his
> > > life and fired the semiautomatic handgun he was licensed to carry
> > > because he feared for his life." [Miami Herald]
>
> > > 18. Zimmerman was not a member of a registered Neighborhood Watch
> > > group. Zimmerman also violated basic Neighborhood Watch guidelines by
> > > carrying a weapon. [ABC News]
>
> > > 19. Sanford police chief Bill Lee planned to wrap up the case last
> > > Monday without bringing any charges, because, he said, "there is no
> > > evidence to dispute the shooter's claim of self-defense," which is a
> > > sufficient claim under the "Stand Your Ground" law. [Miami Herald]
>
> > > 20. In the first five years "Stand Your Ground" was in effect,
> > > justifiable homicides tripled, and the law was a factor in at least 93
> > > cases involving 65 deaths. An investigation of cases from the law's
> > > passage in 2005 to 2010 found that charges were dropped or dismissed
> > > for 57 people, and 7 others were acquitted. [Tampa Bay Times]
>
> > > A petition created by Trayvon's parents to investigate his killing has
> > > been signed by over 500,000 people.
>
> > > More:http://www.alternet.org/story/154624/20_things_you_need_to_know_about...
>
> > > --
> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > > Have a great day,
> > > Tommy
>
> > > --
> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > > Have a great day,
> > > Tommy

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Re: Will Comcast Make This The Last St. Patrick's Day Parade To Exclude Gays?

Gay pride parades are free to attend

And at most someone runs around almost nude

I was walking through the DC parade once with my neighbor, going to lunch.  It starts near my co-op.  I ran into my lesbian friend who has two kids from the Nobel laureate sperm bank, Ricky and Anna Vanessa.  I know the kids so we hung out with them for a bit.  This was the year those Deelie Bopper head bands were popular.  There was a woman in the parade dressed as a caterpillar.  She was all purple with golden Deelie Bopper antennae.  Ricky asked me why she was a caterpillar. After awhile II realized she was wearing nothing but a purple thong and the rest was purple body paint.  Her sides were rolls of fat and her breasts were so stretched and low slung I did not realize they were breasts and I thought she was in a caterpillar costume.  Fortunately Ricky and Anna Vanessa never realized she was naked.

On Thursday, March 22, 2012, Mark <markmkahle@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, and the Parade is not free nor open to the public for participation... you must qualify and pay up to a base fee of 3000 dollars. No different than any other Private event held on public streets.
>
> On Thu, Mar 22, 2012 at 9:14 AM, GregfromBoston <greg.vincent@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> The Mass court ruled gay groups could march to their hearts content, but if the neighborhood determined banners refering to sexual preference were inappropriate, then leave the banner at home or find another soap box, as children are not only in the audience, but the target audience.
>>  
>> There is a Gay Pride parade every June in Boston.  Thats just fine.
>>
>> --
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>
>
>
> --
> Mark M. Kahle H.
>
>
> --
> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
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>  
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>

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Re: Amy Goodnan: Walking While Black: The Killing of Trayvon Martin

Goodman
---
another jew crying racism .... yawn

On Mar 22, 1:27 pm, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Walking While Black: The Killing of Trayvon Martin
> By Amy Goodman
>
> On the rainy night of Sunday, Feb. 26, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin
> walked to a convenience store in Sanford, Fla. On his way home, with
> his Skittles and iced tea, the African-American teenager was shot and
> killed. The gunman, George Zimmerman, didn't run. He claimed that he
> killed the young man in self-defense. The Sanford police agreed and
> let him go. Since then, witnesses have come forward, 911 emergency
> calls have been released, and outrage over the killing has gone
> global.
>
> Trayvon Martin lived in Miami. He was visiting his father in Sanford,
> near Orlando, staying in the gated community known as The Retreat at
> Twin Lakes, where Zimmerman volunteered with the Neighborhood Watch
> program. The Miami Herald reported that Zimmerman was a "habitual
> caller" to the police, making 46 calls since January 2011. He was out
> on his rounds as a self-appointed watchman, packing his concealed 9 mm
> pistol, when he called 911: "We've had some break-ins in my
> neighborhood, and there's a real suspicious guy ... this guy looks
> like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something."
>
> Later in the call, Zimmerman exclaims, "OK. These a—holes always get
> away. ... [Expletive], he's running."
>
> Sounds of Zimmerman moving follow, along with a controversial
> utterance from Zimmerman, under his breath, considered by many to be
> "[Expletive] coons." The sound of his running prompted the 911
> operator to ask, "Are you following him?" Zimmerman replied, "Yeah,"
> to which the dispatcher said, "OK, we don't need you to do that."
>
> One of the attorneys representing the Martin family, Jasmine Rand,
> told me: "The term 'coon' on the audiotape ... is a very obvious
> racial slur against African-Americans. We also heard the neighbors
> come forward and say, 'Yeah, in this particular neighborhood, we look
> for young black males to be committing criminal activity.' And that's
> exactly what George Zimmerman did that night. He found a young black
> male that he did not recognize, assumed that he did not belong there,
> and he targeted him."
>
> Advertisement
>
> Another 911 call that has been released is from a woman who hears
> someone crying for help, then a gunshot.
>
> Eyewitnesses Mary Cutcher and Selma Mora Lamilla both heard the cries,
> which police say could have been from Zimmerman, thus supporting his
> claim, even though he had a gun and outweighed Trayvon Martin by 80
> pounds.
>
> Cutcher said at a press conference: "I feel it was not self-defense,
> because I heard the crying. And if it was Zimmerman that was crying,
> Zimmerman would have continued crying after the shot went off. The
> only thing I saw that night—I heard the crying. We were in the
> kitchen. I heard the crying. It was a little boy. As soon as the gun
> went off, the crying stopped. Therefore, it tells me it was not
> Zimmerman crying."
>
> Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee has defended his department's decision
> not to arrest Zimmerman. They bagged Martin's body and took it away,
> labeling him a "John Doe," even though they had his cellphone, which
> anyone, let alone law enforcement with a shooting victim, could have
> used to easily identify a person. They tested Martin's corpse for
> drugs and alcohol. Zimmerman was not tested. Neighbors say that
> Zimmerman loaded things into a U-Haul truck and left the area.
>
> So, while the police and State Attorney Norm Wolfinger have defended
> their inaction, a democratic demand for justice has ricocheted around
> the country, prompting a U.S. Justice Department investigation and
> leading Wolfinger to promise to convene a grand jury. The Rev. Glenn
> Dames, pastor of St. James AME Church in nearby Titusville, has called
> Martin's death "a modern-day lynching." His demand for the immediate
> arrest of Zimmerman was echoed by the organizers of the "Million
> Hoodie March" in New York City, named after the often racially
> stereotyped sweatshirt Martin was wearing in the rain when he was
> shot.
>
> The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has
> called for the removal of Sanford Police Chief Lee. NAACP President
> Ben Jealous, recounting a mass meeting in a Sanford-area church
> Tuesday night, quoted a local resident who stood up and said, "'If you
> kill a dog in this town, you'd be in jail the next day.' Trayvon
> Martin was killed four weeks ago, and his killer is still walking the
> streets."
>
> With his gun.
>
> More:http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/walking_while_black_the_killing_o...
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy

--
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Stuck in a GOP Campaign Rut: “Somebody, please, make it stop.”

Stuck in a GOP Campaign Rut: "Somebody, please, make it stop."

Posted on Mar 20, 2012

Photo illustration from an image by League of Women Voters of California

By Eugene Robinson

Thus far, the 2012 presidential campaign has been unfocused,
dispiriting and largely irrelevant. By the time Election Day comes, a
weary nation will be at the point of pulling the covers over its head
and screaming, "Somebody, please, make it stop."

What's that? You say we're there already?

"Both sides are to blame" is usually a cop-out, but in this case it's
true. President Obama has conducted a more reality-based campaign than
the Republicans vying to run against him in the fall, but that's not
saying much. Arguably, it's not saying anything at all, since the GOP
primaries seem to be taking place in some parallel universe.

It's not as if there aren't real issues to deal with. The recession is
over and the economy is recovering. But even if we manage to dodge all
the potential bullets that could cause another slump—a Middle East war
that sends oil prices to the stratosphere, a Greek default that causes
another financial crisis—the nation will still face years of painfully
high unemployment.

Real estate, the source of most Americans' wealth, is showing some
flickerings of life in parts of the country. But home values will not
fully stabilize and begin a sustainable rise until the enormous
backlog of foreclosures is cleared and the excess inventory built
during the housing bubble is absorbed. In other words, the engine that
powered our last big growth spurt is in no condition to power the next
one.


Advertisement

Huge structural problems are looming. The shift to a postindustrial
economy will require massive new investment in infrastructure and
education. But servicing the gigantic national debt and ensuring the
health and well-being of a growing population of senior citizens will
devour resources that we ought to spend investing in the nation's
future. Meanwhile, inequality has grown to the point where the basic
promise of the American system—that with talent and determination,
anyone can succeed—is in doubt.

With all this at stake, what are our presidential candidates talking
about? Um, contraception.

That's not quite fair. It's not that the candidates totally ignore the
big issues; it's that no one is offering proposals that are
comprehensive, honest and rational.

Mitt Romney presents himself fundamentally as a technocratic handyman
who needs only one tool to fix the economy—his free-market socket
wrench. How does he see America's place in a world whose economic
center of gravity is shifting toward Asia? What, if anything, does he
propose to do about the widening gap between rich and poor? Where will
growth come from?

Just hand me that wrench, kid.

Rick Santorum campaigns as more of a moralist whose concern is the
salvation of America's soul. His economic policies sound like a return
to George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism"—which, if you recall,
involved big tax cuts and big spending increases, resulting in our
present predicament.

Newt Gingrich, to his credit, does offer a sweeping, optimistic vision
of America's future. But he's looking through his patented Mad
Scientist lens: permanent colonies on the moon, "energy independence"
that would practically require an oil derrick in every backyard. And
Ron Paul sees the Big Picture, too, but his solution to everything
that ails us—shut down the government and return to our villages and
farms—doesn't strike most Americans as realistic.

With so little inspiration coming from the Republican side, the field
is open for Obama to raise our hopes and fire our dreams. So far, he
has declined the opportunity.

As a matter of politics, why should the president do anything but
stand by and watch as the GOP makes a spectacle of itself? The
primaries have given the Obama campaign a tutorial in how to attack
Romney, the likely nominee. And the Republican Party has spun itself
so far to the right that Obama can easily make a centrist appeal to
the independent voters who will decide the election.

But that doesn't get Obama off the hook. True, he has been telling
Americans what problems we face and what measures we can take to meet
those challenges. What he hasn't done is give us a sense of purpose.

We need more than actuarial calculations about how many more years we
have until Social Security benefits need to be adjusted. We need a
goal—something more practical than a moon base. We need a mission. We
need a reason to get out of bed on Election Day.

More:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/stuck_in_a_campaign_rut_20120320/

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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Amy Goodnan: Walking While Black: The Killing of Trayvon Martin

Walking While Black: The Killing of Trayvon Martin
By Amy Goodman

On the rainy night of Sunday, Feb. 26, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin
walked to a convenience store in Sanford, Fla. On his way home, with
his Skittles and iced tea, the African-American teenager was shot and
killed. The gunman, George Zimmerman, didn't run. He claimed that he
killed the young man in self-defense. The Sanford police agreed and
let him go. Since then, witnesses have come forward, 911 emergency
calls have been released, and outrage over the killing has gone
global.

Trayvon Martin lived in Miami. He was visiting his father in Sanford,
near Orlando, staying in the gated community known as The Retreat at
Twin Lakes, where Zimmerman volunteered with the Neighborhood Watch
program. The Miami Herald reported that Zimmerman was a "habitual
caller" to the police, making 46 calls since January 2011. He was out
on his rounds as a self-appointed watchman, packing his concealed 9 mm
pistol, when he called 911: "We've had some break-ins in my
neighborhood, and there's a real suspicious guy ... this guy looks
like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something."

Later in the call, Zimmerman exclaims, "OK. These a—holes always get
away. ... [Expletive], he's running."

Sounds of Zimmerman moving follow, along with a controversial
utterance from Zimmerman, under his breath, considered by many to be
"[Expletive] coons." The sound of his running prompted the 911
operator to ask, "Are you following him?" Zimmerman replied, "Yeah,"
to which the dispatcher said, "OK, we don't need you to do that."

One of the attorneys representing the Martin family, Jasmine Rand,
told me: "The term 'coon' on the audiotape ... is a very obvious
racial slur against African-Americans. We also heard the neighbors
come forward and say, 'Yeah, in this particular neighborhood, we look
for young black males to be committing criminal activity.' And that's
exactly what George Zimmerman did that night. He found a young black
male that he did not recognize, assumed that he did not belong there,
and he targeted him."


Advertisement

Another 911 call that has been released is from a woman who hears
someone crying for help, then a gunshot.

Eyewitnesses Mary Cutcher and Selma Mora Lamilla both heard the cries,
which police say could have been from Zimmerman, thus supporting his
claim, even though he had a gun and outweighed Trayvon Martin by 80
pounds.

Cutcher said at a press conference: "I feel it was not self-defense,
because I heard the crying. And if it was Zimmerman that was crying,
Zimmerman would have continued crying after the shot went off. The
only thing I saw that night—I heard the crying. We were in the
kitchen. I heard the crying. It was a little boy. As soon as the gun
went off, the crying stopped. Therefore, it tells me it was not
Zimmerman crying."

Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee has defended his department's decision
not to arrest Zimmerman. They bagged Martin's body and took it away,
labeling him a "John Doe," even though they had his cellphone, which
anyone, let alone law enforcement with a shooting victim, could have
used to easily identify a person. They tested Martin's corpse for
drugs and alcohol. Zimmerman was not tested. Neighbors say that
Zimmerman loaded things into a U-Haul truck and left the area.

So, while the police and State Attorney Norm Wolfinger have defended
their inaction, a democratic demand for justice has ricocheted around
the country, prompting a U.S. Justice Department investigation and
leading Wolfinger to promise to convene a grand jury. The Rev. Glenn
Dames, pastor of St. James AME Church in nearby Titusville, has called
Martin's death "a modern-day lynching." His demand for the immediate
arrest of Zimmerman was echoed by the organizers of the "Million
Hoodie March" in New York City, named after the often racially
stereotyped sweatshirt Martin was wearing in the rain when he was
shot.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has
called for the removal of Sanford Police Chief Lee. NAACP President
Ben Jealous, recounting a mass meeting in a Sanford-area church
Tuesday night, quoted a local resident who stood up and said, "'If you
kill a dog in this town, you'd be in jail the next day.' Trayvon
Martin was killed four weeks ago, and his killer is still walking the
streets."

With his gun.

More:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/walking_while_black_the_killing_of_trayvon_martin_20120322/

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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Voters Have Two Candidates, No Choice

Voters Have Two Candidates, No Choice

Posted on Mar 22, 2012

AP / Steven Senne
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at the University
of Chicago.

By Robert Scheer

With Mitt Romney's super-PAC limo now on cruise control to victory at
the GOP convention, voters are left with only two reasons to vote
against Barack Obama: Either they are desperate to return a white man
to the White House or they feel strongly that it is time to break the
glass ceiling denying Mormons the presidency.

Out of a sense of tolerance I could cotton to the latter—heck, why
should the bizarre beliefs of Romney's church be a deal breaker? I'm
hoping for a strong Jewish contender someday and wouldn't like her
burdened with defending Old Testament claptrap.

The problem in this mind-numbing Republican primary season is that the
campaign has exposed Romney as not just another white male Mormon like
some of the fairly reasonable senators who have represented Utah. Or
like Romney's own father, George, at one time the governor of
Michigan. No, this Romney is now widely regarded as the vulture
capitalist he is, a politician who is a say-and-do-anything
opportunist with no moral limits on his outsized ambitions.

Nothing is sacred to the former Massachusetts governor, not even his
own signature health plan that he sold to that state's voters as the
standard for rational government decision-making as regards the deep
problems faced by our economy. The weaknesses of what Romney and the
GOP deride as Obamacare have been all too obvious in the plan Romney
touted in Massachusetts—a mandate to sign up without the cost
restraints that a single-payer government program would offer. Now,
with a new national plan from Rep. Paul Ryan emerging from the U.S.
House, Romney and the Republican Party generally seek to compound that
error by undermining Medicare and Medicaid, two programs that offer at
least a modicum of cost control. Instead, the candidate and his
fellow Republicans would turn consumers over completely to the tender
mercies of for-profit insurers.

The justification for gutting what little remains of enlightened
government programs to aid the vulnerable is, of course, the dreaded
federal deficit. (Lest we forget, seniors were foremost among the
vulnerable until the arrival of the programs now under attack.) What
is so outrageously hypocritical about the proposals from both Romney
and Ryan is that they do not touch, and indeed would further open, the
spending spigot that caused all of the red ink following President
Bill Clinton's budget-balancing act.


Advertisement

Both Romney and Ryan want to increase President George W. Bush's tax
breaks for the wealthy, which seriously cut revenues while treating as
sacrosanct the Cold War levels in military spending that Bush put in
place in a wildly irrational response to the 9/11 attacks. This week
Ryan announced that defense spending is off-limits, and Romney has
campaigned for an increase in what represents more than 40 percent of
the non-mandated federal budget.

I can't wait for the moment in a presidential debate when Romney talks
about the need for even more advanced U.S. weaponry to counter the
emerging military threat from Communist China and Obama ever so coolly
points out that Bain Capital, the company that Romney co-founded, has
been supplying those Red tyrants with surveillance equipment to better
monitor their citizenry.

With Ron Paul's fortunes as a presidential candidate declining, there
is no pressure on GOP leaders to link a withdrawal from the imperial
adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan with a reduced federal handout to
the military-industrial complex. Nor will the Republican leadership
confront the party's responsibility for the nation's economic
collapse, the subsequent loss in tax revenues, and the Fed and
Treasury policies that bailed out the Wall Street charlatans who
invented this meltdown.

Instead of reigning in Wall Street greed, the GOP is demanding a
reversal of even the tepid efforts of the Obama administration to hold
the financial industry accountable to honest business practices. And,
at a time when the largest multinational companies have shifted jobs
and profits abroad, the GOP stands for rewarding that betrayal of
American workers by eliminating all taxes on overseas corporate
profits.

The pity in all this is that a legitimate critique of the Obama
record—present to some degree in the Paul dissection of the
president's war policy and his continuation of the Bush Wall Street
bailout strategy—will not be heard in the general election debate.
Instead, on the one hand, we will have Obama offering clever-sounding
arguments for establishment policies that fail to deal with high
unemployment, a brutal level of housing foreclosures and sharpening
income inequality. And on the other hand there will be a Republican
Party so steeped in the ethos of greed, racism and war-mongering that
it would leave even Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, were they alive,
with no choice but to vote for Obama as the lesser evil.

More:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/voters_have_two_candidates_no_choice_20120322/

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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Obama's Ads

Obama's Ads


President Obama may not need his own TV ads. He could just replay the
Republican debates, 30 seconds at a time.

The Republicans would have left the U.S. auto industry to die, but
demand tax breaks for oil companies. They support President Bush's tax
cuts for the wealthy, but won't cut payroll taxes for the middle
class.

They're always too ready to go to war on women's health – but they're
terrified of Rush Limbaugh.

No matter how extreme Republicans get, Democratic victory won't come
without a fight. Karl Rove and his supporters will spend tens of
millions to put Republicans back in charge.

Our Senate majority hangs in the balance. Republicans only need four
of the 23 Democratic seats up this year.

Right now, you can help hold the Senate by helping us make the DSCC's
$1 million goal before the March 31 end-of-quarter FEC deadline.
Missing that goal could be all it takes to put those four crucial
seats at risk.

Click here to rush $5, $10 or more to the DSCC before midnight on
March 31. The extremists have taken over the Republican Party, and we
just can't afford to put them back in charge.


https://dscc.org/give2?donate_page_KEY=14019&amount=x


The other side will have all the Super PAC money they need to attack
our Senate candidates and tear down President Obama.

I won't take it easy. I don't want to let the Republicans have even
the smallest advantage. And neither should you.

I'll stand and fight every single day to win Michigan for President
Obama and re-elect my friend Debbie Stabenow. And I'll do whatever I
can to help Democrats across the map, from Elizabeth Warren in
Massachusetts to Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin to Shelley Berkley in
Nevada.

I hope you'll get invested in this campaign right away. Please give
$5, $10 or whatever you can to help the DSCC's drive to their $1
million end-of-quarter goal. It's the best way to keep the Senate in
Democratic hands this fall.

https://dscc.org/give2?donate_page_KEY=14019&amount=x

Remember, Republicans are eager to take over the Senate so they can
have total control of Congress and ram through their reckless agenda.

They'll cut health care for seniors and education for kids. They'll
cut job training for the middle class and slash environmental
safeguards that keep our air and water clean.

I'll do everything I can to stop that from happening, and I know you
will, too. Together, we can meet every one of the DSCC's goals and get
organized to re-elect President Obama and keep our Senate majority.

Sincerely,

Carl Levin

More:
https://dscc.org/give2?donate_page_KEY=14019&amount=x


--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
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Re: 20 Things You Need to Know About the Tragic Killing of Trayvon Martin

Opinion From the author and main sponsor of the Florida Law

Trayvon Martin's alleged attacker not covered under law I wrote
By Rep. Dennis Baxley
Published March 21, 2012
| FoxNews.com

AP/Martin Family Photos/File
In this undated file family photo, Trayvon Martin poses for a family
photo. College students around Florida rallied Monday, March 19, 2012,
to demand the arrest of a white neighborhood watch captain who shot
unarmed teen Martin last month, though authorities may be hamstrung by
a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.
The tragic story of Trayvon Martin's death in Sanford, Florida has
ignited a great deal of passion and concern regarding the
circumstances of his death and the defense applied by the attacker,
George Zimmerman. The fact that Trayvon Martin unnecessarily lost his
life is troubling and an investigation into the surrounding
circumstances is certainly warranted.
First of all I'd like to extend my condolences to the Martin family.
I have been in the funeral services profession for over 40 years; I've
walked with families through many tragic circumstances and I know how
difficult it is.
RELATED STORIES
Neighborhood watch leader may have uttered racial slur before shooting
Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch captain talked to girlfriend
before shooting, lawyer says
Family: Florida man didn't kill black teen in self-defense


I would like to emphasize that the approach that is currently
developing in this situation, to convene a grand jury, is the proper
one in which to discern the facts of this case. I certainly agree with
everyone that justice must be served.
During the debate concerning this incident, some have brought into
question the "Stand Your Ground" law, more commonly referred to as the
"castle doctrine," which has been used by the attacker to pardon his
actions.
As the prime sponsor of this legislation in the Florida House, I'd
like to clarify that this law does not seem to be applicable to the
tragedy that happened in Sanford. There is nothing in the castle
doctrine as found in Florida statutes that authenticates or provides
for the opportunity to pursue and confront individuals, it simply
protects those who would be potential victims by allowing for force to
be used in self-defense.
When the "stand your ground" or "castle doctrine" legislation passed
in 2005, the catalytic event that brought the issue to the attention
of the Florida Legislature was the looting of property in the
aftermath of hurricanes.
Specifically, there was a situation in the panhandle of Florida where
a citizen moved an RV onto his property, to protect the remains of his
home from being looted. One evening, a perpetrator broke into the RV
and attacked the property owner. The property owner, acting in self-
defense in his home, shot and killed the perpetrator.
It was months before the property owner knew if he would be charged
with a crime because of the lack of concrete definition in the
statutes regarding self-defense and a perceived duty to retreat by the
potential victim.
Until 2005, the castle doctrine had never been canonized into Florida
law, but had been used with differing definition and application to
the concept of self-defense. The focus of the law was to provide clear
definition to acts of self-defense.
The facets of the castle doctrine deal with using force to meet force
as an act of self-defense when in your home, in your car, on your
property, or anywhere you are legally able to be. The law also
protects property owners and their homeowner's insurance from being
wrongfully sued by perpetrators who claim to be harmed while
committing a crime.
The castle doctrine as passed, clarified that individuals are lawfully
able to defend themselves when attacked and there is no duty to
retreat when an individual is attacked on their property. Since the
passage of this law in Florida, 26 other states have implemented
similar statues.
Additionally, the American Legislative Exchange Council used the
Florida version of the castle doctrine as model legislation for other
states.
Quite simply the castle doctrine is a good law which now protects
individuals in a majority of states. However, the castle doctrine does
not provide protection to individuals who seek to pursue and confront
others, as is allegedly the case in the Trayvon Martin tragedy in
Sanford.
The information that has been publicly reported concerning Trayvon
Martin's death indicates that the castle doctrine may not be
applicable to justify the actions of the attacker, Mr. Zimmerman.
Media stories sharing the transcripts of the 911 tapes from the
evening of the incident clearly show that Mr. Zimmerman was instructed
by authorities to remain in his vehicle and to cease pursuit of Mr.
Martin. George Zimmerman seems to have ignored the direction of the
authorities and continued his pursuit of Mr. Martin.
Mr. Zimmerman's unnecessary pursuit and confrontation of Trayvon
Martin elevated the prospect of a violent episode and does not seem to
be an act of self-defense as defined by the castle doctrine. There is
no protection in the "Stand Your Ground" law for anyone who pursues
and confronts people.
I have great sympathy for the family of Trayvon Martin and am grateful
that things are finally moving in the right direction to further
explore what actually happened on that night in Sanford, Florida.
Awaiting the convening of the grand jury, I trust that justice will be
served and healing will begin for all of those affected.
Republican Dennis Baxley represents the 24th district in Florida's
House of Representatives. He was the prime sponsor of the "Stand Your
Ground" law in 2005. He is the principal owner and vice president of
Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/03/21/trayvon-martins-alleged-attacker-not-covered-under-law-wrote/#ixzz1prYQAw8T

On Mar 22, 8:46 am, plainolamerican <plainolameri...@gmail.com> wrote:
> you forgot one ... he's a spic with black family members and has a
> jewish name.
>
> the racist left wishes he was white
>
> On Mar 22, 9:30 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > 20 Things You Need to Know About the Tragic Killing of Trayvon Martin
> > The Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney announced
> > they were launching "a thorough and independent review" of the
> > shooting -- will there be justice?
> > March 20, 2012  |       LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?
> > Join our mailing list:
> > Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email.
> >         On February 26, 2012, a 17-year-old African-American named
> > Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter
> > was George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man. Zimmerman admits killing
> > Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Florida's "Stand
> > Your Ground" law, passed in 2005, allows people to use deadly force if
> > they believe they're in imminent danger. Three weeks after Martin's
> > death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.
>
> > FBI tells ABC News they are monitoring the Trayvon Martin
> > investigation and have been in touch with local authorities. Late
> > Monday, March 20, after a letter from the NAACP, the United States
> > Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney announced they
> > were launching "a thorough and independent review" of the shooting
> > death of Trayvon Martin. The Florida state attorney has sent the
> > Trayvon Martin case to a grand jury. The Seminole County grand jury
> > will be called to session on Tuesday, April 10.
>
> > Here's everything you need to know about the case:
>
> > 1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin's "suspicious"
> > behavior, which he described as "just walking around looking about."
> > Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He
> > called the police and said: "There's a real suspicious guy. This guy
> > looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something. It's raining and
> > he's just walking around looking about… These a**holes always get
> > away" [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > 2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the
> > police dispatcher:
>
> > Dispatcher: "Are you following him?"
> > Zimmerman: "Yeah"
> > Dispatcher: "OK, we don't need you to do that."
>
> > [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > 3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmerman's father released
> > a statement claiming "[a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr.
> > Martin." [Sun Sentinel]
>
> > 4. Zimmerman was carrying a a Kel Tel 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was
> > carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News]
>
> > 5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando
> > Sentinel; WDBO]
>
> > 6. Martin's English teacher described him as "as an A and B student
> > who majored in cheerfulness." [Orlando Sentinel]
>
> > 7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times]
>
> > 8. Zimmerman "was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with
> > violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been
> > dropped." [Huffington Post]
>
> > 9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald]
>
> > 10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was "fixated on crime and
> > focused on young, black males." [Miami Herald]
>
> > 11. Zimmerman "had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his
> > gated community for aggressive tactics" [Huffington Post]
>
> > 12. A police officer "corrected" a key witness. "The officer told the
> > witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help,
> > said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed
> > that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager
> > shout for help." [ABC News]
>
> > 13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot
> > was fired. "Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw
> > or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager's
> > killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a
> > despondent boy." [Miami Herald]
>
> > 14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism
> > in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenant's son who was
> > videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times]
>
> > 15. The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol. A law
> > enforcement expert told ABC that Zimmerman sounds intoxicated on the
> > 911 tapes. Drug and alcohol testing is "standard procedure in most
> > homicide investigations." [ABC News]
>
> > 16. In a cell phone call moments before his death, Martin told a
> > teenage girl that he was "hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who
> > ran after him, cornered him and confronted him." "'He said this man
> > was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man,'
> > Martin's friend said. 'I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was
> > going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to
> > run.' Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd
> > managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering
> > Martin. 'Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man
> > said, 'What are you doing here.'" [ABC News]
>
> > 17. Zimmerman told the police "he had stepped out of his truck to
> > check the name of the street he was on when Trayvon attacked him from
> > behind as he walked back to his truck." "He said he feared for his
> > life and fired the semiautomatic handgun he was licensed to carry
> > because he feared for his life." [Miami Herald]
>
> > 18. Zimmerman was not a member of a registered Neighborhood Watch
> > group. Zimmerman also violated basic Neighborhood Watch guidelines by
> > carrying a weapon. [ABC News]
>
> > 19. Sanford police chief Bill Lee planned to wrap up the case last
> > Monday without bringing any charges, because, he said, "there is no
> > evidence to dispute the shooter's claim of self-defense," which is a
> > sufficient claim under the "Stand Your Ground" law. [Miami Herald]
>
> > 20. In the first five years "Stand Your Ground" was in effect,
> > justifiable homicides tripled, and the law was a factor in at least 93
> > cases involving 65 deaths. An investigation of cases from the law's
> > passage in 2005 to 2010 found that charges were dropped or dismissed
> > for 57 people, and 7 others were acquitted. [Tampa Bay Times]
>
> > A petition created by Trayvon's parents to investigate his killing has
> > been signed by over 500,000 people.
>
> > More:http://www.alternet.org/story/154624/20_things_you_need_to_know_about...
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy

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Re: Will Comcast Make This The Last St. Patrick's Day Parade To Exclude Gays?

Yes, and the Parade is not free nor open to the public for participation... you must qualify and pay up to a base fee of 3000 dollars. No different than any other Private event held on public streets.

On Thu, Mar 22, 2012 at 9:14 AM, GregfromBoston <greg.vincent@yahoo.com> wrote:
The Mass court ruled gay groups could march to their hearts content, but if the neighborhood determined banners refering to sexual preference were inappropriate, then leave the banner at home or find another soap box, as children are not only in the audience, but the target audience.
 
There is a Gay Pride parade every June in Boston.  Thats just fine.

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Re: Will Comcast Make This The Last St. Patrick's Day Parade To Exclude Gays?

The Mass court ruled gay groups could march to their hearts content, but if the neighborhood determined banners refering to sexual preference were inappropriate, then leave the banner at home or find another soap box, as children are not only in the audience, but the target audience.
 
There is a Gay Pride parade every June in Boston.  Thats just fine.

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Re: Tammy Baldwin, Potentially America's First Openly Gay Senator, Talks About Her Chances

stfu, bitch!

it's very true

On Mar 21, 2:11 pm, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Liar!
>
> On Mar 20, 10:49 am, plainolamerican <plainolameri...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > her sexuality is used as a crutch for votes
>
> > On Mar 20, 9:56 am, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > From Coleman
>
> > > Tammy Baldwin, Potentially America's First Openly Gay Senator, Talks
> > > About Her Chances
> > > Rep. Tammy Baldwin speaks with the New York Times about her run for
> > > Senate and whether her sexuality might be a factor for Wisconsinites:
>
> > > "This November, people in Wisconsin will be so focused on getting by.
> > > They've made serious adjustments to deal with this economy — whether
> > > it's the recession or the decline of the middle class before then. I
> > > feel so strongly that that's what's going to be on people's minds."
>
> > > Baldwin is also asked about Obama's "evolution" on marriage equality:
>
> > > "Look, he is moving in the right direction on this issue. He's been
> > > crucial in equality efforts like the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
> > > and signing the Matthew Shepard hate crimes prevention act. I have no
> > > idea what goes on in another person's mind. As a legislator, I need to
> > > be good at persuading people, counting votes and getting to 50 percent
> > > plus one. I don't go back and say, 'Why did this person get to the
> > > right position?' It's only 'Are you yes or are you no?'"
>
> > > More here:
>
> > >http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/magazine/tammy-baldwin.html?_r=3&sr...
>
> > > --
> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > > Have a great day,
> > > Tommy
>
> > > --
> > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > > Have a great day,
> > > Tommy- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -

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Re: Obama to bypass Congress, Give $1.5B of your taxes to Muslim Brotherhood

those in DC who give our tax dollars to other nations and minority
groups should be fired and replaced with honorable Americans asap by
any means necessary

On Mar 22, 10:02 am, Travis <baconl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> **
>            New post on *Creeping Sharia*
> <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/>  Obama to bypass
> Congress, Give $1.5B of your taxes to Muslim
> Brotherhood<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/obama-to-bypass-congre...>by
> creeping <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/>
>
> via Obama Bypasses Congress, Gives $1.5 Billion to Muslim Brotherhood.
> During a trip through Colorado in December of last year, President Obama
> spoke of his intention to implement his economic policies with or without
> the approval of Congress. Said Obama, "And where Congress is not willing to
> act, we're going to go ahead and do [...]
>
> Read more of this
> post<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/obama-to-bypass-congre...>
>  *creeping <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/>* | March
> 22, 2012 at 10:00 AM | Tags:
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Re: The Case for Marriage Equality

It matters when its the right that is blamed.  It was the left here, and we were first.

On Thursday, March 22, 2012 10:51:07 AM UTC-4, plainolamerican wrote:
does it really matter if it's the left or right who discriminated
against gays?

btw - saw this guy live in Gnashville Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMczCX5WWD8&feature=related

On Mar 22, 9:41 am, GregfromBoston <greg.vinc...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It wasn't the "right wing" that came within 2 votes of changing the
> Massachusetts constitution and overturn the Court's ruling in favor of gay
> marriage
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, March 21, 2012 4:54:26 PM UTC-4, Tommy News wrote:
> > Use "marriage equality," not "gay marriage"
> > There is no such thing as "gay" marriage any more than there is a
> > "gay" driver's license, a "gay" birth certificate, a "gay" death
> > certificate ("Gay marriage" or "marriage equality"?: New polling shows
> > semantics make a difference, but LGBT media not in agreement over best
> > phrase," January 2012,
> >http://www.presspassq.com/detail.cfm?id=124#feature).
>
> > The marriage license is one handed out by the state. No church or
> > synagogue can actually give you this license. The state must do it
> > and, therefore, marriage is a civil license. Fighting for marriage
> > equality is fighting for a civil right.
>
> > The right wing coined the expression "gay marriage" to convince people
> > that we were fighting for a "special" right. We weren't. We were
> > fighting for a right that already existed.
>
> > So why should we use the terminology of the right wing – "gay
> > marriage" – when in fact, we are fighting for marriage equality, the
> > correct term.
>
> > Robin Tyler
> > Plaintiff, California Marriage Equality Case
> > Tyler v State of California
> > Los Angeles
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy

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Re: Conservative Bullying Has Made America Into a Broken, Dysfunctional Family: But There Are Ways to Regain Our Well-Being

"We can build a collective civic space large enough for all our separate identities, that we can be e pluribus unum -- out of one, many." - Al Gore.

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Obama to bypass Congress, Give $1.5B of your taxes to Muslim Brotherhood




New post on Creeping Sharia

Obama to bypass Congress, Give $1.5B of your taxes to Muslim Brotherhood

by creeping

via Obama Bypasses Congress, Gives $1.5 Billion to Muslim Brotherhood. During a trip through Colorado in December of last year, President Obama spoke of his intention to implement his economic policies with or without the approval of Congress. Said Obama, "And where Congress is not willing to act, we're going to go ahead and do [...]

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