George Zimmerman Recap
Let's recap what's going on with George Zimmerman as of Monday, July 15th, 2013:
1. He has been acquitted of 2nd degree murder and lesser charges by a court of law.
2. He is proceeding in his own lawsuit against NBC-Universal and several reporters for the alterations they made to tape of a 911 phone call, to try to make it appear that his pursuit of Trayvon Martin was racially motivated.
3. The NAACP and protestors around the nation are pushing the Justice Department to pursue a criminal case against Zimmerman for civil rights violations.
He can't be retried in state court. Double jeopardy. The Martins can pursue a wrongful death case but that's risky because Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law gives immunity to anyone who is found to have killed in self-defense.
A reporter and a producer who were NBC employees were fired, supposedly over their involvement with the editing of these tapes. NBC has refused to issue a retraction.
The DOJ is almost certainly not going to bring a civil rights violation case against Zimmerman. Why? Because unlike the cops who beat Rodney King, the cops who murdered Arthur MacDuffie and others involved in similar situations; George Zimmerman was not a public official at the time of the alleged infraction. Therefore, since he was not acting "under the color of authority", almost all of the federal laws regarding civil rights violations do not apply in this case. The one that still might is a hate crime statute. The FBI has already investigated this issue. They interviewed three dozen people. They found no evidence at all of any racial animus on his part. With no evidence of racial bias, there's no way to bring the charge. Don't believe me. This comes from the mouth of a former United States Attorney I heard discussing the matter on the news. Now other experts are disagreeing with him, but they aren't former U.S. Attorneys. Although at this moment I'm listening to Newt Gingrich agreeing with my position on this, which always makes me nervous.
* * *
I hate that my body limits how much work I can do. I know I'm paying the price for so many years of working crazy amounts of hours, not getting nearly enough exercise and making poor eating choices. That I know what's happened doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
But I'm happy that my "forced" break from work is over. With one exception. I hate that I "have" to shave my face on work mornings. I don't like shaving. It's a pain in the ass. The blades have gotten expensive and the cheap razors I used to use don't work well enough anymore. It means allowing an extra few minutes to get ready.
I will focus on how much better life is that I'm going to be able to work again, albeit a limited number of hours.
* * *
Today's random ponderings:
Is it a good idea for Yahoo to be giving away old user names for email accounts, if they were untouched for a year? I sure don't like it. In an age of ever increasing identity theft, it's a bad idea.
Okay, there was an intern at the NTSB who confirmed those prank names used by KTVU news as though they were the names of the pilots of Asiana Flight 214. Where the heck did they get those names before calling to confirm them? That's what I want to know.
There's enough bad blood between the Dodgers and the Giants already. Isn't it kind of dumb for Giants manager Bruce Bochy to fan the flames by snubbing Dodgers as the NL team's manager for the All-Star game? Clayton Kershaw reacted in a classy way, but Bochy was an ass.
Did Quentin Tarantino's girlfriend engage in plagiarism? Wait a minute...QT has a girlfriend?
Is Johnny Depp doing "Alice in Wonderland 2" because he needs a box office hit besides the upcoming "Pirates 5"?
Was the debut of Kris Jenner's talk show today the next step toward the impending apocalypse?
* * *
This celebrity tweets about this news story. That celebrity chooses to use their Oscar acceptance speech to blather on about an issue they feel is important.
Why does the media buy into giving celebrities the bully pulpit about social and political issues? Are the thoughts of Sean Penn about a particular political issue any more important than those of the average member of society?
If I am following a celebrity and they tweet stuff I don't want to hear, I have the right to unfollow them. That's on me. But this incessant reporting about how celebrities react to news events unrelated to their particular career or life just rubs me the wrong way.
Maybe it's hypocritical of me to say this, since I will do the very same thing on occasion. Perhaps I need to just relax about this, realize we're a society that's so unhappy with our own lives we live vicariously through what our celebrities do. Otherwise TMZ would have never become a cottage industry.
Okay, I'm easing up. I won't let it rub me the wrong way anymore.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1099, Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 50 years later, to the day, the church is consecrated.
On this date in 1207, King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
On this date in 1799, the Rosetta Stone is found in Egypt.
On this date in 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike sets out on his expedition to explore the west.
On this date in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
On this date in 1870, Georgia becomes the last state to be readmitted to the Union.
On this date in 1922, the Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
On this date in 1983, the Nintendo Entertainment System is released.
On this date in 1997, serial killer Andrew Cunanan murders designer Gianni Versace.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Vladimir the Bold
Eskender
Archduke Ernest of Austria
Thomas Bulfinch
Dorothy Fields
Joe Turkel
Clive Cussler
Ken Kercheval
Patrick Wayne
Mil Mascaras
Jan-Michael Vincent
Linda Ronstadt
Arianna Huffington
Jessie "The Body" Ventura
Richard Russo
Terry O'Quinn
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Alicia Bridges
Marky Ramone
Barry Melrose
Willie Aames
Lolita Davidovitch
Forest Whitaker
Brigitte Nielsen
Eddie Griffin
Beth Ostrosky Stern
Brian Austin Green
Diane Kruger
Heath Slater
Today's movie quotes come from 2002's "Undercover Brother" in honor of Eddie Griffin's birthday:
Undercover Brother: You mess with the 'fro, you got to go.
#2
Undercover Brother: [Smart Brother tried to turn Undercover Brother into a white man expert by showing his various and random clips from white movies and t.v. shows. Undercover Brother begins screaming so they stop the clips] CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD!
Smart Brother: Are you alright?
Undercover Brother: [pauses with a horrified look on his face] ... I... see... WHITE... people
#3
Undercover Brother: You know what they say, behind every great black man...
Conspiracy Brother: is the police.
Undercover Brother: No.
Smart Brother: A bunch of slow white athletes?
Undercover Brother: No!
White She-Devil: A cute butt.
Undercover Brother: NO!
Lance: Probable cause.
1. He has been acquitted of 2nd degree murder and lesser charges by a court of law.
2. He is proceeding in his own lawsuit against NBC-Universal and several reporters for the alterations they made to tape of a 911 phone call, to try to make it appear that his pursuit of Trayvon Martin was racially motivated.
3. The NAACP and protestors around the nation are pushing the Justice Department to pursue a criminal case against Zimmerman for civil rights violations.
He can't be retried in state court. Double jeopardy. The Martins can pursue a wrongful death case but that's risky because Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law gives immunity to anyone who is found to have killed in self-defense.
A reporter and a producer who were NBC employees were fired, supposedly over their involvement with the editing of these tapes. NBC has refused to issue a retraction.
The DOJ is almost certainly not going to bring a civil rights violation case against Zimmerman. Why? Because unlike the cops who beat Rodney King, the cops who murdered Arthur MacDuffie and others involved in similar situations; George Zimmerman was not a public official at the time of the alleged infraction. Therefore, since he was not acting "under the color of authority", almost all of the federal laws regarding civil rights violations do not apply in this case. The one that still might is a hate crime statute. The FBI has already investigated this issue. They interviewed three dozen people. They found no evidence at all of any racial animus on his part. With no evidence of racial bias, there's no way to bring the charge. Don't believe me. This comes from the mouth of a former United States Attorney I heard discussing the matter on the news. Now other experts are disagreeing with him, but they aren't former U.S. Attorneys. Although at this moment I'm listening to Newt Gingrich agreeing with my position on this, which always makes me nervous.
* * *
I hate that my body limits how much work I can do. I know I'm paying the price for so many years of working crazy amounts of hours, not getting nearly enough exercise and making poor eating choices. That I know what's happened doesn't make it any easier to deal with.
But I'm happy that my "forced" break from work is over. With one exception. I hate that I "have" to shave my face on work mornings. I don't like shaving. It's a pain in the ass. The blades have gotten expensive and the cheap razors I used to use don't work well enough anymore. It means allowing an extra few minutes to get ready.
I will focus on how much better life is that I'm going to be able to work again, albeit a limited number of hours.
* * *
Today's random ponderings:
Is it a good idea for Yahoo to be giving away old user names for email accounts, if they were untouched for a year? I sure don't like it. In an age of ever increasing identity theft, it's a bad idea.
Okay, there was an intern at the NTSB who confirmed those prank names used by KTVU news as though they were the names of the pilots of Asiana Flight 214. Where the heck did they get those names before calling to confirm them? That's what I want to know.
There's enough bad blood between the Dodgers and the Giants already. Isn't it kind of dumb for Giants manager Bruce Bochy to fan the flames by snubbing Dodgers as the NL team's manager for the All-Star game? Clayton Kershaw reacted in a classy way, but Bochy was an ass.
Did Quentin Tarantino's girlfriend engage in plagiarism? Wait a minute...QT has a girlfriend?
Is Johnny Depp doing "Alice in Wonderland 2" because he needs a box office hit besides the upcoming "Pirates 5"?
Was the debut of Kris Jenner's talk show today the next step toward the impending apocalypse?
* * *
This celebrity tweets about this news story. That celebrity chooses to use their Oscar acceptance speech to blather on about an issue they feel is important.
Why does the media buy into giving celebrities the bully pulpit about social and political issues? Are the thoughts of Sean Penn about a particular political issue any more important than those of the average member of society?
If I am following a celebrity and they tweet stuff I don't want to hear, I have the right to unfollow them. That's on me. But this incessant reporting about how celebrities react to news events unrelated to their particular career or life just rubs me the wrong way.
Maybe it's hypocritical of me to say this, since I will do the very same thing on occasion. Perhaps I need to just relax about this, realize we're a society that's so unhappy with our own lives we live vicariously through what our celebrities do. Otherwise TMZ would have never become a cottage industry.
Okay, I'm easing up. I won't let it rub me the wrong way anymore.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1099, Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 50 years later, to the day, the church is consecrated.
On this date in 1207, King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
On this date in 1799, the Rosetta Stone is found in Egypt.
On this date in 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike sets out on his expedition to explore the west.
On this date in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
On this date in 1870, Georgia becomes the last state to be readmitted to the Union.
On this date in 1922, the Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
On this date in 1983, the Nintendo Entertainment System is released.
On this date in 1997, serial killer Andrew Cunanan murders designer Gianni Versace.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Vladimir the Bold
Eskender
Archduke Ernest of Austria
Thomas Bulfinch
Dorothy Fields
Joe Turkel
Clive Cussler
Ken Kercheval
Patrick Wayne
Mil Mascaras
Jan-Michael Vincent
Linda Ronstadt
Arianna Huffington
Jessie "The Body" Ventura
Richard Russo
Terry O'Quinn
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Alicia Bridges
Marky Ramone
Barry Melrose
Willie Aames
Lolita Davidovitch
Forest Whitaker
Brigitte Nielsen
Eddie Griffin
Beth Ostrosky Stern
Brian Austin Green
Diane Kruger
Heath Slater
Today's movie quotes come from 2002's "Undercover Brother" in honor of Eddie Griffin's birthday:
Undercover Brother: You mess with the 'fro, you got to go.
#2
Undercover Brother: [Smart Brother tried to turn Undercover Brother into a white man expert by showing his various and random clips from white movies and t.v. shows. Undercover Brother begins screaming so they stop the clips] CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD! CAUCASIAN OVERLOAD!
Smart Brother: Are you alright?
Undercover Brother: [pauses with a horrified look on his face] ... I... see... WHITE... people
#3
Undercover Brother: You know what they say, behind every great black man...
Conspiracy Brother: is the police.
Undercover Brother: No.
Smart Brother: A bunch of slow white athletes?
Undercover Brother: No!
White She-Devil: A cute butt.
Undercover Brother: NO!
Lance: Probable cause.
posted by me at 5:17 PM
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