Alan Dershowitz and the Zimmerman prosecutor
Noted liberal law professor and pundit Alan Dershowitz has not taken up the PC line in the Zimmerman case. Au contraire. Something about prosecutor Angela Corey’s behavior has really gotten his goat, as was evident in this video.
Now Dershowitz has gone a step further, after ABC news released a photo purporting to show Zimmerman’s head wounds:
After the release of the photo, however, Dershowitz went much further, telling Breitbart News that if the prosecutors did have the photo and didn’t mention it in the affidavit, that would constitute a “grave ethical violation,” since affidavits are supposed to contain “all relevant information.”
Dershowitz continued, “An affidavit that willfully misstates undisputed evidence known to the prosecution is not only unethical but borders on perjury because an affiant swears to tell not only the truth, but the whole truth, and suppressing an important part of the whole truth is a lie.”
When asked if it made a difference whether the prosecution had the bloody photograph at the time they charged Zimmerman, Dershowitz responded, “We do know that there were earlier photographs before the affidavit was done that strongly suggested blood on the back of the head, and we know the police had first access to him, so if there was blood they [the prosecution] would know about it ”¦
“I’ve had cases in Florida against prosecutors,” Dershowitz said, “and this is not the first time they have willfully omitted exculpatory evidence. It’s a continuing problem. Here, it’s not only immoral, but stupid. The whole country is watching. What do they benefit from having half-truths in an affidavit?”
Dershowitz’s anger at Corey is probably not such a surprise. Liberals traditionally have championed the rights of defendants, and at this point Zimmerman is a defendant. For Dershowitz, that trumps the racial angle, although it wouldn’t do so for everyone. My impression (and some of you will probably disagree) is that Dershowitz also is actually interested in the truth.
But in answer to his question, “What do they benefit from having half-truths in an affidavit?”, I think he ought to know the answer: the benefit is not legal, it is propagandist. The court of public opinion is the forum in which they’re looking to win. Even if Zimmerman is acquitted legally, they’re hoping that most people will have already concluded he is guilty, and become angry at the system that failed to convict.
This is going to very revealing to watch. Did you see this? It made me cry and then want to break something. Crickets from Dullton and Jerkson, but those two will surely try and drive the opinion as you say as to what happens to Mr. Zimmerman.
The rapid fire mistakes of the Obama political campaign, over the last 6 weeks, have been breathtaking.
Consider Obama’s embrace of Trayvon, and implicit implication of Zimmerman’s guilt, only to watch the emergence of a photo of Zimmerman’s bloody head.
Add the Obama Campaign’s decision to focus on Romney’s dog transportation.
And go on, from there with half a dozen other missteps in only the last few weeks: Catholic Church/religious freedom, hiding Russia machinations from voters, insulting mothers, attacking SCOTUS, and more (Buffet Rule + Obama paid only 20% tax rate) and more. Amazing string of politically inept actions. Incompetence, exposed.
I didn’t put this question in the post, but I wonder why ABC decided to release that photo.
Ugh. Sorry for not adding a target=”_blank” tag in the html, can you fix it Neo?
Funny: the photo we expected ABC to release:
http://www.bob-owens.com/2012/04/ha-reader-submitted-photo-of-the-photo-abc-wishes-they-could-run-of-martins-injuries/
VAITguy: not sure if I did what you asked, but the link seems to be working.
neo, I think you’re right about the benefit accrued from public opinion, but I’d also offer the observation that bringing an indictment and getting this into the system serves to tamp down if not defuse the potential vigilantes on both sides of the racial fight card. At least until a verdict comes down.
I must say Zimmerman looked very Hispanic at the defense table today, and I wonder if the race bait artists can keep or regenerate significant street actions in case things break against their narrative.
Despite being a serious raciss, I am always purely interested in the truth. Which is, in truth, what makes me a raciss!1!!!1. If Zimmerman was wrong, out of line, and shares part or all of the blame, then let him pay. If not, let him go, with apologies, perhaps a medal. I guess my problem is I see too many O.J. and Zimmerman cases to not have extremely dubious beliefs about our “justice system”.
Activist prosecutors and judges need to be expunged, even tried themselves.
Dershowitz is absolutely right and, I share the perception with neo that, at least in legal matters, he is a bit old-school, in that for him, the truth trumps agenda.
“Activist prosecutors and judges need to be expunged, even tried themselves.”
In our dreams…but unfortunately, that path leads to trials of conservative judges and prosecutors as well.
“An affidavit that willfully misstates undisputed evidence known to the prosecution is not only unethical but borders on perjury because an affiant swears to tell not only the truth, but the whole truth, and suppressing an important part of the whole truth is a lie.” My emphasis.
That quote made me reflect on how nice (though unenforceable) it would be if we made politicians sign such a legal affidavit, as a condition of running for office. Think how much better campaigns would be, if politicians were limited to “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”…
I watched George apologize to the Mother and Father and thought it so bizarre and transparent that it seems more likely, given some other details about George, that his is a man who is both innocent and really does feel a need to exonerate himself to the parents. I’ve had occasion to know and observe an immigrant from Peru and there’s something similar, something cultural which is significant and being missed.
Don’t remember whether I posted it here, or elsewhere, but an influential, long time member of the Jacksonville legal community (a family member) said that everything this Prosecutor does is political, and designed simply to further her career.
I don’t know how she expected her recent actions would do that. On the contrary, it may well blow up in her face, as was the happy instance in the Duke Lacrosse case; but, I accept his assessment that her motivation was driven by that dynamic.
Wasn’t Michael Nifong (prosecutor in the Duke LaCrosse case) fired, publicly humiliated, indicted, tried, convicted, jailed, bankrupted, and disbarred, for doing exactly what Angela Corey appears to be doing in the Zimmerman case?
I agree that Dershowitz is speaking out on principal. I’ve always thought of him as a man of upright character who comes from the same mold as the likes of Pat Moynihan, Scoop Jackson, etc.
I think Obama made a big mistake inserting himself into this situation. Zimmerman will probably be out on bail very soon. This will be an opportunity for BHO to placate Hispanic voters by inviting Zimmerman to the Rose Garden for a Negra Modelo summit.
Wasn’t Michael Nifong (prosecutor in the Duke LaCrosse case) fired, publicly humiliated, indicted, tried, convicted, jailed, bankrupted, and disbarred, for doing exactly what Angela Corey appears to be doing in the Zimmerman case?–NH
In every revolution there must be some martyrs.
Very well put…
And that’s the way you do the mass control two step. The linchpin here was the abandonment of merit for “something else”.
you see under a social contract of merit rises, one finds it too expensive to attempt to gain by less than meritocratic means. that is, in the old days, the people would never have let it get this far because their demand of merit would give them the moral reason to do the bad thing and get rid of them each vote, and say no and so on (rather than pick it like football playoffs).
Once being fair was oppressive as it enhanced the differences between the sexes and one sexes abilities were more favored (at that time in society), and so merit had to go as a way to decide, or else bigger faster stronger more willing to try and die would keep winning. (and it still keeps winning too much as they would have it).
once we replaced it with proportionality and equality, we were then able to grab people by their egos and fears… merit requires truth, principals, it has a reward for compliance and punishment for failure. at best its a harsh mistress (more so given the size of populations).
under merit, people could honestly win by working hard, and of course, if they weren’t winning, they weren’t working hard AT WHAT WAS NEEDED.. ie, working hard doing the wrong thing isn’t rewarded.. (we often dont succeed because we focus on what we think is the important thing to show off, while the game may have little to do with it, it might be social at that level, not logical. or literally anything but none the less apparent and definitely essential)
and yes it had its cheats… as all successful systems have parasites and cheats.
but in such a system how do you justify or prove that success = cheat? because cheating is the one thing good people wont stand for, and will remove their sympathy because.
well you remove the idea that everyone doesnt work as hard as everyone else, you declare equality, and then each who is not equal is in a ego prison. IE. each has to accept who they are, and what they can do and that its ok to have a place that is not the same as someone else. sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes not, but mostly for the reason of happenstance.
but now if we are all equal.. how come we all arent president? the feminist conscious raising normalized the idea of disparate impact, or proportionality.
I saw the Germany formula on display recently at work. a Dr decided to have a lecture on Germany during the war era, and his poster to attract interested people pointed out that in Germany Jews were about 15% of the population but controlled about 40% of the businesses… He never realized that, that information was available for that country because they had already collected it to make the equality argument.
for if merit is not to be used, then what? and what turns out to be proportionality, which if presented correctly. puts the target group, the scapegoat, in a indefensible place for working hard and so forth.
so by that same argument the Jews were oppressing the German volk, the way men were oppressing women… or whites are systematically oppressing blacks and so on and so forth. like the US is oppressing the world…
and now you have these camps. the meritocratic tending “not left”, which wants history not to be revisioned, finds religion has its place and purpose regardless of personal belief, and so on… (oh and happened to be the same group that logically argued an end to slavery in the west, while the rest of the world still practices it)…
and the left, who believes in equality and so believes that proportions have to be equal, and so when they are not, it is evidence of systematic and operative racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. the leaders argue both sides telling their people what the other side believes, thinks, pretends, does, etc.
to leave one has to ALSO give up on whichever group is the front for that mass section of population. become to the rest a non entity. not a real person.
and all this goes back to people like Walter Lippmann and the idea that most of us live in our own little worlds and that we do not generally try to find the cheats when we think there are none. though he didnt put it that way…
as the administrators learned about the animals they were to administrate, the animals were being domesticated and denuded of the information of how to live without the farm… (family)…
and all that purpose had to be replaced with the idea that working was liberation, and only work that the state needs has value (how else convince mothers who love their families that doing things for them is not worth anything?).
so now you have all these divided camps, and playing hegelian games and asymetric justice and rules, which is perceived as rewards and that the action is justified. wrap it up with a bit of collective justice (so that attacking an innocent is ok), and oppressor oppressed dialectics so that attacking is justice. and that the oppressor is not allowed self defense… violence is keeping it real as its honest…
Zimmerman was put into the camp of white male so that he is the oppressor, and so has no right to self defense. Trayvon put in the place of the oppressed “had a right to class hatred” as feminist and race stuff teaches (if you read it).
This is the cookie cutter world view.. the same candy core with a different wrapper around it.. but they say the same things and point to the same scapegoat, and so on.
and Dershowitz?
he is doing what every socialist does..
figuring out that when he was young he was used, and now trying not to be…
“When an opponent declares ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘your child belongs to us already. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, will stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.’ ”
ergo the state schools… and so on…
that could be almost any one on the left today from our school czar who admitted to some interesting things… or the head of the teachers union… (but it was that funky austrian dude)
“Among the elementary measures the American government will adopt to further the cultural revolution are the following: the schools, colleges, and universities will be coordinated and grouped under a National Department of Education and its state and local branches. The studies will be revolutionized, being cleansed of religious, patriotic, and other features of bourgeois ideology.” William Z. Foster, National Chairman of the United States Communist Party
so thats why you have these groups. their consciousness has been raised to see the world a certain way as they understand the premises. equality and disparate impact shows that the evil oppressors are to be punished collectively…
Does anyone realize that these different groups have different constitutional rights of assembly?
that we all do not share equal freedom of assembly?
for those people waiting for signs to tell them when things have changed…
you missed them..
things like zimmerman and it all over and the same… should be a clue… so busy examining it up close and wanting to dissect it, you forgot to see its size, and its lack of diversity, lack of opposition, how devisive it is, and how the leadership is letting it happen, or is a part of fomenting it.
the bigger picture will become very clear when the prices go up, the payments cant, and collective justice has already started…
And the state is already playing Pavlovian games as to training us in our roles and how we should look at it… as events happen, the people reading them are reading between the lines and learning what they can get away with… or not…
to the people in thrall..
what does the trayvon case say about what you can get away with when it comes to an oppressor and collective justice and salvation as the president mentions…
i wonder what dershowitz thinks for the help to things like this:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats on Wednesday to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged in by corporations as opposed to individuals.
Spot on! There is anger on each side of the racial line. I think I understand the anger on the other side because a boy is dead. Tragic. My problem and my anger developed when Zimmerman needed to fear for his life…..as it looks, he feared for his life previously when his head was getting smashed on the ground.
This can have the effect of lowering teen violence because kids can see the cause and effect of attacking someone, or it can give violent teens a sort of green light. The prosecutor should be ashamed.
Looked at some of the transcript of the Zimmerman bail hearing, and it was largely a bloodbath for the prosecution; it was pretty bad (see http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2012/04/the-george-zimmerman-bail-hearing.html) .
In Florida such an “Arthur hearing” apparently requires that the prosecution lay out at least some elements of the prosecution’s case, sufficient to justify to a judge their contention that no bail or high bail should be required, and Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda told the judge that he wasn’t “prepared” i.e. not that he refused to, but that he supposedly hadn’t known that he would have to present some evidence, so he did not prepare a presentation of same.
Then, the co-lead investigator, when asked if he had personally interviewed Zimmerman, had to admit that he had never bothered to, then came his admission that he had never requested, much less reviewed, hospital records attesting to Zimmerman’s physical condition and possible injuries as of a few minutes after the shooting, followed by his admissions that the State had no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s statement, that after the 911 dispatcher told him not to pursue Treyvon he returned to his car, nor any evidence to refute Zimmerman’s contention that it was Treyvon who initiated the physical conflict, and no identification from experts of who was doing the screaming on the 911 tape, as well as his admission that Zimmerman’s injuries could have been caused as Zimmerman said, by Trevon beating his head against the concrete, etc. etc.
Apparently sneeringly asked by prosecutors why he had not immediately apologize to Treyvon’s parents, Zimmerman testified that his lawyers told him not to have any contact with them.
Does this look like Zimmerman is being railroaded, or what?
I think I understand the anger on the other side because a boy is dead.
Who you calling “boy?”
Does this look like Zimmerman is being railroaded, or what?
It looks to me as though the prosecution is going through the motions to avoid the publicity firestorm if they decline to prosecute. Instead, they’re hoping that the judge will step up and end their misery.
Unless I miss my guess, it looks as though Dershowitz may be in the political chrysalis undergoing metamorphosis. What think you, neo? Could Dershowitz be a changer in the making?
I saw the clip on ABC news tonight in which George Zimmerman was led into the courtroom in shackles. I thought shackles were only used if the defendant has a history of violence directed towards the court and its officers.
So, does anyone know, is it normal for defendants in such a case to be shackled? Or is this also a part of the political showcase?
Occam’s Beard: I don’t think it likely that Dershowitz is undergoing any fundamental political change. He’s broken with the left before on certain issues, most notably Israel, without any basic break with the left on other things. In the Zimmerman case, he is against too much prosecutorial zeal, which is very consistent with being pro-defendants’ rights.
Dershowitz is 73 now, and aside from being a Harvard Law professor and a pundit, he has had a lengthy career in the criminal law as a defense lawyer. He specializes in difficult-to-defend cases. I don’t think he’s ever been a trial lawyer in anything other than a criminal defense capacity or appeals capacity for the defense. That’s where he’s coming from in the Zimmerman case.
“Spot on! There is anger on each side of the racial line.”
I feel no anger when it comes to racial matters. I feel anger when there is injustice, real not imagined, done to another human being. http://tinyurl.com/czt9y8d
“I think I understand the anger on the other side because a boy is dead.”
After age 14, a male is no longer a boy, he’s a young man, at least from my POV and from my POV there are no ‘sides’ in this particular case. Yes, historically, racism has been a part of our society. But now, April 20, 2012, the majority of ‘racists’ are not people of European origin.
Let’s be realistic. Every piece of real estate has become the property of the conquerer at one time or another. I’m one quarter aboriginal American. My maternal Shawnee ancestors fought other aboriginals for control of parts of what we now call Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, etc. Later they fought the Europeans. So it goes.
There is a choice; be consumed by hatred over wrongs done generations ago or live your life as a free man/woman today. To hold a grudge over what was done 10 or 50 or 200 or 1,000 years ago is counterproductive to the individual’s pursuit of happiness. Those who think otherwise should look to Sarajevo.
Dershowitz strikes me as a circa 1980 liberal. He noticed the pot slowly boiling his fellow travelers into progressive authoritarians of a most illiberal type over the past 3 decades and happened to jump out before it was too late.
The prosecution of G Zimmerman must provide substantial emotional comfort to the Martin family. However, does it not bring political benefit to other parties, as well.
Zimmerman’s name suggests that he is white, rather than hispanic (as he self-identifies) or now, white-hispanic.
The recordings of the phone calls Zimmerman made to the police non-emergency number could be edited in such a manner that it would appear that Zimmerman was racially bigoted and was stalking and then shooting a black student.
The additional evidence, including witness statements, is sufficient to ensure that it would be very difficult for a disinterested juror to return a guilty verdict, if he is required to declare that the prosecution’s case is proven, beyond reasonable doubt.
This means that a populace, whose sole knowledge of the case is derived from biased reporting, including doctored video, are likely to be enraged and dismayed, if a jury refuses to convict someone who, to them, is an obvious cold-blooded murderer.
Even as initial evidence is later contradicted, confirmatory bias will ensure that people are more inclined to reject, or diminish the importance of later contradictory evidence, after they have formed an opinion on how events transpired.
The requirement, now is for Zimmerman to prove his innocence, or there is a miscarraige of justice, inflicted upon the black community.
Yet, in a court, the requirement is for the prosecution to prove that Zimmerman is guilty and to explain how all the available evidence supports this contention.
Who benefits from this?
If a guilty verdict is secured, those who have campaigned for a prosecution could maintain that Zimmerman should have been charged with murder, immediately.
They have also demonstrated that the police are racist for not having prosecuted Zimmerman, immediately.
However, if the prosecution does not secure a conviction, then a large minority have had their belief reinforced that justice is not on their side.
I think that this case has been deliberately publicised, precisely because the prosecution case will be so difficult to prove in a court of law, although it has already been nearly proven in the court of public opinion.
I think that the media have been deliberately encouraging the more paranoid beliefs of some black americans, in order to promote civil strife.
I wonder who benefits the most from this.
Promoting a race war must be considered immensely dangerous and irresponsible. Once it has started, it could escalate very quickly and uncontrollably.
To me, that is precisely what it appears the mainstream media has been trying to do.
I have difficulty believing that media companies would instigate a race-war, just for ratings.
There must be some other reasons for doing so.
“”I have difficulty believing that media companies would instigate a race-war, just for ratings.””
John McLachlan
I don’t think they do it for ratings as is obvious in their willingness to insult a huge portion of their customers. The big picture for journalist is how to replace merit based free market capitalism in America and the world. And they’re attempting to do it by destroying the character and reputations of all free market supporters…aka, mostly white males.
It really is that simple.
John McLachlan Says:
April 21st, 2012 at 3:50 am
Those people who want to see the United States weakened and crippled. I don’t have any names, but George Soros and others of his ilk come to mind.
I’ve said for many years that the chief obstacles to World Government are the American economy and the American military. Today we can see that both are under concerted, multi-pronged attack.
The economies of most of the major countries in the world are burdened with unsustainable levels of spending and crushing mountains of debt. When it all comes crashing down, chaos, violence, poverty, and hunger will break out all over the world. People will beg for someone, anyone, to make the pain stop.
The solution that will be proffered will be World Government. It may sound tinfoil-hattish, but it’s happening right before our eyes, and is the only explanation that I can think of.
To me, that is precisely what it appears the mainstream media has been trying to do.
I have difficulty believing that media companies would instigate a race-war, just for ratings.
There must be some other reasons for doing so.
Agitation, to help bring heaven on earth. Any “news” provided is incidental.
Read the JournoList emails, our contemporary Venona project. The JournoListers discuss the merits or otherwise of establishing a “popular front,” i.e., an alliance communists offer to other left-wing parties. No one else talks like that except communists.
Conclusion: they’re Reds. It’s that simple. Race war, economic collapse, high unemployment, strangling energy supply, feminism, homosexual “rights,” AGW, undermining Israel, supporting Argentina re the Falklands, submitting to UN diktats, to name a few, are all just vehicles for agitation, wedge issues to sow disaffection and weaken America.
As befits my nom de net, with that one assumption, all of the above and more make perfect sense. Why doesn’t NOW care about Muslim women? Why don’t AGWers care about Chinese CO2? Why don’t homosexual advocacy groups care about the treatment of homosexuals in Islamic countries? Easy – because they don’t facilitate agitation here, which is their raison d’etre.
Occam’s Beard (above), in replying to a comment on mainstream media race war baiting also implies the response to this query by Neo-neocon:
“I wonder why ABC decided to release that photo.”
Do not be surprised to see the MSM turn on Obama. The media’s vested interest is not in any one person but in Democrat nanny-state Europeanized blue social model for which Obama stands as a hood ornament. As OB succinctly state sabove: “They’re Reds.”
As that utopia comes under more successful attack and as Obama defends less and less effectively, don’t be surprised to find the MSM eating one of it’s own. In all probability it will not happen before the election because Romney is not an alternative for their vision, but the ABC photo release and Jay Leno’s joking (“Even the Obama’s are not doing as well as they did last year under President Obama’s policies”) are, I believe, the first cracks in the progressive foundation.
We Are All George Zimmerman – Sultan Knish
“Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested.” That is the famous opening sentence to Kafka’s novel, “The Trial”, words that have far more to do with the way we live now….
“George Zimmerman has been chosen to serve as a gladiator in the circus that distracts a bankrupt nation from the criminal folly of its leaders, large and small. He has been assigned white team colors, had an NRA badge pinned to his lapel, and is being shoved out into the stadium while the lunatic mob howls for blood. The Emperor of Hope and Change has already made the thumbs down gesture, the courtiers are rushing out to fix the match.”
T Says:
April 21st, 2012 at 10:45 am
I agree.
I disagree.
Well at least now people might realize that reading their playbooks might make things a bit easier to understand… and that the common response is not the one which would be right as that is the response prepared for and required as a catalyst… that is, act reactive manner, and the herd gets driven off the cliff…
Artfldr @ 1125pm:
Please restate your thesis. I’m not sure I get it.
Here is Angela Corey again (H/T Drudge):
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-04-21/story/naacp-weighs-what-they-say-stand-your-ground-case-against-jacksonville-0
It’s hard for me to believe that the average person is not up in arms about the blatant, false racist-angle that was pushed down our throats in this matter. EVERY DAY in this country there are dozens of confrontations that end in someone being killed. In a large number of those situations, the killer claims self-defense. I keep thinking (a la Passover), what makes this situation any different from any other murder-which-may-be-manslaughter-which-may-be-justifiable-self-defense? And the answer is nothing; nothing at all. Agitation by the parents, publicity, and an initial impression that a “white” man had cruelly, coldly gunned down a young black male for no reason at all were the ingredients that the media seized up to bake up a nice, fat cake of outrage against racism.
Charles,
I work for the NYS Court System.
Shackles, handcuffs and such depend on many different things. But generally,from the arraignment phase up until just before jury selection, if the defendant hasn’t been released from custody, they will be shackled.
Once the jury selection process starts, and the defendant is exposed to the Jury panel (the group the jury will be picked from), they will be dressed nicely (usually) and unshackled or cuffed while the jury is present, to prevent the jury from being influenced in any way (juries that see a defendant cuffed or shackled often think “guilty”, whether true or not). There will be LEo presense in force near the unshackled defendant.
An easy way for a Court Officer or Sheriff to trigger a mistrial is to let the jury see a shackled defendant.
Only in rare cases, where the danger is deemed to be great, and usually only with the judge’s OK, will a defendant ever be cuffed or shackled in the presence of the jury.
But before that Jury, a prisoner will be restrained.
Hope that helps.
As a prosecutor, albeit not in Florida, I am very puzzled by the assertions by Dershowitz and others that the prosecutor has acted unethically by not including all of the facts which can be read as pro-defense in the criminal complaint.
That’s not how we do it. Police reports should reflect a full investigation and all facts uncovered, including statements made by the defendant, and a record of his physical condition, if relevant. But the criminal complaint exists to set out the facts that show probable cause that a certain crime has been committed and that the defendant is the person who has committed that crime. We don’t include a defendant’s version of events.
What is unethical is suppression or hiding of any facts that might exonerate the defendant, but this is a matter of providing full pre-trial discovery of police reports, physical evidence, and witness interviews. Perhaps, because Florida has this intermediate procedure in self-defense cases, their criminal complaints are supposed to include pro-defense facts.
Obama and the media are trying to lead the public by the nose from one distraction to the next. I think that the theory is that they want the public to spend their time talking about anything except for Obama’s record, his policies and the resulting economy and unemployment.
In that sense, the more outrageous the injustice against Zimmerman, the better. If Zimmerman were some sort of violent white supremacist, and Martin really was of innocent and childlike nature, there would be no story because no one would be supporting Zimmerman. The protests would be attended equally with liberals and conservatives. Yes, the plan is to deliberately railroad Zimmerman, then brand the people of conscience who come to his defense as racists. This gets liberals back into familiar territory — once the race war is created, they know what to do and how to exploit it. The reason they are doubling down on this story is because it provides a fault line with which to divide the country against itself. That’s what a “community organizer” does, and Obama hasn’t for an instant stopped using the only tool that he knows how to use.
The problem is that this is exhausting everyone, particularly Obama’s moderate supporters. Come November, the real question on everyone’s mind is going to be, “Do I really want to live through another four years of this, or do I want something different for America?” The Obama presidency has been an exhausting, miserable three years for nearly everyone in America, and if Obama persists in doubling down on misery and dischord from now through the election, or as his mentor put it, “rubbing raw the sores of discontent”, he and his party risk being abandoned in breathtaking numbers.
I was raised in a blue-collar Democrat household, but my parents were in no way liberal or progressive. They, and others like them, are what I’ve had in mind as the political opposition. I’ve been completely naive in thinking that what has happened in other countries could not happen here, but the last three years have opened my eyes. Why would members of the 1% try to bring down the 1%? Things didn’t add up, until I realized that these people have been working for decades to end our way of life, and they’re this close. I feel like I’ve awakened to find a tiger next to my bed and ready to pounce. I fear for my country, my freedom, my life, and my child.
I’m planning to be as active as I can in the coming election. I’m preparing for the coming race and class wars by arming myself (literally). I’d like to be better armed intellectually as well. I greatly respect the experience of changers here, as well as how informed you all are generally. Art mentions reading their playbooks. Can anyone recommend reading materials so that I can recognize their tactics and be better prepared. Anything I contribute will be on a small scale, but I plan to throw in everything I have.
Let’s hope there are many others like me, and that they’ve finally awakened the sleeping giant and filled it with a terrible resolve.
Lisa, Art is the resident curator of Commie-ana, and I defer to his expertise, but for my part I’d suggest Witness by Whitaker Chambers.
It’s not a fun read, and details events from 60 years ago, but that is part of what makes it so striking. On reading it, it becomes apparent that the same smears and media manipulation that we see today were routine then, and by the same players (NYT and WaPo led the assault on Chambers). Furthermore, thanks to the Venona project and access to KGB files we now know that Hiss was in fact a communist spy, just as Chambers had alleged.
Other books include those by Klehr, and Mitrokhin, both of which detail the Reds’ methods, and their first priority for penetration: journalism. Let me know if you’d like more details.
Lisa, I think I became pretty well-read in the process of becoming a changer. A very well-written book that will communicate the essence of the history of American radicalism is the autobiography Radical Son, by David Horowitz. I wish everyone would read the just-released Watermelons, by James Delingpole, as he lays out the case that global warming/ radical environmentalism has become THE tool by which the international left is poised to achieve the control they’ve desired. Finally, Thought Prison, the Fundamentals of Political Correctness, is essential to understanding the primary weapon being used to dismantle Western civilisation—and it’s depressing as hell.
There are many many more great books and websites, but if you had to start somewhere, these are the three books I would pick.
And speaking of the international left disguising their power-grab as “environmentalism” and “sustainability,”
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/20/tab-for-uns-rio-summit-trillions-per-year-in-taxes-transfers-and-price-hikes/?test=latestnews
Lisa, an afterthought. Check out “Discover the Networks,” in the website of the same name. You can start pretty much anywhere; it’s all highly instructive.
Jeralyn Merrit blogs at Talk Left and is an active criminal defense lawyer. She does a thorough review of the transcript of Zimmerman’s bond hearing. It was a bad day in court for the prosecution. http://www.talkleft.com/story/2012/4/21/22713/4445
After her review, Merrit speculates re the prosecution case:
Thanks, Occam and RigelDog. Off to Amazon, via Neo’s link…
@3:54 Occam’s Beard wrote: “. . . the same smears and media manipulation that we see today were routine then, and by the same players . . . .”
So dissolves the myth of the great “golden age” of journalism that you hear reporters pine for; Walter Duranty anyone? In fact, nihil sub sole novum (there is nothing new under the sun). The battles we fight today are the same battles we’ve been fighting.
So dissolves the myth of the great “golden age” of journalism that you hear reporters pine for
T, from their perspective, it was the golden age of journalism. They could promulgate their agitprop and neither the Venona decrypts nor the contents of the KGB files were public, and they controlled all sources of information, so no one could give them the lie. Good times!
Lisa,
Thought I might have OD’ed you, but since apparent that’s not the case, here are some useful introductions (which I learned of mostly from Artfldgr), with links to the original sources:
Mitrokhin Archive
Harvey Klehr
Re the Mitrokhin archive, I recommend The Sword and the Shield and The KGB and the Battle for the Third World.
Of Klehr’s books, I’ve recommend Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America.
Again, I learned of these originally from Artfldgr.
Occam’s Beard,
I quite agree. The myth they spin is that there WAS a time when the media was mostly unbiased and truly reported the facts. Such a world, never existed, but was assumed because, as you accurately point out, very few had either the access to information or the broadcast ability to enable them to challenge the narrative. As you point out, see how they savaged Whittaker Chambers and sanctified Walter Duranty.
Jim Sullivan;
As I have only seen defendants before a jury, what you are saying makes sense now.
Thanks!
You guys are forgetting that no matter what happens with the SYG hearing and if there is a trial or not, the SYG laws are already being massively attacked to the point that even though nothing has been resolved in regards to Zimmerman – so no one knows what will have legally been ruled to have happened in a court of law , self-defence or not – Florida has already set up a “commission” to look into the SYG law. In addition, a signifcant part (at least 30 percent in my estimation) of the Progressive blog posts lately that deal with this case have mentioned SYG laws negatively and the Brady Bunch and the VPC have weighed in. An alternate meme is that if it wasn’t racism that killed Mr. Martin it was the NRA.
e lays out the case that global warming/ radical environmentalism has become THE tool by which the international left is poised to achieve the control they’ve desired.
not much of a case to make if you pay attention to what they say among themselves and write for each other (the playbooks)..
“The threat of environmental crisis will be the ‘international disaster key’ that will unlock the New World Order.” — Mikhail Gorbachev, quoted in “A Special Report: The Wildlands Project Unleashes Its War On Mankind”, by Marilyn Brannan, Associate Editor, Monetary & Economic Review, 1996, p. 5
This is an incredible job of investigative reporting. Sadly, it was done by bloggers, not the MSM.
Update #9
Update #10 (Part 1)
Update #10 (Part 2)
Update #11
These articles are chock full of photos, videos, maps, timelines, and links, links, and more links.
There is so much material here that you will need to pack a lunch before reading, if not an overnight bag. But just skimming them, as I did, is very enlightening.
I meant to point out that those articles are must-reads for anyone who is interested in this case.
rickl,
I had read the Conservative Treehouse reporting, and I second your opinion: incredible reporting. That level of reporting was done for no pay, while paid reporters can’t be bothered to do more than regurgitate “He said, she said” type of quotes (or Al Sharpton quotes).
A Conservative Treehouse scoop (supported by reporting hustle and copious documentation) is that the civil rights lawyer, Benjamin Crump, lied about what the “girlfriend” knows. First, she was not Trayvon’s girlfriend, but actually dates someone else. Second, she did not speak to Trayvon for 400 minutes on the day of the incident. Third, she doesn’t know any more than this: Trayvon was “scared” b/c someone was following him. And that is it: she does not know ANYTHING ELSE which is relevant. NOTHING.
The civil rights lawyer implied that she knew more, and the civil rights lawyer lied about her relationship to and feelings for Trayvon, and the civil rights lawyer lied about why she did not attend the funeral or the viewing — alleged reason: so emotionally distraught that she was hospitalized. A complete lie. In fact, the girl tweeted to her friends all through the timeline of Trayvon’s funeral and viewing. Her numerous tweets show no indication of either emotional distress or hospitalization.
Why would the civil rights lawyer, Mr. Crump, lie? Speculation: he needed an arrest in order to file a civil suit. He doesn’t need a criminal conviction. He needs an arrest to file a civil suit which will be decided upon “preponderance of evidence.” Therefore, Mr. Crump lied about the “girlfriend” in order to create public outcry in order to create pressure for an arrest.
The “girlfriend” will never appear in court. Ever. She knows nothing of relevance. If she appears in court, then Mr. Crump’s public lies about her will be exposed. The girlfriend will never be submitted questioning. Ever.
This case is an incredible frame up. Mr. Zimmerman needs to hire his own civil rights lawyer and sue Mr. Crump, along with Mr. Sharpton, and along with various big media organizations and big media personalities. Mr. Zimmerman has an actual case: Mr. Zimmerman has ACTUALLY been wronged.
Meanwhile, Trayvon Martin’s body rests in a grave. And, now, the same promulgators of the culture of racial victimhood which contributed to Trayvon taking offense at being profiled … is picking over his carcass for power and profit. Disgusting.
Profiled. Trayvon Martin thought he was being racially profiled. Anger at being “racially profiled” was highly likely to have been a major factor in Trayvon’s decision to attack Zimmerman. Irony: at Zimmerman’s bond hearing, the state alleged that Zimmerman profiled Trayvon. The state didn’t have the guts to overtly allege “racial” profiling. Instead, they merely implied it. Thus, the same culture which encouraged Trayvon to be angry over racial profiling … is now the same culture which, in weaselly fashion, alleges that Zimmerman racially profiled.
I cannot decide if this case is more ironic or more disgusting. The culture of racial victimhood sparked Trayvon’s death, and now uses his death to claim vindication. Sickifying. They do not care: they are working for their self-flattering virtuous cause.
So much craziness!
Parker,
I agree with what you wrote.
This can be a teaching moment for people or a prelude to a ramp up by youth in violence.
There was little doubt what going on once Corey used the words “precious” and “sweet” in reference to Martin and his parents during her presser. It was embarrassing and unprofessional.
She’s pre-running for office. We’ll know for what when she announces.
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