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kpete's JournalThe Gated Community Mentality - By RICH BENJAMIN
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The Gated Community Mentality
By RICH BENJAMIN
Published: March 29, 2012
AS a black man who has been mugged at gunpoint by a black teenager late at night, I am not naïve: I know firsthand the awkward conundrums surrounding race, fear and crime. Trayvon Martin’s killing at the hands of George Zimmerman baffles this nation. While the youth’s supporters declare in solidarity “We are all Trayvon,” the question is raised, to what extent is the United States also all George Zimmerman?
Under assault, I didn’t dream of harming my teenage assailant, let alone taking his life.
Mr. Zimmerman reacted very differently, taking out his handgun and shooting the youth in cold blood.
What gives?
Welcome to gate-minded America.
.............
the rest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/opinion/the-gated-community-mentality.html?_r=1&hpw
Gun enthusiasts start defense fund for George Zimmerman
Source: Sun Sentinal
A firearms website created by some Tampa gun enthusiasts announced today it is collecting money to help pay for George Zimmerman's legal defense.
Christopher Kossmann, 23, and three friends founded Legal Boom: Gun law for the Gunshine State last year to explain Florida's self-defense laws, he said.
Describing legalboom.org as a "hobbyist website," Kossman said none of the members are lawyers and they pay expenses out of their pockets. He has not met Zimmerman, 28, but is trying to reach his attorney, Craig Sonner of Altamonte Springs to discuss the fundraising effort.
Zimmerman told Sanford police he killed Trayvon Martin, 17, in self defense on Feb. 26. The death of the unarmed teen prompted a nationwide controversy and the killing remains under investigation by a special prosecutor.
Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/os-zimmerman-defense-fund-20120329,0,5006191.story
NEW WITNESS CONFIRMS TRAYVON MARTIN WAS THE VICTIM
Source: Redding News Review
CNN spokeswoman told the press in three separate emails:
"Tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°, new eyewitness - who has never told their story and actually saw the shooting take place - speaks to Anderson Cooper. The eyewitness – who has asked to remain anonymous - will describe what happened the night Trayvon Martin was shot."
Anderson Cooper: What did you observe after the shot?
Eyewitness: As I said it was dark, but after the shot, obviously someone, one man got up and it was kind of like that period of him – I can’t say I actually watched him get up – but maybe it was only in a couple seconds or so that he was walking towards where I was watching. And I could see him a little bit clearer, and see that he was a Hispanic man and he was, you know, he didn’t appear hurt or anything else, he just kind of seemed very, worried or whatever, walked on the sidewalk at that point, with his hand up to his forehead and then another man came out with a flashlight.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/03/29/ac-trayvon-martin-witness-not-hurt.cnn
Read more: http://www.reddingnewsreview.com/newspages/2012newspages/new_witness_confirms_trayvon_mar_12_1000044.htm
The witness told CNN he saw part of the struggle between Zimmerman and Trayvon and then saw Trayvon dead on the ground face down, the transcript shows.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-trayvon-martin-anonymous-witness-20120329,0,801211.story
[div class="excerpt"]On Anderson Cooper
Anonymous Witness
5:00 pst
closed window
heard voices
after voices, seeing 2 people on ground
one on top of the other
opened window
loud predominant voice, this is not a regular conversation...
2 men on ground one on top of the other, something horrible, yell for help, something painful
then gun shots (more like a pop, more than one pop)
After the larger man got off - there was a boy, now dead...
Eyewitness: As I said it was dark, but after the shot, obviously someone, one man got up and it was kind of like that period of him – I can’t say I actually watched him get up – but maybe it was only in a couple seconds or so that he was walking towards where I was watching. And I could see him a little bit clearer, and see that he was a Hispanic man and he was, you know, he didn’t appear hurt or anything else, he just kind of seemed very, worried or whatever, walked on the sidewalk at that point, with his hand up to his forehead and then another man came out with a flashlight.
NEW Anonymous EyeWitness: saw struggle-saw Trayvon dead on the ground face down-saw Zimmerman UNHURT
NEW WITNESS CONFIRMS TRAYVON MARTIN WAS THE VICTIM"Eyewitness: As I said it was dark, but after the shot, obviously someone, one man got up and it was kind of like that period of him – I can’t say I actually watched him get up – but maybe it was only in a couple seconds or so that he was walking towards where I was watching. And I could see him a little bit clearer, and see that he was a Hispanic man and he was, you know, he didn’t appear hurt or anything else, he just kind of seemed very, worried or whatever, walked on the sidewalk at that point, with his hand up to his forehead and then another man came out with a flashlight.
http://www.reddingnewsreview.com/newspages/2012newspages/new_witness_confirms_trayvon_mar_12_1000044.htm
.....................
Trayvon Martin: New witness to Trayvon Martin shooting to appear on CNN tonight
Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
6:48 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2012
An anonymous witness plans to appear on CNN tonight and disclose what happened the night Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
The witness will appear on the show Anderson Cooper 360, which airs at 8 p.m. eastern time, a publicist said.
The person is said to have seen the Feb. 26 shooting, although a partial transcript of the interview reveals the person could not identify who was where during the scuffle that led to Trayvon's death.
The witness told CNN he saw part of the struggle between Zimmerman and Trayvon and then saw Trayvon dead on the ground face down, the transcript shows
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-trayvon-martin-anonymous-witness-20120329,0,4199884.story
VIDEO:
Witness: Zimmerman 'didn't appear hurt'
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/03/29/ac-trayvon-martin-witness-not-hurt.cnn
Tonight on AC360: Witness: George Zimmerman 'didn't appear hurt'
An eyewitness to the Trayvon Martin shooting says George Zimmerman didn't look injured after the incident. Watch the preview of Anderson's interview and hear the full account tonight on AC360° at 8 and 10 p.m. ET.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/29/tonight-on-ac360-witness-george-zimmerman-didnt-appear-hurt/
Sen. Leahy: Supreme Court thinks corporations can be president
Source: Raw Story
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Thursday that corporations could be elected president according to the rationale of the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
“I remain troubled today that the Supreme Court extended to corporations the same First Amendment rights in the political process that are guaranteed by the Constitution to individual Americans,” he said at a hearing on the DISCLOSE Act of 2012. “Corporations are not the same as individual Americans. Corporations do not have the same rights, the same morals or the same interests. Corporations cannot vote in our democracy.”
According to the Supreme Court’s logic, we should elect corporations to public office, Leahy said.
“This country has elected General Eisenhower as president, shouldn’t we elect General Electric as president? We know we like to elect a lot of yahoos as vice president, why not elect Yahoo as a corporation as vice president. ”
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/29/sen-leahy-supreme-court-thinks-corporations-can-be-president/
Boehner: Paul Ryan’s agenda IS the GOP agenda
House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday afternoon that the budget proposal put forward by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is a “real vision” of how Republicans would govern if they had more control of Washington.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/219073-boehner-ryan-budget-a-vision-of-what-gop-would-do-with-more-control
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/boehner-paul-ryans-agenda-is-the-gop-agenda/2012/03/29/gIQAZcDNjS_blog.html
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