maybe their problem was that they were using a baby to check facts.fact-checking baby
thank you folks, i'll be here all week.
maybe their problem was that they were using a baby to check facts.fact-checking baby
[Sen. Smith] invited members of the public to an open forum Wednesday to express themselves on the controversial law, because he grew frustrated waiting for Gov. Rick Scott to convene the task force promised after the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford on Feb. 23.
Some two dozen persons spoke, from both sides of the issue--those who believe the law should stand and those convinced it should repealed. A few tried to find middle ground but for most of the participants there was no such middle ground, demonstrating the clear divide that exists in Florida over the law--even within the law enforcement community.
Arthur Jacobs, general counsel for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association, which represents all 20 state attorneys in Florida, said his organization recently voted unanimously that the law should be repealed. "It's not a thing that can be tweaked," Jacobs said. He said there was no need for the law, since self-defense was already a right before the law passed in 2005. He also said prosecutors are seeing cases where gang members and individuals involved "in drug deals gone bad" are invoking the law, after shooting rivals. "We work with it every day," Jacobs said. "We've studied it and we have decided it needs to be repealed."
But Cliff Zipnick, 54, a veteran Lake Clarke Shores police officer, took the opposite view. "I oppose any changes in the law," he said. "It will save the lives of innocents."
yeah, this was just basically some idiot thinking about how much disney has florida in its back pocket due to political donations, so clearly by bugging a bunch of poor operators (who would surely direct these calls to the ceo or some other important person ) this guy will get arrested.I don't Facebook, but I hadn't heard anything about a campaign to harass random companies in Florida by telephone. I wonder if this is someone's garbled version of the boycott against companies belonging to ALEC, the conservative lobbying group which (among other things) promotes FL's "Stand Your Ground" law as model legislation in many other states? Because that very much is a going campaign (Pepsico, Kraft and Coca-Cola have already withdrawn from ALEC in response). But Disney Co. isn't an ALEC member so far as I know, and besides even if they were, obviously any complaints ought to be directed to their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, not the theme park they operate in FL.
The Florida special prosecutor investigating the Trayvon Martin shooting has decided not to use a grand jury, but says that should not be considered a factor in her final determination of the case.
The office of Florida State Attorney Angela Corey announced the decision this morning in a statement, USA TODAY's Marisol Bello reports. Gov. Rick Scott appointed Corey as the special prosecutor on March 22. She said at the outset that she might well forego using a grand jury. The grand jury that had been set to convene April 10 had been called for by the former prosecutor in the case.
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"We want to believe that this would be a positive sign that the prosecutor has enough information to arrest Trayvon Martin's killer," said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Martin family, moments after Corey released the news. "The family is really trying hard to be patient and have faith in the system." Crump added that Corey's office would now be making the decision on whether to charge Zimmerman with a crime, USA TODAY's Yamiche Alcindor reports. He said he hoped such a decision could be made this week.
A circuit court judge is scheduled to decide whether to dismiss the charges against Dooley on April 26 (I'm not sure why the hearing was delayed from the January date suggested by the article). If s/he does dismiss the charges--and depending somewhat on what happens in the Trayvon Martin case between now and then--my guess is we'll be hearing more about this one, for a couple reasons: first, Dooley is black and James was white; second, while the respective circumstances of the two cases are quite different, they do have in common the 'Okay, so I did the initial provoking, but I was retreating when confronted' justification from the shooter. (Granted, it's still possible that part of Zimmerman's story won't hold up, whereas it was firmly supported in Dooley's case; having four eyewitnesses to the entire incident helps for sure.)Trevor Dooley's attorney portrayed him Wednesday as a 69-year-old man with fused discs in his neck who feared for his life when set upon by his 41-year-old neighbor, six inches taller and 70 pounds heavier. Dooley is protected by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, his attorney argued, firing in self-defense when the most mundane of neighbor disputes turned violent. It began on a Sunday afternoon, Sept. 26, 2010, beside a Valrico basketball court when Dooley's neighbor, David James, tried to prevent him from shooing away a skateboarder. It ended with James taking a bullet through his heart in front of his 8-year-old daughter.
In a day of anguished testimony, eyewitnesses who included the 14-year-old skateboarder consistently described Dooley as the aggressor who cursed his neighbor and flashed a pistol before a fatal struggle for the gun. The testimony offered a preview of Dooley's trial on a first-degree manslaughter charge scheduled for January if a judge doesn't dismiss the case based on his Stand Your Ground defense.
In a 911 call played Wednesday for Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ashley Moody, the skateboarder blamed himself. "It was my fault," Spencer Arthur cried to a dispatcher. "He (Dooley) got mad at me because I was skateboarding. I didn't know what the rules are. I don't live there." But testimony showed that the boy—besides James' stunned 8-year-old daughter—was the least confrontational people on the basketball court that day. Arthur, now 15, said he was visiting friends in the Twin Lakes neighborhood. He took his skateboard to the park and asked permission to practice trick moves from James, who was shooting hoops with his daughter. The only others in the park were a couple playing tennis.
But the boy then heard a voice from across the street. It was Dooley, outside his garage, shouting that he should get off the court, that there was a no-skateboarding sign. The boy stopped. He heard James call out to Dooley, "Show me the sign."
Michael Scott Whitt, practicing tennis serves nearby with his wife, Michelle, stopped to watch. They testified that Dooley briefly went into his garage, then started across the street with a dark object sticking out of his waistband. They said James threw his hands up and said, "Oh, come on." Dooley and James argued over letting the boy skate until Dooley lifted his shirt and said, "F--- you," the Whitts testified. They said Dooley turned and started home, but James caught up with him. "Mr. James said, 'Don't flash a weapon,' something like that," Michelle Whitt testified. Then, she said, Dooley pulled out the gun and James grabbed his hand. The men struggled, they fell to the ground, and James ended up on his knees as Dooley lay on his side. They still wrestled for the gun. The gun fired. "Mr. James looked up at us," Michelle Whitt testified. "He said, 'Call 911. I've been shot.' Then he fell over." He was shot through the heart. A medical examiner said he probably died within seconds.
Michael Whitt called 911 at the same time the boy did. On his call, Whitt cried out, "Oh my God. All this over a skateboard."
Dooley's attorney, Ronald Tulin, repeatedly got the Whitts to describe the difference in size and age between the men. He had them restate their testimony that Dooley was headed back to his house before the fight. But when questioned by prosecutor Stephen Udagawa, the witnesses persisted in labeling Dooley the aggressor. They said James never tried to punch or choke Dooley. They said he only went for the gun. "There were no threats, no fists," Michelle Whitt said. She stopped looking after the shot. All she could think to do, she said, was run to James' little girl, standing nearby.
The two attorneys who have been representing George Zimmerman announced at a press conference minutes ago that they are withdrawing as his legal counsel.
"On Sunday, we lost track of George, in that he would not return our calls," attorney Hal Uhrig said. Said attorney Craig Sonner, "I've lost contact with him at this point." The lawyers said Zimmerman called Sean Hannity of Fox News without consulting with them. He also called the office of the special prosecutor in the case, something the attorneys said they'd never have told him to do.
"We were a bit astonished," Uhrig said. He praised Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's office for declining to speak with Zimmerman without legal counsel. He added that he thinks Zimmerman is going through post-traumatic stress. "He's largely alone...he's at least emotionally alone." Sonner said that he'd be willing to represent Zimmerman again in the future, if Zimmerman were to get back in contact with him. Both lawyers said that they still believe Zimmerman is innocent. However, they said they can't represent him without being in communication with him. According to Uhrig, Zimmerman had characterized the lawyers working for him as "legal advisors," not his attorneys. "I'm not sure what the distinction is, but in his mind there's a distinction," Uhrig said.
Zimmerman has been in hiding since the shooting. Sonner said on Tuesday that Zimmerman is still in the United States.
George Zimmerman has spoken out in public for the first time since he shot and killed Trayvon Martin in an altercation in Sanford, FL, 46 days ago. On a website that went live over the weekend, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, Mr. Zimmerman says that on Feb. 26 he “was involved in a life altering event” that has made him the center of intense news coverage and forced him to “leave my home, my school, my employer, my family, and ultimately, my entire life.”
Zimmerman’s attorneys have confirmed the authenticity of the site. Although it contains links to several pages, labeled “The Facts,” “My Race,” and so on, these contain little but quotes from famous authors, pasted on a background of an American flag. One page, “Album,” contains several images of pro-Zimmerman graffiti. According to the liberal Think Progress political blog, one image is of a vandalized black cultural center at Ohio State University, while another is from a rally held by Terry Jones, the controversial Florida pastor who has burned Qurans in anti-Muslim protests. [As of late this afternoon, only the image from the Jones rally was still up. ~y.]
The site offers no further details of Zimmerman’s side of the story in the Trayvon Martin case. In the past, his attorneys have said the neighborhood watch captain used his weapon because Trayvon attacked him and he feared for his life. The website does contain a PayPal link for supporters to donate to Zimmerman’s legal defense and living expenses.
Zimmerman says that on Feb. 26 he “was involved in a life altering event” that has made him the center of intense news coverage and forced him to “leave my home, my school, my employer, my family, and ultimately, my entire life.”
The Real George Zimmerman
I have refreshed this site a few times
it was at 300 counts about 5 minutes ago
now it is over 1400
this time tomorrow 100,000 ? 200,000
I wonder what the paypal account will grow to?
My apologies if I've misjudged your posts; to me they often come across as deliberately shit-stirring at worst, playing devil's advocate at best, but maybe that's not their intent.
Us regulars are used to it, but when it happens, I just cringe, waiting for someone not-so-regular to take it at face value.