ShowMeBlog

Could Zimmerman sue and get money?

  People are starting to change their minds about the Trayvon Martin shooting.  I have seen some news media people making comments now about waiting for the investigation to be done.
  I do not think that Zimmerman is going to be arrested.  Unless he lies to the FBI about what he did and what took place.  I think the “Stand Your Ground” law is going to protect him.
  Now only that the law also protects people from being taken to civil court.  That is going to piss off a lot of people. 
  There is going to be some calls for the “Stand Your Ground” law to be changed or done away with but it is not going to happen.  The Republicans and the NRA will prevent any changes to the law.
  I think what could happen is that Zimmerman could end up taking to civil court the news media and others for the things they said about him.  I think he could win!  If he does that I think he should spell out that half of what he gets will go into the Trayvon Martin foundation.  That foundation should be not controlled by him but by some independent people.

  Remember security guard Richard Jewell?  He was working security at the Centennial Olympic Park.  He discovered a bag and alerted law enforcement and he and other security officers moved people out of the area.  Then the bomb exploded.

“Richard A. Jewell (December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American police officer who, while working as a security guard for Piedmont College,^[1] became known in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Discovering a pipe bomb on the park grounds, Jewell alerted police and helped to evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or potential death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, Jewell later was considered a suspect.

Despite having never been charged, he underwent what was considered by many to be a "trial by media" with great toll on his personal and professional life. Eventually he was exonerated completely: Eric Robert Rudolph was later found to have been the bomber.^[2][3] In 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue publicly thanked Jewell on behalf of the state of Georgia for saving the lives of those at the Olympics.^[4]…”

 

I am so tired of the Trayvon Martin / Zimmerman story

  The news media just goes crazy over “news” stories.  It is crazy.  It is not just the right wing talk shows and Fox News.  CNN and other news media outlets are just as fucking crazy. 
 
  I do not know what the answer is to the problem.  We have freedom of press and speech and the American people do want details.
 
  But there is no filter on cable “news” channels.  They will say anything and allow anyone on to say anything and they will do the most stupid things just to get people to watch or just so they can say they did it first.
  Like CNN “enhancing” a 911 call and then playing some sound over and over and over and over and over again … They wanted us to hear “fucking coon.”  I did not hear it.  Their audio experts did not hear it.  Their reporters did not hear it …but they reported it.
  The problem is all the black racist HEAR it.  It was clear to them.  They heard it.  The said that anyone that did not hear it was a white racist.
  All of the hard core right wing racist looked around for some way to attack Trayvon Martin.
  The pro gun people only care about one thing guns.  They will attack anyone, anytime and anyplace if it looks like their gun “rights” are under attack.  So they jumped into the shooting.
  Then you got the ambulance chasing lawyers that do not care about anyone or any issue and only care about either making a name for themselves or getting money out of someone.  They used the grief and bereavement of the family of Trayvon for their own ends.  They do not care about truth or justice.

  No one seems to care about justice or the legal system.  Everyone is out to get something for themselves.  
  
  I am not sure what the President of the United States can do now days.  The right wing just wait for him to say anything and then they attack.  It does not matter what he says they are going to find some way to attack.
  The President made some mild statement about the Trayvon Martin shooting.  So that set off the right.  They got to find something to use to attack President Obama.
  So it is open season on a poor dead 17 year old boy.

  Everything that is happening is bad for our nation.  Black racist calling for the murder of George Zimmerman scares the hell out of many white Americans.  
  White Americans attacking a dead 17 year old boy that was unarmed and doing nothing wrong brings up memories of other incidents like this that happen all to often in our nation and it makes blacks so angry that they scream and howl with rage.  When will the injustices end?

  Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Dick Cheney now has a heart

  Former Vice President Dick Cheney was a cold heartless SOB.  Well now we know why he was the way he was…. He did not have a heart.
  Dick Cheney just underwent heart transplant surgery.  He now has a heart.
  See CNN story. 
  Dick Cheney and I are the same age.  He is 71 years of age and I will be 71 in a couple of days. I am sort of surprised that they would give a person 71 a heart transplant.

  I think Dick Cheney is a real SOB.  But he has had a bad heart for a long time and he has had a lot of medical stuff done.   I wish him well.
  I do think that he is to old to have a heart transplant done.  There is a shortage of hearts and I think it would have been better to go to someone younger and with a better chance to make it.
  On the other hand I can see that it would be hard to turn down a former Vice President of the United States.
  He was turned down I suspect that RedState dot Com and the right wing talk shows would say that President Obama had something to do with it.

  Anyone want to make book on how long Dick Cheney will live now?
  I am sure he had the best doctors, best hospital and everything.  I just think 71 is to old for a heart transplant.  So says a former hospital night watchman!  

CNN fails again : Psychiatrist talks about FL shooter

  How sad of CNN.  They had, I guess, one of their “experts” on and he talks about Zimmerman.  The “psychiatrist” has never seen him or talked to him and knows nothing about him.  But he says the Zimmerman is doing vigilantism and more or less says that Zimmerman is “paranoid.”
 
  Dr. Paul Ragan, the psychiatrist, is a poor excuse for a doctor.  I guess people will do anything to get on TV.

 

  “Cop want-to-be” is what the “psychiatrist” calls him.  He might be correct.  I been saying that Zimmerman was playing cop.  But I am NOT a doctor.  I am a blogger.
  It just appears that CNN has no filtering system on their channel.
  I guess they are playing “news media” and want to be news reporters.

  Dr. Paul Regan is putting down a lot of people.  There are a lot of people that are in the Watch program.  There are a lot of people that are in other programs like Citizens on Patrol (called COP). 
  I do not think that Dr. Paul Regan should be talking about things that he knows nothing about.

All charges against Mohler family are dropped

 
 

“In the end, maybe the story of the Mohler family was just too much.

Too much to believe or too much to prove.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Lafayette County prosecutor dropped all charges in the incest case that more than two years ago shocked the world with bizarre stories of barnyard “weddings” of children to older relatives, rape, sodomy and secrets buried in fruit jars.

Those who had faced dozens of counts of sexual abuse were family patriarch Burrell Mohler Sr., then 79, of Independence, a sometimes preacher, and his four adult sons, Burrell Jr., David, Jared and Roland.

All were scheduled for trials later this year, including a June 4 date in Clay County for David Mohler.

“We’re just so glad it’s finally over,” said the Lamoni, Iowa, resident, the only one of the formerly accused to be reached Wednesday night. “The fact that these false charges were brought in the first place has forever changed our lives. Horrendous kinds of things were being said…”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/07/3476345/all-charges-against-mohler-family.html#storylink=cpy

 

  I remember this story.  I had forgot all about it and the name did not ring a bell but it was big news and shocking and everyone was talking about it on the news.
  It was one of those times when you read it and you say right away that you hope they give the guys death.  

  This is one of those cases that should make us worry about our justice system.  Anytime there is a charge of sexual abuse having to do with children the person charged has very little chance in court or in the community. 
  We have seen over the years a number of high profile cases like this.  You life is over if a charge like this is made.  These guys were arrested and charged in 2009.  

  I do not know what the answer to the problem is….  One thing is to not to consider someone guilty until they have their trial.  But I can remember seeing that story on TV and I am sure the web and thinking that the guys were guilty as hell.
  
  I wish that this nation was more like the UK on court cases.  I think they release a lot less information over there and I do not think they allow the sort of “news” reporting that goings on over here.
  I am not a Nancy Grace fan but I bet she spent hours and hours on TV talking about this case.
  These guys are going to have a cloud hanging over there heads for the rest of their lives.
  One of the guys died with the charges still hanging over his head.

Lawmaker wants to end public assistance to lottery winners

“(CNN) -- Amanda Clayton hit it big playing the Michigan Lottery. Like many winners, she used her $1 million prize to buy a new house.

But the Lincoln Park, Michigan, resident is receiving money in another form -- $200 a month in state food assistance, according toCNN Detroit affiliate WDIV.

"I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn't, I thought, maybe, it was OK because I'm not working," Clayton, 24, told WDIV when it asked whether it was appropriate for her to receive the money.

Now a state lawmaker is trying to stop such assistance, which is not illegal. He says the food assistance should not go to those who have found riches through the lottery…”

 

  I think a lot of people are going to say cut lottery winners off from any help.  In fact I might be the only person that thinks the state should just follow the same rules that they have set up for everyone else.
  If someone is eligible to get assistance they should get the help. 
  Now one million dollars is not that much money.   In fact she got $500K after taxes.  Of course she got a new house and a new car with the money.  Not smart but I think when someone wins a lottery they think they are rich. 
  I am not sure just what sort of checking they do for assistance but I am sure they ask how much money you have and what your bills are and all sorts of questions.  I bet you have to give them a bank statement and all sorts of information.  So if she is eligible she should get the help.

  What the Michigan Rep (Dale Zorn) wants to do is change the law so that anyone that wins more than $1,000.00 (that is one thousand dollars) will have to have the state conduct again an assets test.  I bet it will cost the state more money to do the testing again that the state would save.
  Sort of like the drug testing in FL for people trying to get assistance.  Almost no one they are testing is on drugs.   The testing is costing the state major bucks and the state is not saving any money.

  Oh just in case you are wondering….  Of course Rep. Dale Zorn is a Republican. 

  Are there people ripping off welfare and assistance programs?  Hell yes…
  My problem is that Republicans always want to attack and go after poor people.  They never want to cut the corporation welfare.   They never want to help the little person.  They want to piss on the little person.
  Also Republicans say they are for less government but they always want to control and check on citizens.  They want to check on your personal life.  They want to decide what you can do in your bedroom and with who.  They want to even decide if you can use birth control.

 

Update on above story:  03/09/2012

 

"(CNN) -- A Michigan woman who won the lottery but continued to receive food assistance from the state government has had her benefits pulled, officials said.

Amanda Clayton hit it big playing the Michigan Lottery. Like many winners, she used her $1 million prize to buy a new house.

But the Lincoln Park, Michigan, resident continued to receive money in another form -- $200 a month in state food assistance, according to CNN Detroit affiliate WDIV.

Her story made headlines, and on Thursday, the state's Department of Human Services announced that she is no longer getting the benefits.

According to Michigan law, welfare recipients must report any changes in assets or income to the agency within 10 days..."

George Rivas of the Texas Seven to die Wednesday

  All my life I have objected to capital punishment.  I have given those reasons in my BBS and then my blog for years.  Most of you, I think, do not agree with me on the issue of capital punishment.  I can understand your reasons.

  One point that I have always made over the years is that if the state can not keep someone that is a killer in jail then I think the death penalty should be used.
  I also feel that anyone that kills another person should get life and never get out. 

  Back in 2000 I was not living in Texas when the Texas Seven broke out of a South Texas prison.  They then killed a Texas police officer.  You may remember the story.  It was big news on TV.  I said then in my blog that I guess Texas needed to use the death penalty because they could not keep killers in prison.

  Escapee who killed Irving officer in 2000 is ready to die

“BY DARREN BARBEE

[email protected]

In 2001, after Texas Seven escapee George Rivas was

captured in Colorado, Star-Telegram reporter

Darren Barbee got an exclusive jailhouse interview

with him. This month, Rivas said he would talk

only to Barbee about his pending execution.

LIVINGSTON -- In the months leading up to his 2000 escape from a South Texas prison, George Rivas had made up his mind that he would gain his freedom or die trying.

Roughly 11 years later, the mastermind of one of the most daring prison escapes in Texas history is just days from execution. His attorney has told him that his appeals are exhausted and that a reprieve, unlikely for a cop killer, could come only through clemency…”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/26/3763227/escapee-who-killed-irving-officer.html#storylink=cpy

DHS reading your tweets and Facebook posts?

  CNN has a story “DHS reading your tweets and Facebook posts?” 

  It sounds scary and feeds into the paranoid that Republicans and others have about government.

  But from reading the story what you see is that the DHS is just doing what other corporations are doing.  When I blog about a subject here on this little blog corporations and others are watching for keywords and tags and they get a notice and they check to see what was said.
  In FL and here in TX when I have blogged about a problem with a cable company their agents have spotted the post right away and contacted me right away and said we see you have a problem we will fix it for you.  And they have done it.  
  I have posted good things about products and had people or corporations contact me. 
  I saw a year or so ago that a guy that I knew when he was a police officer back in the 70s had died and I posted about what a great man and police officer he had been.  His family found the post about him and they were so happy to read it and contacted me.   I posted about a girl that I liked when I was ten years old and she found the post and contacted me.  
  I could go on and on with stories like that.   So people or corporations watching tweets or checking Facebook or doing a search is not a bad thing.  In fact I think it is great.

  But I do see when the police or government are monitoring and watching it can be scary. I do not have a problem with the DHS, at this time, doing what they are doing.
  The problem is going to be if the wrong people get into government.  We do not want a President Nixon again with his hit list.  I would also fear having a man like President Reagan again.   Reagan because of Iran-Contra.  He showed that he did not care what the law was he was going to do just what he wanted to do and lie about it and cover it up.   Then also I would fear a man like President George W. Bush.  Bush because of his war on terrorism and his thinking that “enhanced interrogation techniques” was moral and legal.  If you take a position like that and you say it is OK for government to do anything you will have a government out of control.
  We need people in government that believe in the rule of law.  We need people that believe in the Bill of Rights.   We need a strong honest Attorney General. 

  The Republicans have had a lot of fun attacking President Obama for appointing a lot of “czars.”  I think the truth is that President Bush appointed more.   I think it is the word “czar” that the Republicans just love to point out.  It is a poor name for the position.   The position should just be manager or boss or something. We could use a czar to protect us from government.
  The United States Attorney General should be the person watching out for things like that.  We have had some rotten AGs in the past and some great ones.  Under President Bush we had a worthless one of course.  Under President Nixon we had a great one and thank God for that.  The President of the United States order him to do something that was not legal and he resigned right on the spot.  President Nixon then ordered the next in line to do it.   He resigned right on the spot.  So sometimes you have men with the right stuff.

   We just need to be Americans.  We just need to do the right things.
   We need to be a nation of laws.   We also need an organization like the ACLU to keep a watch on things.
   Right now the one thing we do not need is Republicans in the White House or in Congress.

Hate works both ways

Sorry Jim but I'm gonna have to call you  out  - your most recent two posts are just too close in time and adjacent on my screen at the moment. 

At 0807:

"  I just do not understand why there is so much hate for President Obama. "

And adjacent at 0728:

  " I HATE the blog RedState.Com with a passion.  They are such a right wing hate site."  

Those two aren't exactly equivalent  - you're wondering why so much hatred for a person,  Barack Obama, on one hand while you yourself express hate for a website and by extension for a Party on the other but hate is hate and it's a short trip from hating "something" like redstate.com to hating the people behind it and the people it supports.  

I do agree with you that there is a whole industry and movement out there built on hating Barack Obama and working to bring him down.  An intelligent, thoughful man is seen as a threat and portrayed in the most inflammatory terms the right can dream up. It is beyond reason and does not bring credit on those who have become hate-mongers.  Do they deserve hate in return? Well they sure don't deserve admiration and it is hard to understand the depth of their venom but should we hate the haters? Easy to do but it just raises the rhetoric level another notch and both sides are slinging mud - with everybody diminished.

Better to rise above it - call them out for what they are and what they are doing to civility and honest dialogue but let them have the low road to themselves.  Maybe they'll slide off it and  those who aren't of their persuasion will see them as the shrill bullies they are. 

It used to be just Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity - now they've got competition and fellow travelers. Come to think of it I'm not very fond of Sean Hannity myself. In fact I've probably said I hate him so I need to do some talking to myself on the topic. 

I sure don't like those three and lots more of their ilk but I think I can hold it in and try to not fall into their league and language.  Any true independents  - those who swing elections - will see them for what they are - unreasonable people who aren't nearly as well informed as they think they are and and are following some very flawed leaders and media outlets. Nothing very fair or balanced about their sources. 

 

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Steps Down from Congress

Uploaded by giffords2 on Jan 22, 2012

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced her plans to step down from Congress Jan. 22, 2011.
Transcript of video:
"Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I'm getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much."