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Zimmerman and Ketman
American Thinker
Jeff Lipkes
4/3/2012
Excerpt:
"The most interesting question at this point in the Trayvon Martin case may be who believes the Party line and why.
As for the incident itself, after the case became the latest and noisiest cause célèbre of the left, the police released seven 911 tapes on March 16, and then disclosed further details from their investigation to the Orlando Sentinel on March 26. All are a couple of clicks away, and until the Seminole County Grand Jury convenes on April 10, or the special prosecutor files charges, which may happen earlier, any account of what happened has to be based on what the tapes disclose.
Of the 911 calls, only two are from actual eyewitnesses: a man identified as "John," who later spoke with the Orlando Sentinel and the local Fox station, and George Zimmerman.
"John" told police that he saw two men on the ground, fighting. The one on top, beating the one underneath, was Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman, in a red sweater, was yelling "Help, help!" You can hear his screams on other 911 tapes. A tape was played for Martin's father, and he confirmed that the voice crying for help was not his son's.
The Zimmerman call runs for four minutes and twelve seconds. He reports seeing a suspicious character in his gated community. Despite the relentless focus on the hoodie, what disturbs the neighborhood watch captain is Martin's behavior, not his clothes. It was raining, according to Zimmerman and at least one other 911 caller, but the teenager is not walking briskly and purposefully, as people tend to do in the rain. He seems to be wandering aimlessly, as if on drugs, looking at the houses. Zimmerman then reports, nervously, that the guy is staring at him, then coming toward him, his hand concealed in his waistband. At about 1:42 on the tape, he can no longer see him. "The assholes always get away," he mutters. At about 2:15, he spots the guy in the distance, running. He starts following him, and the dispatcher tells him that he doesn't need to do this. "OK, he replies (2:29). "He ran," he says under his breath ten seconds later. At 3:38, asked for his address, he hesitates. "I don't know where this kid is," he says. Zimmerman proceeds to give directions to the dispatcher, asks police to meet him at his truck near the mailboxes, then requests that he be called when the cops have come through the gate.
According to Zimmerman's later testimony, he had returned to his truck and was waiting for the police when he was surprised by Martin. The teen asked him if he had a problem. When Zimmerman said "no" and reached for his cell phone, Martin punched him in the face. Zimmerman fell to the ground; Martin jumped on top of him and began slamming his head against the sidewalk.
Zimmerman was not arrested for the simple reason that the physical evidence corroborated his testimony and "John's." According to the police, he had a bloody nose, a swollen lip, lacerations on the back of his head, and scuff-marks or grass stains on the back of his jersey. The police had no reason to believe that these were self-inflicted. If Zimmerman's statement is accurate, Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, the subject of so much vitriol, may not have been relevant; it applies to individuals who are standing, not lying on their back being beaten. In no state do you not have a right to defend yourself with lethal force if your head is being slammed into concrete.
A key piece of evidence not disclosed so far is where Zimmerman's truck was parked. If it was close to where police found Martin's body, this would support his version. Even more interesting when it's released will be the paramedics' report. ABC has featured a police surveillance video which, they initially claimed, shows no injuries to Zimmerman. Embarrassed by a high-definition version on Breitbart.com, the network enhanced the video, and it now shows "what appear to be a pair of gashes or welts on George Zimmerman's head."
The case for the prosecution, repeated ad nauseam, rests on the assumption that Zimmerman ignored the advice of the dispatcher and continued to follow the teenager, then cornered him and shot him. Though assiduously searching the tape for a racial epithet, and seizing, in lieu of one, on "the assholes always get away," reporters and commentators apparently haven't registered that this comment would seem to indicate that Zimmerman has lost sight of Martin. Zimmerman agrees not to follow the teen, and by 2:39 on the tape, he has again lost sight of him. The one eyewitness account also clearly contradicts the claim that the neighborhood watchman stalked his prey and gunned him down.
The way in which the story has been spun by the media should not surprise anyone who remembers earlier National Hate campaigns: the Tawana Brawley, Duke lacrosse team, Jena 6, and Jared Loughner cases. Five-year-old pictures of Martin were repeatedly shown. Photos of the 6'2" or 3" seventeen-year-old wearing gold teeth, sporting two prominent tattoos, and making gang signs, readily available on the internet, were suppressed, as were other images from his Myspace and Twitter accounts, where he called himself "No_Limit_Nigga."
Also missing was any background on the teenager. He happened to be in Sanford because he'd been suspended from his high school in Miami for ten days on suspicion of selling marijuana. (His brother seemed to believe that he had punched a bus driver.) This was Martin's third suspension. Last October, he was caught with twelve pieces of woman's jewelry, a man's watch, and a flat-head screwdriver. He told authorities that a friend had given him the jewelry, but he couldn't identify the friend. When this information was released, the family and left-wing commentators accused those responsible of smearing the teenage martyr.
The media were no more unbiased in their identification of Zimmerman. The one photo invariably shown of him has been a police mugshot from 2005. No images of George as a cute twelve-year-old. His brushes with the law were publicized: he had been arrested for pushing an officer who was trying to arrest a friend in a bar. He was the subject of a restraining order filed by his ex-fiancée; he filed one against her as well. His wages were garnished in a dispute with a credit card company.
Zimmerman was also described repeatedly for many days as a "white man," though, as is clear in his picture, he is half-Hispanic. His mother is Peruvian. (This has provoked endless discussions about the term. Of course "Hispanic" is not a race, but comparatively few immigrants from Latin America are of solely European ancestry. The dispatcher initially asks Zimmerman: "Is he black, white, or Hispanic?" "Asian" was not an option.)"
.....................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/...nd_ketman.html
American Thinker
Jeff Lipkes
4/3/2012
Excerpt:
"The most interesting question at this point in the Trayvon Martin case may be who believes the Party line and why.
As for the incident itself, after the case became the latest and noisiest cause célèbre of the left, the police released seven 911 tapes on March 16, and then disclosed further details from their investigation to the Orlando Sentinel on March 26. All are a couple of clicks away, and until the Seminole County Grand Jury convenes on April 10, or the special prosecutor files charges, which may happen earlier, any account of what happened has to be based on what the tapes disclose.
Of the 911 calls, only two are from actual eyewitnesses: a man identified as "John," who later spoke with the Orlando Sentinel and the local Fox station, and George Zimmerman.
"John" told police that he saw two men on the ground, fighting. The one on top, beating the one underneath, was Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman, in a red sweater, was yelling "Help, help!" You can hear his screams on other 911 tapes. A tape was played for Martin's father, and he confirmed that the voice crying for help was not his son's.
The Zimmerman call runs for four minutes and twelve seconds. He reports seeing a suspicious character in his gated community. Despite the relentless focus on the hoodie, what disturbs the neighborhood watch captain is Martin's behavior, not his clothes. It was raining, according to Zimmerman and at least one other 911 caller, but the teenager is not walking briskly and purposefully, as people tend to do in the rain. He seems to be wandering aimlessly, as if on drugs, looking at the houses. Zimmerman then reports, nervously, that the guy is staring at him, then coming toward him, his hand concealed in his waistband. At about 1:42 on the tape, he can no longer see him. "The assholes always get away," he mutters. At about 2:15, he spots the guy in the distance, running. He starts following him, and the dispatcher tells him that he doesn't need to do this. "OK, he replies (2:29). "He ran," he says under his breath ten seconds later. At 3:38, asked for his address, he hesitates. "I don't know where this kid is," he says. Zimmerman proceeds to give directions to the dispatcher, asks police to meet him at his truck near the mailboxes, then requests that he be called when the cops have come through the gate.
According to Zimmerman's later testimony, he had returned to his truck and was waiting for the police when he was surprised by Martin. The teen asked him if he had a problem. When Zimmerman said "no" and reached for his cell phone, Martin punched him in the face. Zimmerman fell to the ground; Martin jumped on top of him and began slamming his head against the sidewalk.
Zimmerman was not arrested for the simple reason that the physical evidence corroborated his testimony and "John's." According to the police, he had a bloody nose, a swollen lip, lacerations on the back of his head, and scuff-marks or grass stains on the back of his jersey. The police had no reason to believe that these were self-inflicted. If Zimmerman's statement is accurate, Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, the subject of so much vitriol, may not have been relevant; it applies to individuals who are standing, not lying on their back being beaten. In no state do you not have a right to defend yourself with lethal force if your head is being slammed into concrete.
A key piece of evidence not disclosed so far is where Zimmerman's truck was parked. If it was close to where police found Martin's body, this would support his version. Even more interesting when it's released will be the paramedics' report. ABC has featured a police surveillance video which, they initially claimed, shows no injuries to Zimmerman. Embarrassed by a high-definition version on Breitbart.com, the network enhanced the video, and it now shows "what appear to be a pair of gashes or welts on George Zimmerman's head."
The case for the prosecution, repeated ad nauseam, rests on the assumption that Zimmerman ignored the advice of the dispatcher and continued to follow the teenager, then cornered him and shot him. Though assiduously searching the tape for a racial epithet, and seizing, in lieu of one, on "the assholes always get away," reporters and commentators apparently haven't registered that this comment would seem to indicate that Zimmerman has lost sight of Martin. Zimmerman agrees not to follow the teen, and by 2:39 on the tape, he has again lost sight of him. The one eyewitness account also clearly contradicts the claim that the neighborhood watchman stalked his prey and gunned him down.
The way in which the story has been spun by the media should not surprise anyone who remembers earlier National Hate campaigns: the Tawana Brawley, Duke lacrosse team, Jena 6, and Jared Loughner cases. Five-year-old pictures of Martin were repeatedly shown. Photos of the 6'2" or 3" seventeen-year-old wearing gold teeth, sporting two prominent tattoos, and making gang signs, readily available on the internet, were suppressed, as were other images from his Myspace and Twitter accounts, where he called himself "No_Limit_Nigga."
Also missing was any background on the teenager. He happened to be in Sanford because he'd been suspended from his high school in Miami for ten days on suspicion of selling marijuana. (His brother seemed to believe that he had punched a bus driver.) This was Martin's third suspension. Last October, he was caught with twelve pieces of woman's jewelry, a man's watch, and a flat-head screwdriver. He told authorities that a friend had given him the jewelry, but he couldn't identify the friend. When this information was released, the family and left-wing commentators accused those responsible of smearing the teenage martyr.
The media were no more unbiased in their identification of Zimmerman. The one photo invariably shown of him has been a police mugshot from 2005. No images of George as a cute twelve-year-old. His brushes with the law were publicized: he had been arrested for pushing an officer who was trying to arrest a friend in a bar. He was the subject of a restraining order filed by his ex-fiancée; he filed one against her as well. His wages were garnished in a dispute with a credit card company.
Zimmerman was also described repeatedly for many days as a "white man," though, as is clear in his picture, he is half-Hispanic. His mother is Peruvian. (This has provoked endless discussions about the term. Of course "Hispanic" is not a race, but comparatively few immigrants from Latin America are of solely European ancestry. The dispatcher initially asks Zimmerman: "Is he black, white, or Hispanic?" "Asian" was not an option.)"
.....................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/...nd_ketman.html