Innocence or Dead In Florida

Last night in Florida a six-person jury found George Zimmerman innocent of a murder charge, stemming from the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin of February 26, 2012.

The 17 year-old black boy in a hoodie was walking back to the house of his father's fiancee in a gated community after purchasing Skittles and an Ice Tea at a convenience store.

George Zimmerman spotted Martin and called the police. His community had suffered a rash of break-ins and he belonged to the neighborhood watch. Zimmerman decided to follow Martin, despite police telling him to stay away.

What happened next resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin.

The jury felt there was reasonable doubt.

The defense had placed in their mind that Trayvon had attacked Zimmerman and the shot had been fired in self-defense.

The prosecution failed to convince them otherwise.

Innocence and eliglible to carry a gun again.

America.

The Land of the Free.

Guns For Everyone

Obsessed with twelve year-old Jodie Foster portrayal of the child prostitute John Hinkley saw TAXI DRIVER fifteen times in a row. He stalked the actress to Yale and wrote her many letters including this one from 1981. "Over the past seven months I've left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself.... The reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you. On Monday, March 30, 1981 John Hinkley attacked newly-inaugerated President Reagan after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan was seriously wounded and his Press Secretary James Brady was severely paralyzed by the fuissilade meant to reward the shooter with a fairy tale ending to his erotomania. Reagan was surrounded by Secret Service and Washington Police. Each was armed to protect the President. They failed in their task and the only person to shot a gun that day was John Hinkley, who was later declared 'not guilty' on grounds of insanity. In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre the USA has seen growing opposition to sales of assault rifles and the resistance of the NRA to restrict access to such weapons. Their spokesman Wayne la Pierre has proposed arming janitors and teachers in order to prevent mayhem in our schools, since the creation of a no-gun zone around our schools has left an opening for a mass murderer. “With all the foreign aid the United State does…can’t we afford to put a police officer in every single school?” An excellent idea, except it might be cheaper to ban assault weapons or enforce existent background checks on gun buyers. The NRA doesn't see it that way. To their thinking guns save lives, even though four times more suicides by guns and accidental shootings occured than criminals wounded or killed in the act of a crime. No way do I think of Wayne Lapierre as innocent. But inane. You know it.

Shooting To Kill

Last month I was talking to an ex-NYPD cop about the Amadou Diallo case. I offhandedly said that the officers involved in that fatal shooting were high on drugs and that the only good thing they did that fateful evening was not reload and shoot the downed African again.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. In any shooting the cops are bloodtested and that would have been published in every paper in the world if it was the case."

"I'm not so sure about that." My comment was based on a hunch rather than fact.

"You show me the proof." He was irate enough not to speak with me for the rest of the day.

I have my proof.

I used to lock myself out of my East Village apartment on numerous occasions. I would climb onto the roof and down the fire escape, then force open a window. It was a dangerous operation.

One slip and I could have fallen 50 feet to the hard concrete, but not once did any of my neighbors phoned 911.

Two squad cars responded to the call and the officers showed up to investigate 'a white guy doing something crazy'.

They knocked on my door and shouted, "Open it."

I obeyed their command and responded to their queries with yes officer and no officer. Obviously they hadn't taught that at Harvard.

My answers satisfied their questions, but I'm white.

A person of color might not have the same right as me and no white person will know how few rights are too few, until they are in prison, because there they are the minority.

Shoot Shoot Shoot

GOP VP wannabe Sara Palin coined the campaign phrase 'drill, drill, drill' to highlight her belief that America's woes could be solved by drilling for oil yesterday, today, and tomorrow with the frozen Bering Sea targeted for immediate exploitation. Her supporters picked up the chant without realizing that commodity speculation by investment banks and Wall Street investors were the main cause for $4/gallon gas. There is no shortage and calmer minds ignored the 'drill drill drill' mantra, however Joe the Plumber, another relic of the 2008 election, appeared at an Arizona fund-raiser to tell the audience, "For years I've said, you know, put a damn fence on the border going to Mexico and start shooting. I'm running for Congress and that should be a bad thing to say. But you know what, it's how I feel ¦I want my borders protected, I'm very very adamant about that."

The following morning the Ohio candidate for Congress showed up at another rally and reiterated his statement by saying, "I'm running for Congress. How many congressmen or people running for Congress have you heard, put a fence up and start shooting? None? Well you heard it here first. Put troops on the border and start shooting, I bet that solves our immigration problem real quick."

Shoot shoot shoot certainly trumps drill drill drill, although Joe Wurzelbacher refused to confirm in which direction the troops were supposed to shoot; north, south, east or west, but given Americans' complete ignorance of geography any direction will do as long as the bullets start flying and his supporters get the message.

Guns are good. Shooting them is better. Killing is the best.

Of course Joe the Plumber announced to the Phoenix News Times that he was joking.

Their poll says that nearly 90% think that he was serious as Charles Whitman.

Joe also blamed gun control for the Holocaust.

But that wasn't a joke.

GOP GOP GOP hah hah hah.