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Thursday, March 29, 2012

MSNBC's Rush to Judgement Continues

Today, MSNBC host Martin Bashir continued the attack on George Zimmerman producing videos that show Zimmerman in handcuffs being escorted by Sanford police from a squad car into police Hqs. According to the report, this video was taken 4 hours after the incident in which Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. This video is being portrayed as some sort of "smoking gun" to show that Zimmerman did not suffer injuries to his head or a broken nose. Indeed, Al Sharpton, on his own MSNBC show yesterday alluded to this video as being possibly the "smoking gun".

Bashir then brought in a Florida reporter named Joanne Reed and they discussed the importance of the video. They also showed closer photograph images of the back of Zimmerman's head. Sorry, folks, but what I saw on my TV screen was a circular mark on the back of Zimmerman's head which appears to be an injury. Below is a photo from the Daily Caller. The one I saw on MSNBC was even clearer, but they made no mention of it.


In addition, the question I have is what did they expect to see four hours after the incident? Clearly, in those four hours, Zimmerman was cleaned up and probably treated in some manner. True, if you get your nose broken, a lot of blood comes out. (I know. When I was in college I had my nose broken in a fight. It bled like crazy at the time, but not four hours later.) I expect that the police who responded to the scene have a clear report on what blood was at the scene and whose it was.

Then Bashir brought in Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post. It was, predictably, more of the same. Interestingly, Bashir showed clips of an interview with George Zimmermann's father, shown from the side and his face in shadows. (I wonder why.) The father, in the selected clip, spoke of the "hate" coming from "the President, the NAACP and the Black Congressional Caucus". At that point, the tape ended, and you couldn't tell if he also mentioned the New Black Panther Party. Bashir noted that all of the people he mentioned were black, and they went on to defend President Obama from the condemnation he had received from the right for his comments (about having  a son that might have looked  like Trayvon.) Here is the MyFox  Orlando interview. At the 11:40 mark, the father refers to the hate and ends with "every organization imaginable". That was cut off from Bashir's clip. After the 17 minute mark, the interviewer returns to the subject of the hate and specifically mentions the Black Panther Party and "dead or alive". That is not shown on the Bashir clip.





Here is my point. At no time, did Bashir or any of his interlocutors make any mention, not even an oblique reference to the actions of the NBPP and the bounty they have put out on Zimmerman's head. That is a clear example of the hate that the elder Zimmerman is referring to. I don't know as I write this what has been said by the CBC or the NAACP. I also give the benefit of the doubt to President Obama. I don't think he was trying to fan any flames. But how in the world can these so-called journalists at MSNBC, who are all over this story and pushing the opinion that there was no aspect of self defense and Zimmerman is guilty of a racially-inspired killing, not even mention the open and public threats of the NBPP as they rebut Zimmerman's father's comments about the hate being directed at them?

These talking heads don't know anymore about the facts of this case than you or I do, and yet they are passing judgement knowing that people are out there looking to kill Mr Zimmerman. Why can we not sit back and let the investigators do their job? If they made mistakes at the outset, the investigation still continues.

Talk about a media-driven rush to judgement.

8 comments:

Squid said...

This attack on Zimmerman is fueled by race hatred and not upon the rule of law. As we have seen atrocity with KKK lynchings in the South, we see the same mentality with the New Black Panthers putting an astounding 1 million dollars on Zimmerman's head. We also see and hear MSNBC staff declaring smoking guns when they see EMT treated Zimmerman video tape, when he was going into the Police station. My opinion is that the MSNBC staff participates in the worst journalism in history. All they would have to do is seek out the police report that states Zimmerman was treated by EMT for a bloody nose and head. Wow, that was hard to find out. Also, one would think that the POTUS learned his lesson after the Cambridge Cop incident, when his Marxist Professor buddy was arrested for being nasty to the police (we may see another beer summit). But no, he resorted to his impulsive self, to state that the six foot tall, 160 lb. man, with a golden grill for bottom front teeth and two front uppers, dressed in a "gansta" tee, was pure as the drifted snow.
Spike Lee apologized for his posting of the wrong address for Zimmerman. The couple living at that address are very frightened and are having a hard time living at that address. If I were them, I would move to another address and have their attorney file a lawsuit to recover costs of their troubles caused by Lee.
The bottom line is, as Gary points out, let the rule of law work here and the misguided MSM bug out.

Squid

Findalis said...

Zimmerman was given medical aid BEFORE he was taken to the police station.

That is something the Black community refuses to accept.

As a former member of a neighborhood watch I was told to call the police if I spotted a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

A black man, wearing a hoodie, with gold caps, in a gated community and unknown to me is suspicious.

Siarlys Jenkins said...

Almost all of the commentary is ridiculous, including MSNBC, and Gary Fouse. Everyone, yes, including you Gary, seems to have an ax to grind. Discrediting the designated opposition is more important than justice.

The first REAL issue is that this homicide had not been handled as a potential crime from less than 24 hours after it happened, until his family made a big media issue of it.

The second REAL issue is that Zimmerman has no known reason to have been accosting Martin in the first place. Accordingly his self-defense claim is weak to nonexistent.

He may not be a conscious racist, but he is at least in the same boat as the negligent driver who didn't mean to kill anyone.

Concealed carry carries a heavy responsibility, which should weight heavily on those who carry, even to the point of a substantial prison term if they kill someone without good cause.

Yes, we should let the legal process take its course, assuming that legal process finally IS taking its course.

We all know that the president would be damned if he did and damned if he didn't say something on the matter. Any president would be. His remarks were reasonably restrained, not prejudging the grand jury process (which hasn't happened, and should), but acknowledging the pain suffered by the family.

Last I read, the widely posted photos of "Trayvon" have been discredited as not being his photos at all -- another black eye for Michelle Munchkin.

The American Conservative has some reasonably balanced coverage.

Squid said...

Addendum:

Spike Lee manned up and lawyered up to provide the couple who lives at the address that he thought was Zimmerman's, compensation for their pain and suffering. The announcement was made on Fox News at 6:00 PM.

Squid

Miggie said...

POTUS should be asked what should be the policy for the President to comment on crimes going forward. Should it only be apparent victims when they are black and the apparent perp white? That are the only cases that seem to interest him. It is the same criteria for Eric Holder at the DOJ.

It is entirely possible when the dispatcher said, we don't need you to follow him and Zimmerman said "OK" that he did exactly that and headed back to his car. One version has it that Martin asked Zimmerman if he had a problem. Zimmerman said no and then that Martin saiid you do now. Martin sucker punched him and decked him. He then mounted him and was slamming his head on the curb when Zimmerman shot him. IF that was the way it went down then he has the right of self defense regardless of what preceded that or speculation about his motive.

They should be able to determine the precise timeline and positions with the witnesses and tapes.

I don't like that all the pictures of Martin show him as he was years ago and not how he looked when Zimmerman said he looked suspicious.

We should wait for the investigation results.
.

Anonymous said...

Actually the video is 40 minutes after the incident, not 4 hours. Big difference.

Gary Fouse said...

That is correct. I was going by what (I thought) MSNBC stated at the time.

Siarlys Jenkins said...

Still, sorting out the evidence and advocating guilt or innocence is precisely what the media circus should not be doing. Advocating that the police not prematurely drop the matter, and assessing what the police knew and when they knew it, could be legitimate.

None of the talking heads seem to be sorting out these find points.