Zimmerman Trial Day 2

Yahoo News reports

For the prosecution:

Wendy Dorival, who trained Zimmerman in his duties as the watch representative for his gated community, described him as “a little meek” and someone who wanted to “make changes in his community to make it better.”

For the defense:

The photos were as unforgettable as they were haunting: Trayvon Martin’s dead body, sprawled out in wet grass; the 17-year-old’s Nike shirt, pierced with a bullet hole; his limp wrist; his chest; and his face, slack.

Second day wrapup:

Jurors will likely not forget the images of Martin’s body, yet their mental picture of Zimmerman on the night of Martin’s death will weigh far more in the outcome of this trial.

Indiana 12-Year-old Dead - Another Negligent Discharge

 Local news reports

Authorities say a 12-year-old Modoc boy died late Saturday after he accidentally was shot in the chest.

Kyle Duane Fisher II was wounded shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday in a home, according to a media release issued by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency personnel arrived and found a 12-year-old male — later identified as Fisher — who had received an injury from “an accidental discharge of a firearm,” the release said.

Efforts were made to resuscitate the victim at the scene. He was pronounced dead at St. Vincent Randolph Hospital in Winchester.

According to the report, Mitchell A. Gilliland, 36, told officers he “was placing a rifle in a gun cabinet when it discharged, striking the victim in the chest.”

A preliminary investigation by the sheriff’s department and the Randolph County coroner’s office “indicates that the event was accidental in nature,” according to the release.

Kyle Fisher would have been a seventh-grader at Modoc Union-Senior High School this fall, according to an obituary.

His survivors include his father and seven siblings.

Day One at the George Zimmerman Trial

Yahoo News with video

One of the most anticipated murder trials in recent memory began with a torrent of profanity from the prosecution and a knock-knock joke from the defense. 

The state of Florida’s case against George Zimmerman began on Monday with the expected debate about whether the man who shot and fatally wounded 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012 committed murder or acted in self-defense. What was not expected was a bit of forced humor, which fell jarringly flat.

The lead defense attorney, Don West, declared early in his remarks that “sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying” and then ventured a joke. He confessed it was “a little bit weird” to do so and asked the jury to avoid holding the joke against the defendant.

Then he went ahead.

“Knock, knock,” West said, stunning both the jury and the assembled onlookers.
“Who’s there?” he answered himself.
“George Zimmerman.”
“George Zimmerman who?”
“All right. Good. You're on the jury.”

There was barely a reaction.

“Nothing?” West said, in genuine surprise.

This was met with some nervous laughter.

It was a deeply strange way to open a trial about a killing that has rattled and vexed an entire nation. The death of Martin, on his way home from buying candy at a local convenience store, has touched a national third rail, launching arguments and protests about race, gun laws and civil rights.

Later, after a lunch recess, West apologized. “I really thought it was funny,” he said. “Sorry if I offended anyone.”

A clunky start struggled to find footing as West slogged through a long trail of evidence that lasted more than two-and-a-half hours. The argument meandered, and West admitted as much.
“I don’t know if you follow what I mean,” he told the jury at one point.

Mississippi No Longer the Worst State for Kids

  
The Kids Count report ranks the well-being of kids in the U.S. (AP)

Yahoo News

There’s good news for the children of Mississippi; their state is no longer the worst place to be a kid. That’s because a new set of annual rankings on children’s welfare says New Mexico has dethroned Mississippi's perennial hold on the bottom ranking of the Kids Count list.

For the past 24 years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has used a series of 16 indicators to rank the well-being of children in all 50 U.S. states. This year’s edition is the first to not place Mississippi at 50 out of 50 on the list, citing gains in health and education. However, Mississippi is still No. 49 on the list.

The foundation also noted that a third of Mississippi’s children continue to live in poverty. By comparison, 13 percent of New Hampshire’s children are listed as living at or below the poverty level.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts finished at the top of the children’s well-being list.

“While we are not where we need to be, the fact that our child and teen death rate, along with some decrease in the percentage of children without health insurance has been helpful,” Mississippi Kids Count Director Linda Southward told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

There also appears to be an overall improving trend in the South. Louisiana, which was 46th on the list, is the only other Southern state to finish in the bottom five. However, the Southwest has fared less well—three of the bottom-five states are New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.

Criminals in Charge: The Not So Law-abiding Gun Owners in the NRA's Leadership

The Examiner

The NRA leaders like to speak on behalf of law-abiding gun owners and they often argue that any infringement on gun owner's freedoms, including background checks or limits on the types of guns that can be purchased, are unfair burdens placed upon lawful gun owners. However, the NRA's objections may stem in part from the fact that many members of the NRA leadership are not in fact law-abiding gun owners. The NRA board is populated with a smattering of criminals whose objection to gun laws might be rooted not in their concern for law-abiding gun owners, but their desire to protect fellow criminals. Let us meet the criminals in high places within the NRA's leadership:

Harlon Carter: Murderer, Former NRA President and architect of the Cincinnatti Revolution within the NRA

Ted Nugent: Serial poacher and wannabee presidential assassin

Don Young: And you thought Sarah Palin was bad?

Larry Craig: Does the NRA board let him have his own bathroom?

David Keene: NRA President and road rage's poster father?

Manny Fernandez: Proof that outlawing guns does not keep guns out of criminal hands

Bob Brown: Accomplice to multiple murders?

The NRA leadership is unqualified to speak on behalf of law-abiding gun owners

Given that the NRA leadership is populated with a number of men who have been convicted of criminal activity or have been implicated in serious violent crimes, up to and including murder, they are in no position to speak on behalf of law-abiding gun owners. Murderers, murder for hire facilitators, serial poachers and other criminals lack the moral authority to lecture the nation on how to protect law-abiding citizens from the "bad guys" with guns. Some of the "bad guys" with guns are sitting on the NRA's Board of Directors, and it is about time the "good guys" (without guns) do something to stop them. Congress can continue to cower in fear of the NRA or they can stand up and do something to stop the "bad guys" with guns from bullying the nation into submission yet again. 

Has anyone else noticed The Examiner has been using a better caliber of author lately?  

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.
      

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