This should be the last post on the Trayvon Martin case for a while – unless some details pop out this week from the discovery. As I was doing my last round of news searches, something came out last night from the Zimmerman camp that caught my eye, and confirmed my suspicions (that it would be the testimony of Martin’s girlfriend that seals Zimmerman’s conviction). The source of the enlightening comment? Zimmerman’s father (apparently a judge):

He [Zimmerman's father] believes medical records and photos – released to the defense on Monday – will prove his son was injured by Trayvon [1] when the two met in a gated community’s dark pathway. He said voice tests will show George Zimmerman didn’t lie and an eyewitness will back up his account. The girl who claims to have been on the phone talking to the teenager when the incident occurred will be proved a liar [2], Zimmerman insists.

Oh good Lord – this is how they plan to win a trial? First off, no one disputes the physical altercation or that George Zimmerman got some scrapes and bruises. The issue is who instigated the confrontation, who pushed this to a head. And in this situation we have ear-witness testimony that the instigator was Zimmerman, contrary to his statements to police. Here is what little we know about the girlfriend’s testimony:

In a dramatic press conference on Tuesday, the Martin family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump detailed how the unnamed girl – a minor who was so traumatised by Martin’s death she was taken to hospital at his wake – was talking to him on his cell phone in the minutes leading up to his death, and heard the altercation with his killer.

…

Crump said that during the final phone call with his girlfriend, who was back home in Miami, Martin told her that a stranger was following him, according to an affidavit she recorded. Martin had then tried unsuccessfully to get away from the stranger.

“He says: ‘Oh, he’s right behind me. He’s right behind me again,’” Crump said the girl told him. “She says: ‘Run.’ He says: ‘I’m not going to run, I’m just going to walk fast.’

She then heard Martin saying “Why are you following me” and another voice saying “What are you doing here?“ She told Crump they both repeated themselves, and then she thinks she heard Zimmerman push Martin “because his voice changes, like something interrupted his speech.” She heard an altercation and then the phone call was cut off, Crump said.

This does blow Zimmerman’s statement made to police at the time out of the water. I would suspect Zimmerman had no idea Martin was on the phone and someone was listening in. So he makes up a story about being ambushed from behind to augment his self defense claim. Little did he know a 3rd person was there that night – virtually.

This testimony is in complete contradiction to Zimmerman’s, and it is powerful (and of equal weight to anything Zimmerman claims). It indicates Martin tries numerous times to get away from Zimmerman who stalks the kid (armed of course). It indicates Zimmerman was not ambushed, but came up to Martin and challenged him. And it also implies Zimmerman started the physical altercation.

If Zimmerman’s father believes the defense will prove her a liar (which is way too harsh) and that will save his son – he is being foolish. She is going to be an unimpeachable witness. She is going to provide details Zimmerman thought he could cover up when he concocted his story.

And it is clear from the elder Zimmerman’s harsh statement it is the girlfriend’s testimony that is most dangerous to his son’s defense.

Zimmerman is now caught in a lie, and somehow must prove to judge or jury the girlfriend made up her testimony. Won’t happen. There is no motive. The defense has relied on this all about Zimmerman being attacked. Now we have confirmation it was Martin who was attacked.

And under stand your ground he had every right to beat Zimmerman’s head against the ground in self defense.

We finally get a peak at the evidence against Zimmerman in the shooting death of young Trayvon Martin. And one of the big surprises is an unknown video from the club house at the complex where the shooting took place.

According to the documents, prosecutors also have new video evidence from the night of the shooting — both from the 7-Eleven store where Trayvon purchased Skittles and Arizona iced tea, and from the clubhouse of Retreat at Twin Lakes, the apartment complex where the teen was killed.

This could be nothing of import, or could be something pivotal. We won’t know for sure until trial I wager. But here is a close up of the clubhouse area from maps out on the web, and possible viewing angles towards the incident.

Click to enlarge. Let me stress again these are possible viewing angles of interest. Most video cameras are not aimed out to distance (usually aimed to cover entrances). So we don’t know what could be on the video> It may be nothing except confirmation of events and timing.

One angle shown above is across the pool from the far corner of the clubhouse. Viewing is limited by the back of the clubhouse and the buildings were Zimmerman parked his truck. The second angle is from the entrance near the mailboxes. It’s viewing is limited by the row of buildings across the top.

Neither angle would see the location where the incident took place (F). Neither angle probably has much detail (if any) at those distances. The only area of interest possible is the area near the mailboxes, and what Zimmerman did as he left his truck.

In my mind it is this last potential ‘evidence’ that could be most problematic to Zimmerman. If his actions outside the truck on video do not match his testimony, his entire case is gone. Of course, these things can play into the defense as well, so we shall see.

I would be surprised if the camera could detect whether Zimmerman’s gun was in his waist band or out in his hand. But that is a possibility.

Other evidence is quite telling as well, with a large number of police investigator statements – obviously not in Zimmerman’s favor:

Other primary witnesses include four FDLE investigators and three investigators from the office of state attorney Norm Wolfinger plus two from Corey’s office, including Dale Gilbreath, who hand-delivered the motion to Seminole County clerks about 20 minutes before their doors closed for the day Monday.

Five fire-rescue personnel are listed as secondary witnesses. So are a fingerprints expert with Sanford police, and the following FDLE experts: a firearms specialist, DNA expert, trace evidence expert and fingerprints expert.

It should be noted that the police actually pushed for Zimmerman to be charged that fateful night:

The lead homicide investigator in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin recommended that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting, multiple sources told ABC News.

…

Serino filed an affidavit on Feb. 26, the night that Martin was shot and killed by Zimmerman, that stated he was unconvinced Zimmerman’s version of events.

More here:

The lead homicide detective probing the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin wanted the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer slapped with manslaughter charges from the get-go.

All those claiming this is open and shut for Zimmerman, and the police investigation found no issues, are horribly wrong. Police went so far as to apply for charges before the States Attorney overruled them. They are not going to be goo for Zimmerman. All 18 of them currently listed.

I am sure there is more to come in this controversial case. But I have yet to see anything exculpatory – as would be expected with the prosecutors case. If there was, it would have derailed the charges being made in the first place.

Tags: Clubhouse Video, Evidence, Trayvon Martin

Precedent:

In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Black’s Law Dictionary defines “precedent” as a “rule of law established for the first time by a court for a particular type of case and thereafter referred to in deciding similar cases.”

This legal term is rapidly becoming an issue for the George Zimmerman’s defense team, because today comes news of a second court case that parallels the Trayvon Martin case, and spells bad news for George Zimmerman (here was the prior case). The parallels are quite important:

Circuit Judge Ashley Moody denied a motion to use the Stand Your Ground defense on Monday.

Trevor Dooley, 69, said he was protecting himself when he was attacked and choked by David James

Dooley is charged with manslaughter in James’ death.

Before we go further, note the lesser charge of manslaughter here – which indicates prosecutors may have a lot more on George Zimmerman than has been publicly released to date. Now the specifics:

Dooley, who lives across the street, saw the skateboarder and yelled at him that he was not allowed to skate on the court. James stuck up for the teenager, yelling to Dooley to show him the sign saying he was not allowed to skate.

A verbal altercation between Dooley and James ensued. That altercation at some point became physical, and ended when Dooley — who has a concealed weapons’ permit — took his gun out and shot James.

Similarity 1: Dooly is trying to play cop and enforce laws. Something he is not authorized to do. Identical to Zimmerman

Similarity 2: A verbal exchange gets heated, and turns to a physical one, in which the instigator (Dooly) begins to lose the physical battle:

His attorney also tried to portray Dooley as an older, smaller and physically weaker man than James, who feared for his safety.

The defense also called James’ daughter, now 10 years old, to testify. She saw the altercation and shooting take place.

She said she did not see Dooley’s gun until he took it out during the altercation. She also said her father was “on top” of Dooley at one point “to keep him down so he could actually get the answer” about where the sign was.

Double bad news here. Dooly was on the bottom (like Zimmerman) and he pulled the gun during a physical fight. The verdict was there was insufficient threat of life at this point. Even though he was out matched physically.

Dooly entered into a confrontation with another law abiding citizen – armed. He then pushed the confrontation forward until a physical altercation occurred, at which point he pulled his gun and killed the other person.

This is not self defense, nor is it defensible. Zimmerman better start negotiating – and fast.

One rule in war and politics is not to intervene when you opponent is self-destructing. Newsweek has produced one of those rare missteps that takes out both the person launching the missive, and the person the missive was meant to help:

This cover is juvenile and crude. First off, the halo (sign of Christianity) is a complete insult to those who are against homosexuality from a religious perspective. If you wanted to ignite the opposition, that was the way to do it. The anti-gay religious armies will now be out in force.

Dumb.

And it was juvenile, in the teeny-bopper, doe-eyed, rabid fan sense. We know the media loves its little pretend prince of liberalism.

The end result of this will be devastating for Newsweek and Obama. Newsweek because the people who buy magazines are mostly middle class families. So be prepared for the magazine to go under.

But it will also destroy Obama’s already slim hope for reelection:

Just days after President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, pastors and priests around Maryland took to their own pulpits with their reaction– and in some cases– condemnation of the president.

Obama’s team could easily be inexperienced enough to assume there is nothing they could do to destroy is core base – the African American voter. But this idiocy sure could do it. And if it does, then Obama has no hope of winning and Romney could be facing a Reagan-like landslide.

I tell you what, this is one of the dumbest moves I have seen in ages. Just one more sign the news and the Democrats need to be shown the door to the dustbin of history.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the recent case for domestic shooting (no one harmed) I will say I believe the sentencing was way over the top. However, the case illustrates what I have been saying about the Trayvon Martin case for some time.

That is: the use of a firearm in self defense requires a clear and present danger, not a feeling based on emotion.

Here is the situation that transpired:

Alexander said she was attempting to flee her husband, Rico Gray, on August 1, 2010, when she picked up a handgun and fired a shot into a wall.

She said her husband had read cell phone text messages that she had written to her ex-husband, got angry and tried to strangle her.

She said she escaped and ran to the garage, intending to drive away. But, she said, she forgot her keys, so she picked up her gun and went back into the house. She said her husband threatened to kill her, so she fired one shot.

…

Corey said the case deserved to be prosecuted because Alexander fired in the direction of a room where two children were standing.

Here’s the rub. While the gun was discharged to ward off attack, the “attacker” in this situation had not yet reached a point where deadly force was considered proper. But there is more

Alexander’s attorneys tried to use the state law that allows people to use potentially deadly force anywhere they feel reasonably threatened with serious harm or death.

But a previous judge in the case rejected the request, saying Alexander’s decision to go back into the house was not consistent with someone in fear for her safety, according to the Florida Times Union newspaper.

This is the whole thing about avoiding conflict. You cannot take actions and make decisions that create a confrontation and then use the confrontation as a self defense. Personally I am stunned at the outcome, since the man had apparently tried to strangle the women. But the law is clear, she had escaped and she should have called police, not armed herself and gone back in.

This is why Zimmerman is in such deep trouble. He too had opportunities (many of them) to stand back and avoid the conflict. He defied police direction to do so. This woman fired a warning shot – Zimmerman killed a kid. She was in her home, Zimmerman was in a public space.

The story also explains why I think Zimmerman should avoid a jury trial and actually plea deal:

After the sentencing, Rep. Corrine Brown confronted State Attorney Angela Corey in the hallway, accusing her of being overzealous, according to video from CNN affiliate WJXT.

“There is no justification for 20 years,” Brown told Corey during an exchange frequently interrupted by onlookers. “All the community was asking for was mercy and justice,” she said.

Corey said she had offered Alexander a plea bargain that would have resulted in a three-year prison sentence, but Alexander chose to take the case to a jury trial, where a conviction would carry a mandatory sentence under a Florida law known as “10-20-life.”

Virginia is just as strict. With your CCP permit comes harsh penalties for stepping a hair out of line. Let me repeat – this sentence is unjustified and unfair. The conclusions are correct, the punishment ridiculous. Hopefully the Governor will intervene and set it to something reasonable.

Now, I want address the incident map and show how Zimmerman was not likely to have been ‘jumped’ by Martin.  In fact the map shows just the opposite:

You can click to enlarge, but the key points here are

• C – Zimmerman’s truck, where he left it armed to chase down Martin
• E – Where Zimmerman ended up thinking Martin would try and leave the neighborhood (it never dawned on him Martin had a right to be there and lived in the nearby buildings)
• G – Martin’s residence
• F – The site of the physical altercation and killing of Martin

Now a lot of people claim Martin ‘doubled back’ to confront Zimmerman. That is pure BS given this map. Martin would not know where Zimmerman is because he sprinted down between the buildings and likely did make it to is house. He also probably assumed the coast was clear, having stayed between the buildings for a long time (as everyone admits given the phone call time line). Zimmerman could be anywhere since he was in a truck.

Zimmerman is actually standing in the parking lot out of site of Martin. There is no proof Martin knew where Zimmerman was, anymore than Zimmerman knew where Martin was.

So the story goes thus: Zimmerman ends his 911 call to head back to his truck from Point E. There is a straight line between C and E right down the walkway.

But look where F took place!

F is not on that straight line to Zimmerman’s truck. It is on Martin’s path to/from home. There is nothing against Martin assuming the nut job (Zimmerman)  had left. Martin reasonably could have assumed the coast was clear and went back to his phone call with his girlfriend.

But Zimmerman must have seen him down the path and diverted his heading. Zimmerman HAS to have walked towards Martin for the event to occur where it did. Which blows Zimmerman’s story out of the water. Zimmerman was the consistent instigator. And like the case above, he had no right to go armed after Martin. None.

Zimmerman is toast.

Tags: George Zimmerman, Stand Your Ground, Trayvon Martin

A lot of my readers do not understand why I have such confidence in the fact George Zimmerman was rightly charged in the death of Trayvon Martin. Most of their angst is due to the fact they let politics enter into their thinking and – whether they admit it or not – they don’t want Al Sharpton to be even partially right on this. So they defend the indefensible.

Personally I could care less about Sharpton. Whether he is right or wrong has no bearing on this. What does matter is how the incident played out and what are the laws when it comes to concealed weapons and the right to stand your ground.

Some background is in order, because I am not naive to these kinds of situations. I have had a gun pulled on me, and one threatened to be pulled on me. A passenger in my car pulled a knife on some guys harassing us late at night, and I hung out on the wrong side of the tracks at times. Sadly these kinds of incidents are not unknown to me.

Continue Reading »

Tags: George Zimmerman, Stand Your Ground, Trayvon Martin

Apparently the 2010, insurgent Tea Party voter (as opposed to any attempt to organize an actual political party) is alive and well in Indiana. And my guess it is alive and ready to vote change in all 50 states and the White House this year.

While the GOP tried mightily to co-op these independent, centrist voters it really never worked. The GOP simply looked like the better foundation through which to begin a political revolution. The GOP supposedly is the party of small, limited government. But after the GOP caved in 2011 on real, near term cuts in government, it became clear the establishment GOP was as addicted to government power as the liberals. So more change is coming.

This morning the nation wakes up knowing it can (and will) throw out those politicians who are too set in their ways, and too able to stymy actual cuts in government. Dick Lugar was one of these ‘statesmen’ who knew how to play the Senate – yet he (and too  many others) allowed the Democrat Senate to run in neutral for 3 years, never once meeting its constitutional requirement to pass federal budgets to run the government. Instead of the promised action after the 2010 election wipe out, we are stuck with terminal inaction and those stupid promises of future good behavior.

In my mind, Lugar is one of nearly 100 pols who need to be retired. So while a good start, the job is not done yet.

DC is all twitter that Richard Mourdock (has the backing of Libertarians and Tea Party types.

No duh!

Hopefully more will be on the way. It may take a decade to clean house – but sooner or later DC will bow to the will of We The People.

Can’t help but end this by noting a bit of panic from Jim Carville:

Democratic fundraisers, activists, supporters, and even politicians alike have somehow collectively lapsed into the sentiment that the president is going to be reelected and that we have a good shot to take the House back while holding the Senate.

I ask: What are you smoking? What are you drinking? What are you snorting or just what in the hell are you thinking?

…

The polling? Not that encouraging. The latest Democracy Corps poll was 47-47. The Real Clear Politics average of polls has the president up a whopping three-tenths of a percentage point. And I am hearing the garbage that Democratic donors are telling Democratic fundraisers …”Obama has it in the bag.”

Well, Obama does have his epic “FAIL!” in the bag. Here is the key data point. Obama is sitting in too many polls at 45% or lower. That is the point of no return for incumbents. I suspect he will drift all the way down to around 40% over the summer as two things transpire.

First, most 2010 insurgent voters are so fed up they have tuned out politics. You see it in the low turn out in the primaries, and you see it in the dropping readership/viewership of political shows and electronic outlets. They wake up on occasion, but mostly they are biding their time until November.

Second, the polls are not yet sampling likely voters. So when Obama is up by 3 he could really be down by 3.  And if he is tied he could be behind by 5-6%.

When these two factors shift late summer the Dems are going to have a rude awakening.

It is a well established fact of history that broad economic hardship leads to chaos and strife, which leads to mass/mob anger and panic – which can easily lead to brutal dictatorships and  then mass graves. Hard economic times do not have to follow this progression, but brutal regimes do arise from chaos and strife.

This is how Hitler was able to rise to power leveraging the economic pain imposed after World War I:

Adolf Hitler’s rise to power began in Germany (at least formally) in September 1919 ^[1] when Hitler joined the political party that was^[2] known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (abbreviated as DAP, and later commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). This political party was formed and developed during the post-World War I era. It was anti-Marxist and was opposed to the democratic post-war government of the Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles; and it advocated extreme nationalism and Pan-Germanism as well as virulent anti-Semitism.

Emphasis mine.

For all those who do not know this period well, the antisemitism was wrapped in a blanket of hate towards bankers, financiers and those with money:

Adolf Hitler’s National Socialism party rose to power in Germany during a time of economic depression. Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s economic woes. Hitler’s book Mein Kampf (German, My Struggle) included the following passage which was representative of much of the antisemitism in Germany and Europe: “The Jewish train of thought in all this is clear. The Bolshevization of Germany – that is, the extermination of the national folkish Jewish intelligentsia to make possible the sweating of the German working class under the yoke of Jewish world finance – is conceived only as a preliminary to the further extension of this Jewish tendency of world conquest…. If our people and our state become the victim of these blood-thirsty and avaricious Jewish tyrants of nations, the whole earth will sink into the snares of this octopus.“^[117]

Communism is based on the same general premise – the rich are bad and only the loving (death) embrace of the government can save the masses:

A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism, typically with socialism as an intermediate stage. The idea that a proletarian revolution is needed is a cornerstone of Marxism; Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by and for the working class. Thus, in the Marxist view, proletarian revolutions need to happen in countries all over the world.

Communist Russia and Nazi Germany together represent the deaths of tens of millions of innocent civilians, and also tens of millions of military personnel who had to sacrifice themselves to free the world of this evil cancer. As the World War II generation begins to fade into history, we apparently have forgotten how such evil came to take control of so much of the world.

It was not all that hard for this evil to grow – once broad economic hardship became rampant in Europe.

Fast forward to modern Europe, and the parallels are very disturbing.

In France and Greece, voters have rejected “austerity”–the idea that European governments should live within their means. In Italy, too, anti-austerity candidates are currently leading in the polls. French Socialist François Hollande vows to continue running huge deficits so that he can hire more public sector workers; in a burst of stupidity, he announced that “My real enemy is the world of Finance.” I suppose there could be a surer way to impoverish your country than to declare war on the flow of capital, but I can’t think of one offhand.

…

One might think it obvious that no country can live beyond its means forever by borrowing money which it can’t possibly pay back. But voters in countries like Greece and France apparently think: it has worked so far, why not keep it up? Realistically, it will work until creditors–Germany, mostly–decide to pull the plug. Then there will be default, some form of bankruptcy, some degree of chaos.

Some degree of chaos?

When I hit that line I realized we may not be taking this as seriously as we should. Are the leftist measure truly meant to end economic hardship? Is it stupidity that drives the new French leader to drive faster over the economic cliff? Or is it a need for more chaos and strife?

Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday laid out the radical agenda he hopes to pursue if he becomes prime minister, including the cancellation of international loan agreements to Greece that forced the country into sharp budget cuts.

He also called for state control of the banks as he started efforts to form a governing coalition in the wake of parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Ahh. Those evil bankers again. And will this help or hurt Greece? The obvious answer is ‘hurt’. So obvious one wonders what it takes to pretend otherwise.

The Occupy Idiocy movement here in the US is an impotent echo of the leftist European as they too keep pointing to the 1% with all the money. Sadly, you can take away all the money from that 1% and it will not have any significant impact on the financial status of the other 99%. The top 1% already pay most of the taxes, therefore footing the bill for endless big government screw ups. There is just nothing better than growing the economy and shrinking government. Nothing.

This has become crystal clear in the US after the Democrats’ socialist deficit spending and failed government stimulus spending. Those shovel ready jobs were a myth in 2009, and remain a myth today.

The world is hurting from bureaucratic failure, not successful people.

But if you look at the rhetoric of the left it has changed very little since the days of the Communists and Nazis that plagued the globe in the early 20th century. Today we don’t have the evil capitalist tagged to the Jews in Europe (which I am sure the Jews are grateful for), but Jews are still the bane of the Mideast and Muslim enclaves. Today the enemy is just bankers, not Jewish bankers.

The Jews in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia were just a convenient vehicle for the core message – hate democracy, hate capitalism, hate individual success, let a strong-arm bureaucracy determine fairness. The fact these same failed ideologies are being trotted out again on the world stage in Europe just goes to show Europeans have not yet rid themselves of the cancer that plagued them almost 100 years ago. They apparently want one more shot at totalitarian corruption.

Therefore, there is going to be another round of Capitalism (the individuals and companies)  vs Government (Fascist, Socialist, Communist – does not matter really). And as many now realize, it will come with more than a degree of chaos. Europe appears to be in for a very rough ride.

But one truth is immutable, and that is the individual spirit will win out over the bureaucracy over time. Hopefully this round we keep the destruction and pain to a minimum, and simply use economic competition to win this round. But in the end, the lazy collective will once again lose to the spirited free market.

Tags: Communists, Democrats, EU, France, Greece, Nazis, Obama, Socialists

One thing that always amazes me with the left is their idiotic drive to believe in a biased number over brutal reality.  Last week the monthly unemployment numbers came out and we are supposedly on a glide path to economic repair because the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1%.

The fact is the 8.1% unemployment number is a sad joke. The number is based on an ever shrinking workforce size – which has been shrinking as people have given up on jobs and/or their unemployment support runs out. The fact is if you allow for a steady work force size, based on historical ratios to population size, then the current unemployment rate for April 2012 is 10.3%!

Why the government cannot or will not truly assess the economic situation is beyond me. Simply because if you understand the underlying economic issues, then you can address them (versus address some lesser issue or ignore the problem all together). This administration and this bloated bureaucracy is focused on CYA – not solving problems. Which makes their numbers as useless as their mythical shovel-ready jobs where when Obama took office.

Anyway, the method for computing the real unemployment is pretty straight forward. The growth in work force size has been very steady over the years, growing with the population. This can be seen in the April workforce graph below (blue area) for all Aprils since 2000. Note how even 9-11 and two wars did not impact the workforce growth (click to enlarge).

Since workforce changes over the year for seasonal reasons (e.g., high before Christmas, high in the Summer) it is best to look at one month over the decade to see this phenomena.

As can be seen in 2008 we finally hit a jolt that derailed the economy enough to hurt the workforce level. This can be seen for all the months I have run over the past year (see here, here, here, here, here for examples).  The fact the pattern shows up for every month is how we know this is not a seasonal issue, but a systemic problem with our economy. The red line shows where the workforce should be (and in this case there should be 3,385,000 more workers working). To compute the actual unemployment you simply compare those working against the nominal workforce level, not Obama’s shriveling one.

Clearly Obama and the Democrats failed to fix the economy with all their government, deficit spending. All that spending and look at the workforce level – still a mess. At least now we know trickle down government spending never works. We can put that little socialist concept into the dustbin of history where it belongs.

The real problem for the Democrats is this: no fudging of numbers can correct reality. The workforce is smaller – and making less. Therefore the economy has shrunk like never before in most of our lifetimes. A lot of able bodied people are out of work or working for less than before. And their lack of purchasing power is impacting every business in the country. This is what is really happening.

This is a sign of utter failure by the Democrats. And the hole they dug for us all will require too many years to work our way out of – unless we take a budget axe to government and stop deficit spending and begin a serious program off debt reduction. Can we afford four more years of this?

No.

The same story can be found here, using different data to reach the same conclusions.

Tags: Democrats, Economy, Jobs, Obama

A good (but not perfect) tell for when someone is trying to cover up is how they ‘refine’ their story over time. And apparently someone is trying to refine Zimmerman’s claim that 17 year old Trayvon Martin – armed with a bag of Skittles – was a threat to George Zimmerman and, therefore, had to be killed. Here’s the new twist being ‘leaked’ to the media:

George Zimmerman told investigators that while he was on the phone with a Sanford police dispatcher reporting Trayvon Martin as suspicious, the teenager was circling his vehicle on foot, a source familiar with the investigation told the Orlando Sentinel.

The source said Zimmerman’s account of events hasn’t changed in his several statements to police — in which he said he was so unnerved by the teen’s behavior that he rolled up his window to avoid a confrontation.

I call BS on this. If George Z is so damn wigged out by Trayvon, why did he get out of his truck? Why did he reject the dispatcher’s direction to not follow Martin?  Why was he so angry when he said over the 9-11 call:

“These assholes they always get away”

Is this why he grabbed his gun? So scared he rolled up the window, then grabbed his gun and chased the suspect behind buildings – out of sight of most people?

This is complete incoherence in terms of a rationale for an unnecessary death. A death that would have been avoided if George Zimmerman did not try and play policeman and chase Martin into a confrontation he ended up losing – until he pulled the gun and killed a good kid.

Sorry, but this little trial balloon is not helping Zimmerman at all. The story goes on to shoot (no pun intended) more holes in Zimmerman’s quickly concocted excuse:

One of those inconsistencies: Zimmerman told police Trayvon had his hand over Zimmerman’s mouth during their fight on the night he shot Trayvon.

The Sentinel’s source confirmed that Zimmerman’s statements include that allegation. But authorities do not believe that happened, the source told the Sentinel, because on one 911 call, someone can be heard screaming for help. If it were Zimmerman, as he claims, his cries were not muffled, the source said.

Zimmerman also told police, the source told the Sentinel, that while the two were on the ground, Trayvon reached for Zimmerman’s gun, and the two struggled over it.

Those portions of Zimmerman’s account are not corroborated by other evidence, the source said.

I have always suspected the calls for help began when Zimmerman threatened Martin with his gun and Martin realized he was in real trouble. The right to stand your ground conveys to Martin as much as Zimmerman. More so if one realizes a kid being tracked by some lune in a truck is more threatening than a kid eating candy in a hoody. Who was experiencing the more threatening scenario?

Zimmerman is trying to claim it is him, but each time he does he argues against why he got out of the truck with his gun. Martin had the right to stand his ground – and Zimmerman killed him when he did.

Tags: Gun, Martin, Zimmerman

Well isn’t this special:

A covert group of EU foreign ministers has drawn up plans for merging the jobs currently done by Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

The new bureaucrat, who would not be directly elected by voters, is set to get sweeping control over the entire EU and force member countries into ever-greater political and economic union.

Big Brother is apparently attempting to arrive – if not a few years late. After a disastrous run in the US, the far left is beginning to realize it will lose ground again in 2012, just like it did in 2010 (albeit, not as dramatically). To this end all the stops (in terms of thinking, common sense, living within the rules, etc) are being tossed out as the left grabs for the mythical power they so crave.

Apparently the radical left (which I separate from the overly empathic left who want to undo every single bad personal choice ever made) are sensing the time is now, or never. Which – thankfully – both lead to “never”:

Supporters of the move believe that the rival presidencies are undermining the EU’s ability to speak with a single voice. They argue that merging the two jobs will create a powerful European leader who is capable of pursuing the federalist dream of a united Europe which has been severely shaken by the eurozone crisis.

Lord Stoddart confirmed the existence of the plot thanks to a parliamentary written answer in the House of Lords. He asked Foreign Office ministers to reveal what they knew about the merger talks.

In other words, the EU will make sure the poor dumb masses do what they are told – or else.

This has created the expected backlash to the imperial over-reach:

Marine Le Pen wants to bust the French political system — and people across Europe and beyond should take note.

Her stunning score in the first round of French presidential elections won her anti-immigrant National Front a place in the Europe-wide march of nationalist — sometimes extremist — parties toward seats of power.

Le Pen’s rage will be on millions of voters’ minds, both her critics and fans, as they elect a president Sunday.

This over-hyped AP story sheds as much light on the media puppets of the socialist left  as it does on the turmoil. What La Pen says is not all that controversial:

“Islamism is the totalitarianism of religions and globalization is the totalitarianism of trade,” Le Pen, who won almost 18 percent of the first round vote, said at a news conference this week. “The nation is the only structure capable” of vanquishing the evil.

I would go further and say the law abiding citizen of a nation is the only defender of evil. But this is not neo-nazis at the gate (apparently what happens when the left loses).

The left is imploding across the spectrum, and Occupy “Whatever!” is leading the implosion:

What a lucky, lucky week this has been for Greater Cleveland — especially for whichever unsuspecting souls were driving across the Ohio 82 bridge across the Cuyahoga Valley while five petty criminals associated with Occupy Cleveland were trying to community organize it.

The Occupiers, authorities tell us, thought they had rigged the span with plastic explosives that would detonate when they punched a code into a cellphone.

Sooooo – killing innocent commuters (with children aboard most likely) is not really another Timothy McVeigh act of terrorism, but some sort of high-browed, reasoned, action against ‘the man’. I guess blowing up bridges would make those shit-bombs preferable?

As mob-based beatings and killings spread, as the destruction of the mindless and incapable left spreads, as the zealots become more desperate and radical, they will only harm Obama and the Democrats.The voters will not allow the left wing nuts to run the place again if the results are economic destruction, followed by violence when the nuts are fired for their incompetence.

The one group I feel the most for is the African American community. There is a good chance that, if there is a wave of violence in support of Obama and against the GOP, it will be unfairly seen as a judgement on the first black president (as opposed to a judgement on the most inexperienced, left wing president in modern times). If this happens, then it will be a long time before Americans feel secure in trusting the overall minority community to be mature and respectful in leadership. If Obama allows this madness to arise, he will be stained with it forever.

And this stain will unfairly (in my opinion) spread to minorities. I too weary of the old-white-man leadership model here in America (even though I are one). I especially look forward to our own Maggie Thatcher. So I fear a scenario which extends the monopoly on poitical power for these  old-white-men. And I see what is beginning to be a horrible conclusion to a horrible presidency. And it is all so avoidable if the left stops being so insane.

Something unlikely to happen.

Tags: EU President, Feces, GOP, Obama, Occupy Wall Street

History is replete with the social upheaval of scientific revolution. In this repeating saga of humanity, there are always two camps: the established ‘consensus’ and the heretical new thinkers.

The most infamous of these upheavals was the debate between the terra-centric (flat earth types) and heliocentric camps of the renaissance. The consensus was held by the Catholic Church who had determined (with loose and unfounded logic) that the Earth was the center of the universe – and they it’s smartest and most wise (of course)

The heretics were those watching and measuring reality: Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Nicolaus Capernicus and Galileo Galilei - some of humanity’s most brilliant and open minded scientists. As these people began to observe the heavens and make precise measurements night after night, they began to unravel the mysteries of the night sky. They discovered planets, theorized about them orbiting a large mass, and finally discovered the Earth actually revolved around the Sun.

For these amazing achievements these people were prosecuted by the naysayers of the Church:

Nicolaus Copernicus (German: Nikolaus Kopernikus; Italian: Nicolò Copernico; Polish: Miko?aj Kopernik (help·info); in his youth, Niclas Koppernigk;^[1] 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.^[2]

Copernicus’ epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), published just before his death in 1543, is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the scientific revolution. His heliocentric model, with the Sun at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations, becoming a landmark in the history of science that is often referred to as the Copernican Revolution.

…

By 1616 the attacks on the ideas of Copernicus had reached a head, and Galileo went to Rome to try to persuade the Catholic Church authorities not to ban Copernicus’ ideas. In the end, a decree of the Congregation of the Index was issued, declaring that the ideas that the Sun stood still and that the Earth moved were “false” and “altogether contrary to Holy Scripture”, and suspending Copernicus’s De Revolutionibus until it could be corrected. Acting on instructions from the Pope before the decree was issued, Cardinal Bellarmine informed Galileo that it was forthcoming, that the ideas it condemned could not be “defended or held”, and ordered him to abandon them. Galileo promised to obey. Bellarmine’s instruction did not prohibit Galileo from discussing heliocentrism as a mathematical fiction but was dangerously ambiguous as to whether he could treat it as a physical possibility.^[53] For the next several years Galileo stayed well away from the controversy.

…

The sentence of the Inquisition was delivered on June 22. It was in three essential parts:

• Galileo was found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, namely of having held the opinions that the Sun lies motionless at the centre of the universe, that the Earth is not at its centre and moves, and that one may hold and defend an opinion as probable after it has been declared contrary to Holy Scripture. He was required to “abjure, curse and detest” those opinions.^[59]
• He was sentenced to formal imprisonment at the pleasure of the Inquisition.^[60] On the following day this was commuted to house arrest, which he remained under for the rest of his life.
• His offending Dialogue was banned; and in an action not announced at the trial, publication of any of his works was forbidden, including any he might write in the future.^[61]

I snipped these passages from the Wikipedia pages on Capernicus and Galileo. It is a disgusting and disturbing part of humanity’s history. These people looked at the world in open and objective ways and saw what was there, transpiring right in front of them. Yet the ‘consensus’ crowd was so afraid of the real facts they censored the real results and ruined the careers of these ‘deniers’ of doctrine.

Fast forward to today and you see the Church of Al Gore/IPCC replaying history. But this time they do not have the reigns of law, nor the ability to shut down and censor dissent so coldly and easily.

For a while they were able to abuse the scientific review process and stamp out contrary studies, but that could not hold and someone with a more refined conscience and a true sense of the scientific method let leak the emails that proved the conspiracy to shut out the heretics of AGW. The milder inquisition in hiding was exposed. Though some still hold out for a more violent response:

We know who the active denialists are – not the people who buy the lies, mind you, but the people who create the lies.  Let’s start keeping track of them now, and when the famines come, let’s make them pay.  Let’s let their houses burn.  Let’s swap their safe land for submerged islands.  Let’s force them to bear the cost of rising food prices.

This person needs help.

As with the Heliocentric Revolution, it takes time to finally wash away the chains of consensus and once again walk in the light of discovery. But with so many more scientists today, much more capable tools and global data banks this round of cleansing won’t take centuries.

The following story at WUWT is a harbinger of new scientific enlightenment, and recalls one of the last scientific revolutions to sweep Mother Earth:

Today the Royal Astronomical Society in London publishes (online) Henrik Svensmark’s latest paper entitled “Evidence of nearby supernovae affecting life on Earth”. After years of effort Svensmark shows how the variable frequency of stellar explosions not far from our planet has ruled over the changing fortunes of living things throughout the past half billion years.

…

By taking me back to when I reported the victory of the pioneers of plate tectonics in their battle against the most eminent geophysicists of the day, it makes me feel 40 years younger. Shredding the textbooks, Tuzo Wilson, Dan McKenzie and Jason Morgan merrily explained earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain-building, and even the varying depth of the ocean, simply by the drift of fragments of the lithosphere in various directions around the globe.

The consensus of a rigid solid crust was blown away – again by a few out-of-the-consensus-box thinkers who pulled together data into a new picture of the world around us. The story Svenmark shows is how this Earth interacts with the galaxy around us. And how that galaxy can cause conditions that increase clouds, and thus decrease global temps as we are shielded from the Sun’s life giving energy. It shows how a cool Earth with lowered sea levels loses diversity and threatens life, while a warmer Earth with higher seal levels allows diversity and evolution to explode.

It also shows how CO2 is not a driver of temperature, but a result of higher temps and more water (sort of a “duh” moment in my opinion).

There have been many other studies out recently, showing how polar ice extent today is not much different from the 1930-1940 period (which is consistent with RAW temperature records which show a similar global temp as today). Another shows how satellites have disprove the climate models, and we all know how temperatures have not increased with CO2 for going on two decades (on average).

The theory of AGW is busted and dead. Now it is just a matter of time for the media to grow up and report on it, and the politicians to disconnect themselves from the mess. And it is a mess. You would think the CRU emails would have sent a shudder through all respectable and honorable men and women of science. But the group-think surrounding CO2 is so engrained it has taken even grosser events to begin to rattle the zealots. As with the Church and Galileo, there have been outright forgeries and fakes used to try and hide the reality.

But the truth of reality will break through the fiction of zealotry. At least we can say we are getting better at getting through these disturbing moments of lax judgement.

Since this seems to be a highly debated hot topic issue I decided to provide some history and let the debate be sparked. Due to the legal implications of the definitions of the types of citizens we will be focusing only on the Constitution, US law and SCOTUS cases. We will not be relying on written opinions from non-justices.

The Constitution mentions natural born citizens, naturalized citizens, and citizens.

* Natural born citizens are recognized as “…any child that is born in the United States or one of its territories…” Children born on US soil to diplomats and other recognized foreign government officials will not receive US citizenship. “If you were born in the U.S., your U.S. citizenship will last your entire life unless you make an affirmative action to give it up, like filing an oath.” Title 8 of the US Code lists the circumstances where a person is considered a natural born citizen.

* Naturalized citizens are

A naturalized citizen is a person who was born an alien, but has lawfully become a citizen of the United States under the U.S. Constitution and laws.

A naturalized citizen has all the rights of a natural born citizen, except is not eligible as president or vice-president of the United States.

* Citizen is defined as

• individuals born in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or Swain’s Island;

• foreign-born children, under age 18, residing in the U.S. with their birth or adoptive parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization; and

• individuals granted citizenship status by Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS).

Under the Constitution natural born citizens and naturalized citizens are US citizens. There are not three types of citizenship, there are two with US citizen being an umbrella category.

Now, on to a review of the Supreme Court cases (details can be found here) mentioning citizenship.

1. US v. Villato, 2 U.S. 370 (1797) –  The Court recognizes natural born and naturalized citizens. Natural born is used in the context of general citizenship

2. Dred Scot v. Sanford, 60 U.S. 19 How. 393 393 (1856) – During the Slaughter-House Cases the Court acknowledged (albeit not officially) that this case was overruled  by the 14th Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

3. Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 21 Wall. 162 (1874) – The Court “equates ‘native-born’ with ‘natural born’ citizen, in the general citizenship context, referencing Article II’s use of the term ‘natural born.’ It notes varying authority as to whether a person born in the US to noncitizen parents may be a ‘natural born citizen’ – but does not address that issue. What is clear, however, is that the Court recognizes two – and only two – types of citizenship: natural born and naturalized.

4. Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884) – The Court states that there are “…two sources only…” of citizenship – birth and naturalization.

5. United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898) – The Court “equates a ‘born US citizen’ with a ‘natural born American citizen,’ – many times throughout the opinion, finding ultimately that a child born in the US – even if to Chinese subjects – is a US citizen.  Given the context of the full opinion, and the repeated references to the two types of citizenship – natural born and naturalized – the conclusion that Wong Kim Ark was, per the court, a ‘natural born’ US citizen is inescapable.”

6. Luria v. U.S., 231 U.S. 9 (1913) – The Court said:  “Under our Constitution, a naturalized citizen stands on an equal footing with the native citizen in all respects, save that of eligibility to the Presidency.” Once again the Court uses the term “native” interchangeably with “natural.”

7. Kwock Jan Fat v. White, 253 U.S. 454 (1920) – The Court “equates a ‘born US citizen’ with a ‘natural born American citizen,’ and notes that it is undisputed, pursuant to Wong Kim Ark, that a child born in the US – even if to Chinese subjects – is a natural born citizen.”

8. Perkins v. Elg, 307 U.S. 325 (1939) – The Court “equates a ‘born US citizen’ with ‘native born’ and ‘natural born’ citizenship.”

9. Baumgartner v. United States, 322 U.S. 665 (1944) -  The Court recognizes natural born and naturalized citizens. Natural born is used in the context of general citizenship.

10. Klapprott v. United States, 335 U.S. 601 (1949) -  The Court recognizes natural born and naturalized citizens. Natural born is used in the context of general citizenship.

11. Schneider v. Rusk, 377 U.S. 163 (1964) – The Court “equates a ‘native born’ citizen with a “natural born” citizen under Article II – and, again, recognizes only two types of citizenship: natural/native-born, and naturalized.”

12. Rogers v. Bellei, 401 U.S. 815 (1971) – The Court ‘equates a “native born’ or ‘born’ citizen with ‘natural born’ citizen status. It is worth noting, however, that the Supreme Court did create a third ‘type’ citizenship – applicable to children born abroad to US citizen parents and that the Supreme Court held that such citizenship was not “constitutional citizenship” protected by the 14th Amendment.”

Emphasis mine. The Supreme Court does not define “native born” and “natural born” differently. Since they set the legal precedence for interpreting the law, then they are interchangeable. Also, means politicians such as Rubio can be President or Vice President in this great country!

Let the debate begin!!

DJStrata

Immigration!

Senate Democrats are making plans to force a floor vote on legislation that would invalidate Arizona’s controversial immigration statute if the Supreme Court upholds the law this summer.

…

The legislation would have little chance of passing in a stalemated Senate or being approved by a GOP-held House, but it would allow Democrats to push their electoral advantage with Latino voters just as the presidential campaign heats up in July.

Only the Democrats are crafty enough to target a shrinking population which is not able to vote anyway:

The number of Mexican migrants to the United States dropped significantly while the number of those returning home increased, bringing net migration from Mexico to a statistical standstill, according to a report published Monday.

The shift over the last several years marks a significant change after four decades of historic immigration from Mexico, according to the report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

So, the Senate Dems (who can’t do their primary job and pass a federal budget to save their lives) have decided to put on a completely useless and futile media show. Which is par for the course.

What an election strategy: Save Obamacare, raise taxes, raise the price of energy and try and bring back the illegal immigrants leaving the country.

Pure genius

So, where’s AJStrata been?  Really busy is the short answer. Our little company has been growing since we are on a major program in need of our skill set, so my priorities have been outside politics and on real life.

But in addition, the political landscape is barren and boring. Every day we see another example of government corruption (see here for the woman stealing money to fund her horse farm). From the Vegas bash by a manager  at GSA (and GSA Pacific Island hopping) to the Secret Service debacle with hookers, Americans are well aware the cancer in this country is government run amok.

So when we face an election where we have to choose between to variants of intrusive and wasteful government, the nation goes back to work and life – awaiting their time to chime in.

I seriously doubt Obama will be re-elected. The only way it will happen is if We The People decide gridlock and 4 years of investigation and discussion by Congress on the role of government is the right answer at this point in time. It may be the right answer.  We should be scrubbing the government for corruption, ineptitude and waste. That will take years to review and kill as necessary.

And let Obama be the who has to defend the liberal madness. It should be hilarious.

Update: Anyway, to finish the thought since I had to go to lunch – following the bland political debate that is now occurring I have to admit to a lack of anything of interest to post. It’s so, ugly and going nowhere.

Rinse and repeat