The George Zimmerman Mug Shot Collection

I want to collect the entire set.

Quote of the Day: Stand Your Ground Edition

"What message are we sending someone? Don't miss? Is that what the 'Stand Your Ground' law means? Don't miss? If you miss, you get off. If you kill a young black man, you go home. That's just troubling."

Benjamin Crump, attorney for the late Trayvon Martin's family.

Crump made note that Michael Dunn fired at the friends of Jordan Davis and missed. Dunn was Dunn guilty on three counts of attempted murder. Dunn shot and killed Davis. The jury was deadlocked on whether to convict Dunn of first degree murder. Dunn's fiancee told authorities that Davis was unarmed.

Dumbass of the Day: Racism Edition

Two Florida men decided it would be a good idea to dress as George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin for Halloween. Greg Cimeno, 22, dressed as Zimmerman with a "Neighborhood Watch" T-shirt. The very white William Filene, 25, dressed as Martin and wore black face make-up. The photo above was posted on the Facebook page of Caitlin Cimeno.

The Smoking Gun reports that Filene is listed on the Florida Department of Corrections web site for auto theft. I also found that Filene has been charged with loitering or prowling.Filene was sentenced to 18 months probation.

Filene was left a trail of racist remarks in social media.

In Facebook posts last year, Cimeno referred to elderly women who wore tight pants and tube tops as “tacos,” and, when requesting that a friend contact her, she wrote, “Text ne niggs.” In August, Cimeno also posted a photo of an African American girl wearing a t-shirt reading “Black Girls Rock.” In her accompanying caption, Cimeno wrote, “First of all, sorry Hun but mommy lied to you & secondly if I was wearing a shirt that said something like the truth 'white girls rock' I would be stared at and called a racist cracker.”

Sorry pal but you really do come off as a racist.

More On the Dream Defenders

Here is a video profile of the Dream Defenders protest. The Dream Defenders have vowed to occupy the capital until "Trayvon’s Law" is passed and signed by Gov. Rick Scott. "Trayvon’s Law" would repeal Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

The Dream Defenders mission statement.

On Thursday, July 18th, the Governor finally met with us, but provided no real leadership. Rather than calling for a special session, he is calling for a statewide day of prayer to end racial profiling. But faith without works isn’t justice.

We are taking a stand not only in Trayvon’s memory, but for our worth as people and citizens of Florida. We can not allow Gov. Scott to neglect his responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of all Floridians.

We are here until our struggle for justice is won. And if we are to keep moving forward, we need your support. Governor Scott told us that we need to increase our support. We know that the people of Florida and the nation are behind us but we need to show it. Can you demonstrate you support by signing our petition?

Deputy Brings Skittles & Arizona Ice Tea to Work

Corporal Chris Wood's story makes no sense. Why did he feel the need to bring Arizona ice tea and Skittles to the Brevard County Jail.

He told supervisors he was trying to send a message about professionalism, but the message was lost in translation.

That is an understatement. Wood is facing a written reprimand and will have to undergo sensitivity training. I somehow feel there is more to this story.

Bruce Springsteen - American Skin (41 Shots)

Bruce Springsteen dedicated his performance of American Skin (41 Shots) to the late Trayvon Martin. Springsteen wrote American Skin about immigrant Amadou Diallo being shot at 41 times by the NYPD. 19 rounds hit Diallo. An investigation revealed later that Diallo was unarmed.

Springsteen made very clear during this Limerick, Ireland performance that he wanted justice for Trayvon Martin.

During the sign collecting Bruce had noticed another sign on the side of the stage and asked for it to be passed up to him, then displayed it for the crowd. It was “American Skin (41 Shots).” An immediate hush settled as we all recognized the significance of this request on the heels of the Travyon Martin trial verdict just days before. “We’ll send this as a letter back home for justice for Trayvon Martin,” Bruce said before launching into what was surely the emotional centerpiece of the show. The audience and the band both appeared to be choked with tears at points in the song; rarely had the lyric “You can get killed just for living in your American skin” sounded more tragic or true. As it wound to its end and Bruce stood alone at the mike staring straight ahead with as much tension and anger as I’ve ever seen him display during a song, just chanting “you can get killed just for living in…” over and over, it was a moment never to be forgotten and a beautiful tribute to a young life sadly wasted for no good reason.

Justice For Travon Rally Photos

Stogie has pictures of the Justice For Trayvon Martin rally at the Sam Gibbons Federal Court House in Tampa.

The Dream Defenders

Kathleen McGrory has a good article on the history of the Dream Defenders. The organization was started by Phillip Agnew after the death of 14 year-old Martin Anderson in a Florida juvenile boot camp.

Agnew has experience with civil disobedience —and prolonged stays at the Florida Capitol.

He was the student body vice president at Florida A&M University when 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson was beaten to death at a Florida boot camp in 2006. At the time, Agnew was more interested in parties than protests. But when he realized that Martin Lee Anderson was the same age as his own little brother, Agnew joined student-led efforts to demonstrate at the capitol.

That’s when he got to know Gabriel Pendas and Ahmad Abuznaid, like-minded student leaders at Florida State University.

Agnew, Pendas and Abuznaid graduated from college and went their separate ways. They joined together again to stage a protest March after the George Zimmerman killing of Trayvon Martin made the news. Dream Defenders was created after that. Agnew makes a meager living running Dream Defenders full-time. All other staff works for free.

The Dream Defenders are in for the long haul.

The group leaders say they won’t leave until Scott has convened a special session to consider a Trayvon Martin Civil Rights Act, which would repeal the Stand Your Ground law, and end the school-to-prison pipeline that has led to a high percentage of young black men being incarcerated at an early age.

Update: the Dream Defenders spend fifth day outside Scott's office.

Justice For Trayvon Rally in Tampa

There will be a Justice For Trayvon rally on July 20th. Here is the information.

WHERE:Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse

WHEN: 12:00 PM

Contact: PUSH – Persists Until Something Happens 813-325-7715 Jebony21@gmail.com

Check this link to find a rally in your part of the country.

Oh Snap!

Arianna Huffington takes President Barack Obama to task for the hypocrisy of his anti-drug policies.

Obama: Trayvon "could have been me." True, and so could many still behind bars for drug possession.

It is no secret that Obama experimented with drugs during his college days. Obama has even admitted this.That is why people were so angry for Obama allowing the Justice Department to go after medical marijuana facilities.

An analysisfrom pro-medical marijuana group Americans For Safe Access found that President Barack Obama's administration has spent nearly $300 million on combatting medical marijuana instates that have legalized the drug.

Your tax dollars at work.

Quote of the Day

"For those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these stand your ground laws, I just ask people to consider if trayvon martin was of able and armed could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened. And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws."

President Barack Obama, in the White House briefing room.

Robert Zimmerman Jr. Promotes Racism on CNN

“We have to grow from this. I want to know what makes people angry enough to attack someone the way that Trayvon Martin did. I want to know, if it is true, and I don’t know that it was true, that Trayvon Martin was looking to procure firearms, was growing marijuana plants, or was making lean, or whatever he was doing. I want to know that every minor, high schooler, that would be reaching out in some way for help—and they may feel it’s by procuring firearms or whatever they may be doing—that they have some kind of help."

Robert Zimmerman Jr., on CNN

Robert Zimmerman Jr. was asked on CNN how he could help heal the racial rift in America. Zimmerman responded by accusing Trayvon Martin of attempting to acquire a gun and grow marijuana. Zimmerman racially played-up Trayvon Martin as an angry thug. Zimmerman has no interest in racially healing America. Zimmerman used an opportunity to racial understanding to racially stereotype Trayvon Martin.

Drudge Promotes Fearmongering Post Zimmerman Trial

Leave it to Matt Drudge to falsely claim that race riots are breaking out across America. The image above was taken from the homepage of The Drudge Report by Dave Weigel. Weigel checked the links posted by Drudge and found out that we are not experiencing racial violence in America.

Instead, there are links to a white guy in Portland saying that "every cop is a target," another link to the Oakland protests from Saturday, and a headline from the Daily Mail that doesn't really jibe with the story:

Like Glenn Reynolds of InstaPundit, Drudge plays up to xenophobia. These guys are without shame.

George Zimmerman Happy in Court

George Zimmerman winks at his defense attorney Don West. Apparently, they feel confident that the case by the state is falling apart. It is hard for me to tell how the trial is going because the media coverage has been horrible and I am not an attorney.

Fox News Trayvon Martin Conspiracy Theory

Fox News never fails to float conspiracy theories and pander to racist viewers. Fox host Jamie Colby and guest Doug Burns cues up the stupidity.

“I know everybody keeps sarcastically saying about he Skittles,” Burns said. “You could probably kill somebody with Skittles.”

Fox host Jamie Colby replied, “But he didn’t take that iced tea and bang Zimmerman over the head with the bottle.”

“The thing is, yeah, you’re spinning a lot of hypotheticals,” Burns said. “And you could break a bottle of iced tea, right, with the jagged edge, and you could kill somebody with it.”

George Zimmerman's Bond

Gawker reports that George Zimmerman could soon be released on bond.

George Zimmerman, now charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, could soon be released from custody after a judge set a $150,000 bond for his release. Zimmerman's family will need $15,000, 10 percent of the total bond amount, to have him let out.

Prosecutors requested that Zimmerman be held without bond. Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. set bond at $150,000. Trayvon Martin's family was upset about the possibiltiy that Zimmerman could be free during the trial.

Zimmerman obviously understands that his past erratic behavior has not helped him. Zimmerman talked to Sean Hannity without the consent of his previous attorneys. Zimmerman also posted a photo of a vandalized black cultural center. Not the smartest move for someone whose been accused of being a racist. Zimmerman made an apology to Martin's parents. Needless to say, Zimmerman's apology failed to sway Martin's family.

Quote of the Day

"Listening to Prosecutor Corey blow herself and her staff for five minutes before pre-passing judgment on George Zimmerman. The state seeks reelection again, truth aside. I and my coworkers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, shitbag, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents, but like Mrs. Corey, we speak only the truth. They’re just misunderstood little church going angels and the ghetto hoodie look doesn’t have anything to do with why people wonder if they’re about to get jacked by a thug.”

Brian Beckmann, Miami-Dade fire captain.

For the record: Trayvon's father Tracey Martin is a truck driver. Trayvon's mother is Sabrina Fulton is a program director for the Miami-Dade Housing Authority. Trayvon Martin's parents are hard-working people. Racists like Beckmann will not let facts get in the way of stereotypes they create for people they despise.

Drudge Report Plays Up Racial Divide

Matt Drudge never fails to take the opportunity to wallow in shit.

POLL: Wide gag between races on Trayvon Martin killing... http://drudge.tw/HBJEqd

This shouldn't be a partisan or racial issue. This should be an issue about justice. Unfortunately, we live in a country where conservative talk radio hosts feel the need to take Zimmerman's side, not because they believe he is innocent, but because playing up the racial divide would drive up ratings.

George Zimmerman made this a racial issue when he described Martin as a "fucking coon" on his phone to the police dispatcher. It is an issue to many in the black community because they have seen many young men like Trayvon Martin, whom have been murdered and never received proper justice. George Zimmerman is many things but victim isn't one of them. The victim is a teenager that is dead. That is what Drudge, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh will never acknowledge.

Two Eyewitness Accounts of Trayvon Martin's Death

Mary Cutcher and Selma Lamilla tell Cenk Uygur that they do not believe that George Zimmerman killed Trayon Martin in self-defense. There eyewitness account is that Martin was lying on his stomach when Zimmerman stood over him and shot him. The women state they saw Zimmerman show no signs of a broken nose.

View the video of the interview.

Trayvon Martin Rally in Sanford

Video of the Trayvon Martin rally held in Samford, Florida yesterday. Protesters marched from a local church to the Sanford police station. The protesters called for the resignation of Police Chief Bill Lee. In an effort to keep his job, Lee temporarily resigned. Lee is kidding himself, if he thinks he can keep his job.

T-shirts calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman were seen at the rally. I'm not sure if this is an act of protest or a vender making money off of a tragedy.

In what will come as a shock to one. Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos will not have a special committee to examine Martin's death, and the Stand Your Ground law.

UPDATE: Senate President Mike Haridopolos also says “no” to a special committee on the use of the “stand your ground” law.

“The Senate President feels that Governor Scott is currently taking all of the appropriate steps to address the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin. Additionally, the Senate President is confident that the circumstances surrounding this shooting will be closely examined by lawmakers, and if the Senate concludes that laws need to be revised they will be addressed in the future,” Haridopolos’s spokeswoman Lyndsey Cruley said in an e-mail.

Haridopolos was forced to drop out of the U.S. Senate race because of his shady book deal. Haridopolos' book for Breward Community College had the appearance of a payoff to Haridopolos for school funding. Haridopolos also was admonished by the by the Commission of Ethics. Haridopolos failed to disclose his consulting firm's business. The interesting thing was Haridopolos was the only employee with MJH Consulting Company. The clients of MJH often lobbied the Florida legislature. Haridopolos was getting paid by people lobbying the Florida legislature.

Haridopolos won't have a special committee for Martin, unless there is something in it for him.