George Zimmerman

More about George Zimmerman....   The man was found not guilty four months ago.  He's been warned once and ticketed once for speeding,  He's been taken into custody twice since then due to reports of domestic disturbance, but only arrested and charged this Monday.  He claims that he is indigent, has no home address, and owes $2.5 million in debt.  He was allowed to bond out of jail for $9,000 - after reportedly pointing a shotgun at his girl friend's face, threatening her, and breaking a glass table inside her home.  In September, police were called to Zimmerman's wife's home - both were taken into custody, but both told such conflicting stories that police released them both because there was not evidence supporting either story.
  Monday, 911 dispatchers received two calls, almost simultaneously - one from George Z, inside his girlfriend's mobile home, and one from the girlfriend who had been locked out by her boyfriend, Zimmerman.  They both told strange stories to the police.  George Z said his girlfriend and he were discussing things, and suddenly "just went crazy."  The girlfriend said that after she asked him to move out, he became violent, broke the glass table, and threatened her, pointing a shotgun in her face.  She said, according to news reports, that he had two handguns, an AK-15, and the shotgun in his possession.  She said as he was leaving - moving out - at her request, he started throwing his belongings around, and one piece of his luggage crashed through and broke a glass dining room table.  After she started yelling at him for breaking the table, he got out the shotgun, and threatened to kill her.
  Zimmerman's story is that the girlfriend told him she was pregnant, and that, due to his notoriety, she wanted him to move out, but that he would share parenting responsibilities. He said that as he was gathering his belongings, she started throwing things at him and became verbally abusive.  He, therefore, pushed her out the door of the mobile home, locked the door and barricaded himself inside.  Then he called 911.
  The girlfriend said that she was not pregnant, and just wanted him out - she was afraid of him and the four guns he carried with him everywhere.
  One of the conditions of Zimmerman's release on bond was that he turn in all his guns to the police.  -  Hallelujah!  The authorities have finally taken this man's guns away.  Even though I live two-thirds of a continent away from Florida, I feel safer.  ...  Now I am waiting to see what happens when he appears in court once more...

Wondering

I'm going to try to complete my "things I'm wondering about" blog that was interrupted Monday afternoon. I'm still wondering about Jimmy, Black Caviar's brother, in Australia.  The vets' still say he's in "stable condition" and that he appears to be making progress.  His pain medications are being slowly decreased, and he ate well over the weekend.  Considering the amount of care he has been given, I hope that the colt will make it to the breeding shed, even if he doesn't make it to the track.
   Here it is Wednesday, and I'm still wondering about the newspaper headlines Monday morning that described Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning as "hobbled."  Peyton had extra bracing, padding, and tons of tape around his high right ankle strain.  It looked thick and ungainly.  But, during the entire game, Cris Collingsworth was watching Manning's movements, and he only made one comment about the quarterback seeming to be hampered by the sprain and the extra support.  And, really, "hobbled?"  I have hobbled horses many times in my life, and Peyton Manning was not moving as if he had a pair of hobbles around his ankles. Hobbles can vary widely in materials they are made of, in width around the "ankle," and in the length of the strap/chain/rope that determines the size of step a horse can take.  Peyton Manning was not hobbled in any way, shape, or form.
  I'm still wondering about the five children in the care of the couple in Monroe, Union County, North Carolina.  Their Foster Care license expired in 2010 - three years ago.  They lived in Union County, but the children were supposedly under the supervision of a neighboring county's Social Services.  It turns out that the children were home schooled, and this is why no teachers, counselors, or administrators were aware of their plight.  No social worker had visited the family in more than three years.  What still astounds me is that the female of the couple was the Director of Social Services in Union County, where they resided.  It still blows my mind.
   I'm wondering about the laws of our country - the man who attacked the woman next door on Monday afternoon was released from jail Tuesday afternoon.  The only reason I know this is because two men, who didn't live in the building, came walking down the hall this morning, looking for names on door plates.  (I think there are six apartments out of 80 that actually have a name posted.)  I asked if I could help them find someone, and they said they were Boulder PD detectives, and wanted to see Britta and Ted, the folks next door.  I told them that Britta had walked her bicycle out the front door less than 3 minutes earlier, and that ted was in jail. That's when they told me that Ted had been released Tuesday night, and wanted to know if I had seen him....  They left their card on her door, with a request that she call them.
   The other reason I'm wondering about the laws is because of George Zimmerman. He was found "not guilty" of second degree murder in the killing of an unarmed youth in Florida.  Since he was exonerated by the jury, he has been stopped for speeding in Texas and given a warning; he received a $256 ticket for speeding in Florida a month later; in September, police in Florida arrested both Zimmerman and his wife for a domestic dispute, but released both without any charges, because both stories seemed plausible, but both were also contradictory, and they had no evidence; George Z was arrested again in Florida this past Monday for a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor domestic violence battery and criminal mischief.  He was released today on a $9,000 bond - after claiming he was indigent, had no fixed address, and was currently in debt to the amount of $2.5 million.   ....  More tomorrow.

Jury Says Zimmerman "Not Guilty"

When I read that headline a few minutes ago, I was flabbergasted.  I still am.  I realize I was not on the jury, and was not presented the evidence and testimony in the way that the jury received it, in the trial of George Zimmerman, accused of Second-Degree Murder in the death of Trayvon Martin.  Being interested, and having grown up in the South, I have read daily about the trial.  I know that six women, five of them white, made up the jury for this trial.  A lot of people say that this is not about race - I feel, very deeply, that it is about race.  A youngish Hispanic man saw a young African-American man walking in a mostly Caucasian housing enclave.  The Hispanic man called the police to report "a suspicious" presence.  The police told the Hispanic man to stop following the African-American.  The Hispanic man, who was armed, disregarded the instructions of the police.  He followed the African-American man in his vehicle, and then confronted him on foot.  There were words exchanged, and, probably, blows.  Then a young man in a hoodie, carrying a can of tea and a bag of candy, was shot dead by the other man.
   For me, the fact that George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, after being told by the police not to follow him, and the fact that Zimmerman was armed, with a hand gun, makes this an almost automatic "guilty" verdict dunk.
   I grew up in the segregated South.  My parents abhorred segregation, and as I grew up, I had friends with many different skin colors.  I know how some of my friends were treated - because their skin was another color, they were considered to be a "lesser" person in every way.  It was hurtful and demeaning, untrue and totally unnecessary.  This verdict is going to make waves.  Ministers, police and politicians are saying to respond to this verdict with your voice, and not with violence.  I totally agree.  Violence will not change the verdict of these six women.  Society, as a whole, needs to change - to open their eyes, and let the scales of color-blindness fall away.  Every person in this world needs to be treated equally.
   Trayvon Martin was racially profiled by another man of color, George Zimmerman.  Zimmerman was told to drop matters - to stop following Martin - by lawful authorities.  He did not stop.  He continued following, and he confronted, armed with a weapon capable of killing someone.  Had the names, races, and ages been switched - had Trayvon Martin, an African-American, followed and killed an unarmed George Zimmerman, after a confrontation that he had been told to stop, I would have found Trayvon Martin guilty.
   Color of skin doesn't matter. Your heart and your truthfulness matter.  Following instructions of law personnel matter.  Deciding to do what you feel is best is not always the best choice.  I can not feel that justice was done in this matter.  I mourn with Trayvon Martin's family tonight, and I mourn for our justice system, as well.

Add Another Colorado Wildfire

Five of the wildfires burning in Colorado are 100% contained - they will not spread any farther, unless we have some really crazy weather.  One wildfire is 95% contained, and another is 90 % contained.  The bad news is that 14 are still burning with zero containment.  At last report, the West Fork Complex fire had burned 79,182 acres, and the East Peak fire has consumed 13,491.  The we get to add the new Ox Cart fire, which is at 1200 acres.  It's amazing to me to realize how much land has been consumed by fire - just adding those three numbers comes to the equivalent of 146.68 square miles - and that is only five of the twenty-one large, noted fires burning.....
   Well, having spilled my vitriol about Custer yesterday, I feel much more light-hearted.  - And one must remember, the  only reason Custer's name continues to be remembered today, is because Libbie, his widow, lived for another 57 years after his death; and she spent every waking moment trying to convince people that her husband was a hero.....
   The New England Patriots are known for keeping their players "under wraps" with the media, so I was prepared for a summer without word of Tim Tebow.  Instead, I'm hearing and reading and seeing that Aaron Hernandez, one of the team's star running backs, has been released from his team contract after being arrested.  The charges have yet to be announced, but they are in connection with a murder, and are, possibly, just "obstruction of justice" charges - but we don't know yet.  I'd much rather be reading about Tebow's work-outs and his charitable efforts, in all honesty.
   The other "big" story is the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida.  I find it interesting that six women are sitting on the jury, and that 5 of them are Caucasian.  Mr. Zimmerman is Hispanic and is accused of killing an unarmed African-American teen... Mr. Zimmerman called in the young man as being "suspicious" as a part of his Neighborhood Watch duties; he then followed the young man, even though he he told by police not to follow Mr. Martin.  Mr. Zimmerman claims to have shot the young man in self defense.  The young man was unarmed and was carrying a can of tea and a package of Skittles; but he was shot through the heart at a close enough range to leave gun powder burns on his sweatshirt.... Somehow that just doesn't make sense to me....