Many of you have been following the tragic Trayvon Martin story.
So far, it's become topic A on the national news domain and continues to elicit strong feelings on both sides.
George Zimmerman, the man in Sanford, Florida who shot the unarmed, black teenager has relied on few sympathisers. One notable looks familiar.
He should.
Joe Oliver, a current WESH-TV anchor, spent considerable time at KRON in the 90's. He also had a brief stint at KCRA in Sacramento and CNN.
There were those here in the Bay Area who swore that Oliver was set to become the next Dennis Richmond. That never materialized. Oliver's glazed mug never seemed to warm over viewers and his 415 tour was dramatically shortened.
His defense of Zimmerman's act has become quite the buzz in Orlando.
*Follow me on Twitter
He also worked at PIX
ReplyDeleteJoe Oliver: "I think when the other 911 tapes are released, and the other evidence comes out, I think it will show clearly that George Zimmerman was acting in self defense,'' Oliver said. "The question is: how far did he pursue? Who made the initial contact? What started the confrontation in the first place?
ReplyDeleteThese are all legitimate points.
But it overlooks the main point.
These are questions for a court of law and a jury of peers.
As the American Culture and the Declaration of Independence enumerated Trayvon Martin's Creator-endowed rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, so does our American Culture and Constitution give George Zimmerman the right to a speedy and fair trial where his accusers are afforded the opportunity to present their case for guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a duly appointed court of law to be adjudicated by George Zimmerman's peers.
Everything else is static, posturing, and pimping personal agendas
Considering George Zimmerman has less-well,none,bruising then what Our local Sheriff created..I dont see where a gun was needed to defend himself. Zimmerman sure never sought any medical treatment.
DeleteIf you can shoot a teen for being a smartass,most will never make it to 20. Well,none would.
@5:36--LOL LOL LOL LOL!
DeleteDamn straight about smartass teenagers. I have one and that's plenty!
"Zimmerman sympathiser"?
ReplyDeleteWhat ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? It's shocking how this man is being railroaded in a case that the media is using to race-bait, and yet there is no outrage at the consistent gang problems where innocent black youths are shot by criminal black youths; no outrage at non-black youths killed by black youths; and so on.
It's a shame Rich has gone the route of the mainstream media on this one.
Olbermann fired again.Thats a liberal for you..then,you have Zito to Radnich..gonna milk that cow for all the cash in the world,and call it "loyalty"..lol.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Olbermann was fired for being liberal..He's just a jackass!!
DeleteRich, I wish you would add to the list of Zimmerman apologists the two morning talkies on KSFO. Melanie and the weatherman have been going out of their way to excuse Jorge Zimmerman's actions. They've blamed the victim and keep harping on "The New Black Panthers" and Rev. Al Sharpton, not sure why since they are not the real story. Hell the weatherman swears Treyvon chased Jorge! Outrageous just like his global warming book.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I thought KTVU was grooming Kreg Debro to take Dennis Richmond's place. At least that was what someone at Ch. 2 told me several years ago.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the god-damn guns.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, esp. after today's Oakland college shoot-out, where 7 were killed and 3 wounded (at last count) by just one guy in about 10 minutes. So sick of the guns.
DeleteDitto!
DeleteWell, look at 8:05, he/she has all of the facts in this case! I guess he/she was there, and witnessed this entire incident! No? Oh, ok. How about those new black panthers, why aren't they being investigated for putting a bounty on Zimmerman? Why aren't spike lee and roseanne barr (names of these losers intentionally not capitalized) being investigated for giving out people's addresses? Maybe you have a witty answer to those questions?
ReplyDeleteWow, 9:24, what a well thought out reply, I'm sure gangbangers and criminals will just handover their guns if guns are outlawed, right? Oh,and you have that little 2nd Amendment problem too, I bet that really bugs you, doesn't it?
Melanie, or are you Sussman? You don't have the facts either but you swear Trayvon chased Jorge Zimmerman and the kid deserved to die. You bring up the Black Panthers and the Reverend rather than discussing the facts of the case.
DeleteHey 2:17, can you read? I guess not! "I" never "swore" Trayvon chased Zimmerman, or claimed he deserved to die. I "bring up" the black panthers, the reverends, and everyone else because they've now MADE themselves part of this case, and have committed illegal acts in doing so. I never claimed to know facts of the case like you claimed. I guess reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.
Delete@7:35pm there you go again like your hero Ronald Reagan used to say. You must have an extreme case of ADD. Stick to the case and stop bringing up the sideshows. The facts are out there. Why must you feel the need to defend a killer and demonize a young black victim?
DeleteWow, you're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? The facts AREN'T out there, that's the point. The only thing we know FOR SURE is that there was a fight, and one person is dead. The only people who know FOR SURE what happened are Zimmerman and Martin, and, unfortunately, Martin is dead. All of the idiots calling for Zimmerman to be arrested need to wait for an investigation to be completed. They can't arrest without probable cause, and they can't convict without evidence. If they evidence isn't there, they can't just throw him in jail because idiots like you and all of these race baiters "think" he's guilty. It's just like everyone who was pissed off about Casey Anthony. Did she kill her daughter? Most likely. Was there evidence that she did? Unfortunately no, so she walked. That may be the case here, unfortunately, but eventually, everyone meets their maker, and will have to pay a price. Now take a reading comprehension class, and grow up.
DeleteWrong, 11:54. Mr. Zimmerman had no right to stalk Mr. Martin.
DeleteThat's a fact.
Mr. Martin stood his ground and if he attacked Mr. Zimmerman it is because he had thought he lost Mr. Zimmerman, who then reappeared. At that point, Mr. Martin may have challenged Mr. Zimmerman.
If he did, he had the right under Florida law to stand his ground. He just didn't have a weapon.
I believe Mr. Zimmerman will be indicted and convicted of manslaughter or second-degree murder.
It is also a fact that Mr. Zimmerman is a racist. He called Mr. Martin a "coon." Only a racist would call a black person a coon. I'm generally a nonviolent person but if someone called my granddaughters coons or my son-in-law a coon because they are part African-American, I might just resort to an ass-thumping of the person who said it. That is how repulsive and racist that term is.
Again, 11:54, Mr. Zimmerman stalked Mr. Martin. Mr. Zimmerman, the stalker, is racist.
Fact: Mr. Martin was profiled because of his race.
And this is not a case of white-on-black violence. It is a case of racist-on-black violence. A racist can be any ethnicity and race.
This issue has nothing to do with black-on-black violence.
This is an issue of racist violence. Just because the person was of Hispanic ethnicity does not negate racist profiling.
Fact: Mr. Zimmerman had no legal right to stop Mr. Martin.
Fact: Mr. Zimmerman had no legal right to stalk Mr. Martin.
Fact: Mr. Zimmerman had no legal right to ask Mr. Martin what "he was doing here."
When Mr. Martin's girlfriend fully reveals what happened, the FACT is those who defend Mr. Zimmerman do so out of ignorance and/or their own racist inclinations.
She was on the phone during nearly the entire episode, from something like four or five of the six minutes or so. (The minutes are probably different. I am paraphrasing.) One minute after her call ended, Mr. Zimmerman was pronounced dead by arriving officers.
Fact: Mr. Martin is dead because Mr. Zimmerman 1)profiled him 2) stalked him 3) threatened his safety by asking him what he was "doing there."
Fact: Mr. Zimmerman will spend most or all the rest of his life in prison.
It's very interesting to see how many of those who just knew O.J. Simpson was guilty will change their tune when it is a white/Latino man who is the supposed suspect. My my my, many of you are very predictable, especially you, Ms. Melanie.
DeleteCouldn't agree with your more about guns. Why does America have such a fixation about guns and why on earth do Democrats not have the guts to stand up and challenge the Republicans on this issue?
ReplyDeleteAnd where does it say in the constitution that individual citizens have a right to own guns? Article two talks about he right of a free militia to bear arms, that's when during that 18th century, a voluntary army (ray-tag as it was) that was cobbled together to fight off 'hostiles.'
It's a disgrace that this country still allows individuals to go out and buy assault weapons. Why does anyone need an assault weapon to protect themselves? There is nothing wrong with having a pistol or rifle in your home for protection...but assault weapons! Why? Go talk to the mother or the brother or the wife of someone who was slain by some insane idiot who was firing an assault weapon and get their opinion on this issue if you disagree with me.
I guess an 'Archie Bunker mentality' has gripped this country. It's this kind of warped logic that good ole Archie believed in and espoused during one of the All in the Family episodes backs inthe 1970s. : "To stop hijackers on planes, let's give everyone getting on a plane a gun for the flight. Then they can protect themselves and stop a hijacking in progress."
That's the same kind of warped thinking that led us to build up a ridiculous number of
nuclear weapons (10,000 warheads still active in this country!) so that we could be 'safe.'
The absurdity and paranoia of gun-lovers and the right wing is a constant source of astonishment!
Yeah, all the gang-banging thugs in Oaktown are just going to say "here you go, officer, here's my illegal weapon" if guns are outlawed. And then, they'll give all the "disadvantaged youth" quarters for their baby teeth, too...
DeleteI remember a time when police depts around the Bay Area were able to confisgate a huge number of guns by buying them from thugs (and it was worth it). But even back then, you could tell it'd never staunch the constant flow of weapons. And clearly "background check" procedures are not being honored at all. (At many gun shows, the dealers don't even check ID's, etc. and NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT.) And now you can just see the vigilante atmosphere growing..Zimmerman = case in point. Bet those Tea Partiers who so cockily swaggered into places like Starbucks, community gatherings, etc. are proud. (Please don't repeat to me that "guns don't kill people; people kill people". There is something terribly wrong with today's laws.) We need a WHOLE other approach. How many innocent people - many of them children - have to die needlessly? We might as well live in a war zone.
DeleteDid you have fun with your little rant, 11:41? I hope you did, even though it's full of "fail"!
ReplyDeleteWhat in the world are you talking about.....explain yourself 12:03pm. Your post makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThe guy was making an argument against the proliferation of guns and wondering why this country is so obsessed with them. How is that in your words: "full of 'fail'" ?
Explain myself? Why should I explain myself to you? But since you're unable to see why his rant was full of fail, I'll help you. First off, the second amendment to the Constitution gives people the right to own guns. Spare me the "it's a collective right for the states to form a militia" argument. So the first amendment, and then amendments 3-10 are individual rights, but the 2nd amendment is a collective right? That's the dumbest argument you can make, and the Supreme Court has ruled it is an individual right. One look at what the founding fathers said about owning firearms makes it clear what they had in mind; free people, owning firearms, for the purpose of defending themselves, and to prevent tyrannical governments here, like the government in England that they revolted against.
DeleteHe then rants about "assault weapons", yet is clueless as to what a true "assault weapon" is. According to the FBI UCR, "assault weapons" are used in less than 1% of crimes involving a firearm, and less than 1/4 of 1% of ALL crimes where a weapon is involved. His arguments are all the typical Brady bunch, we hate guns, and nobody should own one, arguments that aren't true, and are easily debunked.As for nuclear weapons, he's obviously never heard of "mutually assured destruction". Yeah, during the cold war, we should've let Russia stock up on nukes while we did nothing. This person is a typical, uninformed leftist.
This is Amercia, 11:41. We like our guns, our pickup trucks/SUV's/boats/off-road vehicles/grilling meat/rock-and-roll or country music, and conservative politics.
ReplyDeleteIf you take away San Francisco and Manhattan...this is us. This ain't Europe.
When I was younger and growing up in "The City", I thought that we were the center of the universe. But not what I'm back--after spending the past 22-years in the South & Midwest, I now know that what passes for "normal" here in SF "ain't normal" elsewhere.
o4:57pm: Just because you LIKE your guns, etc., does not make them right. Try taking a broader perspective.
DeleteAnd that's pretty sad, isn't it? People who value guns, big fat-ass, gas guzzling cars, fast junk food, and crappy TV, is that America of today or what? It's amazing that Obama even got elected in 2008, but that was because the economy tanked and the Obama was hip to 21st century media while McCain was rooted in the past. Plus McCain brought in an idiot who helped to sink his campaign as a vice presidential running mate.
ReplyDeleteBut there's a reason this country is now in the shitter. We value the wrong things, we're totally self-centerd, lack any kind of prospective of history, don't trust intellectuals beacuse we don't understand what they're saying, and are grossly naive when it comes to understanding what is going on outside of our borders.
In short, we're a bunch of spoiled, whining little babies!
Well 6:35, in reading your post, it seems to me like you're the whining little baby. There are many other countries on the face of the Earth, feel free to move to one where "enlightened" individuals, such as yourself, live. Oh, and don't let the door hit you in the arse on your way out!
Delete6:35pm: RIGHT ON!
DeleteBreaking news as reported by Pat Thurston just now. TWO voice experts have concluded that the voice yelling for HELP on the 911 tapes is NOT Jorge Zimmerman but rather Trayvon Martin. How do you account for that Melanie Swanson and weatherman Sussman? Get to work on spinning this one for Monday's show you creeps! This throws a bit of a monkey wrench on your theories huh mr. global warming denier? Maybe you can consult with dr. histrionics for an answer!!! Hahaha
ReplyDeleteThe KSFO local hosts are shameful in their defense of Mr. Zimmerman. It was he who stalked Mr. Martin and it was Mr. Martin who stood his ground. He just didn't have a weapon. Had he had a weapon, perhaps he would have shot Mr. Zimmerman, and the NRA would be hailing Mr. Martin as a hero because he shot and killed Mr. Zimmerman and "stood his ground." Oh, wait, Mr. Martin was a young black man. No matter what he did, KSFO and the conservative mainstream media would blame him, stereotype him and demonize him. I also wonder why Rich is not going after KSFO. In another matter, if I heard correctly, on Friday or Thursday, the substitute for Mr. Sussman said that a swastika should be placed on President Obama's forehead. Ms. Morgan, if I am correct, vehemently rejected that comment, as she should. I commend her for that; however, her comments about Mr. Martin are shameful. Why bring in Mr. Martin's background, his suspensions (my son was suspended from middle school several times and he ended up working the intelligence on one of our nation's nuclear subs. Why not bring up Mr. Zimmerman's past failure as a "carnival" security guard, where I believe he was fired. Why not bring up a former colleague of Mr. Zimmerman who said Mr. Zimmerman was overly aggressive? Mainstream conservative media has gone crazy on this one, like the nut on Glenn Beck's Web site. Signed: a conservative.
ReplyDeleteThe reaction from 7:53 pm is a typical of those who wave the flag and proclaim: "My country, right or wrong!" These are the same idiots who claim that our soldiers were "protecting our way of life," when we invaded Iraq under false pretenses.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that makes this a great country is that we can disagree with each other and do it publicly without fear recrimination. I think we all appreciate that, but sometimes take it for granted. Just because someone is disturbed by the slothful, ignorant behavior that is more readily displayed today in America than ever before, and just because that person makes it a point of
illustrating it doesn't mean that they should "move to another country" as 7:53pm suggests.
But what do you expect from some right-wing nit-wit who probably is clutching his gun and his bible to his chest, and telling anyone who will listen to him that great Americans are idiots like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of those criminals in the Bush administration.
I am amazed when people vehemently criticize Obama, who has been in office for only a little better than three years, but don't say peep about George W, under who's 8 year watch we were attacked by terrorists and also under who's leadership deregulation accelerated, leading to malfeasance in the banking industry which contributed to the current economic meltdown.
But I guess revisionist history is a part of the play book of the stubborn right winger. They constantly forget that it was the conservatives who approved of the racist behavior of southern leaders who opposed Civil Rights in the 1960s, it was the conservatives who fought against environmental safeguards established by this country in the 1970s, and it was the conservatives who pushed for a costly and unnecessary war in Iraq which costs billions of dollars, not to mention thousands of American and Iraqi lives.
I love it when people like 7:27 claim that conservatives opposed civil rights, then throw out terms like "revisionist history"! Who was it that opposed civil rights in the 60's? Oh, that's right, none other than Mr. "I make billions off my global warming scam" Al Gore's dad and the democrats! I don't like being told to change my views because someone else THINKS I'm slothful, ignorant or whatever else. You leftists HATE anyone who doesn't share your views, how "open minded and tolerant" of you! I also love all the name calling from you open minded, tolerant folks in an anonymous internet forum! I wonder if you'd be so bold face to face? I'm guessing not!
DeleteI couldn't agree more with 7:27pm. What a rude, dismissive, ass
ReplyDeletethe poster from 7:53pm was. Unfortunately he needs to work out some anger management issues. The right wing nut jobs certainly are angry about everything....I guess their 'good old boy network' of privilege and exclusivity has been threatened in recent years, and he's probably longing for the good old days when women stayed in the kitchen, and we referred to African Americas as 'colored people,' or worse!
It's quite obvious that the proudly right-wing, onservative guy is not too happy with his life or the way things have gone in our country and he's lashing out at the leftist, liberal guy.
ReplyDeleteRading their back and forth diatribes, basically screaming and accusing each other with impugnity is like listening to two cardboard-cutout cartoon characters, who are spouting slogans. SAD!
Hey 1:08...you obviously dind't take American history 1A in school, because it WAS the conservatives who voted against Civil Rights.
ReplyDeleteMany were southern Democrats, but if you also remember, those same southern Democrats supported the conservative Republican Barry Goldwater for president in 1964.
Honestly, how can you look at yourself in the mirror and believe the nonsense that you spout? Are you that uninformed and dense? And no, unlike you right wing nut cases, I don't hate people who disagree with my political philosophy. Also, unlike folks such as you, I don't tell them that they're 'un-american" and should "go live in another country if you don't like it here." I happen to have had relatives that go back to time of the Pilgrims in New England, and I love this country as much as you do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be so concerned about it's future. I think even you will agree with me that there is nothing wrong with questioning the direction this country is headed and caring about keeping it on the right track.
I think we both will agree that in recent years, this country has gone to the dogs. Playing the 'blame game' doesn't help, and I admit that sometime both sides insult each other instead of making
serious, logical arguments for their cases.
But if you truly believe that global warming is some kind of a hoax, then you're almost as much of a nitwit as those who literally believe everything in the bible, or the nut cases who somehow think that our NASA trips to the moon were just government hoaxes and actually never occurred.