Free Republic

Our belief that the government wants to help us achieve fairness is lower than ever—leading to fantasies of lawless revenge. The events in Ferguson and elsewhere across the U.S. have launched a heated national dialogue that questions our faith in the benevolence of government institutions — especially police, judiciary, and politicians. Dead black bodies always makes us wonder whether they really have the best interests of the American people at heart, or just the best interests of some American people. Sometimes in the dense fog of passion and tear gas it is hard to see what values a country as...

“Support Daren Wilson.” These three words emblazoned at the top of the GoFundMe website in support of the Ferguson, Mo, cop who gunned down Michael Brown said it all. In the span of less than 48 hours, nearly 5,000 donations were received and the site got tens of thousands of Facebook looks and tweets. The fund’s beleaguered sponsors pleaded for patience while they tried to respond to the flood of emails that poured in supporting Wilson. The organizers announced triumphantly that they’d raised three times more than their goal. This was no surprise. The instant Wilson was fingered as the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)In Washington 21/2 years ago, the nation's top civil-rights enforcer, Thomas Perez at the U.S. Department of Justice, sat down with Sanford's mayor, city manager and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown and promised to investigate whether Trayvon Martin was the victim of something more heinous than a homicide. Was he also the victim of a killer intent on harming him because he was black? That was March 20, 2012. The Department of Justice still has no answer to that question. Civil-rights investigators are due back in Central Florida this week to continue their work on the case. The agency has repeatedly...

It was in a college theater class that I learned about a genre called “Theater of the Absurd.” These were plays written mostly by European playwrights between the 1940s and 1960s, as well as a certain style that flowed from their work. What reminded me of this is now “playing” in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was – select one – a) innocently walking down the street when a police officer shot him to death without provocation, or, b) walking with a friend in the street and told by a police officer to get...

I watched the images of police in riot gear and protesters looting stores or running from tear gas in Ferguson, Mo., this week and thought: That could have been us. What happened to Trayvon Martin isn't anything for Florida to be proud of. Neither is the state's "stand your ground" law that received so much attention in the wake of Trayvon's shooting death. But Central Florida, specifically Sanford, can take a little satisfaction in knowing that during the tense days after Trayvon was shot, this was a place where protesters peacefully demonstrated and police didn't stand in their way. People...

ENCINITAS, California — Ferguson, Missouri, and the inexplicable shooting of teenager Michael Brown, represents not only the latest episode of America’s urban war against black men—it will be far from the last. Still unresolved is another horrifying racial incident in Miami Beach, Florida. Police there have still failed, ignominiously, to clear the air about the street slaying of motorist Raymond Herisse. Herisee, 22, was killed on a South Beach street in his vehicle in a barrage of firepower that entailed more than 100 rounds of ammunition. Herisse was taken out, reports the Miami Herald, “in a frightening war-like moment that...

"Trayvon," of course, is Trayvon Martin, the black 17-year-old who was killed two months ago in Florida. "Zimmerman" is George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who shot him. Referring to Martin by his first name and Zimmerman by his last is just one small tactic in the national media campaign to make Martin's death an enduring symbol of white racism. The Trayvon campaign is accurately described as "disinformation" because deception is a fundamental part of its planning, strategy, and implementation. Leftist disinformation campaigns are common but not widely understood. This article is intended to make them easier to recognize, and...

<p>The doctor who conducted the autopsy on Trayvon Martin, and who later raised eyebrows with his uneven testimony during the trial of George Zimmerman, has released a 37-page e-book in which he argues prosecutors “hoped to lose the case.”</p> <p>Despite that claim, “Dead Men Can’t Lie,” e-book by Dr. Shiping Bao, offers no proof.</p>

Consider the very first interactions: A cop and young black male interact on the street, and both give the other a bit of attitude. The officer gives some attitude because he's tired of getting attitude from other young men, and the young man gives some attitude because he's tired of getting attitude from other cops. Now, who's at fault? This, as simple as it sounds, is how it starts. Once the infection begins, it grows quickly. If you want to say the cop's at fault because he's the adult with training, you are right. And if you want to say...

Last year, George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. But before that decision was handed down the public got the chance to hear from the young woman who was the last person to speak with Trayvon before he died, his friend Rachel Jeantel. As she testified during the case, Rachel became a public figure as the media and audiences bullied her with harsh criticisms and unfair labels. As a result of the humiliating ordeal, Rachel received an overwhelming amount of support to better her own needs and accomplish her dreams as a young woman. Now, just one year...

From voter ID laws to broken immigration detention centers, the U.S. is not the model democracy it fancies itself. Watching Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinians in Gaza over our TV screens makes it easy to forget about the human rights abuses taking place right here on American soil. Sybrina Fulton and Ron Davis, whose sons were killed in what many believe were racially motivated attacks, are using their children’s deaths to remind Americans that human rights are being violated right here in the United States. More than a year after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, Fulton felt the humiliating pendulum...

A new Trayvon Martin cartoon is causing controversy because it portray efforts to impeach President Obama as being similar to the actions of George Zimmerman. As might be expected, Republicans and conservatives were upset, but should even some Democrats and progressives be calling foul? In a related report by The Inquisitr, the civil rights movement led by the NAACP believes that so-called Trayvon Martin gun control laws should be implemented and the Stand Your Ground laws repealed even though Zimmerman’s defense team only used standard self defense. Zimmerman’s lawsuit against NBC is attempting an appeal, with his lawyers claiming...

The word stunned might best describe how U.S. citizens, particularly blacks, felt after hearing that a six-member jury, following two days of deliberation in a Florida courthouse last July, found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. One year later, with increased cases in which defendants have used the “stand your ground” law to avoid prosecution, civil rights leaders and activists have ramped up efforts to challenge a criminal justice system that often treats blacks and women as second-class citizens. “Blacks seeking justice must continue with protests, pressure and patience,” said Benjamin Crump, the civil...

Police: Acquitted killer was there 'as a friend'George Zimmerman, the man who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford in February 2012, was in DeLand over the weekend, providing security for Pompano Pat's on South Woodland Boulevard, the DeLand Police Department said. And reports of his presence prompted threats of violence against the business and its owner, a store employee said. Pompano Pat's, which sells guns and motorcycles, is owned by DeLand mayoral candidate Pat Johnson. Johnson is challenging incumbent Mayor Bob Apgar in the Aug. 26 election. Three hours after the story broke online, Pompano Pat's issued a press release...

Although he's not a hired security officer, George Zimmerman has been "patrolling" outside a Volusia County gun shop after it was recently robbed, according to the store owner. Pat Johnson told Local 6 that Zimmerman is not an employee of his DeLand store Pompano Pat's, which sells firearms, ammunition and motorcycles. Johnson said that Zimmerman, on his own accord, has been spotted outside the store since the robbery earlier this month. The thieves stole rifles worth up to $5,000 and two mini-bikes, according to Johnson. Johnson added that although he knows Zimmerman, he has not hired him as a security...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — George Zimmerman has filed a notice to appeal the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal and three reporters. The appeal notice was filed Tuesday with the Seminole County Clerk of Courts. Judge Debra Nelson on June 30 dismissed Zimmerman's lawsuit, saying the former neighborhood watch leader had failed to show the network acted with malice.

Trayvon Martin never lived to see his 18th birthday, but the slain Florida teenager is slowly becoming one of the most important figures in the modern civil rights era. Martin was walking to his home in a gated Florida neighborhood in 2012 when neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman mistook him for a burglar. After a brief struggle, Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, an act that a jury later deemed justified. The case aroused racial tensions and immediately became a cause celebre among activists who believed that police did not follow through on charging Zimmerman simply because Martin was a...

The controversial figure of Trayvon Martin is either a civil rights icon or a thug depending on who you talk to about the issue. With the one year anniversary of the George Zimmerman trial having just passed recently, some people fear these tensions could erupt into riots in major cities. In a related report by The Inquisitr, the name of Trayvon Martin was used as a slur by one woman, and she was arrested as a result. President Obama made a controversial remark recently when he talked about black people “acting white.” Last week, some people contended that the George...

The media, which have favorites and enemies, report accordingly. The UN Human Rights Council is much the same.IntroductionThis is a re-posting of a satirical article from May 23, 2012. It mocked media coverage of the death of Trayvon Martin (the Religion of Peace personified) at the hands of George Zimmerman (Zionism personified). It also mocked and compared media coverage of Israel and "Palestine" as of that date. With few exceptions, the media coverage of Israel, particularly in connection with her current operations in Gaza, has not substantially improved since then. Mr. Zimmerman was tried and convicted in the media. However, when relevant and admissible evidence was presented in a court...

What may have started out as an ordinary evening in February 2012, ended with a dead teen-ager and a national controversy that is still unresolved. The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and the subsequent not-guilty verdict of the shooter, George Zimmerman, on July 13, 2013, prompted citizens across the nation to question the "stand-your-ground" laws. Such laws, often criticized as being "shoot first" laws, make it hard to prosecute cases against people who shoot others and then claim self-defense. Kentucky, as well as the other states with such laws, should revise them so that the one who initiates a...