Special Scrutiny

Degrees
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, igniting a national debate on racial profiling and civil rights, was found not guilty late Saturday night of second-degree murder. He was also acquitted of manslaughter, a lesser charge. (NYT, 7/14/2013)

The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy and his family is deserving of America's deepest sympathies.

The coverage of the case by the Legitimate Media was, of course, corrupt and despicable. We got endless pictures of a young, baby-faced Trayvon taken years ago, to advance the storyline that George Zimmerman killed a child. We got endless discussion of the candy he had just bought at a convenience store. Who would kill a young boy eating candy? We got the description of Zimmerman as a "white Hispanic." Whatever that is. We got depictions of Zimmerman as a "wannabe cop." Is that a bad thing, to want to serve in law enforcement? Was Trayvon a "wannabe basketball player?" What almost no one reported on were the words that Zimmerman said to the cops who tried to test his version of the events by telling him that the entire incident had been captured on video. Zimmerman reportedly said: "oh, thank God."


Effects
When President Obama proclaimed that those who commit sexual assault in the military should be “prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged,” it had an effect he did not intend: muddying legal cases across the country.

In at least a dozen sexual assault cases since the president’s remarks at the White House in May, judges and defense lawyers have said that Mr. Obama’s words as commander in chief amounted to “unlawful command influence,” tainting trials as a result. Military law experts said that those cases were only the beginning and that the president’s remarks were certain to complicate almost all prosecutions for sexual assault. (NYT, 7/13/2013)

As with his comments about Trayvon Martin, Obama again steps in and sows confusion. More proof that he really does not understand the job.