“Happening Now” on FOX News not fair and balanced

“Happening Now” on FOX News not fair and balanced

Kirsten Powers and Judy Miller on FOX News: “Anybody walking home from the store can be shot.”

“The absence of any acknowledgement of the facts in the Zimmerman case constitutes what I believe to be journalistic misfeasance and a dereliction of your duty to the American people to insist on presentation of the truth.”

                                                                    

                                               

     Kirsten Powers                              Judy Miller

To “Happening Now” hosts Jenna Lee and Jon Scott:

I would like to register a strong objection to the statements made by Kirsten Powers and Judy Miller on your “Happening Now” show on July 19 concerning the Zimmerman case.

These ladies seriously misrepresented the facts of the Zimmerman case so as to create the impression that a person innocently walking home from the store through a residential area can be shot for no good reason.

For either one of these ladies to suggest that their life might have been in danger if they had been walking through the Retreat at Twin Lakes on the dark, rainy night of Feb 26, 2012 is preposterous and criminally irresponsible.

The missing facts are these:

1. RTL had experienced a rash of burglaries and home invasions. The perpetrators of these crimes had been identified by a black resident of RTL as “black teen-agers”.

2. Following a particularly serous night home invasion of a home in which a mother and her baby were alone in their residence, carried out by two black teenagers, the residents of RTL met and decided to establish a Neighborhood Watch program. George Martin was asked to organize and supervise the NW program.

3. George Zimmerman was not on watch at the time of the incident. He had departed his home on a shopping trip when he observed a youth in a “hoodie” loitering near the residences in RTL in the rain, with no apparent purpose or direction of travel. This was on its face suspicious behavior from a NW perspective, and GZ immediately contacted the police.

4. GZ had no history of racially biased behavior or conduct, as documented by Jack Cashill:

http://www.cashill.com/zimmerman/trayvon_george.htm

http://www.cashill.com/zimmerman/why_feds_wont_prosecute.htm

5. GZ himself is of mixed racial ancestry, including a black ancestor and a Latino (Peruvian) mother. His first language is Spanish. He had a personal history of assisting black youths and defending a black homeless person who had been subjected to police misconduct.

6. GZ left his vehicle in response to a request from the police dispatcher for a description of the suspect and information on the location and actions of the suspect. GZ left his vehicle only to observe and respond to policed dispatcher requests. He stated that the suspect “appears to be black” only in response to a direct question from the dispatcher.

7. At one point, the dispatcher asked if GZ was following the suspect. When he said yes, the dispatcher advised him that “we don’t need you to do that”. At that point, GZ discontinued following TM and continued walking toward the front (street) side of the units in order to obtain an accurate address for the police officers dispatched to the scene.

8. After a four minute period during which no contact or communication occurred between GZ and TM, TM suddenly approached GZ and asked GZ if he “had a problem”. GZ said “no, I don’t have a problem”, whereupon TM responded “well you do now” and proceeded to physically attack GZ. As a young a physically fit adult, TM quickly gained the upper hand on GZ, having forced GZ to the ground on his back, and assumed a position straddled on top of GZ by which he could continue his violent assault.

9. At two times during the assault, according to GZ, TM stated that he intended to kill GZ, using the words “I am going to kill you” and “you are going to die tonight”. Also TM had inflicted significant injuries on GZ, including a broken nose and lacerations to the back of his head as TM slammed GZ’s head on the concrete pavement.  (See Sean Hannity interview of George Zimmerman, conducted in April 1012 and re-broadcast recently on FOX News.)

10. At that point GZ had a reasonable fear of further serious injury or loss of his life. As a non-athletic individual and physically “soft” (as described by his personal trainer), George Zimmerman had little hope of overpowering TM and ending the assault. The only means he had to defend himself was the weapon he was legally carrying. In addition, he was aware that TM had detected the presence of the weapon and was attempting to gain control of it.

11. It appeared to GZ that whoever gained control of the gun would survive, and the other would be shot and probably die. (GZ: “It was not my gun, it was not his gun  – it was the gun.”  Sean Hannity interview) In an act of clear self-defense, resulting from an unprovoked attack on George Zimmerman by Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman used his weapon to end the physical assault to which he was being subjected.

12. Trayvon Martin had a history of criminal activity, including burglary and drug dealing. He was also a heavy marijuana user, as well as a user of a drug concoction called “LEAN” consisting of codeine from Robitussin (or an even more dangerous form of codeine called DMX) mixed with watermelon iced tea and Skittles. The apparent reason for his trip to the store that night was to purchase materials for his drug business.

13. The autopsy of Trayvon Martin revealed that Martin had THC (marijuana) in his system, and that he had significant liver damage characteristic of heavy DMX consumption. (Among the known effects of DMX are paranoia and psychotic breaks.) Given these facts, not allowed into evidence at trial, it is likely that Trayvon Martin was under the influence of psychotic drugs at the time he attacked George Zimmerman.

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/

The absence of any acknowledgement of these facts, or of the presence any guest prepared to correct the seriously misleading impression created by the remarks of your guests, constitutes what I believe to be journalistic misfeasance and a dereliction of your duty to the American people to insist on presentation of the truth.

I would be most appreciative of a substantive personal response to this message, and the production of a specific piece on Fox News in which the biased, false, misleading, and intentionally provocative statements made by Kirsten Powers and Judy Miller may be balanced with a  more complete exposition of the truth in the Zimmerman case.

(A FOX News listener)