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Most defense attorneys tell their clients to be quiet and let them do the talking. But George Zimmerman's lawyers are an odd lot, and don't seem to really be managing the public relations aspect of their client's legal affairs very well.

After weeks of silence and weird surrogates appearing on his behalf, George Zimmerman has made himself a website asking for donations. He has done this because he's upset about other people collecting donations in his name.

I am the real George Zimmerman,
    On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website's sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.

    It has come to my attention that some persons and/or entities have been collecting funds, thinly veiled as my “Defense Fund” or "Legal Fund". I cannot attest to the validity of these other websites as I have not received any funds collected, intended to support my family and I through this trying, tragic time.
    I have created a Paypal account solely linked on this website as I would like to provide an avenue to thank my supporters personally and ensure that any funds provided are used only for living expenses and legal defense, in lieu of my forced inability to maintain employment. I will also personally, maintain accountability of all funds received. I reassure you, every donation is appreciated.
Sincerely,
    George Zimmerman

I love this tag line at the bottom of the page, don't you? Also the big American flag sends a message. Of sorts.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke.

It seems ill-advised to me to put up a website that looks like a patriot or militia site with a quote they're fond of asking for donations, one day after Fox News reports that white supremacists are now 'patrolling' Sanford, to say nothing of the bad taste it displays. But there it is, waiting for the donations to pour in.

That's not even the worst part. The Daily Caller has a report on a furious letter sent to Eric Holder by an unnamed relative of George Zimmerman.

The family member believes the reason Holder hasn’t made those arrests is because he, like the members of the New Black Panther Party, is black.

“I am writing you to ask you why, when the law of the land is crystal clear, is your office not arresting the New Black Panthers for hate crimes?” the family member wrote to Holder.

“The Zimmerman family is in hiding because of the threats that have been made against us, yet the DOJ has maintained an eerie silence on this matter. These threats are very public. If you haven’t been paying attention just do a Google search and you will find plenty. Since when can a group of people in the United States put a bounty on someone’s head, circulate Wanted posters publicly, and still be walking the streets?”

[...]

“I would surmise that, based on your own definition of a hate crime, you have chosen not to arrest these individuals based solely on your race,” the family member wrote to Holder, insisting too that the was “NO racial component” to the “tragedy” that occurred on the late February night when Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin.

Wow. I'm not defending threats made on this family. The right course of action is not paying vigilante justice with vigilante justice. But to put the accusation that Eric Holder is not prosecuting those making the threats because he's black? Yeah, I guess I wouldn't want my identity revealed either, given how that reads.

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Nothing like the rising up of viral campaigns for governments to realize that they are, in fact, answerable to the public:

Chief Lee, who came on the job just 10 months ago for $102,000 a year to clean up a department tainted by racial scandals, finds himself under fire in what promises to be one of the most explosive law enforcement cases of the year. For weeks, black leaders have called for the firing of Lee, a Sanford native with a three-decade career in law enforcement whose father once ran the nearby black neighborhood’s convenience store.

In a 3-2 vote Wednesday night, the Sanford City Commission gave the chief a vote of no confidence, adding to the mounting national pressure to oust him.

What began as misunderstandings, technicalities and poor word choice mushroomed into what critics are calling a deeply flawed investigation, which is now being looked at by state and federal agencies.

“I’ve never thought the chief was a racist or anything. It’s more of a lack of experience and a lack of leadership,” said Commissioner Velma Williams, who advocated that the chief resign to quell tensions before a rally next week, timed for Monday’s city commission meeting.

Mayor Jeff Triplett told reporters afterward that he voted against the chief over his management and “communication.” City manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. told reporters that he would not make a decision about the chief’s fate until he learns from an independent law enforcement agency what mistakes police might have made. This week the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched their own investigations.

While I certainly have my own opinions of the Trayvon Martin case, based on what I've read and heard, I've been loathe to convict George Zimmerman in the court of public opinion. There's no doubt in my mind that the scales of justice are weighted against minorities in this country (and Sanford had a history of racial inequality) but for me, justice for Trayvon Martin involved giving his killing the respect and due diligence of an investigation. It was inconceivable to me that even the basics of checking Zimmerman's story wasn't done and with a shrug to the ridiculous "Stand Your Ground" law (I think Martin had a better argument about feeling imminently in danger, given that he was unarmed and Zimmerman was actively pursuing him, not vice versa), Zimmerman was released.

Clearly, Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte, Jr., does not want to be accused of rushing to judgment either and will make a decision on Police Chief Bill Lee's continued employment after the federal investigation is concluded. But given the rather mind-blowing array of blown calls in the non-investigation, I'd guess that the "no confidence" vote is just the beginning of the end for Lee.

The Steele story has just about played itself out unless he resigns over it. And yet Vitter, Sanford and Ensign still have jobs.

PS there's a nice round up of international news perspective over at our sister site, Newstalgia.

Open thread below.

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Isn't it interesting that Cokie Roberts spends her Monday morning segment on NPR talking about two admittedly disgraced Democrats who will not be holding their positions come Election Day.

Charlie Rangel and David Patterson are an admitted embarrassment to the Democrats. Rangel, like much of Congress, is long overdue for retirement, and Patterson's made such a mess of his career the sooner gone the better.

But why other than pure partisan hackery would Cokie Roberts spend her Monday morning spot talking about them and not mention that Ensign, Vitter, and Sanford still have jobs? Ensign paid off his mistress's family, Vitter was involved with a prostitute, and Sanford was MIA from his job for days on end. These guys still have the backing of their party? Family values much?

Cokie can always be counted on to live up to the old joke by Driftglass:

Dick Cheney is caught setting kittens on fire and throwing them at homeless veterans. What are the first three words out of Cokie Robert's mouth?

"But the Democrats..."

Next she'll be explaining how much Republican scandals help Mitt Romney. Sigh.

Malice in Wonderland - Outside the Tea Party, she avoids looking at the writing on her hands...Roses Ensign, Sanford, and Vitter look on from their well-fertilized garden...the White Rabbit (McCain) all of a sudden thinks time is running out.

Larger versions are linked (because they're big files) in this post.

PS Doesn't Malkin make a lovely Red Queen?

Open thread below...

Words of Power: While the econonomic royalists and their enforcers in politics and the media live the high life, will we he people fade into oblivion?

AMERICAblog News: Joseph Stiglitz predicted the global financial meltdown. So why can't he get any respect?

Calitics: In California, the Democrats caved. It's taken 31 years, but Howard Jarvis is finally going to get the wholesale destruction of public services he always wanted.

Intrepid Liberal Journal: The Death of Why: An interview with author Andrea Batista Schlesinger. It is Schlesinger’s contention that our culture promotes instant answers at the expense of inquiring.

The Satirical Political Report: In tribute to Cronkite, Fox changes its slogan

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Pancake City, The Blue Horde, Maggie's Madness, Al's Ozone Repair Kit

GOP 12: Sanford cheated on his wife and taxpayers

Alan Colmes’ Liberaland: Here's another jiveass "conservative."  Texas secession-promoter, Rick Perry, turned down stimulus $, now wants a loan

Stinque: Leader of GOP womanizers' Jesunazi sex cult is spiritual guru to Hillary Clinton

Nixon's Ghosts: Documents from the Archives: Pat Buchanan was for Affirmative Action before he was against it

Mondoweiss: Olmert tries to resuscitate one of the all-time great lies in the Oslo peace process

Mock, Paper, Scissors: Anatomy of a column

[click here for larger] Open Thread below...

You needed to escape FROM the bubble, Governor? Clearly, the bubble that Sanford escaped TO is the one that got him in trouble. An average cheating spouse can use a cell phone and email account to cover his/her affair, anywhere in the world. Sanford did more than travel and cheat. He consciously disappeared. That is a form of hate toward anyone who cared about him or depended upon him, at work or at home.

There is something psychotically narcissistic about a need to disappear from the world in which you have real-life obligations.

Open thread below....

I think it's just automatic now. When a high-profile Republican gets into trouble, Fox News steps in to mislead their sheep viewers by labeling them as Democrats.

Here's a short list of Fox's chyron hackery:

John McCain - Democrat

Joe Lieberman - Democrat

Arlen Spector - Democrat (when he was still a Republican!)

Mark Foley - Democrat

Media Matters also caught Fox listing a Democratic strategist as Bush's head of FEMA -- because his name happened to be Michael Brown. Oh, and we can't forget the time they announced Rep. William Jefferson's indictment using footage of Congressman John Conyers. They apologized to their audience, but never to Conyers personally.

I'm sure it was just an oversight, just like all the rest...riiiight. Have I missed any?

Dave N:

It's almost a clockwork thing.

Whenever Fox News wants you to forget that someone is actually a Republican, they, ah, accidentally label them a Democrat on their chryon and let it go. So they did that today, as you can see, while Mark Sanford was explaining that he had been in Argentina to screw around on his wife. (They corrected it in later chryons.)

Hardly the first time this has happened.

There was the time they ID'ed Mark Foley, in the midst of another sex scandal, as a Democrat too.

At other times with sex scandals, as with Sen. Larry Craig, they simply have forgotten to identify them as Republicans.

They've also done it when someone's Republican status is inconvenient:

When Arlen Specter was attacking conservative shibboleths, he got labeled a D too.

And then there was the time John McCain was labeled a Democrat too. At the time that just seemed weird, but now, with Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and a host of other conservatives promoting the notion that McCain was just a fake Republican anyway, it makes a certain kind of sense.

Fox sense, that is.