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What IS Truth?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************

There seem to be two events based on the Zimmerman trial unfolding simultaneously.  One:  The judicial system's trial of George Zimmerman -- and two: The media's public lynching of George Zimmerman.

Unless the prosecution pulls a surprise from the woodwork, I am beginning to wonder how the heck they even got this case before a judge.

I am compelled to ask myself if this whole trial of Zimmerman is nothing more than a "sop" thrown to the black community -- a concession, if you will,  given to mollify or placate them in the hope that they won't riot.

It could also explain the state  "over-charging" Mr. Zimmerman.  By over-charging, I mean charging him with an offense worse than the circumstances of the case would seem to dictate. 

Why second degree murder rather than manslaughter?  There's no question the hike in the difficulty of securing a conviction for second degree murder makes a finding of "not guilty" far more likely.    

The Zimmerman trial is destined to join the ranks of the cases tried in the media. There have been many cases in the annals of the  judicial history of the United States openly tried in the media.  This, then, is one more.  

From the liberal use of the words "murder" and "murderer," by the MsM, you'd think Zimmerman had already been tried and convicted of murder.  He has not ... at least not by a jury in a court of law.  One cannot say the same thing for the court presided over by the MsM, however.

I'm not an attorney.  But as a law enforcement officer, many decades ago, I spent a lot of time in courtrooms ... in the witness box and in the gallery ... just listening and observing.  I am hardly ever surprised at what witnesses say in response to questions from attorneys -- especially when the phrase; "Please describe, in your own words, what happened on the night in question."  That's when the "pucker-factor" within the courtroom community increases exponentially. 

Then there are some witnesses who appear for one side yet, in the end, actually assist the opposing side's case. 

That being said, I must tell you it appears to this layman that the prosecution is the best defense Mr. Zimmerman has! 

Look.  The plain truth is -- we will probably never know exactly what transpired the night of the confrontation between Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Martin.  Sadly, the truth of such events almost never sees the light of day -- and -- if and when it does,  it is oft times dismissed as fantasy, the product of an overactive imagination, or out-right lies. Too often, I have to remind myself, trials are not so much about finding the truth as they are about getting the accused found not guilty.

In an age of instant communications anywhere on the face of the globe, almost zero privacy, where everything is known about everyone,  you'd think the truth would be easily found and/or discerned.  Not so!  In fact, along with our digital revolution came the ability to create and/or destroy entire personalities.  We can create a "fact" or a "truth" and -- on a whim -- destroy it completely. 

We even have a name for this electronic mischief.  We call it:  "computer generated."  As a result far from being more trustful of the "truth" we tend to be far more suspicious of that which is presented as "truth."

Pontius Pilate, as he completed his inquisition of Jesus, said sneeringly: "What IS truth?"  I submit to you that ole Pontius would REALLY be confused today!

Truth be told, (no pun intended) the result of the Zimmerman trial will change few people's personal evaluation of what they think happened that night.  Minds were made up long ago.

How people comport themselves after the trial, especially if Mr. Zimmerman is found not guilty, will speak volumes about how well  America's so-called "multicultural society" is working out for Americans.

So far as that goes, as a white man now in his eighth decade of life, I can, from experience, report that race relations are not much, if any, better than they were when I was a lad.  Some, yes.  But not a great deal.  

The difference is (I believe) -- we have learned to create facades much better now than we could then. To do that, we have had to learn to distance ourselves from the truth and quench our collective conscience.  As a result, we have produced at least one generation of psychopaths.  

Multiculturalism is unworkable for a society that is expecting to grow and thrive.  Even God, Himself, seems to have had problems with it.  I refer you to the story of the "Tower of Babel" in the Bible at: Genesis 11: 1 - 9.

You would think the event between Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Martin was a black and white racial issue.  I remind you -- no white person was involved.  When the MsM was un-ceremonially reminded of this fact, they suddenly invented a new race: a WHITE Hispanic.  Rather than change their "narrative" -- they changed the facts.  That should tell you everything you need to know about the motive of the MsM.

Something tells me this trial is not going to go the way most expect.  

Dr. Sam Sheppard  once said:  "I therefore believe that our system does not have a word for failed trial, and that is where the American public does not realize that our criminal justice system sometimes makes mistakes."  (Samuel Holmes Sheppard was an American osteopathic physician who was found guilty and later absolved in the murder of his wife.  There was a movie and a TV series said to have been based on the Sheppard case -- "The Fugitive."  Perhaps you've heard of them.)

© J. D. Longstreet

Marisabel Cabrera

Click to enlarge.

Yawn.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

America is indeed changing. More accepting and tolerant. For certain the nation has a long way to go before bigotry and prejudice is finally eradicated for good. But the movement is encouraging and no amount of religious right influence or  latent racial prejudice will stop the trajectory.

Some interesting snippets of the changing times.

USA TODAY -...  Last year was the first time a majority of Americans had backed gay marriage.

The only major demographic groups in which a majority oppose same-sex marriage are Republicans (68%) and seniors 65 and older (51%). Even in the South, which continues to be the only region that doesn't show majority support for gay marriage, opposition has slipped below 50%.

• By a narrower margin, 48%-43%, those surveyed favor the Supreme Court's decision declaring unconstitutional part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which barred the federal government from providing benefits to same-sex spouses. Views on the issue are intense. Those who feel strongly about the issue split 29%-29% in favor and against the ruling.

• By 53%-37%, Americans say affirmative action programs are still needed to counteract the effects of discrimination against minorities. That reflects a rebound in support after the court's ruling. In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken a few weeks before the court's decision, the nation split 45%-45% over whether such programs were needed or had gone too far.

In a case involving the University of Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action programs in college admissions were permissible but set a tough legal standard the programs have to meet.

• By 49%-40%, those surveyed oppose the decision by the court to strike down the provision in the Voting Rights Act that required some states, mostly in the South, to get federal approval to change election laws. Two-thirds of African Americans oppose the decision.

The country divides 43%-44% in approval-disapproval over the way the Supreme Court is doing its job. That's the lowest level of approval in eight years and nearly 20 percentage points lower than it was as recently as 2001...  {Full Report Here}

The only thing that is inevitable is change.  Best to accept change and work to make things better. Without giving up the many good things that have always been America. 

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


This individual has enjoyed his four plus years spent political blogging. It has been my pleasure to encounter some very intelligent individuals from the conservative libertarian side as well as from the liberal progressive side. Of course the downside has been there are are in fact some really dumb individuals on both sides. Individuals that lack the ability as well as the desire to even consider that there may be a different and possibly better way of looking at and approaching issues. I'm sure you all know somebody like that.

For me the journey has been informative and instructional. All of us develop our values, principles, and aspirations based in large share on our early life experience. For those with active and inquiring minds I'm fairy certain you understand. For those who prefer the known and avoid the temporary mind chaos of considering and sorting out new ideas and concepts, well turn in to Fox News or MSNBC.

After 61 years of a rather eventful (and stressful) life it simply astounds me that given all the changes in technology, the increased knowledge we have gained (especially in science), and the opportunities for economic growth and expansion that we have remained relatively stuck in the status qua. I suppose that is because humans my their nature prefer the known over the unknown.

So, we keep clinging to the data points we learned as children and young adults. Believing that doing so preserves our comfort zone and thereby our emotional and mental security. This phenomenon is not specific to just conservatives, it in fact extends to liberals. Regardless of political ideology, proclivities, or indoctrination people being people respond to what they know positively. Being open to different concepts and possible ways of doing things is, well, frightening for many. Perhaps most.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is to repeatedly do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

America has sadly arrived at that low point.

To crib Forest Gump... " And that's all I have to say about that."

Often overlooked the Preambles are critical components of our nations founding writings. This video highlights both the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. It also expresses a fundamental concern over the state of our nation and flies our Old Glory in a respectful sign of distress.

Conservatives Forward!
J. D. Longstreet
*******************
Sometime ago, a friend asked me what I thought President Ronald Reagan would think of Obama.

It only took a moment to answer. "He'd laugh," I said. Then I added: "A real side-splitter!" It was an honest answer and one I believe is true.

I think Ronald Reagan, if he were to suddenly re-appear upon this earth for a brief visit and be told that Obama was President, would, indeed, break up in near uncontrollable laughter.

Reagan would think someone was playing a practical joke on him. He would just KNOW Americans had better sense! I can hear Ronnie saying, "Why, he's just a, uh, child! A grown man, yes. But, still a naive child. A narcissistic child, at that!" Then, he'd laugh again, enjoying the joke, still unconvinced that Americans could do that to themselves and their country.

After Reagan had watched a few videos of Obama's speeches, the smile would slowly drain from Reagan's face as he scanned the adoring, worshipful, faces of the crowd while some fainted in their passion for the boy/man "messiah" and I can hear the crestfallen President say in a voice grown husky in bitter remembrance: "I've seen those faces before.... in Berlin in the 1930's."

Then, Ronald Reagan would weep.

A friend sent me the piece below a few days ago. I have no idea who put it together, but I'd like to thank them.

As America continues her decline and collapse, under the heavy hand of socialism, Americans are going to need memories of the America we used to know to hold on to, to sustain us, until we can rescue our beloved America from the clutches of the power-hungry, left-wing elite currently strangling the life out of her.

As you read the "Reagan Gems" below and remember the America of greatness, the America that once led the world, challenge yourself to do all in your power to keep those memories alive. And prepare. As Thomas Jefferson said: “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God."

I have often thought that democracy is quite likely the greatest gamble a nation can take. For there is no guarantee "The People" will not vote in a tyrant as their leader. When that happens, as it sometimes does, (See: Middle Eastern Arab Spring) then, it is up to the same people to prepare for the tyrants reign -- and -- the tyrant's removal.

British author Aldous Huxley once said: "So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, the Caesars and Napoleons will arise to make them miserable." That was the danger some of us on the right tried so dutifully to warn America of during the last presidential campaign.

Thomas Jefferson once said: "Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

I ask you to look objectively at our government today and ask yourself if you are truly comfortable with that much power in the hands of THOSE people. If you find you are comfortable, then, dear reader, you need to wake up and begin paying attention!

Now we have the yoke of socialism chained across our shoulders and around our necks. We Americans, yes, WE placed it there. Soon we will be completely dependent upon the government for our very existence. To my fellow Americans I say, that is NOT living FREE! That is SLAVERY!

To see what a REAL President says, and means, and believes... read the "Reagan Gems" below:
*********************

'Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.'- Ronald Reagan

'The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' - Ronald Reagan


'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so'- Ronald Reagan

'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.' - Ronald Reagan

'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.'- Ronald Reagan

'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'- Ronald Reagan

'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'- Ronald Reagan

'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.'- Ronald Reagan

'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'- Ronald Reagan

'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.' Ronald Reagan

'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'- Ronald Reagan

'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'- Ronald Reagan

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.'- Ronald Reagan

**********************

Reagan is gone and there will never be another.
I am reminded of the expression:  “Leaders, like eagles, do not flock.  You find them one at a time.”  On could add, I suppose, that leaders come few and far between, too.

I think Reagan would be disappointed in the  conservative movement in America today,  as well. The conservative movement in America is currently leaderless – and it is hurting badly. 
One thing that has become crystal clear, however, during this aimless period (at least to this scribe) is that the conservative movement no longer belongs in the Republican Party. 

In recent years the GOP has been moving ever leftward and, dear reader, conservatives should have no truck with leftists – even leftists in the Republican Party.

Let’s face it.  We conservatives have never been completely welcome in the GOP. We’ve been tolerated and treated like the storied red-headed stepchild.

Methinks America needs a conservative political party which will be THE Conservative Party. 

Oh, there are conservative political parties dotting the political landscape in America -- and none of them very effective. Bring those conservatives all together under a single banner and their energy, zeal, enthusiasm, and will to win would be darn near unstoppable.  But splintered, as we are, we are easy targets for the left, which gives no quarter to their adversaries.

One week after the last election, in November of 2012, after having been a republican for nearly fifty years, I changed my registration to Independent (“Unaffiliated” in North Carolina).   I had come to believe that the GOP no longer represented my political belief nor my core values.  I was, and I am, a conservative first. I have never looked back.

There is no “good time” to found a political party.  An election is always “just around the corner.” Having said that … it seems to me that now, RIGHT NOW, is as good a time as any, possibly the best time we’re going to get, to lay the foundation for a conservative party, THE party of record for conservatives. 

I am convinced that if conservatives are to ever again have meaningful influence on the national politics of America; we are going to have to do it marching under our own colors. 
We conservatives need to disassociate ourselves from a political party that has adopted so much of the left’s agenda that, at times, the difference is indiscernible.

We find ourselves at one of those proverbial crossroads that all living persons, all organizations, and all movements approach from time to time in their life spans. Everything changes (or not) depending upon the direction of travel we choose from this point forward.

Our nation has sunk so far, so fast, that many of us are reeling from the destructive momentum.  The national morality has tanked. The very word “America” has become as a noxious odor in the nostrils of God.  It is truly frightening to recall that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for far lesser infractions than those of which America is guilty today.

I am convinced that if America is to be saved, IF American CAN be saved, the conservatives of this nation MUST be in the vanguard of the liberating force.  We can’t do that from the back benches of the Republican Party.

© J. D. Longstreet

Photo of crowd from YouTube

Alfonso Morales

Milwaukee, WI - Wisconsin or Milwaukee County residents have several more days to apply for an free government cell phone provided by Accesswireless dot com or also known as the popular Obama free mobile phone. The mobile Accesswireless staff will be at the 700 block of S. Layton Blvd. in the southside of Milwaukee waiting for those who qualify to apply and get one for free. 

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Not really a fan of New York Mayor Bloomberg, but when you're right you're right, political correctness aside of course. Speaking the obvious truth is bound to get ya in hot water. The Mayor did just that recently and sure enough he drew plenty of fire. It is absolutely disgusting what the aspiring to power political class will stoop to.

New York Post - Mayor Bloomberg claimed that people of color should be stopped and frisked more -- not less -- while whites are stopped too frequently.

"I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little. It's exactly the reverse of what they say," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show, in response to the City Council passing two bills aimed at reining in the controversial policing tactic.

"I don't know where they went to school but they certainly didn't take a math course. Or a logic course.”

The mayor was referring to statistics showing that a majority of serious crimes in the city are carried out by young men of color {emphasis mine).

But candidates vying to replace him wasted no time in denouncing the comments. {Read More}

Via: Memeorandum

Previously, on Freshening the Foyer...


We were left with a blank space


and a can of this.

Specifically, Lucky Shamrock by Benjamin Moore. I have a lot of blue in my house and I really do love blue. But I didn't want to become one big blue house. So what goes with blue? What's welcoming and cheery? What would I want to see when I walk in the house everyday? 


Green.

And you all know how I like a good lookin' ceiling (like here and here) so I took that paint up north. Happy green ceiling - complete. Now for the walls.

My ultimate dream would be some Anna Spiro wallpaper but for now that isn't in the budget. So I went with this stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils thanks to a Sadie + Stella discount code a while back. (Thanks Lindsay)


And here is where this little spruce up went off the tracks a bit. I got the stencil, I was excited to use it and the walls were painted and ready. The hubs and I skimmed thru the directions (first mistake) and got to work.


And ended up with this. Ruh roh.

How's this for real life DIY? They don't always go so smoothly, am I right? I blame the little dots in the stencil. They threw us off some how. To be honest, I don't know what happened. The whole process went so fast (which I was rather surprised about) we didn't realize it until we stepped back to admire our finished work.

Major let down.

This all happened right before the party, of course, so it was a good lesson in letting things go. There was no time to fix it and I just didn't have the mental fortitude to make it happen.


So this is how it looked for a few weeks. And it drove me bonkers. The stencil is on crack, the mirror doesn't play well with the bench and its hung too high. And the trim still needs to be painted. Calgon, take me away.


Finally I psyched myself up to try this again. I repainted the whole space (thank god it is small) and after playing with the stencil BEFORE painting, revolutionary I know, I figured out what I needed to do.

So learn from my mistakes.


This is not something you can rush thru, even if it may seem straightforward. You will need to do one sheet and step back to check your work. Then place the sheet in the next spot and step back and check your work. Then roll the next sheet and, you guessed it, step back and check your work.


You will want to go over the stencil several times with your roller. Don't. It just makes a mess. And always roll in the one direction. Never back and forth or you will just end up with a big smeared blob.


Play with the amount of paint on your roller a bit before starting. The key is to find the perfect combo of the right amount of paint and the right amount of pressure so you can get the stencil on in one roll.


Much better.





So my best girl Linda is helping me to scour Craigslist and I've already got a few options. With her mad skills, I bet I'll find something in no time. What kind of mirror would you add?

Look forward to the next installment of Freshening the Foyer to find out how this all ends. Will I get the trim painted? Will I find a mirror? Will I ever clean that floor properly? Too much excitement, I know.

And don't forget Google Reader is donezo on July 1. Have no fear though, you can continue to follow my sparkling personality and quick wit on Bloglovin. Find out how to import your list from Google Reader here.

Happy Day!

Historic federal Senate immigration bill S. 744 moves to U.S. House of Representatives for consideration and debate.